Element5 / ShareIt!

“We use PHP extensively for most of web site pages, but when we started developing applications we were looking for something more designed to the task. IntraWeb not only allowed us to reuse our existing code, but it provided us with a very elegant and natural way to develop web applications. After developing our first application, even our PHP guys said WOW!”

Gerrit Schumann, CEO, Element 5 / ShareIt!

Element 5 AG / ShareIt!

Element 5 is a global provider of e-commerce solutions for software publishers. ShareIt! is the retail arm of Element 5 and an established brand. Software companies use Element 5 to grow their global online sales and provide their customers with an enhanced shopping experience when buying their products. Orders are handled directly from the developer web sites, through online retailers or other channel partners. Clients include Microsoft, Crystal Decisions, Trend Micro, Ulead, Kaspersky Labs, Minolta, Toshiba, CNet, Atozed Software and more.

Situation

Element 5 needed a fast and reliable method to port existing client server applications to the web, and also to continue future development. Because the applications being developed are constantly changing to meet market and customer needs, they need to be easy to deploy and update. They also need to be accessible by local, remote, and mobile users.

Implementation

Element 5 had an in house application named “Management Information System”. This system was used to evaluate transactions, sales performances, print diagrams, regional sales data, analyze customer developments, and much more. All data is stored in an Oracle database.

The transition from the Windows based application to Web-based was extremely smooth and easy to do with IntraWeb. IntraWeb allowed for reuse of nearly all existing code, and did not require retraining of developers. Developing the IntraWeb application was very similar to building a normal application, and made for a very easy port of the existing application. The port contains all the functionality of the former client server application including charts, diagrams, grids, and other views.

Impact

IntraWeb allowed Element 5 to reduce costs and TCO (total cost of ownership) of the application. Prior to developing with IntraWeb the client executable required frequent client updates and incurred normal deployment difficulties. This was exaggerated by the fact that the system is constantly updated and delivered on a very regular and frequent basis. Now users always have the latest version of the application, and it is also accessible by remote and mobile users, including the traveling sales force and all levels of management.

Technology

Tools: IntraWeb, Delphi, Oracle
Other Tools Evaluated: PHP, WebSnap
Number of Developers: 1
Time to Develop: 2 weeks

ScreenShots

Step 1: User selects a query from the menu
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Step 2: User sets query parameters
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Step 3: User can download the result,
switch to table view, or jump to a new query

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Table View:
TIWDBGrid and TIWProgressbar are perfect
for tabular output of large amounts of data
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