Do you offer professional consultation service?
Answer
Yes, the consultation service covers anything non support related (code modification / site integration beyond software's functionality etc.) or rush service...
Where to Learn More
- FAQ — frequently asked questions about APG vNext
- Knowledge Base — in-depth articles and tutorials
- Installation Guide — getting started step by step
- Support Forum — ask the community
- Features Overview — what APG vNext can do
APG vNext Professional Consultation Services
Yes - APG vNext offers professional consultation and implementation services for organisations that need hands-on assistance with installation, migration, customisation, or performance tuning. Services are billed hourly and scheduled in advance through the support portal.
Available Services
- Installation and configuration: server setup, IIS configuration, database installation, initial settings
- Data migration: migrating from phpBB, vBulletin, Discourse, or other forum platforms
- Custom skin development: creating a custom skin matching your brand guidelines
- SSO/LDAP integration: connecting APG vNext to your existing identity provider
- Performance tuning: database optimisation, caching configuration, CDN setup
- Custom feature development: building features not available in the standard product
How to Engage
- Contact support describing what you need
- Receive a scope estimate (hours and cost)
- Schedule a kick-off call
- Work is delivered remotely; server access required for installation/configuration work
Typical Project Timelines
- Standard installation: 2-4 hours
- Data migration from major platform: 8-20 hours (depends on data volume)
- Custom skin: 16-40 hours
- SSO integration: 4-8 hours
Custom Feature Development for APG vNext
The consultation service includes custom feature development for capabilities not available in the standard APG vNext product. Common custom development projects include:
- Integration with a proprietary CRM or ERP system to sync member data
- Custom post types for specific content formats (code snippets, job listings, event announcements)
- Advanced search with custom facets and filters beyond the standard full-text search
- Custom notification channels (Slack, Teams, Discord) for forum activity
- Automated content moderation rules based on custom business logic
- Custom analytics dashboards showing community health metrics specific to your use case
Custom development work is delivered as APG vNext plugin assemblies (.dll files) that are installed alongside the core APG vNext application. This means custom features survive APG vNext upgrades without requiring re-implementation, as long as the plugin API contract hasn't changed in the new version.
Remote Server Access for Consultation Work
Installation, configuration, and performance tuning consultation requires remote access to your server. APG vNext's consultation team works via Windows Remote Desktop (RDP) or SSH tunnelling if you prefer. For air-gapped environments, the team can provide detailed step-by-step instructions for on-site personnel to follow rather than direct access. Before granting server access, ensure you have a current full backup of both the application files and the SQL Server database. All access is performed by documented, named consultants and can be monitored — you are welcome to remain connected during the session to observe all actions taken.
ROI of Professional Consultation vs Self-Implementation
For complex deployments (SSO integration, large data migration, custom skin from scratch), professional consultation typically reduces total implementation time by 60-80% compared to self-implementation by an administrator unfamiliar with the codebase. A migration that takes an administrator four weeks of part-time research and trial-and-error often takes the APG vNext team three focused days. Factor in the opportunity cost of your team's time versus the consultation hourly rate when deciding whether professional implementation makes sense for your organisation.
Data Migration Consultation
Data migration is one of the most technically complex and highest-risk phases of switching to APG vNext from an existing forum platform. The consultation team has built migration tools for all major forum platforms including phpBB 3.x, vBulletin 4.x and 5.x, Discourse, XenForo, and IP.Board (Invision). The migration process preserves posts, threads, member accounts (with password reset emails), private messages, attachments, and thread tags. Items that cannot be automatically migrated include custom reputation points systems (migrated to APG vNext's built-in system with appropriate normalisation), platform-specific post formats (converted to plain HTML), and third-party plugin data (evaluated case-by-case).
Post-Consultation Support
After completion of a consultation engagement, the APG vNext team provides two weeks of follow-up email support at no additional charge to address any issues discovered during the post-implementation testing period. Issues discovered outside this window are handled through the standard support channel. For complex ongoing customisation projects, a retainer arrangement can be negotiated to provide a set number of consultation hours per month at a reduced hourly rate — contact support for retainer pricing and minimum monthly hours.
Preparing for a Consultation Engagement
To make the most of paid consultation time, prepare documentation before the session begins. This minimises time spent on information gathering and maximises time spent on actual implementation. Prepare: a clear description of the objective (what you want to achieve, not how you think it should be done), details of your server environment (Windows Server version, IIS version, .NET Framework version, SQL Server version), your current APG vNext version, any custom modifications already in place, and a list of specific questions or decisions you want the consultant to make or explain during the session. Sharing this brief before the session allows the consultant to prepare a session plan and have relevant reference materials ready, reducing session duration and cost.
Related Resources
Looking for more help? Browse the support forum or check the Knowledge Base.