Posts on Bespoke Software

SkillsLogic's project portfolio includes both small developments that might take one developer just 2 or 3 weeks and much larger multi-developer projects that are delivered in phases over many months. Our biggest software development projects are long term commitments that last several years (and include both ongoing technical support and hosting). It is possible though to give some examples of the kind of work we do together with ballpark figures. The cost of bespoke software development varies - by definition it's bespoke - but these examples should give you some idea of the likely cost of your project.

The post-16 area reviews are part of the government's plan to restructure FE and sixth form colleges. The idea is to make post-16 providers more financially stable and efficient. Providers are going to be encouraged to collaborate more - that could mean more shared services and in some instances, college mergers.

In this second part of our two part post on real time data replication in PostgreSQL we're going to look at a simple setup of ‘hot standby’ master-slave replication in PostgreSQL.

For the purpose of demonstration we've setup a test rig with two virtual servers. The master server is on IP 192.168.1.100, and the standby is on 192.168.1.101.

Did you know you can use Gmail to manage all your email accounts? Maybe you’ve got a personal Gmail email address and you’re using Outlook for your separate work email address. You can, if you want, manage everything through Gmail - ideal if you prefer Gmail’s browser interface and its iOS and Android mail client apps.

SkillsLogic is developing a big reporting and data dashboard solution and as part of that we need to calculate a lot of medians.

Remember from school, the median of a list of numbers is found by sorting the values from lowest to highest and then picking the middle one. If there’s no middle then the median is typically defined to be the mean of the two middle values.

Why not hire a software consultancy in 2016? Maybe you’ve got an idea for a new software solution or you want advice about upgrading existing systems or perhaps you need help with an IT project that’s in trouble?

Do you want to find a new software consultancy to pick up the support of an existing bespoke system? Making the switch to a new supplier will be easier if you start thinking now about some of the issues the new supplier will face:

Are you using a learning management system to deliver courses online? Do you want to increase your online enrolments? Here are some Facebook and LinkedIn ideas that might make a difference. Both social networks have well documented application programming interfaces (APIs), with tools and support materials that make them relatively easy to integrate with third party web applications and apps. With a bit of effort you can get some quick wins that will boost your enrolments and seriously raise the profile of your brand and courses.

Do you want to make money selling Software as a Service? SaaS makes it easy to connect users with software but there are pitfalls along the way that can make it hard to turn a profit. If you’ve got an idea for a SaaS business then this short overview of three basic SaaS business models might help.

Could you use a bespoke tablet app instead of paper forms to collect data? The latest mobile app development platforms and the availability of low price tablets make it easier to build, deploy and support bespoke enterprise mobile solutions. A bespoke tablet app that syncs data back to a central web based application can be a cost effective solution for any organisation looking for faster data entry, improved data accuracy and better management information reporting.