We chose the DevExpress ASPxperience Suite because we needed a robust, flexible and end-user friendly set of libraries for .Net RIA development against a constantly shifting set of business needs, that where still powerful enough to integrate with our other back office systems with minimal effort.
As a donor supported organisation, our IT strategies need to reflect a lean, knowledge based approach. So, while getting value for money is always a concern, portability and standardisation of code is also primary to ensure that we find the best development resources for each piece of work, and create a happy marriage between business users, analysts and developers.
After years of experience building .Net applications, our IT staff knew the ASPxperience Suite was an obvious choice for rapid RIA development; with its powerful AJAX integration, Upload and Data View controls, all built on top of a standardised framework meant our code was not only portable between development teams but that it was easy to adopt, adapt and improve over time. We looked at open source libraries too, many of which were also very well equipped, but with the added value DevExpress offered in terms of reliability, service and customer support, as well as a strong eco system of developers we where ‘sold'.
Our first project saw the ASPxperience Suite used as a foundation to build a RIA extension to our externally developed financial system and reporting tools. Our a small technical team worked closely with the external consultants on an extremely tight budget. As both teams knew the common framework and GUI controls that the ASPxperience Suite offered they were able to together seamlessly on very specific details using a set of tools that behaved and performed predictably. This meant that the tech, business and external teams could dynamically collaborate to try out different solutions together in a truly agile fashion; allowing them to pro-actively refine the system designs during the project's lifecycle.
All together, the DevExpress suite really helped make the production process a success, with an on-budget solution and the ultimate result – very happy users!
We are very pleased with our decision to use the DevExpress products and can highly recommend them and their fantastic support team.