Software Portfolio

DfES Accredited School Extranet System
Sonnauto
Nethire
Walnutdash
Groundwork Green Business Park

DfES Accredited School Extranet System

This system was developed as a commercial project for the educational sector. The project's goal was to enhance schools' internet presence by making materials available for staff and pupils online from both inside and outside the school as well as integrate the system with the National Curriculum.

In partnership with All Hallows' High School at Preston, a DfES designated Technology College, the need was identified for "total ease of use"; to make a system that is extremely versatile and accessible for use by non-technically trained teachers and pupils and parents with possibly little or no training. The finished system provides staff, pupils and parents the opportunity to use and create pages on the web, whatever their location or level of expertise.

Designed totally "from scratch", the system was programmed in the ASP.NET environment using Microsoft-licensed MS-SQL database technology.

The software was accredited by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) passing their requirements for System Content and Educational Suitability, Technical Specification and Programming Delivery and also Company Financial Improvement.

Now rolled out to 40 schools since 2005, the system is constantly enhanced and updated.

Key features include:

Multi level passwords give different access and editing rights dependant on individual or group user privileges.
New pages, links, content, pictures, homeworks, newsletters and documents uploaded easily uploaded for online use.
Microsoft Word-style WYSYWIG page editor making editing easy for all levels and abilities.
Staff extranet for departmental documentation

Working with Bradford Belle Vue Boys School, Virtual Private Network technology is now being pioneered to allow individual school intranet remote access and irradiate the need for Local Education Authority security barriers.

Top

Sonnauto

Sonnauto are a company that sell both new and used cars via their website at www.sonnauto.co.uk.

Backbone Solutions were approached by SonnAuto for programming integration, website management services and ongoing technical support.

Their website database functionality needed to be redesigned and integrated with the technical requirements of a third party, Money Supermarket. Money Supermarket supplies data to leading online automotive sales portals such as Sonnauto and Auto Trader.

Initial third party liaison resulted in an XML file submission system to fulfil the requirements of Money Supermarket and making the database structure used by Sonnauto compliant.

Since going live with this project, Sonnauto has seen a rapid increase in the number of visitors converting to customers via their website. This system now comprises roughly 80% of all the car sales they process.

Top

Nethire

The concept of this project was totally customer led. It featured a "category and slot" system for advertisers to display their hire products on Nethire's website at www.nethire.co.uk.

The system is an online exchange mart for services for hire or rental. Site visitors search the database of categories and suppliers by entering their post code and using a keyword search. All service aspects are then scanned and the nearest 5 geographically relevant results displayed for the user.

Programming involved creating a user interface to offer:

complete control of users (add/delete/suspend)
ability to search users and services
ability to edit and delete services/slots
ability to specify banned words in advertiser posts with full admin control
ability to make slots accounts "active/inactive"
facility to mass email customers

Programming involved integration of data parsing with a 3rd party geographical location supplier. Comparing with a list of matched records in a database with a query to the 3rd party, individual distances are processed, handled and displayed to meet the requirements of the customer.

In addition, an advertiser control panel was required with the following functionality:

Ability to add new slots/edit slots
Ability to purchase new slots
Ability to make slots "active/inactive"

This XML parsing and query handling software was programmed on an ASP.NET platform using an MS-SQL database.

Top

Walnutdash

Walnutdash was supplied with a content management system for their website at www.walnutdash.co.uk.

The system is accessed by the user on the web via their unique username and password, giving access to their control panel.

This gives access to total site and page management features, allowing the user to edit, create or delete any page, copy and paste page content or edit freehand, upload documents, images, create hyperlinks using an online WYSIWYG editor.

Users can choose different design templates and with the unique "link manager" functionality, can create their own site maps and page order by a simple tick box arrangement.

This was a commercial venture designed and programmed from scratch in order to offer this service as part of our commercial portfolio. The software has now been rolled out to many customers over a 30 month period. It is considered to be one of the easiest to use content management systems currently available.

Top

Groundwork Green Business Park

Backbone Solutions was approached in 2005 by Groundwork to provide a solution for their website at www.greenbusinessparks.co.uk. Partially funded by the UK Government, the website needed to provide the framework to encourage an international forum on green business issues and encourage a business community regarding central issues within business parks in general. In addition, the website's role was to create an inter-park cooperation and community to link the six different business parks falling under Groundwork's remit spread throughout the North West of England.

The project functionality involved:

Upper level pages available on the web for all visitors and editable at any time by site administrators
Open forum with independent login for all site visitors
Upper level "active" pages with specific information of concern to park members
Sub-sites for each section of the site
Park section pages available only to logged in members of that park section
Individual park forums only available to logged in members of that park section
Individual Users able to edit pages within their section if given permission by the site administrator
Mass email to all members available via individual Park areas