The APO Platform Story
From Foundation to Experience
🔒 Foundation: Security & Governance
Every great platform starts with a solid foundation. The Security, Governance & Observability layer provides 214 comprehensive controls that wrap around every aspect of the platform. This includes 143 NIST 800-53 security controls, 63 AI-specific governance controls, and 8 project delivery controls. DevSecOps automation ensures continuous compliance validation. This foundation enables everything above it with confidence and trust.
☁️ Cloud Infrastructure
On top of governance sits the Cloud Management Services layer. Azure Gov Cloud provides government-grade security and compliance. Kubernetes orchestration manages containers with auto-scaling and 99.9% uptime SLA. Infrastructure as Code (Terraform) ensures reproducible, auditable deployments. This cloud foundation provides the scalability and reliability needed for state government services.
💾 Unified Data Layer
Data Management Services integrate four specialized data stores: Neo4j knowledge graph for semantic relationships, PostgreSQL with pgvector for operational data and vector search, Redis for high-performance caching, and MinIO for scalable document storage. This unified data layer provides both intelligence and performance, enabling the platform services above.
⚙️ APO/BOAT Platform Services
The heart of the platform: eight core management services that embody Adaptive Process Orchestration (Forrester) and Business Orchestration & Automation Technologies (Gartner BOAT) requirements. Process, Task, Decision, Authority, Knowledge, Content, Learning, and GRC Management Services provide reusable orchestration capabilities. These services enable rapid development of multiple business solutions without reinventing the wheel.
🤖 AI Services & Intelligent Orchestration
Agentic SDLC Platform and Compliance-Driven Development (CDD) bring AI-powered development to the platform. 29+ specialized AI agents automate code review, testing, deployment, and governance validation. Phoenix AI observability provides real-time tracing of every AI decision with automated bias detection and fairness monitoring. This layer transforms traditional orchestration into intelligent, adaptive automation.
🚀 Business Solutions
On this foundation, North Highland has built four production business accelerators: TNBizBot (Tennessee Business Gateway AI Agent), RegRiskIQ (regulatory compliance), Data Analytics & AI Governance CoE, and SNAP (payment accuracy). Each solution leverages the same eight platform services below, demonstrating platform reusability and rapid time-to-value. Tennessee is positioned as a first-mover ahead of Forrester's Q2 2026 APO Wave evaluation.
🎨 The Ultimate Goal: Great User Experiences
At the end of the day, it's all about people. Personalized, persona-based user experiences sit at the top because that's what matters most: helping people do their jobs more productively, enjoyably, and with higher quality. Role-based interfaces, multilingual support, WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility, responsive design, and conversational AI avatars deliver exceptional experiences. The entire platform foundation exists to enable these great user experiences.