At some point, a business invests in a database application, either a packaged database application—say for sales, human resources or inventory control—or a custom application. Over time, people often discover that they outgrow the capabilities of these databases. The choice for moving forward seems difficult. Everyone is used to the screens and processes associated with the old (legacy) system. And migrating to a new application involves
a) an extensive search for an existing branded solution, b) new costs for licensing, customizing, training, and maintaining the new application and c) downtime or confusion during transition to the new system.       Sometimes the old legacy system must be thrown out in favor of moving to the advantages of modern databases; but, many times, an organization can keep going with their existing databases and add on another layer of capability or functionality. This approach is usually less expensive. It is also much more comfortable for the organization’s end-user community.       Active Lightning provides the means to implement many different options. Your organization can have the capability it needs with a custom solution from Active Lightning.       A practical inexpensive database application from Active Lightning involves using the benefits of ODBC (or ADO) and SQL as indicated below. This solution provides an integrated application environment where business applications communicate seamlessly with one another. It follows a client/server model: the new database lives on a server and is accessed by multiple users who work on client PC workstations.

Opportunity

As the diagram shows above, a business may have one or more database applications that they are using. One or more tables from each of these databases can be linked dynamically into a new database via open database connectivity [ODBC]. Alternatively, Microsoft has made another method available for dynamically linking tables through ActiveX Data Objects [ADO] which runs 2 to 3 times faster than ODBC.
     This approach, with ODBC or ADO, takes the data that is maintained through the familiar established systems and brings it into a new database management system. The new system can provide new tables of data, new forms, new reports, and new processing. The data is still stored once and referred to at will throughout the new system.
      The new database can be built to incorporate Microsoft Access, FileMaker, MySQL, SQL Server, or Oracle per the client’s preference. See Database Technology Compared for more information on these database types.

Many options

How will different people in the business organization interact with the information in the new database management system?
      A business needs to identify and gather together what it requires from its database system. These requirements can then be discussed with Active Lightning and turned into a functional specification that is detailed in a quote. Active Lightning provides development services to achieve the desired functionality for the database system that your company wants. Usually, clients obtain a formal quote that limits these development costs. The quote and follow-on services are provided at rates given by Active Lightning’s standard price list.
      Adding database capability as outlined above supports database publishing (or variable data publishing) and is a very successful efficient approach. Active Lightning can provide development services for many information technology projects. A comprehensive telling of possible strategies and our capabilities would be overwhelming and confusing. Consider taking advantage of some free consulting as we help you determine the scope and direction of a solution that would you’re your needs and your budget.
      Please see Projects Completed for examples of projects completed by Active Lightning staff.
      A popular area of business functionality is customer relationship management [CRM] and sales force automation [SFA]. Active Lightning has experience producing CRM-SFA-BI database applications for small businesses with dynamic tie-in to the clients' respective inventory and accounting systems.
      Active Lightning also has a specialty developing custom business functionality that ties into the Eagle system, a point-of-sale, inventory, and accounting system that is produced and sold by Activant Systems.

The Process — What to Expect

Development of a database application or custom software requires the following stages:
• Project Planning
• Requirements Definition
• Systems Design
• Code Implementation
• Code Integration
• Testing
• Deployment
• Maintenance

Active Lightning

• supplies custom applications that fit client needs/specifications precisely
• provides ownership and control rather than subscription pricing
• delivers a low total cost of ownership

When you hire Active Lightning, you hire a team of intelligent creative trustworthy people led by Sally Seaver Shabaka. In delivering specified IT functionality, we attend to technical design, cost-containment, sustainability, marketing and the client’s brand. We thoughtfully work for our client’s best interests on many levels.