BellHawk Software Customization

The Need for Customization

We recognize that, in the world of software for tracking and traceability, "one size does not fit all". Every organization has its own individual need for software that supports the way it does business.

BellHawk Systems provides for these customization needs in two ways:

By providing a customization service for all its software products.
By making the source code available for clients to customize their own systems

BellHawk Configurability

The BellHawk software has extensive capability to be configured through its setup screens. All the setup data objects can be imported from an external system using an ODBC/SQL or flat–file interface. Also all the transactions, usage data, and materials status data can be exported using the standard DEX interface so that custom reports and graphs can be generated using programs such as Excel and Crystal Reports.

There are, however, limits as to how many features that can be incorporated into a software package before it becomes "bloat-ware" and has so many features that becomes very difficult to use. So we have taken the approach of providing an extensive set of features that are common to most applications and then relying on customization of the software code to provide for the specific individual needs.

What Makes BellHawk Easy to Customize?

BellHawk software is specifically designed to be easy to customize through the use of standard Microsoft software and the use of English-like expert-systems rules. The following languages/environments are used for the BellHawk software:

PC Clients: Access with embedded Visual Basic Code
Database Server: SQL Server
Database Interaction: SQL Server Stored Procedures
Mobile Computers Visual Basic.Net
Business Rules: Visual Basic

Customization Services

Customers can develop their own descriptions of the software customizations required. Alternately they can retain consulting services from BellHawk Systems or one of its business partners to assist them in the development of detailed descriptions of the customizations required.

Upon receipt of a detailed description of the customizations required, BellHawk will provide a fixed price quotation for the cost of the customizations. After authorization, then BellHawk will perform the customizations and provide an update to the software as well as scripts to update the customer's existing BellHawk database.

For those customers who have not purchased source code licenses, BellHawk Systems will issue an update to the binary code and retain a copy of the modified source code so that future updates can be made. Software escrow services can be provided at customer expense.

BellHawk Systems has a team in Baroda, India that provides customization services, such as generating custom reports and modifying data collection sequences, at significant cost savings over performing this work within the USA. These customization services are managed by senior US based project managers.

Source Code

Source code is available for licensing by end-user organizations for use in areas of the world, such as the USA, Canada, and the European Union that have strong copyright and trade-secret laws. BellHawk Systems technical staff provides training and support for those people who need to customize their own versions of BellHawk. Direct assistance in the customization of the BellHawk software is also available.

Upgrades

Upgrades can take a number of forms:

Adding additional licenses or optional modules. The number of licenses for PCs and MCs are field upgradeable as are licenses for tier 1 modules.
Implementing additional customizations. BSC will make the customizations and issue new code to the customer after receipt of a purchase order for the customizations.
Adding additional modules to an existing system. BSC will charge for the license and the professional services needed for back integrating the new modules into an existing customized system
Recompiling and upgrading the code for new releases of the operating system and application software. BSC will charge for any professional services required to make changes to an customized system.

Customers can purchase access to the latest versions of the software modules for which they have purchased licenses for 12% of the total license fees per year as part of BellHawk Systems Software Maintenance Plan. This is included in the software rental price.