Landscaping SaaS

We have worked with this client since June 2015 on an application made up of a desktop add-in for AutoCAD and Revit and a website that provides planting layout data to architecture firms worldwide. The add-in connects to the website, which handles product activation, organisation logins and planting layout configurations, as well as support and licence management.

When we started, the product was spread across three websites in different languages: Classic ASP for administration, VB.NET for support and C# for customers. The customer-facing site is built mainly on Web Forms with Telerik controls, connecting to the database through SqlConnection for stored procedures and SQL commands.

Our first major task was to bring the Classic ASP and VB.NET functionality into the main C# ASP.NET website. Since then we have:

• Migrated the applications from .NET 2 to .NET 4.8
• Made it possible to switch plant units between metric and imperial instantly
• Allowed organisations to create their own custom plants
• Standardised plant characteristics, with defined properties for shapes, ages, containers and more
• Developed a trial facility that creates accounts and emails login details automatically

We also built a separate site for browsing National Planting Specification (NPS) plants using jQuery and a Web API, and an MVC website for uploading Product Data Specification (PDS) and Product Data Template (PDT) data as part of a BIM initiative. Alongside this, we help maintain the client's marketing website, built on WordPress and MySQL.

Questions and answers

What does the landscaping SaaS platform do?

It provides planting layout data to architecture firms around the world through a desktop add-in for AutoCAD and Revit. The add-in connects to a website that manages activation, organisation logins, layout settings, support and licensing.

What was the biggest challenge on this project?

When we started, the product was spread across three websites written in Classic ASP, VB.NET and C#. Our first major task was to bring the Classic ASP and VB.NET functionality into the main C# ASP.NET site.

Which features have been added to the platform?

The applications moved from .NET 2 to .NET 4.8. Users can now switch plant units between metric and imperial, organisations can create their own plants, plant characteristics such as shape, age and container follow one standard, and a trial sign-up creates accounts and emails login details automatically.

Which related websites do you support for this client?

A site for browsing National Planting Specification plants, built with jQuery and a Web API, and an MVC site for uploading PDS and PDT product data as part of a BIM initiative. We also help maintain the client's WordPress marketing site.