Azumo

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a real-time events application.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Azumo?

I hired Azumo to assist us with our application’s UI/UX and backend development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started by providing Azumo with a very low-fidelity mockup. Their team took that to the next level and turned it into a high-fidelity design that investors could look at. They also built the mockup against our application’s prospective user flow. 

Azumo also suggested that we have two frontend developers, one who would use Swift for the iOS version and another who would utilize Ruby for the Android version. We also got a third developer for the backend of the Android app, and they used React. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with around three people for this project: two frontend developers and one backend developer, who also happened to be their CTO.

How did you come to work with Azumo?

They were actually referred by a good friend of mine. Before I went ahead and hired them, though, I fi\rst looked into who they’ve worked with previously. I was very impressed with my findings and by the testimonials of their past clients, so I decided to start our partnership.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested about $4,200.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Azumo from September–October 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re now looking at getting $300,000 in convertible funding because of Azumo’s high-fidelity mockups. We’ve also landed a pilot program with the College of Marin and are now in the works with The UC System. They did a phenomenal job of giving us that pipeline on top of developing our mobile apps. They went above and beyond and even uploaded the mockups to Anima on behalf of our team, which they didn’t have to do. 

How did Azumo perform from a project management standpoint?

They did amazingly on this front. All of our questions were answered concisely. We did daily scrums to go over our development progress, and we found that we were actually exceeding expectations. The scope of the work was good for six weeks, and they were able to do it all in four. 

Azumo also set up our Jira, Slack, and Figma accounts for no additional costs. We used these as our main project management tools. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive part of their service was the end result. They were able to produce a high-fidelity mockup that anyone, especially investors, could play around with in order to better understand our application. It made it easier for people to have a basic comprehension of what the data will look like without having to go through a cumbersome experience. The user flow was concise and ultimately led to venture capitalists and angel investors taking a chance on us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I have nothing to say in this aspect. They have an impressive portfolio, and I would know seeing as I’ve worked with numerous tech companies myself. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Azumo knows what they’re doing, so listen to them and allow them to get you to the next step. They’re a very knowledgeable team and they’re worth every dime.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at a technology startup focused on blockchain-powered workforce management solutions for the entertainment industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Azumo?

We were trying to design our initial blockchain solutions through a team’s expertise.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Azumo provided architectural design for us. We met with their team a couple of times to give them a background of our business and what we were trying to build. After that, they came back to us with a proposal, including how long it would take, the steps of the process, and their fee structure. From there, they assigned a sub-team to work collaboratively with us to build the solution starting from the information we provided them. They tagged on a detailed technical document that included the front- and backend blueprints and other instructions on building the product to finish the process.

In terms of technologies, they used Hyperledger Fabric, React, and Flutter.

What is the team composition?

We worked closely with Juan Pablo (CTO), an analyst specialist, and a couple of members from their team that jumped on the calls periodically.

How did you come to work with Azumo?

We found them through a Google search and decided on them due to their positive reviews.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent $5,000–$10,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from June–August 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our internal technical advisors tested their work, and it passed their requirements.

How did Azumo perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was great; communication was good, they met every deadline we established, and they stayed on budget. In terms of tools, we used Slack and Google Docs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their professionalism and honesty throughout the project were outstanding; they never tried to push particular solutions. Also, they were patient in explaining everything to us — we don’t have a technical background, so they translated all of our requirements into technical concepts.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Spend more time upfront in the engagement so you can outline your goals. They have great expertise to help you accomplish your needs.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CTO of Big Run Studios, a social mobile game company in the real money and free to play games spaces. We have a growing portfolio of live games and continue to push hard on innovating in the space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Azumo?

Our challenge is to grow the business from a game developer to a developer and publisher. While we found success by developing games that are published by our partners, we want to expand on that success by self-publishing, thereby taking a larger portion of the entire business.

We hired Azumo to build out our entire data strategy. We consulted Azumo to determine which technologies to build on, what to focus on in the short term, and what to leave until after proof-of-concept.

With Azumo, we have been able to built out a full, end-to-end data pipeline: data lake, warehouse, reporting, and alerting layers that heavily inform our business decisions and support our user acquisition efforts.

SOLUTION

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

I have worked with Azumo at two game studios now (NCSOFT and Big Run), drawing on their web-engineering capabilities. We already had a great working relationship via the web engineering efforts, and when they mentioned they also had data science capabilities, we decided to try them out.

After a short and very successful trial period, we moved forward with getting more resources and putting our data pipeline wholly on Azumo.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We came to Azumo with a high-level proposal of what we were trying to accomplish: we wanted to collect our own end-user analytics, generate reports quickly, and make decisions on that data. Our focus was providing meaningful data to the user acquisition organization, so that they could better target ads. Azumo provided some feedback on initial technologies to use, and we moved forward with an MVP.

With Azumo's help, we moved forward standing up a data lake on S3, an warehouse layer on Snowflake, and a reporting layer on Sisense. Once we were able to make preliminary reports from user behaviour, we moved on to integrating data output from Adjust to help us track campaign data.

Now, we are continuing to tune the pipeline and reporting as we continue to rollout new games.

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

We started the project with a part time data architect and a full-time data engineer. At this point we have two full time data engineers, a part-time project manager, and a part -time data architect.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Progress is very easy to demonstrate, as we now have comprehensive, near-real-time reporting on many of our live games. Previously, we had only a few basic aggregate trends that were out of the box with Firebase. We have, as a business, been able to make important decisions about ad spend and development focus.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow started quite smoothly as we were all fairly heads down on the different pieces. As we scaled the team (and the games), we hit some rough spots where too many requests from our side were hitting data engineers on Azumo's side (separate requests from product owners, UA, CEO/investors, etc).

This is when we onboarded the part time project manager from Azumo, and now we're back to smooth sailing as he has been able to funnel the requests into a prioritized funnel.

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

The people are great, simple as that. Again, I sought out Azumo having worked with JP at a previous company (NCSOFT), so I knew his team would be a good tech and culture fit for what we were doing at Big Run. They are all great to work with and excellent at their jobs.

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

Azumo doesn't typically work in the gaming space, and so their data team has had some growing pains in learning to see insights specific to game publishing. This is the largest area of improvement I see for Azumo.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the director of TryTank, an experimental lab for church innovation and growth.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Azumo?

We needed to hire an external resource to help us develop an Alexa Skill that leads people through prayer.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to develop an Alexa Skill that would allow us to test if people would use it as a prayer partner.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They understood exactly what we wanted to do, and made suggestions to make our idea better.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Azumo took our idea and made it a reality. All we had to do was provide them feedback on the work they were doing as they moved the project forward.

What was the team composition?

We primarily worked with two members of their team—one of which was the project manager—and others from their side as needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work was incredible. The Skill launched six days ago. Already an average of 21 people a day are praying with Alexa using our Skill. That’s just from friends telling friends. We’ll soon kick off a marketing campaign to further get the word out. 

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We met live online to get the project going and for regular updates. Azumo always had someone taking notes and making an action list. It worked very well.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I’d been told that to create this Alexa Skill would cost tens of thousands of dollars, which was way more than we could spend. What’s amazing is that Azumo not only understood what we wanted, but they did it for a small fraction of the cost.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not really. We like them so much they're already working on our next project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO and founder of a company that provides managed IT services and support, cybersecurity consulting, risk management, and digital solutions for small business and enterprises across North America. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Azumo?

We hired them for software development, platform development,  and staff augmentation. 

What were your goals for this project?

A key project stakeholder recently left at a critical juncture, causing us to seek immediate help. We needed someone with cloud experience and significant web and app app development expertise.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We knew the founder of the company.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Azumo took over a software modernization project in the midst of a sprint. They quickly addressed development issues, modernized the code, and developed our application.

What was the team composition?

We had one project manager, one architect, and two developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our solution is stable and scalable, and it performs well. Having Azumo as a partner has enabled us to focus on our business and stop worrying about the platform and its underlying code.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They run two-week agile sprints with daily standups, which is a great way to proceed.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They're personable, efficient, knowledgeable, and extremely customer-oriented. Their extensive experience with software and technology architecture equips them to design and implement robust platforms.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I don't have any suggestions at this time.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for Facebook. My office provides a suite of services and products to connect people and communities. I lead a supplier diversity program, which engages companies owned by ethnic minorities, women, veterans, LGBT, and differently-abled entrepreneurs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Azumo?

Part of my role is to find prospective new suppliers. Much of those searches begin at conferences and events geared toward a large variety of industries. We staff our event booths with a number of people from procurement, but a staff of ten people can’t process the thousands of interested parties in the time allowed. We wanted a self-service kiosk where prospective clients could self-assess and determine whether we had a need for their goods and services. The goal was for this self-service option to complement our in-person discussions and speed the process. We needed an app developer who had a background in conversational chatbot experiences.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did all of our wireframes and developed the entire app. Our team has no background in this, so we described our goals for them and they created a solution quickly. We wanted users to intuitively understand what they were supposed to do, so Azumo was tasked with building the app and designing an interface that could be productive for both the user and our procurement team.

The app was built strictly for iOS. Attendees could use iPads mounted to a table in our exhibit booth. The most important part of this interaction was to build up a databank to assess the kinds of businesses expressing interest and to collect contact information from the suppliers that were the most promising.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with their CEO and their CTO, but I know there were other people involved in the project on their side.

How did you come to work with Azumo?

I always strive to hired diverse- or minority-owned companies. I searched a number of channels to find a certified minority-owned business that could help us with a chatbot. Azumo was the only company that fell into both categories, so we looked over their website and liked their capabilities. We reached out to them through their Facebook page. Within an hour, we had a meeting scheduled for later that afternoon, and we kicked off the engagement from there. It was a lightweight app with a short time frame, so they submitted a proposal over the weekend and we kicked off the following Monday.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around May 2018 and launched by June 2018. The entire engagement took about a month.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were really excited to exhibit alongside a number of other large companies in the technology space and in other industries. Several representatives of other companies looked at the app and were interested in developing something similar for their own use. We had brand ambassadors to guide people through the app, which involved using camera technology to scan their exhibitor’s badge. That way, we could store their information through an API.

All the attendees who used the app were grateful for the process, even if they didn’t have a chance to speak with someone in person. It allowed more individuals to register their interest.

How did Azumo perform from a project management standpoint?

They did very well. We had a very short window to execute everything, but they met all the deadlines we set, even when I was the bottleneck that kept the project from moving forward. From the first phone call through to execution, they provided data in real time and were excellent communicators. They sent a representative for onsite support in case anything went wrong, but we had no issues at all.

We started our communication through Facebook Messenger, but quickly moved to email, phone, and video conferencing. They’re local and convenient to us, but most of our interactions were remote.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They know a lot about the products they build on and were very responsive. This project was built in React Native, and the capabilities matched everything we were trying to achieve. Since I’m not particularly technical, they broke down barriers and explained all the intricacies in a way that was easy to understand.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In this particular instance, I can’t think of anything they could have done differently. It was a lightweight project, and I don’t have any critical feedback for them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We work in a variety of environments, including healthcare, to help companies with sales, safety, and communication. Our platform allows us to inform and influence people, help with patient onboarding, and measure patient activity and response to our initiatives.

While we don’t build software ourselves, we have spent a lot of time working on this platform. I’m a company partner and customer success lead. I interface with current and prospective clients to understand their issues and assign appropriate teams to them. Once we have a solution in place, I check back with customers to see if their quality of life has improved.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Azumo?

We wanted to speed up our development cycles and execute new features more quickly. Our in-house development team wasn’t big enough, so we decided to hire external help.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They work on a lot of major features for us, based on guidance from our side. We write out all our stories in Jira and split them into multiple feature sets. Then, we give them our wireframes to achieve our goals. Our product leads and computer scientists provide most of that information, though our technical underwriter will step in for more complicated tasks.

They manipulated our authentication system in a new way that allowed users to work as individuals or as part of multiple organizations. It was a complicated feature that took multiple sprint cycles, but it works wonderfully. We were also stuck for weeks on a domain issue. We finally brought it to them, and they saved us a lot of time and energy with the solution they came up with.

As soon as they complete a feature, it goes into review, before returning for revisions and testing. Once the whole process is finished, it goes out to our servers. Azumo adheres to our technology stack, which includes Ruby on Rails and Twilio.

What is the team composition?

We work with three people from their team, including two full-time members and one part-time associate who acts as a technical liaison.

How did you come to work with Azumo?

We shopped around for developers and interviewed them. They were flexible and agile, and they had the technical expertise we needed and an agreeable price point. We decided to try them on a temporary basis, but have worked with them ever since.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent more than $70,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Azumo in December 2017, and the collaboration is ongoing. We grew from one developer to two in 2018, and we’ll expand again in 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our team loves working with Azumo. They work very fast and have an appetite for challenging tasks. They’re very specific, and we’ve established a good rapport with them. They’ve worked on some big features for us and helped us differentiate our brand in the marketplace. We’re still getting to know our second developer, but his work ethic and knowledge are very good. He writes many of our tests.

How did Azumo perform from a project management standpoint?

They are very involved and feel like a part of our internal team. Our best interests are first in their minds, and they clearly care about our goals. They write all of our code and help clarify any language issues or issues we face. We have a wonderful experience with them and consider ourselves very lucky.

We work with the developers on new features and stories in Jira, and operate within a scrum environment. We also use GitHub to coordinate our code. There are daily planning meetings, and a lot of our communication runs through Slack. We work in two-week cycles and speak all day with them. I feel very close to their developers; they’ve become a part of my family.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their principal is very responsive and fast to react if we have a question or request. I asked him to find me a developer similar to our first one, and he came back a week later with a developer whose skillset was complementary to the first and matched our needs. We considered them for help with HIPAA compliance, but ultimately went with another team for that. They never took it personally and are always professional. The experience is great and the work speaks for itself.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I really can’t think of anything, they’ve done a good job.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product owner at Discovery Networks Latin America.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Azumo?

We needed help with the development of an AI device, Alexa for Amazon. The system was launching for the first time in the Latin America markets, specifically in Mexico.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re developing a product for use on Alexa for Amazon. They’ve developed the skill, which distributes our content throughout that platform, using proprietary technologies and Amazon’s infrastructure.

What is the team composition?

There’s a developer, a supervisor, and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Azumo?

I found them through online research and chose them because they had the best skillset.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2018 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’re working on a highly complicated product which requires a lot of planning, engineering, and customization of the new technology. They’re doing an excellent job.

How did Azumo perform from a project management standpoint?

I’m very happy with them. We have daily communication and they always deliver before our deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their development knowledge is impressive. They’ve been very professional and patient with Amazon’s requirements, which ask for very high standards.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m 100% satisfied.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

No.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Founder of an advertising & marketing company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Marketplace Application

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Build POC

SOLUTION

How did you find Azumo?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select Azumo over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Experience

How many teammates from Azumo were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Develop proof of concept for consumer marketplace application that can be used as foundation to build final product .

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Project was managed in Jira via a project manager. Goals and subtasks were tracked and completed, ultimately culminating in a working POC - the overall deliverable for the engagement. 

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

The team generally met deadlines, and clearly communicated when more time was needed. By nature of the product and development, timelines were frequently modified. 

What was your primary form of communication with Azumo?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The developer assigned to the project was particularly impressive, knowledgeable, and educated beyond software development. 

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

No