Bytes Technolab

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the owner of a management consulting firm. We help companies in making their business processes more efficient

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Bytes Technolab Inc., and what were your goals?

We needed support to develop a new management system for one of our customers based on the integration of wordpress plugins

SOLUTION

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

We searched online for senior wordpress developers who can support us. In the end we chose Bytes Technolab because of their flexibility, working methods and customer approach.

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

After the first kick off meeting we started setting up the two servers: staging and production and then wordpress multisite support. We worked on a weekly based sprint for the development. During the week we had two stand up meetings for the project status updates.

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

A project manager and a dedicated developer as well as a designer followed us throughout the project

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Finally our client has a multisite with integrated database: this will guarantee a better user experience and less inconvenience for operators

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

During the project they updated us daily on the status of the activities and also in case of doubts and delays. For the project management related updates we used Basecamp while the developer used the trello board to follow tasks process.

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

We were impressed with their courtesy and willingness to meet customer requests.

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

When we pointed out bugs or problems the team was always able to fix them

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the web manager of and online event furniture wholesaler.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Bytes Technolab Inc., and what were your goals?

We wished to enhance our customers shopping experience by adding common question and answer content to our product listing questions. We needed to ensure this content could be added to the website by staffers who did not have the technical background to write code. We also wanted to the pages to include the schema data which Google would recognize for inclusion with search results.

SOLUTION

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

While browsing the Magento marketplace, We found that Bytes Technolab was one of a few vendors who had already developed a module which included functionality similar to what we were seeking. As we had already purchased were using another module from this developer, we were confident that we could trust a solution to which they might be able to provide. When asked, they were willing to add the required additional functionality at a reasonable price.

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

We provided a detailed description of the functionality which we required and Bytes Technolab added that functionality into a new version of their Magento 2 module.

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

We worked directly with 3 individuals from the vendors team: VP of Sales & Marketing and 2 Sr. Software Engineers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After adding this module to our site we are able to have our non-technical staffers add content to the website which will help our customers make more informed decisions on their purchases. We also expect that overtime we will see a boost to our SEO rankings on our product listing pages.

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

We communicated every few days via email and upwork as required to complete the project.

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

They were able to return an effective module in the first delivered version at a very rapid pace. Their communication was clear, and they proved to have a complete understanding of the Magento 2 platform.

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

No, our expectations were exceeded.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I design and develop websites for small and mid-sized companies and organizations for a company that also maintains two community websites

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Bytes Technolab Inc., and what were your goals?

We were hired to update and maintain a complex website in AWS and built with PHP, Laravel, and JavaScript. We hired Bytes Technolab because the technical aspects of the job were beyond our regular capabilities.

SOLUTION

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

To the best of my ability, I describe the job requirements in Upwork, and hired Bytes Technolab based on their ability to do the work described at a reasonable cost.

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

Bytes Technolab helped us immediately with some fixes to some issues left by the previous developer. They also successfully worked out how the system was put together with essentially no information from us. Since then, they have worked in AWS using PHP, Laravel, and JavaScript to upgrade this site with new functionality numerous times.

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

We work with one contact who also connects with several of her developer coworkers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our client has been very pleased with the improvements to the stability and functionality of their website.

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

We have worked through Upwork and communicate through their chat function. I typically throw a new task or problem at them and get a price quote for larger tasks. We then chat back and forth to get updates until the task is complete.

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

They have been very responsive and professional no matter how may "curveballs" I send their way. They impressively figured out a very complex build without any guidance from the site's previous developers.

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

There have been a couple times where communication between us about the job requirements needed to be clarified a bit, but I think that was mostly from my inability to convey the instructions well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My company is an e-commerce startup. I’m a reseller that buys people’s unwanted video games and movies in physical format.

I’m sent items via post, and then I mark them up or resell or recycle them in my own profit margin.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bytes Technolab Inc?

I had a pretty bad experience with a contractor on Upwork. Since I was dissatisfied with the level of service I received, I searched for Bytes Technolab and had them redo my website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I do like to get their feedback and ideas on things as well, and that’s what they’ve done so far. The website wasn’t built from scratch, and they had to tear down a lot of things but used a pre-existing code.

The technology used in building the site was WordPress and WooCommerce. There are still a few minor hiccups with that website, and it won’t be launching for at least another month.

What is the team composition?

I worked with their team.

How did you come to work with Bytes Technolab Inc?

I found them on Upwork, but I did quite a lot of research on them through Clutch and other companies.

I also looked at other companies, but Bytes Technolab seemed to be the ones that were most consistent in terms of how good their work was from reviews.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $12,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our engagement about a year ago.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I haven’t launched it yet, but I have full confidence in them doing a good job. I’ve worked with them for about a year, and I could’ve gone to others if I wasn’t satisfied. Their work speaks for itself.

How did Bytes Technolab Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

Their adherence to deadlines is pretty good. Sometimes they might be out by a week, but that’s on a very rare occasion.

We’ve had Skype chats and whatnot. They’re pretty good when it comes to stuff like that; they’re very professional. I use Trello for project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

If I say do something, they’ll do it. They’ve never failed me, and I’m pretty proud of them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could work more with you to hashing out ideas rather than being people who know everything. It would be nice to have somebody who helps me through spitting ideas back and forth. There is some of that, but not enough of it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know what it is that you want. Have a clear vision in terms of what you want to achieve because if you have holes in your vision, you can’t rely on them to fill those holes. You need to be crystal clear with what you want.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a lead account manager at ThoughtLab.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bytes Technolab Inc?

We hired a different company to help us with our two apps, but everything went wrong with that partnership. We already went over our budget, but we didn't get what we needed. As a result, we brought in Bytes Technolab to take over the project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bytes Technolab assisted us in developing our two apps. One of the apps was for a company that sells soap dispensers and paper towel dispensers to huge corporations. The team helped in enabling the company’s sales reps to enhance their sales presentations using the app.

As a result, sales reps had the opportunity to show the different variations of the soap dispensers and paper towel dispensers. On top of that, they could compute the orders of customers through the calculator on the app.

We discussed to them our requirements and the issues we were facing. During our engagement, they asked us questions through documents we needed to fill up. The team always waited for approval before they moved on to accomplish other deliverables. We also had a group channel with them where they reached out to us daily. We continue to use the team’s website development and QA services.

What is the team composition?

We worked with five people on the soap dispenser and paper towel dispenser project, including Mitulkumar (CEO). We also worked with their developers, account manager, and project manager. 

How did you come to work with Bytes Technolab Inc?

I found them because my brother used their services through the company he worked for. Since they were strongly recommended by my brother, I decided to give them a try.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $50,000–$199,999.

What is the status of this engagement?

For the two apps, we worked from December 2020–January 2021. However, we still have ongoing projects with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Bytes Technolab saved us; they were able to figure out everything that our previous service provider messed up, and they were able to get everything in a good spot. They also received good feedback from our external stakeholders. We had a couple of things they needed to tweak, and they were able to complete it.

How did Bytes Technolab Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management process was more than perfect. In fact, Bytes Technolab always met their deadlines. We usually communicated through email or Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our external stakeholders were happy with their outputs, and we appreciated that they went the extra mile in providing all of our requirements. More importantly, when we needed something to be fixed, they responded and resolved our issues right away. We didn’t feel like they were a contractor. Instead, we considered them as part of our team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I didn’t think they needed to improve anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Depending on where you’re located, there could be a huge time difference between you and Bytes Technolab. When that happens, you just have to wake up early or arrange for them to stay up late — that’s the biggest pain point you’re going to have if you want all your questions answered.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of a music merchandising company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bytes Technolab Inc?

We hired Bytes Technolab Inc to help us migrate from Magento 1 to Magento 2.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We already had another company migrate our site from Magento 1 to Magento 2. However, it was incredibly buggy. Since we decided to scrap the migration that was done by a previous company, Bytes Technolab Inc had to start from scratch. 

We hired them on a task-by-task basis. They installed Magento 2 to get rid of all the bugs that we were encountering. After that, they continued to add extensions and assist with configuration needs. The extensions include the Facebook Pixel extension, one-step checkout assistance with Google, Google location services, and more. The team continues to provide ongoing development assistance.

What is the team composition?

We’re working with an account manager and a developer. 

How did you come to work with Bytes Technolab Inc?

The team was referred to us. We gave Bytes Technolab Inc a simple installation task, and they were able to complete it. We were also impressed with their responsiveness. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing relationship began in August 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Bytes Technolab Inc has successfully migrated our platform to Magento 2, and we've had successful high traffic sales events through the store. They’ve been incredibly efficient, and they have affordable services. Above all, we haven’t experienced any bugs or crashes on the website yet.

How did Bytes Technolab Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

They have a great project management process — that’s been the main improvement in working with them over other companies. We get quick responses to our emails, and they let us know when they’re going to be working on the site. We also give them a priority list through Trello, and they’ve been able to follow them. On top of that, we communicate through email and Skype.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We have used overseas developers in the past, and Bytes Technolab Inc’s communication skills set them apart.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’ve been very happy with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Pre-plan the tasks you want the team to complete.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of an electronic cigarettes store.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bytes Technolab Inc?

We were using Finale Software, and they optimized it to speed up our workflow.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They made us an online website, and optimized it with Finale software. Our pictures automatically go to the website, and the software goes instantly to the website. We also used to need to manually print packing slips, and now we scan it and it prints out. Their work made it easier to ship products from our BigCommerce site.

What is the team composition?

I talked with two people, but I don’t know who else was working on it.

How did you come to work with Bytes Technolab Inc?

We asked our Finale software provider, and they recommended Bytes Technolab Inc.

How much have you invested with them?

It’s between $10,000 and $25,000 total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began work in August 2018 and are still working together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I give them high ratings. They made our lives easier. They instantly reply and everything was completed on time. They don’t give up — they keep working until the project is finished.

How did Bytes Technolab Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

If we ever had a problem, they fixed it immediately. They were very communicative.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re diligent at finishing their work. If you ever don’t like something, call them. They’ll make it work. They’re not going to tell you no, they’ll get it done.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing can be improved on, yet.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you tell them something, they’ll get it done. Alert them if there is a problem — they’ll fix it immediately

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are an advertising and marketing firm. We work with connecting brands to experts within their industry. We work with professionals in veterinary medicine and connect them with product brands so they can learn about the newest innovations from different brands.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bytes Technolab Inc

We’re doing a number of things with our website, both on our client-side and customer-side. We’re actually revamping the entire structure.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve done a number of things for us, including developing some new tools for the user flow. It’s everything from design to the operational side, like how an expert would onboard with us. They’re using WordPress.

Primarily, they do development. We hand off designs to them to code, though there is a bit of a back and forth. They’re pretty good about suggesting things to get around limitations within WordPress. We’re changing the design over from a segmented approach to a persona-based approach. We’re looking to make the site more user-friendly, visual, and personal.

Some of the biggest challenges are finding and sizing the right quality images, as well as making sure all the pieces on the pages flow together well. They’ve also built navigation menus, CTA buttons, and more. Separate projects including more design-heavy products including look-books for some products. We never use templates, so they have to code everything from scratch.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with the CEO, and then there are probably three other designers that we work with periodically.

How did you come to work with Bytes Technolab Inc?

Our CMO had worked with them in the past. One of the challenges we had with our prior developer was communication. We’d request something be done, then they’d respond saying it was done but it wouldn’t be. Then, a lot of back and forth would be required to get it done correctly. It was hard to accomplish a lot with everything going so slowly.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $35,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked together since September 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

From a development standpoint, when we’re looking specifically at what we consider a successful development team, it’s delivering the project accurately and on time. We’re seeing that with Bytes Technolab. We’re also seeing a high level of accuracy in the first draft that we’re not accustomed to from other developers. I never have to handhold through a second draft; anything that has to change is small. I don’t have to critique the minutiae; they catch everything after we tell them what we want to change.

How did Bytes Technolab Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Jira and Slack with them, and it’s been great. They’re super good with follow-up. In fact, they’re usually reminding me when I need to review something they deliver.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication is incredible, and they ask really great questions. When I’m presenting a design to them or a new development, they ask questions to solve problems and eliminate roadblocks upfront. If we give them something that isn’t optimized for development, they’ll let us know and work with us to change it, rather than just producing something that looks terrible. It makes the process so much easier than it’s been with other providers. Particularly working with myself, who isn’t a developer, they communicate in a manner I understand. This lets me know what I need to deliver to them.

The quality of their work is excellent. We’ve never given them something they can’t do. Sometimes, designs are a bit pie-in-the-sky, but they’ve also found a way to implement them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I haven’t had any problems with them at all. I can’t think of anything. Anytime something hasn’t worked, it’s because we haven’t delivered all the design pieces.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just work with them. I’ve worked with a few different development teams and they’re great to work with. They’re transparent about timelines and great about communicating holidays. They’ll let us know well in advance if they’re going to be out a couple of days. They’re good with the time difference as well; I meet with them over Zoom with regularity.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a technology consulting company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bytes Technolab Inc?

We were looking to supplement additional resources for some of our projects. We can't always hire full-time employees for our in-house team and needed assistance with some of our long-term engagements.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bytes Technolab Inc provides web development services. We do the project management on our side and we have them do the technical aspects. The projects are mainly for my clients, although some of them are internal.

Our most recent project is a website for a large rubber manufacturer. They are working in Magento 2 to build the site. 

What is the team composition?

I primarily work with 2–3 members of their team. Most of the time, they have a large team of people taking care of things behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with Bytes Technolab Inc?

We found them on LinkedIn. WAfter a detailed discussion, they provided a presentation of their company’s capabilities. I verified with a couple of sources as well.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested about $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2020 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We work in tandem with clients’ requirements. Although we have a fixed timeline, if the requirements change, we extend the timeline too. That being said, they’ve been pretty good about addressing issues right away. If there are any issues, they’re pretty fast on it. Our client is very satisfied right now.

How did Bytes Technolab Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve been handing project management on our side with the client, we interact with them as they take care of the technical side. From a technical project management standpoint, they’re pretty good about it. We use Excel and Gantt Charts to colaborate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have the ability to tackle things on time and quickly. Their technical knowledge is very impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They generally try to keep lean staffing. Their off hours like weekends, if they could support that, it would be great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Involve them in the very beginning before you even have a technology selected.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of a drink sharing platform. We’re a bootstrap startup with an idea to utilize a mobile application to share drinks with friends. Users can build a network of bars and restaurants by transferring gift certificates to people on their contact list.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bytes Technolab?

We needed to move the platform forward as financially and efficiently as possible.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a significant portion of the app done that had stalled out. Bytes Technolab had to come on and understand the codebase. If we had started from scratch, it would’ve been easier for them, but they were helping us with the final push. There were a half a dozen open issues they had to fix then they handled the process of getting the platform out into stores. To summarize, I brought them on to finish the project and fix those issues.

What is the team composition?

There were three individuals comprising a business developer, project manager, and developer. I communicated a lot with the developer.

How did you come to work with Bytes Technolab?

My partner worked with Bytes Technolab at a previous company. We took them on his recommendation. They were sharp, fast, and cost-efficient. When we went through the scope, it just made sense for us.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from October 2019—June 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app is in early access in the Google Play Store. It’s live, and there are testers downloading it. We’ve started the process for the Apple Store, and there are a few more things to do there. Overall, Bytes Technolab met our expectations. I was a challenging customer, and they accommodated that very well. This is a secondary project for me.

How did Bytes Technolab perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated over Slack and phone calls to make sure we were on the same page. There could’ve been more status updates so our team could understand where they were. Taking on a codebase took them longer than they expected. They invested more time in understanding the code and didn’t communicate that fully. There are a few things we could’ve been more aligned on.

They knew we were bootstrap and tried to get things done efficiently as possible. Their team worked with us and our budget; they were sensitive to that. So maybe that reduced what they’d normally do from a project management perspective. However, they were always responsive when I asked questions and had concerns.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were eager to jump in and help us with our challenge. It’s clear that their focus was on our end goal, and they got up to speed with the code. Their team was very dedicated to making sure we were happy with what they did. They were customer service oriented and invested in the success of the project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

A regular communication cadence relative to status could be an improvement. Again, I was a challenging customer in that there were times when I canceled a couple of calls. In their defense, they can’t control their customers. However, in lieu of a call, they could send a weekly status email.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a detailed scope of work that both sides agree to and understand as well as a regular status cadence.