Who we are

We are passionate software developers with an insatiable thirst for the mental challenge involved in the analysis of problems and the creation of elegant solutions.
We are a small boutique software development house situated in Belfast, Northern Ireland, specialising in enterprise application development, training, coaching and mentoring.
Incorporated in 2011, we are privately owned and self-funded.
We defy the long-held traditional approach to software development.
Our company is a meritocracy, run by software developers for software developers.
We do not 'follow-the-crowd', but rather have forged our own path based on many decades of hands-on experience 'in-the-trenches'.
Our approach can be summed up with the mantra, "Faster, Cheaper and higher Quality".
We are very evangelical about our development practices and keen to share our ideas.
Historically, business is seen as a dog-eat-dog environment, whereby winner-takes-all and success simply equates to profit.
We do not subscribe to this restrictive and ultimately self-destructive behaviour.
This sits very well with our company ethos, ethics and morals; especially at a time when many technology companies have been shown to be extremely arrogant in the treatment of their customers and their data, as well as reckless in their attitude towards society in general.
We are strong supporters of Free Software - that is, Free as in Freedom.

See also: Why Open Source misses the point
Ethos: [noun] derived from the Greek word meaning 'Character'.
The characteristic spirit of a culture, era, or community as manifested in its attitudes and aspirations.
Our characteristic spirit can be summarised as follows:
  • we are idealistic
  • we constantly learn
  • we are happy to share our ideas, skills and experience
  • we are inclusive
  • our goal is to achieve the highest quality solutions
  • we conduct our business in an open and fair manner
  • we are not afraid to try, fail, learn and try again
  • we are open-minded
  • we are calm and relaxed and seek to minimise stress
  • we care about the LIFE-work balance (ie big 'LIFE', little 'work')
  • we are family-oriented
  • we are trustworthy, respectful and consciencious
  • we enjoy life to the full
Ethics: [noun]
Moral principles that control or influence behaviour.
We adhere to our key principles of delivering software faster, cheaper and to a significantly higher level of quality.
We are open and evangelistic about sharing our ideas and approach.
We are fair and balanced at all times and seek to do as much good in the world as we can, whilst simultaneously doing no harm.
We treat everyone the same - equally and fairly.
We care.
We are open-minded and approachable, with a flexible attitude and disposition.
Planet before people and people before profit.
We actively resist the systematic removal of basic rights and the encroaching use of intrusive data collection and algorithmic data analysis negatively directed at innocent people. We greatly fear the 'normalisation' of such practices, promoted and championed by those with little technical understanding and questionable morality.
We oppose the centralisation of both systems and data. Centralisation consolidates control, surveillance and power in the hands of entities who do not have your best interests at heart. At best, you become the product to be exploited. At worst, your digital footprint will be retained and scrutenised by numerous third-parties (commercial or government). World-wide, free-speech is under attack. Groundless (and warrantless) trawling of data creates an environment in which 'the people' are viewed as 'the enemy'. Just because such actions are endorsed by the ruling State, does not make it right.
Whilst we acknowledge the potential societal benefits created through the positive use of technology, we also understand and resist the blanket deployment of unjustified and intrusive institutional systems, policies and processes which undermine the hard-won freedoms enjoyed by our (currently) open and democratic society.
Morals: [adjective]
Concerned with the principles of right and wrong behaviour.
Holding or manifesting high principles for proper conduct.
Living at a time when citizens of many countries are negatively impacted by increasing state surveillance, facial recognition technologies and the building of biometric databases, when technology in general is being used to amass vast quantities of personal data, with the emergence of Artificial Intelligence systems, when free speech is under attack and with the impact of climate change starting to take hold, never has moral fortitude been of such significance.
In each such (negative) case, technology has been a key enabler.
With the commoditisation of hardware, software is at the forefront of our modern world. Whilst software developers may not exactly be Kings, we are most definitely King-makers.
Since the inception of general purpose computing devices, software development has been able to conveniently side-step the moral implications of the applications we create. But after 70 years of complacency, the time has come for each software developer to take personal responsibility for the moral impact of their own work and to hold their employers equally accountable.
We take such responsibilities extremely seriously.
We are keen to highlight such issues and further these conversations.
Outside the traditional media, there are plenty of information sources. It is important to select those in which you personally have a high level of trust, but some suggestions are shown:
Further, we encourage all of our employees to take the time and effort to stay informed of the latest developments in the evolving nature of this landscape.
As an industry of technology professionals, we are ideally placed to understand these important issues. But if we cannot be bothered to stay informed and to help guide the narrative, to support each other and stand up to ever-restricitve practices and policies, who will?
These are certainly some of the 'big' issues we currently face. But there are no shortage of 'small' everyday policies we have also adopted, such as:
  • trust your employees and offer remote-work by default
    (we have been doing this both pre- and post- Covid)
  • truly empowered teams, with full autonomy
  • a meritocracy
  • if it is not a legal requirment and if it has nothing to do with software development or employee well-being, we do not need it
  • if there is a choice between just getting it done or taking the time to do it right, then do it right
  • failure is encouraged; it is the best way to learn
  • be passionate about what you are doing
  • stand up for what you believe in
Whilst 'talk-is-cheap', we try to demonstrate our commitment to our principles, morals and philosophy in all of our day-to-day activities.