February 2012: Blueberry Joins AWS Solution Provider ProgramBlueberry Consultants Ltd has joined the AWS Solution Provider Program to bring the power of the Cloud to businesses requiring innovative software solutions to increase profitability and run more efficiently. Blueberry provides a complete solution for small and medium businesses wanting to scale up their e-commerce activities. Managing Director, Martin Green, said: “Hosting e-commerce in the cloud is increasingly the first choice for businesses. If you’re interested in moving your internal servers to the Cloud, we can plan and implement your AWS migration strategy, and provide on-going management services to minimize TCO on Amazon. We also have skills in integrating AWS infrastructure with existing enterprise applications over VPN.” “If you have a web application which needs to scale up to meet high demand, we have the skills to achieve this using the unique features of the Amazon platform.” He went on to say: “Blueberry is currently working with a major localisation company who are shifting their server hosting onto the Cloud using AWS. This is a typical example of the way in which many organisations are looking to utilise the AWS platform at the moment. By moving to the Cloud, the company can focus development resources on their systems and ultimately on their business processes. Martin added: “Having implemented AWS infrastructure systems for a variety of companies, Blueberry is well placed for development in the Cloud.” Blueberry is a full service consultancy, providing a range of services, including technical consultancy, the design and development of standalone Windows Applications, the creation of websites requiring enterprise-quality databases and backend infrastructure, the design and implementation of database systems using Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL or Oracle, and the expertise to create cross-platform products that run on Windows, Linux and Mac. The Blueberry team comprises highly-qualified, talented and innovative IT professionals with experience that spans the full range of bespoke software development, from small entrepreneurial projects to complex systems for major corporations. For more information, see: http://www.bbconsult.co.uk/Expertise/Amazon-Web-Services.aspx January 2012: Blueberry Becomes MS Gold PartnerBlueberry is pleased to announce that it is now a Microsoft Gold Partner - representing the highest level of competence and expertise with Microsoft technologies. The new certification will encourage a much closer working relationship with Microsoft through improved support and access to new product releases, ensuring Blueberry stays at the forefront in the implementation of innovative Microsoft technologies. Managing Director, Martin Green, said: "We have worked hard to gain this accreditation and achieving this highest level in Microsoft's accreditations demonstrates the depth of our knowledge, capability and commitment within our solution areas. “This is also good news for our clients as they will benefit directly from the latest developments.” He went on to say: "Achieving the Gold competency underlines the high level of expertise we can offer our clients and has helped us clarify our “best in class” capability to other Partners. It is yet another demonstration of our level of investment in our chosen area of expertise." January 2012: Blueberry Top 5% In NSAT Microsoft SurveyBlueberry has received good scores on the Microsoft Customer Net Satisfaction (NSAT) survey, a standardized survey conducted at the end of last year. Microsoft requires the survey as part of the process to maintain Microsoft Gold Level Partner certification, and customers awarded Blueberry above average scores on a range of questions. The survey reveals that: Overall Blueberry scored 170 points, putting Blueberry in the top 5% of Microsoft partners scoring in CSAT surveys. Blueberry scored particularly above partner averages for:- - Ease of doing business (80 points vs partner average of 70.65)
- Quality of communication (90 points vs partner average of 67.33)
- Ability to meet customer needs (80 points vs partner average of 68.50)
80% of customers are “Champions” of Blueberry – they like our work and would buy again. 90% would recommend us and 80% said they would repurchase and believe our products gave them a competitive advantage. October 2011: Android Mobile Phone App Developed For NHS ProjectBlueberry has developed an Android mobile phone app for Leeds University, which is being used as a key tool for delivering a weight loss intervention programme. The Nutritional Epidemiology Group, which is part of the School of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Leeds, successfully secured a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) grant to investigate the use of mobile phone technology to help people lose weight. To help instigate the study plan, the Group contacted Blueberry as it required a technical consultancy with proven expertise in mobile technology and database systems to help create the app. Blueberry created the ‘My Meal Mate’ Android mobile phone application, which provides users with: - A database of 35,000 common food items, which allows the user to record what was eaten throughout the day in a food diary.
- “Photo mode” where the user can use the phone camera to take a photo of a meal as a reminder for completing the food diary.
- “Favourites” feature to store common meals to make data entry easier.
- Exercise entry to log calories used during the users’ daily exercise.
- Target weight loss settings, with limits to prevent unhealthy rates of weight loss.
- Progress tracking and graphing.
- Upload of diary entries to a reporting website.
- Text message feedback based on the user meeting targets and completing the diary.
Read the full case study here. July 2011: Continued Growth For BlueberryBlueberry's continued success and growth has resulted in a number of key new people being recruited to the head office in Birmingham. James Evans, Blueberry's new finance manager, is now responsible for handling all financial matters for the Blueberry group, including the complexities of online sales from around the world for Blueberry Software. Development manager, Chris Bevan, has experience in many different areas of business - including academic research, defence and aerospace, financial data analysis, leisure and gaming, and telecommunications. Chris specialises in mobile device development, working on Windows Mobile, Windows CE, and the Google Android operating system. Last, but not least, Geraint Llewelyn joins Blueberry as a support developer. Geraint has 14 years experience in IT, including technical services for contact centres and the engineering and financial services sectors. His role at Blueberry includes both technical support for customers and development. June 2011: Custom Utility LaunchedBlueberry has released a new program for download from its website, which is completely free to use. BB Outlook Tools adds the following additional features to Microsoft Outlook: - Reply with Attachments - This feature simply creates a reply with the original attachments still present. So you can press ‘Reply with Attachments’, edit the attachments, and send. There are no intermediate steps, making it much, much quicker than the normal way of dealing with attached docs in Outlook.
- Tidy Contact Numbers - the phone details of contacts in Outlook can be saved in a variety of different ways. This tool tidies the contact phone numbers into a single unified format, so they can be used from any country without having to make changes.
- Save Attached Files - This feature saves all incoming email attachments into a specified folder automatically when they arrive.
- Signature Correction - Some versions of MS Outlook overwrite the contents of a newly composed email if the insert signature function is used to add a signature at the end of the email. BB OL Tools fixes this problem.
The BB Outlook Tools Installation Pack is available in three versions, depending on which version of MS Outlook you are running. For more information see http://www.bbconsult.co.uk/Resources/BBOutlookTools.aspx. BB Outlook Tools is another example of an additional service being offered by Blueberry Consultants to its clients in these economically challenging times - the development of a small software utilitiy to help improve communication. May 2011: Blueberry on FacebookBlueberry Consultants now has its own Facebook page. As most of you probably have a Facebook account, please feel free to use our new social channel to get the latest news from Blueberry Consultants. Do you have a technology comment to make? An observation you'd like to share with others? Become a Friend - "Like" our page, share it with your friends, post comments, etc.! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Blueberry-Consultants-Ltd/164983020225173 Dec 2010: Blueberry Health Site LaunchedBlueberry Consultants has launched a new health division specialising in the development of effective and innovative solutions for the healthcare sector, building on the company’s experience and expertise in designing and implementing software systems for hospitals and clinicians. Blueberry Health, which has its own website at www.blueberry-health.co.uk, is working closely with healthcare professionals to develop solutions that meet the exacting requirements of the health sector and actively enhance the patient journey, from admission to discharge. Blueberry Health focuses on providing information technology to the healthcare sector cost-effectively and on time, without the overheads and inefficiencies associated with traditional software providers. As part of its brief, Blueberry Health will be increasing its partnership with NHS organisations and suppliers to create leading-edge software which improves patient care. David Lee, Senior Healthcare Consultant for Blueberry Health, said: “Blueberry Consultants has an established track record in bespoke software development for the health sector. We have implemented many leading-edge systems in the health sector and built a great reputation based on results. “We have detailed knowledge of technical healthcare standards, such as HL7, ICD-10, DMD, and we have created solutions which are hosted within the NHS N3 network and integrated with PAS systems. “This experience, coupled with our technical expertise, means we are perfectly placed to provide a first class service to the healthcare industry in these times of ever tighter budgets.” Nov 2010: Half Million A&E Patients Managed By Patient Monitoring SystemBlueberry's 'Klok' Patient Monitoring System - an essential management tool used by staff at two busy hospitals run by the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust - has reached a milestone: Since the patient monitoring system was installed at the Lister in Stevenage and the Queen Elizabeth II in Welwyn Garden City, the two hospitals have treated over half a million A&E patients - all managed by the Klok system. The system is in use 24/7, not only for managing patient flow but also for providing data which is used to report on the hospital’s performance against various government targets. Read more about the Klok project here: http://www.bbconsult.co.uk/Projects/klok.aspx Oct 2010: Software Aids Translators In Crisis-Hit CommunitiesBlueberry Consultants has created a Word document manipulator which is to be used by ‘Translators without Borders’ a voluntary organisation which arranges pro bono translations for non-governmental humanitarian organisations (NGOs). Aid groups working in crisis situations around the world are often faced with the urgent need to disseminate knowledge into the local language of those who need it, and delays caused by language barriers can cost lives. It is in such crisis-hit communities that NGOs have a desperate need to have written content translated quickly and accurately. However, because the translators provide their services on a free of charge basis for NGOs, they often need to work on translations in parallel with their other (paid) work, so if the document they’re working on is large – for example 20,000 words - it becomes difficult to complete without interruption. In order to increase the throughput of documents from NGOs to the translators and back, what was desperately needed was a way for a large document to be split into smaller, more manageable chunks on which several translators could work on at once to complete the project quickly. Rubric Ltd, a company specialising in the translation of computer manuals and programs into foreign languages, contacted Blueberry on behalf of TWB with the problem. One option for Blueberry was a browser applet to split large Word documents into smaller chunks hosted on the servers run by Translators Without Borders. However, this would have required a great deal of support, so wasn’t an attractive option for Rubric. Instead, Blueberry created a Microsoft Word add-on to perform the splitting and re-assembling. Blueberry’s Microsoft Word add-on allows foreign language documents to be split into manageable chunks, so making the job of translators easier. Duncan Forsyth, the Senior Software Designer for Blueberry who developed the software, said of the project: “One of the joys of software development is that a couple of hundred kilobytes of the right code in the right place can make an enormous difference to people’s lives.” Oct 2010: Blueberry Sponsors Digital World MeetingBlueberry helped sponsor the innovative Digital World Meeting, held in Birmingham in October by independent organisation, Science Capital. Science Capital’s aim is to create a sustainable and internationally recognised hub of entrepreneurial activity that contributes to the development of an innovation-driven economy in the West Midlands. The Digital World Meeting consisted of seminars and networking events, focusing on the needs of individual scientists, entrepreneurs, financial and business experts interested in working together. Blueberry showcased its expertise across a range of project types, from aerospace and transport, to mobile and health. Martin Green, managing director of Blueberry, said: “We hope the success of our projects will show what regional companies like ours can achieve. “Whether you’ve got an idea for a new business or you want to improve the efficiency of your existing business, we have the software development expertise right here in the Midlands to make it happen.” Sept 2010: Blueberry Showcases Health-Related ProjectsBlueberry recently participated as a sponsor and exhibitor at the Innovative Healthcare event, held in Birmingham in September as part of the British Science Festival. The Science Capital event brought together scientists, business experts, innovators and investors from across the West Midlands in an environment where they could explore the latest technological advances alongside the investment and legal frameworks needed to make them a commercial reality. Blueberry showcased its latest health related projects, which included: - An A&E patient monitoring system which helps to reduce 4 hour breaches, and streamlines the interface to other departments such as X-Ray, Medical Records and Bed Management.
- A complete hospital in-patient management system for East and North Herts NHS Trust, which included Emergency Department (ED) Functions, Ward Functions, Bed Management, & Prescription Control using an electronic TTO.
- A product provisioning database system for one of Britain’s leading suppliers of Stoma Care Products, which was required to operate nationally rather than as separate installations at each trust.
- A video-phone system to help patients with dementia for Newcastle-based healthcare supplier, Connect4Care, which Blueberry designed and implemented from scratch. The system utilises video conference technology to enable Personalised Remote Cognitive Stimulation Therapy, remote medication prompts and a range of Assistive Technology devices to ensure safety and autonomy.
- Bespoke analysis software for a 3D body scanner to be used as a possible long-term alternative to body mass index (BMI). The software is also the main user interface for the system.
- A standalone program for an NHS organisation that was using a very large Excel sheet to manage staff utilisation – but the sheet was becoming very slow in use. We analysed the problem and specified a program that was 100 times faster.
The Science Capital event was supported by Anthony Collins Solicitors, Binding Site, Birmingham City Council, Birmingham Science City, FD Solutions, Lunar Society, MedilinkWM, Netnak, Royal Society of Medicine and UnLtd. June 2010: Bespoke Software Projects BookletBlueberry has been fortunate enough to work on many interesting bespoke software projects since its formation in 1997. Although some of these are included in the projects section of this website, we can't include them all. Some have NDA restrictions, others have been replaced by newer projects, and there are a number waiting to be profiled into case studies. With a growing portfolio of successfully completed bespoke software projects under our belt, and more on the way, we decided the time was right to assemble the most interesting of them into a booklet, NDAs permitting of course! If you'd like a copy of Blueberry's 30-page booklet of custom software case studies, showcasing our strong programming skills across a wide variety of project types, contact us today. Dec 2009: Communication Tool For Students At Cambridge Regional College'Get A Word In’ is an inspirational piece of permanent public artwork in the student entrance of Cambridge Regional College. The artwork enables students to voice their opinions, messages, stories, poetry and emotions. Words, phrases and icons can be uploaded to scroll across a custom built double-sided display screen and be visible from the College’s square. Blueberry designed and implemented the software required for the project, which included a touch-screen interface for students, a remote access administrative interface, and a control system for the large CCFL screen. See the case study for full details. Oct 2009: Web-Based Display SystemBlueberry has won a contract to design a web-based messaging and content display system, which will be capable of showing material in broadcast quality across a range of devices. In addition to text and graphics, the software will be capable of combining any selection of live video, data feed or animation to create stunning finished content. Martin Green, MD of Blueberry Consultants, said: “The software will allow different types of content to be amalgamated, and then displayed concurrently on the same display device. “The system will be is infinitely scalable, and extremely flexible, able to run over any TCP/IP network that allows HTTP traffic, through any internal firewalls, as well as configurable for SSL connections.” Sept 2009: New Staff Join BlueberryTwo new members of staff have recently joined Blueberry Consultants. Rebecca Bolton joins the team at Blueberry as Office Administrator, responsible for the sales administration of all online products for Blueberry Software, the sister company of Blueberry Consultants. Her role includes handling the BB FlashBack range of products, as well as a number of associated marketing tasks. Thomas Lawrence will be responsible for systems and network administration at Blueberry from September, managing the company’s servers and handling internal support issues on a day-to-day basis. For further job opportunities at Blueberry Consultants, please check our careers page. May 2009: Custom Utilities LaunchedBlueberry has released two programs for download from its website, both of which are completely free to use. The first is a small, downloadable desktop program that enables PDF forms to be filled in, regardless of what format they're in - even PDFs that can't be filled in using Adobe Reader. With over 20 million PDF Files on the web, and over half constituting some kind of printable form - from insurance claims, mortgage applications, invoices, order forms, employment applications, and so on - Blueberry PDF Form Filler should prove invaluable to all PDF users, unlike other applications which only allow PDF forms to be filled in online, or require registration or payment. The second custom utility is the Blueberry Connection Tester, which enables consultants and software developers to gather PC configuration and connectivity data from remote PCs. As there is an endless variety of PC configurations, it's not possible for software developers to predict what system an end-user will be running their application on. The problem is even worse if trying to diagnose a problem on a remote PC - particularly if the end-user is inexperienced or when the problems are intermittent. The Blueberry Connection Tester is a customisable utility which enables consultants and software developers to efficiently gather PC configuration and connectivity data from remote PCs - and it's again free to download and use. Both products are examples of an additional service being offered by Blueberry Consultants to its clients in these economically challenging times - the development of small software utilities to help their clients' customers better interact with their website, product or business. Jan 2009: New Holiday Site Cuts Out The Middle ManBlueberry Consultants has completed a new online site which puts renters of holiday homes into direct contact with holiday home owners, so cutting out the middle man. The site, called Cazure, is owned by Rubric founders, Ian and Francoise Henderson, and has been designed and developed by Blueberry to allow web users to find their ideal holiday home quickly and easily. Ultimately, it is hoped the site will feature every holiday home available and so become a 'hub' for holiday-makers who want to find their ideal villa, apartment or chalet directly from the Internet. There is no charge to holiday home owners for listing a property on the Cazure website – an incentive which it is hoped will encourage many more holiday homes to be included than would otherwise be the case. Cazure is already experiencing high volumes of traffic – a good starting point to attracting future advertising revenue. http://www.cazure.co.uk/ Dec 2008: GSMA Wireless Intelligence Online System - SQL Server Reporting ServicesIn the ongoing programme of developments for GSMA’s Wireless Intelligence online system, the GSMA wanted to take advantage of the reporting possibilities within SQL Server Reporting Services 2005. Requirements on the security of the reports necessitated a concurrent update to both SQL Server and Visual Studio. The updated system was first trialled using VMWare and then deployed over the course of a weekend. Oct 2008: Blueberry Shortlisted for Best Innovative Product AwardBlueberry has been shortlisted for Best Innovative Product in the Fourth Annual ICT Excellence Awards 2008.
More... Sept 2008: GSMA Wireless Intelligence Online SystemBlueberry has completed the first phase in a programme of updates to the GMSA’s Wireless Intelligence online system. The GSMA is the premier international trade association for the mobile phone industry. Wireless Intelligence collects and distributes industry statistics on the mobile phone market. The website successfully moved over the course of a weekend.
More... Aug 2008: 360Tor Goes LiveAn innovative and easy to use system for the production of 360 degree panoramas for Estate Agents is now up and running. The system incorporates High Dynamic Range photography technology, significantly improving the quality of pictures.
More... Jul 2008: GSMA Wireless Intelligence Online System - InfolinkWith the success of our ongoing programme of developments for GSMA’s Wireless Intelligence online system, the GSMA requested Blueberry’s assistance with another reporting site - Infolink. Infolink was to be repositioned in the market as a ‘Lite’ version of Wireless Intelligence re-using the reporting technology of Wireless Intelligence whilst retaining premium content for the primary site. Working with Infolink’s external design team, Clarity International, the site was redesigned and new functionality added so that the site could take its new position in GSMA’s offerings. Jul 2008: Call Centre Software with Sophisticated Web-Based Management SystemBlueberry has completed a sophisticated, yet intuitive, management system for ChinaONEcall - a company serving the growing number of travellers to China requiring a way of interpreting between English and Mandarin.
More... May 2008: Healthcare at Home - Clinician’s WebsiteBlueberry has completed a consultation project for Healthcare at Home, to convert its paper-based registration system to a web-based system.
More... April 2008: GSMA Wireless Intelligence Online System - Blueberry Deploys PHP ServerIn the ongoing support of GSMA’s Wireless Intelligence online system, Blueberry has deployed a PHP server, Subversion source control server, and a wiki for the distribution of documentation amongst their suppliers. Blueberry provided the support required to quickly and efficiently deploy these powerful tools. Apr 2008: 360 Degree Panoramas For Estate AgentsBlueberry has won a contract to implement a new system for the creation of 360 degree panoramas for Estate Agents. The system will allow Estate Agents to make walk-through panoramas quickly and easily – and includes automatic upload to the web. Mar 2007: Tender Support Tool Wins Chartered Institute Of Building AwardA tender support tool, designed and implemented by Blueberry Consultants, has won the 2006/7 Chartered Institute of Building Award for Innovation and Research.
More... Feb 2007: Military Computer-Based Simulation Software Makes Use Of BB FlashBackTernion Corporation in Alabama, USA, is Blueberry’s latest high profile convert to BB FlashBack Screen Recorder - using it to demonstrate state-of-the-art computer-based simulation software that is used mainly in military applications.
More... Jan 2007: Blueberry Earns Certified Partner Status in Microsoft Partner ProgramBlueberry Consultants has earned Certified Partner status in Microsoft Corporation’s Partner Program, recognising Blueberry’s expertise as a software solutions provider in the technology marketplace.
More... Jan 2007: Third-World School Discovers Benefits Of Screen RecordingMany schools in South Africa are struggling to provide pupils with their first taste of the Internet and email. One headteacher found a solution to his problem of scarce I.T. provision in the form of a free BB FlashBack Express program he found on the cover-mounted disc of a PC magazine.
More... Oct 2006: Blueberry Releases BB FlashBack SDKBlueberry Software has released the latest version of its screen recording software development kit, BB FlashBack SDK. BB FlashBack SDK 2.0 offers developers and software publishers an easy way to incorporate screen recording, movie playback and editing features into their applications, using plug-in ActiveX controls. SDK 2.0 is based on the high-performance recording engine used in Blueberry's award-winning BB FlashBack screen recorder – a product which has been acknowledged for its performance level, its intuitive interface, and its sheer ease of use.
More... Sep 2006: Blueberry Deploys VoIP Phone SystemAfter a period of testing and research, Blueberry has deployed a new VoIP phone system based on the popular Asterisk open-source PBX server. VoIP is catching the technical headlines because of its ability to route calls over the internet for free. Blueberry’s interest in the technology lies in its amazing flexibility and its ability to allow employees working from distributed locations to connect to a central phone system.
More... May 2006: Blueberry Completes Testing of “DotNetNuke”Blueberry has adopted the DotNetNuke CMS (Content Management System) following a review of 20 open-source CMS systems. Jun 2005: Product update - BB FlashBack 1.4.5After a number of months development time BB FlashBack 1.4.5 has been publicly released. This version includes a considerable number of improvements. Feb 2005: Product update - BB FlashBack 1.4.1BB FlashBack 1.4.1 has been released. This is a minor release containing mainly bug fixes. The main new feature introduced in this version is improved displaying and searching of key presses in movies recorded by BB TestAssistant. Feb 2005: New product - BB FlashBack ExpressThis new addition to the FlashBack family is a feature reduced version of BB FlashBack that offers great value for users needing to make simple screen recordings. It has the same ease of use and recorder technology as its big brother, while leaving out the advanced editing and presentation functions. Feb 2005: Product update - BB TestAssistant 1.4.1This is a major upgrade to BB TestAssistant, to give it the improved usability, recording and editing functions of BB FlashBack 1.4.1. Users can now annotate movies with text, graphics and sound, and export to Flash, AVI, EXE, WMV and PowerPoint formats. |