Featured · Cloud & delivery · 6 min read
Insights / 13 articles
Notes from the work.
What we have learned designing, building and running our own products, written for the people making similar decisions.
Articles and case studies.
15 items
Article · Applied AI · 6 min read
Answers staff can trust: an assistant built on approved documents
How to build a document assistant that cites its sources, respects permissions and says when it does not know.
- Knowledge assistants
- AI evaluation & testing
Article · Software engineering · 6 min read
Awaab’s Law and the software landlords use for repairs
What Awaab’s Law asks of the systems social landlords use to log, investigate and repair hazards, and the records they need to keep.
- Web application development
- Mobile app development
Article · Software engineering · 6 min read
Firebase, Supabase or a custom back end: how to choose
How to choose between Firebase, Supabase and a custom back end by data shape, access rules, cost, exit paths and skills.
- Web application development
- Mobile app development
Article · Cloud & delivery · 6 min read
MySQL 8.0 has reached end of life: planning the move to 8.4
What MySQL 8.0’s end of life means, and how to plan, test and roll back an upgrade to MySQL 8.4 LTS.
- Legacy modernisation
- Cloud architecture
Article · Software engineering · 7 min read
Offline-first mobile apps for people who work without signal
How to plan a mobile app that keeps working without signal, and what to settle before the first line of sync code.
- Mobile app development
- APIs & integrations
Article · Software engineering · 5 min read
One codebase, three platforms: iOS, Android and web with Expo
Lessons on sharing code, drawing with Skia and handling phone, tablet and desktop layouts from one Expo codebase.
- UX & UI design
- Web application development
Article · Software engineering · 6 min read
One database per tenant: isolating customer data in SaaS
When each customer gets its own PostgreSQL database, and what that means for migrations, connections and running costs.
- Web application development
- APIs & integrations
Article · Product strategy & design · 6 min read
One record, three apps: designing a shared live record
What it takes for a dashboard, a mobile app and a family app to read and write the same live record without copies.
- Product discovery
- Mobile app development
Article · Software engineering · 6 min read
Rebuild or refactor: modernising a legacy system safely
How to decide between rewriting a legacy system and replacing it piece by piece, and how to move data safely.
- APIs & integrations
- Legacy modernisation
Article · Cloud & delivery · 5 min read
Terraform from day one: infrastructure as code that lasts
How to start with Terraform in the first environment, so infrastructure stays reviewable and a new team can take it over.
- Cloud architecture
- Infrastructure as code
Article · Product strategy & design · 6 min read
What to put in a software brief before anyone builds
What to write down before asking anyone to build software, and what to deliberately leave open.
- Product discovery
- Prototyping & validation
Article · Applied AI · 5 min read
Where AI fits: choosing a first task in an operations workflow
How to choose a first AI task that is bounded, checkable and worth measuring, and when not to use AI at all.
- Document data extraction
- AI workflow automation
Case study · Home care operations
SoulCare: Making care coordination visible to everyone involved.
A connected platform for UK home-care providers. Coordinators plan and roster visits, carers work from a mobile app, and families can follow visits and raise requests, all from the same live record.
Real product interface · Demonstration data
Case study · Medical education
SimRhythm: A training monitor built for decisions in the moment.
A rhythm and defibrillator simulator with ECG, capnography, vital signs and resuscitation controls in one teaching interface. Educators can load a scenario, change the rhythm and adjust the monitor as a session unfolds.
Training monitor · Product interface
- Client work · In development
Case study · Property maintenance
HomeCare: One clearer route from request to resolution.
An operational platform in development that connects customer requests, inspections, dispatch and payments across a property-maintenance workflow.
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By topic
Read by area of expertise.
- 2 articlesProduct strategy & design Find the right problem, map the work, and design an interface people can use with confidence.
- 6 articlesSoftware engineering Build connected web and mobile products, with the APIs, data and permissions behind the screens.
- 2 articlesApplied AI Put models to work on specific, reviewable tasks inside the systems your team already uses.
- 3 articlesCloud & delivery Make releases repeatable and systems easier to operate as the product grows.
What’s changing
Dates that could change your plans.
New rules, deadlines and end-of-life dates from across our industry, service and technology pages, newest first. Each one is checked against an official source.
- October 2026Python 3.10 reaches end of lifeSecurity fixes for Python 3.10 end on 31 October 2026, so services and scripts still on it need a newer version.Back end
- August 2026EU AI transparency duties applyArticle 50 obligations, such as telling people when they are dealing with an AI system, apply from 2 August 2026.Applied AI
- August 2026Google Play targets Android 16New apps and updates for phones and tablets must target API level 36. Extensions can be requested until 1 November 2026.Software engineering
- July 2026EU high-risk rules move to 2027The AI Omnibus entered into force on 27 July 2026, moving obligations for Annex III high-risk systems, such as those used in employment, credit scoring and education, to 2 December 2027.Applied AI
- July 2026TypeScript 7 shipsThe compiler is now a native Go program, with full builds typically 8 to 12 times faster. Tools that used the old compiler API need checking before upgrading.Web
- July 2026UAE e-invoicingThe Ministry of Finance pilot began in July 2026. Businesses with revenue of AED 50 million or more must use e-invoicing from 1 January 2027.Fintech & professional services
- July 2026Vercel acquires Better AuthVercel announced it is acquiring Better Auth. The library stays free and MIT-licensed, with the same team leading it and a new focus on identity for AI agents.Back end
- June 2026Amazon Linux 2 reaches end of lifeAmazon Linux 2 reached end of life on 30 June 2026. Lambda runtimes built on it, such as Python 3.10 and 3.11 and older Java, get limited patches until their own deprecation dates.Cloud & delivery
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About our insights.
Who writes these articles?
The Cirlume studio: the same people who design, build and run our products and client work.
How do you check the facts?
Articles about laws, standards and outside tools end with a list of primary sources, such as legislation, regulators and official documentation. Articles about our own products draw on how we built them. Dated changes on our industry, service and technology pages are checked against official sources too.
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