We are programmers#
Mastery of our art is at the core - our ability to manifest code to achieve results.
Of course, its never code in isolation so the whole ecosystem of stakeholders, technologies and systems evolution needs to be addressed.
But, at the end of the day (& all day long) we're programmers - manifesting code to achieve results - and we deploy whatever is needed along the way.
(so we're also consultants and educators and providers of hardware, software and all the deployment needfuls)
Business experience#
We have over 30 years' experience each in consulting on and designing many hundreds of projects for business clients - liaising with 3rd parties and managing the deployment and testing of systems, typically developing bespoke / customised software components, and providing the training, procedures development, and support required for success.
Technical Insight#
With long experience can come wisdom - we learn every day, gain capabilities, and deploy new technologies on our clients' behalf. In the technology industry, every year brings new tools, ideas and paradigms - and only a handful of them will survive into the future, and a tiny number will dominate the landscape for a period. Mistakes can be costly - the implementation and opportunity costs of organisational change need to be carefully considered and managed.
Knowledge is measuring that a desert path is 12.4 miles long.
Wisdom is packing enough water for the hike.
Insight is building a lemonade stand at mile 6.
- Christopher Reiss
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The pace of change
LanTastic Networking (circa 1990s) with Coaxial cable and manual interrupt configuration has given way to zero configuration Wifi and managed plug-and-play office switches.
DOS, Windows3.1, WindowsNT, Windows 95/98/ME, WindowsXP, Windows2000, Windows Vista, Server2003, Windows7, Server2008, Windows8, Server 2012, Windows10, Server2016... a new Microsoft Operating System on average every 2 years over the last 30.
Databases, Accounting Systems, Cloud Technology, Web App Technology, Servers, Workstations, Mobile devices, Networks, Backups, Security, AntiVirus...
...all on the endless shifting sands of evolution that we navigate every day for our clients.
Do It Once, Do It Right#
This is a significant determining factor in Return On Investment.
Maximising the lifetime of the system provides return over a longer period.
Minimising the cost of change lengthens the lifespan and minimises maintenance costs.
Minimising the cost of change allows you to start with a small working system,
responding to requirements and feedback in steps towards the ultimate goal.
We have seen (as anyone relying on complex systems does after a time) that smaller efforts and working systems (as opposed to big specifications and long timeframes) provide faster, more certain returns, and are not so prone to issues like requirements change or platform evolution (or worse, platform end of life).
The issues with platform evolution (changes to the stack over time) and eventual end of life are critical to tackle if you want to maximise return on investment in business systems software.
The service lifetime of a software program depends on:
- choice of platform (every element of 'the stack' is important)
- prioritising future maintenance as highly as feature creation.
A team sport ('the stack')
Technology - especially software, is a team sport. A software program relies on a 'stack' - other programs and hardware it requires in order to run properly. For example, a complex Excel Spreadsheet is at the top of a stack, requiring a particular version of Excel, a compatible version of Windows to run Excel on, and a compatible PC or Laptop or Tablet to run Windows on. If any of the levels in the stack fail or become incompatible, the program doesnt run anymore - and needs to be maintained or rewritten for the new stack.
If you do it right, it is possible to avoid the trap that most software falls foul of - the inability to adapt. Requirements change constantly. Software has to keep up or it has to be replaced. If the future maintenance of the system is of lower priority than features, the costs per adaptation increases exponentially over time, until the software cannot be economically adapted and must be replaced.
Project Passion#
Our passion for computer science drove us to explore the business applications of technology, to research and develop and deploy the best systems to meet the needs of our clients.
Our passion for problem solving drove us to seek meaningful challenges in software, hardware, and deployment on behalf of our clients.
Outback Software is the pure product of our Project Passion - our drive to achieve results for our clients.