Binary Republik

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the lead web applications developer for my organization in the higher education sector.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Binary Republik, and what were your goals?

As with many organizations, juggling projects and keeping up-to-date on every product presents a considerable challenge. We brought in Binary Republik to assist in both.

In many ways, they've become a trusted resource to our team. Whether it's providing advice on systems architecture, helping on projects, or anything in between, Binary Republik has been a valuable asset.

SOLUTION

How did you select Binary Republik and what were the deciding factors?

After meeting with many service providers and discussing pricing, we settled on Binary Republik. The decision was rather easy:

1. They had the man-power for every type of problem we would possibly encounter.
2. They had a team available at times convenient to us, thus extending our working hours from 8 to 16.
3. The level of expertise at their price was unrivaled.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

After onboarding Binary Republik as an extension of our development team, we took a deep dive into our business processes and our system architecture. Being a Microsoft shop, we run many applications through Office 365 and SharePoint.

On almost any project, they are able to provide valuable feedback and help our developers in getting things on time and on budget. Their roles as a sort of consultant are invaluable and have really helped improve the quality of the solutions we deliver.

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

We've worked with our account manager as well as a handful of developers. Given the consulting role we ask Binary Republik to play, we generally have our main developer who will then bring in colleagues as the project requires.

Sometimes this means bringing in Application Developers, Systems Engineers, or other experts in various topics.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Since hiring Binary Republik, our projects have been delivered on time and on budget. But perhaps the most important is the quality of the projects have gained with help from Binary.

Deployments were long and arduous processes before, but with their input, we've been able to make many changes with no qualms or concerns.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

Usually, our communications are handled through email or Microsoft Teams. Because of the wide range of services that Binary Republik provides, project management varies by project.

In general, however, the lead developer of each project is tasked with performing project management and coordination of their internal resources as needed.

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

The most impressive aspect of Binary Republik was the size of both their team and their knowledgebase. Many firms only specialized in custom development or system architecture.

Other firms didn't have an expert for every subject, but with Binary Republik we knew that someone on their team would be able to help us find an answer. Because of their size, they are also able to get back to us quickly while still maintaining a genuine communication and professional relationship.

You don't just feel like another account with them and you know that you will get advice that is accurate and follows best practices.

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

Since onboarding Binary Republik we haven't had any major concerns.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of a small consultancy with a team of 10–15 people.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Binary Republik?

I hired them for a SharePoint project I was doing for a construction company in London.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Binary Republik built a task management module for a larger construction management system. The deliverable was a micro application that was fit into a larger one. We gave them full requirements, with screenshots and technical details on how the module would integrate with the larger portal.

It was a SharePoint-based project, and the coding languages were C# and ASP.NET.

What is the team composition?

They had one part-time project manager, three fulltime developers, and one and a half testers.

How did you come to work with Binary Republik?

I get quite a lot of introduction messages on LinkedIn, and I usually save their details in case I need something. I had around six agencies bookmarked, from London, Eastern Europe, and India, and I sent each one a high-level overview for the project.

Out of those, only three of them allowed me to interview developers, and this was an important part for me, since I’m technically-oriented myself. The two developers I interviewed from Binary Republik were really good, so I chose them.

How much have you invested with them?

The entire project cost £500,000, and their part was around £25,000.

It was a fixed-price project structured in multiple agile sprints. I and the business analyst went through a list of deliverables for each sprint, and paid them every two weeks based on that.

What is the status of this engagement?

I worked with Binary Republik between 2010–2011, and the project lasted 6–7 months.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I was the client for them, and my client was opaque on how we delivered the work. We got pretty great feedback for the software. It worked nicely, the user interface was seamless and easy to use, and it didn’t give errors.

How did Binary Republik perform from a project management standpoint?

We only paid for a part-time project manager, since I could manage the delivery schedule myself. The manager on their side handled the logistical side, including making sure that there would be someone else to cover the work in case a developer became unavailable.

We had a tool called TeamCity, which offers bug tracking, task management, and sprint planning.

What did you find most impressive about them?

A lot of other providers I’ve used would have me work with an account or project manager, who would sit in-between myself and the actual developers. I didn’t want to have an extra layer of communication, and one thing I appreciated about Binary Republik was being given a direct line to the developers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could’ve had better test automation, but this practice wasn’t that big back then. There were bugs that should’ve been caught early on, which made it to UAT.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I would advise setting up a direct line with the developers rather than going through a project manager.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

My former employer is the leader in software for digital transformation with 35-year history of helping the world's leading organizations achieve breakthrough business results. Product Overview

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Binary Republik?

We needed a custom interactive SharePoint application that will dynamically present the users with her/his job title and their career path and the steps to follow to arrive at their career goal.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I was introduced to the vendor at one of Microsoft's SharePoint event and I followed up by speaking with their president and to three of their clients and the feedback was very positive.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

In addition to creating the solution, they provided ongoing support for the product since its launch in 2011 and until my departure from Pegasystems. They also provided my team with other expertise in the SharePoint and the .NET space.

What was the team composition?

Project Manager, Project Leader, Several hands-on user support personal and a Power shell Expert.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project and the on-going support were superior and the end users were impressed with the product. They also upgraded the code for us to accommodate SharePoint 2013 platform.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We had weekly telephone meetings with the team leader and the project manager. During the on-going support period, Binary dedicated a SharePoint/Powershell expert to work with me and the meetings were held by telephone and remote sessions when requested by us.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They put together and in writing a solid project scope and project plan which they followed and she high degree of flexibility.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Inkriti is technology services company focused on building marketing and ad-tech products. I was the VP of product at Inkriti

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Binary Republik?

Binary Republik was brought in as part of the digital transformation program for Dallas Transit Authority.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to build a online system that would the DTA to:

1. Publish transit information
2. Manage routes and timing
3. Manage ads on the website
4. Publish content for commuters and
5. Automate the content aggregation and publishing

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We spoke the leadership team and gave them a POC to shortlist the vendors. The final of set of vendors then when through a reference check and sample work.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

1. Architecture
2. Program Mangement
3. Development
4. QA
5. deployment and scaling
6. Support and maintenance

What was the team composition?

• 1 Architect
• 1 Project Manager
• 4 Engineers
• 2 frontend engineers
• 2 QA

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We could deliver the project on time and salvage the damage done by previous vendor

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Binary's team took over the over project management and delivery and we can only provided executive sponsorship. They did the daily standup, sprint planning and demo

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Binary has a great team that is focused on helping customers to solve their problem. They come on the table with an open mind and give realistic honest solutions and suggestions. They estimate and on time delivery is unmatched

Are there any areas for improvement?

Improve more on effective tools & collaboration between geographically dispersed teams

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an Education services company focussing on IT/ software and my role was the Product Manager

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Binary Republik?

Custom SharePoint development. We were engaged to design, develop and manage the public facing websites for all the schools within the government's Ministry of Education (MoE) and to integrate them with BI dashboards displaying data from the ( ASP.NET/SQL) schools management information system (MIS). We had internal expertise with the MIS but only one internal SharePoint resource

What were your goals for this project?

The MoE was an existing long-term customer with whom we had an excellent relationship. We wanted to provide a robust and elegant solution within a reasonably short time frame. Schools projects typically need to be completed during summer shut down so we needed a v1 release within less than 10 weeks. We could only achieve this by quickly expanding our SP capabilities with an outsourced team.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We met with senior members of the Binary Republik management at the Microsoft partner conference in Toronto. We were already impressed with their portfolio of work and projects and during discussions were further impressed by their ability to quickly interpret our requirements and make active, valuable suggestions. This is rare in a niche market like education.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We had a series of requirements analysis meetings with the Binary Republik team where the overall project was scoped. Binary Republik contributed significantly to the scoping based on their experience of similar projects. We had internal expertise and so took responsibility for front-end design (UI/UX) by providing finished graphic compositions, and Binary Republik managed all the custom SharePoint development. We collaborated on the environmental architecture and once this was agreed Binary Republik built their own replica custom dev environment for the project, minimising issues that might otherwise occur in deployment.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a core team of 3 individuals in Binary Republik, including one of their most senior SP resources. We received regular and comprehensive time/task reports from BR (weekly) showing time spent in previous week and time allocated for forthcoming week.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The initial release of the project (which was on-time and budget) was extremely well received by the client and second and third phases incorporating further enhancements were then completed over the following 18 months or so, also working with Binary Republik. This also led to a 'break-away' project designing internal BI dashboards for the client, which we also completed with assistance from Binary Republik.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Collaboration with the team overall was excellent, and often individual tasks were completed ahead of the planned schedule. In fact, we didn't have a single task run over during the project. The project tasks were managed within TFS as both teams were familiar with this. We found there to be virtually zero language barrier working remotely with the Binary Republik team and time differences rarely caused an issue.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Like many companies we've had varying degrees of success with 'offshore' outsourcing, especially outside Europe. However, Binary Republik displayed none of the negative aspects typically experienced with offshore vendors whilst remaining significantly more competitive than 'onshore' vendor partners.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We had a couple of miscommunication issues in the early stages of the project when we misunderstood how hours had been allocated to the project tasks. This was quickly identified and resolved and thereafter was no longer an issue.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the COO at Six Consulting. We are specialists in Salesforce, MuleSoft, and Microsoft implementations. As Silver Salesforce and Microsoft Partners, we have a wide range of expertise in verticals like Manufacturing, Healthcare, LifeSciences, Education amongst others.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Binary Republik?

We hired Binary Republik for a migration project for one of our Fortune 500 clients. The client - a global multinational headquartered in the US. We were looking to migrate their SharePoint intranet to SharePoint Online. Being a global organization, their intranet was accessed by team members in multiple countries. They also had varied legal requirements. We were in need of Microsoft technology experts like ourselves that had experience in constructing large portals as well as dealing with a large volume of data migration. Our primary reason for looking for additional vendors to support us was the large scale of the project.

What were your goals for this project?

The key goals were to migrate the content structure and recreate the site structure and metadata in the SharePoint Online. In addition, the UI was to be responsive and modern. The end goal was to improve user experience as well as reduce maintenance overhead. As an organization, our end goal was to interface directly with a vendor to provide high-quality services at scale.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Six Consulting follows a highly detailed and comprehensive vetting process for vendors. Key factors we look for are: 1. Past expertise in similar projects 2. Security measures and audit process 3. Delivery quality and communication We considered around 20 companies in the vetting process. Our Practice Lead, CEO, CIO, and myself were involved in the process. Binary Republik met the above criteria and our past experience with smaller implementations led us to choose them for this project.

Describe the project in detail.

We followed an agile methodology in this project's execution. After the discovery calls, the team collated the key requirements of the client: -Migration of data from SharePoint 2013 to SharePoint Online -Branding and responsive UI for all pages -Custom page layouts, custom search, custom pages, and templates We were responsible for the overall implementation of the project. Our team of technical experts worked with Binary to ensure the client's feedback was properly communicated and that our primary project implementation guidelines were followed. Binary Republik gave us 4 mockups and templates within a week for client approval. Based on their feedback we were able to quickly complete all requirements.

What was the team composition?

The entire project team was composed of around 20 people. We had a rotating number of resources from the vendor's side based on our requirements. The project manager and a Senior SharePoint Developer were involved for the entire duration of the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The client was looking for quick turnaround time and our agile solutions met their needs perfectly, The entire project was completed in a record number of days as per our estimation. In the past few months since completion, we can already see a 30% increase in user adoption. The client has also signed up for an extended Service Level Agreement as they are happy with the work done.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Since the client was looking for a quick turnaround time, we offered them an agile solution that would meet their needs. That being said, we did not compromise on the solution offered. Binary Republik designs and builds solutions using the Microsoft Solution Framework. With reliable roadmaps, strong UX design, and drive to increase user adoption as the key principles, the team was always prepared for everything. They would keep us posted of any potential delays and deadlines were seldom missed. Interacting through Chatter and Skype kept everyone well informed of milestones and updates.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The team was always very open and easily accessible for technical queries. Each decision was supported by strong logic and a keen technical understanding of implications. This helped us avoid lengthy processes and save time that would have otherwise been lost on corrections.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I feel they did an excellent job and would not hesitate to recommend them for similar implementations in the future.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the executive director of IT at NotalVision, a medical device provider.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Binary Republik?

We needed help with different projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provide server-side development and content development.

What is the team composition?

At maximum capacity, there are five people. Currently, we work with four individuals.

How did you come to work with Binary Republik?

Our team hired Binary Republik because we heard great things about them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $400,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2017, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of their work is really good. Our working relationship is the best thing about collaborating with them. Binary Republik tried to understand what was really needed and what our business is doing. If someone on their team doesn’t have sufficient knowledge in a particular area, they find a replacement the next day.

How did Binary Republik perform from a project management standpoint?

We handle project management and give them tasks; we use Jira.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I like their quick response time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I’d have them improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Divide the tasks into the smallest parts possible. Have daily meetings with the developers to see the progress.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of Future Technology Group. It’s a small IT consulting company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Binary Republik?

I initially hired them to build a custom ASP.NET app. That project was a success, so I continued to give them work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I recently contracted them to build out a Microsoft Access application. The client wanted to take their existing Access app and put it online with Office 365 and SharePoint. I fine-tuned the app’s architecture and then handed it off to Binary Republik to perform the actual development.

Binary Republik moved 17 years’ worth of data from the Access app over to Office 365. They also designed new interfaces for the various types of forms and reports. Their work enabled me to integrate a business intelligence dashboard into the platform. I wouldn’t have been able to complete the project myself.

What is the team composition?

I primarily work with a director and their lead consultant. They coordinate with 1­–3 developers depending on the induvial project. They could bring in more resources if a project called for it.

How did you come to work with Binary Republik?

I found them on Google by searching for consulting firms with SharePoint experience.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2012 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They extend my capabilities and enable me to take on clients that I wouldn’t be able to help on my own. I’m good at architecture and stay up to date on technology, but I come to them when I receive big projects. Clients have been happy with their work and that includes the perfectionists. Specifically, the Access development and Office 365 migration went smoothly. That client expressed appreciation for the service.

How did Binary Republik perform from a project management standpoint?

I’m happy with their level of communication and availability. We primary interact via Skype.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very willing to put in the extra effort. We often work together with demanding clients that have strict requirements. Binary Republik is always accommodating and gets done what needs to be done.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any significant suggestions. At this point, we’ve worked out the kinks that occurred at the beginning of the engagement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Spend time working together during the initial design phase. It saves time in the long run and works better overall.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the applications developer for a SharePoint development firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Binary Republik?

We had a core team of developers who were working on core projects, but if we had more projects, we needed people who could join in ad hoc and work on the solution.

Before Binary Republik, we worked with a couple of other vendors that didn’t work out well. There were communication challenges and the quality of work wasn’t great.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first project was building a SharePoint solution for market research which involved a lot of customization. Binary Republik primarily helped us in building the customizations on top of SharePoint, using mostly technologies like JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. They helped with the entire software development lifecycle.

What is the team composition?

They provided a project manager who managed the developers. There were 3–4 developers and a QA representative who tested the solution and found bugs.

How did you come to work with Binary Republik?

The CEO of our company met someone from Binary Republik at a conference. We looked at 2–3 different companies but chose them because I personally met them and saw their projects. Their quality of work was good and they had good communication.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $200,000–$999,999.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January 2015–January 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Binary Republik’s quality of work was good and we saw fewer issues in our solutions after we started working with them. Sometimes there were issues, but they stepped in and helped out whenever needed. The client was happy.

How did Binary Republik perform from a project management standpoint?

I was happy with their communication. We had daily scrum meetings and most of the people from their side attended regularly and communicated if there were problems.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They had quality solutions. If there were issues or needs, they were on top of it. We could contact them any time. One of the heads would always be available to speak with us if we needed it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could expand their base. They primarily work on Microsoft technologies. It’d be great if they could work on other types of technologies.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Tangram is an IT company that leverages Microsoft technology and product stacks to build value for our client companies. Our team is Microsoft Certified in the best platforms for business. Tangram helps our client businesses do more with less and stay on the cutting edge of business technology. I'm the founder, and I have a number of roles at the company: Business Development, Principal Tech Consultant, and New Product Development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Binary Republic?

Binary Republik came up with the excellent idea to create a business process management portal on SharePoint 2010. The portal would provide access to external vendors and internal employees to place and ship orders to ensure smooth flow of inventory. We also wanted external vendors to be able to log into their extranet portal so they can see the orders placed for their respective products, which helps them to ship more quickly.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Binary Republik has done basic implementation and configuration of SharePoint portals, and server installation. They've run the gamut from basic configuration, up to and including business intelligence within the client portal.

We have used Binary Republik on projects for between 10 and 15 clients. One of the biggest projects we've done had 65 sites and 1,700 users. Another of our clients was a large global accounting company present in 127 countries, with 125,000 users.

How did you come to work with Binary Republik?

They contacted me initially because I am a Microsoft Certified Master. Binary Republik was among a set of contractors we engaged for SharePoint development work, which is a particularly difficult product to work with, despite what Microsoft will tell you. Binary Republik was the only group I found which could work at the required speed.

How much have you invested with Binary Republik?

The cost of Binary Republik's work on this project was $35,000. It was a very large project. Our typical budget for their services in one year is between $80,000 and $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Binary Republik in 2011 or 2012, but this specific project lasted from April 2015 to June 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The biggest success stories of our collaboration with Binary Republik are tracking and real-time insight, efficiency, and improved user satisfaction. Before implementation of Binary Republik's solution, there was no way to track the progress of the inventory or the number of audits in the quality management system. The solution they developed provided insight into how long it took to address inventory management issues. They created a dynamic pull-up system to generate reports, and they allowed crucial insight to be available to executives on the fly. Plus, Binary Republik streamlined collaboration processes, which resulted in more efficient workflows and performance improvement for our clients.

Uptime is dependent on the server, unfortunately. That is in the client's hands and out of our control. In terms of crash instances of SharePoint itself, we've only had two crashes in five years, which were due to the incorrect application of rollups by the client.

How did Binary Republik perform from a project management standpoint?

We have standing meetings with Binary Republik's project manager once a day while projects are ongoing. If we require discussions with the developers, we will schedule them for the upcoming days. There's no question about getting a hold of resources. Binary Republik is good at dealing with time zones, more or less working within our business hours, even though they are nine and a half hours ahead.

We typically put together requirements documents and a project plan. We have very good email communication, and Binary Republik will always pick up the phone if there is a significant issue.

What did you find most impressive about Binary Republik?

Their biggest strengths are their in-depth knowledge of SharePoint and their ability to produce quality output while sticking to the original estimate.

Are there any areas Binary Republik could improve?

I wish that Binary Republik has more skills outside of SharePoint, since I'd like to work with them on other stuff. We're all constrained by our headcount, though.

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

As with anything, the devil is in the details; Binary Republik is very good at thinking things through. I've been outsourcing since before it was fashionable, and have found that Indian developers don't say no. There's a pregnant pause before they answer, which indicated that they actually do want to say no, typically. Binary Republik is one of the few companies which has actually refused us, suggesting alternatives. This is why I like working with them. They won't amend requirements to make things simpler for themselves but will come forward and examine the issue when there is a question.