Integration and Configuration services are a critical component of nearly all database applications. This is particularly true for complex systems - distributed databases, web-client databases, 3-tier applications, and other configurations which employ operating system services, database engine services, network add-ons, middleware, and other components necessary to provide the target solution. Solutions Engineering provides all of these services with personnel trained and certified in special areas. These are MSCEs with focus in one or more of the following areas - network engineering, MS SQL, exchange (email services), security, and "OS service configuration management". Currently all of this work is focused in the Microsoft NT/Windows world. We have a great deal of experience in Unix, MVS, VMS, and DOS, but to do something extremely well as a small company we focus on the Microsoft-Intel platforms. Integration and Configuration are very important services to the overall quality of our products. Our software and database solutions are no more reliable than the combination of components and their configuration on which these systems run. These elements directly affect quality and expense : Stability - providing reliable and consistent operation over long time periods, Reliability - percent scheduled up-time, Manageability - properly integrated and configured systems tend to be easy to manage and servicing them tends to be very straight forward, Extensibility - how easy will it be to enhance or expand services, Maintenance costs - poorly configured systems require more maintanence attention and budget, more frequent service cycles, prolonged service events, larger total "off-line" of service time per year. All of these result in increased costs. Performance - improperly integrated and configured systems are prone to deliver inferior performance, resulting in more hardware than necessary being allocated to the application. Correct integration and configuration is an essential part of the solution. Our software runs in an environment : client-server-network. These must co-operate correctly and efficiently. Team members trained and experienced in Integration and Configuration play a vital role in the software design and development. It is often through their insights and guidance that determine certain properties of the software systems we design and construct. One very important area of influence is the use of third party components. For example, our NT engineers will advise the development team on little-known components of the operating system which can be used to achieve a particular functionality - it already exists (takes no development time), it's free, it's fully tested, and in may cases it is already installed on all of the target platforms. This is a very substantial value to the product and the client. So many times a client will unknowingly pay for the design, programming, testing, and debugging of components which are already available at a fraction (usually a tiny fraction) of the cost. The reason is normally due to the development team being unaware that such a component exists - good software developers just don't like re-inventing the wheel. If you think about it, the world is producing thousands of such components every day. If a component is generic in type, specific in functionality, and is loosly coupled - then the team should look before they build. The value of the team is collective. Sure, we have our superstars, but normally they are the team members most effective at getting the team to contribute openly and actively on a project. Another area where they contribute is "operational guidance". No one knows how a system works like the people who make them work and keep them working. Applications which rely on resources or configurations which are not well suited for the demands of the application generally do not run well. Software developers have their hands very, very full with their subject of focus. It takes very dedicated developers to keep abreast even in limited fields of focus. The software world changes at a very fast pace. Consequently, they do not get the opportunity to gain the insights and experiences of the engineers involved in integration and configuration. Good developers quickly identify which network engineers or systems engineers they need to consult with on a project so that they will know the facts (not the market hype) about the target or candidate environments for an application. Reliable and timely guidance from network or OS engineers has avoided many costly proto-types, and "under (or over) engineering" some component. This same type of insight will often point out design features which could result in support or maintenance issues after deployment of the application. The result is that better applications are provided by teams with the collective knowledge and experience which covers the spectrum of issues which affect the overall quality of the application. Much of this is covered in a white paper we provide : "Outsourcing" (Adobe pdf format) You don't need to have us build a database application in order to enjoy the use of our systems engineers and technicians. If you have a need in one or more of the following areas please contact us : NT Server/Workstation 4.0/2000, Windows 95/98/2K/Me/Xp Network Architecture Design & Implimentation High-end Server Configuration (Compaq, HP, IBM) Exchange, SMTP configuration Router Programming (Cisco CCNA) Firewalls (SonicWall and Checkpoint Certified Engineers) VPN, Security Audits Systems Configuration Consulting & Implimentation ISP Options Consulting We will perform original configurations and re-work existing installations to provide correct configurations.

Capabilities Summary Our Process - A Summary Our People - the Team Whitepapers Partners