Smalltalk Digest: November Edition

Welcome to the November 2018 edition of the Cincom Smalltalk™ Digest.  In this edition, we will discuss a Smart Parking App Proof of Concept and see a working demo of it. We will also feature a new Hidden Gems screencast as well as a reminder about next month’s talks by Cincomers.

The Idea behind a Smart Parking App Proof of Concept

In recent Cincom Smalltalk Digests, we talked about the valuable benefits of being a customer including support and services. We’ve also discussed several ways in which customers can be fiscally responsible in using year-end budget for custom services solutions. One of those solutions is a proof of concept.

Under conditions of anonymity, we have been given exclusive access to talk about a proof of concept for the emerging Smart Parking Management industry, which falls under the larger umbrella of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology segment.  We’ve all experienced IoT in one way or another, whether it’s smart appliances in our kitchens or using an app to start our cars on cold or rainy days.  But what’s a broader application of that technology?  How can it impact society on a larger scale? And more practically for our customers, partners and prospects, how can it profit their company?

By 2030, 60% of the world’s population is expected to live in urban areas, which equates to more than five-billion people. – Human Population: Lesson Plans

So, the complex problem for city management is dealing with this population influx with their limited spacing. Urban areas are largely confined to their current size, yet more cars and people will require new resources to manage that issue! No wonder analysts are projecting billions in growth for the Smart Parking Management segment.  Smart parking offers:

• Better utilization of parking capacity
• More efficient charging for spaces
• Reduction in fraud

Beyond that, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s (SFMTA’s) SFpark project found that smart parking management benefits included lower prices for parking, higher occupancy of spaces, fewer streets with no spaces and emissions reduced by 30% because drivers no longer had to search for spaces.

Smart Parking Market and Forecast

But let’s be honest. Companies are in business to make money, so how can IoT and this Smart Parking Management market bring in revenue and profits for our customers and partners? 

Let’s take a look at the market to see where the growth can be found.

According to Research Nester, the global Smart Parking Management Market is anticipated to grow nearly 18% and hit USD 5.7 billion by 2024. Research Nester says that increasing automotive sales and rising numbers of smart cities are the main factors in the growth of this market, while automation in vehicles is anticipated to positively impact its growth as well.

The technology is available, and the markets are primed and ready. 

Are Partnership Opportunities Out There?

Research Nester went on to explain that partnerships in both the public and private sectors will play an important role in many smart city projects. Increasing  smart city investments by global governments are also expected to further open a plethora of opportunities for growth in this market while manufacturing companies are also helping with research and development as they produce advanced smart parking components.

Companies like Amano McGann Inc., Kapsch, Siemens AG, SKIDATA, Xerox Corporation, AT&T, Deloitte, Ericsson, Microsoft and Philips are just some of the major companies developing in the Smart Parking Management space, and Cincom is already aligned or doing business with some of these and many other companies.

So, how can our customers, partners and prospects profit from this?

What Is ParcPlace?

Our “anonymous” customer set out looking for solution-provider opportunities with significant future growth where Cincom Smalltalk would be a good fit.  They wanted to avoid a low return on investment (ROI), high liabilities and competing against behemoth companies.

They realized that the Internet of Things (IoT) sector was a very large space, so they sought to identify the market segments and winnow out poor opportunities to find ones that were a good match in one of three areas:

1. Consumer
2. Commercial
3. Industrial

They found that in general, the Consumer IoT segment has low ROI while the Industrial segment is likely to be served in-house by massive industrial companies.  The Commercial segment, however, was open to third-party solutions and offered a higher return on investment—a sweet spot for their business and profit goals!

After reviewing the Commercial segment of IoT, they discovered a few areas of interest: Parking Management, Traffic Management and Automatic Name Plate Recognition (ANPR). They settled on Parking Management.

Once settled on their area of interest, they began developing their proof of concept for the ParcPlace Smart Parking Solution.

Check out the ParcPlace demo below:

Smart Parking Management Proofs of Concept

Want more information about this, including a few other ideas for creating Smart Parking Management apps? 

• Check out our Proofs of Concept solutions page where we offer some additional ideas.

Hidden Gems: “A Custom View with Mouse Events, Part 2”

Contribution by Arden Thomas

The purpose of the Hidden Gems Screencast is to give developers who use Cincom Smalltalk some valuable insight into the useful abilities of the products that may not be obvious. 

Last month, we built a “DateAxisApp” to show how to build custom views that respond to mouse events like the mouse scroll wheel.
This month’s Hidden Gems will enhance that application to show how to take that beginning idea and build it into something more pragmatic that we will continue to take forward.

If you have comments or ideas for future Hidden Gems, please send feedback and suggestions to CSSTARTeam@cincom.com.

Here’s Your Chance to Make a Difference in 2019

Want to make a difference for the programming language you love? Smalltalk enthusiasts throughout North America are looking to put together a series of Camp Smalltalk-style events in 2019 and REQUEST YOUR INPUT. They’ve put together a survey to gather more information from both those who love Smalltalk as well as those who are unfamiliar with this awesome programming language.

If you have a current meetup or camp-style event already scheduled and you’d like to see a bunch of Smalltalkers join in the fun, please add your feedback to the comments section of the survey below. WE NEED YOU TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS so conference organizers can deliver events you want to attend and are excited to bring friends to.

• HERE’S YOUR CHANCE: Click here to share with us your thoughts!

Camp Smalltalk Charlotte 2019

We would like to invite you to Camp Smalltalk Charlotte on 
March 29–March 31, 2019 in  Charlotte, North Carolina.

Event details and registration info are available here.

Hope to see you there! 

Don’t Miss the Upcoming CharmCityJS JavaScript Meetup

On Wednesday, December 5, 2018, Arden Thomas and Vladimir Degen will be giving talks at CharmCityJS. This meetup brings the JavaScript community of Baltimore together on the first Wednesday of each month for talks, hacking and networking. They welcome newcomers of all experience levels, from first-time web programmers to CTOs. The meeting takes place at Oath, 2400 Boston Street Suite 300, Baltimore, MD. 

• To see descriptions of what Arden and Vlad will be talking about, click here.

Cincom Smalltalk Stories

Each Thursday, we highlight a different Cincom Smalltalk story on Facebook and Twitter using the trending hashtag #ThursdayThoughts.

Recently, we highlighted:

• Insurance Giant Desjardins Saves $10 Million with Cincom® VisualWorks® Upgrade

• Cincom Smalltalk Helps Texas Instruments Meet Defense Department Semiconductor Cost and Time-To-Market Requirements

• With Cincom Smalltalk, EBC Informatique Quickly Enhances and Improves TotalHorizon, while Maintaining Optimal Pricing and Providing Customers with Quick Implementation

• Making Adventure World German Language a Reality

Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for these and other updates throughout the month.