What is old becomes new again

Around this same time, Henry heard about Mertech's first Thriftly release through the developer community.
Realizing that with Thriftly, his team could skip the process of rewriting all of the back end code, Henry decided to use the Mertech Services team to manage the project. The choice would allow all of the existing back-end code to be used in order to create APIs, leaving only the front-end code for the web to be added.
As Henry explains, “that would let us transition our different modules into a web version by using the same databases and the same code. Then, we could get our customers to use these modules while other new ones are being built.” Meanwhile, the FMS team would be able to focus on making improvements: “With the Mertech team able to take on this big project, I could use my team to make sure that we're keeping our current customers happy, by padding the functionality that they need."
Henry continues, “I really liked the idea that Mertech already had advanced programmers because they had the knowledge of the work that needed to be done. Back in the day, if you hired a programmer, they were expected to do all of the development, the design, and everything else. And the design wasn’t even that great. But by going through Mertech, I had availability to different skill sets from month to month. I could have a graphic designer or front-end programmer for three months in a row, but then when we needed back-end programming done, I could get an advanced person to focus on that for a few months, and I didn’t have to pay the front-end programmer while that was happening. The flexibility is what I really liked about going with Mertech.”.

Staying focused on growth instead of writing software

Henry explains, “Before, we could never take on things like changing all of our server structure around, or start setting up a sales force, or working on integrations. But with Mertech managing the development work, I don’t need to be a project manager or an architect of any sorts, and it allows me to focus on growing my business.” He continues, “I’m getting feedback from our customers that they are very impressed with us over the last few years because now they’re getting what they want.”.

Product design as a selling point

“Something that was unexpected, at first, but I absolutely love, is the value of having a dedicated front-end developer and seeing how nice the program looks. I’ve always said it’s got to be functional first, and then we do looks second. But, I’ve learned over time that the design of the software is extremely important. And Mertech has really shown me how much better the product itself appears - and how excited people get - when there’s also a great design.”
Henry goes on to explain that “the front end design that Mertech comes up with every month really gets me excited. From day one when the first design came back, I decided right then that I was going to give very little guidance on the look of the project. And it’s refreshing that I don’t have to worry about design specs; I know it will be right because everyone at Mertech knows what they’re doing.”

Ability to offer additional services

“By using Mertech’s Thriftly platform, we’ve been able to add on EDI (electronic data interchange) services and different integration services. The more products we integrate with, and the more service-level offerings we can provide to our customers, the more value they find from us, which means they’re less likely to leave. Also, this means that when our customers need another solution, they don’t go out looking elsewhere; instead they come to us to create those solutions.”

Mertech has extensive expertise in helping companies, especially software vendors, launch new SaaS products deployed on cloud infrastructure.  We can help give new life to your Windows products!