Overview

Located in Ottawa, Ontario, Enterprise Information Systems, Inc. (EIS) was incorporated in 1991 to provide applications development, IT support, and training services to the high-technology industry. Using its database expertise in the Oracle, Unix and Windows computer environments, EIS has become a software-development powerhouse because of its unique approach to the business.

Unlike organizations whose sole business is training, EIS believes that teaching and working go hand in hand. As such, all EIS instructors are also hands-on software developers, allowing them to stay current while applying their real-world knowledge in the classroom.

“We believe that software developers make better instructors and instructors make better software developers. There is no substitute for experience when speaking to a room full of people who are depending on you to teach them a very sophisticated skill set,” says EIS president, Jim Miles. “Teaching while doing is mutually reinforcing—what our instructors learn in preparation for teaching is brought to the development area,” he adds.

As Oracle Database Developers, we have built a library of software components including our flagship software LeagueGM, a program that allows sports organizations to manage and administer their leagues online in a way that is fast, easy and reliable.

EIS Business Strategy

EIS has four interdependant lines of business, specializing in Oracle technology: Application Development, Consulting, Web Hosting and Training. From a human resources and business infrastructure perspective, these areas are mutually reinforcing. Instructors can be used as developers and consultants. The same equipment and software used for training can be used for application development and web hosting. EIS has maintained steady overall growth in software development capability and sales.

Over the past five years, on revenues of $4.2 million, EIS has re-invested over 11% on staff salaries for software Research and Development. After the tasks associated with a paying customer project are satisfied, EIS invests all remaining available staff time and effort in producing software and perfecting software development techniques. This arrangement has resulted in improvements in EIS software production capability and creation of re-usable software components and techniques that can be applied on multiple projects. EIS can competitively price our services and produce products that few competitors can match. In our research and development efforts, we include student labour, and LeagueGM is the most successful example of a student project that has evolved to become a revenue-producing product.

EIS Lines of Business

Capabilities in each of the four business areas are as follows.

Web Hosting

The Application Service Provider (ASP) marketplace is made up of companies that acquire computer services at a vendor site. They pay rental fees for the use of equipment, software and IT support staff operated by ASP’s such as EIS. To this market, software is provided as a service rather than a capital asset owned and operated by the user. Leading research organizations such as Forrester have estimated that this business model will grow from its current market capacity of less that $1 Billion to greater than $13 Billion by the year 2003. In 2000, EIS began hosting and operating LeagueGM for Minor Sports Associations such as Gloucester and Cumberland Minor Hockey Associations and Cumberland United Soccer Association. We are building features to support other sports. We currently host several ISD Student-developed Oracle website applications as prospective revenue-generators. These sites are used for EIS capability demonstrations. EIS also hosts several sites that do not involve Oracle technology using Microsoft FrontPage and MS Internet Information Server.

Application Development

Private Sector demand for Oracle development, particularly the development of database applications on the web, is increasing. EIS has a mastery of this technology and we have developed and deployed numerous websites to use as references. We are able to re-use existing EIS-developed software and techniques to win bids and further develop software which can be re-used in EIS web applications products. Our strategic plan is to target software markets with requirements similar to our capabilities in order to generate revenues under the ASP model.

Training

Since 1991, Oracle Corporation has utilized EIS staff as contract instructors. EIS operates two classrooms for full and part-time Oracle-Certified career training. EIS delivers our own Oracle curriculum on customer sites where demand and software licensing requirements are met. Customers include Health Canada, the US National Guard, Deltek Systems Virginia, and e-Smart Direct Services in Toronto. EIS is presently on contract to deliver EIS Curriculum at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Boston, MA, USA.

Consulting

Full-time employee and contract staff Oracle Certified Professional Developers and DBAs are available for consulting assignments. Among many other, we have supplied consultants to the Government of British Columbia and the California State Automobile Association.

For more information, visit www.eis.ca