Software Development & Hardware Integration

Software Development & Hardware Integration

Hardware Integration.

Do you have a device that needs connecting to the Internet of things? Are you unsure how a digital application can work with your innovation? Not clear what the Internet of Things can offer you and your business?

The team here at Digital Trading are helping a whole range of clients with different innovations to take advantage of the scope presented by the Internet of Things.

  • Our clients may have a device which has its own software to collect data, but need our skills to get information from it and into the cloud.
  • Or a client may realise their existing hardware now has the potential to be linked up to the Internet of Things.

 

If you have any hardware collecting data in the field, and you want to be able to exploit that data, our team can help. We handle everything, from the time the data leaves the device to the time it appears on a dashboard or website to be used.

We are Microsoft partners and our web developers are experienced in asp.net, VB, c#, MVC 3&4, JavaScript, jQuery, AJAX, Microsoft SQL, CSS3, HTML 5, and PHP so can meet just about any needs.

Start your project with us

EWater - Making hardware ‘smart’ / Connecting hardware to the Internet of Things

The issue

Our client, eWater Pay, created a smart water tap which dispenses water when the consumer holds an NFC – near-field communication - tag up to it. The tag is loaded with credits, enabling consumers to pay-as-you-go.

It’s a fantastic product, which allows people in developing countries to have a sustainable water supply. They are a brilliant alternative to traditional standpipes, which are often out of action due to repairs needing to be done, or because they have been turned off.

The solution

We were brought in by eWater Pay in the early stages of the development of the smart tap, because they had no way of getting credit on to the tags out in the field. eWater Pay had the tap and the tag, but everything from adding credit to the tag, to rationalising the data and displaying the data after water had been dispensed hadn’t been created.

They had got as far as they could, but they needed software to enable people to top up their tag through cloud-based software.

Using our intuitive, engaging and collaborative approach we worked with eWater to create an MVP – minimum viable product - allowing them to demonstrate their concept would work, and then created a development plan of what we could do and deliver.

The smart tap was then put into the field, tested and proven to be brilliant for its intended purpose – to bring a reliable water source.

During the whole development process, as well as liaising with eWater Pay we engaged with their clients. Members of our team have been out to Africa to talk to NGOs, government authorities and the consumers themselves to ensure the product really meets the need.

The outcome

eWater Pay now has taps in three countries in Africa – The Gambia, Ghana and Tanzania – and will work with governments and NGOs to increase their presence across the continent and provide a sustainable water supply.

Rob Hygate, CTO at eWater Pay, said: “We were delighted with the support we had from the Digital Trading team. They really understood the product and what we needed to do, and worked hard to make that a reality using their expertise in connecting hardware to the Internet of Things.”

Software Development.

The Digital Trading applications expertise is here to help you realize your dream – whatever its size. We have several years experience in this field and have worked on applications for such high-profile corporate clients as Outcomes, a subsidiary of the University of Oxford and eWaterPay, providers of smart affordable water for everyone, everywhere. We’ve also worked with entrepreneurs like Property Portal, a UK and International luxury property search site.

At Digital Trading, all our expertise is in-house, and our experienced team love nothing more than unpicking what you have, working out what you need, then building the perfect, bespoke solution for your business.

Interested? Why not get in touch with the team who will put the drive into your digital journey.

We are Microsoft partners and our web developers are experienced in asp.net, VB, c#, MVC 3&4, JavaScript, jQuery, AJAX, Microsoft SQL, CSS3, HTML 5, and PHP so can meet just about any needs.

Start your project with us

propertyportal.com - DNN Web Development

Property Portal is a digital publisher of websites and mobile marketing services relating to property, finance, law and more. Their parent portal, PropertyPortal.com, is the world’s only Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) regulated property portal giving clients an assurance of certified standards and ethics. Many online estate agents use their system for selling and renting properties.

PropertyPortal.com approached Digital Trading following an unsatisfactory relationship with another developer who had failed to deliver the exacting requirements of the project. Digital Trading quickly reviewed the situation and came up with a solution, the objective being to create a scheduled data support programme to collect data from multiple locations in multiple formats and to map this data to specific fields within a database.

Digital Trading’s scoping document demonstrated how they would produce software that would deliver PropertyPortal.com’s business objectives. They then created a gap report and project plan to ensure that the deadlines set by Property Portal were met. Once the software was written and the functionality was agreed, Digital Trading carried out a Beta test to the market from a viability point of view before the software went live.

AlphaGalileo - Creating A New Website

The issue

AlphaGalileo is a trusted independent business to business service for the research and media communities. Thousands of notifications are sent daily with hundreds accessing the information.

The business had a website and backend admin system which had grown organically over the years, with many and varied addons. It was no longer suiting the far larger operation that AlphaGalileo had become. The site had many technical issues, there were problems with emails and a daily backup involved the site being offline.

The solution

The Digital Trading team initially worked with AlphaGalileo to resolve ongoing issues with their current site but it became clear a new site was required.

AlphaGalileo wanted to replicate the look of the existing site but to replace the backend with a new platform. We worked closely with the admin team, to find out exactly what was required of a new system then created mock-ups of what it would look like, using interactive pdfs, plus a wireframe so our client could get a feel for the site.

Using custom DotNetNuke, we built a site that is nimble and user-friendly both for the site visitors and for the admin team. We also ensured the new site can evolve and develop as AlphaGalileo’s needs increase and change, without resorting to bolt-ons.

We provide ongoing support and touch base with the client at least weekly, and if any issues arise, as happens from time to time, we are very responsive. We have also been entrusted with the rebuild of the mobile iPhone app which is now available at the Apple Store.

The outcome

When we were supporting the old site, we had two or three issues a week to resolve for the admin team. Issues are now a rarity, with far less wasted time as the admin team no longer need to find ways around problems.

Oxford University Innovation - Taking a paper-based business online

The issue

Oxford University Innovation (OUI) is the technology transfer arm of the University of Oxford. It looks after the intellectual property of the academics’ many and varied innovations, helps create stand-alone enterprises, and licences a diverse array of technologies to benefit the health and wealth of society. Among that portfolio of licensed technologies is the Clinical Outcomes Assessment activity. A typical example is a licence for validated health outcome questionnaires to be used by the NHS with hip or knee replacement patients.

It was the Clinical Outcomes team of OUI that was crying out for a digital solution. Its processes, record-keeping, and sales were based on emailing, Excel spreadsheets and paper, causing an administrative nightmare for the team – they were literally becoming victims of their own success.

The solution

The clear answer was an ecommerce system, but because of the complicated nature of the product, many variations of licences, and detailed Ts & Cs, simply shopping and popping into a basket with an off-the-shelf ecommerce site wouldn’t work.

Our creative Digital Trading team built an express licensing portal, called PROcess™, where customers can readily look at available products and navigate through an easy, step-by-step process.

Using custom DotNetNuke, we built a site that is nimble and user-friendly both for the site visitors and for the admin team. We also ensured the new site can evolve and develop as AlphaGalileo’s needs increase and change, without resorting to bolt-ons.

We had to make the site agile to allow for easy use by the customer and by OUI’s admin team, and for a simple flow through from initial browse to ultimate check-out.

Since the site was launched, new services have also been added to PROcess™, including the sale of educational materials and software developed at Oxford University.

The outcome

Before the Digital Trading team became involved, OUI sold 50 to 100 licences annually. The company is now selling more than 650 licences through PROcess™, with the potential to sell thousands – in one day alone it completed 137 licences.

There are plans in the pipeline to allow other universities to use their own version of PROcess™ to sell licences. Discussions are also underway to include an image library for image licensing and sale on behalf of another university, through OUI’s PROcess™ site.

Security for PROcess™ is essential, so OUI regularly carries out external rigorous security testing to ensure the system cannot be hacked – they’ve never yet succeeded.

Find Us

Digital Trading
Unit 5B Blackworth Court
Blackworth Industrial Estate
Highworth
SN6 7NS

Contact Us

Telephone: 01793 680866
Email: info@digitaltrading.co.uk

 

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