.NET Development

As a Microsoft Gold Partner for Web Development and Silver for Software Development, we strongly recommend the use of Microsoft technologies which provide the best price/performance of any enterprise quality option. We use the most modern, stable platform Microsoft have which is .NET 3.5 (specifically C#) and SQL Server 2005 or 2008. Our methodology is designed for development using Microsoft technologies. Some of our competitors use VB.NET however C# was designed by Microsoft for .NET development and is a better language. Using it makes developers more productive than programming using VB.NET, so we are able to pass on about a 5% saving in our estimates. These technologies and arguments apply whether you choose to have the system using Windows or web technologies.

Scalability is inherent by choosing to use Microsoft technologies. SQL Server is an Enterprise-class database capable of supporting thousands of users and millions of records. It will easily cope with business needs.

Maintainability is inherent in the way we design our software, and essential to minimising total cost of ownership. Our Quality Management System, Quality Solved, includes guidance to the Technical Consultant designing a system to achieve maintainability.  Microsoft provide excellent upgrade paths for their software making supportability much easier than with open source options.

Reliability is essential. The reliability of Microsoft technology is a given, otherwise millions of companies around the world wouldn't be using it. More importantly, reliability can be affected in a number of different ways during the development: using appropriate design and testing, and using the right technologies and hosting environment. Consideration is also given to the backup and disaster recovery strategies.

Further Reading
Read how MSM's bespoke .NET skills help to maximise SharePoint's potential.