Accelerance

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of engineering for a cybersecurity company. We protect against credential theft, phishing, domain, impersonation, social media, and a dozen other cybersecurity threats for companies, employees, or companies’ customers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Accelerance?

Our software engineering team sought offshore or nearshore partners to provide technical talent.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially met with Accelerance to discuss what we were looking for in a partner company. They got to know us as a company so they could do proper matchmaking. Then, they went into the library of companies they’ve worked with to match us with someone who could fill our needs. Once they established a match, they didn’t walk away. Accelerance continues to have an ongoing stake in the relationship.

They do a lot of research on the companies they present to customers. Accelerance provides details about how big the vendors are, their financial conditions, and their services. Also, they go on-site to verify what they present and score the companies.

What is the team composition?

We’ve primarily worked with Michael (Managing Director), but we’ve met with 3–4 people.

How did you come to work with Accelerance?

We were already analyzing outside vendors, and someone gave me Michael’s contact information. He was local to us, so we met him. He told us about what Accelerance did, and it made sense to see what extra information they could bring to the table.

How much have you invested with them?

They didn’t charge us anything. They have an arrangement with their partners to be paid through the relationship once we work with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in September 2017, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When we first started, we were looking for a nearshore partner. In the end, we partnered with a company in Brazil. At one point, we had 10 technical resources working for us, which we ramped up over six months. It was impressive considering how hard it’s to find technical talent and how fast we can find people. Overall, they were all good, quality people, so we were pretty happy with them.

However, we moved away from having a nearshore partner and went towards an offshore one. We worked with Accelerance again, and they provided a set of companies to evaluate. We selected a vendor that they also recommended.

How did Accelerance perform from a project management standpoint?

The decision-making process is excellent. We typically communicate through email or in-person meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Many people need the service they provide, but not everyone realizes that there are companies like Accelerance to help them find partnerships.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They probably need to improve on the ongoing touch base. As the months pass, they stay in touch occasionally, but it could be more frequent. When items come up, they help rectify them, so they provide value in that area. However, it just seems like they should work on the ongoing relationship.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you work with Accelerance, you’ll get a lot out of it. However, you should be transparent so they can find the best match. I can imagine some people might not want to share certain information, but they should trust them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CIO of Academic Partnerships, which helps universities put their programs online.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Accelerance?

We’d just acquired a small SaaS provider and wanted to enhance their features. Initially, we tried to find new resources to add to our team and hired Accelerance to help us integrate our new team and their processes and methodologies. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Accelerance has helped us integrate our new IT team to improve our development services. We provided Accelerance’s team with documentation on our newly-acquired company’s processes, feature definitions, communication styles, and associated specs. Then, they facilitated four half-day discussions with various members of our new engineering team, including scrum masters, existing and new engineers, and the product team. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with two teammates from Accelerance. 

How did you come to work with Accelerance?

I’m not sure how we found Accelerance, but I think I responded to one of their marketing emails. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $40,000 with Accelerance. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Accelerance began in October 2021, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new development team that Accelerance helped integrate into our firm has accomplished about 60% of our planned yearly development in just six months. Accelerance’s help has made our teams significantly more effective. 

How did Accelerance perform from a project management standpoint?

Accelerance communicates clearly with me biweekly and monthly to keep me abreast of their work. We also talk about the challenges we’ve had to work through during those meetings. We usually communicate through email and Microsoft Teams calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Accelerance’s experience and communication are excellent. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing for Accelerance to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d advise customers to hire Accelerance and utilize their Align workshop when they need to integrate a new team of engineers into an existing team. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the SVP of IT, and we’re developing an enterprise software for our company, which is in the real estate industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Accelerance?

We manage about 1,000 employees and have 3,000 clients that we provide different services for. There isn’t an off-the-shelf software product that fits our need on the enterprise level across multiple states, so Accelerance came on to help us find a partner to build a software of this caliber.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They worked to create a roadmap for and provide guidance in developing software, as well as working with a software development partner. Accelerance demonstrated a way to vet certain partners based on our needs, a way to create a scope, and a way to run the interview process for new partners.

Their team has worked with us to help research not only development partners but also custom software to ensure that there wasn’t any solution out there that met our needs. That took a lot of time and research, as well as investment in learning our industry.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked really closely with three people, including the managing director and a consultant.

How did you come to work with Accelerance?

I was familiar with one of their employees and knew what they did. It started with a cold call based on their past experience. The call gave me some clarifying information about their services. When I realized they could meet my needs, we proceeded with some introductory calls.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $400,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since August 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m not sure where to start, as they’ve mostly provided consulting and guidance, but they’ve helped us be able to analyze our own abilities in software development. This knowledge has put us in a position to understand our engagements and work from a good roadmap in building our enterprise software.

How did Accelerance perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done an excellent job with project management, exceeding our expectations. We’ve worked through Microsoft Teams, Azure, and a roadmapping software called Aha!. Accelerance has been critical in setting up Microsoft Azure, and Aha!.

We mostly communicate through Teams and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

This is hard for me to say, as I haven’t worked with another similar provider, but Accelerance was able to staff up quickly from a consulting standpoint. Their consultant has remained available to us and demonstrated their investment in helping us develop an industry-leading software.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have a good answer for this.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Accelerance has the ability to provide as much or as little consulting as you need, so it’s important to understand where you sit from a technology standpoint. This will help you engage with them and move forward.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of software and technology for Sentry Management, a homeowners association management company. We’re located in Longwood, Florida.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Accelerance?

We needed to grow our company’s knowledge about leading a software development project, so we needed both a consultant and a third-party development partner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Accelerance provides us with outsourcing consultation services. They’ve helped us find a third-party developer for our Microsoft-based Azure Cloud project, walking us through different options across the globe and connecting us with three partners to interview. 

Accelerance has assigned us a consultant who helps us screen and choose developers who are experienced in projects similar to ours, able to grow as our project grows, and located in a time zone that’s compatible with ours.

Accelerance has also helped us grow our internal development group, so we can make important decisions and manage our third-party developers effectively. We’ve handled onboarding for all of our recruits.

What is the team composition?

We work directly with one consultant from Accelerance.

How did you come to work with Accelerance?

We came to work with Accelerance through a referral — a member of our organization is personal friends with one of Accelerance’s business development teammates.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve paid around $250,000 for Accelerance’s consultancy services — that figure excludes what we’ve paid for our third-party development team.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began our ongoing partnership with Accelerance in June 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to Accelerance’s consultancy, we’re seeing very consistent results from our software development efforts. Accelerance has helped us grow a development team of about 20 people, including QA engineers, business analysts, a project manager, full-stack developers, designers, and HTML developers. 

We’re making progress on our development goals and getting real, functional code — and the software looks wonderful. I attribute much of our success in these areas and the quality of our developers to Accelerance.

How did Accelerance perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re making good estimates that match up with deliverables, with very little slippage in terms of missed goals and deadlines. We use Aha! for product management. Overall, our project management efforts have been amazing — I’d give them a nearly perfect score. 

We share files and meet via Microsoft Teams. Overall, we rely heavily on Microsoft services to communicate and coordinate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Communication is definitely Accelerance’s strong point. They help us with our communication and help us be a better company. I’m extremely happy with Accelerance and our relationship with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any areas of improvement to suggest right now.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Listen when they speak, and follow their advice. The times we’ve had the most trouble have been the times when we didn’t listen to Accelerance.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner of a healthcare technology company focused on cancer treatments.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Accelerance?

I was looking for a firm to help me find a vendor to develop aspects of my product. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Accelerance helped me find a software development team to develop my platform and then provided a project manager to oversee the project. As part of the search process, I provided them with a pitch deck and an overview of what I wanted to achieve with the product. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with a project manager from Accelerance. 

How did you come to work with Accelerance?

Accelerance provided a portfolio of verifiable work and had a history of good customer service. They had a broad spectrum of software development skills and could predict potential development changes. 

What is the status of this engagement?

My engagement with Accelerance was from June 2018–June 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Accelerance delivered precisely what I needed them to within the budget I gave them. Their team was attentive and focused on facilitating a good partnership. 

How did Accelerance perform from a project management standpoint?

Accelerance had excellent project management, and I was pleased with their knowledgeable project manager. It was clear they’d done their research into my company before beginning the engagement. The project manager was hardworking and responsive — we communicated through emails, WhatsApp, and shared documents. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Accelerance has a global reach, which is great because they can cater to many companies looking for resources at various price points. Their team is very attentive and provides high-quality resources that cater to the client’s needs. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing for Accelerance to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d advise customers to know exactly what they’re looking for from a partnership with Accelerance. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

As the operating director of a consumer products company, I’m responsible for IT for our North American operations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Accelerance?

We needed help to find additional resources in the form of an IT development partner. Our goal was to ensure business continuity by diversifying our vendor base.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, we engaged with them for a vendor search. Our requirements were that the vendor must be in a local time zone for us to accelerate our development cycle, as well as meet our budgetary goals. The main deliverables were contacts with vendors.

Accelerance provided us with five different vendor contacts. They offered vendor profiles on their website that were tailored to our requirements. We had several exploratory calls prior to meeting with the vendors and reviewing those profiles. After that, Accelerance went ahead and selected a few vendors for interviews that they felt were the best fit.

Their team facilitated in-depth review calls with the chosen vendors to help us understand what kind of services the vendors could really offer. We got in touch not only with vendor management but also with the prospective developers and development leads, which really helped us in our selection process.

After we selected our vendor, Accelerance guided us through an onboarding process with that vendor to ensure that the rules and way of engagement were clear and set us up for success. They helped with the initial onboarding over several weeks, clarifying the rules of engagement and the way that we would work together.

What is the team composition?

I worked with several people, but I honestly don’t know their titles or positions. There was a sales team on their side that was very focused on defining and understanding our needs, as well as a search consultant responsible for searching for and finding appropriate vendors. This person also vetted the potential partners and consulted on the final selection. Finally, two other resources acted as our primary contacts during the onboarding phase.

How much have you invested in them?

The whole project cost around $30,000 USD.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in November 2020, and it was completed in March 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are now one into the engagement with the partner that we selected, and we are very happy with the work that they have provided us with so far. Our main goal was to find partner that would be flexible and work with us on our challenges and help us understand our business, and they have done just that. We have been able to increase the number of story points delivered, meaning the amount of development we are able to do as a team has grown; the cost is beneficial as well. Our volume, capacity, and velocity have also improved.

How did Accelerance perform from a project management standpoint?

It was excellent. The knowledge that they had, as well as the mechanics of project management in terms of delivering what we needed were both brought to bear for us. Additionally, the personal relationship management was important in understanding what our needs were and digging deep into what we were trying to achieve. Accelerance followed up and asked whether we had achieved these goals or not based on the services provided. It was a good 360-degree experience.

We did not use any project management tools, as we had a very simple timeline. Excel helped us to collaborate, and we used Asana internally.

Most of the communication was done either via Zoom or telephone — a lot of verbal communication. Materials were also provided by email as needed, and we had a shared drive that we used to exchange documents.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their desire to understand our needs stood out. Accelerance was always clear about what they needed to understand and deliver what we required. It certainly felt like they were working for us.

Not only did they provide high-quality vendors for us to review, but we also had quite a tough time deciding which vendor to sign with because they were mostly all high quality. I think the real differentiator for Accelerance were their personal follow-up and check-ins to make sure we got what we needed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think we could have been a little faster and more proactive in the search process. We received all of the materials via their online portal for our review, but their could have been more support and guidance during the search process. They could have provided more of their own insight into how those vendor profiles were put together.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about what you would like to achieve and communicate what your end goal is. If you communicate that goal, then Accelerance will find a way to achieve it with you.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm currently the SVP of a Medical Technology company focused on secure communications and referral management solutions for hospitals and health systems.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Back in 2018, we needed help finding a new outsourced provider for both back-end and mobile application development work on our secure communications platform. We were on a tight budget and did not have onshore resources.

SOLUTION

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

We selected Accelerance to help us find a new outsourced software provider due to their extensive experience in the market. They have global relationships with the top software development firms and detailed knowledge of the markets/firms which proved invaluable to us in our search.

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

Accelerance collected our project requirements and gave us a list of three specific vendors in the Latin American market. Once we discussed these vendors, they made introductions and we were able to find a vendor that was a great fit for us, a firm that we are still using today at a follow-on company.

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

We worked with 3 people from Accelerance - the CEO and two people from the Account Management team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The firm they introduced us to was a great fit for our unique requirements. Software development is not a one size fits all - we needed a firm that could scale up/down as needed and also had tech leadership available to help in situations that needed architectural guidance.

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

Accelerance was great to work with - they provided the introductions and followed-up with us periodically to ensure things were going well.

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

Their knowledge of the outsourcing markets, companies, skill sets, and rates is outstanding. They know how outsourcing companies work and have a variety of options to pick from (large to small).

If you are doing outsourcing, you could spend a lot of time and money doing this yourself, but with such a knowledgeable vendor available, it makes total sense to leverage their expertise.

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

No, we were extremely happy with the results and continue to use the firm they recommended.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Players Health, an athlete safety organization. Our mission revolves around athlete safety and health, which includes injury and risk management services, as well as compliance services for adults who participate in youth athletics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Accelerance?

We’re now accelerating our push into our insurance offering, and we need a technology platform to build out the complete ecosystem.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Accelerance provided due diligence services as we evaluated development partners. They presented various candidate agencies, walked us through geographic considerations, and came up with an extensive assessment of our situation. Then, they found matching partners for us to interview and select.

Our initial conversation started when we made the push in this new direction. We knew we’d be growing considerably in 2022, so we had to establish the relationship and an understanding of what services were available, what we were about, and what we needed in terms of skills, breadth, depth, seniority, and so on. We initially completed an extensive assessment of our needs.

Then, Accelerance took that assessment and matched it with their partners. From there, we got down to a list of candidates. We did a preliminary screening and got down to three potential partners. We had a couple of meetings with each to get a sense of their technical capabilities, how they managed engagements, and how our internal staff would work with their people. From that point, we negotiated around the MSA and rates before going live with the selected vendor.

What is the team composition?

A couple of people are on the account level and 1–2 at the support level to ensure the logistics keep moving.

How did you come to work with Accelerance?

I had a previous connection with the CEO. When I was at a different organization, we had a conversation, and it made sense to start it again. I liked how they managed the relationship between their partner networks and the services they provided to us. Once we got into the specifics, there was a personal relationship, and their total offering lined up well. We were on a timeline where doing due diligence on people doing due diligence didn’t make sense.

We interviewed two other vendors, and they were perfectly capable of filling our needs. We were presented with three excellent options, but we selected the one that was the best fit.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2021, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The partner we selected has been doing excellent work; we’re looking at expanding that partnership early next year. We’re having check-in calls with Accelerance, and we expect to discuss the expansion and other go-forward topics. They continue to be a partner as we look to build out further.

Additionally, we have metrics around the performance of the teams that we have in place. The work they’ve done is largely subjective, but the results have been very positive. Overall, Accelerance got us to meet the right people and shepherded the process itself.

How did Accelerance perform from a project management standpoint?

They have made sure to establish a communication protocol along with the rest of the process. We’ve had plenty of email exchanges, and we can easily set up a conversation and get it on the calendar. Moreover, the team has been very flexible and non-disruptive, which is vital for us at this stage.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their service is comprehensive. They’ve provided materials along the way — whether it’s the global survey of their partner network with data points or just knowing that the right people are available if I need them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, it’s been a very smooth process.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Prepare your needs in advance and onboard the people from your side that will engage with them. The only thing that slows down the process is not providing the information they need to move forward.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a former executive of a software platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Accelerance?

We needed help with building an app for the college application market.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Accelerance provided web app managing and support for us through external teams. They started by building out our application needs and then took those requirements to other companies that could solve our necessities. Consequently, we interviewed the potential candidates to talk about their development capabilities. After choosing them, Accelerance’s team provided day-to-day oversight of the process until the partners finished our product.

What is the team composition?

We mainly worked with Glenn (Senior Architect) for the entirety of the process, but other developers, engineers, and UI/UX specialists were involved.

How did you come to work with Accelerance?

Thye published a book related to their work, so I decided to reach out to them when we were looking for a partner. After meeting with them, I found out that they had a lot of success in curating and finding great software developers, so I decided to give them a try.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $500,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January 2019–March 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They provided the MVP that we needed to prove our market — that was the key success factor for us. Accelerance was an overall good partner that delivered on all the established milestones with a solid final product.

How did Accelerance perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent at communication and sticking to budgets and schedules. In terms of tools, we used Azure DevOps, Zoom, and emails. 

What did you find most impressive about them? 

As a startup, we can say that they did a great job selecting the correct developers with the skills needed to run a software project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on — they did a great job, and I was pleasantly surprised with them.

Any advice for potential customers?

Accelerance is a great partner if you’re getting started on a project. Doing this type of work on your own might get difficult and cause many problems, so you must partner up with a high-quality vendor with a solid team and great project management skills.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product manager of a fintech services company, and we essentially provide white label digital financial services to financial institutions such as banks.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Accelerance?

We were looking for partners to provide us with contractors, so we can easily scale our engineering workforce.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Accelerance gave us resource flexibility through their professional staff augmentation services. We initially had a meeting to detail our needs and present them with the key traits of what we were looking for. From there, they were able to give us a list of three potential contracting companies we could work with and their recommendation on the most suitable candidate.

After selecting our contractor, Accelerance participated in the contract negotiations to make sure both parties will benefit from the partnership. I still speak to their team on a casual basis to talk about the progress of our relationship.

What is the team composition?

I keenly worked with Mike (Managing Director) and spoke to Andy (CEO) on one occasion.

How did you come to work with Accelerance?

They were recommended to me by a mutual contact from my network.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July–August 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Accelerance enhanced our contractor finding process by tenfold. I would also like to say that having a partner with extensive experience signing contracting deals definitely helped improve our engagement.

How did Accelerance perform from a project management standpoint?

Mike was fantastic from a project management perspective. He was on top of the contract negotiations and would consistently get in touch with me to make sure the partnership was going smoothly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What makes Accelerance unique is they weren’t constantly trying to sell me their services. It was very beneficial to talk to them candidly knowing they have our best interests in mind.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It was a very seamless experience so I don’t have any suggestions for improvement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to have a very clear idea of what you’re trying to achieve and what you’re looking for in a partner.