The Irish-Slovak company Webswing helps companies worldwide, with the transition from desktop apps to modern web based versions. In this way, it supports the SaaS business of its customers and saves them a ton of money.
The era of desktop apps is coming to an end. People want everything available online and installing apps on a computer is impractical for them. However, for many companies, this means the loss of many years of development. “Older Java applications that a user downloads to their computer have been around since about the year 2000. What used to be a common practice is now a burden for most people,” says Andrej Zelman, developer and co-founder of Webswing.
Tech-debt is turning into an advantage
Desktop apps have been developed by companies for several years (often decades) and they have invested heavily in them. In many cases its expensive and time consuming to start programming them all over again. Webswing helps turn this tech-debt into an advantage. This software can easily run and move apps on the required server so that they work directly in a web browser without having to change source code.
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Viktor Meszaros, software creator and company founder. Source: Marek Mucha
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Andrej Zelman, developer and co-founder of Webswing. Source: Marek Mucha
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Igor Gembula, commercial & finance, managing partner of the company. Source: Webswing
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Martin Baláž, marketing manager and co-owner of the company. Source: Marek Mucha
“Our technology is mainly used by large companies, such as insurance companies, banks and aviation industry companies that have huge systems, the re-programming of which would represent a significant investment. With Webswing, you don’t have to make any changes. This saves them a lot of time and especially money,” says Martin Balaz, marketing manager and co-owner of the company. “These days, not everyone is willing to download the whole software programme just to try it out. However, if you make it available online through the web, you can make it available to the whole world almost instantly. It’s available to people and businesses without having to install it, so it’s even faster to distribute and easier to maintain.”
Webswing also offers clients gradual migration from old technologies to newer ones. If companies decide to re-programme apps, they don’t have to do it all at once. They can deal with the “migration process” gradually in smaller steps, spread the risk associated with re-programming and make the app better, based on user feedback. They will also have time to gradually get used to the new app.
“Apps that looked good fifteen years ago are outdated today and unattractive from the user’s point of view. Our clients needn’t change the app itself or its background business logic. Just give it a ‘facelift’ and transform it into a modern, graphically-friendly app and leave the rest to Webswing,” Viktor Meszaros, software creator and company founder, explains the principle of how the software works. “They can work like this for decades and it’s not necessary to re-programme the app’s core.”
Webswing clients also include companies that directly develop desktop apps. “Our tech enables them to simplify the whole process, provide services and support clients online. So purely desktop providers become SaaS providers,” says Viktor Meszaros.
The Irish-Slovak company Webswing helps global companies with the transition from their desktop apps to modern web versions. Source: Marek Mucha
Security and stability
As Webswing also serves multinational corporations, it pays attention to software security. “We are aware of the fact that many companies depend on our technology, so security and transparency are our priorities. We have created a vision for several years in advance and can therefore inform our clients about what they can expect from new versions. We also release monthly updates. In addition to security enhancements, we meet as many of our clients’ actual business requirements as possible and we adapt our software as they need it,” adds Andrej Zelman, who is responsible for software development and client support.
The road to success
Webswing has been on the market for a relatively short time, but provides services to companies in the USA, Canada, Western Europe, India and China. The whole project was created as an experiment by Viktor Meszaros. “I commuted by train every day. It bothered me to carry a heavy laptop with me. It occurred to me that I could programme software that would allow me to work with apps directly through a web browser,” he recalls. After the software was released, he received an offer directly from Canada. “Volante saw the potential of my work and wanted me to keep developing Webswing for them. At the beginning, they sponsored the development of a newer version with their specific requirements and they are still our client. So our software is used by, among others, one of the fastest growing tech companies in North America.”
Subsequent offers arrived from the Netherlands, England and even China. There was growing interest in the software. “My family and I moved several times because of these offers, once even a few days before Christmas. Clients had increasingly specific requirements, so my hobby became a real business,” he adds. Viktor was joined by university classmate Andrej, who was initially in charge of promotion. “With the growing number of clients, we knew we would need more partners,” he says. Martin Balaz is currently in charge of marketing and promoting Webswing globally. Igor Gembula, who has experience in international business and two exits of his previous companies, is in charge of sales and business development. “We have all seen the potential of Webswing tech. Our goal was to build a company that has a system, strategy and service provision to global corporations that often have very specific requirements. So far, so good,” says Igor Gembula. The company has become a successful and stable partner with very specific tech for many global companies.
