About Esferico: Case Study 4

We were approached by a very small startup business in its very infancy. The company wanted a very small application that could allow data entry of information then allow export of that information to printed reports or files - effectively, the data based product that they would be selling. The company knew next to nothing about IT or the way in which [electronic] databases worked.

They had approached other companies and had been quoted for an MS Access application, and without a future internet based possibility - both of which were actually inappropriate to their needs, but also the easiest to offer.

The database also needed to be created exceptionally quickly, and for a relatively small cost. We talked the company through what they really needed based upon their operating requirements, including their needs for the database to be ultimately accessible by internet based clients. We also explained exactly what the process really entailed. We offered alternatives to MS Access that would provide the security and connectivity that they really needed, not what was the easiest to offer.

Esferico used one of our application templates to springboard the development of the application so that the database, application and initial installation was completed for user-testing in only a few man-days of work, and for a fraction of the cost that they had been previously quoted.

Skills and products utilised:
Anaysis and design; internet based MySQL database; Client application written in REALSoftware; Internet browser based application written in PHP; Consultation, training and ongoing client support.