The decision to specialize Tavis Manufacturing for one market segment has allowed us to simplify the application architecture by concentrating on the needs of small to mid-sized companies.

Tavis Manufacturing was designed to take advantage of Microsoft® SQL Server's advanced client/server capabilities. This provides us with significant performance advantages over many competitive products, which maintain compatibility with older database engines such as Visual Foxpro, Access and Pervasive.

The client application is deployed using the Windows® Installer engine, ensuring reliable installs. Administrative installation options allow install files to be placed centrally to simplify deployment.

The client application has been designed to efficiently use resources. The client will make as much use as possible of the user's CPU in order to minimize the use of network bandwidth. This is a key factor in achieving an application that will deliver consistent performance, regardless of the number of users on the network. With similar memory requirements to that of MS Word, any PC that can run MS Office acceptably is suitable for Tavis Manufacturing.

The Tavis Manufacturing client internally uses the XML data format for many different functions. This technology, which is normally invisible to the user, is poised to revolutionize Business to Business eCommerce. Tavis Software has recognized XML's future potential and has ensured that Tavis Manufacturing can speak the Internet's lingua franca for business.

The factory client uses a Windows® CE based touch screen device connected to the network providing direct access to the main ERP system. The device has no moving parts and is therefore more tolerant of harsh environments. Its primary purpose is to collect time and attendance data for both job costing and payroll earnings.

The time sheet interface is designed to ensure that, with the minimum of effort on the part of the employee, the collected data is of the highest quality.

As the device is connected to the ERP system, we can ensure that all data is properly validated immediately upon entry. Power failures are no longer a problem. Data entered in the punch clock is safely stored in the database.

Tavis Manufacturing uses the Internet primarily as a communication infrastructure. Reports can be sent via email to customers and suppliers and can be converted to HTML for displaying on websites.

The future for software developers using Microsoft® products is called .NET (pronounced dot net). The .NET framework and the Common Language Runtime are two new technologies that will radically change software development. The tools and the infrastructure provided by these new technologies are significantly more powerful and flexible than were previously available. Development has already started on the next generation of Tavis Manufacturing, ensuring that our customers will always have access to the best possible solution for their information systems.