When entrepreneurs drop the tried and tested formulas and do things differently they often find the competitive advantage that enables them to succeed. This is why MIP has released Dynamax, a set of core business and financial components for transactional systems development that gives them that option.
This solution extends MIP`s earlier development work that resulted in Astra2, an application development framework that was sold to Progress Software in a headline-making deal and renamed Dynamics.
"It is the common opinion among IT experts that customising packaged applications off the shelf is a no-no, because the applications are built upon so-called best practices," says Richard Firth, CEO of MIP. "But I disagree. If we all follow best practices where will we find the competitive advantage and make money?"
Dynamax, although not a rapid application development (RAD) tool, allows companies to fast track their development by providing a set of base component objects for business and financial systems. This reduces total development time. MIP used Dynamax to redevelop its own applications serving the financial services, healthcare insurance, medical aid administration, pension fund administration and property investment administration markets.
"Using Dynamax about 60% of the development work is already completed with the remaining 40% primarily consisting of tailoring the application to suit the individual business," says Johan Meyer, group solutions director at MIP. "Because most of the development work is already completed application development risk is minimised and users have the ability to prototype applications that much faster."
Dynamax is already being used to create a municipal billing system, an agricultural warehouse and distribution system, and a bespoke financial system, from Cape Town to Denmark.
MIP delivers theoretical and practical training to all Dynamax and Dynamics customers around the globe. The differentiator is that it is delivered onsite at the premises of customers who are developing their own applications. "Because we`ve developed applications ourselves, using our own products, we bring a wealth of experience to our users in a variety of industries and markets," says Meyer. "We can teach them the best methods for successful business development and we have done so throughout Europe and Africa."
Dynamax ships with the source code allowing users to make changes to it, a change tracking tool and a database modelling tool. The product also ships with complete programmer and end-user documentation. Roundtable allows users to customise Dynamax, ensure that the changes they make do not adversely affect updates from MIP, and allows them to submit enhancements or changes to MIP for further product releases.
MIP`s cost structure is fairly unique, as it was when the company was launched 13 years ago, in that it is determined by setting a rate based on the customer`s key performance indicator and writing that into a contract normally spanning between three to five years.
There are no additional costs, no hidden expenses. All services, updates, enhancements and support are part of the package and the rate remains fixed until the contract expires.
"We want long-term relationships with our customers because that is the only way to remain profitable and finance continuous research and development to improve our applications," says Firth. "In addition, because our fee shrinks if the client`s business shrinks, it is in our own best interests to ensure that we make running our clients` business as smooth and hassle-free as possible so that they can concentrate on driving new business and making money."
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