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Engineering · applications, portals and mobile apps

Business software designed with you, built with tests, released in steps.

We design and engineer business applications, web portals and mobile apps around your workflows. We work with the people who will use them, build in short steps you can see, keep every change under automated tests, release gradually and hand over the code and the documentation. The result is software your business can run, change and own.

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What you get

What is included in Software Development

  • Custom web and mobile applications

    Applications for staff, customers and partners, on the web and on phones, shaped to the way you work.

  • Cloud-native back ends

    Back ends and microservices built to run in the cloud, and to change one part without disturbing the rest.

  • Database design and tuning

    Data models that stay clear as the system grows, and queries that stay fast.

  • Automated delivery

    Build, test and deploy pipelines, so that releases are routine and repeatable.

  • Test suites

    Unit and integration tests written with the code, so that change is safe.

  • Documentation and handover

    Documentation, repositories and runbooks, so that you or another team can take it over.

Is it the right one?

Where it fits, and where it does not

We would rather you choose the right thing than the one we happen to be discussing.

A strong fit when

  • You need something no package provides, or that a package would force you to work around.
  • You want to own the result and be free to change who maintains it.
  • You can name a person who will own the product and make decisions.
  • You are willing to start small and grow.

Look at something else when

  • A package already does the job: buy it, and we will help configure and integrate it.
  • You need an ERP: that is a platform decision (see ERP Application Deployment).
  • You have no one to own the product: an unowned system drifts. We will help you decide who should.

How we run it

How we run Software Development

Every engagement runs in phases, so the business sees progress and risks surface early. The timescale for each phase is set after an assessment, not before.

  1. Discover

    Understand the process, the users and the systems around it, and define a first release.

  2. Design

    Design the screens and the data with the users, and agree what is in and out.

  3. Build

    Build in short increments, with automated tests running on every change.

  4. Review

    Show working software regularly, and adjust to what you see.

  5. Release

    Release to a small group first, then widen, with training and monitoring.

  6. Hand over or support

    Hand over the code and documentation, or continue to support and extend it.

Questions we are asked

Software Development: questions and answers

Who owns the code?

As set out in your engagement agreement, your organization retains ownership of the source code, database designs and APIs developed for you once each milestone is complete. We provide clean repositories, documentation and deployment runbooks so that you are not locked in to us.

How do you manage cost and scope?

By building in steps. We define a first release, estimate it, and build it; each step gives you something to use and a better basis for the next estimate. We tell you early if scope is growing, and what it would displace.

Can you take over software someone else built?

Often, after a review of its quality, its documentation and its risks. We say plainly what we find, and whether it is better to maintain, modernize or replace it.

Goes well with

  • Engineering

    Systems Integration

    Secure APIs, middleware and synchronization that connect your ERP, point of sale, store and cloud applications.

    Explore Systems Integration
  • Managed service

    Application Support

    Tier 2 and Tier 3 engineering support for your ERP, custom software and integrations.

    Explore Application Support
  • Intelligent systems

    AI Automation & AI Agents

    Pragmatic automation and AI agents that read documents, triage requests and carry multi-step tasks, with people approving what matters.

    Explore AI Automation

Delivered on

The solutions it is carried out on

  • Applications

    Custom Software Development

    Business software built around the way you work, from internal tools and operations portals to platforms for your own customers.

    Explore Custom Software
  • Web

    Web Applications & Portals

    Secure, accessible customer, partner and staff portals and dashboards, connected to the systems that hold your data.

    Explore Web Applications
  • Mobile

    Mobile Applications

    iOS and Android apps for field staff, customers and approvers, built once and working offline where the job needs it.

    Explore Mobile Apps

Start the conversation

Start with the first release of the system you need.

Tell us what the software should do, who would use it and what you use instead today. We will say what a first release would include, how we would build it and what you would own at the end.

  • A recommended first release and the reasons behind it
  • How we would build, test and release it, in steps
  • What you would own, and how it would be handed over

What happens next

  1. Tell us where you are

    A short form or a call: what you run today, and what is getting in the way.

  2. We review it with you

    A named consultant looks at your situation and talks through the options and what each would involve.

  3. You decide what comes next

    You leave with a clear picture and a recommended scope you can take to your team.