The majority of work in the mining industry is done deep in the earth, where cell service and WiFi are unavailable. In this case, a mobile or web app isn't really a valid business app if it doesn't work offline.
The unique challenges and timeliness of business apps around worker safety, technology and vehicle tracking ,and brass-in/brass-out require industry knowledge and urgency that not all vendors understand.
Alpha Software has helped major miningcompanies and their suppliers build safety, inspection, equipment tracking and brass-in/brass-out apps that capture and deliver critical data anytime, anywhere.
Capability |
Alpha Anywhere |
Fast Onboarding to the Platform [+] Show / Hide Details |
It takes a beginner about 90 minutes to build a sophisticated mobile CRUD app in Alpha Anywhere by following a tutorial. Developers in Alpha Anywhere typically become competent (and confident) in about 2 months, and faster with more focused training or mentoring. |
Support for Citizen Development [+] Show / Hide Details |
Alpha Anywhere fully supports no-code citizen development by allowing users to create screens, buttons, fields and objects and perform CRUD operations, as well as loging/logout with built-in genies; as well as offering hundreds of predefined actions that developers use use via a list metaphor. Low code blocks can be interspersed with traditional coding. Alpha Anywhere also offers mentoring, which allows citizen developers to work directly 1:1 with a "personal trainer" as they build their apps or get up to speed with the product. |
Ability to Add Code as Needed [+] Show / Hide Details |
Alpha Anywhere allows a broad range of control in application design by exposing hundreds of event hooks. [Client-Side: Built in JavaScript Editor features Autosuggest, makes it easy to reference objects used in the applications. Low JavaScript skills required. Server-Side: Built in Server-Side Editor specifically tailored for building Alpha Anywhere Applications, features Autosuggest and other helper tools to make server-side scripting easier. Low programming skills required.] |
Speed of Developing/Updating Apps [+] Show / Hide Details |
Alpha Anywhere includes a local version of its server that runs on the developer’s machine and can instantly show changes, just by clicking the refresh button. |
Ease of Data Integration [+] Show / Hide Details |
Alpha Anywhere provides many tools for working with REST services, JSON Data, XML, SOAP and oData. Plus it lets you quickly change data sources when you switch from development to deployment. [Working with External Data: Alpha Anywhere includes native SQL drivers for all popular SQL backends (SQL Server, MySQL, MariaDB, and many others). Alpha Anywhere uses connection strings that allow access to thousands of tables at once. For Web services, Alpha Anywhere supports the oData standard to allow developers to inspect and connect to external data structures. Working with Internal Data: Alpha supports ONLY external databases – so there are no restrictions in the use of 3rd party BI and reporting tools.] |
Robust Offline Capability [+] Show / Hide Details |
Alpha Anywhere has robust offline capability built-in, with data synchronization and intelligent conflict resolution included. Citizen developers can implement this fundtionality without code. |
Built-in Analytics and Reporting [+] Show / Hide Details |
Alpha Anywhere includes a built-in banded report writer for server-side reporting. Client-side templating reports can also be generated and viewed offline on a mobile device. |
Handling and Storage of Large Image, Audio and Video Files [+] Show / Hide Details |
Alpha Anywhere allows images to be stored in either local storage or in the devices file system. Media files can be transferred directly between the device and Amazon S3 without going through an application server. |
Built-in Mobile Optimized Forms Builder [+] Show / Hide Details |
Alpha Anywhere includes mobile optimized form technology. Mobile forms offer speed data capture for forms workers with features like: larger buttons or swipe capablities for one-handed input; customized keyboards for numbers-only data fields, digital ink, and image capture and annotation that can be done without a stylus. |
Predictable Pricing [+] Show / Hide Details |
Alpha Anywhere offers transparent pricing based on the number of application servers needed for deployment. As a result, development costs and ongoing costs (TCO) are easy to predict. |
Alpha Anywhere speeds development for all users in mining companies. It does the routine coding for experienced developers, and builds the apps for less experienced developers or business users. The software also has built-in genies that speed data integration, offline capability and security. But, Alpha Anywhere always gives developers the ability to add code, if needed. We call this "coding-optional" - and it's critical for the mining industry where key app requirements must be in place to improve mining operations and worker safety.
Alpha Anywhere allows developers to quickly build, test, deploy and update critical apps that:
Why does Alpha Anywhere consistently get perfect scores from customers?
Construction companies are looking to mobile app development to gain efficiences, save on costs, and remain competitive. As your organization evaluates vendors, there are key questions to ask that can save you from big costs down the line.
When you hear: "We do offline."
Understand that all "offline" capabilities are not equal. Be sure to ask:
If the answer is "No," then it means your apps will likely have severe limitations that could hurt your ability to intelligently capture store and sync data.
When you hear: "We can connect to data."
Data integration is one of the most difficult and important aspects of app development. Be sure to ask:
If the answer is "No," you'll likely burn a lot of time and money on data integration and security issues.
When you hear: "We're cross-platform."
Understand that responsive isn't necessarily cross-platform. Be sure to ask:
If the answer is "No," then users experience will most likely not have a native-like experience on the apps.
"Alpha Anywhere has been an ideal enterprise development platform for us, and has become our system of record for all development work, including mobile apps.."
"Without Alpha Anywhere, I would have had to outsource development to an outside software company because we needed a sophisticated system with a strong back-end, and we couldn't have built that ourselves. But with Alpha were able to do it. We've saved at least 50% in costs and time.."
"The low-code approach really paid off for us. We had many different project requirements in different countries and regions, and with Alpha Anywhere we could quickly adapt to specific needs in each geographic area."
“Alpha Software has robust enterprise integration capabilities & rich client-side workflow & custom logic creation in its coding-optional development tool...”
– Gartner Magic Quadrant, Mobile Application Development Platforms, June 2016