Do you remember when your system made life easier?
Friday, 6:40pm
“The database has crashed!”
You groan. It’s the third time this week. Now you’ve got to enter the information again. As you start to type, you sigh, this system was the best thing since sliced bread. You got more done than you ever did with that janky old spreadsheet. You didn’t need extra staff just to push paper around. Those were the days…
Not now. Do these sound familiar?
- Your FoxPro system regularly crashes or pops up with random errors
- There are little niggles and issues that frustrate you and your staff
- You’re unable to make simple changes to the system because you can’t find a reliable developer
- You worry about whether you can find someone to get you running again if there’s a serious problem with your database
- You’re being left behind in the technology arms race — your once state-of-the-art system is now beginning to languish
- Your business relies on your system being up and running and any downtime has a serious impact.
We can help you fix this today! We are the FoxPro experts, successfully developing and supporting FoxPro systems like yours for many years
BUT…
Did you know that FoxPro has been “end-of-life” since Microsoft terminated their extended support in January 2015? It’s no longer a question of if — but when. It is becoming more expensive and more risky to keep running your existing FoxPro system. Who knows if the next release of Windows will even run your software?
I know I need to make a change, but this isn’t my area of expertise — I already have enough on my plate just keeping the business running smoothly.
The good news is that it won’t happen tomorrow but it is coming. There’s still time for you to plan and prepare for this eventuality. But you must take action now because there’s a lot to think about, a myriad of options out there and it cannot be solved overnight.
Our FoxTrails roadmapping service is designed to help you solve the problems with your FoxPro system. Together we can put your business back on track and create a plan of action for your future business success.
A journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step
Migrating or converting a bespoke system is not a trivial task. There are a lot of things that you need to consider to achieve the best outcome for your business. Before embarking on this journey the most valuable thing you can equip yourself with is a map and guide who can help you plan your route.
Imagine you’re training to run a marathon. You can just put on your running shoes and head out the door. With luck, you won’t injure yourself and you’ll manage to build your fitness and endurance to make it to the race.
Or you can be smart and consult experts. A personal trainer will test your current fitness and create a personalised training plan. A physio helps you prevent injury. You can join a running club to develop your technique and improve your times. A nutritionist will create a diet that meets your specific needs. Together they provide motivation when training is tough and adjust your plan as they track your progress towards race-day.
Which route is much more likely to result in you competing and completing the marathon successfully?
Our roadmapping service is your personalised training plan and diet for your business. It is designed to diagnose and identify the specific issues your business faces and itemise viable options to solve or mitigate them in order for your business to continue to thrive.
Uniquely positioned in having both extensive FoxPro expertise and years of experience our team of FoxPro experts are able to leverage all the hard work that has already been poured into your existing FoxPro system by extracting out the workflows and business logic that works.
The first step is our Strategy Workshop. We will discuss the intended outcomes for your business, set expectations for what success looks like, and identify any potential barriers to achieving that success. We’ll then take a couple of days to do some initial research, ask follow-up questions and perform a Preliminary Audit of your existing FoxPro system.
The engagement ends with a concise report which will lay out the actions you can take to protect and secure your business for your continued success.
Ready to take that first step?
Book your roadmap nowI'm not sure yet, I still have some questions.
What’s the cost and what’s included?
Our FoxTrails service is a fixed cost of £999 (plus VAT) and includes:
- A half-day workshop with you, dissecting your company, your system and your challenges at length
- Preliminary Audit of your existing FoxPro system
- Research and follow-up questions
- A detailed report which will cover the goals and challenges of your business and how your FoxPro system fits into them. Typically, we present several routes open to you, describing the benefits and risks of each along with estimated costs so that you are able to make informed decisions
- A final 30 minute call to review the roadmap over screenshare, answer any questions and talk about your next steps
You’re paying for our expertise in advising you on exactly what options are open to you and what steps we’d take over the next 3-12 months if we were in charge of your system. And we’ll deliver a ready-to-use blueprint for exactly that.
Who are you?
We are Foxsoft Ltd, the FoxPro Support and Conversion Specialists. We support small to mid-sized businesses in transitioning your business critical FoxPro application to secure your business and enable it to reach new levels. By following a proven process we help transition you in simple steps, without blinding you with science.
Do you need my source code?
Ideally, yes, our preliminary audit includes looking at the state of your source code to evaluate its usefulness. Without access to your source code, our audit will not be quite as comprehensive.
I don’t have my source code!
All is not lost, in many cases we are able to decompile your application in order to inspect the underlying source code.
What about my data?
Technically, we don’t need your actual data but due to the nature of FoxPro it’s quite intertwined with your application. Most clients don’t have an anonymised data set that we can use (which would always be our preference — we really don’t want to hold clients data if we can help it) so we usually have to have your actual data set.
So how do I get my data to you securely?
You can either bring a copy with you to the workshop session (we can advise exactly what we’ll need you to bring) or we will provide you with access to a dedicated secure upload widget which will transfer files by https to us. You can read more about their security here. We also recommend that you separately encrypt or otherwise password protect the files/s before uploading or transiting them to us. We will then separately obtain the keys from you by phone or secure messaging to decrypt.
How will you keep my data safe?
We’re registered under the Data Protection Act (our registration reference: ZA119331) and we have strict policies that all staff adhere to. We store electronic data we hold for our clients on secure encrypted volumes and store any paper documents that are shared with us in our data safe that’s rated for fire.
Additionally we have a standard NDA that we will each sign as part of our service to re-assure you that we will take care of your data as if it were our own.
What happens to my data afterwards?
Once the roadmapping service is complete, we can either return any paper documents or shred them — whichever you prefer. Any electronic copies of your system and data are securely erased.
Can you do the audit at my premises?
If you would rather that your source code and data don’t leave your premises we can perform the audit on-site. Please note that there will be an additional fee and expenses if you choose this option.
Do I have to use you afterwards?
If we think we can help you then, obviously, we’d love to have you as a client but there is no obligation to continue your journey with us. We designed this service to give you a clear roadmap for your future and you will be able to use the information provided to approach other vendors in a structured way.
“The difference is startling – the online system is far smoother and easier to use.
BeVox is a small business running community choirs across Yorkshire and the Midlands. After two years of operation, it became clear that our existing systems for handling customer registration, attendance, and the loan of sheet music and CDs, were struggling to cope. We needed to move the vast majority of the administration of our business online.
We spoke to several web application development companies before choosing Foxsoft – they seemed to combine a professional approach with an understanding of the realities of running a small business. We were working to tight deadlines, and with a limited budget. Foxsoft delivered exactly what we were looking for – and more. Probably the best aspect of working with them has been the level of involvement they’ve encouraged us to have – their methodology has allowed us to get our hands dirty right from the beginning, testing and shaping the application as it was being written.
The end result is something which fits our business perfectly. Phase One has been a real success, and has reduced the time taken to do our admin by half.We’re looking forward to working with Foxsoft on Phase Two, which will deliver yet more value to our business and our customers.”
— Timothy Allen, Bevox
Our Zero Risk “Shredder Guarantee”
We can’t promise overnight success, our roadmaps are typically longer-term solutions resulting from our years of experience working with both FoxPro and web based applications and migrating successfully between them.
We can promise you that you will get a huge amount of knowledge and peace-of-mind out of our FoxTrails service. If within a week of delivery, you feel that the only value you got out of our service is to give your shredder some action then simply send us back your shredded report for a full refund, no strings attached.
Reserve Your Roadmap Now
We can only commit to performing a maximum of 2 roadmaps a month in order to maintain our high levels of service and ensure we keep our promises to our existing client projects.
“YES, I’M READY TO GET STARTED” →
Perhaps you’re simply not ready yet. After all, there is a lot to think about. If you would like a 15 minute call to get some advice you can arrange a call during our weekly office hours