Arkbauer

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a web platform for precision cutting tools for metal manufacturing. People can search for adding tools for different machining metals, and the system shows the various suppliers for that specific tool.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Arkbauer?

We needed help with website development.

SOLUTION

What is the scope of their involvement?

We first did the project definition phase to define each part of the website. We explained to Arkbauer our security requirements and how the user should navigate the website.

We have one product with many specific parameters and different kinds of cutting tools. For example, one cutting tool helps up to 72 unique data analytics information points, so we need to be flexible in adapting the data model. In fact, one of the most important requirements of the database structure is that it’s adequate for that kind of data.

Arkbauer has used Symphony PHP framework and open source successor elastic search for development. They also take care of the site’s maintenance and hosting.

How did you come to work with Arkbauer?

Some of the co-founders found them online when we were searching for service providers. We checked Arkbauer’s portfolio and were impressed. Then, we emailed them about what we needed from the project. They were quick to respond.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent close to €70,000 (approximately $75,000 USD) so far.

What is the status of the engagement?

We began our partnership in April 2022, and it's still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve recently started the test phase with actual customers, and Arkbauer is involved. When a customer requests additional functions, we go back to them to take care of that. We’ll launch the website at the beginning of next year.

Moreover, we’re happy that we chose Arkbauer. They think about our web platform in ways we never did before starting the project. Also, they ask the right questions, which makes our work easier.

How did Arkbauer perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication with the CEO and CTO has been perfect. Nothing has gone wrong, and the team responds within one day. Overall, we’re very happy with them.

We’ve worked with them using Slack, GitLab, and Jira.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We love how responsive they are; they never keep us waiting. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything right now.

Any advice for potential customers?

I suggest working with them on small projects. Also, go into the project definition phase with them to understand how they work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a software company that specializes in the hospitality sector.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Arkbauer?

We hired Arkbauer for continuous cooperation around our development needs. They are acting as our contracting partners.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Arkbauer develops modules, core applications, and other products for us. We have an internal development team, but we outsource the biggest portion of our projects to their agency. We begin each endeavor with a set of ideas or goals which we then outline into a scope. Their team then helps us brainstorm for possible solutions before they go into structuring the backend. 

One of our most recent projects involved building a web and mobile app and additional modules. It was meant specifically for housekeeping operations within the hospitality industry. Arkbauer developed the mobile app for iOS and Android devices.

What is the team composition?

We have 2–3 people permanently working with us, but depending on the size of the project, we can bring in more developers from Arkbauer. 

How did you come to work with Arkbauer?

We found Arkbauer online when we were searching for companies that could take over portions of our development projects. We presented them and other agencies with our business case and left them to analyze the problem. The best proposal for a solution was given by Arkbauer, so we chose them over the other providers.

How much have you invested with them?

The project costs around €25,000–€50,000 (approximately $29,000–$58,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the partnership early in 2021 and we’re still working with the team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Customers who’ve begun to use the app that Arkbauer created have given 100% positive feedback. 

How did Arkbauer perform from a project management standpoint?

We work very closely with the Arkbauer team and we really appreciate that they’ve allowed us to micromanage. Ours is a very productive relationship in that they bring in a lot of technical knowledge while we provide industry-specific input. They proactively contribute their ideas and possess great communication skills. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive thing about Arkbauer is their ability to adapt to the project’s requirements. They’re well-attuned to our internal workflows and communication practices, which is quite hard for an agency that works with several different clients at a time. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing bad I can say about Arkbauer. They’re doing great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Outline and define what you want. Be very specific about your requirements as well. You can definitely leave the rest to Arkbauer so long as you lay out ideas for them to work with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and managing partner of a returns management company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Arkbauer?

We were looking for a company that could build our SaaS platform from scratch.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Arkbauer’s initial services have centered around conducting consulting sessions to help us grasp the whole concept and vision of the product. We’ve then proceeded to the development stage, creating a platform that aims to manage our e-commerce transactions. Arbauer utilizes PHP as the main tool for our backend, and they use other specific frameworks to manage our frontend. The functionalities are created to streamline the logistics part of our business.

What is the team composition?

There’s no fixed number — they pull resources from their team depending on our development needs.

How did you come to work with Arkbauer?

Initially, we interviewed a number of potential partners. It wasn’t until we came across a German business network that we saw Arkbauer’s profile. We were happy to hire their team because they showed great willingness to help us and understand our company’s needs.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent more than $200,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our project started in June 2019, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We consistently receive positive feedback from our employees and customers regarding the platform's performance. I don’t really have the numbers, but our main metric is the organic and great feedback from different people.

How did Arkbauer perform from a project management standpoint?

We mainly use Jira to track the project’s progress. Arkbauer delivers everything perfectly and promptly. They resolve all issues as soon as they are made aware of them, and we truly appreciate that from a project management perspective.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s their dedication to delivering a great product while rewarding us with a great working experience. Arkbauer tries their best to understand our vision instead of simply asking us for their tasks — they really try to find the best solutions that fit our business needs. Additionally, they are a knowledgeable team, and that helps them build a good product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think we’ve encountered any. They’ve exceeded our expectations, and they surely outperform their competitors in the market.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s important to know what you truly want to achieve, so you can set realistic targets. As soon as you give them that, Arkbauer will do their homework and help you get the right results.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Snores Ltd., a furniture manufacturing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Arkbauer?

We needed a company to create a web system for us. We had tried another company, which was much cheaper but didn’t get the desired result.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built a Shopify solution that’s integrated with Zoho and Amazon. The site also includes features that streamline the shipping process such as automatically generating shipping labels and invoices. 

What is the team composition?

There was a project manager and a technician.

How did you come to work with Arkbauer?

I contacted Arkbauer after our engagement with a previous vendor didn’t work out.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about €65,000-€70,000 (approximately $70,445-$75,871 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement lasted from December 2018–January 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was successful, and our team is very satisfied with the product.

How did Arkbauer perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was very good. They had a dedicated project manager who we could contact if there were any issues. They were communicative and worked closely with us, especially when there were changes or issues. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have strong communication skills. They kept us informed and provided exceptional service. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only issue we had was with FedEx integration. They were able to successfully integrate it with our solution, but it took longer than expected. It was their first time integrating FedEx and Shopify so there was a bit of a learning curve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Work closely with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Carelinks Ministries is a Christian organization involved in publishing religious literature, particularly bibles. I was the one who dealt with Arkbauer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Arkbauer?

I was looking for someone who could turn our material into an app. I looked at different tenders and chose Arkbauer. I was absolutely delighted with how they did everything.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Arkbauer developed an Android and iOS app for us. It was a fairly complicated app (or I thought it was), namely a bible with commentaries on every verse. 

Arkbauer built a search functionality for it, as well as a study course for Bible basics. The app has 10 studies split into five sections, each one with text and audio. Each chapter has a video associated with it.

There are about 31,000 verses in the Bible, and the idea was to be able to tap on any of them and see commentary. There are 1,100 chapters, and there are three different audio files on each one with a general message explaining the chapter and a message for young people. 

How did you come to work with Arkbauer?

I live in Riga, Latvia, and I sent a tender out to local developers. I wanted to actually talk to them throughout the project. 

Arkbauer wasn’t the cheapest, but they seemed to understand what I wanted, and they put a huge amount of effort into that. 

The scope wasn’t easy to understand, and they understood it well before I agreed to work with them. They really tried to understand me, and they genuinely understood what was a fairly complicated project.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost was €20,000 (approximately $10,000 to $49,999 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Arkbauer between April–October 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were in touch almost every day for the last couple of months. They were very good about wanting to get everything absolutely perfect and understanding what I really wanted.

How did Arkbauer perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent. The whole thing was set up in stages, and they were well ahead of the timeframe. The people handling different parts of the project worked well together. They were very communicative with me and the rest of the team (as we were the ones producing the database they worked from).

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed by their understanding of what we wanted, and their ability to follow through with that and achieve it. They maintained a very high level of contact with the client.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I told them I wanted to write them up the best commendation I could, and they asked me to do an interview with Clutch. I told them I’d do anything for them because I was really happy. I really couldn’t say what they could improve. I thought they were really excellent. 

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

They should capitalize on the fact that Arkbauer is willing to spend time talking to the client. They did really well at understanding what we wanted.

They were really good at dealing with people who didn’t have IT backgrounds who had to provide things like MP3 files. They were also good at working with non-specialists, which is a drawback with a lot of people in app development.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Viato GmbH, an IT provider for the hospitality industry. We develop cloud-based solutions for hotel chains.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Arkbauer SIA?

We needed a development partner to build our client’s website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first project was for a hotel. Arkbauer SIA did full-stack development for a web-based SaaS solution. They built the frontend using JavaScript libraries and frameworks.

That project lasted 4–5 months. We then paused the engagement for three months to rearrange the partnerships. Since, we’ve used the team to help with minor tasks on another long-term project.

What is the team composition?

For the first project, the team included one project manager and two developers. Currently, we run the engagement on site in Germany and handle project management.

How did you come to work with Arkbauer SIA?

We received a referral and did not evaluate other companies.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between €80,000– €100,000 ($91,484–$114,355 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2018 and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The SaaS solution has performed well during beta tests. We won’t get feedback until after the full release, but everything is functional.

Throughout the partnership, Arkbauer SIA has complied with our requirements; they don’t do anything without my permission. Since our team makes design-based decisions, it’s more our fault than theirs if the customer doesn’t like the tool.

How did Arkbauer SIA perform from a project management standpoint?

While I can’t compare Arkbauer SIA to other web development vendors, I’m satisfied with the experience. The team is responsive via Slack and a range of communication platforms. They also book meetings efficiently.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Luckily, the time difference is only one hour. That short distance enabled the team to onboard at our office for two weeks. As a technical partner, they are highly skilled. Their software expertise is slightly ahead of mine. I enjoy talking to them about their past experience.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are no major issues. However, the team does admit that they don’t have superior graphic design skills. We found it’s better to provide their programmers with screens or designs. Those resources will fully comply with any instructions.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Customers should know what they want from Arkbauer SIA. The team persistently follows up and requests feedback. Customers need to provide that information—especially for code reviews—if they don’t want development to halt completely.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the business manager at an e-recruitment company. We operate as a recruiting agency and a job platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Arkbauer SIA?

We originally engaged with Arkbauer SIA to correct a sorting function existing within the site, but we later decided to have them rebuild the website from scratch.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

During the rebuilding of the platform, Arkbauer SIA developed a new frontend and a new backend. The website works as a very powerful search engine, so we implemented Elasticsearch and an improved sorting feature. They also added an e-commerce module so that employers could purchase job ads using online purchasing methods. The site also allows job seekers to register their profiles, post their qualifications, and subscribe to job alerts.

What is the team composition?

I interact primarily with the CTO, but there is a team of web designers and developers as well.

How did you come to work with Arkbauer SIA?

We were unhappy with our existing IT vendor, so a business partner recommended Arkbauer SIA as a means to repair our sorting system. We were so impressed by the work that we decided to make them our full-time vendor and fully rebuild our system.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent at least €60,000 ($68,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We first contacted them in the middle of 2016. We have worked on an ongoing basis since then.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s too early at this point to determine any measures of success.

How did Arkbauer SIA perform from a project management standpoint?

There have been no delays to this point. We still have many other smaller developments to complete, however. We communicate through Jira and Skype to keep track of all progress.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have vast expertise of the market. They’re able to provide a number of reliable solutions. And they are quick with their responses to our questions through Skype.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They are quite a small company, so I can only suggest that they take on more customers in more industries so that they can get experience with different projects. They can provide a very individualized approach to us, but if they want to grow, they could take on customers in other areas.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of HaDre GmbH, which offers a web-based hotel software product.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Arkbauer SIA?

Our first development partner for a web-based SaaS application was unable to complete the project because it was too complex. We connected with Arkbauer SIA to continue the development of our product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Upon agreeing to terms, Arkbauer SIA’s team analyzed the existing concepts and existing code, and we held several meetings to determine if it was possible to continue development and produce a functional software package. Our initial developer completed about 25% of the build, so it fell on Arkbauer SIA to develop the remaining 75%, virtually from scratch. Our internal team primarily handled the application’s design, but we relied on Arkbauer SIA for the remainder of the development. They created everything from the smallest buttons to the most significant features.

The platform allows hotel staff to manage their entire business—the reservations, the invoices, all of the daily tasks in a hotel. It’s a complex product, and it needed to comply with European Union fiscal policies.

What is the team composition?

We work with a team of four developers. Occasionally, we’ll reach out to their architects for assistance with new features.

How did you come to work with Arkbauer SIA?

Once it became clear that our initial developer would not work out, I began an online search for a company that could take over the project. I held meetings with other firms, but Arkbauer SIA offered the most comprehensive assessment of our existing code and framework. They left the most professional impression.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about €300,000 ($340,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in February 2017 and remains ongoing. This is not a software that can be developed just once. It needs continuous development, and we recently agreed to another year of working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product has been well-accepted, and we’re gaining customers relatively rapidly. The product’s quality and reliability have allowed us to establish ourselves well in this market.

How did Arkbauer SIA perform from a project management standpoint?

I do not have a technical background, so I tend to look at our product from a user perspective. I sometimes underestimate the workload that a particular task will create, but they make it clear why such tasks will take more time. They explain their processes well, and they easily meet deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate their approach to explaining the dense, technical aspects in a way that I can understand them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I cannot pinpoint anything that requires improvement.