The PaaS wars continue...
9/2/2011

We are seeing more and more competition in the world of PaaS (Platform as a Service). SalesForce, Microsoft, VMWare, Google, and other players are trying to woo developers and companies toward developing applications with their online infrastructures. The benefits of such platforms are the ability to scale up and down resources (and thus costs) effectively, and leverage data services that these platforms have already built.

The big downside of these services is that your code is written for a specific provider of hosting who may change their business model and/or rates at anytime. The ability to take one's code and find another hosting provider is almost nonexistent for most developers. (To be fair, Microsoft is making strides toward allowing its biggest customers to run essentially a copy of their cloud in private data centers). That said, for most customers of PaaS, lock-in is a real concern.

LimeLeap's LeapSeed platform can run in cloud-based IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) environments, however, our clients can also run LeapSeed in their own data centers, on their office servers, or even on their own personal PCs if they choose.

As the PaaS platforms continue to evolve, LimeLeap will continue to look at integration possibilities with them. At the same time, we are happy to provide an alternative to PaaS platforms that gives our customers a real choice regarding whether where they want their applications and data to live.

Tablets and Data Systems
8/31/2011

Over the last two years, we've seen tablets, a whole new category of device, become more prominent in business, particularly in the areas where seamless and personable presentation of information to individuals is important (retail kiosks, salespeople, trendy restaurants). While the presentation capabilities and fluid touch capabilities of these devices are impressive, it is still an open question what place tablets have when interacting with complex data systems.

Certainly, simple tasks are easy to complete (such as an executive clicking "Approve" in a process management application), however, will the tablet have a role when it comes to large scale entry and production of information? The Apple iPad is largely a consumption device, and if one is writing HTML5 applications instead of native iOS applications, even more so. For instance, files cannot be uploaded via the Safari web browser as they can in traditional desktop operating systems.

This could off course change. Microsoft is readying Windows 8 to be a first class tablet operating environment, while at the same time supporting the more Desktop environment more geared towards information creation.



In a year or two, the tablet market might look very different, with information workers carrying devices that allow for easy tablet-like access to information with the ability to convert into a workstation-like operating environment when necessary. We'll know more about this when Microsoft's BUILD Conference occurs this September.

In the meantime, at LimeLeap, we continue to create systems and websites that work well in tablet environments and in desktop browsers.

Build or Buy?
9/16/2010

It’s a question we hear all the time, and like the answer to many big questions, "It depends."  But that's not what you want to hear, so we've compiled time-tested guidelines to answer the question, "Should I build or buy my software application?"

Buy if

• a commercial application meets 75 percent of your needs,
• you need to automate common business processes,
• or, you can't explain why you want to build instead of buy

If you buy, don't modify.  Instead adjust your processes to fit the software.  Trust us, this is good advice.

Build if

• you’re dealing with the core processes that differentiate you from others,
• you're introducing new web services to your market that will differentiate you,
• or, your needs are unique and software does not exist to address them

If you build, the options are limitless; and so are the corresponding invoices.  Make sure you identify your core needs and address these first.  Get half the functionality 100% right instead of all the functionality half right.

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