Uptown Coders
Technology should enable your business, reduce risks, and provide insights.
So often, technology can feel like it's more of a distraction than a help. You are spending time and energy on just keeping the technology working. This is time you should be spending on growing your business. And in the end, you want meaningful timely insight into your business, not just static reports that simply summarize data.
Uptown Coders has the skills to pull your systems together. Allow us to dig in and understand the challenges. We will map out solution alternatives and guide the selection of the best approach. Then we can lead the projects and get it done — so you can get on with running your business.
Systems Integration • Process Improvement • Data Analytics
Challenges
If your organization is like most, your information technology has evolved over time, with many systems that need constant coaxing to work together.
You may have implemented some best of breed solutions but found that they don't just automatically work together. We will listen to understand the pain-points and then explore how to best make these solutions work together.
You may have solutions that are built on disparate technologies, making them more difficult to connect. Uptown Coders has the tools and skills to overcome these challenges. We can help make the technology work together.
Or your organization may have a firm commitment to a specific technology platform. We will work to help fulfill that promise, migrating older technologies or systems to that common foundation.
So, the challenge is wrapping our arms around all of your systems and mitigating the risks of the weakest links, while being able to extract maximum value from the data that lies within.
Solutions
Systems Integration
Uptown Coders can help integrate software, services, systems, data, etc. together into a cohesive solution that has value beyond the sum of the individual components. We can pull and push data as needed, between all sorts of applications — legacy systems, local client server applications, or cloud-based SaaS solutions.
Process Improvement
Automating manual processes, not only increases productivity, it also reduces the chance for human error. When a human touch is needed and automation alone isn't feasible, then adding tracking and reporting can be key to creating an audit trail. When errors do occur, this audit trail helps in root cause analysis and lasting fixes.
Data Analytics
Most likely, your data is in one of a few standard data sources: Microsoft SQL databases, Oracle database, MySQL database, flat files, or accessible through an API from a SaaS provider. Uptown Coders can figure out where the data lives and then determine how best to get at it. We can access it on-demand, or pull it into a comprehensive data warehouse. With a complete view of the data, we can enable end-to-end analysis, using industry leading business intelligence tools.
Examples
Here is a sampling of Uptown Coders' projects.
Integration
The client had previously deployed ResourceSpace to house their digital assets. ResourceSpace is an open source digital asset management solution built upon the LAMP stack.
The client was adopting a collateral generation system built upon Microsoft Sharepoint and the Exstream document generation platform.
The integration solution replicated the ResourceSpace database, and used SQL Server integration services and custom MySQL queries to extract the relevant meta data and load them into Sharepoint. Required assets were transferred and resized using ImageMagick, as required.
The client benefits included elimination of manual processes to transfer digital assets and the risk of human error, as well as providing access to up to date resources in the collateral generation system.
Technology:
This project required SSIS ETL packages, MySQL queries, SFTP scripts, Sharepoint workflows, and Linux & Windows scripting.
Analytics
The client was in the process of moving their customer relationship data from a Windows client-server solution to SalesForce. The requirement was to be able to provide enhanced analytics on customer behaviour.
The solution included a recurring export of data from SalesForce into a data warehouse built on Microsoft SQL server, with a database schema designed for analytical efficiency, that populated an OLAP cube built in Microsoft Analysis Services.
The SQL data warehouse and the OLAP cube were connected to an on premise PowerBI gateway, to enable reporting using PowerBI. These PowerBI reports were then securely available to the client and consulting analysts.
The client benefits included standardize reports to track key performance indicators, and the ability for analysts to delve into questions and quickly find the observations and trends needed to inform ongoing business decisions.
Technology:
This project required SSIS ETL packages, complex SQL queries, data warehouse architecture, OLAP cube design, PowerBI gateway and report design & implementation.
Automation
The client produces highly personalized outbound communications, in both printed and electronic form. The need was to create a solution for managing the content (text and imagery) and automate the process of creating these communications.
Content was stored in Microsoft Sharepoint, enabling content generation and editing using the Sharepoint web interface as well as the Microsoft Office desktop applications (Word, Excel, etc.).
Numerous process workflows were implemented using the Nintex automation software, including the document generation process, which invoked a custom web service to invoke dynamic document composition, which was built in Exstream.
Technology:
This project used Microsoft Sharepoint, Nintex Workflows to automate workflow tasks, SQL Server to house recipient data, .NET for a custom developed web service, Windows shell scripting, and Exstream document composition programming.
About Us
Scott Beech leads Uptown Coders, bringing three decades of professional experience — from software development, to economic development, to in depth data analysis. Along the way, Scott had time to earn an MA in Economics (Finance) to complement his B.Math in Computer Science. Scott provides tremendous leadership skills to projects — both from a technical point of view, but also giving clear direction and feedback, motivating efficient progress toward project goals. Scott loves to dive into the business needs and figuring out the best solution to provide maximum benefit. He can work with your existing vendors, or roll up his sleeves and do the front-line work — be it user-interface coding, back-end data integrations, or business intelligence dashboards and reports.