Building custom apps with Ferrio's Hubware
Custom developed software can be transformational for businesses, but only when it's done right.
Many of our prospects and clients have been burned by a custom software project at some point in the past. Almost any business over a certain age will have seen a project go thousands over budget and months over schedule, and most likely underdeliver in the process. A big part of our job is to reassure our prospects that the industry has changed a lot in the last 10 years, and that we are different besides.
A huge part of this change in the industry is low-code. This revolution has enabled technologists to focus entirely on the business problems we're trying to solve, and no longer need to waste time on technical implementation problems. At Ferrio, when we're building an automation to calculate an invoice value for a client, we can focus on the specifics of the business case rather than considering the nuances in the difference between a "float" type or "decimal" type number.
How does Ferrio's Hubware enable rapid app development?
Our Hubware platform creates a central location for your data, and also provides the means for data to flow in and out to and from any other application. The data in our Hubware platform is easily accessible and readily connectable to a host of analysis tools such as Microsoft Power BI. Having all your business data available in one place creates a unique opportunity for interactivity which is best driven by custom apps.
Products like Retool and Noloco can easily connect to your Hubware database, allowing instant development of low-code apps using your data. These apps can be set up to follow your business processes exactly and can even extend into interactive customer and subcontractor portals and dashboards. By using Retool or Noloco with a Ferrio Hubware database, data interactions are immediately reflected in your central database and can use or update data in any other application or system your business uses.
Visualisation of how Noloco can use Hubware data integrated to Sage and Power BI.
We have built our entire internal business management system using our Hubware and a Noloco front end. This gives us complete flexibility in how we define our processes, and complete control of how our processes are followed. A Hubware data-centric app also unlocks automation at an incredibly deep level, so every process we have at Ferrio that can be automated, is automated.
The best part is, it took us less than 3 days to get this system up and running.
A screenshot from our automation driven internal tool. In two clicks a Quote can become an Invoice and a Project.
Why should I use a custom Hubware app?
Imagine if you had a software suite that was tailored exactly to how your business works. This might feel like a pipe dream and is certainly promised far more often than it is delivered, but this is what has become possible with Hubware and low-code front end platforms.
One major disadvantage of custom software in the past has been the pace of applying changes. Sometimes a business must change its' process quickly, and if it is bound by software that takes months to change this is a big problem, leading to more work out of process by back office teams. A low-code Hubware app can be changed incredibly quickly, with developers able to focus immediately and entirely on business process, and not having to disentangle code written by someone else years previously.
The key advantages boil down to:
- Software designed specifically for your business that works how you want to work.
- Changes can be made rapidly to respond to business changes, in hours or days, not weeks or months.
- Your data is always available to you, never hidden in a 3rd party database or stuck behind a complex API.
- Total control of data - the best place to capture accurate data for reporting is at source. Hubware databases enable this.
How can Ferrio help?
At the time of writing this, we are helping several customers build custom applications using their data via Hubware. Our model is to always deliver our own software, in line with our "no bad implementations" policy.
In just a few examples of apps we're currently working on and designing:
- Bespoke payroll portal for managing overtime pay of engineers on complex contracts.
- Scheduling app for a tuition agency working exclusively with schools.
- Customer portals for logging repair and maintenance jobs from client sites.
- Application system for a business support accelerator in the UK space industry.
The possibilities are endless, so why not contact us and explore your idea with us today? Our team are always available to chat and offer free advice. We just love solving problems with simple tech. Just contact us via the form at https://ferrio.com/#cta