ZPD Applications and You

Why should you trust me with your business?

I have the benefit of being the sole-designer, developer, and support structure for all of the applications I create. This equates to a custom-tailored experience and direct one-on-one support from the source. I don't like gimmicks and I appreciate value as much as you do! This page serves to help you weigh the custom development services I provide over going with some big-name software as a service (SaaS) provider. I am a small business owner myself, and I hope you will allow me to have the opportunity to impress you and your customers.

The Web as an Operational Platform

What you can accomplish with a self-hosted application is only limited by your imagination. Think of a problem that your business has and ask yourself if an online tool might solve that problem. The demands for companies to build Web Applications are growing substantially. Not to mention, that web apps provide you with a truly cross-platform solution unrestrained by location and OS.

Web Applications are truly Cross Platform solutions

Scheduling
Online Training Delivery
File Sharing
Secure Messaging and Communication

Statistical Reporting
Business Analytics and Market Research
Project and Asset Management
E-commerce and Product Sales

Who uses web applications

I think the better question to ask, is who doesn't! Medical Offices, Charities, Freelancers, Small-Business Owners, Vehicle Dealerships, Government Applications, Schools and Universities, and Restaurants to name just a few.

What I provide

I help you get it online and keep it in-house. You pay a one-time cost for the development but you remain in control. You don't pay recurring fees and you get the code which gives you flexibility to scale in the future!

Business Impact

Today's web applications have substantial business impact on the way companies and consumers do business

Web applications will:

Reach and service millions of consumers and businesses
Generate substantial, multi-layer / multi-category income from consumers, businesses and advertisers
Easily build business goodwill and assets based on audience reach, popularity, technology and potential growth

Good reasons to build web applications:

You want to streamline your internal departments and functions, operations, sales and project management, etc.
You want to take advantage of a web based application's flexibility and versatility, by moving away from the traditional desktop application platform to a web application platform
You want to gain more clients or better service your current clients by offering convenient services and solutions online
You want to build new web applications to offer innovative services or solutions to online users and businesses

Web-based Advantages:

There are opportunities to gain the upper hand and bypass the traditional brick and mortar companies when this type of opportunity was rarely possible or existed before the explosion of the web
The new web created a global business environment which challenges the way in which traditional companies do business
Companies need to reinvent and evolve in order to compete in today's trends, online business and global marketplace
Businesses and consumers have more options and resources to research and easily compare and shop around for the best deals
Information and resources are immense and available to everyone who seeks it
Businesses or companies who used to profit from consulting or advice, that can now be easily acquired online are struggling, and will need to take a new business direction if they want to stay solvent.

Operational Costs

Because at the end of the day, it always comes back to money. Here are some serious considerations you should be aware of when comparing a SaaS solution with my custom-built solutions.

Recurring Payments

Software as a service (SaaS) is by definition: software you are licensed to use that some company serves up for you either online or locally using some licensing mechanism. The word service denotes something provided "over time." This equates to recurring payments and no right of ownership - more on that later.

Limited Resources

Since someone is hosting the software and provides it to a large population of users just like you, there is always a limit on the amount of resources offered to you. if you want more, you got to pay up - every month. Up time and resource packages are regulated by the company you're paying.

Limited Support

A part of the SaaS model involves supporting the software being provided. Unfortunately, support is limited to the functionality of the application, what is beneficial to the large-scale development process, and the vision of the providing entity a.k.a them, not you. This also leads to integration and data control issues.

Lack of Integration

Speaking into support, you should also consider that customization is not usually possible in most SaaS applications. So, if it doesn't do what you need, you either have to find another solution, or buy into another service for that aspect of your business. This equates to more recurring payments and multiple systems on someone else's platform.

No Data Access or Control

Who owns your data? I hope you read that long EULA! Regardless of whether you did or not, your company's data is sitting on someone else's servers, and should you need access to it for integration into other systems, most SaaS solutions respond with "I'm sorry this is not possible and doesn't meet the terms of service", leaving you stuck and frustrated.

High Cost Coupled with Impermanence

The bottom line is that you could end up investing thousands of dollars for an impermanent solution that is at the mercy of the market. At the end of the day you will walk away without the data and kick yourself for not doing what the big names do, and do it yourself. Think it costs a lot? Think again.

I Leverage Free Tech to give you that Competitive Edge!

The web runs on opensource and internationally recognized, standards-based, technologies. In all of the projects I build that boils down to this: no license or support fees to maintain or implement a solid, future-proof solution for you!

Client Side Scripting

The type of code that is executed or interpreted by browsers and generally viewable by any visitor to a site. I try to minimize the application of visitor-viewable code to a minimum and rely on it mainly for interface wiring and asynchronous actions such as front and back end communication and synchronization.

Client Side Tools I am Proficient with:

HTML HyperText Markup Language
CSS Cascading Style Sheets
JavaScript ECMAScript built in the browser

Server Side Scripting

Code that is executed or interpreted by a web server such as Apache or Nginx and which is not generally viewable or accessible by visitors or the general public. These are the "wizards" behind the curtain so to speak. Things happen, but visitors don't get to see it in action and that's good for security.

Server Side Tools I am Proficient with:

PHP Pre-Hypertext Processor - Linux / Unix based
Python General purpose high-level programming language
Java General purpose high-level programming language

In addition to the above proficiencies, I am also highly experienced in the full stack of GNU/Linux tools and utilities and web server software such as Apache, Dovecot, and Postfix. I am a Linux+ certified developer and use the wide array of available opensource tools to create solutions that integrate multiple disparate systems into a unified and cohesive stack.

The ZPD Difference