GBdirect's Consulting Services

GBdirect software consultancy currently specialises in the following areas:

• Internet strategy, E-commerce strategy and Electronic Business strategy
• Web site visibility and usability — on which we are acknowledged experts
• The deployment and commercial exploitation of open source software — including migration from Microsoft office solutions
• Skills auditing, the evaluation of IT training requirements and the formulation of IT training strategy.
• Internet Marketing
• Advice and research on the deployment of specific Internet technologies, e.g.:
  • Large web site maintenance
  • Web services (including XML, SOAP, etc.)
  • Thin client desktop computing, including X-terminals
  • Proxy services
  • Internet Security and Web Security
  • Financial transactions on the Web and Internet
  • Authentication and encryption
  • Firewalling, Internet Routing, Switching, Address Resolution (DNS/BIND, etc)
  • Email and messaging services (SMS, GPS, Web Fax, etc)
  • News services
  • Software for managing web or online communities and discussion lists
  • Search engines
  • Wireless networking
  • Mobile computing

Some concrete examples include:

• Maintenance of The Register, one of the world's leading IT news sites with more than one million page requests daily.
• Design, build and deployment of Canline Spares, a business-to-business website with sales of approximately £1M within nine months of release.
• Design, build and deployment of Euro Info Center Online, a business-to-business exchange matching potential suppliers and purchasers in Yorkshire with their opposite numbers in Europe. The system uses Microsoft Active Server Pages, Windows NT® and SQL Server®.
• Design, build and deployment of Keystore, a ground-breaking leading-edge tool for online storage and retrieval of invoices, proof-of-delivery (POD) documents and any other indexed images businesses need to store. This is run as an application service (ASP) site. Blistering performance is the driving ambition of this site.
• Development of XML and SOAP based services for an insurance industry business-to-business bidding and tendering exchange.
• Lead consultants in the production of OpenForum Europe's Open Source Migration Guide, in conjunction with NCC (The National Computer Centre).
• Development of a complete back-office solution based on Microsoft Access® for a marine insurer.
• Development of an XML-based document management system based on CVS and Open-Source tools.
• Roll-out of a corporate email system based on Open Source software and Microsoft Exchange®.