Im looking at updating our systems at work, atm everything is done by phone calls, which whilst it works takes a lot of my time for trivial things. What im looking to do is integrate a system similar what shiffle.com does but tailored for our purpose. Basically i want all members of staff to be able to log into to their account to view there jobs for the week, order kit, request time off etc... This would also allow the teams to log in when they're on site and log off when they leave. Managers would have access to all the information and be able to update jobs as they change on a regular basis, confirm kit orders/leave. Ideally id like this to be linked to an app which all members of staff would have to make the whole system more user friendly, as 80% of my workforce doesnt have access to the internet! I remember there being a site where you could advertise your project and developers would make an offer it, but i cant find it so if anybody can offer any help it would be greatly appreciated, either with the site im looking for or if theres other ways to achieve what im looking for. Basically im looking for a ballpark figure for the project as i would be stumping up for this myself (the boss is included in the % with internet)
To get your own system developed you're probably looking at £10-15K for an agency. You'd be lucky to find a quality freelancer to do it for around £5K. You could try e-lancer (or similar) but it's dominated by indian/russian companies because the cost of living is low over there, but they quality might not be up to scratch (it can be a gamble). Bespoke web/mobile app development is not cheap - Any other questions feel free to ask.
shouts for Saspro, sbs server 2011 with sharepoint foundation should be good enough for this shouldn't it?
yep, i use it in work, and it should cover all this, all that is required is a solid internet connection with a backup line/3g for the rare times it goes down
We have our own system at work we developed and sell to our customers. Customer management, sales, supplier info, jobs, projects, devices Anything and everything we have it in one system. As for Sharepoint *shudders*.
WTF! Why on earth are you looking into paying for something that would improve productivity for the company? Surely they should be paying!
The boss is sceptical with anything that involves any form of technology at all! I know what im looking at will 'revolutionise' the way this company runs, and my boss sort of understands the system im looking for, but doesnt understand enough to stump up the finances for i therefore once the system is up and running i would be reimbursed any costs involved. Its just the way the company is tbh, we employ 44 people ranging from 19-53 years old, and only 6 have access to the internet! Thanks for all the options guys ill have a look over them this weekend
Sharepoint could do that quite easily. Wouldn't be too expensive (compared to the other options) You'd be looking at a small fortune for a bespoke software package for it.
I know this may be a slightly unpopular idea, but have you looked into Mac OS X Lion Server? You can pick up a mac mini cheaply enough, which would most likely handle the relatively light load you'll be throwing at it, and buy Lion Server for £35~ ($50 iirc) and using things like the inbuilt caldav server and other bits and bobs it should handle pretty much everything you're after tbh. Plus this way it's somewhat expandable. It will play just fine with any windows machines you have about and can quite happily work well with AD etc. If you want an idea of how everything works, apple do a podcast about getting to know Mac OS X Leopard Server (yes, it's two versions older but the fundamentals still very much apply and you can get an idea of whether or not it might work for you) Total cost is pretty much ~£500 + Time.
surely Google Apps can do all of this (and probably for free) or as others have said Sharepoint services (again free)
The problem with Sharepoint is that each individual part works beautifully on its own, but getting them to play together nicely can be a minor pain. Still, it's not actually too bad and should work for what you want it for.
I'm not sure if this meets your needs but https://company.podio.com/ We used that and it also allows you to create your own codeless apps so you could tailor this for your company easily.
