Computer Services Unlimited (CSU)

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the onboarding specialist for Catholic Relief Services, which is an NGO where most of our employees work overseas.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Computer Services Unlimited, Inc. (CSU)?

We needed help to create an onboarding website that serves as a learning tool for incoming newly-hired employees.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Computer Services Unlimited, Inc. (CSU) designed and built the WordPress website from scratch. CSU worked with my marketing and communications department to understand what we were looking for. They created the site map and then built an informational website that is hidden from Google indexing. We send the link to employees once they’ve been hired.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a small team of four people. Our primary contact was Jane (project manager, CSU). The other three people on the team were developers.

How did you come to work with Computer Services Unlimited, Inc. (CSU)?

We put out a RFP to three vendors. We chose CSU based on other websites that they've created for us, and they came back with the lowest price.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent more than $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project took place from June–September 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new website features a lot of information in a visually pleasing format. All of the feedback that I've received so far has been positive. People are excited about it because it's beautiful and easy to follow. It delivers the impression that we want to set when we hire a new employee. It gives us a more consistent onboarding approach for all of our employees.

How did Computer Services Unlimited, Inc. (CSU) perform from a project management standpoint?

There were no hiccups. CSU met every single deadline and they were always on time. If anything slowed down the project, it was on my side and not theirs. I added more to the scope right at the beginning of the project. CSU adapted very easily. They’re open with communication and we met regularly. They always explained where we were in the process and what feedback they needed from my team to move forward.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They do such good work, and their prices are more than fair. As a non-profit, I have to be very careful how much I spend. They delivered an excellent product at a really great price.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be prepared. They’re really good at communicating, so have your content ready. I gave them over 50 pages of content, which they turned into a beautiful website.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a senior content developer/strategist for a relief services organization. We help the poor and vulnerable overseas by responding to major emergencies, fighting disease, and working to combat poverty.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Computer Services Unlimited, Inc. (CSU)?

We needed to develop a microsite for our organization’s 75th anniversary.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to showcase our anniversary in an interactive way with monthly stories, podcasts, and videos, and a multi-media timeline.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We’d worked with CSU in the past on a variety of projects.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

CSU provided backend support and handled design, UX, and content implementation.

What was the team composition?

We had an assigned project manager, who was fantastic and hyper-responsive. Other resources worked behind the scenes to ensure everything was implemented correctly and strategically.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Internal and external audiences received the site well, and it generated a lot of awareness of our organization. Additionally, the site showed us we could drive users to create compelling stories and content in a different way.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

It was very impressive. Their regularly complied with deadlines and always communicated delays well ahead of time. We used Teamwork, email, and phone for most of our communication.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The company was highly responsive to requests and open to innovation, specifically regarding our interactive and multimedia timeline, which displayed our work over the past 75 years. This website was a storytelling vehicle that shared our past, present, and future. As a bonus, their entire team was very pleasant.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is precious little they could improve. We were highly satisfied with their quality of work and attention to detail.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are an international humanitarian aid agency. We are a faith-based, catholic organization working in 100 countries around the world.

I am a program officer in the organization. I work in our US division, for one of our larger local programs, focusing on education, faith formation, and fundraising.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Computer Services Unlimited?

Computer Services Unlimited has been used by our agency quite regularly. They are familiar with our material and with our way of working. Computer Services Unlimited understands our branding and mission, so it made sense to keep working with them.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The website for my program needed to be reskinned in order to match branding. Computer Services Unlimited was assigned to this task. We also needed to have our entire website overhauled in 2015, bringing it up to agency standards.

Most recently, we've worked with Computer Services Unlimited on developing and maintaining our web app.

Another program which operates in our unit needed a web presence as well. We explored options for that, eventually contacting Computer Services Unlimited. They added the program as a page on our existing website, giving it its own identity as well.

I have worked with Computer Services Unlimited's principal directly. I don't know what the size of our team has been.

How did you come to work with Computer Services Unlimited?

Computer Services Unlimited was hired before I started working in the organization. They did good work, so we saw no reason to go elsewhere.

How much have you invested with Computer Services Unlimited?

The total cost of Computer Services Unlimited's services for our division has been around $3,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We keep working with Computer Services Unlimited because they're a very efficient company with outstanding communication. We're aware of every step of the process and have been able to see the work while it was in design, giving feedback on it.

One of Computer Services Unlimited's strengths is their understanding of our brand and ability to integrate that into the work, without needing a lot of extra guidance.

How did Computer Services Unlimited perform from a project management standpoint?

Computer Services Unlimited addresses any questions immediately, keeping the ball rolling, and they've been transparent about costs. Computer Services Unlimited has been willing to work with our budget.

We haven't used any specific project management tools with Computer Services Unlimited. Exchanging documents is done through email and Dropbox. We rely on our own web team for taking tasks back-and-forth.

What did you find most impressive about Computer Services Unlimited?

App development was not one of the original offerings that Computer Services Unlimited had, but they worked with us in finding someone that could offer that. Computer Services Unlimited was open about what capabilities were available, so we were able to get the project started.

Computer Services Unlimited is also good at working with other vendors so, if we bring someone for a different platform, they will get the answers necessary for moving forward. In terms of communication, Computer Services Unlimited is fantastic at letting us know what's happening and turning things around quickly.

Are there any areas Computer Services Unlimited could improve?

We've never had any issues with Computer Services Unlimited.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Computer Services Unlimited?                                    

Computer Services Unlimited works best based on plans, so any client should make an effort in presenting their vision.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our organization is a non-profit located in Baltimore, Maryland. I am a digital project manager in the organization. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Computer Services Unlimited?

We don't have any internal developers, so we've used Computer Services Unlimited for some of our work. Two years ago, our director of the web unit was let go, along with two other people in the department. We were left in a position of having no technical resources.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We reached out to Computer Services Unlimited in order to get help with the work for our 70 microsites. We were constantly getting requests from clients for site updates.

Our initial site had been built using Adobe ColdFusion. A different vendor made a Drupal site for us. Once we made the switch in September 2015, Computer Services Unlimited was hired to maintain our site. We also include them into the bidding process for any microsite that we need to have built from scratch. These will either be WordPress or Drupal sites.

We always communicated with Computer Services Unlimited's project manager directly, not with the programmers.

How did you come to work with Computer Services Unlimited?

We always reach out to 3 vendors for any development project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with Computer Services Unlimited for the past 2 years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The most important feedback that I can give about the microsites built by Computer Services Unlimited was that they were always delivered on time, or before deadlines. We've always had short deadlines. For a recent conference in Rome, Computer Services Unlimited had to deliver a WordPress site in just 3-4 weeks. They delivered, which is one of the main reasons for including Computer Services Unlimited into our bidding process on a continual basis. Computer Services Unlimited always delivered, which was not the case for many other vendors that we work with.

How did Computer Services Unlimited perform from a project management standpoint?

Computer Services Unlimited's project manager always got back to us within one hour of any inquiry. He's the first person to call us for any emergency. Computer Services Unlimited treats us as a number-one client, and they take us very seriously.

We used Assembla for project management. We still use our old vendor for deployments for the changes made by Computer Services Unlimited on the site. Assembla was used at our old vendor's request.

What did you find most impressive about Computer Services Unlimited?

I appreciate the speed and response time that we've gotten from Computer Services Unlimited.

Are there any areas Computer Services Unlimited could improve?

I can't think of anything. We always received great feedback from other departments for the sites built by Computer Services Unlimited, and never received any complaints.