Solutions

We serve a broad base of industries that range from manufacturing to biotechnology and beyond. This diverse experience has taught us two things about our business. First, we’re skilled at learning the intricacies of a particular business. We enjoy the challenge and consider it one of the perks of our operation. It’s one of the reasons our customer base is so broad. Second, and of more importance, we’ve learned over time that a tremendous number of synergies exist when it comes to applying technology to business problems. We are often able to leverage knowledge, processes, and expertise gained during work in one market sector to streamline or enhance work in another completely unrelated sector.

For clients, our broad industry experience means we bring a fresh technology perspective to their challenge. It means we have a track record of both understanding and tackling tough, one-of-a-kind problems. And ultimately it means we deliver results.

Biotechnology

Enabling Pioneering Research

Exciting and cutting-edge Life Science research is currently underway around the world. We’ve worked with a number of biotechnology companies to develop custom applications that solve one-of-a-kind business and scientific challenges.

We developed an animal breeding software application for a company researching antibody-based therapies for the treatment of disease. This system managed a combinatorial explosion of data as generations of mice with various genetic attributes were studied and bred. The application precisely and accurately tracked the specific genealogy of generations of mice used in this transgenic research. By facilitating the management and mining of data for pioneering research, our solution made data more manageable, freeing scientists’ time, and boosting the overall efficiency of operations.

Education

Bringing Technology to the Classroom

Some of the most innovative work is often conducted in the university environment. We’ve consulted on projects ranging from coursework to electronic classroom device scheduling and control.

For example, we worked with one of the region’s most respected universities to reengineer an online coursework application. Students were able to leverage the Web to complete homework online. Students could receive immediate feedback on their performance and instructors could evaluate comprehension on specific topics and adjust course content accordingly. Another project implemented a Web-based interface for a smart building that allocated, configured, and controlled technology resources (electronic white boards, projectors, cameras, video capture, room lighting, etc.). By allowing technology to be leveraged in new and intuitive ways, our solutions streamlined operations, made the technology simple to use, increased course enrollment, and reduced technology cost per student.

Financial Services

Improving customer service

The complexity and constantly changing nature of financial regulations drive much of our work in the banking sector. A variety of financial institutions have leveraged our services to manage data related to financial compliance.

We worked with a major West Coast bank to set up an application to manage direct rollovers for 401(k)s. Through the application, new and existing bank customers who had recently lost jobs could move their savings to the bank’s direct rollover IRA programs. All of the compliance issues and customer tracking requirements were managed by the custom application, and all follow up activities were tracked and reported. Finally, correspondence was automated through an integrated mail merge subsystem. Another system tracked sales of annuity products and was the system of record for salespeople and their commissions. Our solutions allowed this financial institution to seamlessly automate and track complex financial transactions, improving customer service and driving costs down.

Internet/E-Commerce

Delivering value-added services

We have extensive expertise in Web architecture design, custom Web applications, Internet domain setup and management, and Web server software and site implementation. We’ve had the opportunity to work with a number of innovative companies committed to leveraging the Web in new and exciting ways.

For example, we devised an expert system for a medical e-commerce company that tracked family genealogy to help site visitors understand their risks for specific inheritable diseases. The system involved solving several complex problems and then integrating the solutions. These included devising an algorithm for graphically representing non-standard family trees, applying strict security measures to the system, developing a rule-based expert system, and designing a redundant three-tier database application. Our solution helped the client to leverage the Internet and e-commerce transactions to deliver value-added services and capabilities — driving new revenue and customer service opportunities.

Legal

Facilitating the legal process

The legal profession must access and manage enormous amounts of information on an ongoing basis. We have helped law firms and legal entities develop custom applications for various aspects of knowledge access and management.

We were hired to design and build an evidence management system for what was (at the time) the largest case in Canadian history. It involved liability issues associated with an explosion at an oil refinery. This massive case was in discovery for 10 years before going to trial and tens of thousands of pieces of evidence were accumulated. We created a database-driven evidence management system that cataloged and cross-referenced every piece of evidence in the case. We also generated a database-driven animation sequence that showed a schematic of the oil refinery and how personnel moved about the site in brief time increments leading up to the incident. Finally, we conceived of and constructed a system that summarized the details of the trial. The system was designed to allow counsel to get a sense of the trial and construct a closing argument without reviewing years of trial transcripts directly. By managing the massive amount of trial data, our solutions helped reduce trial costs and streamline complex processes.

Manufacturing

Delivering just-in-time manufacturing

Despite the move to offshore manufacturing, a great deal of new product introduction and innovative product manufacturing still occurs in the U.S. We’ve worked with companies in various industries to build custom applications for manufacturing.

For example, we devised a Material Resource Planning (MRP) inventory control system for a pioneering company building the first autonomous robotic golf caddy. The system managed all aspects of purchasing for this innovative product— from parts tracking and inventory control to bill of materials, forecasting, work orders, and more. A good MRP system pays for itself by reducing inventory and automating supply chain communication. Our system allowed this small company to implement a just-in-time manufacturing strategy that normally would require a much larger economy of scale. Our solution automated key parts of the supply chain resulting in increased revenue opportunities and streamlined operations.

Pharmaceutical

Accelerating time-to-market

We’ve worked with virtually all of the big Pharma firms on both research-based and development-based projects. Importantly, we are familiar with FDA Part 11 compliance requirements, Good Clinical Practices (GCP), Good Laboratory Practices (GLP), Good Manufacturing Processes (GMP), and other regulations that govern the FDA approval process.

For example, we worked with a major pharmaceutical company to develop an FDA-validated inventory tracking system for its drug-related products and materials. We also delivered a clinical results tracking application, with more than 15 different studies currently tracked by the system; it is in the final stages of FDA validation. By supporting FDA-regulated processes to ensure successful trials, the applications increased investment protection and efficiency in the clinical trial process, met federal requirements, and accelerated time-to-market.

Publishing

Automating the communications process

The Bay Area job market has experienced extraordinary fluctuations due in large part to the volatility of Silicon Valley and the Biotechnology industry. Tracking employment opportunities in the region has presented a number of challenges.

One of the projects we undertook automated a paper-based system for tracking and publishing executive-level job leads. The information was tracked, categorized and organized by business and job function and then mailed to candidates. After automating the paper-based system, the project was transitioned to the Web. The Web-based system reduced the number of staff required to run the program, improved the consistency and accuracy of the job leads, and ultimately expanded the user base. By eliminating manual processes and improving accuracy, the new automated system delivered improved customer service and reduced costs.

Real Estate

Streamlining Sales Communications

Real estate is a dynamic and cyclical industry, requiring constantly changing strategies. We’ve played a key role in the industry by helping firms track changing sales trends, commission structures, and regional market activities.

For example, we helped a major residential real estate firm develop a custom application that managed listings, generated fliers, and calculated commissions for 20 different offices. The system consolidated all of this information via a wide area network on a centralized database, interacted with an accounting system, and then rolled the updated information back out to each of the individual office databases. The system improved the efficiency of sales communications by making listings immediately available to databases in all offices. Agents were paid faster, since accurate commission amounts were transmitted to all offices nightly for all closed sales. The custom application provided an easy way to leverage customer information for competitive gain, resulting in improved customer service.

Transportation

Utilizing employee information

With the Bay Area serving as an important global shipping hub for the region and for Asia/Pacific destinations, a number of transportation companies run operations locally and require custom systems and application development work.

One of the projects we’ve undertaken in this field involved managing a corporate directory for a transportation firm with 240 locations worldwide. The custom database application was used to track employee information and publish a printed corporate directory. It not only tracked thousands of employees globally, but also enabled the information to be cross-referenced by location and geography. Information was organized in the system in a camera-ready format for virtual hands-free publication. This system was easier to maintain than an unstructured employee list, and the paper publication was more accurate and easier to use. The custom application improved efficiencies, streamlined processing, and reduced costs.