Everything you need to know about Biotz

We built three distinct platforms—IoT, RAD, and AI—all on the foundation of the Clojure programming language. The decision to use Clojure is strategic, leveraging its strengths in concurrency, immutability, and functional programming to create robust, scalable, and maintainable systems. The IoT platform, for example, is designed to handle massive streams of data from connected devices, a task where Clojure's efficient handling of immutable data structures and its JVM-based concurrency model (like software transactional memory) provide a significant advantage. This allows the platform to ingest and process real-time data from countless sensors and actuators without the typical performance bottlenecks associated with mutable state in concurrent environments.

The RAD (Rapid Application Development) platform, named HOP, further showcases Clojure's benefits. As a full-stack rapid application platform, it enables quick development and deployment of modern web applications. Clojure's interactive and dynamic nature, powered by a REPL (Read-Eval-Print Loop), allows developers to build and test code incrementally, significantly reducing development time and fostering a more agile workflow. This approach minimizes the friction between ideation and a working product, making it ideal for the rapid prototyping and iterative development required in modern software projects.

Similarly, the AI platform, called Genie, which supports LLM, ML, and DL, leverages Clojure's ability to seamlessly interoperate with the rich ecosystem of Java and Python libraries, providing access to powerful AI frameworks while maintaining the productivity and elegance of Clojure.

The MPL 2.0 (Mozilla Public License 2.0) is a weak copyleft license that allows you to use licensed code in your proprietary software as long as any modifications to the original code are made publicly available under the same license.

The choice of Clojure for all three platforms is driven by a core set of philosophical and technical advantages that make it particularly well-suited for building complex, data-intensive systems.

First and foremost is concurrency. Clojure was designed from the ground up to solve the problem of multi-threaded programming, which is crucial for high-performance platforms like IoT and AI. It achieves this by defaulting to immutable data structures. Since data cannot be changed after it is created, multiple threads can safely access and share it without the risk of race conditions or deadlocks. This inherent safety simplifies the development of complex, concurrent systems, making the code more reliable and easier to reason about.

A second key advantage is its functional-first approach and focus on data as a central concept. In Clojure, data is represented using simple, powerful structures like maps and vectors. All code is essentially a set of functions that transform this data. This paradigm, combined with the language's minimal syntax, leads to highly expressive and concise codebases that are both easy to understand and maintain. The interactive, REPL-driven development workflow further accelerates this process, allowing developers to experiment and build code piece by piece while the system is running, drastically shortening the feedback loop and increasing productivity. Finally, Clojure's deep integration with the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) allows it to leverage the vast, battle-tested ecosystem of Java libraries for everything from databases and networking to machine learning, giving Biotz the best of both worlds: a powerful, high-level language with access to a robust and mature platform.

Being cloud agnostic means your company's software and infrastructure are not dependent on a single cloud provider, such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud. This strategic decision is primarily driven by the need to avoid vendor lock-in. By developing your applications using open-source technologies and standardized formats, you ensure that your entire system is portable and can be deployed on any cloud platform. This gives you the freedom to choose a provider based on factors like cost, performance, and specific regional availability, allowing you to optimize your spending and access the best-suited services without being tied to a single vendor's ecosystem. This flexibility also extends to your future growth, enabling you to seamlessly transition or expand your operations across different cloud environments as business needs evolve.

Furthermore, a cloud-agnostic approach significantly enhances the resilience and reliability of your platform. By distributing your workloads across multiple clouds, you create a robust disaster recovery plan. If a major service outage occurs on one cloud provider, your applications can continue to run on another, ensuring business continuity and minimal downtime for your customers. This strategy reduces your risk and strengthens your operational security. It also allows you to leverage the unique strengths and specialized services of different providers, creating a hybrid environment that is both highly resilient and exceptionally performant, providing a significant competitive advantage in the market.

Yes! An on-premises deployment ensures our customers have absolute control over their data, allowing them to meet stringent compliance standards like HIPAA or GDPR by keeping all information within their own private data centers. Additionally, an on-premises solution provides the lowest possible latency, which is critical for mission-critical applications that require real-time data processing. This approach also allows for deep customization and seamless integration with a customer's existing legacy systems, making it an essential option for large enterprises with complex IT infrastructures.

Building systems that are inherently easier to maintain and evolve is a core philosophy behind using Clojure. The key is that the language's design promotes simplicity and reduces complexity, which are the main culprits behind spiraling maintenance costs and the need for large teams. A primary reason is Clojure's foundation on immutable data structures. Unlike traditional languages where state can be changed unpredictably, Clojure's data cannot be modified after it's created. Any "change" results in a new, modified version of the data, which means a function's behavior is always predictable. This eliminates an entire class of bugs related to shared mutable state and makes debugging much simpler, as you don't have to worry about data changing unexpectedly. This inherent safety greatly reduces the risk of developers creating bugs and allows a small, highly effective team to manage a large, complex codebase with high confidence.

Furthermore, the REPL (Read-Eval-Print Loop)-driven development workflow is a major factor in reducing maintenance effort. Instead of the slow, traditional cycle of writing code, compiling, and then running a large test suite, Clojure developers can interactively build and test small pieces of code while the system is running. This immediate feedback loop allows you to fix issues and iterate on new features far more quickly. Because the language is built around a small, consistent set of data-centric functions, the codebase remains remarkably uniform and concise. This simplicity, combined with a culture of stability within the Clojure community that values backward compatibility, means that your codebase is less likely to break from future library updates. Ultimately, these factors allow a small, highly effective team to build, maintain, and evolve complex systems with a level of agility that would require a much larger team in other tech stacks.

An IoT cloud is a system for managing IoT devices and applications. This includes the underlying infrastructure, servers, and storage required for real-time processing and operations. An IoT cloud also includes the services and standards needed to connect, manage, and secure different IoT devices and applications.

The IoT platform is the heart of an IoT project, where data (mass or not) is ingested and persisted and then used for multiple purposes.

In summary, the functionalities that this type of platform must have are:Connectivity: it is convenient to support the main IoT protocols (MQTT, AMQP, HTTPS...), encoding formats (JSON, MessagePack...) and application formats (what fields, what type of data, what do they mean).Database: a central database engine for relational data and time series is required.Device management: connect devices/assets to the IoT platform and easily manage them: configuration, firmware versions, events, etc. Send data in real time; and persist, monitor and analyze them with simple tools.Dashboards: create and manage custom dashboards with a wide range of dashboards/display charts and custom options.Alerts and events: personalized alerts and events, configurable by each user.Actionate devices remotely: the ability to send messages to physical devices remotely in order to activate them.Integrations: easily integrate with third-party devices, services and applications with APIs, business workflows, etc.Observability: observability is key in the IoT: recording metrics such as elapsed times, status data, and volumes; Set up alerts to notify interested parties.

The IoT platform is offered in two models: SaaS (Software as a Service) and Enterprise. The SaaS model operates on a monthly subscription, representing a variable operational cost (OPEX) that allows clients to experiment with the solution at a lower entry price. In contrast, the Enterprise model requires an initial capital investment (CAPEX) to deploy the software on the client's own cloud infrastructure.

By end application we understand all the user interfaces used by the end user on various web, mobile (Android/iOS) or even desktop platforms. These final applications are fed from the data hosted on the IoT platform through an API. In this way, the final application is only responsible for a specific functionality that is created ad hoc for a specific user and use case.

Companies can gain business benefits enabled by IoT technologies in several ways that directly or indirectly lead to cost savings and increased revenue:

Offering

- Improved offering optimized for customer needs. The company may receive data on how the customer uses the product on site. This allows product developers to respond to customer behavior and, through software updates, regularly provide new features and enhancements.
- New services and revenue streams. A connected product enables new services based on data-driven insights and a greater understanding of customer problems.
- Greater differentiation and personalization. The IoT model is an integrated offer of hardware, software, installation, maintenance, customer service, etc. This gives companies more parameters on which to differentiate themselves and gain a competitive advantage. In addition, software updates based on data-generated insights also allow for further personalization and differentiation of the offering.

Profitability and cash flow

- Cost savings and higher margins. Thanks to connectivity, companies can perform predictive maintenance and optimize the supply of spare parts. These cost savings can result in higher margins.
- Recurring and more predictable income. With the IoT model, the company can "smooth" its income and cash flow, thus avoiding the ups and downs of a cyclical business.

Sales

- Easier to get new customers. Shifting the cost from an initial capital expense to operating expenses reduces risk to customers and therefore can make it easier for the company to sign up new customers and reach new customer segments.
- New pricing models are more adapted to the customer. A product-as-a-service IoT model allows for greater flexibility and better tailored pricing.

Customer relationship

Deeper customer relationship and increased customer loyalty. The nature of the relationship changes from an initial transaction when selling a product to an ongoing customer relationship that is more focused on customer service, support, and problem solving.

There are two models:

- Cloud. Monthly subscription model.
- Enterprise. Deployed in the client's cloud infrastructure.

The Cloud model is an operational cost (OPEX), and the Enterprise requires an initial investment (CAPEX) plus different maintenance services and/or licenses, depending on the provider.

In the SaaS model, the client has the possibility of experimenting, using the solution at a lower (variable) cost. In the Enterprise model, the customer has control of the solution, even though the technology stack has been developed by a third party.

Based in Spain, we operate as a hybrid-first team with employees located across Europe. We also have three physical offices in San Sebastian, Barcelona, and Oñati.

We're in this for the long haul. Our focus is on sustainable growth, not on selling the company.

Sure. We partner with over 20 clients across Europe, ranging from nimble startups to established multinational corporations. Our diverse portfolio includes industry leaders such as Fluidra, a global leader in pool and wellness equipment; Fagor and Orkli, prominent manufacturers in the home appliance and heating sectors; and Goizper Group, a key player in industrial solutions. We also support innovative companies like Intress, a leading social services provider, and Eurofragance, a renowned fragrance house. This extensive experience demonstrates our ability to deliver tailored, high-impact solutions that meet the specific needs of various sectors, ensuring success for businesses of all sizes.

We are a profitable and debt-free company, achieving organic growth through the support of our clients and partners.

We offer third-line support for all our software, a specialized service that provides our clients with the highest level of technical expertise. This means when a complex issue arises that cannot be solved by a client's internal IT team or our first and second-line support, our most senior developers and system architects step in. This team has direct access to the source code, allowing them to diagnose intricate bugs, resolve deep-seated system issues, and develop custom patches or workarounds. This robust support system ensures that even the most obscure or critical problems are addressed efficiently, minimizing downtime and protecting our clients' mission-critical operations.

To complement this, we provide flexible maintenance subscriptions designed to align with each client's specific operational needs and budget. Rather than a rigid, one-size-fits-all model, we offer tiered plans that give clients control over the level of service they receive. For instance, a smaller company might choose a basic plan with standard business-hour support, while a large enterprise with 24/7 operations can opt for a premium subscription that includes a guaranteed Service Level Agreement (SLA) for rapid response and proactive system monitoring. This flexible approach allows us to deliver exceptional value and a personalized support experience, ensuring every client has the perfect level of assistance to maintain and evolve their software.

Our company's success is built on a powerful combination of vast experience and genuine talent. We strategically pair our senior engineers—seasoned professionals with deep expertise in system architecture, long-term technical strategy, and mentorship—with highly motivated junior and mid-level software engineers. This blend ensures that we not only leverage a wealth of hard-won knowledge but also infuse our projects with fresh perspectives and innovative thinking. This collaborative environment fosters rapid on-the-job learning, allowing us to build robust, high-quality solutions while also nurturing the next generation of technical leaders. This approach makes our team both highly efficient and exceptionally capable of tackling complex challenges, delivering superior results for our clients.