Unique 'package deal' places Agile Works ahead of the rest

GiX, a viewer for ArcIMS, is one of the products recently launched by Agile Works.

The level of innovation and creativity at The Innovation Hub is at an all-time high, with new tenant companies showing their mettle within days of settling into their premises.

One of the latest companies to join The Innovation Hub community is Agile Works. The company prides itself in offering a rare combination of normally separate products and services as a package deal. While other firms traditionally specialise in either GIS (Geographic Information Systems) or software development, Agile Works applies the latest in software development technology and methodologies in the geo-spatial domain and have developed technology geared towards modelling and simulation.

Agile Works Enterprise Architect, Donald Gradwell, describes the company as an amalgamation of two domains, namely financial services and software development. He says moving to The Innovation Hub was a carefully considered business decision. "Our company is driven by innovation and innovation does not happen in isolation. It requires that you have the right kind of people around you, so you can cross-pollinate."

He says security and infrastructure were also a major factor in their decision, coupled with the need to have easy access to the most modern technology and business facilities.

Agile Works consists of a team of highly skilled individuals, with expertise in the software development process, architecture and project management; Web development and graphic design; marketing and branding; business engineering and modelling as well as electrical engineering.

There have been numerous exciting developments within the company in recent months. Software architect, Gerrit van Dyk recently conducted a three day course in Python Programming. He says "Python is one of the leading languages used in Open Source and is endorsed by leading industry players like Mark Shuttleworth. It is versatile and portable to almost any platform, from cell phones to mainframes." More courses are scheduled to take place throughout the year at what van Dyk refers to as 'The Python Academy', including Python, Zope and Plone training.

Agile Works has also recently developed a simulation tool to be used by Eskom and the Department of Minerals and energy to assist in high level planning for the electrification of some of South Africa's most marginalised rural areas. As Systems Architect, Hardy Jonck explains," The outputs expected from the tool include identification of candidate villages for future electrification as well as the ability to give an indication of how these villages would be connected to one another both spatially and chronologically."

Jonck is also excited about the imminent release of the Gaim Python Plugin that the company has developed as opensource. "The plugin will provide the IPython shell inside Gaim, effectively allowing a developer to extend Gaim in Python."

As Gradwell concludes, "There is so much exciting work going on at Agile Works right now that all we can say is watch this space."

For more information, please contact Donald Gradwell on tel 012 844 0115 or visit their website at www.agileworks.net.

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