Academy Smart

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of NextGen Innovation

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

NextGen Innovation specializes in AI strategy and consulting, machine learning solutions, and AI integration and deployment, helping businesses harness the power of artificial intelligence to enhance decision-making, predictive analytics, and automation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Academy Smart to accomplish?

• We hired Academy Smart to develop a management panel that allows users to select and subscribe to a product. Additionally, we needed to integrate user creation directly into the products and implement Stripe for seamless payment processing.

SOLUTION

How did you find Academy Smart?

Referral

Why did you select Academy Smart over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Academy Smart were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Academy Smart developed a professional, user-friendly website that effectively represents logistics services. From the start, they guided us through the process:

They helped us choose a theme that was well-suited to the industry and aligned with our brand.
Their design expertise ensured the site matched our values and goals.
The website was built on WordPress for easy management and updates.
They recommended hosting on their servers and took care of the full project management from planning to deployment.
With their support, we now have a functional website that represents  business and helps reach new customers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The outcomes have been noticeable: the website now loads faster, provides a consistent user experience across devices, and has led to increased page visits and engagement. The redesigned layout is more user-friendly, allowing visitors to easily access key information. Optimization has boosted our search rankings, which has attracted more potential clients. The WordPress platform has also made site management much easier, saving time and effort.

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

Academy Smart’s project management was organized and efficient. They delivered all milestones on time, ensuring everything stayed on track. Whenever we had specific requests or needed adjustments, they were quick to respond and flexible in addressing our needs. Their clear communication and attention to detail helped keep the project aligned with our goals.

What was your primary form of communication with Academy Smart?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Academy Smart impressed us with their communication and project management. They stuck to the timeline and delivered as promised. Their responsiveness and ability to keep things running smoothly made the whole process efficient and straightforward.

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

Everything was delivered as promised, and there were no issues. We’re satisfied with the results and don’t have any feedback for improvement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Development of Exivity

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We have a software solution that enables full financial visibilty for cloud consumption or any other resource.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Academy Smart to accomplish?

• We engaged Academy Smart to expedite the hiring of two skilled individuals.

SOLUTION

How did you find Academy Smart?

Referral

Why did you select Academy Smart over others?

Good communication

How many teammates from Academy Smart were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The individuals we required would assist in the development of our software product.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project demonstrated progress and success through the effective delivery of key software features by the newly hired developers

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

The project management was exemplary, characterized by timely delivery of milestones. The team demonstrated a strong commitment to meeting our needs, highlighted by the outsourced Front-End Developer's exceptional dedication. This individual's willingness to go above and beyond, coupled with a keen receptiveness to feedback and collaborative spirit, ensured high-quality product delivery.

What was your primary form of communication with Academy Smart?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What stood out most about this company was their exceptional sales team. They maintained consistent contact throughout the project, demonstrating a strong commitment to collaboration and solution-finding. Their flexibility in compromising and ability to propose suitable solutions were commendable. Additionally, their professional yet friendly communication style made interactions particularly pleasant and productive.

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

One area for enhancement involves clarifying the distinctions between 'medior' and 'senior' level employees. There appeared to be a disparity in expectations regarding these classifications. Academy Smart could benefit from providing more transparent and detailed descriptions of their categorization criteria, ensuring alignment of expectations between their team and clients regarding the expertise and experience levels of their staff.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO and I also manage the website and software development for our company. We are a management consulting company with a focus on leadership development. We have developed assessments to support our consulting practice.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Academy Smart, and what were your goals?

We needed a development team to optimize our software and help us add new features. We also needed a long-term relationship to assist us with ongoing support and maintenance.

SOLUTION

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

We found them through a referral. After conducting our due diligence and looking at their past clients we ran a test project. We were satisfied with their work and expanded the scope of our relationship.

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

They have expanded the development of our main software application to conduct surveys and assessments and generate automated client reports. Most recently, they upgraded our online learning academy complete with ongoing administration functionality.

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

We have worked with several members of their team as well as dedicated ongoing resources.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have been very pleased with the work that has been done.

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

We use a combination of their project managers and our internal team.

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

The talent and expertise of their staff are outstanding. When issues arise, which is always the case with our type of application, their team is responsive and quick to keep our software running.

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

Not really, very happy with the overall service in all areas.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Project manager for BIGBrave, a strategic design first in Johannesburg, South Africa.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Academy Smart, and what were your goals?

We needed assistance finishing the build of a Flutter app. We needed the project finished off quickly to help us meet our deadline with a client.

SOLUTION

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

We have worked with Academy Smart in the past and trusted their abilities.

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

The app is built in Flutter and uses Firebase as a means of data storage and access and all content is created and controlled by a web admin platform. We needed help with implementing a BottomNavigationBar for in app navigation. The navigation bar will be used to cycle between displaying different article types. They also worked on finishing the notification functionality and building a profile section

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

We only had contact with the project manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to complete the functionality close to our deadline. The functionality was implemented as expected and the code was neat.

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

For the most part the communication was good but towards the end when the deadline came and was missed the communication lacked a little bit. The communication lines needed to be a little more open as we were left in the dark for a few days.

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

I enjoyed working with their project manager who ensured the work is happening so we can hand over the project more fully.

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

More open and consistent communication of status updates and setbacks would be better.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Founder/CEO of a management consulting & software development firm. We work with partners around the globe to build solutions native to the Google Cloud.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Academy Smart?

The relationship between businesses is critical, building on trust, respect, intelligence, and commitment. We've had different scenarios where we have needed senior-level resources for different projects.

SOLUTION

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

Knowing that you can trust the relationship, the people, and the organization to deliver top-tier resources is critical. We are appreciative of the professionalism, and quality of resources we encounter with Academy Smart.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We've been through a few projects with this group, all on the Google Cloud. https://www.Camping.Tools/ is one of those projects. Academy Smart has provided a resource that easily integrated with the team and was productive from day one. This particular solution is coded in Node.JS and Angular, with lots of other cool toys like Sentry.io, and Elastic.

Describe the recruitment process in detail.

For us, the process was simple. We sent over a specifications sheet, and they set up some interviews. Our team conducted team and individual interviews which required deep technical questions. We hired the best selection, and things have been great. It all goes back to the trust thing. If you have a good report with your partner, and they understand your needs...trust them to give you the best.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Regularly completed deliverables, on time and within budget. It's the ultimate measure of success.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Seemless. We use Jira, Confluence, and Slack as primary modes of communication.

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

Ease of doing business. I've never met them personally, but trust them implicitly.

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

Nothing comes to mind.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I represent MyCredit company. We provide financial services via digital influence.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Academy Smart, and what were your goals?

We needed help with the architecture of our application - My Credit. The main goal of the project was to change the achitecture to the microservices

SOLUTION

How did you select Academy Smart and what were the deciding factors?

We have a big IT community in Kyiv and we knew Academy Smart for a very long time. They proved to be good partners, people who we could rely on and trust. So the deciding factors for us were the quality of the work that Academy Smart provided us with before, the speed of the work and their repsonsiveness.

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

First of all we needed an advice about the approach to use. So Academy Smart team firstly needed to investigate the existing appication and propose us a flow and timeframes for the architecture changing task. After the investigation, they proposed us project plan. After it's acceptance and agreeing about the scope of work they delivered the complete workaround of the acrhitecture. We used Java and Kubernetes.

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

• 2 Java developers
• 1 project manager
• 1 account manager
• QA Engineer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As an outcome we have received an optimized and upgraded application. The job was done within the timeframes that we agreed about, we just need a litlle bit more time for testing and tweaks implementation. But that was agreed in prior.

Overall, it was comfortable to for and discuss all the additional changes. The main result we got is the acceleration of the product, as well as the acceleration of the development process. Now we have an architecture with independent micro services that can be developed separately.

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

We were provided with project manager who took care of all the steps of the delivery. He was open and was sending us the updates about the work every week, which worked fine for us. For communication we were using Slack, Skype and Email. Project processes were managed in Jira.

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

Communication style. They always kept us updated and made us feel like we were in good hands. Means that they really care about the work the do and want the customer to feel comfortable.

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

Some parts of the app were taking a bit longer than expected to load in the very beginning, but after additional testing, tweaks and discussion those were handled quite good.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing manager of Meemaken, a workplace safety solutions company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Academy Smart?

We needed someone to develop a new mobile app because the one we had wasn’t sufficient for what we had in mind. The technology didn’t meet the requirements anymore.   

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I had a very basic wireframe based on what the app looked like before. Based on the possibilities they told us, we made up a mockup ourselves. They developed a safety awareness app from scratch for both iOS and Android. They built a backend where safety, health, and environment officers can send safety alerts and tips for safe behavior.

They can also fill an in-app library with safety procedures and work instructions so they can have it online and offline. On the other end, workers in the field can ask questions and send reports. This includes the positions and risky situations they encounter. The app allows for registration of meetings that are required by the law in the Netherlands.

What is the team composition?

There are two people I met face-to-face. I met four people in Zoom meetings or GoToMeetings.

How did you come to work with Academy Smart?

My managing director found them after an extensive search online.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent 10,000-15,000 euros ($11,366–$17,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2019 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They met all our set requirements. Clearly, they delivered everything as planned and on time. One customer wrote a testimonial stating that the new library functionality allows their field technician to easily access technical documents on their mobile phones and tablets. They said it’s simple, easy to use, and satisfactory.

How did Academy Smart perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is really great and I have no complaints. We worked in English. They met all our requirements. There’s a tool that allows us to make tickets and assign them to the appropriate person. When the issue is resolved, it gets reviewed one more time. We use Zoom and GoToMeeting.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very efficient and very reasonably priced.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I’d have them improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You’ll be in good hands.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Academy Smart?

We hire Academy Smart for our own overload.

What were your goals for this project?

Goals were to convert an existing app in Android / iOS to a single ReactNative application. To improve time-to-market aspect of our client.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We selected them because of the firm relationship build and professional image we get.

One other important aspect for us was, if we were to have a long term dedicated developer he/she would need to be able to work at an office of the company, have a healthy environment and colleagues, with a perspective of growth.

Describe the project in detail.

After we chosen to work with Academy Smart we wanted a project which could proof our ability to collaborate, which it does after having a release planned after 3 months of work.

What was the team composition?

We hired one developer and the project manager was included. We ourselves represent Academy Smart when communicating to the end-client and the other way around.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app is not released yet, but the fact that our team was able to hook in the app adding new features within an hour, demonstrates that Academy Smarts' developer was able to work against our standards.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was easy communicating, because they provided a private slack channel as wel as a jira board.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Communication was above expectation. The team demonstrated proactivity and the will to improve code quality.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Every company can improve, currently it's too early for us to see what improvements can be made from their side. Everything is going as planned.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

For organizations that want to reduce privacy & cyber risks with a human factor, we offer privacy and security awareness training, which can be adjusted to the wishes of the customer, because all employees are different.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Academy Smart?

We could not distribute our training to our customers in a way that left them amazed. Because there was no standard solution, we wanted to have it built.

What were your goals for this project?

We've listed all our wishes for the functionalities and the timeline that we were looking for. This project will be the key service we offer to our customers, so we were more looking voor quality then quantity.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were looking at a few vendors when Academy Smart contacted us in a very friendly way. And we just had a connection. Unlike the 4 other vendors they challenged us and thought with us to have the best possible features in the project.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We gave our description and goals to Academy Smart. They fine tuned those into smaller working products. Then everything was developed, configured and designed.

What was the team composition?

During the whole project we had the same projectmanager. She really helpt with the whole thinking process and getting all the feature in line. And off course demo the products. There were some developers and designers working on our project. One developer was always present during our demo meetings. I don't know how many were on the team. Sometimes it felt like a whole army was working for us, and that felt great.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

During development we added more features. We thought they were too important not to have, because you can only make a good impresion once. Sinds we have shown this to some of our customers, they are actually amazed.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

As described earlier, the supplier's project manager is the best we have ever worked with. She has delivered more than could be asked of her and exceeded expectations on multiple occasions. Communication was done via google hangouts, email and Slack We never had issues caused by language barriers or time difference.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

What we find most impressive is that they always think with you to create the best possible product.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Of course there are points of improvement. However, these are not so much with the supplier, but with us. In the next project that we are going to do with Academy Smart, we will clarify the definition of done by product / feature even more clearly. Now, for example, we only have the documentation at the end of the project. We will also ask for the additions to nice to have features at the end of the project. This naturally shifted the completion date. Again these are not improvements for Academy Smart but for ourselves.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the former VP of product at Cloudyn, a company that developed software for cloud cost management and governance. Cloudyn was acquired by Microsoft in June 2017, and I currently work as a Microsoft program manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Academy Smart?

Initially, we hired them for testing cost automation. Eventually, they began working on software development for the product.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted support for the ongoing development of our flagship product.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I received a recommendation from a consultant that I respect. The consultant had represented the team in Israel prior to our engagement.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The team implemented various modules in our flagship product. Before beginning software development, they tested automation for the cost management software. Then, they participated in the product design, taking over frontend development for the system UI.

Their work included analyzing the business logic, as well as performing backend development. Specifically, they worked on AWS data collection, Microsoft Azure connectors, and Google connectors. They also helped develop a collection engine.

What was the team composition?

The team grew from two members to the 11 people we work with today. It has consisted of test automation engineers, UI developers, as well as Java backend and full stack developers. The team of engineers has become an integral part of our development team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team played a role in the development of virtually every feature we released.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Smart Academy brought on two local team leaders who report to the VP, research and development, or another team leader. Internal stakeholders were in direct contact with all team engineers.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They deliver high-quality results, as their management ensures all engineers add value. The team maintains a service-oriented working style.

Are there any areas for improvement?

In some cases during the beginning of our engagement, we experienced miscommunication about business requirements. However, internal resources were also to blame. As the partnership has developed, our communication has become much more efficient.