Platypus

Is Platypus for me?

If you have business application requirements for which you are unable to identify viable off-the-shelf software products then Platypus is for you. Platypus is a revolution in the rapid production and delivery of enterprise-class, 100% web-based, custom business applications in a fraction of the timescales and cost of traditional bespoke methods.

Other good reasons to consider Platypus include;

• You wish to extend or enhance an existing software application through the creation of a new integrated module
• You have legacy applications built in products such as MS Access, Visual Basic (VB), FoxPro, Paradox, Delphi, FileMaker Pro, Applix or even DOS or Unix "green screen" applications etc which are either;
  
  • not robust enough, or
  • not fast enough, or
  • requiring excessive maintenance, or
  • not able to support modern operating systems or productivity tools, or
  • not supported, or
  • rely on individuals, thus posing a significant business risk
• You have disparate data in diverse systems and applications which you'd like to unify in a common platform with the ability to easily adapt, extend and evolve
• You have a lot of data in spreadsheets which warrants a more controlled, functionally rich, secure application environment

What does Platypus do?

Platypus allows us to build high-quality, functionally rich, robust, line of business applications very cost-effectively, in short time-frames and deploy these applications wherever you need them via a web browser. Platypus combines the best of both worlds of traditional bespoke software development and off-the-shelf software.

In effect you get the 100% fit of a traditional bespoke application combined with the richness, reliability and peace of mind of a proven off-the-shelf software product, so a genuine win-win. By utilising its proven software product architecture with its built-in application design tools, your business application takes shape very quickly indeed, providing you with functionally rich, robust and secure business applications built without code.

The Platypus application platform provides generic built-in services to your application out-of-the-box such as;

• 100% rich web based interface
• Platypus User and Active Directory based access control
• Role based security
• Application Designer including;
  • Data entity and relationship designer
  • Visual form designer
  • View designer (for presenting data in either tabular or graphical views)
  • Menu designer
  • MS Visual Studio Integration (via full MS Visual Studio Plugin)
• Flexible concurrent multi-application desktop
• Single or multiple document interface desktop modes
• Intuitive graphical menus and toolbars
• My menu, personal menu system
• Menu and desktop shortcuts to forms and specific items
• Rules based data security
• Field level data security by user or role
• Simple and advanced search capability
• Rich data and graphical views
• Powerful integrated reporting (using MS Reporting Services)
• Application Migration tools
• Named or concurrent license types

Technically speaking, Platypus is based entirely on the Microsoft technology stack including the latest editions of Silverlight, Internet Information Server, Microsoft Reporting Services and SQL Server. The product is a true three-tier architecture with it's mid-tier based on WCF data services which can also be used as the products data API and fully respect the security models.

How will Platypus help my business?

Platypus will help your business in many ways, including;

• Providing you with the diverse business applications you need in one common, secure and robust platform with the ability to easily adapt, extend and evolve as your business demands,
• Saving you a great deal of money by providing you with these benefits at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods,
• Making you more efficient by eliminating disparate data and providing a more consistent, integrated application landscape across your business,
• Enabling your business to be more nimble and proactive in changing to adapt to the evolving demands of your markets and business opportunities that arise, and
• Reducing wastage and frustration of your users having to use disparate systems and rekey data thus improving their efficiency, job satisfaction and morale.

Why Codestone?

Codestone has delivered a multitude of successful custom line-of-business applications since its formation in 1997 and is therefore extremely experienced in this field. Platypus is the result of a long evolution of products and technologies in this arena and is the forefront of a new era of web based application platforms. Using this remarkable product we can turn our experience and expertise in this field into a very rapid return on investment for your business by delivering the business applications you need at a fraction of the cost and in much shorter timescales than you ever thought possible.