AIST Global

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a small team willing to register a start-up in the branche of internet services for tourism, if we will succeed with our goals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AIST Global?

Our project is the development of internet platform offering tourism services

What were your goals for this project?

The current project is the first part of a bigger goal - to create a platform for tourism and traveling. The idea is to develop a virtual "office" enabling to collect content about special touristic places around the world.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Just searching in internet. I liked their home page and their vision.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

At the moment, the company develops for us a platform that will enable to collect content for future web pages in MySQL database with the help of PHP forms. Based on the database, the pages should be generated dynamically.

What was the team composition?

The team comprizes: project manager, back-end-programmer, front-end programmer. The chief of the company is very much involved as well in most decisions.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Hopefully in the nearest future.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

After visiting the company on place, our communication is based on e-mail exchange and telephone calls with the project manager (sometimes with the chief of the company participating). The project management is effective.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The people are young, very good educated and experienced in the state-of-the-art web programming technologies. They are highly motivated to produce their best result in a short time. They dedicated a lot of time to our project while trying to understand our goals very deeply and give us best advices already at the beginning.

Are there any areas for improvement?

May be a software solution helping to communicate our visions on the design of the web pages could be helpfull (if it exists). Especially in the case when the customers are sitting remotedly. I used PowerPoint but it took a lot of time and many things are still difficult to communicate. Probably it would be good if the company would offer a help of a real designer along with the web development services. Also, involving us, customers, in using software for project management and fixing programming bugs etc. would be advisable (we are certain that the company uses such tools internally).

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Mind Center is a Child Development Center in Yerevan, specialized in robotics, coding, engineering and other technological courses for children 6 years old and up. I am Ani Khachatryan, the Co-Founder and CEO of Mind Center LLC.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AIST Global?

Each business should have a quality website, with services and products. Our web page is fully destined and created by AIST Global creative and supportive team.

What were your goals for this project?

Site with supervises and classes Site with shop section with online payment Site with child's profiles.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were recommended by some of friends as reliable and responsible company with qualitative and creative works.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The designed, developed and launched the website . Provide marketing support and discuss every detail with me. They are profy and can guide and suggest the better solution. The special requirement was online payment and children's profiles.

What was the team composition?

The team was working and cooperating with each other so good I had a project manager Hrayr Shahbazyan who coordinated the full process. The designer and the programmers accepted and complete every requirement we had.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website gives Mind Center the status to be more comparative, gives our users opportunity to choose and select the preferred constructor, choose and register to the classes and make online payments.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project management was very impressive and in friendly atmosphere. Every specialist in AIST Global is a professional in his/her field.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Worm and friendly discussions. Quick response to the requests. In the AIST office is welcoming and warm atmosphere where you are free to express requests and receive all your requirements.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Every company has a space for improvement, but concerning my project everything was great and cool.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing manager of a before- and after-school care provider. We’re a national company with branches in several states that offers enrichment programs to children, from Pre-K to eighth grade.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AIST Global?

We had a legacy website that was aesthetically and functionally outdated. To keep up with the times, we hired AIST Global to develop a fresh new website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

While we provided the website design, AIST handled the actual development of the WordPress platform.

What is the team composition?

They assigned at least three specialists to the project, including frontend and backend developers. Hrayr (Founder and CEO, AIST Global) was our main point of contact throughout the project.   

How did you come to work with AIST Global?

We found them through an online platform. We quickly came to an agreement after discussing our project. We liked their management and communication styles.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with AIST Global around one and a half years ago, and the website was delivered within a month.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

AIST Global excellently captured our vision for the website. While I’m unable to disclose our exact increase in statistics, we’ve definitely achieved our goal. It’s now beautiful and fully-functional. We were successful in making its user journey much more intuitive, which led to business growth.

The new site is easy to navigate and much more convenient to administrators, as well as to potential clients. As a result, our metrics have consistently grown since the new website’s launch.  

How did AIST Global perform from a project management standpoint?

AIST Global was responsive and quick to resolve any emerging issues with the website. They were also professional and helpful with all of our inquiries and concerns. Working with them has been a smooth, pleasant experience.

We communicated primarily through messengers, phone, and email. We also used Skype. They were flexible in using the method that felt most convenient to us at the time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I think I can speak for our entire team when I say that it was very easy working with them, particularly due to their responsiveness and professionalism. We’ve kept them on board for more projects, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with AIST Global.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

We ran into a bottleneck due to the vagueness of our own requirements. The more clarity with which you describe the tasks, the better and more efficiently they’ll provide results. This is just general advice, not pertaining specifically to AIST Global.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the head of marketing at Vehere. We provide cyber defense and intelligence to governments and organizations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AIST Global?

My company hired AIST Global to redesign our website.  

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted our website to better reflect the company’s brand identity, incorporate best practices for website UI, and present engaging content to visitors.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found AIST Global through a reference.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

AIST Global completely revamped the site and developed the CMS. They made the site SEO-friendly. The team provides continuous upgrades and improvements. 

What was the team composition?

We worked with Hrayr (Founder, AIST Global), Liana (Project Manager and COO, AIST Global), and a couple of other team members.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our industry peers and the company’s channel partner community have appreciated the redesigned site. Site traffic continues to increase.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We use Trello for project management, and we’ve had no issues.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

AIST Global’s quick turnaround times are the most impressive. They are willing to go the extra mile to ensure we find value in their offering.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Hrayr, Liana, and the rest of the AIST Global team overcome the potential language barrier by putting in extra effort.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a marketing manager at Yerevan Chocolate Company CJSC. We produce high-quality chocolate products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AIST Global?

We needed to develop a new website.

What were your goals for this project?

We set out to build a well-developed website with a user-friendly admin panel and a high-quality UX/UI. Our other goal was to forge new business relationships and provide comprehensive information about our products.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We considered offers from several IT companies and individual programmers before finally choosing AIST Global. Their proposal fit our needs best, and they possessed an attractive portfolio.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Based on the initial design we provided them with, AIST developed a fast, user-friendly website. They also incorporated detail and page changes we decided on during the process. SEO and SMM strategies were a key part of our requirements, and AIST delivered them as well.

What was the team composition?

I worked with Hrayr (CEO, AIST Global), who was responsible for their team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They delivered exactly what we wanted: a user-friendly site and a professional admin panel.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We used Trello to organize the project. We got along well, so there were no miscommunications.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Everyone I worked with was creative, professional, and organized. They delivered high quality, too.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, not that I saw. We’re satisfied with the final product and will be using AIST Global again on other projects.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I own a company that takes information from salespeople around the country and uses it to make thorough estimates for them to use when negotiating with insurance carriers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AIST Global?

Our business needed a way to collect information from low-level salespeople across U.S. markets and convert it into a format that we could use to communicate an accurate scope to insurance carriers. The challenge was getting the information from the field while also giving the right amount of access to both us and the client. We also needed a way to keep track of our projects and billing.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a web-based platform that would be all inclusive for every market and also give our company an efficient way to convert the data.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were referred by a friend who had used their services before. We previewed their work while a trusted source conveyed their skills.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

AIST built us a web platform to collect a broad range of data inputs and output them in a clear format. They also built us a system to track our projects and deliver them to customers, which gives us and our customers access to the information.

What was the team composition?

We communicated with the owner of the company, who then delegated tasks to his various team members.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This project and the work that they did for us will completely change our business model and revolutionize not only our company but hopefully the industry as a whole.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project management went through our business associate, who communicated directly with AIST Global. We were able to communicate our thoughts and see results with very little delay.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Our industry is very specific, and so were the requests we made of AIST Global. They didn’t come in understanding our business goals, yet they were able to fill in the gaps in the best way possible. We gave them general directions and they produced a project that was better than we could imagine.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, we’re completely satisfied.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the managing partner at Yans Media, an animated explainer company. We create corporate marketing videos for agencies, brands, and startups.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AIST Global?

We were looking for a company that would help with developing a new website, making it fresh, well-designed, and fast. Another challenge was that we had already done a lot of SEO and other marketing for the old site, so the entire overhaul process was very fragile, and any mistake could ruin our efforts.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to develop a new website, make it more inbound marketing friendly, and create a fresher look.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found AIST Global by word of mouth. However, we were very picky in the selection process, as our website is the company's primary point of contact with our potential customers.

We considered several other companies, among them, some bigger names in the industry. In the end, we decided to hire an independent consultant to evaluate the quality and pricing of potential vendors, as we aren’t tech savvy. We ended up choosing AIST Global due to their quality and pricing, as well as their ability to meet our deadlines.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

By the end of 2018, we felt like we needed a new website that’s faster and more user-friendly. AIST Global developed the new site, optimized it for inbound marketing, and renewed its design.

We had some limitations with editing and adding content to our website because of the existing SEO work we had, which was very uncomfortable given that we’re a design studio. Since we do a lot of content marketing, those components were vital for us. Hrayr (CEO, AIST Global) suggested going with Divi—a WordPress-based page builder—since it’s the most flexible editor and designers enjoy working with it.

What was the team composition?

My main contact person was Hrayr. He handled all the processes.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website looks fantastic, and the speed is incredible, especially since we have a lot of media content on it as a design studio. The best thing is that we have more inquiries and business because the website's map is intelligent.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

I had a single contact person. He collected all feedback and suggested solutions. He’d consult with his team, and they’d do all the brainstorming work, which saved a lot of my time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Most web development companies are just tech oriented. AIST Global, on the other hand, understands that there are marketing objectives behind every tech goal.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I didn’t see any. I’m very happy with our results.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a client of AIST Global.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AIST Global?

We hired AIST Global to develop an online knowledge transfer and educational platform.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal for this project was to develop the first version of a training platform we could present to partners and startup programs.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We selected AIST Global as a vendor based on cost and quality considerations.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We developed a web-based online training platform that will allow students to find advisers and vice versa.

What was the team composition?

The team included designers, web developers, and a project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

AIST Global gave us an excellent performance in terms of speed. The development went quickly and efficiently. This project is still ongoing, but we already have received interest from new partners. Working with AIST Global helped us increase interest among potential clients.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

AIST Global assigned us an experienced project manager that enabled very quick and efficient collaboration.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

AIST Global was cost-effective, honest, and fast. This company gave us confidence and sustainability for our future maintenance.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Online consultancy is an area of improvement for them. They could do more remote work with their clients.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the co-founder of WallysList, a contractor sourcing platform for homeowners. Users can hire resources such as housecleaners, general contractors, plumbers, HVAC and electricians.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AIST Global?

AIST Global has been our web development partner for seven years. I most recently engaged with them to build our new sourcing platform. I wanted to get the solution to market as quickly as possible.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I’ve worked with them on a few different projects for about seven years. For each project, I provide mockups and guidelines, and the team is responsible for development. We began work on WallysList after we shut down my previous project, an onboarding and continuing education platform for home healthcare; the solution had been losing clients. Originally, AIST Global worked with me to develop an education-based module that stored materials for real estate industry stakeholders.

What is the team composition?

I interface with Hrayr (Founder, AIST Global) five times a week and the project manager about twice a week.

How did you come to work with AIST Global?

Hrayr stood out during my search for potential web development partners. I contacted several vendors through freelancing websites. Over the course of a few weeks, Hrayr was diligent and provided thoughtful answers to my questions while others vendors dropped out of contact. He was definitely the man for the job.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $100,000 on the platform’s buildout.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2017 and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The healthcare platform was a sophisticated but user-friendly solution. AIST Global made an intuitive and functional platform for over 1500 home healthcare workers. The solution had a high number of daily users—we onboarded about 35 new people per month—but we only submitted one support request per quarter. AIST Global also built an online signature model, which saved us money each month. They develop creative architectures and have delivered everything I’ve envisioned or requested.

How did AIST Global perform from a project management standpoint?

They are very responsive, even with a 10-hour time difference. I’m able to get in touch with them so long as I am mindful of their hours. Hrayr is usually available late at night. Even when we can’t communicate in real time, online messaging and email work well. I’ve had problems communicating with other vendors, but not with them. I have noticed cultural differences, but that’s never been an issue.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They build clean code at a very fair price. If they need to revise something, they do it on their own nickel. They’re honest and easygoing, but I know they’ll get the job done. I have worked with other vendors who were not as easygoing or fair. That’s why I intend to retain AIST Global for the long term. They have strong English skills and they understand American cultural and business norms. I don’t know the coding world, but I can’t think of an area where they don’t stand out.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I know they’re building as fast as they can, but sometimes I think they could put a little bit more focus on my platform. Sometimes I’ll give them a direction and they will produce something that isn’t quite what I asked for, but if I ask them to go back they always do. They like to code creatively and most of the time that’s fine and sometimes it’s not what I asked for. But that’s more on me because if you just give coders mockups they’re going to design a little bit differently than what you anticipated.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them to do their job and do it well. Allow them time but communicate consistently and make any changes to their work as it’s being completed.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the managing director of Out of the Box Innovations Ltd., a digital marketing agency that specializes in the energy industry. I'm also widely involved with other web-based energy companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AIST Global?

We needed support in HTML, PHP, and Laravel web development, web design, and website server administration. We also required email server admin and programming and technical troubleshooting.

What were your goals for this project?

Our relationship has been going on for a long time and has had a range of projects and goals over the years. They’ve taken over broken projects from other companies and solved our problems. We were looking to do so at a much lower hourly rate.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We advertised the first project on Upwork and after narrowing the applicants down to three, we went for AIST because of their pricing and the simplicity with which they answered our questions.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

They've continuously fixed bugs, breaches, and flaws on multiple websites for the past two and a half years. They also rebuilt two complex websites and made a couple of custom sites from scratch.

They took an old technical forum that had been unsuccessfully rebuilt by another development company. The list of bugs ran into the hundreds and parts of the site were completely broken. They rebuilt and refactored the code, then proceeded to fix every issue.

They stayed on as our regular developers to create new features and sections. This included a broken plug-in on complex and multi-faceted search feature and database for one of our WordPress sites. They suggested creating a separate website with the same features, but one that wouldn't clash with WordPress updates. We've never had a problem with this search database since.

What was the team composition?

I've dealt directly with Hrayr (Director, AIST Global) and Liana (Project Manager, AIST Global). I'm aware of a team structure in the background, but prefer to deal with one person.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We're startup bootstrappers and they've been able to produce code at prices we can afford. We've run experiments and added features that wouldn't have been possible with higher priced developers.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

I've dealt with one person at a time, which works well. Each time a milestone is presented, we give feedback and a list of changes. That keeps happening until we're satisfied.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They err on the side of doing extra work in the event of a miscommunication. They're available whenever we need them, even at the high levels of the company.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

The only thing I'd ask is for more checks before presenting work to me. While everything gets fixed really quickly, I often think that one last check by a supervisor or manager could easily identify half the issues that I need to bring to their attention. This would help me conserve my time.