Solution Space Software
Making software for complicated systems is balancing flexibility and cost-effectiveness. An off-the-shelf software package works perfectly for island automation, but such a system is inflexible and incapable of integrating with an existing infrastructure. Hence, all too often, an entire system is developed from scratch for the purpose of one application. Such a solution is often expensive, time-consuming, unmaintainable and unreliable due to the inability of the development team to reuse existing applications and libraries.
Solution Space uses a best of both worlds approach to this dilemma. Our application development is dual modular. It comprises of a re-usable core of libraries, which form a foundation for both the highly configurable off-the-shelf applications and the customised applications, developed to fit the particular requirements and domain. In this manner, we can provide a base of well-tested proven-in-use foundations and still tailor a range of fringe applications that suit the environment perfectly.
To ensure the software can easily be modified to suite alterations in the domain and requirements, the architecture uses the protocols and standards commonly used in the industry. This ensures that the application is flexible enough for unforeseen changes and that software maintenance is manageable.
When it comes to stand-alone systems, running with limited operator intervention, the processing power and stability of the foundation is crucial. For this part of the architecture, we often choose use Linux because of its high performance, stability, cost efficiency and openness. However, to enhance user acceptance of a new system, clients often choose to use a Windows Operating System for the man-machine interface.