Davton Software Development Projects
Davton’s team of software developers work full time creating Outlook based applications. The vast majority of our work is creating custom plugins and applications for other companies. Some of these are enterprise applications for in-house use of one company. Others are plugins to integrate with existing cloud based products – and are either resold or included as a part of their package. The following list shows some of Davton’s recent contracts:
Enterprise Room Booking Company
Book Meeting Room and Services
- Office 365 add-in
- API integration
- Insert image/text into Outlook appointments and Meeting requests
- Complex UI interaction based on API responses
- Separate EWS based synchronisation service
Company R provide a room booking service to large multi-site corporations. They already had an Outlook plugin for booking rooms, but wanted help creating the equivalent solution as an office 365 add-in. Davton created an office 365 add-in which enabled the user to search for and book a room, together with all the relevant additional services (refreshments, equipment, etc.)
Also part of the solution was a synchronisation service which logged in directly to their customer’s Office 365 or Exchange system – using Exchange Web Services.
Video Conference Company
Book Video Facilities for Meetings
- Outlook plugin
- Office 365 add-in
- API integration
- Insert image/text into Outlook appointments and Meeting requests
- Downloadable install from web URL.
- Check for new versions and semi-auto update
- Works with Citrix based installations
- Enable Enterprise admin to push installation and custom configuration.
Company V provide on site video conference services to Corporate offices. This requires that users can book time on a video conference system, and can also tell when the system is in use.
Company V asked Davton to build a plugin which gives the user a simple way of checking for availability of a video conferencing system, and making a booking on the central reservation system – all from within Outlook.
The solution enabled the user to access a side panel when creating a meeting in Outlook, and to search for availability of the video conference system. This involved accessing the central reservation system from within the Outlook panel. Once the time was booked in the central reservation system, the dates, times and location for the Outlook appointment was automatically set, ready for the meeting request to be sent. In addition, a background synchronisation process ensured that if the time of the meeting was changed (in Outlook or centrally) it could be reported back to the organiser and updated accordingly.
Flooring Sales Company
Insert Pictures into Email Quotations
- Outlook plugin
- API integration
- Insert image/text into emails
Customer F supply flooring for building projects – from home extensions to large office complexes. The sales process involves providing a list of recommended options to their customers by email. In order to simplify the process and make it more efficient, Customer F asked us to create a simple way for sales consultants to insert images of the flooring into an email. The consultants were based across a number of locations and were not on a centralised network.
The solution was to create a central cloud based server where the flooring options could be stored, together with an Outlook plugin for the consultants to manage the process of inserting the details.
The different flooring options were divided into categories, with each category including all the options for flooring in that category. The new products could be added and updated centrally, and would appear immediately in the selection options for the consultants.
When selected, the plugin would display a list of the products with their pictures, divided up into the same categories. The consultant would select the required items from the relevant section, and the icon and description would be inserted into the email. The image included a link so that if the email recipient clicked on the picture, it would take them to a more detailed description of that product on the web site.
Spam Filtering Company
Spam Reporting solution
- Outlook plugin
- Process selected email on request
- Auto forward email as attachment
- Auto-detecting language files
Customer S, a leading specialist in spam prevention, provides a ‘Spam’ filtering service to businesses. The service is very successful and its spam filtering algorithms work very efficiently. One of the feedback mechanisms to make sure the Spam filters stay effective and adapt to new messages is for users of the service to send any Spam messages which get through the filter back to Company S.
Company S asked Davton to create a plugin which made this process really simple for the customer. Davton created a plugin with a single button which could be pressed while reading an email – if the user wanted to report it as Spam. The email would then be forwarded to the Customer S servers, and optionally could also be reported to the National Spam Agency at the same time. It also detected the end users default language, and used the correct language prompts.
On-line Collaboration System
Insert Conference Call Details
- Outlook plugin
- API integration
- Upload emails to web server via API
- Populate channels with collaboration stream messages via API.
Company C are a start-up providing a sophisticated collaboration platform for chat and project management. The platform includes a facility to create collaborative multi-media web channels for projects, and to view message streams and feeds from different environments.
The solution integrated their web platform into Outlook, working in real time. Users are be able to create and allocate tasks directly from an email or, for existing tasks, to add an email as a note or update. The plugin also enabled users to add emails as collaborative messages into their channels. It provided a live window onto the channels to view and interact with the message streams.
Company C already had a prototype plugin, and asked Davton to provide additional development resource to work on additional features, to review and advise on architecture, and to fix some persistent issues. Davton added the features and fixed the issues, before handing the project and code-base back to Customer C.
Email Encryption Company
Insert Conference Call Details
- Office 365 add-in
- API integration
- Process selected email on request
- Single sign on for corporate customers
Company X provide an encryption service for email. The email is encrypted locally before it is sent, and then un-encrypted by the recipient. Company X asked Davton to create an Office 365 add-in which could manage the encryption and decryption process via a side panel.
Davton created a solution which enabled the user to encrypt the email before sending it, or decrypt a message when it is received. The solution included a number of features to make it suitable as a corporate solution, including single sign on capability – using the corporate Active Directory to provide permissions to log on to the encryption service.
Phishing Email Security Company
Phishing Email Training and Reporting
- Outlook plugin
- Process selected email on request
- Auto forward email as attachment
Customer M provides an email Phishing protection service. [Phishing is the process of sending fake emails with the aim of getting the employee to go to a virus infected website or open a virus infected attachment.] The service works by training employees which emails might be Phishing emails. In order to do this, they send fake Phishing emails which the employees have to recognise.
Davton created a plugin with a button which the user can press if they want to indicate they think it is a fishing email. If it is a fake fishing email sent as a training exercise, a message pops up congratulating the user on spotting the fake Phishing mail. If however it is not one of the ‘test’ Phishing mails, the user is notified that it is not a test, and they are given the opportunity to forward the ‘real’ email to their security department.
Conference Calling Company
Insert Conference Call Details
- Outlook plugin
- Office 365 add-in
- API integration
- Insert image/text into Outlook appointments and Meeting requests
- Downloadable install from web URL.
- Check for new versions and semi-auto update
- Works with Citrix based installations
- Enable Enterprise admin to push installation and custom configuration.
Davton have built conference calling add-ins and plugins for several companies providing a conference call service for business customers. Each development was bespoke and included some features unique to that customer.
The plugin gives the user a simple way of inserting the conference calling dial in numbers and PIN codes in to an Outlook appointment. The user can also select whether to include international numbers or just national numbers.
The solution retrieved the correct telephone numbers and PIN codes for the user, and stored them locally – only updating them if they were updated on the server. Whenever a user created an appointment and sent it to the attendees, the notes field could be automatically populated with the correct information.
London Solicitors
Lawyers Calendar Tracking
A large UK solicitors needed a solution to track and schedule appointments for their Lawyers. Lawyers could be required at a court, police stations or in various offices. In addition appointments needed to be switched between Lawyers at short notice, and scheduled quickly when requests for duty solicitors to attend police stations were received.
Davton have created a solution based on existing Outlook Calendars – with a group calendar to track all appointments, and administrative dashboards to view pending appointments and enable re-allocation and notification of lawyers.
Global Inventory Management
Go to Marketing Trading Solution
A specialist excess stock trader asked for help to build a system to manage the process of finding companies with excess stock, and then matching up the stock to potential purchasers. The system manages and tracks all the customer communications, creating custom emails, tracking and sharing information on potential sales and purchases, and providing management reports.
Since the initial project, Davton have created a second system for their purchasing team, and have made on-going additions and changes to both systems. The Davton solutions are now the primary tools used by the purchasing and selling teams to manage and run their day to day business.
- Create and send custom emails based on templates
- Track all communications with contacts
- Record potential purchases and sales
- Provide management information for shipping and administration
Online room booking software
Outlook plugin
Davton have developed software for an online facilities management and room booking software provider. The customer provides a single, integrated view of facilities and maintenance activities across a portfolio of properties.
Davton developed an Outlook plugin communicating with the central servers via a SOAP based web service. The plugin enables Outlook users to book rooms from within Outlook while creating appointments.
Davton also developed a .Net assembly which is implemented on the clients web servers to communicate with their customers Microsoft Exchange
Cloud based collaboration platform
Outlook plugin
Davton have developed – and continue to enhance an Outlook plugin for the most widely-used online collaboration platform in the world for construction, infrastructure, energy and resources projects. The add-in uses web services based on REST and XML to communicate with the central servers, in order to download emails, contacts etc, and present them to the user within Outlook.
The plugin creates virtual local folders in Outlook – visible in the user interface – containing emails which are actually stored centrally. Project address lists and email tagging parameters are also implemented.
This is a sophisticated integration and user interface, requiring implementation of a complex web service.
On-line CRM system
Outlook plugin
Davton have developed an Outlook plugin for an online provider of CRM to the construction industry in South Africa. This is a simple implementation that utilises a RESTful web service exchanging XML structured files.
The system links sent emails to the online system, and checks and integrates contact information via the web service.
Marine Insurance Company
Team Mailbox Monitoring
A London based Insurance company wanted to monitor the Outlook mailboxes of their team members to ensure that customers received a timely response. When a team member is at lunch, or on holiday, the number of new messages in their mailbox can be seen at a glance. If the viewer wishes to read and respond to the waiting messages, a single click will open their team mates in-box. Replies will be routed to the correct sent items folder.
The original application was written as a stand alone application for an early version of Outlook. Davton were recently asked to update it to an Outlook plugin optimised for the latest versions of Outlook.
International Textiles Wholesaler
Integration with Navision
Davton were asked to provide tools to integration a Navision (Enterprise Resource Planning) system with Outlook. Quotations created on the hosted Navision system are passed to Outlook as an XML file, compiled into a quotation using a standard template, and emailed automatically to the required recipients.
One interesting aspect of this development was that teh Navision system was in a hosted environment, but the add-in and other software ran locally on the PC.
- Navision sends XML files
- Create HTML quotations from standard templates and email to the customer.
On-line email marketing provider – MailChimp
Outlook plugin
MailChimp (www.mailchimp.com) contracted with Davton to create an Outlook add-in to integrate MailChimp contacts with Outlook using a RESTFUL web service and XML data.
Users can easily import anmd export contacts from Outlook to their MailChimp lists, and check the status of recipients when sending and receiving emails.
MailChimp have recently contracted for a second phase to add user requested enhancements to the plugin.
Top 10 Merchant Bank
Financial Dealing Requests
A major International financial organisation asked for help using Outlook custom email templates for dealers to request transactions on.
- Create Organizational Email templates for different types of transactions
- Create a Toolbar for easy selection of the relevant forms.
- Simplify the complex entry requirements using code ‘behind’ the forms
- Separate Reply Forms
- Error Checking and Failsafe options
- Create Organizational Email templates for different types of transactions
- Create a Toolbar for easy selection of the relevant forms.
- Simplify the complex entry requirements using code ‘behind’ the forms
- Separate Reply Forms
- Error Checking and Failsafe options
Ship Brokers
Shared Outlook In-box
A ship broker asked for help in migrating from an old Email application to Outlook. they wanted to continue using functionality found in the previous solution, but not found in Outlook – particularly the idea of a shared team in-box.
Replace an existing Email system utilising one shared inbox for around 10 staff. Set up shared Public Folders with shared in-box/outbox functionality to complement individual mail-boxes. Added a toolbar with features to update messages with information on log who had read, and who was working on a response to each email.
- Set up a Public Folder as a shared team In-box
- Add functionality to mark each mail with the initials of team members who had read it
- Add functionality to enable Team Members to take ownership of a mail and respond to it
- Features added via a new toolbar and custom views
London Financial Services
Contact Tracking Application
A company offering financial services to Public Limited Companies asked for help with a contact management solution. Key to the solution was positive feedback on the last time a ‘contact’ was called so that contacts were called regularly, but not too frequently.
- Use Outlook Journals to track calls made to clients
- Colour-coded Contact form showing whether a call could/should be made.
Events Manangement
Automated CSV Exporter
A business to business marketing company asked for help uploading contact information to a specialist email marketing database. New contacts collected during each week as part of the day to day sales process were automatically exported to a CSV file at the end of the week, ready for uploading to the marketing database. Only new or changed email information was exported to avoid duplicates.
- Create an ‘export to CSV file’ tool
- Automate the tool to run once a week
- Automatically attach the CSV files to an email and send to administrator
US Manufacturing corporation
Staff Absence Request Management
A large American multi-national business asked for help with an application to log staff absence requests.
- Create a custom email template with absence information
- Enable Managers easy responses to requests using response form
- Automatically log approved absence in Public Team Calendars
- Update Absence Access Database with absence information
Mid-size architects practice
Contact/Project Linking and Syncing
A mid-size architects practice already had a company wide contact database, but wanted help to synchronise the contacts to staff personal folders so they would appear in their blackberries.
Key to the activity was the ability to link contacts to projects and sync only the contacts for the projects relevant to each individual.
- Design and install synchronising software
- Allow selection of projects to be synchronised
Commercial Property Sales
Contact Management
A business to business marketing company with four sales divisions asked for help building a company wide contact database to improve their marketing and tracking capabilities.
- Develop custom contact form with centrally managed SECTOR configuration.
- Develop custom Company form with links to Contacts
- Create a tool to export subsets of the contact data to CSV files for marketing
Email tracking plugin
multinational property management company
Davton have developed a plugin to manage email responses and instigate automatic follow-ups. The tool enables users to mark emails for ‘follow-up’. If a response to the email is not received with a predefined time, an automated follow-up is sent asking for a response.
The tool also includes the ability to collate and report on responses so that individuals and departments can be measured on the speed and volume of responses.
Television/Media Group
Shared Contact Solution
A major European media organisation requested help with the design of a custom contact form for use in a central database of 5000+ contacts. The database was to be used for marketing and relationship management and to enable the central data to be easily kept up to date.
- Pick lists for Company Name and Company Code
- Enforcement of standard formatting in address and other fields
- History log of any changes to fields on the form
- Check and warn for duplicates on saving contacts.
- Design custom import tool to import contacts with custom fields
Financial Services
Prospect Database Solution
A London based Fund Management company asked for help update an existing contact form to take into account enhanced data requirements. The shared contact database of 12,000 + names is used to store information on financial interests, mailing requirements, links to other contacts etc, and is a primary marketing tool for the organisation.
- Dropdown lists for Company Name and Company Code
- Enforcement of standard formatting in address and other fields
- Track history of any changes to fields on the form
- Check for duplicates on saving contacts