Side Software exists to do the work right and stay with it. Aviation, manufacturing, enterprise, small business: senior engineering, honest scope, and a principal engineer who answers the phone in year five the same way he did in week one.
Aspen groves have fooled botanists for years. What looks like a stand of separate trees is actually one organism. The visible trunks share a single root system, and that root system can be thousands of years old, even when the trees above it are only a century into their lives.
Side Software was founded in 2007 by Jake Ashcraft, but the roots go further back. Jake spent seven years on the plant floor at a food manufacturer in Idaho. Starting out as an operator and within a few years, building out the HMI architecture for the entire plant. The work he had been doing was cutting edge and caught the attention of a systems integrator in Oregon. As a self-taught systems engineer, taking the offer made sense. Now he could broaden his skillset by working with other experienced systems engineers and different industries. But it wasn't enough, Jake wanted to play in the big league. Having worked for the end user and the integrator, he wanted to work for the companies building the software that are sold to the plants.
Jake packed up and moved to California to work for a company who built a product licensed by Wonderware called, DTAnalyst (downtime tracking). After a couple years, he moved on to another company called DataWorks, creators of ActiveFactory. During this period, DataWorks started building a new project called Incuity, later DataWorks was renamed to Incuity. He was able to work under some of the smartest minds in the industry and was instrumental in building key components of the Incuity software suite. Incuity was later purchased by Rockwell Automation and rebranded as Rockwell Vantage Point.
When Side Software was founded, the goal wasn't to focus strictly on manufacturing related work. Instead, Side began branching out to all kinds of customers. The first big project was for an RV Rental company, building out their fleet management web application. What most people don't understand is that code is code, regardless of the industry, no matter if it is a web site or a web application.
Today the work spans industrial OT, charter aviation, and whatever else needs solving. Different problems, different industries, one root system.
Every engagement is led by the founder, with decades of production experience across the plant floor, the enterprise stack, and the software in between.
30+ years bridging operational technology and enterprise software. Self-taught from plant floor operator to principal engineer. Delivered software to General Mills, Merck, Mars, Clif Bar, Tillamook, and others. Currently also leads OT development for a large multi-plant manufacturer while continuing to serve Side Software clients.
Side maintains a small, trusted network of senior contractors and specialists for projects that benefit from additional hands. Every person on every engagement is vetted, credentialed, and accountable. No learning on your contract.
Every project is led by someone with decades of production experience. If the right person isn't available, we tell you. Sometimes we recommend someone else.
We don't disappear after the handoff. The charter aviation client we picked up in 2021 still gets same-day responses. Customers we signed a decade ago still have our phone number. You hire us once, and we're here for as long as you need us.
Decisions get documented. Architecture gets drawn. If it isn't written, it didn't happen.
Every line of code is code we'd maintain ourselves. Handoffs include runbooks, schemas, architecture diagrams, and a live walkthrough.
Postgres or SQL Server instead of the new thing. Server-rendered HTML when it fits. We pick technology that will still be here in five years.
Every claim has a number behind it. If we can't measure it, we don't claim it.
We take on a small number of engagements at a time, and we stay with every one of them for as long as it's useful. Tell us about yours.