BRACKETS

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work as the Head of Digital and Diversification department at the main commercial TV broadcaster in Slovakia (located in Bratislava). My responsibility covers the leadership of the digital team, which besides server/website oriented projects includes also mobile app development.

As the biggest commercial television on the market we are heavily focused on News and Video delivery solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire BRACKETS by TRIAD, and what were your goals?

We hired Brackets by TRIAD back in time when the mobile audience gained a major role in reaching our content. We needed apps, which would serve as additional tools to delivery of our News related and Video-on-Demand related content.

Additionally it allowed us to deliver increased revenues through these new content channels. We also knew we have only one chance to succeed if we don't want to miss the train and stay as market leaders and trend setters.

SOLUTION

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

We've met Brackets by TRIAD at a marketing conference, where they truly blew us up with a unique mindset and creative approach. They were just incomparable to other development companies at that time. We had experience from foreign markets about different companies with big promises in theory, but not really well executed results and, at the end, even unsuccessful apps, incl. our own case of 2nd screen app (from Romanian vendor).

Brackets were different, since the beginning they knew exactly what they could promise and deliver. And they did. We also had few recommendations from other players in the online field, which have later been fulfilled beyond our expectations.

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

News app - HTML reader of a dedicated responsive website specifically made for the app. Additionally using native elements, supporting GPS location to report incidents directly to our News department, weather forecast, dedicated menu, push notifications, video playback incl. advertising, etc. Made for iOS, Android, incl. tablet versions.

AVOD app - fully native video-on-demand application, fully supports video playback (JW player integration), video advertising VAST/VPAID, TV channels live stream playback, EPG guide, content search, user account creation and login function, incl. profile management & account deletion.

In terms of content, it gets content from our main VOD platform through API. Made for iOS, Android, Android TV, incl. dedicated tablet versions. Scope of work has been similar for both apps.

1. Kick-off meeting, discussing ideas, requirements and technologies used. Price offer is delivered within days. 
2. The vendor prepares for each round of approvals the following - wireframes, mock-ups, graphics and testing version. Well made UX is always our priority. Usually wireframes are delivered within 2 week period, full graphic mock-ups in additional week and working and tested pre-release version within 2 - 2,5 months. There was a separate version for tablets and Android TV in case of AVOD app, which better suited the bigger screens.
3. Testing of applications - Brackets always provide very well tested and bug-free test versions. Other vendors we coop with do not show this practice and usually we as client need to test their apps.
4. After testing, the apps are been submitted to the stores and published. In case of any additional requirements from Apple or Google, the response and fixes are immediate.

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

The main point of contact is our account / project manager, however what is quite valuable, in case of need to discuss technicalities in complete detail, we are able to speak directly to the developers.

Usually 1-2 developers are working on our apps, however their team is bigger, based on the frameworks used. Also the managing director of the vendor is available to us in case we needed to discuss other topics and business decisions.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The AVOD app, in the scope of its existence, reached over 1 million downloads (iOS, Android, incl. redownloads) and soon after release become nr. 1 trending app in video category in Slovakia. Thanks to the News app we were able to deliver push notifications about breaking news on daily basis and reach our users (also TV News TV viewers) in an instant.

We gained additional audience in case of both the News as well as AVOD app.

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

The project management is always thorough and flexible. Wireframes and mock-ups are delivered in Invision, thus are very easily discussed and shown to our top management and CEO. In the TV media field the changes come very unexpectedly and quickly. In this case Brackets shows extreme flexibility and dynamics. Any type of app changes needed are usually implemented within 3-10 days based on the complexity.

We never experienced a situation we had to wait for their availability. Many times their responds and replies came during weekends or late evening hours. This is very much appreciated especially during strong TV seasons.

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

Their reaction times to our needs, the attitude of their employees, being able and willing to help us even during weekend or evenings. The overall flexibility, extremely skillful developers, graphic designers and project managers. In my past 12 years experience in the field of digital and online projects development, there were only 3 vendors, which truly fulfilled and even exceeded all our expectation. Brackets are one of them.

The other two are our current AVOD/SVOD/News & TV web CMS platform provider and our HbbTV provider.

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

With the deepest honesty, I think that this vendor is so very well internally organized, structured, managed and externally presented, it is quite difficult to find any negatives labelled as possible areas of improvement. Well, they just could've been less reliable ;-) so we wouldn't have to shed tears each time we compare them to other vendors (not only in the field of app development) in terms of attitude, precision, results, customer care and overall experience. We truly love to work with these guys!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm an executive at an SMM platform. We do software services and help marketing agencies and brands with our productivity software.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BRACKETS by TRIAD?

We needed to integrate a couple of software solutions and they were in charge of integration.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

BRACKETS by TRIAD did cloud integration for us. We sent them a brief with the goal and what we needed to do, and they gave us time and budget estimations. Consequently, they started working on it and delivered it within the given timeframe.

In terms of features and functionalities, they built the software solution on the AWS cloud, focusing on the backend using Laravel and PHP and doing some DevOps activities.

What is the team composition?

We worked with around five people from their team, and our main contact points were their project manager and Pavol (CEO).

How did you come to work with BRACKETS by TRIAD?

A friend who had a previous experience with them referred them to me.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent more than €100,000 (approximately $96,000 USD) with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from December 2020–January 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They delivered everything within our expectations.

How did BRACKETS by TRIAD perform from a project management standpoint?

They stayed on the budget we agreed upon and used tools like Jira and Asana for communication and project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their most outstanding attributes were their backend development expertise and understanding of our needs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think there's anything they can improve on — we were delighted with their work.

Any advice for potential customers?

Prepare a good brief, fully understand the problem and the challenge they need to solve, and clearly define the end goal.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am an IT director and project manager for a digital solutions company. We issue meal vouchers, fuel cards, and meal cards and provide other services to employees and employers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BRACKETS by TRIAD?

We established our company in 2018 and wanted to build our corporate website, mobile applications, and contact management system. We also needed help building out our project management infrastructure.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

BRACKETS has provided us with several informatics services; they’ve built our websites and mobile applications using Java, .NET, and React Native. Additionally, they’ve consulted with us to establish our project management processes. 

They’ve continued hosting the sites and providing additional development services as needed. 

What is the team composition?

We primarily work with a director and project manager from BRACKETS, who typically liaise with the development and testing teams soon. 

How did you come to work with BRACKETS by TRIAD?

Our projects department identified BRACKETS. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested €350,000 (approximately $350,000 USD) in the partnership with BRACKETS.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with BRACKETS in 2018, and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

BRACKETS has successfully delivered the new website, which we’re happy with. We’ve established additional KPIs for our other related technology initiatives, which the team has also met. We’ve measured our Net Promoter Score (NPS) throughout the partnership, and BRACKETS’ efforts have increased our NPS by 10 points, which has been nice.

How did BRACKETS by TRIAD perform from a project management standpoint?

The BRACKETS team has managed projects well; they typically provide their outputs quicker than our team. They've executed deliverables within 2% of the time and budget estimates, which has been great. 

The team has also been responsive and professional, and I’ve enjoyed our cooperation. We hold daily stand-ups, demos, and scrum meetings with the team and use Jira to manage tasks and review outputs. We also meet with the director of BRACKETS monthly to brainstorm, review operations, and recognize team members; we refer to our monthly meeting as the “steering committee” because we have many operations.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve been most impressed by their professionalism and communication. We’ve worked with other service providers who’ve failed to communicate effectively, but BRACKETS has exceeded our expectations. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great if BRACKETS could grow their staff. Our company is growing, and it would be beneficial if they could grow with us to continue supporting our needs.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I advise maintaining the lines of communication open with BRACKETS.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a CEO in Runology.app - coaching intelligence service helping people become better, faster and injury free runners. In RUNology we believe, that every running step matters - that is why our primary focus is on the running technique analyses and interpretation. Using the newest motion-capture technology and AI, RUNology is the first running training app giving users the automated video-analyses of their running technique and personalised training plan based on the analyses result, running history, health, life-style, aspirations and running goals.

RUNology is the first running training app giving runners opportunity to train under the holistic coaching approach - combining newest knowledge from biomechanics, running coaching, strenght training, injury prevention and physiotherapy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire BRACKETS by TRIAD, and what were your goals?

We want to hire competent and experienced team for developing the complex solution of mobile running coaching app with integration of fully automated interpretation of AI based motion analyses provided by third party.

SOLUTION

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

We had a previous experience with the company and we appreciated their professionalism, project management and delivery.

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

We are still working on the project - currently we are in the phase 1 - designing the app. We discussed the detailed specification of functionality of the app and went through the wireframes.Brackets created a sitemap and start working od design.

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

By this time we are working mainly with project manager, who is consulting our request with the team of programmers + UX designer is involved in designing the app.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Not yet, we are still in development phase

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

We are very satisfied with the project management - having regular status mtgs every week. Communication is clear, very open to find solutions to our requests, meeting deadlines we agreed.

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

Project management, ability to meet deadlines, clear communication

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

Not yet

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of Allfred, a finance and project management platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BRACKETS by TRIAD?

We needed help to develop our platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

BRACKETS by TRIAD prepared our mobile application's architecture, backend, and frontend; they built the backend in Laravel and PHP and the frontend in React.

What is the team composition? 

We've worked with project managers, developers, and Pavol (CEO).

How did you come to work with BRACKETS by TRIAD?

We found them online. I knew about them because I used to work with them in the past.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we've spent €400,000 (approximately $398,000 USD) with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2019, and the engagement is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We're getting very good feedback on their work. We have more than 200 customers, and one consists of 40 users, so we're delighted with the results.

How did BRACKETS by TRIAD perform from a project management standpoint?

They meet deadlines and stay within budget. Regarding communication, we use Jira.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're a smaller company that can focus on helping us succeed in our market.

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?

Trust them because they know what they're doing.