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What does it take to start a software company? Part 1: Cloud vs. On-Premise

     What's it actually take? You've spent how much? Who told you to use that framework and code? These are just a few of the questions I receive from time to time when people ask about software. For now, I'd like to stick with the most basic one. What does it actually take to create a SaaS (software as a service) company.      Many people have this thought that they either know computers or they don't. Fair point I guess, but that's not necessarily true. With any business there are tools that are needed. Good tools, good people, a plan, proper structure, etc.  To start your own software company it's actually not that complicated. At least not as complicated as I made it in the beginning.       Cloud or on premise? Having software in the cloud makes updates much easier. Updates are done remotely and pushed at once so all users can see them. A little time consuming to set up properly and manage over time, but hardware is managed by the cloud provider. AWS, Mi

Starting a software Company

How Software Has Changed      Software has drastically changed in the last twenty years.  With cloud infrastructure, it is much easier for entrepreneurs to start their own SaaS companies with little resources.  Gone are the days where companies spent millions for on-premise equipment such as servers, storage, and everything else.  Gone are the days where full time developers made everything from scratch.  In the early days, my father, a COBOL programmer, had to make everything himself.  In today's market, GitHub, GitLab, and every other repository service has open source software and plugins that developers give a way, for free.  Websites such as Freelancer.com and Upwork make it easy for American entrepreneurs to connect with developers in India, who only charge $20 per hour.  The $20 sounds enticing to a startup, especially compared to prices of American developers.  If this is so easy, then how come it took me nearly two years just to get my software launched?         Reg

What Grinds My Gears

Dasol Group You know what really grinds my gears?  When consultants come up to me and want to charge $200 per hour for some sort of service when there is no way I will ever see a return.  Getting a return on a business investment can be a tricky thing.  Every business owner wants a return.  Some returns are simple.  Pay $100 for a product, sell it for $200.  Done.  Others are not that simple.  My good friend Gabe always tells me, "You cannot manage what you cannot measure."  I have lived by this statement ever since he said it.  Let's take a step back.  What I love about software, is the funds are easier to manage, at least in my mind.  Paying a company $500 per month, for SEO, $100 for Adwords.  Then reports show 1000 users to the site, 50 sign up, 10 stay.  It's easy to see that for $600, X amount of revenue was brought in.  Now let's get back to the subject.  I get solidly annoyed when someone proposes making changes for my business, but I cannot measure any

Why Customized Software May or May Not Be Worth The Price

Software has been around for half a century and it has only grown since it's inception.  Many companies have either hired full time staff to develop custom software, or hired outside companies to develop what was needed.  This proved very costly for build out, but also even more time consuming as servers had to be built on location.  As the cloud developed as part of the internet, software companies emerged in which businesses could customize parts of the software to tailor to their needs.  Customizing software as a "consultant" only proved to be an additional cost.  Over the last twenty or so years, customized CRM client retention management) and ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems have skyrocketed.  Many consultants for these systems are over $200 per hour.  Companies may pay $20,000 just to customize a CRM to their needs, on top of monthly fees. Let's talk about Salesforce.  Salesforce is one of the largest CRM providers in the nation.  Before I begin, I d
Why Switch to IoT? Business owners already have enough costs associated with running things.  From employees to offices, to taxes, software costs are just another expense business owners have to endure.  Before I give my two cents about switching to IoT software and services, remember why businesses buy and/or license software.  For a business to be successful, it has to obtain and utilize tools to meet customer expectations and satisfaction.  There are a number of tools to utilize but for many, software is one.  Software can help eliminate certain costs and create records for transactions and vital business information.  For years, software has been a growing industry with many resources obtaining more efficient ways to run things.  The internet of things, or IoT as many call it, has been one of the next steps in software and cloud infrastructure.  IoT connects physical objects to the internet.  Some early IoT concepts were coffee makers, with phone applications, doorbells wit

The Dasol Group

The Dasol Group People keep asking me, what is The Dasol Group and what does it do?  How is it different?  I'm sure we will get to that.  For now, let me introduce myself.  I am Chris Norton, the President of Norton Holdings, Inc. and The Dasol Group is a part of that.  The Dasol Group's core focus is business apps and software for various industries.  What makes our system different than others is the connection to units.  Placing sensors on machines (exercise, HVAC, commercial etc.), allow workers and technicians of all kinds to seamlessly record work with each detail.   How does the sensor work?  Well, that is a very open ended question that will constantly change.  Each sensor is specifically programmed by make, model, serial number, location, and other information.  As The Dasol Group begins to diversify, customers will start to see better and more efficient ways to utilize the sensors and IoT devices.  As of today, The Dasol Group's main industries are fitness