ORACLE database enterprise architecture
Creating the foundation for a great application
Oracle Databases form the back end, and largest single component, of many large enterprise applications. Like buildings, the architecture and design of the database is critical to the smooth development, availability, maintainability, performance and security of the application.
One of our core competencies is the architecture and design of Oracle databases for large enterprise applications. We’ve been doing it for more than 20 years, for a variety of clients and companies. Let us help you create a truly robust and solid architecture for your enterprise application.
In addition to creating great designs, we also do database modeling (resolving business entities into concrete constellations of related tables), diagramming and documentation (the blueprints for your database) and implementation, whether in your own data center or in the cloud (managed services). We participate in development and operations (DevOps) as a regular part of our services.
Oracle database automation
let the computer do the work
Large-scale automation is one of the most important features of a successful enterprise application, freeing people from repetitive and boring tasks to spend more time on important creation and improvement of business systems. No longer just nice to have, automation now comprises one of the crucial differences between success and failure. Done well, automation leverages people very efficiently and multiplies their effectiveness many times.
Oracle databases have featured sophisticated in-database automation tools for more than twenty years. Leveraging these tools provides massive computing power and greatly improved business operations.
We write custom application programming interfaces (APIs) for our clients, allowing efficient re-use of thoroughly documented and tested code. These APIs form the basis for additional stored programming built on top of the APIs, forming specific programs to run business operations with little to no human interaction.
ORACLE application Express (APEX)
native and sophisticated front end application modules
Oracle’s built-in, completely free Application Express technology provides a large menu of pre-built, customizable templates for the creation of forms, reports, interfaces and other application components. This technology allows rapid development of new application pages and modules and is thoroughly integrated into Oracle databases.
We have used this technology for years to create very sophisticated user interfaces. The speed with which one can add new functionality to an application is a major advantage to Application Express.
More importantly, APEX is relatively easy to use, and we can and will train your people to learn it, so you can bring a lot of day-to-day application development in house. Even regular, ordinary people can use it for ordinary, simple purposes!
requirements gathering and user story creation
translating business needs into programmable stories
Anyone who has participated in a major development effort knows the importance of excellent and timely user stories. Getting the requirements wrong, or late, can wreck havoc on a sprint schedule.
Here, the client’s role in the process is crucial. An enormous amount of material must be digested, on time, consultation with subject-matter experts done meticulously, user stories written clearly and concisely, all to make sure of an adequate backlog of work to fuel the agile development process and keep it moving on schedule.
This crucial, and often overlooked, capability is at the heart of agile development. We know from experience that coherent and correct software requirements are a pre-requisite and utterly necessary initial step in any agile development process, and we stand ready to help ensure its success.
scrum master services
enabling agile, from sprints to epics to themes
The scrum master keeps the road clear so the sprinters can go fast. They are in high demand, short supply, and are very valuable to a successful development effort.
We supply qualified and experienced scrum masters as a specialty staffing service to select clients. If your development project is falling behind schedule, give us a call.
emerging technologies services
making productive use of open source
The installed bases of open-source databases such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, Mongo and Cassandra are exploding. While these databases are less feature-rich than their proprietary counterparts, they get the job done, and at a large cost savings. WordPress, in particular, uses MySQL / MariaDB as its back end, and has a very large market share in the website marketplace.
Owing in part to the relative dearth of features, there is a huge demand for expertise in these open-source solutions, particularly in the realm of automation. As the demand currently outstrips supply, we offer all of our services, where appropriate, for this rich class of database engines.
We are constantly developing standardized internal products for use with our clients and eventual marketing as commercial products in their own right. Customers needing architecture, data modeling, programming, automation and DevOps services can count on us for open-source innovations.
technical staffing for shortage skills
high value people to do high value work
The staffing industry has some well-known challenges. We aim to gradually replace this troubled system with something new and decidedly different, a way of providing expert IT staff that actually works.
Our consultants are permanent employees or members of our staffing network. We hire slowly, encourage staff independence, get to know them well, what they can do, and what they might learn with time. They are all valuable specialists in high-demand, shortage skills, and we take care of them. Needless to say, we vet our staffing clients carefully and look for long-term business relationships.
We feel there is nothing inherently wrong with staff augmentation or temporary work per se; however, some widely and firmly-held, but erroneous, notions (e.g.: “hit the ground running”, “people are replaceable resources”) limit the success of third-party staffing endeavors. Once free of outworn and ineffective shibboleths, our clients can better utilize contractor help, properly on-board augmented staff and target training as needed.