Experience the User Interface Revolution

 By: Mike Fechner   

Mike Fechner of Consultingwerk, a software architecture and development company, is a guest contributor on the Business Making Progress blog. He started using Progress and OpenEdge in Version 5 almost 20 years ago and ever since has supported Progress Application Partners and end customers in adopting the features of the latest OpenEdge  and Progress releases to enhance the capabilities of existing  applications.

 Consultingwerk is proud sponsor of the Progress Revolution Conference and exhibitor at the solution expo. Visit us at our booth and see how we can support you with your user interface revolution!

The user interface is the most visual point and often the selling point of every application. The user interface needs to convince prospects during the demonstration of the application and needs to support existing and demanding users to get their job done in a productive and pleasing manner. Last but not least the user interface needs to stand the comparison with standard applications such as well-known office suites.

Consultingwerk is specialized in leveraging Microsoft .NET technology to help our customers build modern user interfaces for existing applications as well as new applications and new modules of existing applications. Our products and services are designed around the combination of Progress OpenEdge and Microsoft .NET technology, both based on the OpenEdge GUI for .NET or native .NET development.

Instant migration to the OpenEdge GUI for .NET

The WinKit (Window Integration Toolkit) is Consultingwerk’s proven tool to simplify the adoption of the OpenEdge GUI for .NET in existing OpenEdge GUI applications. The migrated application receives a modernized, state of the art user interface that allows easier sale and increases the end user’s acceptance of existing OpenEdge GUI applications. Think of it as adding modern controls like the Ribbon, Tab Folders, Dockable Panes and Grids into the existing application without requiring any rewrite or architectural change. This results in dramatically reduced costs and almost no risk in the process of modernizing your application.

Rapid application development for the OpenEdge GUI for .NET, OpenEdge Reference Architecture and the Visual Designer

The SmartComponent Library ensures your successful transition towards developing with the new user interface technology and the recommended application architecture principles in the shortest possible time using enhanced development tools and specialized runtime components. Our  tools are designed to get you instantly up to speed with a modern user interface technology and application architecture without taking any compromise in flexibility or capabilities of the new application or application modules.

The WinKit and the SmartComponent Library can be used together or independently from each other. The shared foundation code base ensures the successful combination right from the start or one after the other – depending on our customer’s needs or time scale.

User interfaces for Mobile Devices such as iPhone, iPad and Android

Our new SmartComponent.Mobile framework can be used to build native user interfaces (Apps) for the most popular platforms for mobile devices. It is based on .NET technology to make the best usage of our existing framework components and both our and our customers’ existing experience. The SmartComponent.Mobile framework allows you to access the OpenEdge Database and Application Server and reuse existing business logic that may also be used in the SmartComponent Library on the OpenEdge GUI client. For our customers already using the SmartComponent Library this allows that they only have to develop the new user interface but can keep the existing business logic. For new customers this guarantees that any new effort spend in a new application architecture  can be leveraged from a large number of different user interfaces.

Our tool offerings are completed using top of the edge consulting services. Our expert consultants have experience from a large number of projects supporting OpenEdge partners and end customers during all aspects of the modernization of OpenEdge based applications or the conception of new developments. Do not miss the chance and discuss your application needs with one of our experienced senior architects on our booth.Get a personal demonstration of our outstanding tools and see how we can support your success.

As you can see we will be demonstrating solutions for any user interface your application might need to help you with your personal user interface revolution!

Looking forward to see you in Boston!