Software development as a science

December 3rd, 2007 | by admin |

To 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…