Software Development Faced with the lack of trained IT staff, many organizations are choosing to outsource their software development / maintenance work. Utilizing technical resources with specific system expertise will simplify the process, eliminate costly errors, and provide the benefit of an application that is continually maintained and upgraded. Clients outsource APS Systems' skills for their feasibility studies and analyses, design, and application development / maintenance. This allows them to maximize the intellectual property we have cultivated to continually maintain their software, with little or no learning curve. First, APS Systems performs a strategic evaluation/enterprise assessment to understand the scope and size of the application that is being outsourced. We gather system details, including number of sub-systems, sub-system size in Line Of Code, underlying platform, development language, DBMS used, communication protocol, number of defects/week, typical number and type of enhancement requests being serviced, release management procedures used, etc. This data allows us to determine the number of resources required to effectively support and enhance the application. We develop a pilot program for transition from an identified subsystem of the application. APS Systems will prepare a transition plan to phase the maintenance of the application into our environment. Our staffing plan details the number of resources required for the transition and service phases of the project, depending upon the size and complexity of the application. During the Knowledge Transfer phase, a team of APS Systems consultants is placed on the clients' site. They evaluate the existing documentation and perform a "deficiency analysis". From this, existing documentation is enhanced to facilitate the transfer process. Toward the end of this phase, APS Systems consultants test their knowledge by fixing artificially created problems. After gaining proficiency, the on-site team is given the responsibility to fix actual defects, which are reviewed by the client. The team prepares an operational process document detailing the workflow and communication process between the on-site and offshore teams. Key resources transition to APS Systems' offshore facility, where they train the team dedicated to the application. Changes, fixes and enhancements are reviewed before rolling them into production. The final phase is the service phase where all or designated parts of the application become fully supported by the APS Systems team.
Technical Consulting Confronted with a multitude of projects that have risen on the hierarchy of importance, companies are realizing that they, like many other entities, suffer from a critical shortage of technical expertise. In order to be proactive in the way they address upcoming initiatives, organizations need to maintain strategic and managerial control of projects, while having the flexibility to focus resources as needed. Outsourcing of various functions allows companies to do just that. The benefits to using APS Systems' consultants for in-house projects are many: IT's internal resources can focus on more pressing corporate directives; Utilizing consultants reduces operating and capital expenses; Consultants can be contracted for long- or short-term projects We offer highly targeted expertise for each project. Consultants can be from APS Systems, or sub-contracted through a client's current service provider. With our depth and breadth of technical expertise, APS Systems can supply a wide range of legacy and state-of-the-art technical skills. APS Systems has world-class resources, access to new technologies, structured methodologies and best-of-breed tools. Clients no longer need to invest in having a particular skill in-house. We assure clients that the consultants dedicated to any in-house project have superior qualifications. Clients save time and costs required to qualify and recruit skilled technical resources, salary, benefits and general overhead expenses, the need to manage personnel, including having career paths in place and the time and expense of training on new applications and technologies.
E-commerce solutions Consider the facts: More than 80% of CEOs expect E-Commerce to significantly reshape competition in their industries (ComputerWorld®); U.S. business trade on the Internet will explode from $43 billion in 1998 to $1.3 trillion in 2003 (Forrester® Research); On-line business trade will find its way into all U.S. business supply chains over the next five years. E-Commerce is about serving your customers better, whether they are vendors, suppliers, distributors, employees or an end consumer. It is not only about on-line buying and selling, but also about the integration of every business process, including those in the external value chain, up to and including the webpage or electronic storefront design. This massive integration requires clear objectives, planning, a team with business and IT skills and commitment. An E-Commerce solution will change the way an organization does business, but implementing an E-Commerce solution is not a simple "plug and play" process. Organizations, regardless of their size, need to partner with companies who have experience evaluating and re-engineering large-scale applications, expertise in project management and who have successfully implemented E-commerce solutions, such as APS Systems, Inc.
Education & Training APS Systems, Inc. can provide your staff technical as well as non-technical training. Education and training can be one of the best investments of your organization. We conduct workshops and seminars in the areas of quality management, behavioral sciences, human resource development, databases, software development tools and office automation packages.