Bacancy

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a managing partner of a company that provides software development services, specifically app and web development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bacancy Technology?

We needed more resources to complement our in-house development team. We wanted a vendor who could deliver quality software and be available in terms of communication. We were looking for a company with which we could maintain a long-term relationship, which was why we reached out to Bacancy.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We are working with Bacancy to support some of our clients. We have built several mobile applications together. All of our projects with Bacancy involved custom applications, which depended on what the customer wanted to do. These solutions were different from each other and had no common functionalities. In terms of technology, we’ve worked with Android, iOS, PHP, and .NET. The PHP projects also had JavaScript involved.

One of our projects with Bacancy was an iPad application. It had been started by another developer, but we didn’t like their commitment level on that task. We shifted to Bacancy for coding and creating subsequent versions. They also worked on a portal that talks to the iPad application, which was not available in the initial version. Once we partnered with Bacancy, we incorporated that portal for the second version of the app. It was completed recently.

Bacancy also took over another project, which involved developing iOS and Android apps for phones and tablets. This project includes a portal that communicates with all 4 applications. We continue to work with them for additional upgrades.

We’ve built several web portals with Bacancy. One of them was completed in late 2015 or early 2016. They used PHP technology. Bacancy did a good job on these portals as well.

We also worked with them for 6–7 months on a .NET project. We used 4–5 developers, depending on the need. That project ended in mid-2016.

How did you come to work with Bacancy Technology?

Our past experience working with other partners had been less than ideal, so I reached out to several companies. Bacancy’s owner reached out to me after seeing an ad I posted. We started with a small project, which they did quite well. I also liked the fact that Bacancy was a relatively larger company, with a number of developers we could work with.

How much have you invested with Bacancy Technology?

I believe that we have spent around $47,000 on Bacancy’s work.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Bacancy Technology either in late 2015 or early 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

So far, the engagement has been going well. Bacancy does good work, and they are flexible when clients change their requirements.

One particular project went on for quite some time, mainly because of issues from the client side. Despite the schedule changes, Bacancy patiently worked with us and the client for the same payment we agreed on. That mobile app was completed in 2016.

I don’t have specific numbers, given that it’s all custom development work. One of the apps we’ve built for a Fortune 500 company received positive feedback from the client. They really liked the app. It provides easy access to many of their data points and documents, allowing them to find specific information quickly. They no longer have to go to their website and search through multiple documents. Given how user-friendly it is, they have been using that app frequently. We are making updates to the app.

How did Bacancy Technology perform from a project management standpoint?

I can trust Bacancy with the work and the day-to-day responsibilities. From my experience, all the projects have had challenges, and Bacancy works with us on issues that came up. We use Asana as a project management tool. For voice communication, we mostly use Skype. I like to have video calls as well for better communication. Bacancy’s team is available. I can reach out to their managers and developers. I have a technical background, so I like the fact that I can work with the developers directly. Most of them have been responsive and easy to deal with. They’re quite good in terms of technical skills.  If we have issues with a particular developer, I can always talk to the managers. They will go out of their way to assign someone else or talk to that developer.

What did you find most impressive about Bacancy Technology?

I have been impressed with the fact that Bacancy takes projects seriously. I want to make sure that we can deliver what we promise, and Bacancy is our partner in that.

Are there any areas Bacancy Technology could improve?

I communicate with them in English, and I have provided feedback for some of the developers around their language skills. They can speak English, but not at a level at which I feel comfortable. While it’s not true for all the developers—and I am comfortable talking to their principal—some of them don’t get the nuances of what I’m trying to say. It can be quite frustrating. This is the main thing that Bacancy can improve on. They are working on it, but it’s hard for them to find developers with good technical skills who also have equally good English communication skills. I last spoke to them about this a year ago, and they told me they were trying to hold internal English classes. I don’t know if they are doing it, but it’s something they can improve on.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of Accountancy. It’s one of the most recognized companies working with UK tax authorities. We provide a software used for filing tax forms.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bacancy Technology?

We were looking to develop a detailed tax calculation software with some interactive and artificial intelligence components.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bacancy Technology has developed our web application. They designed the tax forms and calculation modules and it allows users to file their own taxes. More than being a static website, our platform has around 250 pages and a MySQL database.

We have worked with six or seven people from their team, including designers and backend and frontend developers.

How did you come to work with Bacancy Technology?

We were specifically looking for an Indian-based software house. We approached three different companies and asked for quotations. Bacancy Technology seemed to be the right fit.

How much have you invested with Bacancy Technology?

The cost of development was around £7,000 [US $8,925]. There were additional costs during the development.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Bacancy Technology in February 2013. The project ended in December after eight or nine months of development. We had ongoing maintenance for one year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There were some small changes that we needed to make to the application after it was launched, but we had no issues in terms of processes or communication. Bacancy Technology built a completely new solution for us. The components we had in place were only desktop applications, but the new version is completely online.

Desktop applications are right for accountants, but general users want more flexibility for doing taxes. This is what we have provided to clients, allowing them to use the platform on any device.

How did Bacancy Technology perform from a project management standpoint?

I was in communication with their project manager 3 times a week. Bacancy Technology put together a 7-page requirements document detailing what each of our parties needed to provide at different stages. The project was managed very well. There was also a tracking tool in place beyond the regular interactions we had over Skype and TeamViewer.

What did you find most impressive about Bacancy Technology?

Sometimes, it can be difficult to explain what we want given the distance between our groups, but Bacancy’s team knows how to put the right people on the right project. The team was helpful and had great in-depth knowledge.

Are there any areas Bacancy Technology could improve?

As an Indian-based company, English is not their first language. This impacted communication, but they have had in-house training for the staff on interacting with overseas clients. The issue is not that significant.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the creative director and owner of MixTape Creative, a digital marketing agency targeting small and medium-sized business. I have a number of contractors and people working with me.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bacancy Technology?

Initially, I was looking for someone to help with customization for a WordPress solution. I needed a competent and dynamic development team to support our business. Many people can work in different verticals, but when I talked to Bacancy, I realized they were the 1-stop shop that I needed. They took our projects to the next level and offered solutions that I didn’t expect from an agency that works specifically with WordPress. They impressed me with their ability to provide diverse solutions, which helped me broaden the services that I offer.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They work alongside our internal team. The bulk of our work with them involves custom WordPress solutions. I work with a lot of small businesses outside of Toronto. They easily answered all of our WordPress problems. We had a few bigger builds that were in PHP, which is something I couldn’t provide without Bacancy’s help. I talk to the team leader to give them an idea of what I need, and they provide solutions or ideas. We talk with the client, and Bacancy puts together a design and idea that we pitch. We go from there until we finish the project. Over the years, they’ve helped me through a couple of difficult spots.

We don’t do many customized features on the sites, but a few projects were really difficult in terms of algorithms and functionality.

How did you come to work with Bacancy Technology?

I asked for help finding someone on my Facebook and Twitter accounts. Bacancy reached out to me. I had a long talk with a person in Toronto. He’s a really nice guy, and we got along well. I met with him, and he had a good understanding of what I provide for smaller businesses. His team was accommodating, and I enjoyed working with all of them.

How much have you invested with Bacancy Technology?

We spent between $10,000 and $50,000. Bacancy handles each project, regardless of size, with the same respect and importance.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October of 2014, and the work is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Bacancy always delivered on time, within budget, and usually ahead of schedule. Our clients and others are really happy with Bacancy’s work. Their design team is solid. Conversely, my design team started a specific project that I handed over to Bacancy, and they worked with what we provided. We didn’t do a lot of e-commerce or other metric-generating tasks. Instead, we introduced people to e-commerce and taught them how to implement it into their site.

How did Bacancy Technology perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re just finishing a project now, and I’m really happy. I can speak to the local guy in Toronto all day. We get along well, and he has a good understanding of what I need and explains everything to his project managers so they can hand it off. The project managers have been fantastic. They’re really easy to reach on Skype or email, and they complete work quickly. We set dates for follow-up calls. If something doesn’t go the way we want it to, they listen to feedback and fix it.

What did you find most impressive about Bacancy Technology?

They have a massive team on the backend that can build anything we want. Communication is the most important part of any project. I’m impressed by their ability to understand difficult ideas and build them effectively.

Are there any areas Bacancy Technology could improve?

I’ve been happy with everything they’ve done. My projects haven’t been terribly difficult for the level of work they do. They should just keep doing what they’re doing.  

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Wineclubz provides US and Australian wineries an additional direct-to-consumer channel for attracting and maintaining wine club members. Browser and mobile applications allow for search and maintenance of a club portfolio, and a check-in to winery tasting rooms, allowing for targeted marketing.

I am the creator, founder and primary developer for the project, which has been ongoing for a couple years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bacancy?

There are close to 9,000 wineries in the United States alone, and a significant portion of them have wine clubs—memberships where participants receive shipments of wine at varying intervals throughout the year, in addition to member-only events held at the winery and varying locations. Typically, new members are obtained only after a physical visit to a winery tasting room. Wineclubz allows visibility within and outside the tasting room, allowing an additional channel for new memberships, membership retention, and wine sales.

I wanted to develop the mobile application using React Native, so there would be one code base for both iOS and Android platforms so I did not have to hire 2 resources to develop directly on the native platforms.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The project scope involved development of a mobile application, implementation of the specifications and API I provided. Bacancy was responsible for the software development during the 1-month contracted period.

How did you come to work with Bacancy?

I discoed Bacancy via a Google search, looking for react native contractors. I immediately liked Bacancy because their Senior Business Development Manager, Harshil Sanghavi, contacted me personally, walked me through the process, communicated very well, and gave me a real time video tour of their facility. I was also attracted to the nature and support of just how well his employees were treated.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don’t yet have metrics.

How did Bacancy perform from a project management standpoint?

I am very, very satisfied with Bacancy. I was assigned a specific resource who worked full time on my project for the contracted 160 hours for the month. He was professional, friendly, supportive, experienced, and required very little direction. The application was coded exactly to my specifications. The entire team was easy to work with, communicated well and reported at the end of every day the specific items accomplished. My hope is that with this mobile application, wineries will see added value in Wineclubz and begin to subscribe, creating revenue and viral growth.

What did you find most impressive about Bacancy?

I was impressed at just how quickly the deliverables took form, creating the app I desired, on time and within budget.

Are there any areas Bacancy could improve?

I cannot express enough great things about this experience. The communication was outstanding, friendly, professional, accommodating, and I now have both an iOS and Android application to submit to the community. I am very happy with Bacancy, and will most certainly look to them again in the future for additional development when needed.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We have an online community for kids and teens. I’m the vice president.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bacancy Technology?

We built wireframes and had some designs for our desktop site and our mobile site, but we needed a single responsive site. We needed a team who could take the main design templates, integrate them together and build out the remaining pages.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had built out wireframes and PSDs [Photoshop Documents] and we needed someone to build out the remaining HTML and design a couple of pages to integrate it into our code base. We’re three months into the project now. The services they provided were development, design, and SEO. They recommended using Bootstrap 3 for the technology. They provide project managers, developers, two designers, and a project manager for SEO.

How did you come to work with Bacancy Technology?

I was looking for a Ruby on Rails organization that had designers and developers and weren’t strictly frontend developers or backend developers. I wanted the ability for the developer to work with the designer on the integration versus having back and forth between different companies with a designer here and a developer there. There can be a large disconnect and a huge waste of time. Having all the skill sets under one umbrella can be hard to find. A lot of companies say they can do it all, and they usually can’t. I did a lot of research and found Bacancy Technology.

How much have you invested with Bacancy Technology?

The project has cost $6,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in February 2017, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve made good progress despite working remotely. After some time to get up to speed, we’ve hit all the major milestones so far. All the major pages are completed, and we’re now working on additional pages. We both could have benefitted from a longer planning phase, and we’re providing a lot of hands-on management, but they deal with everything very well. They go above and beyond to make sure things are completed on time. They work extra or weekends to make sure it’s done. They’re a very nice and hard-working team to have as part of our project.

How did Bacancy Technology perform from a project management standpoint?

I talk with the developers and designers daily through Slack, email, or shared documents. I deal mostly with the PM on our side so I don’t know how much Bacancy’s team does. I assume it’s going well because they’re completing all the tasks. We use Pivotal Tracker internally.

What did you find most impressive about Bacancy Technology?

I’m impressed with how closely the developers and designers work together, which I find rare.

Are there any areas Bacancy Technology could improve?

I can’t think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

It’s a discounted voucher platform that enables users to collect points with a receipt to exchange for further discounts. Basically, users can snap their receipts of daily spending in exchange for points, and then those points can be used for further discounts for vouchers in our platforms. I am the CTO. I take care of all technical aspects of the product and manage the outsourced remote team. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bacancy Technology?

We are unable to source a reliable and reasonably priced developer locally. We are still perfecting our monetization model and are in the early days of our business. We couldn't hire a local development team because it's expensive. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re involved in the development of iOS apps for the product.

How did you come to work with Bacancy Technology?

We found Bacancy Technology on an online outsourcing platform. After several engagements, they constantly delivered their product. I did engage with a few other outsource teams too, but Bacancy Technology is the only outsourced team that we chose to continue to engage for nearly a year and keep coming back to them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They delivered to scope and gave us all deliverables within the agreed schedule and budget. For small and/or critical bugs that are not within their scope, they will deliver too. They’re a good partner to work with. I will recommend them to others.

How did Bacancy Technology perform from a project management standpoint?

There is no extra layer of business bureaucracy when dealing with them. Their business development manager starts the initial engagement, then leaves it to the technical project manager and developers to deal with me directly. There is no need for extra layers of communication. I can speak to them directly.

Are there any areas Bacancy Technology could improve?

The developers’ quality depends on the individual engineers who work on my project at any given time. I did engage with Ruby on Rails engineers that did not live up to my expectations. They fixed the situation, but there was a rough patch.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Bacancy Technology?

I suggest having an in-house technical person who can talk directly with the outsourced partner. This makes it easier to communicate and prevents you from falling out of sync. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We currently have one application called Kitalok. Our application provides real-time community updates from its users for businesses and events happening nearby. I’m the project manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bacancy Technology?

My friend came up with the idea, including the roadmap and the vision. However, we couldn't build it ourselves. We knew it had to be custom-built, so we had to look for a wide range of different skillsets. Going offshore seemed suitable, so I decided to find a reliable partner to help me develop an application, one who could also grow along with our application. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The entire development phase was completed in around three months. The first phase was quite complex since we wanted to establish the right functionality of the application. We wanted to be able to get the community together around different locations like clubs, bars, restaurants, clinics, banks, and more. Check-in updates about the community needed to be saved so that other users can view the current situation of that place. Bacancy Technology developed the app based on our UI vision and directions.

What is the status of this engagement?

Bacancy Technology became our partner in developing the idea, interface design, and backend and frontend of the app. They were also involved in the process of submitting the application to app stores. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This application is performing quite well overall and is currently in the pre-launch stage. Based on beta testers’ reports, we seem to be doing well. Overall, they did a great job, and we are satisfied.

What did you find most impressive about Bacancy Technology?

The company had a far more superior portfolio than any of the other companies I looked at because of their performance history. Their pricing was extremely competitive compared to everyone we interviewed, and their results were awesome.

Are there any areas Bacancy Technology could improve?

My only suggestion would be to add a support team for the weekends so we can get more comprehensive support. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was a tech lead for the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bacancy Technology?

We had a database migration project from UNIX to Oracle systems for an Italian language application. The move needed to be done with no errors.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bacancy Technology provided backend database migration work, taking us from UNIX to Oracle.

How did you come to work with Bacancy Technology?

We chose Bacancy Technology because they have properly laid out processes and foundations, starting from our initial blueprints.

How much have you invested with Bacancy Technology?

The cost of Bacancy Technology's work was around 25,000,000 INR [US $383,920].

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Bacancy Technology in July 2016. Our migration project was kept perfectly on schedule. We had 1,000 reports which needed to be moved from UNIX to Oracle in a three-month period. We completed the project in September.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The process went fine, with no errors on the application side.

How did Bacancy Technology perform from a project management standpoint?

Bacancy Technology is an Agile group, and they used JIRA as well as quality assurance tools.

What did you find most impressive about Bacancy Technology?

Bacancy Technology has been growing in the last five years, and they've set up offices in the US, Canada, Ireland, and India. I especially appreciate their Ruby on Rails and AngularJS expertise. They're also acquiring more Oracle Database projects and are expanding into Sweden. Working with Bacancy Technology has been great.

We have worked with many other companies in the past. By contrast, I was impressed with the humbleness of Bacancy Technology's CEO. Although he is the principal of the company, he is a down-to-earth person and has a lot of expertise in the Agile process.

Are there any areas Bacancy Technology could improve?

Bacancy Technology needs to grow on the SAP side, which is a growing technology at the moment.

BACKGROUND

We are a merchant service application that helps restaurants to improve their operational efficiencies and boost marketing ROI [return on investment].

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

The challenge was to find a smart software company with a team of skillful developers that could develop a world-class iOS application.

SOLUTION

Bacancy Technology developed an iOS application.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Bacancy Technology has done all the development from the get-go. The organization has been a strong partner to turn my app ideas into reality. I am very much satisfied with design and development. Bacancy Technology actually guided me, if it's feasible or not, and what best practices are when trying to set up an infrastructure of that type. Since the beginning of the JOE Merchant app, Bacancy has been very reliable.

It's only available on iOS currently. It's out in public beta. We're currently tracking merchant's behavior, adoption levels, and some other triggers on how engaged the restaurant merchants and their customers are in order to get insight on what features are working and what aren't.

Bacancy Technology assigned front-end and backend developers along with a QA engineer as well as a project manager and a business analyst to our project.

We found Bacancy Technology on the web after issuing a request for proposal. The first reason for winning the project was Bacancy's price. They're much more cost-effective, compared to other organization developers. They're very responsive and flexible, and the documentation provided by Bacancy Technology was well-formed. It was very pleasant working with them.

BACKGROUND

My company is 1-800-Disc Jockey LLC. It is a web application that provides online DJ booking services. The company lets you access the best DJs from your location, and we make booking disc jockey fast, easy, and stress-free for every occasion.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

The scope of this project was to set up a website where people can search for the best DJ services for their various occasions. Easy availability of DJ Services was the focus. The website was an essential component for our company. My biggest challenge was that I needed to convert an older CGI website to PHP.

SOLUTION

Bacancy Technology delivered the complete website development work along with the website design. Bacancy Technology developed the site using core PHP. They also took care of the creation of the database management and web UI [user interface].

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Bacancy Technology has done a great job. They were pragmatic in coming up with website designs and understanding the targeted audience. They paid attention to the each aspect of the service we were looking for, which made them very good to work with.