Clients
Here is a selection of client projects and assignments carried out by Black Pepper:
TUI UK Limited
Black Pepper has provided software architecture, design and development consultancy to TUI for four years. TUI is a leading travel company, known in the UK for its Thomson, Portland and Crystal brands, amongst others.
Black Pepper has helped develop significant portions of the Thomson Holidays and Thomsonfly web sites, together with a number of internal back office systems. We have also helped TUI define and implement its IT architecture across different parts of the organisation and helped integrate systems for both small and large volume brands.
We have provided performance testing, analysis and tuning skills on a number of systems and delivered significant benefits and cost savings.
BECTA / Sungard
Black Pepper were engaged by Sungard to assist to develop and deliver a major new web system for the Learning and Skills Council. We provided both software engineering and infrastructure implementation skills.
BEA Systems
BEA chose Black Pepper to work closely with its Professional Services team in the UK and Europe. We supplemented the team to provide consultancy to BEA’s clients in the market-leading WebLogic application server, and with more general Java and J2EE consultancy. Our assignments with BEA have ranged from two day consultancy engagements through to development projects lasting more than six months.
For example, a major government department selected BEA WebLogic as the platform for all future applications. BEA was asked to provide on-site professional services support and mentoring to assist the department in developing and deploying the new infrastructure. BEA selected Black Pepper to carry out this work on its behalf. We provided a comprehensive service over a long period, covering architecture validation and proving, security model implementation, design consultancy, migration planning, application deployment and general troubleshooting.
Black Pepper was also chosen to perform a long-term assignment for BEA with a large mobile operator. Our consultant helped that company in the lead up to the launch of its 3G service.
Environment Agency
Black Pepper worked with a team of consultants from product vendors and development organisations to improve the performance and scalability of a key business critical system for the Environment Agency.
Black Pepper’s consultants provided a vital independent assessment of the performance bottlenecks and key steps to overcome the problems found.
T Mobile UK
T Mobile is one of the world’s largest mobile phone operators. Its B2B application, enabling its business partners to sell ‘top up’ units for mobile phones, is a critical source of revenue.
Black Pepper was tasked with improving performance and scalability of this and other J2EE applications running on BEA WebLogic. The assignments involved a review of the architecture, design and systems integration.
The Document Company Xerox
Xerox is one of the world’s largest business system companies. It has a network of 2,000 business partners across Europe. Black Pepper provided initial consultancy on a project to implement an extranet for Xerox partners to order products and manage their accounts. We then took responsibility for the development of the extranet site and integration with Symantec’s Defender security product to enable partner registration. We successfully delivered the project on time and supported the system for its first eighteen months in service.
Ford Motor Company
Our consultants worked with Ford’s development team to investigate and solve issues with a dealer facing web-based Java application.
JB International
JB International provides a range of technical training courses and services to the IT community.
Black Pepper consultants provided standard and bespoke J2EE training courses for JB International. We authored the course materials and delivered the training to delegates both at JBI and on customer sites. An important factor in the selection of Black Pepper consultants was our everyday involvement in delivering projects using J2EE technologies, and we have received excellent feedback from course delegates.
CMG Wireless Data Solutions
Black Pepper provided architecture consultancy, J2EE training courses and mentoring to CMG WDS in support of a project to re-develop their mobile phone billing and management system.
TrustTheDJ.com
TrustTheDJ.com is an exciting new media company making available the music of the UK’s top DJs over the Internet.
Black Pepper provided development skills, consultancy and mentoring on the technology required to establish the site on the Web. It included development of the core e-commerce components and their integration with the supply chain.
Sodexho
Alongside DSM Design, Black Pepper integrated Sodexho’s EdZone web site with their back end systems. This project provided information captured by the tills at Sodexho’s restaurants to their consumers, together with magazine content.
Black Pepper and DSM worked closely with the Sodexho team and their partners at Mars Electronics International to ensure that information flowed freely all the way from the tills at restaurants distributed around the UK right through to the web site. The site operated very successfully for four years before being decommissioned.
Warwick Manufacturing Group (Warwick University)
Black Pepper ran a seminar on ‘e-business technologies’ for the students on the ‘global e-business’ course.
Compuware
We provided design consultancy services to augment Compuware’s own team. As Java experts and with considerable relevant business domain experience we were able to deliver a comprehensive design to Compuware’s client, a major motor manufacturer.
Electronic Ink
Black Pepper worked with Electronic Ink in the USA on a project to implement a security solution for one of Electronic Ink’s client’s web sites.
Shared Solutions
Black Pepper consultants have worked in partnership with Shared Solutions in the design and development of their TBOLL® system.