Armada Labs

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of The Data Atelier, an investment project consultancy. We work with different international development agencies on their investment portfolios. 

We usually team up with third parties to deliver projects to clients because we don’t have all the capabilities in-house. We also do assessments of similar companies' proposals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Armada Labs?

We needed help with software development for a client. The project was a combination of social and infrastructure investment. They wanted a system with all the information about the project in one place.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

It was quite a large scale project. Our client needed a multi-level, multi-model way to run, access, view, and use data. They also wanted the capabilities for lead generation and wanted to make sure it’s very easily accessible for people who aren’t trained in data. 

Armada Labs worked with local teams to define what user friendly data would look like. From there, the team configured the data visualization which was integrated into the whole data collection and data storage system. 

The system looks like a dashboard, where users can filter data by different characteristics. If you’re a project manager, you could go in and say you’re interested in data that comes out of this particular project and you’re interested in certain time frames in the year 2022.

You can request the data be color coded whether it’s a target or not in whatever it may be. It’s an interactive dashboard that allows users to pick and select what they want to see and also to color code and filter.  

What is the team composition?

We worked with Eugene (Founder & Managing Partner) and a team of developers. I didn’t interact directly with the developers. They dealt with the client technical team.

How did you come to work with Armada Labs?

We are in a very specific field of work — everyone kind of knows everyone. Usually it’s through word of mouth. We put a call out asking for referrals for a company that could deliver a large scale project. One of my past colleagues recommended Armada Labs.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost was $120,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May-December 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Things change all the time. There’s always been uncertainty with who is going to do what and when and uncertainty with the budget too. What I really liked about Armada Labs is they were quite agile. 

When things changed, they didn’t complain or make a fuss. They were flexible, which I really appreciated. 

From the client's side, none of their non-technical people felt patronized by the technical language and approach of Armada Labs. They brought it all down to earth and managed to explain everything in very human terms. They were patient and spoke normal language which is something I don’t see that often. It worked out really well.

How did Armada Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

We had bi-daily communication with all stakeholders at the very beginning and at the very end of the cycle. We had Microsoft Teams get-togethers quite regularly. We had weekly meetings with them even just to check-in. There were a couple of things where we didn’t meet a deadline but I wouldn’t blame them for it. It was generally delayed on the client-side.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Armada Labs is flexible and they have good communication.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If I knew all that they were able to deliver, I probably would have used their services earlier. Maybe they’re not thinking about reaching out to other markets.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It was very useful to engage them from the very beginning. Armada Labs was able to bring different perspectives to the process. They have this very unusual viewpoint to us that we may never have realized or thought about. We benefited by listening to what Armada Labs had to say. Trust their expertise.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Equity 4 U, Inc. specializes in automatic payment solutions that allow consumers to payoff loans sooner, thereby reducing interest paid and building equity. Mike Hull, President and CEO

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Armada Labs?

Armada Labs built and maintains a customized client platform that drives our entire business.

What were your goals for this project?

To track and maintain payments and funds for thousands of clients. Also built API that allows Equity 4 U multiple connectivity options, and data sharing.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Conversations, research, and pricing.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

For Equity 4 U Armada designed custom software and built our API. Also some Web Page design work.

What was the team composition?

There are usually 1 to 3 people assigned to our projects, just depends on the scope.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Allows us to accurately perform multiple operations with very little staff.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

NA

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Knowledge in our industry. I don't have to teach them what we are doing. In fact, they give us some insight into our business.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Was slow at completing projects, however in the past two years they have been much faster.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP and COO of Financira Services, a business process outsourcing (BPO) company within the debt negotiation industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Armada Labs?

We engaged with Armada Labs because we wanted to leverage their existing end-to-end software solution to grow our business. At the time, we were working with external contracting agents who would acquire additional businesses for us. We realized that this was a huge opportunity for us to grow our company and stand out in the industry.

However, our limited technology hindered the amount of support we could give to those agents, and our customer acquisition process wasn’t streamlined at all. Agents would have to use a VPN to access our information before quoting a customer. As a result, we reached out to Armada Labs to transition to their software services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Over the years, Armada Labs has helped us with numerous projects to establish our client acquisition process. After installing their proprietary software, they worked closely with us to build custom add-ons. This allowed our agents to log in to the software from anywhere in the U.S., access our database, and provide quotes to potential clients. They've since finished their custom development work and continue to license their software to us.

What is the team composition?

They assigned a main contact for each development project, and I’d personally worked with at least 10 individuals, including their project managers and lead coders. However, there were several other resources working behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with Armada Labs?

We found them while attending industry events and talked to them to learn more about their software. What distinguished them from their competitors was how robust their software was. It was far more comprehensive than anything anyone else had. Furthermore, they were willing to enhance their software and tailor it to fit our business.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent well over $100,000, which includes the custom development costs and the monthly software licensing and database fees.

What is the status of this engagement?

Their installation and development work lasted from 2006–2010.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

If it weren’t for their partnership and willingness to build add-on features, we definitely wouldn’t have been able to scale up our business as much as we have. Once we brought our client acquisition process online, we substantially grew our number of contracted agents. We currently have about 45 different field agents who bring us leads.

How did Armada Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

The team was communicative and responsive to our needs. They used a project management system to field inquiries and track tasks, but I preferred to call them on the phone. If they had any challenges or questions, they would share them with us and ask for clarification. I appreciated that the team worked closely with the project managers to ensure that they fully understood the scope of the business problem. In terms of scheduling, they always met deadlines and regularly updated us with progress reports.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Not only were they industry veterans in their different verticals, they had good software and were willing to build customizations on top of it. What’s more, they had exceptional project managers who were able to provide top-notch service. They were accessible and transparent, and it really felt like they were an extension of our company. I’ve continued to do projects with other companies and have never found a vendor with the same caliber of service.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have any criticisms at all. It was a five-star experience all the way through.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

At the time I worked with Armada Labs, I was the vice president of operations for a company that provides call center services for various industries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Armada Labs?

We needed help developing a web application that would act as an online portal for businesses we were targeting, allowing them to capture information at the consumer level.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

After going over the requirements of our app, Armada provided both backend and frontend development, creating the portal from scratch. They helped scope out the work and setup a development schedule, breaking down the project into phases. 

What is the team composition?

We primarily worked with a few people heading their team, who collaborated with other coders and programmers internally.

How did you come to work with Armada Labs?

We went through an RFP process, but I was also familiar with Armada's work and liked what they had to offer.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $1–$1.3 million on that project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them for about a year from 2015 to 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Armada developed a user-friendly app, enabling users to easily transfer large data files and capture raw data quickly. It accomplished exactly what we wanted it to.

How did Armada Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They were remarkably easy to work with and they provided organized timelines that helped break down each stage of the project. The engagement went so well that we were considering them for another large project, but we ended up not following through with it to no fault of theirs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Armada's ability to understand and capture the right information sets them apart. They took the time to ask strategic questions to make sure they fully understood our goals and challenges. They also provided invaluable feedback where they thought it would help improve our approach. Their ability to adapt to different industries and understand them is something you don't usually see from an IT organization.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything they could have improved.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be transparent about your goals and provide as much industry information as you can.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the chief operating officer for an oil and gas company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Armada Labs?

We needed to build a web-based platform for one of our subsidiaries in the oil and gas industry.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Armada worked with our team through a discovery phase and created design wireframes of the platform. They helped us set a schedule and a list of deliverables and they started designing and developing the platform accordingly, including the frontend and backend.

They also coordinated other design deliverables, including logos, from other vendors as needed.

What is the team composition?

We worked with six to eight people in total, including developers.

How did you come to work with Armada Labs?

I'm not sure how we originally found them, but I believe they were recommended to me. We spent some time asking their team questions about our project and felt they were well equiped to get the job done.

How much have you invested with them?

We've probably invested around $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from about April through August 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Every one of the Fortune 500 companies we've shown the product to has expressed a great deal of interest and excitement. We're very optimistic about the platform's potential.

How did Armada Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team was remarkably easy to work with and responsive through emails and phone calls. We also stayed in touch on deliverables and timelines through weekly video conference calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They helped us hone in on what would work best for our platform during the early stages of the project based on what we wanted to accomplish. It was a great learning experience for us. They asked critical questions that ultimately led to a better finished product. They also stuck to their roadmap and reported back to us on each step along the way.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. We didn't have any issues.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust their process. Armada's team is great about making progress on your project easy to understand, regardless of your experience with software development.