Relying on Open Source Communities for Better Technology Decisions

Mitchell Johnson, CTO, eVestment

CIOs to be Aware of Open Source Community

Microsoft is embracing the open source community in unprecedented ways. That’s definitely something CIOs and CTOs should be aware of as they make technology decisions and consider Microsoft solutions. eVestment works with institutional investment professionals around the globe. We provide clients in-depth data, insight and analysis, so we want to make sure they have the best experience possible. That means considering a lot of options when building out our solutions. Microsoft solutions are increasingly interoperable with opensource technologies like Linux, NoSQL technologies, and even Big Data tools like Hadoop. Instead of having to pick a single platform that may not be optimal for the client experience, you want to create Microsoft’s interoperability which gives CIOs a lot of flexibility in architecting a system. This incorporates the power, reliability and innovation of Microsoft with complimentary offerings from the community and other solution providers.

"Microsoft’s interoperability gives CIOs a lot of flexibility In architecting a system that incorporates the power, reliability and innovation"

Unique Microsoft Platforms in the Industry

One of our biggest technology accomplishments in the past twelve months includes deployment of the latest version of the eVestment platform which leverages an innovative cloud-based architecture and a modern technology stack that is unique to our industry. The eVestment platform is built with a variety of Microsoft technologies including .NET, Windows Server and SQLServer. The platform employs a JavaScript application (single page app) with Redis and Elasticsearch which enables users to search hundreds of thousands of investment strategies and click-stream analytics with sub-second response times.

All data on the platform is available in real-time once it has been provided by our global alliance of over twenty-thousand allocators, investment consultants and asset managers. Additionally, the platform provides clients with a unique user interface and data visualizations that are highly responsive and reminiscent of a locally deployed client-server application. Our industry is heavily reliant on Microsoft technologies including Office so all of our reporting and visualizations are available in Office output formats and integrations.