What is Corteza?

Corteza is a fully open-source platform with minimal technological, operational, financial and legal limitations. It was created to be a solution stack for a sustainable future.

As the world is today, people and organizations don’t have independence, freedom and choice in regard to ownership and control of their data or the applications they create with it.

This lack of digital freedom is caused by the artificial scarcity and centralized control propagated by the tech industry’s proprietary business models, which value closed, non-standardized technology, restrictive licensing and data siloing. This is true of the tech industry as a whole and of the large tech giants in particular.

An open, standardized, structured data layer will effectively eliminate and moot this artificial scarcity and proprietary digital control by allowing people and organizations anywhere in the world to own, control and share – either locally or globally, in isolation or joined up – their data and the applications they build with it, without giving up their digital freedom, independence and control.

Without this essential digital freedom, we artificially handicap humankind’s ability to respond quickly and effectively to business, economic, governmental, humanitarian, climate, healthcare and other challenges the world faces. Only by being able to respond effectively to these challenges, can the world sustain itself within the finite space that is our planet Earth.

Regardless of whether Corteza’s users are sole developers, small businesses, large enterprises, local or global non-profits, healthcare providers or governmental organizations – everything in Corteza is built in the belief that, as Corteza adoption increases, so does the world’s ability to overcome these challenges and save itself by working towards a sustainable future.

How does Corteza do this?

Corteza is 100% open-source with an Apache 2.0 license, meaning it’s free for anyone anywhere in the world to view, use, modify or distribute the code as they like. Furthermore, under the hood, Corteza adheres to the following standards:

  • OpenID Connect, OAuth 2, SAML, SCIM Authentication and ID Management
  • REST API and Integration Gateway
  • BPMN 2.0 Workflows
  • ActivityStreams/ActivityPub Sharing and Federation
  • JSON and CSV data formats
  • WCAG 2.1 Accessibility

In addition, Corteza is internationalized according to the i18n standard, which means that Corteza can support localization into any of the Earth’s 7,000+ languages so that any culture, group, organization or nation can use Corteza.

This open-source licensing model combined with its baked-in standardization, internationalization and accessibility are a direct expression of the philosophy that drives Corteza. It is these core features that ensure that Corteza is and will always be open to the world and make it possible for all Corteza users to share and collaborate as they desire with not artificial business or technical barriers.

Core Features

Corteza comes with additional core technical features that facilitate barrier-less use and collaboration. These include the following:

  • Corteza connects with data from different sources in different formats and transforms it into a common open format and integrates seamlessly with legacy environments so developers can tailor legacy data before deploying it in data models and applications.
  • Corteza’s REST API lets users connect with third-party apps or else incorporate BPM functionality into their external applications. Corteza also allows users to reach any part of Corteza or any Corteza app via an API to access and place whatever optimized data the user wants.
  • Corteza’s data access layer (DAL) allows users to isolate code from the presentation and business layers, or else pull data from different data stores or when changing and abstracting the underlying database.
  • Corteza lets users export and import complete app configurations, workflows and record data without limits in the following formats:
    • App Configurations – YAML
    • Workflows – YAML
    • Record Data – JSON or CSV
  • Corteza can also federate data records on a many-to-many basis, allowing organizations to share selected data at scale between any Corteza-based systems in a standardized, usable way in near real-time.
  • Finally, the Corteza app builder, Admin Console and any applications built with Corteza are all WCAG 2.1 accessible by default, making Corteza the only such open-source platform in the world.

Corteza as a Solution Stack for a Sustainable Future

We realize that most Corteza users are not aiming to change the world when they use Corteza, but instead use the platform to build specialized CRM, case management, supply chain management and other custom business process applications.

But by creating a framework within an open-source business model for these users to manage their data and build their applications, Corteza aims to create a standardized, global data layer for the world to run its processes on without any artificial constraints imposed on them. This, in turn, will allow those users and organizations anywhere in the world who need or choose to, to share their data or their applications with other organizations or with the world at large without any loss to their digital freedom, control or independence.

At the same time, users and organizations across the world will be able to access and use the shared data and applications as they like or need, either to their own benefit or for the common good. It is this ability to create, collaborate and share easily and openly without friction or barriers and without any loss of digital sovereignty that will not only make the world’s processes run more efficiently and effectively but will also promote the kind of open innovation required to solve the challenges facing the world today and in the future.

It is within this framework of digital sovereignty – combined with standardized technology that facilitates open collaboration – that humankind will be able to create the tools to overcome the challenges facing us. As Corteza adoption grows, so does the world’s ability to save itself and the finite planet we all live on. This is what makes Corteza a solution stack for a sustainable future.

Values

Public good

Corteza’s software and other offerings are designed and provided as a public good for the public benefit.

Open & Transparent

Corteza’s governance and operations are open and transparent, using best practices from across the not-for-profit, private, and public sectors.

Diverse & Inclusive

Corteza’s members, policies, and programmes are designed to actively foster diverse, inclusive, and non-discriminatory participation.

Built for Humanity

Corteza’s software and other offerings have real impact on people’s lives. As such, they are designed, built, and provided with a strong emphasis on quality, privacy, security, and usability.

Start with Corteza today

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