Hosting and Maintenance

Hosting

The vast majority of the software solution we build are either web applications or have web application elements that need hosting on a suitable server. 

Our customers have the choice of either managing the hosting of their applications themselves (either on their own hosting provider or on-premises servers) or allowing us to manage the hosting of their applications on their behalf. It will probably come as no surprise that we recommend that customers allow us to manage the hosting of their web application for the simple reason that we can then fully support the application. If there is a problem, we can deal with it, and there isn't the risk of entering the endless loop of the hosting provider blaming the app, and the developers blaming the hosting provider.

As you'd imagine, if we manage the hosting for our customers, we don't want our customers on the phone complaining that their app is offline or not working. So our first choice for hosting providers is Microsoft's cloud computing platform, Azure. 

Without getting into the technical weeds, Azure is our choice because of its flexibility, security and reliability, and it is generally the best all-around provider for our customers.

Maintenance & Support

Software technology doesn't stand still. Regular maintenance is required to keep any software in tip-top condition. Most of our customers opt for a maintenance package with their software, which includes our development team inspecting your application regularly, performing routine maintenance, fixing any reported bugs or giving it a general tidy-up. The maintenance plan is the best way of keeping their software moving forward and in line with the current technology of the day.

It also means that help is always at hand, and our customers can pick up the phone or drop us an email if they ever need help using their software. 

For most customers, the annual cost of a maintenance and support package is between 10% to 14% of the initial development cost.