Infor needed an iOS app with GIS for location-based asset tracking.

Infor approached Kopis with a tight timeframe. Infor had recently renegotiated a large, yearly contract with one of their clients—the contract required them to upgrade their existing EAM software to include an iOS app with GIS for location-based asset tracking.

“There are two reasons that we typically partner with Kopis,” explains Infor. “Capability and capacity. This was an incredibly complicated project, and we needed them for both reasons. While we’ve done plenty of iOS projects in the past, we’ve never had to integrate Esri, our GIS provider, with an iOS app, so we needed their expertise. Kopis was able to provide that specific piece of the puzzle while also delivering a scalable team that helped us fulfill our contract on time and budget.”

In addition to a location-based asset manager, the end-user needed Infor to develop a GIS integration that operates in disconnected mode so that users can position themselves on a map and see work orders, even if they lose Internet connectivity in rural areas or when working under a bridge or in a tunnel. Working with Kopis, Infor was able to deliver EAM Mobile for Transit, an iOS app that is functional in disconnected mode and auto syncs when a connection is reestablished.

Kopis and Infor have a long-standing relationship that stretches back nearly two decades. Over the years, Kopis has been brought on as a valuable partner, especially when Infor has a specific need for additional resources in order to complete a contract quickly.

In light of this close partnership, the Kopis development team was able to quickly jump in and integrate with the Infor team to start development right away.

“The biggest differentiator with Kopis is the way they work—they work alongside our team through their agile process, with our BA and QA people, our dev team, and our product managers to come up with the best solution,” Infor explains. “On this project, in particular, we relied on Kopis as subject-matter experts and consultants. Esri puts out a huge line of products with lots of powerful capabilities, so it was difficult to even know where to start. We counted on Josh to do the research and help us navigate the possibilities.”

We began the process by scheduling a session upfront to go over the existing code for context and to define the scope of the project as well as our area of expertise.

This project was unusual because the details of the deliverables were still being defined, but Infor had a fixed time and budget, so we had to be particularly flexible.

We dedicated a scalable group to this project that could ramp up or down as Infor needed. After the initial consult, we checked back in frequently with progress updates and sent our builds to the Infor QA team for testing.

As we finished the project, we delivered architecture documentation and held several knowledge transfer sessions with the Infor team so that they fully own the code.

“We were impressed with how quickly Kopis was able to plug into our iOS development team and create this specific GIS module for our existing app. Sometimes it’s harder to build onto a software than to create it from scratch,” Infor says. “We’ve released the app now and are working on getting it built into the environment for our customer. They’re happy, so we’re happy.”

“Instead of going through resumes, I turn to Kopis so I know I’m getting a tenured employee that will be around even after the project is over,” says Infor. “You get the value of a team that’s been working together for decades as well as seamless integration with your own process. The Kopis team was able to tie-in to our development lifecycle, using our project management system for bug and task-tracking. Since Kopis works as a project-based partner with full-time employees rather than a time-based contractor, we had access to their team after our initial release to solve problems and ensure a smooth transition—we were never worried that our knowledge would disappear once the app launched. It’s almost like you get the benefit of a senior-level development team without the continuous expense of a full-time developer or the uncertainty of a freelancer.”