DCU project exclusively licences ground-breaking disruptive AI software resources to fourTheorem
The deal enables fourTheorem to commercialise all Future Software Systems Architectures (FSSA) project output.
The programme ‘Fission’ examined the application of AI to software architectural transformation, notably in microservices extraction from monolith-based architectures. The consortium behind the FSSA project, led by fourTheorem and directed by Dr Paul Clarke and the late Professor Rory O’Connor, comprised leading-edge researchers from DCU and Lero. Dr Andrew McCarren from DCU and Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics, was co-Principal Investigator on the research programme.
(L-R) Dr Paul Clarke, Associate Professor at DCU Computing, Peter Elger, CEO and co-founder fourTheorem, Jessica Reynolds, Technical Advisor Enterprise Ireland.
Established to embrace the disruption of serverless computing, the FSSA project was jointly funded – to a total of €2.1 million – by fourTheorem and the Disruptive Technology Innovation Fund (DTIF). DTIF, a €500 million challenge-based fund established to drive collaboration between Ireland’s world-class research base and industry, is managed by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation and administered by Enterprise Ireland.
The project set out to address a vital issue in the world’s software market: How to reduce the risks and costs associated with migrating existing ICT systems to modern, microservices-based architectures – traditionally a manual, expensive and error-prone process.
Over the past three years, FSSA researchers have built a Machine Learning-based Automatic Architectural System that systematically identifies and extracts services from monolithic architectures. ‘Fission’ significantly cuts the time and risk associated with transforming to a modern cloud architecture.
Speaking on the agreement, fourTheorem CEO Peter Elger said:
As we enter the next wave of cloud-based software, more and more companies wish to migrate from their traditional software architecture to serverless microservices to benefit from reduced costs and increased scalability and agility. However, untangling such monolithic systems can be a complex, time-consuming process that often carries significant associated risks – for most, the biggest fear factor is knowing where to start without risking the entire system grinding to a halt because of unidentified dependencies.
With Fission, we can rapidly accelerate the uncoupling of structures and dependencies within existing monolithic platforms – saving our clients time, money, and crucially, de-risking those first steps away from the monolith environment into a microservices and serverless future.
Dr Paul Clarke, Director of the FSSA project, said:
Evaluations to date indicate that this technology can radically reduce the time and cost associated with software architectural transformation. Since Fission incorporates so many data capture points, including detailed internal system run time information, the risk of service judgement error is also significantly reduced.
All that wonderful technology aside, it has simply been a great project to work on, and the fourTheorem team have been beyond excellent as partners, bringing an impressive combination of experience, ingenuity, and productivity to the project.
About fourTheorem
Pioneering software company fourTheorem, founded in Cork in 2017, is adept in modern application development and serverless technologies. A strategic Amazon Web Services partner, fourTheorem drives to help clients architect, build, and deliver modern technology more efficiently, unleashing you to concentrate on what truly drives your business.
About Lero
Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software, brings together expert software teams from universities and institutes of technology across Ireland in a co-ordinated centre of research excellence with a strong industry focus. Lero’s research spans a wide range of subjects including software engineering, information systems and human-computer interaction in areas such as driverless cars, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, fintech, govtech, smart communities, agtech and healthtech.
Hosted by the University of Limerick, Lero’s academic partners include Atlantic Technological University, Dublin City University, Dundalk Institute of Technology, Maynooth University, Munster Technological University, South East Technological University, Technological University Shannon: Midlands Midwest, Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork, University College Dublin and the University of Galway.