AI & Automation
Start with the processes people already complain about.
ExploreBusiness Applications & Development
Build it when buying it does not fit
Custom software for the processes that make you different — and integration work for everything else, so your systems stop being islands.
Overview
Development has been part of Define IT from the start
Software development is one of the capabilities Define IT has carried since the business was founded, and it sits deliberately alongside the infrastructure practice. Applications that are designed with an understanding of the environment they will run in tend to be easier to host, secure, back up and support.
Most requests we receive fall into three types: replacing a spreadsheet that has grown into a business-critical system, connecting two applications that do not talk to each other, or building a customer-facing tool that no off-the-shelf product covers.
We are candid when a packaged product would serve you better. Custom software is worth building where the process is a genuine differentiator, not where it simply differs from the default.
What changes
Outcomes we are measured on
The point of the work, stated as results rather than product names.
01
Systems that talk to each other
Integrations that remove duplicate capture and the reconciliation work that follows it.
02
A process that scales past its spreadsheet
Proper multi-user access, validation, audit trail and permissions.
03
Applications you can maintain
Documented, source-controlled code with handover, so you are not dependent on a single developer.
04
Deployment that is boring
Hosting, backup, monitoring and release process planned as part of the build.
Capabilities
What sits inside this practice
Capability areas we design, implement and support. Scope for any engagement is agreed and documented in writing.
Application development
Building the thing.
- Custom Software Development
- Web Application Development
- Mobile Application Development
- Internal Business Tools
- Customer Portals
- Progressive Web Applications
- UI and UX Design
Integration and modernisation
Connecting and renewing what exists.
- API Integration
- Systems Integration
- API Development
- Application Modernisation
- Legacy System Replacement
- Data Migration
- Third-Party Platform Integration
Low-code and automation
Faster paths where they fit.
- Microsoft Power Platform
- Power Apps
- Power Automate
- Power BI
- Business Process Automation
- Workflow Design
Delivery and support
After the first release.
- Application Support
- DevOps
- Release Management
- Source Control and CI/CD
- Testing and QA
- Hosting and Deployment
- Documentation and Handover
- Digital Transformation
How we deliver
A sequence, because order matters here
Each stage produces something you can review before the next one starts.
Define
Workshops to establish the actual problem, the users, the constraints and what success looks like in measurable terms.
Prototype
A working prototype or clickable design early, so disagreements surface before they are expensive.
Build
Iterative delivery with regular demonstrations, source control, testing and a defined release process.
Support
Post-launch support, enhancements and documented handover — including the option to take the codebase in-house.
Questions
The things people ask before signing anything
Ownership terms are agreed in writing before development starts. Our default position for bespoke development is that the client owns the resulting code and receives the repository at handover.
Choice follows the requirement, your existing environment and the skills available to maintain it afterwards. We will not pick a stack you have no route to support.
Frequently, yes. We start with a code and infrastructure review to assess quality, dependencies, security and the realistic effort to maintain or extend it, then give you an honest recommendation.
Discovery is quoted as a fixed engagement. Beyond that, well-defined scopes can be fixed-price; evolving scopes are better handled on a time-and-materials basis with a cost ceiling and regular review.