EASA Software

Last Updated: 9th January 2019
Analyst Coverage: Philip Howard

EASA was initially developed by an engineering software development team at AEA Technology (which was previously the entity known as UKAEA – the UK’s Atomic Energy Authority) as a rapid, custom user-interface (UI) building tool having the end goal of simplifying the execution of their complex and general modeling and simulation software for very specific (and usually often repeated) design studies. This substantially reduced the level of expertise needed by their customers to operate the software while making it much more efficient for existing users. Over time, EASA evolved into a far more general tool that could not only greatly simplify the running of a single program, but also complete workflows, or software processes involving the integration of multiple and dissimilar software.

EASA was so successful that AEA created a new business entity focused on its development, support and marketing, and this entity was ultimately spun off as an independent company.

EASA has its headquarters in Oxford, UK, with a wholly owned US subsidiary providing technical support and consulting services out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Company Info

Headquarters: Office 6, Bullingdon House 174B Cowley Rd Oxford, OX4 1UE United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (1235) 420123

EASA Software

Last Updated: 10th April 2017

What it does

EASA continues its original mission of making software and software processes far easier to use, but has greatly broadened that mission to include the sort of compliance, security and governance capabilities that one might expect. In particular, EASA web-enables your software and workflows, such that software no longer needs to reside on your local device, but rather is accessed and run via a simple web browser connected to a company's intranet or internal network. But, sticking with its original mission of simplicity, EASA enables you to do all of this without having to write any computer code - you do not need to be a programmer to use it.

So, to summarise what it does, it enables you to create a custom user interface, allowing simple execution of complex software and workflows, and makes these interfaces web-accessible, protecting the core software from ever being copied or altered.

A good example is how EASA transforms Excel. Excel is a program that has both the interface and logic contained in it, and can cause enormous chaos in terms of version control, error introduction, and error propagation, not to mention no control of critical intellectual property, and no ability to monitor or audit its use. With EASA, users no longer need to have Excel running locally, they simply need a web browser to access and use the spreadsheet but cannot copy, download or change it. But EASA also allows other programs to now be integrated with the spreadsheet, so databases, CRM, ERP and virtually any other program can now be packaged with the web app, making complex workflows usable by people who do not have to have any direct knowledge of how to operate these various software tools.

Markets and channels

EASA operates via a direct marketing approach where it has offices in Oxford, UK, and Pittsburgh, PA. The company has partners in Japan, China, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, South Korea and India.

Users

EASA is suitable for use in a wide-range of applications. It has, for example, been used to web-enable and generally modernise legacy text-based applications driven from the command line. More typically, however, its focus is on two areas. First are those where Excel plays a critical role, such as CPQ (configure, price, quote), proposal generation and any other company specific process, and second are software workflows involving models and simulation. These can be scientific/engineering, financial, or insurance risk scenarios to name but a few. Clients include General Electric, Monsanto, Proctor & Gamble, Zurich, and others.

Technology

Using EASA you create custom web applications, known as EASAPs, which connect to underlying spreadsheets, scripts, and/or databases. A major point to note about an EASAP is that the underlying tool or tools (Excel, MATLAB and so on) or code that defines your application no longer needs to be shared. What is shared is the (web) application that interfaces to that application. This means, firstly, that the end-users do not have to have any of these tools or codes running on whatever device they are using. This in turn means that EASAPs are easily deployable on mobile devices as well as desktops. It also means that the application interface does not need to be based on the technology underpinning the application: you may be interacting, ultimately, with a spreadsheet, but your interface doesn't have to look like a spreadsheet, unless you want it to. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, this approach means that you can change the logic in your underlying application without having to change the user interface. In the case of a spreadsheet application, for example, this means that you can ensure that users are always employing the latest, most current, version of that spreadsheet.

Access management, version control, and audit trails are all provided. Securing the intellectual property in the underlying spreadsheet or script is a fundamental part of EASA's proposition. You can integrate data from outside your application - via web services or JDBC (SQL and NoSQL databases and application environments such as CRM) - into your EASA application, thereby enriching its use. Cloud-based options are available.

Services

The company provides a significant number of online resources such as videos, but recommends a two-day onsite training course for new users. Bespoke development is also available if required, along with conventional consulting and support.

The company runs regular webinars that show EASA in action with live demonstrations and practical case studies. The webinar schedule is available at: http://easasoftware.com/webinars/

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EASA Software

Cover for Spreadsheet Management and Governance