How we work with you
A useful business system starts with a clear purpose. You may want to take advantage of an opportunity, remove an obstacle, or improve something that has become harder than it needs to be. We work with you to understand that purpose and turn it into a system that helps your business achieve better results.
You work directly with the people designing and building the system. We make ideas concrete through prototypes and early working versions, discuss what you learn from them, and develop the solution together. Planning, testing and attention to risk support the work throughout.
We start with what you want to achieve
Our first questions concern your business. What are you trying to achieve? Who will use the system, and who else will be affected? What would make the project worthwhile? We also need to understand your existing systems, available data, and any important constraints.
You can come to us with an idea or a problem. You do not need a complete technical specification. Together, we develop enough shared understanding to decide on a sensible approach, what to investigate and what to build first.
This early work helps us choose technology that fits the need. An Azure application, an AI service, a data platform or an analytical report may each contribute to the solution. The combination depends on what the business needs to accomplish.
We make ideas concrete early
It is often easier to explain what you need when you have something to see and try. An early version of a screen, workflow or report gives you a practical way to test an idea. It can reveal missing requirements, awkward steps, or opportunities to make the system simpler.
Prototypes also help investigate important uncertainties. We might test an Azure AI service against representative tasks, try an integration with an existing system, or explore real data in Microsoft Fabric or Power BI. These investigations help us judge whether the proposed approach is likely to work before committing more time to it.
Some prototypes are experiments that have served their purpose once we have learned from them. Others become the starting point for the production system.
We develop the system with you
As development progresses, you see working versions and help us assess whether they do what the business needs. We build a useful part, review it together and use what we learn to shape the next steps.
Your involvement matters. We need someone who can champion the project and make decisions, with access to users and subject specialists when their knowledge is needed. The amount of involvement varies through the project; timely feedback helps us keep moving in the right direction.
Seeing the system develop may change your understanding of what is needed. We discuss changes in priorities or requirements, including their effect on scope, effort and timing. Plans and documentation develop alongside the software, giving us enough structure to coordinate the work and make informed decisions.
We keep important risks in view throughout. Questions about data quality, integration, AI accuracy, performance or security deserve attention when they can influence the design. Investigating them early helps us avoid building too much on an uncertain assumption.
We test, prepare and introduce the system
Testing takes place throughout development. As the system approaches real use, we give increasing attention to defects, data validation, integration, performance and security. Users also need to check that it supports the work they actually do.
We plan the practical arrangements for introducing the system: deployment, any data that needs to be moved, guidance for users and the responsibilities for operating it. What is required depends on the system and the environment in which it will run.
The first live version can be modest and still deliver worthwhile benefits. Once people are using it, their experience may suggest further improvements. The system can continue to evolve as your business changes or new opportunities emerge.
Who you work with, and the scale of the work
Anatec is a two-person company based in Reading, UK. You work directly with Richard Lee and Caroline Eveleigh, with continuity from the initial discussion through development and deployment. Our work is UK on-shore, and we do not subcontract it.
We favour relatively compact projects with a clear business purpose. Around two person-months of work is a useful indication of our preferred project scale, although the effort depends on what needs to be achieved.
Person-months describe the amount of work, rather than the time from start to finish. The timetable also depends on client availability, feedback and other dependencies. We discuss likely effort and timing as we develop an understanding of the project.
Our experience includes long-term relationships with BAE Systems, Honeywell and PepsiCo. We have been a Microsoft Partner since 1998. These relationships reflect an approach in which understanding the business and maintaining useful systems continue beyond an initial project.
What could we work on together?
You may already have a project in mind, or simply know that something could work better. We would be happy to spend up to 45 minutes discussing your idea, problem or opportunity over Teams or Zoom.
Explore Our Services to see the capabilities and technologies we use, visit Solutions to see examples of our work, or read What could we achieve? for ideas about opportunities in your business.
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