software, engineered
Ballard Chalmers, part of the Transparity Group, is one of the UK’s leading custom software development companies, specialising in enterprise applications on the Microsoft Platform.
We are principally dedicated to custom software development, modernisation and integration for the Microsoft Cloud, as well as on-premises and hybrid systems. Our expertise is in Azure Modern Application Development, Azure Integration Services, Azure Data Platform and BI, as well as Microsoft .NET development, SQL Server and BizTalk Server.
As a Microsoft Partner, five solution partner designations, we have a well-earned reputation for delivering our expert service in these technologies, and for doing so at sensible rates.
With a heritage of over 30 years, the company is driven by its founders Geoff Ballard and Andrew Chalmers who have distinct backgrounds in technology and business, yet share the same desire to simply make software work better.
We deliver a flexible and mature approach to application development and have adapted methodologies and terms of business to suit the requirements of our clients. Our real-world business and technical expertise mean we are able to work with clients to find the best possible way of interpreting briefs commercially to deliver projects in scope, on time and in budget.
In the main, we provide IT executives and managers with expertise and skills on an outsource service and technical partnership basis to help to achieve programme objectives.
We work with UK institutions and enterprises on a broad and varied range of projects. From designing and developing new applications that support business innovation and business process streamlining; to existing application modernisation and integrating online and offline enterprise systems securely and efficiently.
Our core services give us great flexibility to work with clients across any point of the development life cycle.
1 Language
- English
1 Timezone
- GMT

headquarters
Focus
Portfolio
Apex, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Ipes, Good Energy, OVO Energy, Trend Networks, ID Register, Transport for London, NHS, Civil Aviation Authority, Stark, Canterbury Christ Church University, Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Royal Horticultural Society.

Application Integration for the RHS
Situation
The Royal Horticultural Society required a solution for integrating data across their multiple systems in order to achieve several high-value aspirations.
The initial focus was on the integration of the Digital Member Sign Up (DMSU) software; to create an API for the platform to use and seamlessly integrate to the current core systems. This needed to be delivered in an extensible way that could be expanded to cover other systems and in a secure, fault-tolerant and supportable way.
Solution
This Azure Integration Platform implementation addressed the requirements of the DMSU API by implementing a platform that could be used to integrate the RHS application estate.
Azure was used as it provided RHS with the ability to scale the services. The additional benefit of the implementation enabled easy integration of the remainder of the RHS application estate by way of Service Bus queues and subscriber services as well as mapping functions that enabled the creation of a Canonical Service Bus that mapped from the membership management system to the API.
The use of the Master Data Services (MDS) improved the specification of the data to a single golden source for the defined items and allowed for the future integration of data quality tools to ensure that the correct data cascades downstream to other systems, offering a single and consistent view of Customer data.
The choice of standard Azure services was made to make a careful balance between the existing skills of the RHS teams in C# and the Serverless technologies used. This helped to ensure that there is familiarity with the techniques used and re-use of existing code that can be scaled, security implemented and error handling to assist in live debugging.

A Revolutionary New System for the Finance Sector
After the success of the fully bespoke build of Capital Tracker, a cutting-edge cloud enterprise application developed for managing Private Equity funds, Ipes continued their longstanding relationship with software development outsource partner Ballard Chalmers on the build of The ID Register, an online investor onboarding platform that helps makes key processes such as fund launches faster, easier and more cost-effective.
It centralises fund subscription information, conducts Due Diligence and Know Your Customer (KYC), and also provides Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and Common Reporting Standard (CRS) tax reporting to the relevant jurisdiction.
Ipes had envisioned an online platform that would enable individuals to create one complete KYC and FATCA profile and share it securely with their lawyers and fund managers, making Compliance Due Diligence (CDD) quicker, easier and more cost-effective.
This idea for The ID Register was born in response to demands from the legal and the PE Fund community, who were frustrated with the lengthy CDD process.
The technology behind it is primarily ASP.NET MVC, C#, SQL Server, TSQL, AngularJS, Bootstrap, SSRS and is a modern responsive web application hosted on Azure.
Since its launch in 2016, The ID Register has evolved to become a central industry utility for the Private Equity sector It makes the investor onboarding process quicker through the Universal Subscription questionnaire (USQ).

Custom Mobile App for a Utilities Startup
Situation
The original AppCan system was based on web sites and APIs built using .NET and SQL Server deployed on Microsoft Azure together with a Mobile app developed in Objective-C for iOS devices.
The Mobile app had several limitations and the app needed to be redeveloped to work cross-platform with as much shared code as possible. The new app needed to use the same API as the existing iOS app used so that it could be introduced without change to the Azure API and web sites and have the same functionality as the current version of the iOS app.
Solution
The technology behind the AppCan solution is:
.NET Web applications on Azure App Services: For customer specific web sites and the central administration web site Xamarin Forms Mobile App supporting both iOS and Android platforms
.NET Web API on Azure App Services: APIs used by mobile devices for sharing data
Azure File Service: Cloud-based file system for storing documents and images
SQL Azure: Cloud-based database holding the master data for the system C#, T-SQL, JavaScript and XQuery programming languages.
The system is designed as a serverless Azure application, so there is no need to patch or manage servers. It is designed to auto-scale out to multiple physical servers as load increases, with SQL Azure that can be scaled up and down as load dictates.
Outcome
“Full credit goes to the developers and management of our development partner, who fully understood the requirements and delivered this project with remarkable speed. They made it a completely painless process and that gave us all the confidence that AppCan XP was going to be very successful.The feedback from users has been incredible, as it is not only much faster in its use, but also brings new essential features, including Photo markups and automated filing of records into the document folders.”
Managing Director, AppCan

Microsoft Recognised Development for the NHS
Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (QVH) is one of the world’s leading specialist centres for reconstructive surgery, and expert therapy and rehabilitation services. Burns patients who had the potential to be treated at their local hospital were often sent to QVH for review.
In such cases treatment could be delayed by several hours, and patients would be involved in unnecessary travel (particularly if QVH’s services were not suitable for the patient).
In 2012, the trust recognised that with the adoption of the latest technologies it could enhance service. Following intensive evaluations, QVH contracted Ballard Chalmers for the full design, development and implementation of the new solution – Telemedicine Referral Images Portal System (TRIPS).
Built within a SharePoint environment using .NET custom development, using Standard SharePoint CAL licenses, TRIPS technology provides QVH with a secure (encrypted) transfer of digital images of injuries, enabling hospitals and paramedics to directly consult with clinicians at one of the five hubs on patient injuries and trauma at any time of day or night, regardless of where in the region the patient is located.
TRIPS was an immediate success and its rollout was further accelerated by the involvement of the London and South East of England Burn Network, who recognised that this technology contributed substantially to its own objectives.
QVH’s partnership with Ballard Chalmers has been highly successful and continues today.

A Groundbreaking New App for the Finance Industry
Situation
Mia® would use data analytics to support innovative business process transformation in order to drive growth. It would provide transparency across legacy processes, transforming the way that C-Suite leaders can capture and interpret data. Equipped with rigorous intelligence, the platform would optimise key operational areas to turn traditional risk into opportunity with data-driven clarity.
Solution
Working together with Square Marble Technology, Ballard Chalmers delivered the bespoke SaaS Mia platform with state-of-the-art security and backup.
Some of the technology (that we can disclose) behind Mia includes:
- User interface developed in React and Redux
- Data requests made over AJAX primarily to an ASP.NET Web API application running in IIS
- LINQ to SQL and Entity Framework used extensively for server-side data requests
- Microsoft SQL Server database
- .NET for File Import and Business Process Automation applications
- Rabbit MQ used for communication between the website and file import/business process applications
- Microsoft Power BI for Business Intelligence reporting
Mia’s capabilities include:
- Risk Management
- Group Relationships
- On-Boarding
- Credit Limit Management
- Customer Trading Status Management
- Workflow Management
- Dispute Management
- Task Management
- API’s
- Self Service Imports GUI
- Self-Service Exports GUI
- The Mia State Change Engine
- Configurable Dashboards
- Repayment Plan Module
- Single Sign On
- SMS Module
- Email communications
- Credit Card
- Post Integration
- Microsoft Power BI Reporting
- Data Modelling
- Multi-Language Comms Template Pack
- Export to CSV
- Line Items
- Audit History
- Search
- Advanced Search
- Document Integration
Outcome
“SMT, together with Ballard Chalmers have broken new ground with Mia. It is truly an innovative business intelligence and process management application that transforms data into a smart business process by fully automating an optimal balance between achieving best receivables performance against best operational efficiency.” - CEO SMT

Development for TFL's contactless card payments
Ballard Chalmers’ solution is a fully bespoke .NET / SQL Server product that deals with a wholesale update of the way the Oyster card is used and the way payments are taken and distributed.
The most obvious of these, from the customers’ point of view, is the way that contactless payments are accepted at entry and exit gates, allowing them to pay with a swipe of their own debit or credit card. This is just part of what has been achieved.
The solution also includes:
- Revenue Apportionment Engine for the TOCs when a journey is part TfL and part Overground.
- A huge matrix and state machine-based calculation engine that covers all possible fares for all routes and calculates server-side how much the customer should be charged for each journey.
- Provision for payments from credit and debit cards. These are queued and processed asynchronously, using SQL Server Service Broker, as the banks cannot deal with the speed of contactless card swipes at gates.
- SQL Server PDW (Parallel Data Warehouse) database for analysing trends in the large volumes of data involved. The data volumes are huge with millions of card swipes per day and billions of records in the databases.
- The new Oyster Online website, will provide a range of additional functionality such as enhanced sales capability; refunds directly to the customer’s card or bank account, (radically simplifying the refunds process); change ticket validity online to increase or decrease zones, and manage lost or stolen cards online.
In 2015 Dr Sean Smith, head of the Fares and Ticketing development team at TfL said, “The development of the Oyster card system, with contactless payments and other features, was a massive .NET development, involving enormous data volumes and requiring the best development team... Ballard Chalmers contributed to the success of this project by supplying critical resources including TFS build engineers, MVC C# developers, C# messaging and workflow developers and SQL Server development DBAs.”

BizTalk Application Integration for Cornerstone
SITUATION
Cornerstone was in the process of implementing an IT system that would manage their entire estate (circa 21,000 sites). This system (Caesium) needed to contain all details of the estate and ensure a greater level of automation could be achieved between Cornerstone, its customers and suppliers.
A requirement that came about as part of this was the need for an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) platform to link Caesium to the various existing internal, supplier and shareholder systems.
The primary goals of the integration project were:
- Providing uniform access to relevant business data, to Cornerstone shareholders’, customers’ and suppliers’ IT systems
- Automation of business processes between Cornerstone and its customers and suppliers
- Automation of internal business processes
- Ensuring business processes are driven by high-quality data by avoiding manual information re-keying into multiple systems
SOLUTION
Our approach was to use Out of The Box BizTalk features with additional customisation.
The ESB development was based on BizTalk 2016. Standard BizTalk Adaptors were used, primarily for provisioning and calling Web Services.
The endpoints were designed to accept generic payloads and the content/messages were authorised and routed inside generic BizTalk orchestrations using authorisation and routing tables.
All message types, from all adaptors, required schemas (i.e. XSDs) and were mapped to/from internal ESB canonical schemas using mappings.
In order to support a high degree of resilience and fast response time, the system has been designed to operate on BizTalk 2016 Enterprise or Standard Editions. BizTalk Enterprise Edition supports BizTalk Groups which offer an active-active cluster of servers. This has the advantage that in the event of a single server failure another server in the cluster would take over with no loss of service.

Application Modernisation for the Care Database
SITUATION
Having completed the initial development of the Care Database and with the application stable, the client was looking to change partners for long-term support and enhancement development of the system. In particular:
- A fixed price support agreement with bug fixes to agreed service levels
- Ongoing maintenance to ensure the system remains secure and optimized
- Fixed-price development services to enhance The Care Database
The first stage of taking over management of the Care Database Application was:
- Transitioning the source code into GIT Repos in Azure DevOps
- Creating a backlog of issues and new features in Azure DevOps
- Carrying out a thorough review of the Web App and SQL source code
- Making some selected code changes and ensuring these could be successfully be deployed to TEST and then LIVE
- Ensuring that CHT knew how to operate the Ballard Chalmers online service desk for raising tickets
Having successfully taken over the management of the system, routine support could begin.
The next stage was to look at how to improve the way the system is supported and developed by doing the following tasks. Each of these were specified and estimated as a new piece of work:
- Change the system so that the Web App and API work on Azure App Services (instead of IIS in a Virtual Machine (VM) per client) and then migrate all of the clients over to App Services
- Introduce fully automated deployment pipelines to ensure releases from DEV to TEST to UAT and LIVE servers are fast and robust
- For new features, introduce a new form of automated UI/Integration test that operates directly against the browser, in the same way a user does. These tests are based on Specflow and Selenium and are defined in Gherkin syntax.
OUTCOME
We are now successfully managing the Care Database Application, have fixed a number of critical issues and have resolved several performance problems.

Application Integration for United Living
SITUATION
United living needed to migrate data from three legacy systems that contained all their construction-related drawings and documents into a single new system.
The three systems were: Buzzsaw from Autodesk, Conject from Aconex and Openspace from Deltek. The new system is Aconex.
There were standard methods by which data could be extracted from all three systems into a file for subsequent import into Aconex. The main migration challenges were:
- The three systems export data in different ways and all three are different from the import format for Aconex.
- Aconex has twenty-one fields of metadata for each item, ten of which are mandatory. Not all these fields are available from the source systems and would need to be obtained from the operations team familiar with the construction projects.
SOLUTION
During the scoping/design phase, given the large number of files and versions, it quickly became apparent that using the Aconex bulk upload tool was not a realistic option.
This was because it would require separate uploads for every version of all documents in each project. So instead, a .NET application was developed using the Aconex API to automatically migrate the data with minimal user intervention.
For each of the three systems, we produced a version of the .NET program that could migrate projects automatically. We then carried out one successful migration and the remaining migrations were run by United Living, with Ballard Chalmers providing support where needed.
OUTCOME
The integration and migration project was successful, some key results:
- Mail response time improved by 84%, while volume has grown 4X
- Transmittal response time improved by 68%
- RFI response time has improved by 19%
- Discovery has transformed from what could have taken a full-time person a year, to something that can now be done in a couple of hours to half a day

An SQL solution for The Energy Saving Trust
Situation
DECC (formerly DEFRA) and the Energy Saving Trust concluded that their third-party hosted software did not allow the level of control needed to maintain the software to the most current level and that the current architecture did not truly promote a high availability model.
The aim was to move the hosted solution to a more cost-effective internally hosted model, combined with upgraded infrastructure and a more robust redundancy model, allowing true high availability.
Solution
Ballard Chalmers was appointed to handle the Energy Saving Trust project, based on their reputation and expertise with Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft IIS.
Ballard Chalmers undertook consultations with the website developers at EHS Brann and the Network and Infrastructure teams at EST, to ensure that the hosting transition was detailed to meet the planned move date of January 30th 2009.
A single instance SQL cluster was built to host the working SQL Server database, with storage being provisioned by the EST SAN solution. Two independent website servers were built, fronted by a Radware load balancer to host the working website.
Outcome
The solution was completed successfully and being a predominantly Oracle House, DBA Training was also provided to allow the DBA Team the ability to build, monitor and maintain the Microsoft SQL Server solution on an ongoing basis.
“Thanks for your support … We are looking at moving more applications to Microsoft technology and we view you as our Microsoft Partner of choice for future work.” - IT Project Manager at the Energy Saving Trust.

PowerApps Solution for UK Non-Profit, Parkinson's
Situation
Parkinson’s UK were looking for a temporary solution to allow staff to capture their objectives for the year in one place. They needed a solution which was simple to create and even simpler for staff to use, requiring no training.
Solution
The initial assumption was that the answer would be a customised SharePoint application but when Ballard Chalmers was approached, it was suggested that Microsoft PowerApps could be a great solution.
The ability to easily connect with a SharePoint list, embed the form on a web page or SharePoint page and potentially the ability to use a mobile app was key for Parkinson’s UK to agree to proceed.
The PowerApps solution automatically recognises the user but also allows him/her to submit their line manager, role and cost-centre to help improve the data quality. Users are able to then add up to seven objectives, with a description and target date for each one.
The form is very simple and easy to understand with large bold icons and typeahead for all user lookups. It demonstrates the ability of PowerApps to quickly meet requirements and deliver a simple-to-use application in a very quick time that can be supported simply and deployed in minutes.
Outcome
The PowerApp was then embedded to a SharePoint Communications Site to maximise the real estate of the screen for the application and rolled out to all staff for the start of 2018.
From initial engagement to full delivery only required two days of consultancy from Ballard Chalmers.
“PowerApps was included with our Office 365 licenses, so when Ballard Chalmers proposed this as our solution it enabled us to have a cost-effective, easy-to-use application, delivered within very tight timescales. The product itself is very flexible, so it needed a flexible approach and good collaboration, which we certainly got from the Ballard Chalmers team.” - IT Consultant at Parkinson’s UK

A SharePoint Solution for Young Epilepsy
Situation
From March 2014, Young Epilepsy had been utilising a SharePoint 2013 application for its Incident Reporting System (IRS).
This replaced and upgraded an earlier non-SharePoint system. Utilising SharePoint allowed the organisation to manage the safety and wellbeing of their clients in one place, though they had identified outstanding issues inherited from the earlier system that were influencing its SharePoint IRS.
Additionally, it needed to implement enhancements necessary to meet operational requirements and so contacted Ballard Chalmers to help.
Solution
In 2015 Ballard Chalmers completed the Phase I refinements work on Young Epilepsy’s IRS. Further to this, it was identified that other enhancements could be made to help improve the system.
Once this was completed there was Phase II of development was undertaken which included carrying out a major refactoring of the data schema.
Phase III concluded in February 2017 and included a new Red-Amber-Green (RAG) rating system for incidents, further enhancing the ability to respond correctly and timely to those incidents of most concern.
These changes positively impacted everyone in this unique organisation. Commissioners and key stakeholders particularly report increased visibility and control over incident management.
Outcome
Ballard Chalmers and Young Epilepsy have an ongoing relationship, which has seen the two organisations work together on several projects now, including SharePoint Intranet design consultancy, and website and software support plus maintenance.
“Ballard Chalmers provides us with specialist development, advice and support, and integrate well with our in-house Information Services Team. We find everyone at Ballard Chalmers very personable, professional and highly skilled. Their work with us has had a good balance of corporate professionalism and personal engagement. We have appreciated their sympathy to our work in the not-for-profit sector.“ - Head of IT Services, Young Epilepsy

SharePoint Solution for Tokyo Electron's Intranet
Situation
Tokyo Electron (TEL) had initiated a formalised safety and quality management procedure for observing the work environment and practices of its employees.
For the procedure to work, the technology used for reporting issues needed to facilitate ease of use.
The existing reporting tool was identified by TEL as being unworkable in this respect due to:
- A counter-intuitive interface.
- Searching for or filtering items was difficult.
- A complicated and time consuming information capture and submission method.
- A complex tracking submission and action status/completion.
- Weak performance summary reporting systems.
Solution
TEL brought in Ballard Chalmers to custom-build from scratch a SharePoint tool for release into their existing intranet. This new SharePoint system delivers:
- A logical interface.
- A method of capture/upload that is easy and intuitive.
- The ability for someone to submit on behalf of another person.
- A method of capture/upload which prompts people to consider all hazardous condition/behaviour categories.
- A system that can produce automatic reminders.
- A system that produces the reports required.
- A system that allows individuals to easily search for previously submitted items when online.
In enabling the above, the system also now incorporates the following elements:
- Submission/input interface
- Ability to submit remotely via mobile phone or tablet.
- Minimum capability to capture offline and upload (automatically) when online.
- Database with reference to an employee data file.
- Reporting intelligence.
- Automated reporting.
- Search functionality / interface.
Outcome
The SharePoint system delivered by Ballard Chalmers enables TEL employees and managers to now collaborate effectively on issues affecting the safety and quality of the working environment.
With this, the procedure can now serve its intended purpose as the backbone of TEL’s health and safety programme in the workplace.

A Custom BizTalk Solution for the Media Industry
Situation
Exterion Media has recently replaced an existing legacy ERP system with Microsoft Dynamics AX, suitably customised for their business processes and installed in a managed data centre.
Exterion also uses cloud-based Salesforce as their CRM system. A seamless and efficient means to integrate these two systems was required to speed up operations and avoid the need for double keying of data.
For example, potential new clients created in Salesforce should be passed to AX for credit checking and approval, before Salesforce should accept orders from them. AX should provide integrated product lookups and price calculations for Salesforce, while AX manages stock levels.
Solution
Having completed a number of projects together since 2014, Exterion Media contacted Ballard Chalmers for the design and development of an integration between Salesforce and Dynamics AX using Microsoft BizTalk Server.
Dynamics AX would manage product, price, inventory and discount information. Salesforce would process clients, opportunities and quotes. BizTalk would manage all data interchanges between the two systems
The custom solution delivered by Ballard Chalmers has enabled Exterion Media to:
- Automate the process of approving new customers created in Salesforce
- Enable Salesforce to lookup products, product packs and prices in AX in real-time
- Enable AX to manage the fulfilment of orders submitted from Salesforce.
Outcome
"We've used Ballard Chalmers for integration using BizTalk in a number of applications. They are refreshingly straightforward and practical and we are very pleased with the work they have done for us" - IT Director, Exterion Media

StudentNET portal for Canterbury Christ Church Uni
Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) commissioned Ballard Chalmers to develop the new “StudentNET” portal, based on our reputation as a Microsoft .NET development specialist with in-depth knowledge and vast experience in the creation of enterprise-scale cloud applications.
The design utilised the absolute latest in technology and graphical presentation to ensure acceptance by students, with a fully customisable homepage and drag-and-drop apps.
With slick graphic design and presentation, it included a range of apps to match each student’s individual needs and preferences, together with a theme and colour selection and the type of features that students were used to in their online social life.
The portal provided a central location for students to manage all of their day-to-day financial and course needs including:
- Student internal messaging service.
- Ask real-time questions of University staff and faculties.
- Subscribe to new information services.
- Pay tuition fees and Council Tax online.
- Poll and student voting facility.
- Access to course timetables and course details.
- Webnote module for personalised views.
- Bulletin board to trade ideas and information. Update personal details.
- Flickr and other Web 2.0 type facilities.
The functionality was created using ASP.NET 3.5, AJAX.NET, LINQ to Entity, LDAP, Active Directory, Web Services and WCF. ASP.NET 3.5 was used to create the StudentNET portal framework. AJAX.NET and the JQuery JavaScript library provided a modern drag-and-drop client-side interface. LINQ to Entity provided a data layer to SQL Server tables, and T-SQL stored procedures and functions. LDAP interfaces with Active Directory for authentication and user profile information. Web Services and WCF provide back-end interface layers.

An innovative ASP.NET, C#, SQL and T-SQL app
Ballard Chalmers provided a full development team. Initially, this was as an external project based at our own offices, and, once the first system version was completed and live working as an embedded team within Ipes, but still based at our HQ and with the proactive guidance of Ballard Chalmers’ Chief Technical Officer Geoff Ballard.
The result was CapitalTracker.com, the first entirely web-based system in the field, with an app-based architecture enabling customised views of data in real-time to all users. Investors could now see live valuations, transfer information and obtain up to the second reports; clients could view the information for all their investors.
- The technology behind CapitalTracker is primarily ASP.NET, C#, SQL Server and T-SQL.
- The user interface was based on apps that are developed as ASP.NET controls with JavaScript, JQuery and AJAX.
- .NET Server-side security ensured that each user could only request certain pages and apps.
- Data requests were made over REST primarily to WCF Data Services and Entity Framework.
- LINQ to Entity Framework was used extensively for server-side data requests.
- The more advanced apps made use of Knockout.js.
- A unique and proprietary Data Widget software layer enabled power users to design their own Apps using a drag and drop forms designer and a data configuration file.
“CapitalTracker now controls every aspect of our business. That’s why the partnership with Ballard Chalmers has been so important. The programmers work for me, but are supported by their full technical team – it’s the best of both worlds. This gives us continuity at a reasonable cost and maintains the relationship with Geoff and the Ballard Chalmers team. It’s our software and we have the flexibility to add enhancements when we want, and we are well supported by Ballard Chalmers.” - Tim Andrews

SharePoint for Royal National Lifeboat Association
Situation
Funded by charitable donations, the lifeboat crews and lifeguards of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) have saved at least 140,000 lives at sea since 1824. With 92% of its total income coming from donations and legacies, the RNLI’s public-facing website is a critical tool for generating awareness and for fundraising.
The website is based on the SharePoint 2010 enterprise content management system and has many thousands of web pages. It also has a large number of custom extensions enabling it to provide a whole range of services to the RNLI’s audience including details on all lifeboat stations, automated weather updates, membership sign-up and donations.
The RNLI had identified a number of issues with the website including Users found the donation process too lengthy.
So the RNLI appointed a creative agency to update the design and reached out to Ballard Chalmers for help on the back-end SharePoint development.
In particular, it was necessary to speed up page loading times and improve the “donation journey.
A lack of compatibility between the live web servers and associated QA (Quality Assurance) web servers was making the deployment of new software and content very difficult, because the behaviour on the live servers was not always consistent with the behaviour on the QA servers. The compatibility differences were between installed Microsoft service packs and cumulative updates, server configuration settings and deployed custom code.
Solution
In order to address both of these issues, the RNLI selected Ballard Chalmers to redevelop the donation web pages and to rebuild the live and QA SharePoint server farms in a way that ensures they are functionally identical allowing reliable software releases to take place.
Outcome
The updated website allows the RNLI to continue and further its outreach, garner donations and educate the public on safety in British and Irish waters.

A BizTalk System for the Legal Sector
HM Courts and Tribunals Service had implemented a new Secure Data Transfer (SDT) gateway to streamline the submission of money claims. As a result, Shoosmiths were required to integrate their two existing case management systems – Visualfiles & IDR – and the HMCTS SDT system.
Solution
The solution was based on BizTalk Server 2013 and the BizTalk ESB Toolkit. The ESB resides between the Line of Business (LOB) systems and the SDT system and has the capability to act in real-time or in batches with respect to both incoming and outgoing messages.
The HMCTS SDT is a real-time Web Service-based system. Shoosmiths have two internal LOB claims systems, one used by 80% of the users and one by 20%. Neither of these systems have built-in sophisticated integration capabilities therefore the methods of interchange are:
- Incoming and outgoing communication is handled by files being placed into a drop folder.
- Incoming and outgoing calls are made through staging tables in a SQL database.
Outcome
“The integration with HMCTS is critical to our business. In the short timescales available, the easy option would have been to develop a specific point solution, adding yet more complexity to our systems landscape.
"Instead, the use of BizTalk provides us with the flexibility to enhance the solution as the integration with HMCTS evolves, whilst being able to extend the use of this service to other parts of the business if required. Ballard Chalmers did an excellent job of delivering exactly what we required when we required it.
"I was impressed by how quickly they understood the legal process and were able to deliver a flexible, yet scalable solution that can keep pace as our business grows.” - Andrew Souter

BizTalk Scalable System for the Public Sector
Situation
In their position as the transport information hub for London, Transport for London collect and disseminate information from many different transport sources in as many different formats, from departure boards to motorway cameras, to deliver an online service for commuters through their primary website.
TfL’s existing data transfer system, software and hardware were prone to stalling and delays and had inadequate error handling, resulting in delayed and inaccurate information being presented to the web pages.
Ballard Chalmers was briefed to develop a new software system that would broadcast live travel data to clients and customers through the use of syndication, personalisation and localisation.
Solution
The brief was to develop a proof-of-concept software solution using Microsoft BizTalk that harnessed raw data from over 25 sources across the capital.
These sources included the tube and rail network, station information, river, roads, buses and coaches.
Data was captured, stored and processed as XML in a scalable BizTalk environment. The incoming feeds were used to create live HTML web pages every minute, which meant that our solution had to process every piece of information in just 30 seconds.
Continuous monitoring and status alerts of incoming and outgoing feeds were provided in a form suitable for display on TfL’s internal monitoring dashboard. This allowed rapid diagnosis of any data and system problems.
The new system generated real-time performance reports on a monthly and quarterly basis, as well as on trading partner adherence to weekly data refresh requirements. By sharing the data load across servers, the software ensured that one failed server would not hinder the reporting process.
The scalability of the project meant that the system was future-proofed against large amounts of new data and sources, making its implementation more cost-effective in the longer term.

An ASP.NET Web Application for the Energy Sector
Ballard Chalmers is one of the UK’s foremost experts in the energy sector custom software systems development and integration. With a track record of delivering on projects for many of the sector’s major players.
The relationship with OVO Energy extends back to 2010 and as such, Ballard Chalmers was contracted to develop their software system based on BizTalk Server 2010, ASP.NET 4.0 and SQL Server 2008 R2 and 2012.
ASP.NET web pages are used directly by call centre operatives, whilst BizTalk Server handles the business processes, long-running transactions and integration with the account management and financial systems that run the business.
The software system automates a number of functions, including:
Direct Debit Refunds: Allows refunds to be given to individual clients where requested. The system calculates the amount of refund based on the user’s energy consumption.
Direct Debit Review: Recalculates customer direct debits based on their consumption pattern.
Direct Debit Batch Review: Performs batch review of large numbers of accounts to ensure that direct debits are correct.
Change of Tenancy: Manages the switching of an account between old and new tenants in rental properties, both of whom have to be contacted to complete the transaction.
Disputed Reads: Manages the disputed read process which typically occurs when customers switch suppliers and suppliers claim different readings.
Collection Management: Managing payments from customers that have not managed to keep up with their direct debits, through the use of pre-pay meters and other methods.
Smart Meter Installation: Automated booking system for managing the installation of Smart Meters, for use by the call centre and direct online use by customers.

Custom development with Azure Logic Apps
Situation
The management of stock and delivery logistics are fundamental to operations and the Evo Group IT team had identified that existing systems could be improved upon by utilising the latest in cloud technology.
Solution
Evo Group enlisted Ballard Chalmers for the build and migration of two core logistics on-premises legacy applications: The Transport Management System for despatches and the Product Information Management System.
Transport Management System – Despatches
A robust system for tracking 100,000 daily messages (such as loaded, en-route, delivered etc) is achieved using Azure Logic Apps. This Logic Apps implementation enables individual staff to easily share information with each other and facilitates improved collaboration across the delivery network. Field workers, such as delivery drivers, now share real-time data with those based in offices responsible for the respective part of the process, who can monitor and coordinate actions accordingly.
Product Information Management System
This Logic Apps implementation enabled staff to access up-to-date product information, which can fluctuate based on any number of factors and drive content directly to Evo Group’s eCommerce sites. With faster access to such information, the organisation is well positioned to monitor effectively and efficiently satisfy customer requirements.
Outcome
“Our IT strategy is to move aggressively to the cloud via SaaS or PaaS where feasible. In partnering with Ballard Chalmers, we were able to deliver within project timescales what would traditionally have been on-premises Microsoft Biztalk applications as scalable Azure PaaS solutions.” - Group Head of It Development
Reviews
the project
Integrations Dev for Telecommunications Company
"They will tell you realistically what you can expect."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I am the Test Manager of a Telecoms company.
For what projects/services did your company hire Transparity Ballard Chalmers, and what were your goals?
We needed to improve our business-critical integrations to provide enhanced reporting, monitoring and alerting. As experts in this field, Transparity Ballard Chalmers provided and guided us to the right solutions and supported the transition.
How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?
We have an ongoing relationship and so have an established partnership and trust. As experts in the relevant fields, we rely on their support and guidance, which is always professional, timely and the team are easy to work with.
Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.
We delivered a brief and then received back detailed documentation that fleshed out the detail of how our requirements would be met. Our middleware was BizTalk but a decision was made to move to Azure and the team were experts in both these areas
How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?
A project manager and developer were the main contacts although other areas of the business supported us.
Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?
We now have improved monitoring and alerting so that should any of our integrations run into issues, we will know and have a chance to take corrective actions before the issue escalates. We have useful Dashboards of data so that we can review the status of the integrations whenever we wish.
Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.
The project manager was (and is) always supportive in moving things forward. They are always available and clear in communications. They are all friendly personable people, as well as being highly skilled which makes the relationship blossom.
What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?
Always willing to listen but with integrity, they will tell you realistically what you can expect rather than an unrealistic sales pitch
Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?
I think that the integrations would have benefited from a separate set of eyes prior to handing over to us for User Acceptance Testing. An experienced QA would ideally be involved in all pieces of work rather than reserved for bigger projects, so that issues could be teased out sooner rather than later
the project
Custom Software Dev for Healthcare Management Software
“I appreciate having direct communication with the developers, which has made the project much more straightforward.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
We’re a small software company that’s under a children’s hospital. We decided to build our own record-keeping software for our patients. That went so well that we began selling that software to other companies. I’m the director of operations.
What challenge were you trying to address with Ballard Chalmers Ltd?
Another developer built our application but started to struggle in supporting us after the build was finished. We wanted someone who could provide ongoing development work at better rates and quality than our previous provider.
What was the scope of their involvement?
We started our engagement with a fixed-price support agreement at an annual cost to our company. They also provided a discovery phase and review of our application, hosted in Microsoft Azure. With their past experience with Azure, they returned to us with suggestions for improvement.
On top of implementing their suggestions, we gave them additional development work that was focused on enhancing the product.
What is the team composition?
Depending on the work required, we interact with 5–6 people on their end.
What is the status of this engagement?
They’ve been working with us since December 2019.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
If we find a bug in the product, we’re able to speak directly with the developers to correct issues quickly and easily. In our prior partnership, we didn’t have direct contact with developers, so that was a huge improvement in this engagement. It helped us complete tasks more quickly.
How did Ballard Chalmers Ltd perform from a project management standpoint?
They always give accurate time and budget estimates. Tasks are handled quickly and efficiently. We can always get in touch with developers whenever needed. They have their own ticketing platform that we use to communicate issues. However, we communicate mostly on Microsoft Teams and email.
What did you find most impressive about them?
I appreciate having direct communication with the developers, which has made the project much more straightforward. We’ve saved time and money through that structure.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I can’t think of anything.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Be clear with your requirements and needs. That makes projects much easier.
the project
Software Dev & Management for Luxury Yachting Company
"Their levels of transparency and honesty distinguish them from other providers."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the IT manager of a company in the luxury yachting industry.
What challenge were you trying to address with Ballard Chalmers Ltd?
We had a bespoke core business application that was poorly managed by another software development provider.
What was the scope of their involvement?
There are two levels to Ballard Chalmers’ role. They took over the software’s management and help us to stabilize it. Their team also evolves the product to modern standards. We have a detailed roadmap that they help us to achieve. Their team understands our business context and gives us advice if we’re going down the wrong path.
The platform’s functions are native to our day to day operations. The application manages certifications, safety procedures, and crew rotations.
What is the team composition?
We collaborate with about four people from Ballard Chalmers.
How did you come to work with Ballard Chalmers Ltd?
We scoured the internet and created a list of potential companies to replace our provider at the time. We initiated contact with Ballard Chalmers. Based on their responses and level of experience, we finally chose them to be our new provider.
What is the status of this engagement?
We signed the contract around December 2019, and our partnership’s ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Senior stakeholders are absolutely delighted that we chose Ballard Chalmers. A key stakeholder who manages the application from the business side is frequently in contact with them. Overall, the feedback’s extremely positive.
Their team’s extremely competent. Unlike our previous vendor, I don’t have to worry about their ability to complete tasks. They’re engaged and turnaround results quickly. Whether it’s competency or cost, it’s all positive.
How did Ballard Chalmers Ltd perform from a project management standpoint?
During the initial transition, we had weekly calls with the project manager and their lead developer. Every now and then, we also talked with their CTO. If we needed to discuss our contract, Andrew (Managing Director) joined our calls too.
If the timelines start to slip, they give us a heads up right away. Their team’s proactive and goes beyond the role of a supplier. They’re more of a partner and fill in that role perfectly. Their team’s not afraid to tell us when they think that we should pursue a different option.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Their levels of transparency and honesty distinguish them from other providers. Their team’s upfront, which is a relief because they’re dealing with our core application. They make recommendations based on our best interests.
Are there any areas they could improve?
At this point, no. That’s probably because we were in a difficult situation last year. We’re relieved to have a competent and experienced partner.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Be direct with them and reveal all of your cards. The success of the project requires engagement from both parties.
the project
CRM Software Dev for Cloud Computing Firm
"I think their project management was the best part of working with them."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the commercial director at Computer Systems Integration Ltd (CSI). We’re a managed service provider that helps businesses migrate from on-premise solutions to the cloud.
What challenge were you trying to address with Ballard Chalmers Ltd?
We wanted better reporting and visibility with our order base. The CRM we had was poor and unusable, so we asked them to develop some tools within Microsoft SharePoint to give greater visibility.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They provided custom CRM development. The main point of development was a bespoke approval system workflow built into SharePoint. Through this, our salespeople can send out proposals to clients and managers can approve them before they are sent out. They also built a repository to store contracts, jobs, and documents. We gave them a piece of paper with drawings and they converted it into specification documents.
What is the team composition?
They had 2–3 people and a project manager.
How did you come to work with Ballard Chalmers Ltd?
One of our directors knew someone who worked there. They produced what we were looking for in terms of a proposal and the cost was right. We decided to not waste more time looking elsewhere and went with them.
What is the status of this engagement?
It started in October 2015 and ended in February 2016.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Ballard Chalmers’ work was a big step forward for the business. We were able to access and manage far more information. That data was also accessible to a much greater number of people than previously available.
How did Ballard Chalmers Ltd perform from a project management standpoint?
They were great, I think project management was the best part of the project.
What did you find most impressive about them?
I would say the quality of their people and their willingness to help.
Are there any areas they could improve?
They could be more proactive. They never really came to us with any new projects or concepts since the completion of the project.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Make sure you’re engaged with the senior partners because they seem to drive the business. I think that’s key.
the project
Software Risk Mitigation for IT Company
"They’re approachable people, and they clearly care about the quality of their work."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m one of the founding partners of a UK-based digital transformation company. We provide software engineering, mainly to UK government entities, to help them transform their digital assets.
What challenge were you trying to address with Ballard Chalmers Ltd?
We were doing some work with a university in central London. In anticipation of a key developer's exit, the university wanted to bring on senior Microsoft engineers to do a risk management review of their Microsoft applications. To mitigate the risk of application failure, they wanted to determine how each application was being used and supported, and what the key documentations were.
What was the scope of their involvement?
The project was more about mitigating risk on the Microsoft applications than it was about reviewing detailed, low-level code.
The deliverables included a master spreadsheet with a register of all the client’s software applications (e.g. Microsoft Azure and Office 365) and key information about each application. This document would allow our client to hire any .NET contractor to fix a software issue as it would contain all the information the contractor would need to know (e.g. functionality, location, contact point within the company). We recommended that the client add more in-depth detail to the documentation, and they’ve been able to do that.
Another part of the project was performing a licensing assessment for the client’s Office 365, looking through existing enterprise agreements and modeling requirements based on future needs. They also helped with budgeting for the Microsoft applications.
What is the team composition?
Geoff (CTO, Ballard Chalmers) was our main point of contact, and Andrew (Principal, Managing Director, Ballard Chalmers) was also involved. They both helped to manage their Ballard Chalmers team.
The master spreadsheet was mostly completed on-site by a senior software engineer, and an architect worked on-site to complete the licensing assessment. Geoff also went on location to provide his Microsoft expertise.
How did you come to work with Ballard Chalmers Ltd?
In the past, we’ve used Ballard Chalmers to extend our delivery capability, and so we turned to them when we encountered this project.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve invested around $50,000–$200,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working with Ballard Chalmers around May 2018. We’re not using them at the moment, but we consider them whenever we have Microsoft-related work.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
The client was extremely happy with the deliverables. The team’s work mitigated the risk surrounding the exit of the client’s key developer. Now, the client feels comfortable using the orientation documentation the team provided to hire contractors. On the licensing side, the client is now in a much stronger position to negotiate their deal with Microsoft. It has likely saved them quite a bit of money.
How did Ballard Chalmers Ltd perform from a project management standpoint?
They have a robust project management style, with a traditional, well-structured approach. They maintained clear communication, always setting checkpoints so we knew where we stood on the timeline. We also received budget estimates throughout the process, to ensure we weren’t spending our funds too quickly.
They’re approachable people, and they clearly care about the quality of their work. Geoff and Andrew were always happy to speak with stakeholders via a phone call. The team worked both remotely and on-site in about equal parts.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They’re simply a group of honest, hardworking people. They know their market and area of expertise, and they’re very efficient and focused when it comes to that work.
For example, when we asked Ballard Chalmers if they could work with Dynamics 365, they told us they didn’t have expertise in that area. They don’t pretend to specialize in what they don’t know.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I wish they covered Dynamics 365, it’s a difficult space but there’s a big market for it. With their knowledge and reputation, it would be sensible for them to do more in the cloud-based Dynamics suite.
the project
IT Consulting and System Migration for Construction Company
"They're knowledgeable, and they easily adapt to external constraints."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the chief information officer of United Living Group, a construction company in the UK.
What challenge were you trying to address with Ballard Chalmers Ltd?
We hired Ballard Chalmers to serve as our SharePoint support partner. Later on, they also began helping us migrate data from three legacy document management systems into a modern system that has a lower risk of failure.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Ballard Chalmers has been assisting us through two data migration projects. Serving as our SharePoint support partner, the team helps us migrate files from a third-party solution into Microsoft SharePoint. They’ve also been helping us transfer data from legacy document management systems into Oracle Aconex. To increase efficiency, they've written an application that moves source data into the target system. Since Ballard Chalmers provides application programming and scripting, internal resources have been performing the migration themselves. We've concluded the first of three migrations, with the last one expected to end in 2020.
What is the team composition?
We partner with seven team members, with three working on SharePoint and four looking at the migration to Oracle Aconex.
How did you come to work with Ballard Chalmers Ltd?
Our prior SharePoint support partner lost its personal touch after it was acquired by a global organization. So, we were looking for a personable, local team with expertise in the field. After receiving a personal recommendation for Ballard Chalmers from a colleague, I met with the team and decided they were the best fit.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in March 2018, and the partnership is ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Our business will experience net savings after eliminating all three legacy document management solutions. Also, transferring data from one of the large, on-premise systems will decrease the risk of the system failing. Document storage is critical to our industry, and the business will be safer once these documents are transferred. Our IT team couldn’t have accomplished these goals without the support of Ballard Chalmers—they’ve had a tremendous impact.
How did Ballard Chalmers Ltd perform from a project management standpoint?
The team inspires a vast amount of confidence because they are diligent about following instructions. I can always trust them to deliver high-quality work within deadlines. Working with them has been a breath of fresh air.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Collaboration with the team has been both personable and professional. They're knowledgeable, and they easily adapt to external constraints. The pricing has been reasonable, too. I only wish our other suppliers were half as good as Ballard Chalmers.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, they’ve exceeded our expectations at each step.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Future clients should trust Ballard Chalmers to perform well. It isn’t necessary to overspecify the project, they will totally understand the solutions you’re trying to achieve.
the project
App Dev & Maintenance for Software Company
“Trust them from the start because they have the ability to deliver on whatever you ask.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the Managing Director at AppCan Ltd. We are a software company with an app-building solution that allows customers to create their own self-sufficient data-collecting and document distribution apps within our system. Our clients can distribute documents to their workforce, and collect data electronically. Through the backend portal, they can build their apps, view captured data and manage their users.
What challenge were you trying to address with Ballard Chalmers Ltd?
We needed a new software developer that was more local to us, and could take our product to the next level.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Ballard Chalmers Ltd provides a wide range of services for our two products, one is a cloud-based Microsoft Azure platform and the other is iOS-based. In their various development projects, they work with technologies like ASP.NET, C#, and SQL. Their services stretch across all of our existing platforms and any planned future development.
What is the team composition?
We mainly work with a project manager, managing director, and the chief technology officer, but we’re also free to speak with several developers. Currently, we have four development resources working with our company.
How did you come to work with Ballard Chalmers Ltd?
We conducted a Google search for development houses and Ballard Chalmers Ltd was listed. After reviewing their company, we found that they had the appropriate skills. We spoke with several other businesses, but chose Ballard Chalmers Ltd because of their location and the quality of their proposal. Their submission was significantly better than any other agency and we were confident in their ability to deliver. It clearly detailed their approach to the project and the estimated timeline.
How much have you invested with them?
So far, we’ve spent £40,000 (about $51,500 USD) on their services.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in March 2018 and the partnership is ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Before partnering with Ballard Chalmers Ltd, we were struggling to roll out enough updates. Now, we’re releasing changes and improvements every other week. Despite the increased work speed, the new product versions require minimal user acceptance testing (UAT). We’ve pushed out more updates in the last six months than we have in the last three years.
How did Ballard Chalmers Ltd perform from a project management standpoint?
Working with their team is like a breath of fresh air. Ballard Chalmers Ltd is fully engaged and available at all times, we never have to chase them down. Also, they’re extremely professional.
What did you find most impressive about them?
I’m impressed with their level of technical ability. Their staff is top-notch and they have a thorough understanding of a wide range of technologies. They leveraged their skills to enhance the performance of our products. I’ve been in the IT industry for 30 years and Ballard Chalmers Ltd is the best agency I’ve ever worked with.
Any advice for potential customers?
Trust them from the start because they have the ability to deliver on whatever you ask.
the project
Microsoft PowerApps Implementation for HR Management
"It's difficult to deliver on cost and quality when it's only two days of development, but they did."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m a lead consultant at a charity in the UK. I’m providing them with consulting services around their technology roadmap and additional input around other projects.
What challenge were you trying to address with Ballard Chalmers Ltd?
The charity is implementing a new HR and payroll system. Part of the new system is functionality to capture objectives and staff performance reviews. The old system was very clunky but the new system wasn't going to be ready in time. We needed a simple, stop-gap solution to capture objectives and reviews that could then later transfer to the new system. As a charity, cost was imperative and we needed a solution fairly quickly.
What was the scope of their involvement?
We started with an initial conversation. Using Microsoft PowerApps, Ballard Chalmers created a web form that allows people to click on a link that automatically pulls relevant data. The form enables the user to manually enter other payroll details and objectives. The form’s backend captures the data in spreadsheets, which we’ll eventually use to add to the new HR payroll solution. The developer did the initial work offsite and then spent a day onsite to finish the project. We also did an additional week of testing.
What is the team composition?
I had a direct relationship with a developer.
How did you come to work with Ballard Chalmers Ltd?
They were a recommendation from another partner. I shared with them the high-level project requirements and they very quickly responded with their recommendation. It was a really good recommendation, and something I had overlooked myself.
How much have you invested with them?
We spent around £1600 pounds ($2,250 USD).
What is the status of this engagement?
The project took place in December 2017.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Their recommendation for choosing PowerApps gave the solution a nice frontend, which makes it very easy to use.
How did Ballard Chalmers Ltd perform from a project management standpoint?
The project was so short that little was needed in terms of project management. They were very responsive and got back to us quickly if we had any questions. While some firms would spread two days of work out to four or five, Ballard Chalmers understood that was unnecessary and expensive. They were pragmatic and focused on getting the job done.
What did you find most impressive about them?
I was impressed with their flexible approach. PowerApps are customizable, which makes them very easy to configure and change. They delivered a high-quality solution. It's difficult to deliver on cost and quality when it's only two days of development, but they did.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I can't think of anything that they can improve. I did have a contingency but it was never needed. They understood the task really well and knew what they were coming onsite to do.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
I found them easy to work with, particularly with such a short time frame. They have the ability to turn things around really fast.
the project
Booking Web Application for Energy Company
“They are always available to have a conversation."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I am the junior program manager for an energy supplier. We supply our customers with electric and gas.
What challenge were you trying to address with Ballard Chalmers?
We initially looked to develop our booking platform. We wanted to improve our booking system for smart meter maintenance and emergency appointments for our customers’ homes.
What was the scope of their involvement?
When I first joined, they had already implemented our booking platform. Since then, we’ve added functionality for meter installers, and are considering the UI [user interface] for our agents. We hope to link our London branch development team into the customer-facing platform.
The web application links to our digital server and updates our database. It integrates with our billing platform, CRM [customer relationship management] software, our API [application programming interface], and our capacity platform. We have about 80 engineers within the company, and the capacity platform coordinates their scheduling and availability for appointments. New features include improvements to emergency and maintenance booking, with ways to improve the process for our agents.
What is the team composition?
We usually have a minimum of two engineers on their side who are familiar with our system, though the number fluctuates. Erik [Senior Software Engineer, Ballard Chalmers] is currently our principal engineer, and Stephen [Senior Software Engineer, Ballard Chalmers] our second. Szilvia [Services Delivery Manager, Ballard Chalmers] acts as our project manager, and Gary [Delivery Manager, Ballard Chalmers] joins us for large-scale projects. The company director also joins us for quarterly meetings.
How did you come to work with Ballard Chalmers?
One of our directors worked with them in a previous capacity and recommended them to our other directors.
How much have you invested with them?
The initial scope for the current project was £28,500 ($38,500 US). We’re currently under budget, but we anticipate spending more on future improvements.
What is the status of this engagement?
We initially began working with them around 2010, before my employment with the company began in 2015. The most recent project began in September or October 2017, and is ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
The best result of their work recently is the portal itself. Until the recent MVP [minimum viable product] went out, we were unable to make emergency bookings through the system. They’ve really improved the functionality and our ability to work with other installers.
How did Ballard Chalmers perform from a project management standpoint?
They are always available to have a conversation, and are quick to respond to any questions we have. The openness within the channels is great, and they let us know when a team member will be away so we can manage our timeline expectations. They deploy changes quickly, and show good flexibility to address any issues we have.
They are integrated into our work communications. We have weekly phone meetings with the project manager and the developers, and it’s easy to email or message team members directly. They have their own support portal, but we can run through the budget, admin-related tasks, design specifications, guidance, or other criteria. Otherwise, they manage their own internal processes.
What did you find most impressive about them?
I’ve always had a good experience with them. They provide good support, and recently provided us with the ability to deploy developments weekly.
Are there any areas they could improve?
Previously, we had trouble balancing our testing and development teams. For this most recent project, they implemented a more continuous approach, which reduces idle time. We can now be more agile as we move through development.
the project
SharePoint Implementation for Children's Non-Profit
"[They've] simplified the process into two or three steps where it used to be a ten step process."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the IT services manager for a non-profit organization that helps children and young people with severe disabilities.
What challenge were you trying to address with Ballard Chalmers?
I needed assistance on a small SharePoint project for the organization’s intranet.
What was the scope of their involvement?
While initially hired to work on the intranet, the scope expanded to a bigger project. They developed a cloud-based SharePoint portal for the organization’s governors and trustees, which will allow secure sharing of documents online.
The portal simplifies document management and workflow approvals. The team created a feature that allows a user to click a button when a document needs to be approved. The system sends a notice to the governors’ clerk, who can make changes to the document or accept all the edits.
A separate workflow automatically transfers the document to the approved document library that is visible to end users.
How did you come to work with Ballard Chalmers?
I was searching for a local company. I also spoke to an organization that used them in the past. I met with them, and thought that they were a good fit.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent about £5,500 [$7,300].
What is the status of this engagement?
Work began in July of 2016, and is ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
While still in the testing stage, the portal demonstrates real time-saving benefits.
The new system is so much better than what we were doing in the past. We were sending a large amount of documents through the mail, and now the governors and trustees can access them remotely and securely online.
Previously the clerk had to copy and paste each document to a shared drive, and also send them via email. The new workflow approval simplified the process from 10 steps to two.
How did Ballard Chalmers perform from a project management standpoint?
They were great, often going above and beyond the required elements to provide excellent service. They communicated every step of the process, providing up-to-date information so that I didn’t have to chase them down.
One time I was unable to get hold of the the developer, who was on vacation. We chose to wait for him to get back rather than assign a new person to the project.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They’ve done a great job explaining everything to me, in a technical way and not as a sales pitch. The team demonstrated how to most effectively use SharePoint for the organization, including what tools can be changed and manipulated to best suit the portal.
I was also impressed with their can-do attitude, and how they approached the challenge of making the project work within a non-profit budget.
Thanks to Transparity Ballard Chalmers' help, the client now has improved monitoring and alerting, which gives them more time to resolve issues before they escalate. They can also check the status of the integrations in a dashboard, making it easier for them to manage their responsibilities.