Ultimate Hi-Tech: Information Rich Context Sensitive Site for Applied Geomechanics.

Although Applied Geomechanics Inc. is a local Santa Cruz area manufacturer of tiltmeters and clinometers they really are a world leader in tiltmeter and clinometer technology. As have many other clients Linguacom helped over the years, they simply outgrew their old web site. Applied Geomechanics has always been on the cutting edge of technology, including their pioneer web site built in mid 1990-s when Internet was an infant still.

Daunting Scope. Rebuilding their web site meant primarily creating a very complex catalogue of their products using MS SQL Server. In addition, over the years Applied Geomechanics compiled an extensive library of Application Notes, Case Histories as well as bibliography in the field of tiltmeter and clinometer technology. Gearing their web site towards engineers Applied Geomechanics understood that offering all that data, integrated and context sensitive was paramount.

Using Server Stored Procedures. The sheer amount of various versions of products, application notes, case histories, etc, demanded that as much load as possible needed to be transferred from ColdFusion to internals of the SQL Server. This approach is often not necessary for a small catalogue, but when the web site has to run multiple context-sensitive queries, it is a good idea to let the database do them all at once. Here is an example: a visiting engineer goes to a product display page. At this moment, the web site displays only links to Application Notes and Case Histories, News Releases, etc. directly linked to this product in the database.

Administrator. Like all other web sites that Linguacom builds, www.geomechanics.com features a web site administrator module where AGI employees can enter product data, documents and create links between them to enable context sensitive display of information for site visitors. It is always true that the administrator part constitutes a significant portion of development, but in case of AGI, the web site really is a iceberg: the casual user does not see or notice the ¾ of it.

Request for Quote Tool. A year and a half after Linguacom built the new www.geomechanics.com web site, Applied Geomechanics requested a new feature – a shopping cart like tool for site visitors to request price quotes. Complexity of the product line became a real issue at this moment, but not because of the development costs, but rather because of costs associated with adjusting inventory controls and product SKU used in in-house accounting. Eventually, a compromise was reached and Linguacom went on to develop the Applied Geomechanics Request for Quote Tool that gets quite a bit of use on a daily basis from visitors all over the world.

The Applied Geomechanics project is a solid example of a large, complex, context sensitive, feature rich web site perfectly suited for a small business in a very precise technology field with the target market traditionally hungry for extra information. I wish to salute Gary Holzhausen, President of Applied Geomechanics for his keen vision of where he wanted to go with the web site.