The following SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity. More about the SMART 100.
This innovation initially came to life when…
One founder employed the other to complete an application development project for a large financial institution that was already over time, over budget and in serious risk. When the entire app was completed in 3 months instead of the expected 9 months, it was obvious there was something special invloved. The secret was a platform that transforms app development in a similar way to how assembly lines transformed manufacturing. The founders joined together to productize this unique approach and extend it further to leverage the emerging “cloud computing” technologies.
WHAT & HOW
The purpose of this innovation is to…
Reduce the costs and risks involved in developing enterprise applications that can be deployed anywhere and accessed by users anywhere.
It does this by…
Simplifying the process of building and deploying rich, secure software that runs everywhere. With pre-wired design UI components for all major client platforms, modelling tool and the world’s only .NET enterprise grade application server, expanzPLATFORM developers enjoy accelerated software development, flexible deployment and ease of management whilst their customers get to market faster with a safe path to the cloud.
PURPOSE & BENEFITS
This innovation improves on what came before because…
It simplifies the process of building and deploying rich, secure software that runs everywhere. At its core is a set of pre-designed components that perform the majority of application functions, allowing developers to concentrate on the custom business logic specific to that application. Client user interfaces can be quickly and independently designed in most common client platforms using pre-fabricated widgets.
Its various benefits to the customer/end-user include…
Reducing the cost, complexity, and risks involved in developing new applications. Our business process led design approach results in applications that more closely meet the end users’ original requirements. Our non-proprietary architecture simplifies the migration of applications into the cloud.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
In the past, this problem was solved by…
Either turning to a standardized Sofware as a Service (SaaS) offering that reduces competitive advantage or face high costs and risks by redeveloping their legacy in-house applications on unfamiliar platforms with little control over how and where their data is stored.
Its predecessors/competitors include…
1. The Sun J2EE platform now owned by Oracle. However, the cost of Java developers is significantly higher than the .NET developers who use expanz.
2. Standardized platforms such as Force.com and Amazon EC2 that lock customers into propietary technologies.
TARGET MARKET
It is made for…
Enterprise and government organizations looking to benefit from the reduced costs and increased flexibility offered by cloud computing but are concerned with the costs and risks of migration. It is also made for independent software vendors who need to migrate to or create alternative SaaS offerings due to increased competetion from SaaS vendors now increasingly dominating the market. IDC states that the 2008 global applications market is worth $200B (Australia, 4%) and is growing at 15% per annum. Gartner states that the 2007 APac SaaS market was worth $500M P/A with a growth rate of 80%.
DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY
It is available for sale through…
System Integrators such as Logica and CSC as well as hosting services providers such as Melbourne IT.
Our marketing strategy is to…
Target the large global system integrators by reducing development resource costs; creating alliances with major vendors such as Microsoft and VMWare by simplifying migration to their cloud offerings; building partnerships with hosting providers and Telcos by offering application platforms on top of their core infrastructure services; building developer community adoption with a free express version.
SUPPORTING IMAGES AND/OR VIDEO
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR THIS INNOVATION
While the judging is now officially over, you can still show your support for this innovation in one of the following three ways:
- Hit the VOTE UP button: Top left of each page (Not available for IE users)
- Trigger a Reaction: Re-Tweet, Like on Facebook, etc.
- Leave a Comment: Share the love!
To check out the Anthill SMART 100 Readers’ Choice winner for 2010, click here.
