Bytebrand Outsourcing AG

BACKGROUND

HotApps designs, manufactures, sells, installs, and services iOS and Android communication products as well as proprietary communication software and hardware. HotApps specializes in telecommunications like emergency messaging, so mobile app development and associated back-end works are outsourced. The primary market focus is fire and emergency services and healthcare; however, gaming, hospitality, ining, and manufacturing are opportunistic targets as many apps may be modified for multiple target environments. My role is owner and director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

We needed mobile app development for fire and emergency services, such as that around availability, mapping, and tracking. We also needed development for project responder express (REX), which is an availability, mapping, and respondent tracking system for fire and emergency services. REX is to provide availability numbers and member qualifications. REX will track members from the moment they respond and ceases when the incident is closed. Incident responses will be triggered manually or automatically via a message decoding option. REX will provide an SOS function for active responders.

Future capabilities will include RPAS, or drone, telemetry integration for tactical intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and close air support supporting fire and emergency services, disaster relief, police, and military forces. Full project aims to provide near instantaneous next generation data ecosystem for increased situational awareness. I envisage Bytebrand will be playing a lead role in much of the back-end work for these future works. REX is currently exiting MVP [minimum viable product] as live beta trials and entering Version 1. Bug fixes were predominantly aesthetic, and none affected system features or functionality.

SOLUTION

Offshoring comes with considerable risk, especially for a startup, and even more so for projects that have no comparison in the marketplace. Unlike local development, there are issues, such as language, culture, communication, time zones and culpability, which can and will impact a project's delivery. 

For me, it came down to three fundamentals: capability, culpability, and visitation,

To minimize risk, I conducted about a dozen Skype meetings in order to identify two to three developers that suited my needs. I needed a developer who was capable of bringing together the features and functions my project required and, if that developer needed to outsource work, then I needed to feel confident that they could control the project without me interfering or micromanaging from the other side of the planet – literally.

In regard to culpability associated with offshoring works, I was looking for a developer who was based or registered within a Westernized legal system, a developer who could be, if needed, held accountable if things went sideways. It is this single biggest factor that most prospective clients probably overlook when offshoring. The primary driver of this mindset came when researching online other people's reviews. I realized that the worst that can happen to a dodgy developer was a poor review or two. Meanwhile, the client has lost thousands of dollars. A developer registered within a Westernized legal system at least has a level of concern for repercussions if they fail their client.

After a few weeks, I had narrowed it down to three developers. One in particular was Swiss-based, but their development office in Lviv, Ukraine. They did or do outsource work; however, it was their project management skills I was concerned with more than whether or not they developed in-house.

If you offshore without visiting your developer first, you're crazy or perhaps too wealthy. The whole point of offshoring is to save money, especially so for bleeding edge-type projects. If your project costs can be cut by tens of thousands, then it pays to spend a few thousand on a one- to two-week trip to investigate where you'll be putting your money.

Visiting your developer reduces language, culture, and communication issues greatly in that it provides you with the opportunity to establish a rapport and language style with your developer. It also lets you see if they have the capabilities you require. Most importantly, it allows you to get the information out of your head and into theirs.

I spent six days with Bytebrand in Lviv, and it was the best money I've spent on the project. The project itself was complex in that there are many variables and rules that, if the developer did not understand, could easily increase the budget by double. Bytebrand's project workshop was intense. We mapped out not less than 95 percent of the total scope. This meant that Bytebrand could complete 70 percent of the project before showcasing it to me. Btyebrand's claim that they "manage offshoring" was, in fact, true. They do manage both the in-house and outsourced project work very efficiently.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

For my company, Bytebrand feels like a local developer, but with all the benefits of offshoring. I cannot overstate how big a deal that is. My point of contact at Bytebrand is the offshore manager, Marco Kundert. It is Marco's 15-plus years of experience as a developer that made all the difference to the success of my project. Don't get me wrong; there were at times some uncomfortable conversations. However, the project was delivered on time, on budget, and the bug-free warranty was honored.

I have only one issue – at times Marco assumes I know more about ICT [information and communications technology] than I actually do.

The project I entrusted to Bytebrand, and Marco in particular, currently provides lifesaving communications to people who risk their own lives, in order to save and protect the lives and property others. I recommend giving them some consideration, especially so for those investigating offshoring their projects.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are an electricity supplier in Switzerland with about 520 employees. We produce, trade, and sell electricity to private and business customers. Apart from this, we provide adjacent services like electricity efficiency or e-mobility.

What is your position?

I am a project manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Bytebrand?

We wanted to develop a tool through which our customers could see individual electricity prices in the market. We needed a developer for our solution.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

Bytebrand developed our pricing calculator. It’s a unique tool that required a lot of lateral thinking from them.

How did you come to work with Bytebrand?

Someone in our company knew their project manager from a different project. Bytebrand were a much cheaper solution, compared to other developers in Switzerland. We have high-quality standards and weren’t sure that they could meet our expectations, but it ultimately worked out very well.

We did consider other Swiss companies that had worked on similar projects, but they were much more expensive.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total development cost was around $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project was completed two weeks ago [March 2016].

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I’ve shown the software to people in our company. They’ve been very satisfied with it. Currently, only a few customers are using it because it’s not set to launch until next week [April 2016]. One of the customers that have used it told us that they found the solution to be interesting and well made.

How did Bytebrand perform from a project management standpoint?

We did have a few unexpected problems during development that were, in part, due to our internal operations. The project took a little longer than expected to complete, and we exceeded our budget. It was not the fault of Bytebrand. They performed very well overall.

We communicated through email and telephone. Everything was done remotely, but we did meet our project manager when he came to Switzerland. Incidentally, he is also Swiss, and it was a nice surprise to meet him in person.

What distinguishes Bytebrand from other providers?

I don’t have much project experience in this area. Bytebrand were very patient with me, given this fact. They were available at any time, despite our slight time difference. Their team was very easygoing and replied to our emails immediately.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

My company produces fresh organic eggs in Switzerland through our own logistics. We also provide liquid egg products.

What is your position?

I am the Chief Operations Officer. I will assume the position of Chief Executive Officer in a few months.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Bytebrand?

I started a project for optimizing our egg production. I needed a company that could help with the algorithms involved in the process. The problem was mainly that of scaling our production proportionally to the high fluctuations in the market, specifically during Easter time.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

Bytebrand developed my inventory management solution. We also worked on a project for an employee management tool. Our staff could punch in cards at the beginning and end of their shifts and the time information would be logged in our system. It was developed as an open source web-based solution using Odoo. Bytebrand also developed an iOS app for us that connected to our Odoo system. Both platforms were developed in parallel.

How did you come to work with Bytebrand?

I've known their owner personally for 15 years.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total development cost for our first project has been around $30,000. The second one had a cost of $20,000. We're currently working on a third project which is estimated at $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our relationship is ongoing. We've started our third project two months ago. It's estimated to finish in six months.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Our first project, for market demand estimation, took a little while to be adopted by users. Currently, people using it can't see how they ever worked without it. It runs perfectly.

How did Bytebrand perform from a project management standpoint?

They've always been able to deliver their work on time and within our assigned budget.

I've known their owner for a long time and we have our own way of working together. He's very fast and our collaboration is very fluid. We communicate through meetings and phone calls.

What distinguishes Bytebrand from other providers?

They are solution-oriented. Bytebrand works fast and has a lot of experience with different types of projects. We don't need to have long discussions about what a certain solution should be. They understand our ideas and start the work fast. They give us input for our concepts and it's easy to communicate with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We provide keyless access to temporary locations. Our company has developed the ability to access self-storage and pick-up terminal units through an app.

What is your position?

I am the founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Bytebrand?

I wanted to save money on external development work for my project without doing any compromises in quality.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

Bytebrand developed the frontend and backend portions of my project using AngularJS, Python and other technologies. They worked on both our app and website. They're now working on a customer relationship management system using Tableau.

The team they provided for us featured around 23 developers at peak capacity. We have scaled our resources down to 8 people since then.

Since January, we've employed a chief technology officer from their team which has been a further way for us to deduct costs. He acts as a direct way of dealing with the development team.

How did you come to work with Bytebrand?

They were recommended to me by another offshore development company which didn't have the necessary capacity for my work. This company had worked with Bytebrand in the past and had had good experiences with them in projects dealing with augmented reality.

I hadn't had previous experience with offshore vendors. We compared their company with two other ones. We needed a provider with a similar way of thinking to ours, and felt that one from India, Bangladesh, or a similar location would have had difficulties in understanding our requirements.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

So far, the total development cost has been around $130,000. This year, we plan on investing another $150,000-$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with Bytebrand since October of 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I actively recommend Bytebrand to companies with which we collaborate, both big institutions and startups. They're a good choice for anyone looking for high quality work. Bytebrand has been involved in developing an online platform as a joint venture between the biggest Swiss retailer and Swisscom. I also recommended them to a small company working with farming goods, which is planning on using their services.

How did Bytebrand perform from a project management standpoint?

Normally, they were ahead of their deadlines. We've never had any delays and the process was very efficient and quick. I'm quite surprised that I could get this level of quality through an offshore solution.

What distinguishes Bytebrand from other providers?

They are the perfect solution for someone with high expectations regarding a full stack IT solution. The owner of Bytebrand has been involved in some large projects. We were able to talk with him about all our needs and he always delivered the right persons at the right time. He has access to a great pool of know-how and manpower.