The Brief
To address Sure’s existing systems and rectify the situation by moving the data into a more manageable system
Microsoft Access System Replacement
How First Option Software kept Sure Maintenance’s systems moving smoothly
How we help Sure Maintenance
The Background
As with many successful expanding organisations it is easy for core IT systems to grow in such a fashion that before you know it you are running your business around a set of MS Access databases. There’s nothing wrong with MS Access but there comes a point when this approach reaches the limits of the tool and things get out of hand.
This inevitably leads to inefficiencies in working and an inability to respond to business changes.
The Challenge
The above is the situation we found at Sure when we were invited to review their mission critical database(s). A suite of Access-based applications had been developed over time for day-to-day job management. These all played a vital role running daily operations with both customers and field engineers reliant on their content.
Each application in the suite was very similar but had been altered to cater for specific situations. Adding to the overall change control headache was the reports component that consisted of many versions of the same reports all with minor differences
The Implementation
Sure recognised the issues and our remit was to rectify the situation by moving the data into a more manageable system, in this case Microsoft SQL Server. We used the in-built Business Intelligence tool to provide a suite of reports and added in a JBoss application server to create a web based application that required no client install.
In collaboration with Sure we designed, specified and delivered a solution that would bring their core system back under control. Over a period of 4 months First Option Software worked on the system delivering on-time and on-budget. Sure Maintenance now have their key application on a scalable platform with the ability for it to grow in a controlled fashion in line with their business.
If you are currently wrestling with Access or Excel solutions that are growing out of control then please do give us a call, and let us show you how we can help you.
