Enterprise Solutions
Opsera is the UK's leading Open Source software and technology services company. What does this mean to our customers? Put simply, we help them grow. A bold claim perhaps, but one that we believe for two reasons:
- because creating applications using Open Source software components is faster, delivers higher quality solutions, and is more cost effective
- because Opsera's flexible approach to projects means that we can deliver the right solution for you.
Open Source based software solutions: faster and more cost-effective
Open Source Services
Open Source software has migrated up the technology stack from the operating system and database, to the application layer. This means that there are a huge number of high quality components that can be used as building blocks for your system. This reuse reduces the work required whether you want to set up a brand new system or extend an existing one, create a basic web-application or a complex real-time transactional system.
The Enterprise Solutions team here at Opsera work with our clients to choose the right components for their needs, based on a number of factors; the maturity of the components, the size and activity of the community around them, the licence type they are released under, the technology architecture they fit into, and the functional and non-functional requirements of the project, as well as our years of experience of the Open Source ecosystem.
We then design and deliver a system based around these components, writing custom code where needed and providing overall quality assurance so that you can feel confident that your system is secure, robust and meets your requirements.
The result is that you get your system faster, and its development is more cost effective.
Of course Open Source software brings other benefits:
- It is typically licence cost free
- The source code is provided, so you can extend or modify it as you see fit
- You are in control of upgrade scheduling, not forced by a vendor to suit their timetable or revenue model
- You are not locked-in to any one supplier
Opsera's flexible approach delivers
We approach each project with an open view as to how we will work with you. We don't believe in prescriptive methods or rigid working styles. So we can work with you on your site, work at our offices or place some of the development work offshore - or most likely a mixture of all of these approaches. The most important thing is that you get the best value for money through maximising the productivity of your staff and ours during the project. We have extensive experience of working with offshore partners in Eastern Europe and Asia, and understand how to overcome the cultural and communication challenges to make these arrangements work.
We structure every project around your needs: from the business case and strategic vision, through functional and technical architecture and design, to the delivery of code itself - each element is considered in the context of the unique challenges your project faces. When it comes to delivery, we always follow a disciplined approach, often using 'Agile' methodologies (such as XP or Scrum) to enable flexibility during the development process. We also apply our experience of more formal methods such as Waterfall, RAD or RUP where appropriate.
In addition to bespoke system development, Opsera have experts in a number of specific technology areas:
Open Source Content Management
Our consultants have worked with many of the leading proprietary document and content management packages such as FileNet and Stellent, and have delivered bespoke integration solutions and functionality enhancements for many of our clients.
We have evaluated many Open Source document and content management systems and have selected Alfresco as our strategic partner on the basis of their modern architecture, robustness and technical vision. Opsera is a gold member of the Alfresco partner programme and were one of the first companies in the UK to work with the Alfresco team. In addition, we have developed our OpsMailmanager product based on Alfresco, which required a very detailed understanding of the way it is engineered. This makes us well placed to advise on extending and enhancing Alfresco for your needs - we are not just another implementer.
However, we pride ourselves on being vendor neutral and are able to help you evaluate and implement a full spectrum of proprietary or Open Source content management packages to meet your technical and business objectives. Find out more about Open Source Content Management here
Open Source Business Intelligence (BI)
Opsera consultants have provided BI expertise to the telco, banking and law enforcement industries, and worked with many of the proprietary and Open Source based systems. The Open Source BI offerings have matured significantly whether your project requires basic reporting and dashboard functionality, or a full BI suite including ETL/OLAP. Opsera have worked with both of the leading BI solution providers: Pentaho and Jaspersoft, and can advise on the merits of each for your specific requirements.
Enterprise Architecture Integration (EAI)
Opsera have years of experience in providing enterprise architecture, middleware and Web Services expertise in financial services (e.g. large insurance brokers, swaps trading marketplace) and telcos. We have designed and implemented architectures leveraging Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) technologies and can advise and deliver the right integration approach to ensure your architecture can meet the demands of a growing business.
To talk to a member of our team about how Open Source can work for you, contact us on +44 (0)845 057 7887.
