boost your business dynamic - Isis Project No 1229

A new software technology greatly reduces the cost of developing and maintaining bespoke, fully web-enabled information management systems.

MARKETING OPPORTUNITY

Vast amounts of information bombards us daily and the management of this information is critical to every organisation. High performing organisations leverage this information to innovate, grow and create value in changing markets and under challenging conditions.  Information Management Systems (IMS) are hardware and software tools that enable data to be captured, stored and shared.  At present, customers can choose between bespoke IMS or customised versions of existing packaged IMS.  Whereas bespoke solutions are expensive to develop and maintain, customised tools can restrict the scope for innovation and competitive advantage by forcing businesses to adapt their model to fit the packaged solution. Small and medium-sized enterprises are particularly under-served by IMS suppliers because:

• They require custom solutions but cannot afford the development costs;
• It is not cost effective for suppliers to customise product lines to meet the requirements of individual businesses.

Reducing the cost of developing bespoke IMS would clearly be of benefit to large and small organisations.

THE OXFORD INVENTION

A team at Oxford University's Computing Laboratory has developed Booster, a software toolkit that automatically generates secure, reliable, fully web-enabled IMS. Booster facilitates rapid systems development to produce a prototype and enables the customer to test, modify and approve the final package more efficiently. This approach dramatically reduces the cost and effort of producing bespoke IMS and provides systems that are more closely aligned with the customer’s actual needs. Furthermore, Booster-generated IMS:

• Are intuitive to use
• Are readily adapted to meet changing customer requirements
• Are inexpensive to maintain
• Improve productivity
• Reduce administrative and IT costs

Booster-generated IMS have been implemented throughout Oxford University to manage data for more than 8,000 students.  Direct benefits to one department have included improved service to staff and students, flexibility to manage changing programme management requirements, and

reduction of administration personnel costs by 50%.

PATENT STATUS

This technology is the subject of an international patent application, and Isis would like to talk to companies interested in developing the commercial opportunity that this represents.

KEYWORDS

bespoke software
information management systems
middleware software development
enterprise infastructure
software model-driven development
model-driven software engineering

Request Further Information: Project Number 1229 Boost your Business Dynamic