AppRoutes Services

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of an application development house. Our primary focus is the payments industry. We’ve done mobile app development and one-off consulting projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AppRoutes Services?

We were looking to partner with a quality offshore team that was cost-effective. We wanted someone who could do a great job of QA. They also had to be good at project management, with experience in Scrum development and DevOps.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AppRoutes has done multiple projects for us. For the past 2 ½ years, we’ve been working on a custom workflow application for a U.S. bank payment processor. It’s a .NET stack application with an SQL Server backend. This particular application is more custom app development.

We’ve done mobile apps with AppRoutes as well. For example, a state government client wanted a carpooling tracker application. AppRoutes helped us with the large-scale implementation of that app. For the mobile apps, they’ve used Objective C, the iOS stack, the Android tech stack, and .NET. I know they also work with other tech stacks like LAMP.

They provide design services, and we’ve done a couple of projects where we’ve used them for that. They have an excellent design team, and they’ve done really well. Getting good design services offshore is very difficult, especially in India. There are so many companies focused on technology and code that they don’t look at the user experience that much. We also have our own amazing internal designers, so we don’t use their team as much. We use them if we have overflow work.

How much have you invested with AppRoutes Services?

We’ve spent between $500,000 and $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2013. The relationship is ongoing, and we’ve expanded the team from AppRoutes. In the future, we plan on expanding their involvement for this project because it will never come to an end.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

AppRoutes is really good with mobile applications. Both of our clients have been very happy.

They’re not super large or super small. Those are the types of companies I like to work with because they give me a lot of personal attention. I’m treated as a partner and not just a client, which is one of the reasons I’ve been with them so long. They always make time for me and address my concerns. Based on my needs, they help with future growth plans and make adjustments. I have a good relationship with the executive team at AppRoutes. I’ve met with the CEO, Amit, in person, both here in the States and India.

How did AppRoutes Services perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is good, on par if not better than most of the organizations I’ve worked with. They meet deadlines.

We’ve set up an offshore development center through AppRoutes, where we have a team of developers working on the project. One of our project managers is managing the project, and a couple of developers from AppRoutes visited the States to make things go faster. That was a huge advantage since we benefit from the lower costs while still having real-time personal interaction between the developers and the clients.

What did you find most impressive about them?

AppRoutes is quite different from the other partner companies we’ve worked with. Their project management expertise is great, and they communicate well. They hire really good talent, which can be difficult in India because there are so many people in the tech industry. AppRoutes has quality developers, and the management empowers them. Everyone has access to the Internet at home as well as top-shelf mobile devices. They make themselves available to make sure everything is handled properly. For example, we have a 12-hour difference, but they are available for conference calls well into our afternoon. A lot of organizations aren’t willing to do that. Those small advantages really help the process.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are things that could be improved, but it’s difficult. It’s important to communicate often and well with AppRoutes. In the development industry, communication is key. It’s the lifeblood of our projects. Talk to them about the process of communication and set up scheduled calls. Talk on the phone and Skype a lot, especially during the initial stage of your partnership. That’s not just true with AppRoutes, but with any organization.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder of Seta. We have developed a small app called Darling – Know Your Partner for couples and people who love each other. Most men forget details about what a woman likes, so we made a list of things which partners care about being remembered, like birth dates, wedding anniversaries, first kisses, the names and birthdays of in-laws, and so on. These are small details, but they are important for making a relationship go along smoothly. It was a fun project, but it had a serious background.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AppRoutes Services?

This was my personal project within the small company I work in. We didn’t have these services in-house.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AppRoutes developed our app for iOS and Android. It’s available in 4 languages: English, French, German, and Spanish. I am multilingual myself, and I found that this would be a good functionality for other people as well. Most of our downloads have come from South America, where the main language is Spanish.

The app allows users to set reminder dates for birthdays, wedding events, and so on. It can display small profile pictures for users, and it has a backup functionality. It was not a complicated project, graphically. The main challenge was the coding.

I worked with 3-4 people from AppRoutes’ side, including a project manager, an Android developer, and a graphic designer.

How did you come to work with AppRoutes Services?

They applied for our project, we looked at their ratings, and I met Amit Garg, their CEO. There was an instantaneous understanding, and we had a nice collaboration. I also contacted other companies, looking for ones with positive ratings, but AppRoutes gave me a good impression, so I gave them the contract.

How much have you invested with AppRoutes Services?

The cost of their work was around $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with AppRoutes in 2014. The project was finished at the end of the year, or the beginning of 2015, after a round of changes. Our last update came from a change in the Android policy, which required us to link to a set of terms.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

AppRoutes was not involved in marketing or any product support; they were strictly responsible for the coding of the applications. The quality of their work has helped us attract our user base.

The app had an ad in Time Square for a short period, and it was reviewed by the History Channel, during a technical program. We have received positive ratings on Google Play and the Apple Store.

The app has worked without issue, and we’ve never had a crash. I haven’t heard any complaints about the quality of the tool or a lack in functionalities, aside from a message I received 1-2 years ago. I haven’t heard from that person since. Everything has remained functional, even after some large operating system updates.

How did AppRoutes Services perform from a project management standpoint?

They delivered everything I needed on time. When I needed to make a change, it was discussed with me transparently. I would give AppRoutes a perfect rating.

Are there any areas AppRoutes Services could improve?

I can’t think of anything that could have been a show-stopper. There were items which could have gone smoother, but this is normal for any project. In the end, everything worked, even after OS updates.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of Spice Africa, and I’m responsible for regional operations in Africa. We provide value-added services coupled with constant aggregation. We primarily serve content, such as music, that’s updated and constantly aggregated in the area. We have more than 30 music platforms supplied across Africa. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AppRoutes Services?

Content is key in our business, and we initially started 7 years ago in Africa. We had a big library of content, but we were depending on other parties. Gradually, we started aggregating content and entered into a deal with Universal Music Group, which brought us over a million tracks.

Now, managing this many tracks and publishing on various sites across different countries and language choices was a challenge. To handle our content, we needed our own CMS [content management system]. We reached out to find someone who could help us with creating a solution. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I mostly deal with Amit, the owner of the company, and occasionally with a few other people. I’m not sure how many resources were on their development team, as I was mostly concerned with delivery. The frontend team has not changed to date.

On the enterprise side, we had an opportunity with a South African transport company. They wanted a ticketing system in place, which was not our core line of business. So, we launched an experiment with AppRoutes; they were ready to help us because they had done this integration before for other clients. We now are entering phase 2 of that project.

We also hired them for several minor projects. For example, for music streaming, we wanted a CRM [customer relationship management] module, and they assigned 3 team members at their office to do that.

How did you come to work with AppRoutes Services?

At our first meeting, Amit shared an application he’d worked on. I was very impressed with the UX of that product and the energy Amit gave off while explaining the product to me. When we were evaluating agencies, I gave him a call.

We spoke with several parties, but we believed AppRoutes was the best option, primarily because of their knowledge of backend APIs. Also, their UX designs were really strong.

How much have you invested with AppRoutes Services?

We’ve done 2 major projects together, and the rest were minor projects. I think we’ve spent roughly $40,000–$50,000 altogether.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve partnered with them for over 1 ½ years, so we started in early 2016. We started talking for a month or so before beginning the work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or impact of the engagement?

They are quick learners. Even though the music space was new to them, AppRoutes managed to understand our situation in little time. In that sense, they did a good job. That was most important to us, instead of getting us involved at every stage. We needed to monitor the work initially. Later on, they took over somewhat.

How did AppRoutes Services perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication is fine. In any project—irrespective of the scale, documentation, defined scope of work, and product notes—certain challenges come up due to unknown situations or other third-party dependencies. I think those challenges were overcome, and AppRoutes communicated proactively whenever they faced issues. We try to come up with solutions together.   

Are there any areas AppRoutes Services could improve?

I was not able to get proper feedback, so I set up a meeting with Amit. I understood that we should have a bi-weekly review process, which he had implemented. Based on my concern, they tried to rectify the issue and implement a new process.