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My company has previous IT initiatives that have failed. What steps can we take
to ensure that our next investment doesn't fail as well?
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We are not surprised when we hear about previous failures since designing and building
good software is a difficult task that requires special skill sets and disciplined
implementation.
Any successful solution is the result of careful planning and execution. It is a
mistake to believe that custom software development is strictly an engineering issue.
If this was the case, then solving it would be as easy as adding more technical
fixes into it.
Development endeavors can run into many pitfalls, which can start as early as discussion
of the project begins. As a general guideline, things you must do right in order
for the project to succeed include: 1. Find the right talent to tackle the project.
2. Invest in the “assessment” phase to carefully map out the project requirements
and design. 3. Create an estimated timeline and budget based on the assessment.
4. Allow the chief software architect full access to those who understand the business
objectives and the desired results of the final product. 5. Make sure management
is fully behind the project. 6. Make allowances of budget and time to populate
the database with its initial set of data. 7. Create and implement a
plan to train key managers/employees on how to use it.
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What technologies do you utilize and will they work with our existing systems?
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We don't believe in engaging in "religious wars" over competing technologies.
Rather, we will select what provides for the most flexibility, power, stability
and security for clients.
It is common for clients to need high levels of interoperability with existing legacy
or intra-departmental systems. In this case, our real focus is not on the development
platform, but on the high levels of data integration that we can provide to get
our customers the information they need any time and anywhere.
For purpose of developing new software, we have adopted a Microsoft-centric environment
using an arsenal of tools offered by the .NET platform along with XML interoperability
and SQL Server data management.
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For various reasons, our employees have always had difficulty adopting whatever
application solution we have tried to implement and this has led to many problems.
How can you help us to overcome this?
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Employee resistance can occur for many reasons and is a common issue when a new
product or system is implemented. nwis.net uses a multi-faceted approach to overcome
these issues including quality help files, training modules, clear and well-organized
documentation and working with those in operations that are responsible for the
projects success.
In past projects, due to careful planning and design, we generally experience a
great deal of excitement and anticipation from our client's employees. This
excitement increases their desire to learn and start using the product because employees
realize that our solution is, in fact, their solution as well.
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We have extensive security and liability issues that are looming because we deal
with sensitive customer and corporate information. How do you address security within
your applications?
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Real security is a process and not a simple add-on or after-thought. Unfortunately,
a lack of security is too common with many existing corporate IT projects.
The reality behind security is that it's much more than just hot topics like biometrics,
encryption, passwords, or access restriction.
Security in software application design is a detailed mapping of who needs what
data to do their work, determining the right balance between flexible ease of use
vs. restrictive procedures and what security tools should be used to this end. In
other words, how "secure" do you wish to be?
In order to achieve the desired results, we must work closely together to incorporate
security into the software design and then implement it within the operating procedures
of your company, your employees and your customers.
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We have to do data collection from many remote locations that are not always connected
to the Internet. As a result, we use paper logs and re-key the data into our system
in the office. This has been a real waste of time and money. Do you have any solution
that can deal with this?
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nwis.net has an innovative XML-based technology which acts as a very thin-application
client that works on any modern browser. This solution acts as a distributed data
collection engine which can automatically synchronize with your company's primary
database once it is online with the internet or connected back to your office network.
This engine allows us to rapidly customize a data collection interface for whatever
information you are collecting. Best of all, it is very fast, has no compatibility
issues, and is completely scalable for either a small office or for a multi-national
corporation.
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