Microsoft Partner Solution for Custom Application Development



Solution for

Custom Application Development

Introduction 2

Solving Business Problems with Microsoft Technology 2

Time is Money 3

Integration with Existing Systems 4

Making your Business Agile 5

Who Can Help? 6

Case Studies 6

Summary 6

Introduction

Nobody knows your business like you do. You know your own processes, your customers, your employees, and your partners. You also know your own goals. You know that you want your business to expand and grow, and you know that you want to be agile enough to adapt to changing customer needs and market forces. Computerisation can help, and you know the value of powerful software products, and how they can make you more productive and cost-effective.

In every business, there are problems that need to be addressed and obstacles that need to be overcome. Sometimes these problems are generic—every business needs to create documents of some sort, and there are "off the shelf" software products, like Microsoft® Office, that you can buy to solve them. However, some problems are specific to your business. They're your problems, with no shrink wrapped solution in sight.

Solving your business problems requires custom application development. You need software that matches your needs, your budget, and your existing processes. Now, where can you get it?

Solving Business Problems with Microsoft Technology

Microsoft products create a rich platform for custom application development. Technologies like the .NET Framework, the Microsoft Windows® Server platform, and the Microsoft Office System provide a framework for solving complex business problems. For example, consider the following scenarios—and see how Microsoft technologies can help your business meet its goals:

• You need to extend your business to the Web

Microsoft , together with the Internet Information Services built into Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003, provides a framework for Web site development. You can build dynamic, scalable websites that improve communication with your customers. Add Microsoft Commerce Server 2002 and you can easily build e-commerce solutions that provide an additional sales channel, allowing you to sell your products to more customers, more easily.

• You need to improve office efficiency

The Microsoft Office System is about more than just word processing and spreadsheets. You can develop powerful custom solutions using features like Smart Tags, and integrate the office applications you already use with your business processes using custom code.

• You need to empower your employees

Use Microsoft SharePoint™ Portal Server 2003 to create collaborative intranet portals, where your employees can share information and work together. Add data analysis functionality with Microsoft SQL Server™ 2000 and you can be sure that the right information reaches the right people.

• You need to automate your business functions

Every business has custom functions and processes that need to be performed. Use the Microsoft .NET Framework to develop custom components that implement your required functionality. Create Windows applications, or intranet Web sites that let you manage your business processes. Use Microsoft BizTalk™ Server 2002 to orchestrate long-running processes, and integrate with your existing systems.

• You need mobility

Microsoft Exchange Server makes it possible to access corporate information no matter where you are. Integration with Microsoft Office, Pocket PC, and Instant Messenger, and support for Microsoft Outlook® Web Access makes this a key product to help extend your organisation's communication and collaboration capabilities.

The Microsoft .NET Compact Framework, and mobile controls allow you to build business solutions for mobile devices, such as Pocket PCs and mobile phones. You can use these technologies to integrate your mobile workforce or customers with your business processes.

• You need to integrate with trading partners

XML Web services, built using the .NET Framework, make it possible to link your business processes with those of your trading partners. BizTalk Server 2002 extends this possibility by providing a framework for business document exchange and process integration.

Whatever the problems your business is facing, you can be sure that Microsoft tools and technologies are there to help you solve them.

Time is Money

Creating custom applications has traditionally been relatively time-consuming with existing development tools. When building a new application, existing Microsoft software building blocks can be reused to save time and resources—allowing you to concentrate on extending business functionality without wasting money and resources solving the same old infrastructure problems again and again.

Applications and components are feature-rich while being developed in the shortest time possible to reach the market place in a timely manner. Microsoft technologies enable rapid development through:

▪ Software infrastructure built into the platform itself. Windows Server 2003 includes built in message queuing capabilities, website hosting functionality, transactional component management, and the .NET Framework itself, which includes thousands of programmable classes to implement commonly required functionality such as data access, cryptography, network communications, and more.

▪ The .NET Framework promotes the idea of “software as a service”. Each business component you develop can easily be re-used by existing, and future, applications. .NET components can be easily deployed, by simply copying the compiled assembly to where it is needed, or you can choose to expose your business services across a network as a Web service or remote component.

Integration with Existing Systems

You probably already have software applications in place. You've invested considerable time and money in them, and you want to be sure that any new applications will work together with your existing ones to extend your business processes without adding integration or compatibility issues.

Microsoft understands the problems faced by organisations with diverse software applications, and has developed a large number of technologies that help you ensure your new solutions will co-exist and communicate with your existing software—regardless of platform, language, or communications protocol.

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Web services make it possible for applications to communicate using industry standard protocols. This allows applications to publish or consume business services from other applications across a network.

Message queues can be used by applications to communicate asynchronously, sending business data as a message to be received and operated on by another application.

The .NET Framework includes COM Interop capabilities, making it possible to build .NET applications that both use and be used by existing COM-based applications.

provides a powerful set of data access classes that can be used to access data in a variety of data sources such as Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, DB2, or other databases for which an ODBC or OLE-DB provider exists.

Microsoft Host Integration Server 2000 enables communication between .NET solutions and existing mainframe applications, allowing you to retain the software solutions at the heart of your business while building for the future and extending your capabilities.

BizTalk Server 2002 makes it possible to define and orchestrate business processes that integrate with existing applications and external trading partners by exchanging electronic documents, making it possible to automate the long-running operations your business relies on.

Making your Business Agile

Customer requirements change, often at a moment's notice. Microsoft .NET gives you the flexibility to adapt to customer demands, making your business more agile and responsive.

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The key to agility is access to information. Microsoft Exchange Server makes it possible to access key information from any device—no matter where you are. Microsoft .NET provides a framework for applications that support today's computer devices—not just the traditional servers and desktop computers, but the tools today's mobile employees need, such as laptops, tablet PCs, and Pocket PCs, as well as the mobile phones beloved of your customers.

Need an application on your employees' computers? Build a Windows application. Need a Web site that customers can access? Build an application. Need an application for employees on the move? Build a Smart Device application for Pocket PCs. Need to reach customers through their mobile phones? Build an Mobile Web application. Need to integrate with a trading partner's server? Build an Web service. Wherever you need to extend your business, the .NET Framework can help you.

Who Can Help?

Of course, not every business has the expertise required to develop custom software. You need to find a software development company to help you—but where? How do you know they can meet your requirements? That's where the Microsoft Certified Partner programme can help. Microsoft certified partners employ professionals who have achieved industry recognised certifications, and who have access to the resources and information they need to build high quality solutions using Microsoft tools and technologies.

Visit to find the right partner for your application development needs.

Case Studies

Organisations come in all sizes and industries, each with their own business need. Many companies have already implemented solutions using Microsoft technologies, and have reaped the benefits. You can read case studies and learn about real-world solutions using the .NET Framework and Microsoft Visual Studio® .NET at the following location:



Summary

Microsoft tools and technologies can help you achieve many business benefits by creating components that work with existing solutions. Your next steps should be to review the case studies so that you can see how other businesses have already benefited from developing custom applications with Microsoft technologies. You should then contact Microsoft Certified Partners who can help you tailor the solution to meet your exact business requirements. [pic]

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Business

information

COM

Message queues

Electronic

document

exchange

Mainframe / AS400

Database

Web services

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