ITWales.com
FWOSS: Data-driven web solutions for e-business
FWOSS was founded a year ago by Adrian Lewis and two friends, Polly Nelson and Thom Leggett.
The Bridgend-based company offers custom software and
web solutions for businesses, and focuses on data-driven web solutions to promote and support e-business.
Lewis, technical director of FWOSS notes: "Starting with a thorough consultancy phase, we develop
long-term relationships with our clients by
designing a complete plan for the management and presentation of information within their businesses. By taking a fresh look at the way they use IT we are able to suggest innovative solutions that
remain 100% applicable to their business needs, even if those needs change. By firstly providing a high quality solution and secondly providing a comprehensive support package, we can identify
changes and potential problems before they arise."
"Previous experience of securing funding for hi-tech projects led us to decide to self-fund the company; so we started contracting to set up a stable foundation from which we could then spin-off
products. As soon as we graduated, Thom left his job and we relocated to Wales. We decided to set up here as we had noticed Cardiff's potential as a growing centre for hi-tech innovation; also I'm
Welsh so it was nice to come back."
"We all moved into a house and started FWOSS out of the front room. The company has expanded quite quickly and we moved into our first proper office in June of this year. Polly and I have also just
been awarded graduate scholarship funding from Elwa's Knowledge Exploitation Fund (KEF)."
ITW: What's unique/outstanding about the products/services you provide?
AL: We take pride in coming up with the most elegant and applicable solution for each business, through a process of creative thinking backed up by experience. Having experience in a wide range of
technologies, as well as specialising in new platforms such as .NET, means we can give our customers quality solutions that offer real return on investment.
In terms of the web, we offer software driven Internet technologies - websites that are integrated with business processes, functional and fully accessible. In fact, we've just implemented accessibility
(w3c-wai AAA compliance) as a standard for all websites we produce.
As a relatively young company we focus on being innovative both in the way we do things internally and in the services we provide to our customers. Based on a solid foundation of experience in the
software development, business and creative fields, FWOSS are much more than just a software house.
We like to pass on our knowledge to businesses to help them develop. Whether it is providing specific advice to our customers or publishing free informative articles on topical subjects; we are
committed to establishing ourselves as a source of credible, useful and accessible technological information.
ITW: What one piece of technology has benefited your company the most?
AL: Undoubtedly the Microsoft .NET framework. As software developers we needed a platform that would drive our innovative work with desktop applications as well as internet services and .NET
provides just this. The framework already contains a lot of functionality, which saves us from having to re-invent the wheel every time we sit down to write some code. By encouraging good software
engineering practices and code reuse, .NET allows us to produce better quality software in less time when compared with traditional development methodologies.
Native support for open standards such as XML and Web Services allows us to produce cutting-edge software that will work alongside applications from most other software vendors, thus removing the
worry of being locked in to a proprietary platform.
ITW: What's been the key to your success?
The enthusiasm of our team, our constant innovation and our drive and belief that we will succeed as Wales' leading software company.
We have a policy of continuous improvement, which includes analysing even our most successful projects to see how they could have been done better. As our business advances we pass the ideas,
concepts and knowledge we've gained on to our customers; helping them to maintain their competitive edge.
We realise our future potential in the rapidly expanding hi-tech industry in Wales and believe that our ethos of determination, enthusiasm and hard work will really separate us from the crowd and be key
to our future success.
ITW: What one piece of advice would you give to start-up companies in your field?
AL: Do lots of market research and use it to write yourself a very detailed business plan. Don't then put it in a file and forget about it. Ours has been absolutely invaluable to us and we keep it regularly
updated.
Also, make use of all the support that there is available. Wales is absolutely great for this; there are a huge number of organisations to help get your business off the ground; so use them all you can.
ITW: Where do you see your company going in the future?
AL: We are going to grow our contracting arm into a self-sufficient, process-driven company that's recognised as a market leader in Wales and the UK as a whole. We are always learning - having
recently graduated we are now working towards our next set of qualifications which include ISO 9001, Microsoft Certified Solutions Developers, TMB, CIM and Prince2. We're also developing strategic
partnerships with complementary companies and organisations within Wales.
We will then use the market knowledge, channels to market and business experience we have gained, to create the innovative products that will drive the next stage in FWOSS' growth.
We always have an eye for product development and are always looking to spin off products wherever possible. We are currently forging international links that will lead to some shared product
development and that will set up some channels to market for our future products.
Contacts
FWOSS
Tel: 01656 669 119
E-mail:
info@fwoss.com
Web:
http://www.fwoss.com
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