Welcome to 2008…
January 14th, 2008We would like to extend to our readers all the best for 2008 - may it be a prosperous and fulfilling year for you…
Software development as a science
December 3rd, 2007To the best of our knowledge, there are very few business software houses that focus on data as opposed to business processes for business software. From a business perspective, it seems logical that a business process(es) should be the foundation of software that is focused on the running of a business. Surely this makes sense, as business processes are the operational procedures that keep a business going?
Actually, this isn’t quite true. Business processes change over time - just ask anyone who has decided to map their business to the supposed “best practise” of a major ERP suite. Surely this is the way to go? Now you can run your business the way everyone else does, not be “left behind” and be part of the mainstream?
The reality is that if you map your processes to generic industry vertical ERP software, your business loses its identity, loses its competitive process differentiators and becomes just another business. No company runs in exactly the same way as another company - their processes are necessarily different to create competitive advantage in the marketplace. So there it is - business processes ARE different, and they morph over time due to competitive and market considerations and, because of this, no two businesses are the same.
So this is ViaData’s premise - that a business process is a transient, existential convenience, whilst a business’ data is permanent, and a reflection of the true nature of the business and its transactions. It is reliable and consistent, and hence provides a permanent and verifiable reflection of the business and its worth. This of course requires a strict data quality regimen and a very well designed database(s). Here, ViaData can also provide the knowledge and expertise, through its data consultancy and database design consultancy.
All the above is, of course, a very cursory discussion of the data versus process debate, and the subject deserves further deliberation. Come and talk to us - ViaData has proven itself, its methods, premises and practises to the marketplace since 1990 - a very long time in the Information Technology world, and all through referrals. That should speak for itself…
Corporate disillusionment with software solutions
November 22nd, 2007Many corporations have gone the route of installing major ERP, CRM or SCM software solutions, only to find that the installation project has sucked most, if not all of the company’s resources dry. On top of that, the software itself is so generic that it has to be customised in almost every area to cater to the company’s unique competitive processes. Ultimately, the corporate expectation and the software solution delivery are often worlds apart. ViaData has recognised this disparity and has created Catalyst, a unique prototyping and development platform to meet corporate needs and expectations. With Catalyst, software projects are delivered in less than half the time of a standard project and concomitantly at less cost, allowing the company to realise the benefit of the dedicated software far sooner than normal.
Business systems development
November 11th, 2007Traditionally, companies have had to make a choice between shrink-wrapped software and custom software when choosing a business system. Most have gone the shrink-wrapped route, in the mistaken belief that this route entailed less risk, and have discovered the ernormous expense of an off-the-shelf ERP system. ViaData’s business case is that it is possible to create dedicated business software that is inherently risk-free and purpose-driven, and at typically a fraction of the cost of standard packages…
System development methodology
November 8th, 2007Catalyst, our prototyping and development platform, allows ViaData to model, prototype and develop business systems in at least half the time that a typical development would take place. This means that clients save a substantial amount of time and money - and they can use their new applications far sooner than they would otherwise be able to, and adding functionality to the system once it is installed is very easily accomplished through the Catalyst architecture.
Our new website!
November 7th, 2007Our brand new website is now up on the web! We think it looks great and is a vast improvement on our “old” website. We hope that you will enjoy exploring our new website as much as we have enjoyed putting it together - we think it gives a great snapshot of who we are and what we do, but we also want to make it fun and infomative for you. We want to make the site an interesting portal for software customisation issues, news and views and a way for you to see what we’re doing to make your life a little easier in the corporate world.
Please let us know what you think by contacting us so that we can further impove the site and make it work for you…
Welcome to the new ViaData website
November 7th, 2007Please keep your eye on this section for updates, news and articles…