Apriorit

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a cyber security company focusing on deception. We have a team of around 45 people globally and have served 300 worldwide customers to date, including Fortune 500 companies and others.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Apriorit?

We sometimes use a contractor to accelerate some of our development processes.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve worked with them several times. One project was developing a tool to help defend ransomware for Windows. Part of it was developed in .NET and part was in C. They developed most of the solution with us. We designed it but didn’t have resources in our R&D, so we asked them to take the project from concept to delivery.

We published several versions—the first of which was done in two or three months. We had to make adaptations and have them update the software due to ransomware’s ever-changing behavior. We also expanded our capabilities based on customer requests. They were responsible for testing the code for bugs since they developed it. They worked very closely with our research team and did a good job.

What is the team composition?

They had a project manager and a CTO who was the head of the team and strong in technology.

How did you come to work with Apriorit?

A friend of mine who had also worked with them referred them to me.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent around $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them on this project in January 2016 and finished in May 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were successful in running hundreds of ransomware in the system. Each project they’ve worked on has been very successful. They’re really professional. They’ve never disappointed me because of their fast reactivity and ability to stick to timelines. I’ve never had complaints from my staff about Apriorit, which tells me that they’re a strong team.

How did Apriorit perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is one of their strengths. Their project manager is able to translate the business logic and development challenges effectively. They’re also in charge of verifying whether the customer actually receives what they’re paying for.

They have someone who manages their business in the U.S., which is important because they actually know the requirements. He even came to San Francisco from New York to meet me in person.

They begin by confirming that they’re able to do a project. After the design is finished—either on their side or the customer’s—and finalized, they provide a project document which outlines milestones, developer capabilities, time for development, and QA testing. It’s all very professional and the start and finish of every project is clear.

The biggest problem in working with offshore teams is not knowing when they’ll finish a project. I’ve worked with four other groups, but I keep coming back to Apriorit because I know what I’m going to get. They’ve never missed a deadline.

They use Excel and PDF reports. They have a monthly session to discuss progress and present us with what they’ve done so far. Whether it’s a mockup or mid-project progress, they always give us a chance to look at the code. It’s good to see because you know that someone is working and doing something rather than just reporting via email. There’s more interaction when you get involved and learn how they work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very strong in development of kernel drivers and other Windows-related things that Microsoft never publishes documentation on. They’re phenomenal in this area.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I really enjoy working with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Pay them for what you need and don’t try to cut the price just because they’re offshore. They’re not expensive and don’t like to negotiate because their prices are already very affordable. They cost 50% less than other companies I’ve received quotes from.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of a company that develops products mainly in the IT security field. We have customers worldwide, and I’m in charge of managing the product good and development group.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Apriorit?

Some of the research and development (R&D) we do requires reverse engineering and research on proprietary formats and algorithms. We wanted to accelerate this R&D, so we began looking for a partner to augment our internal team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Apriorit required very little oversight on our part. Their project manager interviewed our staff and then built out the requirements for the project. They sent me a scope of work based on those interviews, we finalized the plan, and then they executed on it. They work in .NET and Python.

What is the team composition?

We interact with the account and project managers and one developer when we need to talk about technical work.

How did you come to work with Apriorit?

They contacted me during a conference. They approached our booth and offered their services, and we selected them due to their experience with IT security. They know how to develop security features, they understand a vast range of technologies, and they can perform low-level debugging and reverse engineering.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began in April 2017, and we’re planning on having them launch additional projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They deliver on time, they’re responsive, and I’m happy with their work. We have a good partnership, and I’d work with them again. The code quality and dev work are decent, and if there are issues, they adapt accordingly.

How did Apriorit perform from a project management standpoint?

They provide weekly updates as necessary, and they’re willing to have status phone calls when we ask. We mainly communicate via Skype, and we have a friendly relationship; they don’t require a lot of my attention. They provide full visibility to their progress and offer a post-delivery warranty to fix issues found afterward.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re dedicated to their clients. Instead of just asking for instructions, they work with the customer to build requirements and plans, which was helpful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Have as many conversations as possible to be fully aligned so you can better focus on the product and development.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of a security company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Apriorit?

We were building an endpoint security detection product for Windows, but it’s difficult to create a quality, stable kernel-level driver. We wanted to find a partner who could help but who was also affordable.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our main goal was to create a solution for malware protection. Apriorit’s work is based on C++, and the current architecture is post-Vista, although it could easily be adapted for pre-Vista. The product uses the Windows driver development kit.

The only way to get certain crucial data is to be at the kernel level, and the only way to do it efficiently at runtime is at the kernel level. Over time, that evolved into our current problem, which is looking at defects in the actual kernel itself at Ring 0.

Typically, I describe my requirements, they come back with refinements, I approve, and then they develop and test it.  They deliver both the finished product as well as a comprehensive spreadsheet that describes the quality and stability tests of their end product release.

What is the team composition?

They assigned a kernel developer, a QA person, and a project manager. When we go through an engagement, I work with the project manager.

How did you come to work with Apriorit?

I was doing research online and I came across a paper they wrote. They had some sample code in it to test, and what they were delivering was far easier to consume than anything else I'd come across, and it spoke to their openness and depth of knowledge.

I reached out to them with a request for information, and I provided a high-level description of the problem we were trying to solve. They responded quickly and satisfied our first scope, so we increased it and they still satisfied. After that, we committed to a long-term engagement with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $95,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in August 2016, and the partnership is ongoing. We plan to increase the scope of that contract substantially in the coming months.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We test the product against a series of platforms and then distribute it to our customer base. We trust their QA; we’ve had a trivial number of failures, and most are due to user error. The other problems are usually because we’ve asked them to basically invent something brand new, and there’s no reference for it. Even then, though, my customer satisfaction rate is extraordinary.

How did Apriorit perform from a project management standpoint?

Apriorit always provides a clear timeline, and they never miss a deadline. They’re responsive and proactive, making recommendations and doing research without being asked and without charging extra.

We mainly communicate via email and sometimes Skype.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve been in this business for 20 years and worked with numerous developers, and Apriorit is far better than everybody else. They’re clear, articulate, and flexible. If I ask them to get on Skype, they will, even at odd hours. They take on urgent tasks immediately, and they’re honest about their skillsets and limitations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I'm delighted with them. It's been a year and a half, and I have no complaints. They're incredibly fair people.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

To get the maximum value, develop a rapport and build test. The faster you do, the more open you’ll be able to be, and the more open you’re able to be, the faster you get quality results. They’ll deliver per specifications no matter what, but a good relationship means they’ll be comfortable offering more alternatives and suggestions, which are always helpful.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I head up project development in the engineering department for a company that sells cloud content security products. Our platform brings together various standalone security products in the web, email, and cloud space into one unified dashboard.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Apriorit?

We needed a partner with expertise in Windows operating systems, which we didn’t have as an in-house skill. Within our web security product, we had to develop an agent (Windows software that would run on standalone PCs) that would intercept web traffic. So, whenever anything made an outbound web request, we needed a way to intercept those requests and send them onto our cloud service to make a decision as to whether it was acceptable or not. This required a deep knowledge of the Windows environment and driver development, which was out of our comfort zone, so we searched for external help.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When we started back in 2009, the process was simple: we prepared an initial scope of requirements list, and, as part of that initial analysis, Apriorit created a proof of concept (PoC) to determine the project’s feasibility.

Over the years, we’ve moved to other projects, like the Windows driver. it's a small piece of software that runs on your windows PC as a background service. As you use any software connecting out to the Internet, it intercepts the traffic, sending it to our cloud service where we analyze it and then approve its request or not. The driver provides web filtering service so that customers can, for example, block time-wasting sites or adult content at different times of the day. Apriorit’s technology lets us look for malware-infected websites or malware that might have triggered on the network, and it offers other functionalities like identifying users.

We recently had Apriorit build the same product but for Mac OS, and now we maintain those two products with them; we provide enhancements, bug fixes, and maintenance. We also have a small team responsible for our email security product, which is the other major project that we have.

The Windows product uses Visual C++, the Mac is Objective-C, and the email product is a C#.NET platform. Originally, we just had them writing code and we did QA ourselves, but we’ve started having them include QA in their team, and it’s worked out well.

What is the team composition?

We have a dedicated project manager who is our main point of contact and who takes care of the rest of the team. We have around eight developers on retainer, and I’ll usually deal with them directly if there’s a particularly complex issue that needs to be resolved.

How did you come to work with Apriorit?

We found them through a LinkedIn advertisement. I noticed they were skilled in low-level driver-related work, and a lot of other service providers focused on higher-level, which I didn’t need.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent around $1.5 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started around June 2009, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don't have official metrics, but they always do good work in a short amount of time.  They fix bugs quickly, and they properly maintain what’s already been built.

How did Apriorit perform from a project management standpoint?

They're quite good at writing a brief, and they almost always deliver on their quoted estimate. The project manager emails me a weekly report, which lists what work each developer or QA people is doing so I can keep an eye on it. We predominantly use Jira, email, Skype, and Slack. I’ve visited them in person, as well, but they’re flexible in how you want to work and communicate with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They don't just do what you ask; they research the problem and your proposed solution. If they find a better idea, they’ll tell you, and that adds a lot of benefit to their work. Other agencies usually just deliver what you ask, regardless if they think it’ll work or not. Apriorit also knows how to communicate incredibly well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They shouldn't be afraid to come forward and say if they need more resources. It would be good for them to be a bit more transparent on their limitations so that, as partners, we could work together to overcome any issues.  Overall, though, it’s been a good relationship.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Be clear with what you want to achieve because they’ll ask for details right away. You’ll need more than just broad brush strokes because they’re heavily engineer-focused, so you’ll need to point them in the exact right direction to best utilize their skills.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are developing solutions related to low-level development, security, and virtualization for Windows operating systems. I am the CEO and also in charge of the technical side.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Apriorit?

We were looking for qualified development manpower.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had an initial talk about our technical needs with their CEO, who is technical himself, after which they assigned a developer to us.

The initial engagement was around some specific Android, and later iOS, applications in the security field. Their work involved not just creating apps, but interacting with the operating system itself. Later on, they also helped us with other projects, for Chrome extensions, Windows, and Linux.

What is the team dynamic?

We initially had a one-person team and extended it to more and more members. We needed a burst of resources, and they were able to increase the team quickly, as well as decrease it back to normal after finishing the project.

We were assigned a project manager and interacted with the other people on the team as well. Currently, we have 3 resources — 2 part-time developers and a tester — plus the account manager, all of whom are housed at their offices.

How did you come to work with Apriorit?

I had seen some articles published by their members on development sites, including some on Code Project. The content was in a field I was interested in, namely low-level development, close to hardware and drivers. I contacted a few people and companies and decided that Apriorit would be the best choice. I tested them, and it turned out to be true.

They did not require advance payment or a hard commitment from the start but rather trusted us.

How much have you invested with them?

The project size has been around $300,000 across 4 years. There have been times when the monthly cost was higher, and times when it was lower.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the collaboration in August 2013. The initial project finished, but we have been working on a monthly basis, since then.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a contractor relationship, but I consider them to be a part of our team. Success is always a difficult thing to measure when it comes to product development, because it doesn’t directly translate into numbers. In general, I’ve worked with a variety of software development companies and the fact that I’ve stuck with Apriorit for 4 years, even though not an absolute proof, is the best feedback I can give.

How did Apriorit perform from a project management standpoint?

They never say no and have always been flexible and professional. Their project managers have taken away many of the headaches associated with software development and I’ve learned to trust that, if I require something from them, I will receive a reply and it will be done.

Their QA [quality assurance] people are excellent; I can give them any mission and they will figure out how to do it. Basically, they’re all capable of learning things on-the-fly, which is the most important part. Some deliverables took longer to complete, but we have had projects requiring research, so the results would have been the same for many other teams.

We used to have Skype calls, but I changed it to email communication as I think it’s a better approach. Their written English is good, but phone conversations can be a bit more challenging or rather require more effort.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to learn things as they go. I’ve worked with developers from around the world and Apriorit is my top choice. They are the only contracting developer I’m still working with.

I’ve tried using other parties, not because I was unhappy with them, but because I needed additional, unrelated product development. After trying a Ukrainian company, I made the decision to move that project to Apriorit too.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not really. Whenever there was an issue, I mentioned it to them, and they fixed it.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

It’s important to create a good connection with each team member and not to deal with them as just another outsourcing group where you only communicate with the project managers. Giving feedback to each team member individually, not keeping too much distance, and asking questions are important. The account manager shouldn’t be the only contact.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We offer an enhanced CRM [customer relationship management] designed for the indirect channel retail process of major satellite, cable, and internet providers. I was the president of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Apriorit?

We wanted to find a comprehensive outsourced solution.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Apriorit provided enhancements to our web CRM. It was a 13-year-old application, so it was completely refactored. We also set up a full research and development team that was responsible for creating new features.

Apriorit offered a business analyst, project managers, developers, and a quality assurance team housed within one area. They were responsible for code quality and deployment schedules. Apriorit provided us a turnkey and cost effective solution. They met all of their objectives and worked efficiently, with fewer errors than our domestic engineers.

Initially, Apriorit worked in collaboration with our in-house engineers, but we ended up replacing our internal team entirely.

We worked with a total of 11 people from Apriorit. I mainly interacted with the business analyst and project managers. Other people from our company also interacted with the engineers, given that we drive the workforce allocation.

How did you come to work with Apriorit?

We met Apriorit as a personal referral from someone who had been happy with the results achieved by Apriorit. We had an interview with their company and decided to assign a test project for one developer. We then moved up to 2 developers across different 2 projects and then expanded to bug fixing, research and development, and quality assurance activities.

How much have you invested with Apriorit?

We have spent $50,000 per month on Apriorit's services for the last 2 years.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working with Apriorit for over 2 years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Subjectively, I can say that releases were always made on-time. The feature load was as expected. Apriorit had nominal staff turnover and they always handled retraining and sourcing for their resources.

How did Apriorit perform from a project management standpoint?

We made releases every 2 weeks and were moving towards continuous delivery. Apriorit's pace was phenomenal.

We used Gemini Tracker from Countersoft, which is similar to Jira. All tickets were entered into this system, prioritized into our sprints, and moved through the development process. We used the tool for release scheduling.

What did you find most impressive about Apriorit?

Apriorit accommodated us through an 8-9-hour time zone shift. We also appreciated their ability to communicate in English, take directions and ask questions, without following requirements blindly. If something did not make sense, Apriorit wouldn't simply build it. They would ask questions and remain proactive in engaging the product owner. Apriorit has always been conscientious and customer-centric. I visited their offices 4 times during our 2-year collaboration and found Apriorit's team to be very personable. Apriorit has a 300-person team, so they have a great breadth of resources.

I also appreciated Apriorit's ability to understand requirements. We built a very complex CRM, which was actually a combination of an ERP [enterprise resource planning], POS [point of sale], and CRM. It had a highly coupled stack. Apriorit's ability to understand a 13-year-old legacy application, and maintaining and enhancing it, was completely superior.

Apriorit is based in Dnipro, Ukraine, which manages its own internet and electrical power. This meant that we never had challenges with internet connectivity.

Are there any areas Apriorit could improve?

Any customer looking to hire Apriorit should have a good product vision and strategy. The pace that Apriorit's business analysis, project management, and quality assurance teams can run at can be staggering. We had trouble keeping them busy, and Apriorit kept churning out deliverables at remarkable quality.

Having a product owner act as a single voice is also important. These are all normal business practices. The most valuable factor for us was an 18-month vision phase, followed by month-to-month looks at our strategy and what marketable features we wanted to deploy. We built requirements and tests accordingly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We build software which competes with Citrix and VMware, utilizing remote desktop protocols. I was the project lead while working with Apriorit. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Apriorit?

We originally contacted Apriorit because we needed a developer with experience in networking and display protocols. They had done a lot of reverse engineering in this area and it was one of the things that Apriorit initially touted. We had been doing this kind of work ourselves and needed to expand our team in a cost-effective way.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We build our own software. Apriorit provided development for iOS, Android, Mac, and Linux, creating what we called a connector, which established remote connections to our backend servers. Apriorit is in charge of the client piece of our software. We also have a Windows-based component, which is developed in-house.

Apriorit helped us add some protocol enhancements, like flash and USB redirection. These components go across all connective versions. Apriorit built both the server and client pieces for various connectors.

Apriorit also provided a good bit of quality assurance work for us. At its peak, my team was comprised of 60% in-house resources and 40% resources from Apriorit. They accounted for almost half of our team. At most, Apriorit provided us with an 18-person team, split between development and quality assurance, almost in half, but favoring the development side.

How did you come to work with Apriorit?

We found Apriorit through online research. We have worked with 4 different companies, settling on Apriorit after around a year. We had been working on other items before finding Apriorit, which didn't turn out very well. We came to identify Apriorit as the best option, started working with them and gradually expanded their involvement. We have had a good relationship with Apriorit's owner. He has always been very flexible, has had good ideas, and made sure that the Apriorit team was made up of smart people, up-to-date with various technologies used by companies. It has been very difficult for us to imagine starting again with another contracting firm. The technology we've worked on was quite unique, and Apriorit also learned a lot by working on the project with us. To spin this back up with another team would have taken us at least a year, without a guarantee that we'd receive the same level of competence.

How much have you invested with Apriorit?

The cost of Apriorit's services has come up to 1 million dollars per year, for the last 3-4 years.

What is the status of this engagement?

We initially got in touch with Apriorit 8 years ago.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've had a good overall relationship with Apriorit. It was a bit rocky in the beginning. We started out doing project-based work, but it was not a well-managed process. We threw some tasks at Apriorit, asking for ports to Mac or Linux for example, without giving them a lot of clarity. We created a bit of a headache for ourselves, making branches of code which quickly became diverged. We came to assign a development leader to the project in order to get things back to a single codebase. This helped us a lot. We started having bi-weekly meeting with Apriorit's team and they came to work as an extension of our team from that point on, as opposed to doing project work. We've been working like this for the last 5 years.

Apriorit's leader has also been very good at failing. Staff turnover has been very light, with only 5 developer changes during the last 8 years. Most of the people we're working with at the moment have been around since the beginning. Retaining those people for that long has been amazing. Most of them are relatively young, which means that they want to move their careers quickly. When we did lose a team member, Apriorit's principal has made sure that we'd have a good person to fill the spot, with similar skills.

We've been working on the same project with Apriorit from the start, namely building the connectors for our solution, making incremental improvements. We've created one of the best products on the market, thanks partly to Apriorit and their dedication to quality. Our product has recently gone into maintenance mode due to our company being acquired by a former competitor.

How did Apriorit perform from a project management standpoint?

Apriorit was very good in terms of meeting deadlines. They were an extension of our team, so Apriorit operated more in lines with this relationship, as opposed to doing project-based work. We kept release schedules which Apriorit always respected, delivering good quality.

We used Team Foundation Server as our main collaboration tool for all aspects of the project, including bug tracking. I know that Apriorit uses other tools internally as well.

What did you find most impressive about Apriorit?

What is distinct about Apriorit's practice is the level of very highly skilled developers, not only in terms of app or database builders, but across numerous technologies. Apriorit is very good at creating low-level protocols for security, being able to work at OS level. I appreciated Apriorit's depth of knowledge and skill.

Are there any areas Apriorit could improve?

We have learned that if work is going to be contracted to a third party, the project scope needs to be well-defined. If we gave Apriorit something which was open-ended or had ambiguities, we sometimes didn't receive what we wanted and had to unwind what was built. It worked better for us to bring in Apriorit as a part of our team, as opposed to simply doing project-based work. Our kind of development didn't fit very well with the latter approach. We needed people on our team which were capable of making decisions and incremental improvements through experimentation and trial-and-error. It wasn't the type of work that we could hand off to Apriorit and have them create a magical outcome or improve something by 35%, if we didn't know that the goal was really possible. We only used Apriorit as a traditional contractor in the beginning, but ended up changing the way in which we worked, which turned out better for us.

BACKGROUND

Please introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a software development company working for fulfillment-based businesses, specifically those handling installations and sales. This can include direct TV, security systems, and so on. I'm the vice president of development. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Apriorit?

We needed to find a group of engineers that could work on our products. We have our own United States-based team, but wanted another one within a different time zone, that could work on issues through the night. We were trying to improve our efficiency by adapting that method but didn't want to go through the process of hiring new on-site staff for those off-hours. Outsourcing seemed like the best alternative. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Apriorit helped us with all sides of development. We are working with a business analyst from Apriorit who is in charge of our designs. We hire out developers and project managers from Apriorit as well as quality assurance testers. At peak capacity, we've worked with 13 to 15 resources from Apriorit.

We've worked on multiple projects with Apriorit, all for the same software platform. We have developed an ERP [enterprise resource planning], data-driven, software-as-a-service solution. It does everything from inventorying to HR, payroll, and job management. It integrates with other providers and runs billing for customers, acting as an end-to-end solution.

Apriorit is in charge of integrating APIs [application programming interfaces] based on the requirements set by our internal team. Apriorit doesn't work directly with third parties.

How did you come to work with Apriorit?

We tried multiple different solutions, and Apriorit's was the first one that worked for us. We spent two weeks on-site with their team two years ago. After an initial six-month collaboration, we saw that we would have a successful relationship and decided that it would be advantageous to meet the engineers and project managers from Apriorit in-person. It was beneficial to us to understand their culture. We plan to visit Apriorit again in October [2016].

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total development cost with Apriorit so far has been around $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working with Apriorit for three years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Apriorit has a dedicated, hardworking team. They're always willing to work extra hours and work on holidays if we have an issue. I have nothing but great things to say about the engineers and our project manager from Apriorit. Whenever I bring something up, such as performance issues with a certain resource, Apriorit will be quick to either fix the situation or find another person for our team.

Apriorit keeps internal metrics on engineer productivity, which is quite astounding. They work hard to ensure that every member is productive. Apriorit definitely does not like not having enough work. We have dedicated developers who we engage for a full month, regardless if we have enough work for them or not. Our project manager has been good at pushing us to provide enough work to fill those resources' time, so no one will be idle, even though we pay for that time just the same.

Apriorit writes good-quality code. Our business analyst in particular is absolutely amazing. She is dedicated, driven, and I couldn't ask for someone better. The amount of story points that we've gotten every month, compared to onshore engineers, is much higher at Apriorit. Their velocity and capabilities are excellent.

How did Apriorit perform from a project management standpoint?

Apriorit's team speaks English well, which allows me to talk to every one of our resources at least three times each week. They're able to collaborate with our user acceptance tester and our agile support manager about every issue.

We have safeguards on our side through which we ensure that schedules are kept. Our work cycles are only two weeks long, so we're a very rapid deployment company. There has never been a big solution that took Apriorit six months to complete before we saw anything. They've always been very good at staying on time. We use a ticketing software called Countersoft and also have a homegrown solution for project tracking.

What distinguishes Apriorit from other providers?

From end to end, Apriorit takes projects on and doesn't allow for gaps or miscommunications. From our business analyst to the quality assurance tester, Apriorit makes sure that the cycle is consistent and well laid out. This has been the biggest difference between them and other companies. Apriorit has never let the ball drop and always made sure that the solution was ready. Apriorit's team has a lot of pride in their work, which has shown.

Is there anything Apriorit could have improved or done differently?

We always experienced issues, but this is the nature of the business. Every month, we have a retrospective meeting with Apriorit, talking about development environments and the cycles themselves, and how they could have been made better. We consistently make changes, and Apriorit has been very adaptive and open to talk about problems they've seen from their side, coming up with solutions for this. We have worked together collaboratively in order to make sure that we have the best environment possible. Particular engineers have performed below the level we expected. Apriorit was quick to resolve the situation.

Clients looking to work with Apriorit should consider shorter release cycles and constant communication with engineers. The biggest reason for our success has been that we haven't simply thrown Apriorit a project and walked away from it. We have an agile support manager and have daily standup meetings with Apriorit, involving our onshore engineers, product managers and the agile support manager. We never simply throw Apriorit a project and walk away. We have resources dedicated to managing the relationship, ensuring that the standard agile practices are in place. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the artist of an NFT art collection company. We create NFT art pieces.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Apriorit?

We needed help with blockchain development on the Ethereum network.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Apriorit has helped us develop and implement our smart contract. Initially, we talked with them about the idea behind our collection and what we wanted on the smart contract.

As for the technology stack, Apriorit has built this smart contract using a new language on the Ethereum network, so they've basically written the code from scratch on the Ethereum blockchain. Since creating the smart contract, Apriorit has helped us make changes as needed.

What is the team composition?

We mostly work with three team members from Apriorit. At one point, 5–6 teammates from Apriorit were involved in the project, doing different things.

How did you come to work with Apriorit?

We found them online. We had a lot of calls with different companies to find the one that could code a smart contract on the Ethereum network. Apriorit seemed to be very professional, kind, and knowledgeable about what they were doing. Thus, after interviewing around 25 other companies from around the world, we started working with Apriorit.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent between $10,000–$25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2021, and the engagement is ongoing. Although the smart contract has been launched, we occasionally ask for changes, so we still work with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Apriorit has developed our smart contract very well, and we haven't run into too many issues, so the outcome has been positive.

How did Apriorit perform from a project management standpoint?

Of course, the budget has fluctuated depending on the changes we've made, but Apriorit has been very capable of adapting to our requests. One time, we ran into an issue that wasn't calculated, but their team handled it very well and took part of the responsibility. The blockchain world is very new, so this is also a very new project for them. However, they've done very well, and they've offered compensation when something goes wrong.

Moreover, Appriorit's communication is very good. They've been in constant communication with our team, which is great.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

I would like to give a shout-out to Olha (Delivery Manager). She's very kind and always ready to help, and she's a great English speaker. Serhii (Senior Web Developer) is also very smart and knowledgeable. Moreover, I would also give a shout-out to Maryna (R&D Delivery Manager).

What did you find most impressive about them?

The knowledge behind Apriorit's work is outstanding. We've come up with an idea, and they've directly adapted and helped us find a solution to make that idea a reality, which is very good.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There's nothing they could improve on.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Get a clear idea and make a list of what you want to build with Apriorit because, apart from blockchain development, they can do other projects like websites and apps. Communication is always key, so being in constant communication with the team you'll work with is the most important thing to get everything well done.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Anonymous of a consulting company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Cybersecurity services

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Apriorit to accomplish?

• Application Testing
• Custom Software Development
• IT Staff Augmentation

SOLUTION

How did you find Apriorit?

Referral

Why did you select Apriorit over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Apriorit were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Apriorit provides development services for a mobile cybersecurity company. The team builds new features on the client’s products, specifically focusing on data and runtime protection.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team developed cybersecurity solutions for mobile apps

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

The management team is competent and easy to communicate with; they are always available and responsive.

What was your primary form of communication with Apriorit?

Virtual Meeting

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

The team is savvy on the topic we are working on, which is quite niche, and hard to find the right team to deal with.

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

There are no weak spots, and even if some issues have appeared, the team has reacted adequately and solved everything.