Why We Use .NET
When one of our partners needs a software solution that’s fast, reliable, and easy to maintain, we consistently choose to build its backend upon .NET. We’ve grown to trust its enterprise-minded community to deliver solutions that meet the needs of small prototypes while maturing to support extreme workloads when necessary.
Microsoft has taken the C# language and the .NET runtime on quite a journey since it started in the early 2000s. What started as a Windows-only clone of Java has become a cross-platform, in-demand framework that powers solutions ranging from gaming engines to web experiences to desktop and mobile applications.
At Engage, we have a rich history with the DNN Platform, which is built on the ASP.NET web framework. While not using the newer cross-platform .NET, we’ve still been able to guide its development towards adopting newer patterns from the rest of the ecosystem. Where it lacks in innovation, it dominates in stability. One of the huge benefits of being in Microsoft’s ecosystem is a strong commitment to clear support timelines, with .NET Framework receiving support for 10 years on a rolling basis as a component of Windows.
In contrast, the newer versions of .NET are supported for 2-3 years, but bring with them significant improvements in performance and capabilities. When DNN isn’t a foregone conclusion for a project, we typically reach for backend written in the latest version of .NET. (However, the best backend is no backend, so we also consider static and headless options for content-driven websites, as well). These .NET applications allow us to quickly design an architecture that solidly meets today’s needs while being easy to extend tomorrow.
Security is always a top-of-mind concern when building solutions, and .NET makes it easy to find and fix a wide variety of security issues before they become a breach. From built-in static analysis to package vulnerability notification, the professionally-minded community around .NET delivers stable, secure components to build with and upon.
Engage has honed our expertise with many forms of .NET over many years. We choose .NET and C# to take advantage of its performance, ecosystem, security, and productivity. We regularly find that it’s a solid backbone that we’re proud to use as we deliver value through software for our partners.