Questions?
Do you have any questions on BI? Do you need clarity on who we are? Read some of the Frequently Asked Questions below to get clarity, or click the “Got Questions?” button to ask a question. Our experts will answer you right away!
About BI.
1. Isn’t BI only meant for large enterprises?
Every enterprise uses BI in some way or the other –balance sheets, balanced score cards, month-wise order sales , shipment tracking, and the list goes on. What many small and medium companies fail to do is wisely structure and manage the source of these reports, i.e. the databases, to reap intelligence that is insightful, consistent and automatic. Stylusinc crafts suitable BI strategies and tools for SMBs that are uncomplicated and easy to use and train staff on. A BI initiative helps SMBs to focus investments and energy on the critical business success factors, ease decision making and save costs.
To know more about how BI can help SMBs click here.
Fred can till you how BI helped his company
2. I don’t need BI right now, since I have other priorities.
BI helps you prioritize the right away, and hence it’s top-of-mind for many executives. Whether you’re making your annual budgets, quarterly targets or monthly plans, a business intelligence solution will pin-point areas in your organization or business line that needs attention. Whenever you prioritize your projects or resources, and find yourself going-by-the-gut, then your company needs BI to help you make the most of your time and resources. Think about it. Someday you’ll need it, and the earlier you have it, the better you prioritize.
3. If I don’t have the basic systems in place, how can BI help?
BI is not all about systems and solutions, BI is firstly a business practice. Even if you don’t have any systems in place, BI can be implemented by first addressing your decision needs, identifying the critical business success factors for the organization and for the functions, presenting them in excel reports and enabling automation of the same. A sound BI strategy will also help you identify which systems you need to put in place for improving time to market, productivity and analyzing data. Stylusinc is a small business customer consulting specialist for identifying critical success factors through its RadicalRootingTM process which also helps companies draw a roadmap for their future.
What’s RadicalRootingTM ?
Where can I start with BI?
4. What’s the typical cost for BI solutions?
A. The cost of a BI solution depends on a number of factors, some of which are, size of company, automated systems, data capture –forms/types of data stores/databases, transaction volumes, etc. Stylus’ approach for pricing is unique, in that, we study the current state of the business and requirement and suggest pricing models that are best suited in your context. At the end of the day, a client who works with us almost always knows that the value that we have given them far outweighs the costs.
5. I have a small/medium business and I have no BI solution in place. Where should I start?
If you are convinced about making a BI investment but have no clue on how or where to start, breathe easy. Stylusinc is an SMB specialist and over the course of more than 10 years, having worked with nearly 250 clients, we have helped solve their business problems, ethically. You can start by simply dropping in a mail to us, following which we’ll set the ball rolling for you.
10 steps to guide SMBs on BI adoption
How ready are you for BI?
6. What do you mean by “solution metrics” and how do you go about defining them?
Solution metrics are nothing but metrics that are used to indicate the performance of a solution as against stated objectives. Stylusinc offers a unique approach to assess the performance of any solution that you have a requirement for through what we call “RadicalRootingTM”. RadicalRootingTM is our home-grown approach to help you define, assess and fine tune solutions so that, at the end of the day, you get your money’s worth from our solutions.
What’s RadicalRootingTM ?
What other metrics do you help define?
7. Don’t you think Excel reports are good enough for small companies ?
Most small companies use Excel reports for tracking and monitoring key metrics, which is fine for a time, but with more employees, more customers and stakeholders involved in the business, knowledge management becomes tedious and cumbersome. Stylusinc provides excel management services to manage collective data with SQL server databases connected to Excel sheets. With Microsoft’s PowerPivot features, Excel has become a powerful slice and dice tool for data across various dimensions. If you’re already an Excel buff, then Stylusinc will “WoW” you with their expertise on Excel 2010 which uses PowerPivot and earlier versions as well.
How can I make the most of Excel reports?
What is PowerPivot?
What is SQL server?
8. What technologies do you use to build BI solutions?
At Stylus Inc., we custom develop BI solutions using cutting-edge technologies ranging from Microsoft Sharepoint 2010, Excel 2010 or earlier versions, Microsoft SQL server, SSIS, SSRS, SSAS to mobile programming on iPhone, Andriod, Blackberry, Windows mobile,etc.
What is Stylus’ technical expertise?
Do you know our ‘Smart Framework’ for BI?
About Stylusinc
1. What experience do you have on BI? Who are your clients?
Stylusinc has serviced more that 250 clients over the last decade and has helped companies solve business problems through technological interventions. Most solutions created by Stylusinc are packaged with in-built reports with key metrics that are designed to help you make quick and insightful changes to the solution for maximum impact. Apart from this Stylus has worked with clients like Javelin, Plitt, Loobalee and many others with their custom BI needs ranging from KPI consulting to a full fledged BI solution.
Read some of our client’s case studies
Read about our BI technology experience
Check out our Healthcare BI solution
2. What is your IT experience? How many projects have you completed?
When Stylus Systems Pvt. Ltd started its operations at the turn of the last millennium, we had just three customers. A decade later, we’ve had the privilege and the experience of working with more than 250 satisfied customers, from across the globe. We have worked on over 40 C# and ASP.NET projects over the last four years and over 100 ASP, PHP and HTML projects over the last eight years. This has given us extensive expertise in this domain. While some of our projects were efficiently completed within two months, we have also worked extensively on complex projects that took over two years for completion. In strategic cases, we continue to provide technical support and enhancement services for our customers.
Read some of our client’s case studies
What is your technical expertise
3. What differentiates your services from your competition?
We stand out owing to our RadicalRooting™ approach which helps both, you and us, get a clear solution pathway. Our astute, analytical and systematic approach to developing any solution for you is based on one single motto: To transform your business. We flesh out solutions only when you see the tangible, potential value from them. We build a solution prototype that brings clarity from the word ‘go’. We iteratively engineer your solution till we deliver the promised value. Stylus makes business sense, because we help you get a sense of your business™
4. What are your core capabilities?
Stylusinc specializes in tailoring Business Intelligence for small and medium sized companies right from the start. In this respect some of the capabilities that we have developed over the years are:-
- Business Analysis and KPI identification
- Business modeling
- Business process assessment
- Business health study
- Solutions metrics consulting
- Requirements Prototyping
- Solution Prototyping
- Database/Warehouse/Solution Design and Architecture
- Software development and Testing
- Data synthesis and Analysis (OLAP)
- Post development Data Analysis and consulting
5. What are your technological capabilities?
Some of our technological capabilities are:-
- DotNet3.5 and earlier
- CSLA .NET
- Objective C for iPhone app development
- C# Business objects
- ASP.NET
- VB
- LAMP
- SOA
- Web services
- SOAP
- SQL server
- MySQL
- AJAX
- Visual Studio.NET
Cloud platforms that we work on
- Salesforce integration services
- Cloud/SaaS product development
- Force.com development
- Microsoft Azure development
Business Intelligence technologies
- Microsoft Sharepoint 2010
- Excel 2010 and earlier -customized reporting services
- MS SQL server 2008 and earlier
- SQL server Integration services (SS1S)
- SQL server Analysis services (SSAS)
- SQL server Reporting services (SSRS)
- Dundas
Mobile Technologies
- iPhone app development
- Windows Mobile development
6. Can I get customer references for your work, especially on BI?
Yes. You can contact our clients directly through the Client reference widget on the bottom left-hand corner of this page
In the meantime you could also read our Customer Testimonials and Case Studies to familiarize yourself with our client and the value we’ve added to their businesses.
What kind of clients have you worked with?
How successful have you been with your clients?
7. What is your engagement approach?
We stand out owing to our RadicalRooting™ engagement approach which helps both, you and us, get a clear solution pathway. Our astute, analytical and systematic approach to developing any solution for you is based on one single motto: To transform your business. We flesh out solutions only when you see the tangible, potential value from them. We build a solution prototype thatbrings clarity from the word ‘go’. We iteratively engineer yoursolution till we deliver the promised value. Stylus makes businesssense, because we help you get a sense of your business™
For solution development we follow the v-process model for large, complex projects and agile methodology for fast-track projects where solution roll-out is quick and version updates are iterative and progressive. In all, our engagement approach is tailor-made for each client based on their requirements, context and priorities.
For solution development we follow the v-process model for large, complex projects and agile methodology for fast-track projects where solution roll-out is quick and version updates are iterative and progressive. In all, our engagement approach is tailor-made for each client based on their requirements, context and priorities.
What’s RadicalRooting™?
What is the V-process model?
What is Agile methodology?
8. How do you ensure client confidentiality?
We are committed to the security and confidentiality of the information that you share with us. We have set up a reliable information security system with the sole aim of giving you a safe outsourcing experience with maximum benefits.
To ensure confidentiality of information, we encourage our customers to sign in a confidential Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) at the very initial stages of project discussion. This NDA has legal binding and is an important document which ensures the total security of your information in our hands. Furthermore, by not publishing details regarding our client projects without prior permission from the clients, we ensure that your information is safe in our hands.
To ensure confidentiality of information, we encourage our customers to sign in a confidential Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) at the very initial stages of project discussion. This NDA has legal binding and is an important document which ensures the total security of your information in our hands. Furthermore, by not publishing details regarding our client projects without prior permission from the clients, we ensure that your information is safe in our hands.
9. Do you have a protected infrastructure in place?
Keeping in mind the concerns regarding information security, we have engineered our infrastructure so as to eliminate all possible leak of information.
Enterprise Access System for Employee Login
• Secure Smart Card, Secure Premises Login
• Network and Windows Login, PC ‘locking’
• Secure Remote Access (VPN)
• Secure e-mail with digital signatures
• Single sign on to enterprise and desktop applications
• Employees made to sign confidentiality and Non Disclosure Agreements
Enterprise Access System for Employee Login
• Secure Smart Card, Secure Premises Login
• Network and Windows Login, PC ‘locking’
• Secure Remote Access (VPN)
• Secure e-mail with digital signatures
• Single sign on to enterprise and desktop applications
• Employees made to sign confidentiality and Non Disclosure Agreements
Secured VPN and Network
• Total secured CISCO VPN Tunnel to Client, which blocks all Peers to peep in
• Secured Cisco® Intelligent switches and Cisco® Network Assistant optimized for LAN
• Cisco® PIX® Firewall to block all ports for HTTP, FTP, TCP/IP, UDP and even ICMP
Work Station Security
• Wide security management with administrative auditing, reporting, and monitoring facilities which will secure data at every stage
• Workstations are secured individually by Anti-Virus Protection and Back-Up Drive Manager
10. How do you ensure employee credibility?
Employees are recruited into the organization through tested methods of evaluation of capability and integrity. While entering into projects, all the employees who will be involved in the projects are made to sign confidentiality agreements with Stylus Inc. The access to client information is restricted to a limited number of people and a high level security system is employed at their workstations.
Know more about our employees
11. Do you have fluent English speaking representatives?
All our employees communicate in English.
Read our Thought Leadership section
Know more about our employees
12. What sort of pricing strategy do you have in place for development projects?
Our pricing model basically differs for each project undertaken based on your requirement. However, the general format for pricing is common and as follows.
For your convenience, we offer 3 different types of pricing options:
• Fixed Price
• Time and Material (T&M)
• Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Rate Card (only for pure software development work )
For your convenience, we offer 3 different types of pricing options:
• Fixed Price
• Time and Material (T&M)
• Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Rate Card (only for pure software development work )
13. How do I make the payment?
We will provide you with the invoice details and all necessary information so that you can wire your payment to our bank.
14. Are there any additional costs?
The only other costs that you would have to bear would be the bank charges that you incur while making the payment, as well as costs of any third party software that you would have us purchase for your clients.
We do not charge for the standard tools of our trade such as MS Project, Dreamweaver, Flash, MS Visual Studio or Visio. However, if there is any tool that you would have us use for a specific project, we may have to bill you for the same. In such cases, we will discuss with you before implementing such decisions.
About the Engagement
1. What’s your engagement approach?
We stand out owing to our RadicalRootingTM engagement approach which helps both, you and us, get a clear solution pathway. Our astute, analytical and systematic approach to developing any solution for you is based on one single motto: To transform your business. We flesh out solutions only when you see the tangible, potential value from them. We build a solution prototype that brings clarity from the word “go”. We iteratively engineer your solution till we deliver the promised value. Stylus makes business sense, because we help you get a sense of your businessTM
For solution development we follow the v-process model for large, complex projects and agile methodology for fast-track projects where solution roll-out is quick and version updates are iterative and progressive. In all, our engagement approach is tailor-made for each client based on their requirements, context and priorities.
For solution development we follow the v-process model for large, complex projects and agile methodology for fast-track projects where solution roll-out is quick and version updates are iterative and progressive. In all, our engagement approach is tailor-made for each client based on their requirements, context and priorities.
2. What service level agreements do you offer?
Before the commencement of the project, we sign a Services Contract that details the responsibilities of each party, the deliverables, pricing, complaint handling mechanisms and delivery schedule of the project.
All payments are milestone based and made after you approve of the milestone and its deliverables.
All payments are milestone based and made after you approve of the milestone and its deliverables.
3. Would the timescale be agreed upfront? What would happen if this was over/under estimated? What flexibility do you offer?
We first develop a Project Plan with an estimated effort and schedule according to the specifiedrequirements. Moreover, what matters the most is how well the application aligns to your business and brings you success.
To meet this objective we shall propose to discuss and review with you both the estimate and the schedule of the project. This will happen at the end of the architecture and design phase.
To meet this objective we shall propose to discuss and review with you both the estimate and the schedule of the project. This will happen at the end of the architecture and design phase.
4. If I am dissatisfied with the programmer(s)/service/outcome, how are my interests protected? (e.g. cancellation of agreement, money/time back poilicies etc…)
This is covered through clear termination clauses in the contract. However, we try to prevent the advent of any such situation by providing you clear problem escalation routes. You may also bring any issue to the notice of the Operations Manager and/or the CEO for redressal and an appropriate solution will be provided.
with you both the estimate and the schedule of the project. This will happen at the end of the architecture and design phase.
with you both the estimate and the schedule of the project. This will happen at the end of the architecture and design phase.
5. Would I own the relevant copyright and Intellectual Property?
This would depend on the type of project contract that we have entered into with each other. If the arrangement is on the basis of hiring employees (FTE contract basis), you will own the copyright, intellectual property and related rights that will be specified clearly during the course of the project. However, if we work on a project approach, then both parties would co-own the copyright as well as have all rights to reproduce, modify or resell the code.
6. Will I receive daily progress reports that outline the outstanding and completed work?
While it is possible to implement daily progress reports, we would like to notify you that it may make the whole arrangement too cumbersome to manage. We recommend that you use either an online project collaboration service such as Basecamp, or a weekly reporting system based on Excel.
7. How do I contact you?
A provision to inquire or to contact us is made available for you at the bottom of this page. Kindly fill up that form and tell us a little about yourself and the project that you have in mind. If you prefer to communicate via e-mail, feel free to contact us at salesnet@stylusinc.com.
You are welcome to contact us at our address given below:
Stylus Systems Pvt Ltd
# 924, 5 A Cross
1st Block, HRBR Layout
Kalyana Nagar
Bangalore - 560043
India.
Tel: 9180 42443000
Fax: 9180 42443001
You are welcome to contact us at our address given below:
Stylus Systems Pvt Ltd
# 924, 5 A Cross
1st Block, HRBR Layout
Kalyana Nagar
Bangalore - 560043
India.
Tel: 9180 42443000
Fax: 9180 42443001
8. Can I contact the appropriate parties working on our project? If so can I communicate via phone?
Yes. We would recommend that you interact primarily with the team leader in order to minimize miscommunications within your team.
We are comfortable with communication via e-mail, chat or phone.
We are comfortable with communication via e-mail, chat or phone.
9. When all during the day can I contact you?
We would prefer all official communication to take place between 7:00 am and 2:00 pm GMT. If you require to communicate sometime beyond the above mentioned time span, we can have the team work in the subsequent shift which ends only at 6:00 pm GMT.
10. How do I make the payment?
We will provide you with the invoice details and all necessary information so that you can wire your payment to our bank.
About the Process
1. What’s your engagement approach?
We stand out owing to our RadicalRootingTM engagement approach which helps both, you and us, get a clear solution pathway. Our astute, analytical and systematic approach to developing any solution for you is based on one single motto: To transform your business. We flesh out solutions only when you see the tangible, potential value from them. We build a solution prototype that brings clarity from the word “go”. We iteratively engineer your solution till we deliver the promised value. Stylus makes business sense, because we help you get a sense of your businessTM For solution development we follow the v-process model for large, complex projects and agile methodology for fast-track projects where solution roll-out is quick and version updates are iterative and progressive. In all, our engagement approach is tailor-made for each client based on their requirements, context and priorities.
2. What is the procedure for initiating a project?
The primary steps towards intiating any project activity with us would be to contact us via the enquiry form provided on the website and to send in your requirement and other required details. Within 24 hours of the same, our sales team will get back to you to confirm the details of your enquiry. From that point onwards, a dedicated team of ours will be in constant contact with you to take our relationship forward, throughout the following phases of developing your project.
Research & Requirement Analysis
Analysis & Design
Prototype Development
Code Generation
Testing
Technical Maintenance
3. What information would you require from me?
It would be great if you could give us a detailed Request For Proposal (RFP). This will help us in analyzing your project and requirement with greater clarity. If you do not have an RFP, kindly give us a rough idea of your requirement and our business analysis team will help you develop the required RFP.
4. How do I send my work to you?
Most of our projects are web based. Hence, we can communicate and transfer files through the Internet. Kindly send us a brief description or a document about your project requirement, during the initial stages of communication with you regarding your project requirement. If you have an application on which you need us to work on or analyze, we will need to get the corresponding:
Web server details
Database details
FTP details
If you want us to work on your server, we will need your Remote Desktop details.
5. Do you sell source code for applications?
We share the source code with our clients for any software that we create for them. For ERP and CRM requirements, we recommend that our clients use standard packages that are available in the market such as Microsoft Great Plains, Microsoft CRM etc…
6. Can I define and enforce our coding standards on your developers?
In the normal scenario, our employees follow our own coding standards which have been defined by our Software Engineering Process Group (SEPG). But if the team should follow the standards prescribed by you, it is possible to work that out in your favor.
As is our practice, if the team does not follow the standards that have been defined, we take care to ensure that you will not be billed for the time that they take to correct the code. We understand that we can never fully make up for wasted time and hence our processes and systems focus on avoidance of such instances in the first place.
As is our practice, if the team does not follow the standards that have been defined, we take care to ensure that you will not be billed for the time that they take to correct the code. We understand that we can never fully make up for wasted time and hence our processes and systems focus on avoidance of such instances in the first place.
7. Will I receive daily progress reports that outline the outstanding and completed work?
While it is possible to implement daily progress reports, we would like to notify you that it may make the whole arrangement too cumbersome to manage. We recommend that you use either an online project collaboration service such as Basecamp, or a weekly reporting system based on Excel.
8. Will I be able to access code during the development cycle? If so what version control method would you use to share the code?
If you are hiring a dedicated team on a contract basis, we can either arrange for hosting the Version Control System (VSS) on your server or give you access to a VSS server in our company premises.
If we work on a project arrangement, you will have access to the code once the final payment is made. Till then we will host the solution on our hosting server for your review on the features and the feedback.
If we work on a project arrangement, you will have access to the code once the final payment is made. Till then we will host the solution on our hosting server for your review on the features and the feedback.
9. How can i ensure that my requirements are clearly understood by your team before work begins?
10. Do you provide technical support and maintenance?
Yes. We provide 24/7 live technical support and application maintenance services on request. Our Technical support and maintenance team not just works on bug fixing and trouble shooting, but also on enhancing existing applications, adding new content and upgrading applications with new technology.
11. Is testing incorporated as a component within your pricing structure?
Yes. We see testing as a part of the development process and take care of it in our pricing structure. We have a separate team that specializes and focuses on testing.
12. What are your testing procedures? Does this include load testing?
Our Quality Assurance and Testing team work from Use Cases to prepare Functionality and Performance Test cases. The team conducts load tests when required.
The test team also works with the developers to create unit test cases. This allows the programmers to test their own modules before they hand it over for integration.
The test team also works with the developers to create unit test cases. This allows the programmers to test their own modules before they hand it over for integration.
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