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Misconception: We have a technical services branch. They can create custom software for us.

Yes, they can. However, in-house work alone is almost always not an optimal solution for several reasons.

First and foremost, in-house resources must either be acquired or developed for each project. This includes not only the latest development software, but also trained and experienced staff in areas as diverse as software design, graphic arts and layout, database management, and Internet integration. Few environmental agencies have the financial resources for such specialized full time personnel.

Second, professional software design is interdisciplinary process. Graphic arts and layout, for example, is one area often ignored or just not considered by in-house designers. A great deal of in-house software then ends up without a well designed user interfaces. Poor user interfaces are confusing for the user and the software ends up being unused by those very people for which it was written. Therefore, a great deal of money is consumed developing in-house software that is left unused and generally disliked. Additional money then is re-spent, at a later date after these lessons are learned, to do it correctly.

Finally, using only in-house work will usually cost more in the long run and will not produce the best possible product for the least cost. This is because specialized custom software requires development of components specific to the required task. In house work then ends up recreating work that ESS already has performed on previous projects. ESS has worked on many software projects and already has a strong foundation of technical knowledge and software libraries. This experience works for you, the client, as components can literally be dropped into a new project at little or no cost to the client.

With its combined experience in the ecological and resource management, graphical arts and software design fields, ESS can provide high quality professional software for even the most demanding users at a competitive price.