Custom software, SaaS & AI assistants
For when off-the-shelf doesn't fit: a portal, an internal tool, or an assistant that answers from your own documents and data. Built around your way of working, not a vendor's.
Off-the-shelf software forces you into somebody else's process. Custom does the opposite, but has a bad name because it too often starts too big. I cut it into phases that each deliver something usable. After phase one you hold working software and the freedom to stop.
What this covers
Priced per case, with a fixed price per phase or one fixed amount for the whole project. After the discovery call you know exactly what it costs and what comes out of it. If you choose phases, you're never committed beyond one phase.
Questions and answers about this service
What kind of custom software does Datawonder build?
Software that fits the way you work where off-the-shelf software does not: internal tools, customer portals, your own SaaS product and AI assistants that answer from your own documents and data. From own work, not commissioned: an HR assistant on a staff handbook, an incident reporter for healthcare, a product configurator and a logistics replanner.
What is an AI assistant on your own documents?
An assistant that answers questions from your manuals, policies or protocols and shows the source with every answer, so you can check where it came from. It first retrieves the relevant passages and only then lets the language model answer. If the answer is not in your documents, it should say so instead of guessing.
When should you choose custom software over off-the-shelf?
When off-the-shelf software forces you to organise your work around the package, or when you want a product or portal of your own that does not exist yet. Custom software has a bad name because it often starts too big. That is why I cut it into phases that each deliver something usable.
How does a custom software project work?
After the discovery call you get a fixed price: per phase or one amount for the whole project. You know up front what it costs and what it delivers. If we work in phases, every phase delivers working software within six weeks and you are free to stop after any phase. I run the whole track: choice of technology, the build, integrations with your existing systems, testing with real cases, explaining it to your team and maintenance afterwards.
Can custom software connect to our existing systems?
Yes, through their API. Think of Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Airtable, government APIs or your own databases. If there is decent documentation, the integration can be built.
Where does the data stay?
Where the data stays is agreed per client. For clients in the EU it stays inside the EU wherever possible. If a required program has no servers in the EU, that is set out in the data processing agreement, together with the retention periods. An AI assistant gives answers with source references, so an employee can check what they adopt. Everything I build has to hold up under the GDPR, the EU AI Act and the Data Act.
How do I analyse an Excel or CSV file with AI without sharing personal data?
By anonymising the file first and only then having AI analyse it. Datawonder has built a tool for this that reads in Excel and CSV files and anonymises them first. Only the anonymised file then goes to an AI model in the cloud for the analysis, so your personal data does not go along. The tool is own work, not commissioned.
Can I get insight into my figures without an expensive BI licence?
Yes. Datawonder has built a business intelligence tool where you drop in a CSV file or an export and get charts and insight straight back, without a licence. The tool is own work, not commissioned. For your organisation such a dashboard can be connected to the systems where your figures already live.
Does Datawonder also build mobile apps?
Yes. One example is AutoFoto, Datawonder's own app for car dealers and garages. With it you take photos of a car from different angles. The photos are stored online, so you can download them and put them on your own website. AutoFoto is online and is still being refined.
Thinking along, arranging it, staying inside the law
Three things that don't fit in a service list, but that decide how working with me feels.
I think along with you
You're not hiring a pair of hands that builds whatever the brief says. If I think your question isn't your real problem, I'll say so. Often there's a simpler or cheaper route, and sometimes the answer is that you shouldn't build this yet. Sparring over that choice is part of the work.
You don't have to figure it out
I run the whole track: choice of technology, the build, integrations with your existing systems, testing with real cases, explaining it to your team and maintenance afterwards. One point of contact, and one person responsible when something breaks. No vendors pointing at each other.
Compliant, and provably so
Everything I build has to survive current legislation: GDPR, the EU AI Act and the Data Act. That means agreeing up front which data the system may see, where it is processed, retention periods, a data processing agreement and a log of what the system did. So you can explain it when somebody asks.
Further reading
Your documents aren't ready for AI yet. Here's how to fix that.
Why a chatbot on your manuals often answers wrongly, and the four interventions that fix it without training a model.
Read the article → AutomationWhy most AI pilots never go live
Not because the model is too weak. Four causes I find in almost every stalled project, and how to cover them in week one.
Read the article →Other services
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View this service →Ready to see what's being left on the table?
Book a free thirty-minute call. You'll get an honest answer, even when that answer is “don't do this yet”.
Book your free intro call → Free · 30 minutes · no obligations