Welcome

Welcome to Speedbump Software and to life in the slow lane on the information superhighway. Technology evolves, but not all of us keep pace -- and sometimes there are good reasons. "Bigger, better, faster" is often "bigger, different, slower" -- or worse. The application that used to run on modest hardware quite nicely, thank you, now needs bigger, better, faster hardware just to offer the same functionality. Of course, since you're getting new technology you must be better off, right?

Wrong.

Sometimes "newer" is not better or faster (although it almost always is "bigger"). Sometimes there is no good reason to install a new operating system or even the latest version of your current operating system; to re-write your character-mode application to run in the latest GUI environment; or to replace an application that works well with one that is unknown at best.

Despite the marketing claims and press-release pronouncements, the truth is that technology is not the answer -- and it never has been ("Yes, Virginia, there really is no silver bullet."). Technology can make some solutions easier to implement or use than others, but if the solution doesn't solve your problem, it's still no solution, no matter what technology it's delivered with. A client-server application that doesn't solve your business problem won't suddenly become effective simply because it's been modified to be web-based. If it didn't solve the problem originally, then a technology change is not likely to make much (positive) difference.

There's a downside as well. You can always buy the latest-and-greatest version of an application or pay to port your proprietary application to a leading-edge technology. Unfortunately, it may not be money well spent. Your new, GUI-mode application may be prettier than your old character-mode application, but it also may be slower (after all, it takes CPU cycles to draw those pretty pictures!). You may also find that features you have come to rely on in your old application cannot easily (or inexpensively) be included in your new version based on more current technology (and this is progress?!).

Our Mission

Speedbump Software focuses on one goal: delivering the most efficient software solution for your business problem, regardless of the technology. We don't recommend a technology change to solve a problem unless there really is no other reasonable choice. We won't tell you that your current solution is worthless because it's based on older technology, because we're not in the business of selling technology. Any software that supports your business will continue to support your business, as long as your business needs do not change significantly. But if your business needs have changed, and the proper solution requires a new technology, then we're happy to recommend a solution -- as long as we can make a business case for adopting it -- and that means considering all of the costs of a new technology, including re-training, data conversion, documentation and hardware upgrades.

Do You Need a Better Tuba?

At Speedbump, we develop software to solve business problems and to extend capabilities. We support and enhance legacy applications, using their original technology whenever possible, because that approach often makes the most business sense. Sometimes adopting a different technology really is the right solution. Too often, however, a decision to adopt a new technology is based on the "better tuba fallacy" -- the belief that "if I only had a better tuba, I'd be a better musician".

If you've pushed the limits and still found your current applications lacking, then by all means buy a better tuba. It's entirely possible that you have not only mastered your current instrument, but have become proficient, and the instrument itself is holding you back. In these cases, we are more than happy to recommend or build a better tuba for you.

You may not need a new tuba at all, however. The same applications that have served you well will continue to serve you well, and might serve even better with the addition of a few features. Perhaps you don't really need any new features at all; instead, all you really want is for the current features to work properly (bug fixes). Or maybe the documentation for your application has long since vanished, and nobody really understands the ins-and-outs of the application any more.

The Speedbump Alternative

Speedbump can extend the useful life of your legacy application by providing support, enhancements, documentation, bug fixes, data conversion, training and more. Please call or email if you have questions or to discuss your needs.