Services / custom development

Web applications and platforms built to fit

We develop business portals and web applications that simplify the work, connect the data and give users a clear, secure experience.

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Case · a custom platform

Hotel Plesnik: a platform that adapts to the hotel, not the other way around

  1. Starting point

    A four-star hotel whose work no off-the-shelf tool covers. Those tools require the hotel to adapt to them.

  2. What we did

    We built a custom platform with AI inside it, released in parts the hotel tested in real use.

  3. Result

    One of the largest development projects we have delivered, and proof that a custom build only comes into play once a standard tool is not enough.

4star hotel
AIbuilt into the platform, not bolted on
in partstested in real use
codeand data belong to the client

The project is described on the references page. Read the case study →

The spreadsheet has outgrown itself

Four sentences we hear almost every week

Nobody orders a custom application for fun. They order it when the existing tools do not cover what the company actually does.

01

We run everything in spreadsheets

Bookings, orders and records live in an Excel file five people edit at once. Sooner or later something gets lost.

02

The software we have cannot do this

The tool we bought covers eighty percent. The other twenty is done by hand, and that is what costs us most.

03

Every month we pay a subscription for things we do not use

We pay for packages because we need one feature out of each. Together it costs more than our own solution would.

04

Nobody outside understands our process

Our process is particular. Every vendor offers a standard solution that the process has to be bent to fit.

If one of those sounds familiar, we deal with it on the intro call: fifteen minutes, no obligation.

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From the spreadsheet to an application

  1. The rules written downwhat the system actually has to do
  2. Screen designthe path first, the look second
  3. Built in partsuseful before it is finished
  4. Handover and further workthe code and the data are yours

How we build an application

Building a web application, from the process to production

Building a web application starts with the users and the workflow. First we set the smallest sensible scope, prepare a prototype and the technical design, then develop in phases you can verify, and connect it to the systems you already run.

Business process analysis
A UX prototype and user journeys
Platform development
API connections and data
Roles, permissions and security
Testing, launch and maintenance
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The basics

When a custom build is worth it

A custom application is not always the right choice. Often the cheaper and faster route is connecting the tools you already have, or a well-built WordPress.

A custom build pays off when the process is particular to your company and no tool covers it without major workarounds. Or when the subscriptions to several tools together exceed the cost of owning one.

It does not pay off when a standard tool covers ninety percent. Then the smarter move is to buy the tool and automate the rest.

So our first conversation is not about technology but about the process. Only once it is clear what the solution has to do do we discuss whether building it makes sense.

When we do not recommend an application

We do not build what already exists

When a standard tool covers nearly everything, we will point you to it, even when that means there is no project for us. Rebuilding something you could buy is a waste of your money.

A custom application is also not a one-off cost. Every solution needs maintenance, updates and somebody to keep developing it. We say that before the proposal, not after handover.

If we judge that it would be enough to use automation of the tools you already have, that is what we propose, even when it means less business for us.

From the rules to a usable version

Four steps from the process to a working solution

  1. 1

    Writing the process down

    We sit down with whoever does the work and record how it actually runs. That shows whether a custom build is the right route at all.

  2. 2

    The smallest usable version

    We set the smallest scope that is already useful. We do not build everything at once, because the requirements always change once people use it.

  3. 3

    Build and trial

    We build it and you try it in real work. The corrections come from use rather than guesswork.

  4. 4

    Handover and continued development

    You get the code, the access and the documentation. Further development follows your priorities.

You receive an itemized proposal the same day as the intro call, or the next at the latest.

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When a web application is worth it

  • The same task every dayand always in a spreadsheet
  • Several people on the same dataeach with their own version
  • Rules only one person knowsand that person is on vacation
  • Data nobody can get an overview ofbecause it sits in ten files

What sets the price

What a web application costs depends on this

An application is always quoted by proposal, because the scope varies more between cases than in any other service. We quote once the rules are written down.

The form below asks about exactly these things. The more you tell us, the more precise the proposal will be.

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The exact figure for your case arrives within a day of the call, itemized and with no hidden costs.

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Why Aithena

Four reasons, and the first is that a custom build is not the first answer

A custom application usually carries the highest upfront cost. So the first thing we check is whether you need one at all.

01

First we check whether an existing tool will do.

A large share of requirements can be met with existing tools and one automation. When that is the case we say so, even when it means less business for us.

02

For Hotel Plesnik we built a custom platform.

A four-star hotel has work no standard tool covers. In that case a custom build is the right answer, and we can do that too.

03

Ownership is written into the proposal.

The access, the code and the database go to you. An application you cannot leave is a risk to your company, not an advantage to us.

04

We work in parts you can try out.

You get the first usable piece before the whole thing and use it in real work. That way a wrong assumption shows up in week two rather than in month five.

On the intro call we look at what the application should solve and say whether one is needed at all.

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Where others gave up quickly and said it could not be done, Aithena looked deeper, kept at it and found a solution.
Špela SušnikGoogle review

What you receive

After the work you have a tool that runs your process.

The spreadsheet was the first solution. A custom application does the same work with no retyping and without one person who knows everything.

01

Immediately

The process recorded and the first version scoped

Together we decide what the first version has to do to be useful immediately.

02

During the work

A working result along the way

You see working parts as they appear, so the scope can be corrected before it is too late.

03

At handover

Code ownership and support

The code is yours, and you get the instructions plus an agreement on ongoing support.

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Fit

Let us also say when it is not worth it

We would rather tell you openly when a service is not right for you than have you spend money on something that will not work.

Good fit

Worth doing if

  • you run the process in spreadsheets one person understands
  • the software you have cannot do what you need
  • the work repeats enough for development to pay off

Wrong timing

Wait if

  • software that already solves this exists and is cheaper to use
  • the process still changes every week
  • the project has nobody to decide on the scope

Questions

Short and clear answers

Answers to the questions we hear most often before an engagement starts.

Question not on the list?

Book a call →+386 70 743 718info@aithena.co

A web application is an interactive tool that lets a user carry out tasks, manage data or take part in a business process, all in the browser.

When standard tools demand too many manual workarounds, do not support a key process, or cannot be safely connected to your data.

It covers requirements analysis, a prototype, defining the features, phased development, testing, launch and the agreed maintenance.

A large share of requirements can be met with existing tools and one automation. If that is your case, we say so on the intro call, even when it means less business for us.

Yours. The access, the code and the database go to you. An application you cannot leave is a risk to your company, not an advantage to us.

We work in parts. You get the first usable piece before the whole thing and try it in real work, so a wrong assumption shows up in week two rather than in month five.

Either us or your team. Either way you get the documentation and an explanation of what happens on failure, because we do not want to be the only ones who know how it works.

By proposal, built from the written-down rules and screens. Development is billed at an hourly rate of 35 euros, or at a fixed price for an agreed scope. Indicative prices are on the price list.

Book a call

Tell us where you are and we will set up a call

The intro call takes about fifteen minutes. We look at your situation and say what is worth doing first.

You receive an itemized proposal the same or by the next business day at the latest after the call, not a week later with different numbers. If we judge that the service is not worth it for you, we say so before the proposal.

  • We reply every day, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Central European Time (3 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern)
  • No lock-in and no subscription to talk
  • If we cannot help you, we tell you right away

Prefer to call? +386 70 743 718, WhatsApp or info@aithena.co

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