Abbacus Technologies

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the member and owner of Abbacus Technologies. We provide managed IT services for small and mid-sized companies. Our team maintains hardware and software and provides technology solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Abbacus Technologies?

We needed to upgrade our Magento website to the latest version and re-engineer, test, and certify a custom SFTP payment gateway. We wanted to keep our store up and running and test the payment gateway with our payment processor, which was running an outdated software application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of work done?

Abbacus Technologies upgraded our Magento e-commerce site to Magento 2.4.3. They moved the website from our old hosting provider to a new one that offered better service and support on larger servers. The team also exported and imported inventory from two web stores, re-engineered, tested, and certified a custom SFTP payment gateway, enabled the page builder, and provided support and training.

What is the team composition?

We spoke directly with at least three teammates from Abbacus Technologies.

How did you come to work with Abbacus Technologies?

I discovered Abbacus Technologies via MageMonkeys while researching a web developer to help me upgrade a Magento website. The team was very professional and made us feel that they had a personal interest in our project.

Abbacus Technologies also had the most comprehensive proposal and the best pricing for the project. They weren't the least expensive, but their price was the fairest for the skill, experience, and quality of work we needed to have completed.

How much have you invested with them?

The project cost us about $4,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April–June 2023.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our customers can visit the new website and process credit card payments. The process is mostly transparent to our clients, and as long as it's working, no one complains.

How did Abbacus Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

Abbacus Technologies' project management was excellent. Our overall experience with the team was so good that we called them back for a second project and are still in communication with them today. The project took approximately four months, and despite many setbacks, the team delivered and achieved everything when they said they would, and was very responsive.

We communicated via WhatsApp and email. Working in different time zones was challenging at times, but the team at Abbacus worked with us to make this a non-event on many occasions.

What was your primary form of communication with Abbacus Technologies?

Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive about them?

What impressed me the most was how genuine Abbacus Technologies' team was. I didn't feel like a client; I felt more like a friend trying to resolve a problem together.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was nothing I could think of at the moment.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder Director of Bizzaudio

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We provide a fully licensed, streaming  background music service to small and mediuym sized retail, hospitality and leisure businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Abbacus Technologies to accomplish?

• Add a new music channel to our existing web-player
• Implement a new, streamlined playlist creation process to our Content Management System
• Implement various UX improvements to our streaming music player

SOLUTION

How did you find Abbacus Technologies?

Referral

Why did you select Abbacus Technologies over others?

• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Abbacus Technologies were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We hired Abbacus to take over an existing web application and ciustom CMS  from another developer. We hired them to provide support of the existing applications and also to implement new features and functionality to enhance the feature set and improve the user experience.

Some specific deliverables:

• New music channel - a new feature allowing users to view and review a list of tracks added to the service within a set number of days. User can easily add these tracks to their custom playlists from this page.
• A reporting module - allows admin to create and export custom reports of tracks played in a set timescale filterable by date range and music publisher. 
• Track level playlists creation - gives admin visibility by track of playlists the track features in and also allows track to be reveiwed and adde quickly to multiple playlists in one batch process.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Business now has visibility of key data required for royalty reporting to music providers partners.
• User feedback on the new music channel is positive and it has also reassured customers that the service is regularly updated.
• Work time saved on playlisting new tracks from the new enabled process is several hours per week.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Abbacus have been responsove and worked quickly. We have an account manager in place and her communication and organisation have been excellent.

What was your primary form of communication with Abbacus Technologies?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Having suffered with mis-communication in the past dealing with inevitable challenges of working with smaller foreign businesses where English langiage skills may not always be strong enough to grasp nuance and complexity involved in techniocal projects, working with Abbacus Technologies has been a very positive experience with clear communication. The project manager always insists on a call to make syre that requirerments are fully understood.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Abbacus Technologies could have done differently?

Our business sometimes needs urgent weekend support an dthis is not currently offered by Abbacus but top date we have managed this through another provider.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the E-commerce / Technical Director of ITURBO.FR - Automaati

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We sell car spare parts online and in physical stores.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Abbacus Technologies to accomplish?

• Magento site maintenance and update
• Custom modules development
• Advice and support for the technical development of our site

SOLUTION

How did you find Abbacus Technologies?

Online Search

Why did you select Abbacus Technologies over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit

How many teammates from Abbacus Technologies were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Updating Magento core and all third-party modules and. keep them up-to-date, developing custom modules integrated with Magento for accounting, customer and product management. Advice on the best solutions to choose according to needs

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We quickly found that Abacus had the skills to manage the maintenance and development of Magento. Before this partnership, we had remained almost 5 months with almost no maintenance on our site and from the first operations, we were able to see the respect of the software infrastructure, particularly in the code override operations. The various modules were quickly updated and the health of the site improved.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

We work on Trello for the implementation and monitoring of tasks to be carried out. Complementing this, we have close and frequent links with the project manager and the sales team on Skype and via email. Response times are very short and work progresses quickly.

What was your primary form of communication with Abbacus Technologies?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I'm impressed by their speed of execution and understanding of our needs as well as the overall knowledge of the Magento infrastructure. Their knowledge of Magento is a real plus for us and reassures us about the viability of our site. We also know that we can use Abbacus in the event of a major outage on our site.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Abbacus Technologies could have done differently?

For now, our needs are limited and Abbacus meets them perfectly. We have other projects in mind, notably on Wordpress + Woocommerce and during the implementation of these we will have to assess the skills of our partner on this subject and we will perhaps then have areas for improvement to suggest to him.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Managing Director of A L M Distribution

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

ecommerce retailer

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Abbacus Technologies to accomplish?

• Magento web development

SOLUTION

How did you find Abbacus Technologies?

Online Search

Why did you select Abbacus Technologies over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Abbacus Technologies were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Abbacus Technologies provides web development services for an ecommerce retailer. The client needed help maintaining their Magento 2 website. The work involved installing extensions, bug fixes, speed optimisation and design updates.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Work was deemed successfully completed when the required extensions where installed, website issues were resolved and design updates implemented. Overall the Magento website needed to remain active and functional 24/7 with minimal downtime to implement fixes and upgrades

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Our project manager Maulin always acknowledged emails and kept us up to date throughout. Other team members were always cc'd in to all communications so that in the event someone was on annual leave work would continue and progress would not stop. The project manager also offered advise on the best solutions implement for specific issues.

What was your primary form of communication with Abbacus Technologies?

Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

in our 15 years of operating Magento 2 websites we've never come across a company that has communicated as well and delivered as consistently as Abbacus. All emails are replied to within a timely manner which shows we are being listened to and taken care of. All requirements have been fulfilled without any re-occurring issues which is a testament to the quality of their work. The team at Abbacus Technologies simply got things done without excuses.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Abbacus Technologies could have done differently?

We honestly cannot fault the service we have received from Abbacus. Sometimes it would be good to know the reason behind a certain issue we faced on the website, so that we can prevent it from re-occurring in future, but honestly this is not that important to us because Abbacus resolves the issue and makes sure our website is fully operational which is ultimately what matters to us.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Excited to share that after a year of being taken advantage of, we found Abbacus to take over a project that was otherwise dead in the water. We came to them after having had the worst experience and were desperate to find someone to continue the project. From initial onboard meetings Abbacus proved that they were up for the task. 6 months later that have met and achieved the goal. Communication is excellent and progress has been made in fixing and creating the disaster we brought to the table.

Meeting and exceeding on all areas. Sagar has done such an incredible job with the technical side and the team supporting him led by Viraj and David are amazing. We will update this once we are finished. Very excited and grateful that this team swooped in and saved the day! Feel confident, you are in great hands !

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Abbacus Technologies, and what were your goals?

Repair and fix , web design, video maker , Hosting and server installation

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Referral

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Brought them a broken project that they have re created and developed further.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

3 David - finance Viraj - project manager Sagar- technical developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Project is done and we are tweaking! All measurable achieved to date.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Excellent! Event with 12 hour time zone changes. They were reachable at all times."

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Communication, dedicated, committed, listens to the needs.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We design and sell 3D models for 3D printing as well as other digital artworks

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Abbacus Technologies, and what were your goals?

We needed to get our website up to date and improved for long term business success, this involved finishing some software installations and updates as well as SEO and further solutions

SOLUTION

How did you select Abbacus Technologies and what were the deciding factors?

We answered a few emails and searched online for some options and these guys seemed like a good choice, so we took a trial period with them and were very happy with what we found

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

installation of magento extensions Customizing the backend to cover some non standard features SEO and optimization Development plan for future expansions

How many people from the Abbacus Technologies team worked with you, and what were their positions?

3 people worked with me, a project manager and 2 programmer/designers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

All the works requested were completed in good time with, good communication and feedback opportunity. They were very helpful and supportive through the whole process, which is perfect for a non expert like myself.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Simple and easy, we had a direct line via skype. I sent a list of requirements and then they set out a plan for implementing them in priority order. All tasks were carried out quickly and effectively and i was very happy with the results. Every issue arises; they're on hand to research, raise tickets, and fix the problems while keeping me informed.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

response time and service, they have been clear and steady with communication and that is important to me.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

The major thing I would like is an ability to pay for their service using my cards via a payment portal or something rather than via bank transfer. However we are looking forward to a long working relationship with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company is a group of large animal veterinarians in the dairy industry. I am in a data analyst role.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Abbacus Technologies, and what were your goals?

We hired Abbacus to repair two serious bugs and provide ongoing maintenance and documentation.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We interviewed three candidates and selected Abbacus as they were the most receptive to our very custom needs.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Abbacus has been tasked with resolving a calculation error, a serious query selection bug, some conditional formatting and the documentation of our database for future programming needs.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Three:

• one customer relations specialist
• one project manager
• one programmer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

A serious bug has been resolved - this is something a previous programmer attempted to fix, but could not. A calculation error was corrected - again another programmer had failed.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Abbacus shines in this area. They are all very communicative and are willing to adapt to the client's preferred communication style (email and screen videos). OTHER programmers have insisted on phone and live skype calls which limit accountability. Abbacus is excellent in this area. As a side-note, any English-speakers concerned about a verbal language barrier should know I found everyone completely fluent/articulate in English.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I am most impressed with their willingness to take on difficult and cumbersome bugs (not of their own making). Abbacus Technologies will keep plugging until they get it right.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Not that I can think of . . .

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a leading pest control product manufacturer and distributor. I am the head of marketing for the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Abbacus Technologies, and what were your goals?

We were having issues with our website following a migration from Magento 1 to Magento 2,. We were struggling to get the site live and having various issues with extensions.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We researched extensively online, and found Abbacus Technologies had the best reviews.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We had a meeting to set our goals and outlined the issues we were facing. The team very quickly assured us that they would be able to help fix the problems we were having. After that it was so easy to communicate and get the ball rolling with the fixes.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

It was just myself and the managing director that dealt with Abbacus.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

After quite a short period of time we were able to get all of the fixes required completed and then we were able to get the website live.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

I found the team to be very effective and clear at communicating what they needed from me to do the tasks requested. Each task requested has been completed in a timely manner and with a great deal of attention to detail.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They have helped us creat a website that is performing very well and we are really pleased with the results. They continue to impress us with various other tasks that we request.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

We have faced no issues working with Abbacus Technologies, the whole process has been very easy and effective.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Founder and CEO the UK’s first dating app for single parents.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Abbacus Technologies?

To develop a mobile app for both IOS and Android

What were your goals for this project?

To develop a very user friendly and attractive app for single parents looking for meaningful relationships

SOLUTION

How did you select Abbacus Technologies?

I did an online search and their company came up as one of the best which had great reviews and experience with developing similar dating apps. It was easy to reach out to them and they were very responsive.

Describe the project in detail.

Once we had an initial call where I described what I wanted to create they started by sending me a proposal and timeline with clear steps and budgets. They then developed a wireframe followed by the start of development until completion

What was the team composition?

I was assigned a project manager I was dealing mostly with him but there was also the designer and behind the scenes team as well as a finance team member for payments

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We have just launched the app successfully on both App Store and Google Play thanks to their team. They have worked on developing this app for almost a year with lots of going back and forth, fixing bugs, making changes to make me happy with the app. The success is that we made it to launch!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I would say it was quite effective considering the time difference and not being able to meet face to face

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their commitment to delivering what I am asking for is impressive and ensuring I am happy and the value for money

Are there any areas for improvement?

Could do better with delivering on deadlines and being more responsive when there are urgent things to deal with

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of Cite Up Limited. We provide outsourced marketing services. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Abbacus Technologies?

We wanted to build a mobile application to track fieldworkers. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Abbacus Technologies built our mobile app from scratch. It’s compatible with both iOS and Android.

What is the team composition?

I worked with two people, one from sales and another technical person.

How did you come to work with Abbacus Technologies?

Abbacus Technologies had a lot of experience in what we needed.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $300 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since February 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Generally, it’s been good. We’re still in development, but the work is coming along and Abbacus Technologies is very attentive. It’s been a great project so far. 

How did Abbacus Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been good. The team meets deadlines and they communicate well. We’re always in touch with them, usually by WhatsApp or email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their attention to detail is excellent. They’re also very available, and it’s easy to talk to them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I can think of. Abbacus Technologies does a pretty good job.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It would be best if you could dedicate a team to the project as well. It would make the process faster.