Case Studies

The client is a construction based software company that has helped thousands of the world’s most prominent construction companies streamline and improve their estimating processes. It also partners with leading accounting and pricing companies so that their customers can integrate their construction estimates seamlessly into their finance and administration processes.

The client wanted to grow and expand into new markets, but it was being hindered by its legacy software that was reaching the end of its life. They needed to quickly develop a new application in order to accommodate requirements in new market segments without causing any disruption within their existing client base. The new solution needed to be dynamic, allowing for new functionality and customizations, without adding complexity to their construction clientele’s often straightforward IT environments.

The client faced the following limitations in its existing software:

• The FoxPro database lacked scalability and performance that was hindering the growing needs of their customer base. It also raised security concerns.
• The existing database structure was not designed to be dynamic, placing restrictions on the amount of new functionality that could be developed for emerging industry requirements.
• The third-party control being employed for licensing requirements of the application was giving the client little scope to customize the application for customers in multiple different segments, impeding the client from selling to those segments.

Rheal was chosen to rebuild their existing software from the ground up as the client needed a strategic partner that could handle the technical/development side of the business efficiently without having to micro manage the project every step of the way. The new application was designed using the Microsoft.NET platform which offered a robust and upgradable development platform. We redesigned and migrated their database to Microsoft SQL Server Express which provided the much needed scalability and also addressed performance and security concerns. We also created a utility which enabled the client to migrate their existing users to the new system seamlessly.

Additionally, we also employed the use of Infragistics controls to give the application an up-to-date Microsoft Office kind of look and feel which provided the users with a familiar and easy to use user interface.

The new version of the product helped the client widen their customer base by introducing new functionality required to win customers in new market segments. It also improved satisfaction amongst its existing client base who have found the new user interface much easier to use along with the introduction of a slew of new “nice-to-have” features.