Interviewer:

Well Karl, tell us what sort of software does your company produce?

Karl:

Here at Tamari, we are in the business of developing customised software solutions for many different clients. We tend to keep to the Microsoft family of products and develop our predominantly database scenarios around that technology.

Interviewer:

Why stick to Microsoft products?

Karl:

Statistically speaking, there is an extremely high percentage of individuals, businesses and organisations around the globe that have the Windows/Office package installed on their PC's and servers. The integration characteristics are fantastic and quite beyond compare. Microsoft have provided excellent support networks, especially with the Automatic Update features so anyone, anywhere can update their own installed software without the need for network administrators or specific IT skills.

Furthermore, Microsoft are constantly at the cutting edge of technology which gives software developers greater scope for integration with other platforms and hardware developments.

Interviewer:

You seem rather happy with the Microsoft products Karl. How do your clients find them?

Karl:

You have to remember that Microsoft is the dominant force in PC software in the world today. No contest. You buy a new PC - it comes with Windows installed. 99% of the time, that same PC will get Office installed. Therefore, most people in the world today are familiar with the Windows environment. It seems rather straightforward and rather logical to simply "piggyback" on the skills and software infrastructure already in place. The users are comfortable with the systems they are presently using. That is really such an important point I will say it again. The users are comfortable with the procedures and workflow they are currently using. For example, if a user wants to add a new record, they know to go to the File menu, and New will be there. They subconsciously know what to do because they do the same thing every day in other Microsoft applications like Microsoft Word. It's the same within Microsoft Excel too! New will always be under File. So, we do the same thing. By developing a database application in Microsoft Access, for example, we thus ensure that our software applications inherit the procedural characteristics of all the Microsoft Office System.

Interviewer:

Obviously the users are happy then, but how about the client's management?

Karl:

Sometimes, the difference between software providers is the level of customising they are willing to do on each project. We have won projects because we will develop software to mirror existing procedures and processes in a clients business or organisation. When tendering for a project, the information outcomes between software suppliers are often similar - it's how the software gets you there is what sorts out the good from the not-so-good. We are not, again, we are not in the business of software pomp and ceremony. We're not interested in confusing users with a myriad of screens and interfaces to give the impression of ' bang for the buck'. The client needs to know exactly what they are buying and the only way to really do that is customise a software solution for each client and to mirror the company processes as much as possible. That said, the whole idea of installing software is to improve productivity, so working with the client to build a customised solution will always show areas where improvements can be made, making it all the more worthwhile to the business owner / manager. Our developmental style comes from actual experience in many of the industries which we service. This all takes us to the question of should a business change to suit new software. We design, develop and install custom software applications. Each business is different - very different.

The proud owners and managers of businesses have worked long hours over many years to get to where they are today. They are mostly from a generation that grew up without computers and therefore have only a cursory knowledge of software and IT systems. They often only have the marketing blurb from prospective software suppliers to go by when selecting a system for their business. Unfortunately, they are often misled and choose incorrectly simply because they don't know what questions to ask. That can't happen when mirroring an existing system, it either works as it always has done, or it doesn't. We think that any new software / IT system should augment and/or improve any existing business systems otherwise it's a waste of time and money.

Interviewer:

Thanks Karl