Software development for Swiss SMEs, from Bulle

d-side solutions Sàrl, at Chemin du Carry 7, 1630 Bulle, in the canton of Fribourg, Switzerland, designs, builds and maintains custom web applications, internal tools and API integrations for Swiss SMEs. You work with the people who write the code: no account managers and no offshore hand-off. Limit: this is a small local team, not a large agency that can staff ten people within two weeks.

Most SMEs don't need a large agency or a ten-person team. They need a reliable technical partner who understands their business, ships working software in reasonable increments, and is still around to maintain it three years later. That is the role we play. We work in English and French, and our clients range from local businesses in Gruyère to companies selling across Switzerland and Europe.

Who we work with

We work with Swiss SMEs that have outgrown spreadsheets, off-the-shelf tools or a pile of plugins and need software that follows how they actually operate. Typical cases are booking or client portals, Shopify or PrestaShop shops tied to an ERP, fragile internal tools, and international teams in Switzerland that want to work in English. Limit: a pure design agency brief, or a large team required within two weeks, is probably not a fit.

Typical clients include:

  • Service companies that need a booking, scheduling or client portal built around their own processes.
  • B2B and e-commerce businesses running Shopify or PrestaShop who need their shop connected to an ERP, a supplier or a pricing engine.
  • Companies with internal tools that have grown organically and are now fragile, undocumented or tied to one person.
  • International teams based in Switzerland that prefer working in English with a local, accountable partner.

We are a good fit when you want a long-term partner and a clear scope. We are probably not the right fit if you need a large team staffed within two weeks, or a pure design agency.

What we build

We build web applications, back-office tools, SaaS products and integrations on PHP/Symfony and modern JavaScript, deployed on Swiss or European infrastructure. Public examples include Slotix, Aleta, a PrestaShop B2B sync and aiproxy. Limit: a public case study is an example of approach, not a promise that every engagement is published.

Web applications and SaaS. Multi-user applications with authentication, roles, dashboards and billing. Slotix, our booking and scheduling platform, is an example of a product we designed, built and operate ourselves.

API integrations and middleware. Connecting e-commerce platforms, ERPs, CRMs and supplier systems so data flows without manual re-entry. See our work for Aleta (Shopify B2B API) and a PrestaShop B2B synchronisation.

Internal tools and automation. Replacing fragile spreadsheets and manual workflows with small, focused applications that your team actually uses.

AI-enabled features, done responsibly. Integrating language models into business workflows while keeping control of data — for example through aiproxy, a proxy that centralises API keys, logs usage and filters sensitive data before it leaves your infrastructure.

Secure hosting and infrastructure. Every application we build is deployed on hardened servers with backups and monitoring. See securing an Infomaniak VPS.

How we deliver

Delivery is a short discovery, a written scope and quote, then small increments on a staging server you can open at any time. Code is yours, in a repository you can access, followed by maintenance or a clean handover. Limit: fixed-price phases need a defined scope; genuinely uncertain work is capped time-and-materials with weekly reporting, not an open-ended budget.

1. Discovery (typically a few days). We meet, map your current process, identify what really needs to be built and what can be bought off the shelf. You receive a written summary and a scoped proposal.

2. Scoped quote. We prefer fixed-price phases with a clearly defined scope. When requirements are genuinely uncertain, we work on a capped time-and-materials basis, with weekly reporting.

3. Iterative delivery. We ship in short cycles to a staging environment you can access at any time. Feedback is incorporated continuously, not saved for a final acceptance test.

4. Launch and handover. Deployment, data migration if needed, documentation and training. The source code belongs to you and lives in a repository you can access.

5. Maintenance. Security updates, monitoring, backups and small evolutions under a maintenance agreement — or a clean handover to your internal team if you prefer.

Quality is non-negotiable on a few points: automated tests on critical logic, code review, documented deployments, and security built in from the start rather than bolted on.

Local presence in Bulle, Fribourg

The office is at Chemin du Carry 7, 1630 Bulle, canton of Fribourg, within reach of Fribourg, Lausanne, Bern and Vevey–Montreux. Workshops can be on site; day-to-day work is remote. Contracts, invoicing and data handling follow Swiss law, in English or French. Limit: on-site meetings are for workshops and kick-offs, not a promise of a full-time presence at your office.

Bulle sits at the heart of Gruyère, within easy reach of Fribourg, Lausanne, Bern and Vevey–Montreux. We regularly meet clients on site for workshops and kick-offs, and work remotely for day-to-day delivery. We work in English and French, and our contracts, invoicing and data handling follow Swiss law.

Selected projects

Published case studies that support this page are Slotix, Aleta (Shopify B2B), PrestaShop B2B sync, aiproxy, a move to Swiss hosting, and a reduction of dependency on Big Tech. Timelines, volumes and measured results stay out of this page until each client has validated them. Limit: do not add a figure that is not already in the published case study.

A few projects that show the range of what we build. Each case study describes the context, the technical approach and the outcome.

Why a local Swiss software partner

A local Swiss partner means the same time zone, Swiss contracts, and application data that can stay in Switzerland under the revised Federal Act on Data Protection (nFADP / nLPD). The stack is mainstream so the software is not locked to d-side, and there is no subcontracting chain between you and the developer. Limit: proximity does not mean we only accept clients in the canton of Fribourg.

Data protection. We design systems with the revised Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (nFADP / nLPD) in mind and can host applications and data in Switzerland when required.

Accountability. You know who wrote your code and who will fix it. There is no subcontracting chain between you and the developer.

Long-term maintainability. We choose mainstream, well-supported technologies so that your software is not locked to us. If you ever want to move on, the code and documentation make that possible.

Proximity. On-site workshops when they matter, quick calls when they don't, and no 6-hour time difference when production is down.