51zero

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a large commercial bank serving clients all over the world.

What is your position?

I am the project manager in charge of all finance intelligence systems within the bank.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with 51zero?

We needed project management skills in relation to a piece of technology that had proven to be unstable. The system was falling over every month. 51zero’s mission was to stabilize and expand that system.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

51zero was tasked with the management of our technology. Their role was later extended to development of new solutions.

One area in which they're particularly proficient is the introduction of new technology into what are essentially very conservative environments such as banks. They were very skilled in the process of articulating an idea, shaping the project and ultimately delivering the result.

How did you come to work with 51zero?

It wasn't exactly a traditional selection process. We interviewed many people using our project management brief as a starting point. We were looking for an experienced project manager. Gary Frost at 51zero fit the criteria and was initially hired by us separately. He subsequently brought in his colleagues to help us with various parts of the work.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total cost so far is in the region of $1,000,000.

The project also employs our internal team and members of consulting firms other than 51zero.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've worked together for a period of 18 months.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Their team excelled at introducing new technology to our company, working with Scala, Apache Spark, and Elasticsearch, all of which were new to the bank. We also implemented continuous delivery based on 51zero’s recommendation, which is a new approach for us.

In terms of new practices and technologies brought to the bank, they were invaluable to us.

How did 51zero perform from a project management standpoint?

Another area in which Gary stands out is the ability to motivate his team and give them focus. He also brought in very experienced people to the project's various areas.

What distinguishes 51zero from other providers?

The level of expertise and ambition 51zero possesses is what sets them apart. Introducing a new piece of technology on such a large scale will surely be a painful process. They were not afraid of that, but rather courageous in implementing new tools in a bank that is not renowned for moving fast.

Is there anything 51zero could have improved or done differently?

I'm happy with the work they've done, and I don't have any significant red flags.

I would really only have one piece of advice. When it comes to production deployment, not only is the solution's architecture important, but the operational framework also needs to be considered. They should have spent more time concentrating on the latter. However, this is a very minor point compared to the benefits we received from the project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a large bank with a worldwide presence.

What is your position?

I run a R&D [research and development] financial crime research lab within the bank. I am the R&D lead and lab manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with 51zero?

We needed development work for a data visualization and extraction tool that was custom-built to interface with a large range of data repositories in the bank. It gave analysts a way to query the data visually.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

51zero was responsible for assisting with the development of this tool. We needed a partner who understood financial data at an expert level but was also able to provide high quality software development work. 51zero was a great fit.

How did you come to work with 51zero?

51zero was already working with us on a related project. We chose to work with them because they understood Scrum and agile development work. We engage frequently with government research labs and external vendors, so a lot of the work that we do in the lab is quite embryonic. It is developed quickly and at low cost. We needed to develop products at the pace that you will typically find in a startup or a honed large corporation, such as Amazon and Facebook.

51zero has successfully demonstrated that they are able to deploy and develop software quickly, even on the scale of an organization such as ours.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

This is confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2014, and finished in October 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

In terms of performance, 51zero has produced very high-standard work inside a very complicated organization. No one else has been able to do what they did at the same pace. Their understanding of project requirements, adhering to them and actually delivering the work has been impeccable.

What distinguishes 51zero from other providers?

They have a deep understanding of big data space: the technologies that should be used and how they interface with one another. That width of expertise is not easy to find. There are subject-matter experts who will know one or two specific technologies or tools, but they won't necessarily have the experience or skills to contrast and compare them in order to find out what the best solution is to a given problem. This ability is quite unique.

Is there anything 51zero could have improved or done differently?

I cannot think of anything. They're hardworking, and if I had to build a similar project, I would choose 51zero.