The beginning of our collaboration
A company offering Point of Sales Systems in Europe since 1998 approached us and asked for help. They are very successful with more than 2500 retail and restaurant clients using their system.
Their software system had been developed in older technology and some clients were asking for a cloud based solution which should run on touch screen hardware. The POS Company developed a technology change road map and started to search for competent and affordable resources to develop the software in their home country, but was not successful in their search.
When they approached us they needed someone who could help them to:
Maintain the existing Point of Sales System developed in older technology
Redevelop the product as per road map adding cloud and touch screen technology
Our evolving relationship
Our Relationship started with the customer testing our competence and responsiveness. After this trial period our relationship evolved almost month by month as visualised in the graph below:
The Challenge
Support the existing system which was based on SQL server and a technology which had become obsolete: Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0.
Understand the current business scenario and then select technologies and develop a systems architecture which would cover today’s and tomorrow’s needs.
Project Development
1. Trial Period with focus on the old solution
It was important to win the trust of our client right at the beginning by demonstrating our capabilities during the trial period. We brought a team together led by an expert who had been working with us for more than 12 years as technology architect and project manager. This allowed us not just to prove that we are a good coding partner but also to be recognized as a viable technology consultant for future developments.
They had been developing this project for ten years. During the trial period we made sure they could use it longer by fixing specific bugs and maintaining the affected modules. The client was satisfied with our work and extremely pleased with our timely and effective communication.
2. Consultation and development to convert POS Visual Basic to WPF
After understanding the concept behind this project we continued to work with a team of 2 analysts. They suggested a solution to be implemented which would satisfy the client’s needs today while being flexible to adapt to future needs: a touch screen based desktop system for Pointof Sales products. We also recommended the software technology to be updated presenting pros and cons of Winform, WPF and WinRT.
Our proposal was accepted and we were asked to develop the solution on WPF.
3. Consultation and Development for Cloud Based Solutions
After having seen our technology consulting competence, our client started sharing his vision of a cloud based system with us. We again looked into it and suggested Software as a Service (SaaS) solution. Our suggestion was accepted and a Helios team of 4 specialists has in the meantime completed SaaSphase I. The client will continue to work with us for future phases and developments.
The solution
The Result
Within 8 months after starting working with us our clients had:
Their problems with the existing solution solved, and could thus continue to serve more of their existing and conservativecustomers
Brought their solution to a new technology level, enabling them to satisfy the needs of their more progressive clients and being ready for the future
Their platform ready to operate on a SaaSbasis, satisfying the needs of existing and future customers, allowing our client to generate recurring revenue.
These results had a positive impact on their present and future business, which was far more thanwhat they had expected, when they startedworking with us. They now consider us to be a lot more thanjust a “software company” havingprogramming experts. They now see us as their ‘total technology solution provider’ and a ‘business enabler’.
Contact us should you also have an idea which requires a multitude of talent and a reliable partner to be implemented, whether you have a project defined and just need the talent or whether you need somebody to help define the project.