Custom Database And Web Applications

It is a recurring pattern in software development that people scope out projects without the end-users in mind. They put in too much or too little validation. They demand input of pieces of information that are rarely used in reporting or are redundant. These decisions are often made in a vacuum without considering the effect of this on the usability of the application. They focus their development on rarely used difficult to program pieces and neglect on making the more common day to day tasks easy to do. In the end, despite the good intentions of the programmers and project managers, if the end user finds an application cumbersome to use, the application will collect dust.

When starting a project, we first consider:

• The customer budget
• Time constraints
• Technical competency of the people that will be using the system as well as the way they currently work
• What problems is this project trying to solve and what problems does the current application/workflow manage well?

We then try to put all of this into perspective, weighing items based on criticalness, ease of implementation, dependency on other action items, and whether an item is really needed or can be achieved as a derivative of another piece of information.

We consider ourselves much better than most IT consultants at making these critical common sense decisions as well as having the knowledge to execute them. These fundamental skills are the main determinant of success or failure of a project.

We have proven skills with PostgreSQL/PostGIS, SQL Server, Microsoft Access, SQLite, MySQL, and other relational database systems. We also offer development using Visual Basic, VB.NET, PHP, and C#. We can help you:

• Increase productivity by upgrading your old applications
• Migrate from MS Access or MS SQL Server to PostgreSQL
• Migrate your site from ASP to ASP.NET or PHP
• Design and develop custom database and intranet applications
• Design and develop Web-based internet applications and e-commerce solutions
• Continued support of database and application once in production
• Upgrade an MS Access applicaton by moving file data storage of MS access application to a server DBMS while maintaining MS Access front-end
• Database and server administration

Contact Us detailing your project requirements and we can provide a free ball-park estimate as to the pieces that need to be implemented and the cost and time of implementation.

Web Application Development and Prototype Hosting

Real Estate Analysis

We are experts in spatial database analysis and its use in analyzing property data. With are unique skill set, we can load in freely available government data to answer the following questions and many more:

• What is the perimeter and area of each lot in a county?
• What zonings does a lot fall in?
• How much frontage does a lot have?
• What percentage of a property is taken up by existing buildings?
• What's the driving and walking distance from a lot to other areas?
• How close is a lot to nearby schools?

Mentoring, Training, and Support

We have helped many companies and individuals across the country develop their own database and web applications. We provide one-on-one training usually via the phone, IM (such as Skype Slack, or Matrix), and/or Zoom. Mentoring works best when you have a project you are working on. We will help you get over the technical hurdles by either pointing you in the right direction or doing that technically challenging portion of the work for you and explaining the steps.

Below is a list of some of the areas we have mentored

• Concepts in Relational Database Technology - how to use triggers, stored procedures, foreign key constraints effectively
• PostgreSQL/PostGIS Spatial Training and Support - writing spatial queries, integrating with web applications
• Writing SQL Queries, Stored Procedures, Views, and Stored Functions (PostgreSQL PlPgsql, SQL and SQL Server Transact SQL languages, MySQL, MS Access)
• Using Microsoft Access Query Designer, Form Designer, Visual Basic
• Writing ASP.NET/PHP/ASP applications and using PHP Smarty templating
• Basic concepts in HTML, DHTML, Javascript, Jquery, Web Mapping
• General software architecture concepts - determining where to build in flexibility and where not to, table driven design

Union Membership, Payment and Dues Modules, and Union Organizing

We have extensive experience working with Unions. We have developed many Union Membership, dues tracking, grievance tracking and case management custom tailored applications and also provide On-Demand web application hosting for these applications. We can provide a standard application with minimum customization for low-budget shops and provide more advanced customizations as needed. Refer to our Union Services guide for more details.

Website Relocation

Not happy with your current hosting company and want to move to a different one, or want to host your own website? Paragon has helped many companies relocate their websites and database applications. Below are a couple of reasons you may choose to move your website.

• You want to host your own site to save money or be more in control.
• Your traffic has increased significantly and you now need a dedicated server.
• Your current ISP is too expensive or unreliable.

Here are some of the functions we have provided in the past to other customers

• Moving your database to the new server (Specialties - PostgreSQL, SQL Server, MS Access and MySQL)
• Upgrading your database
• Transitioning from one database platform to another. We have extensive experience converting apps from MySQL, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Oracle from and to PostgreSQL, MySQL, and SQL Server
• Moving your website and website applications (PHP, ASP.NET, ASP)
• Changing your DNS authority and reconfiguring your DNS records to point to the new servers
• Importing your SSL certificates or registering new SSL certificates
• Secure a domain name, locate an internet service provider or cloud provider.

Networking, Internetworking, Windows 2003, Windows 2008 / Linux server support, IIS/Apache Support and Database server administration

We have staff proficient in Windows 2003/2008/2012/2016/2019/2022, Linux (Debian/Ubuntu, Redhat EL , CentOS) and FreeBSD, IIS, NGINX, Apache, and PostgreSQL, SQL Server, and MySQL administration. We can provide 24/7 phone support.