CreITive - Beyond Digital

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief operating officer at Microsoft Singapore. I am responsible for the marketing and operations. We oversee all the go-to-market (GTM) initiatives across different Microsoft portfolios.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CreITive - Beyond Digital?

We wanted to make our go-to-market strategy for a particular product more scalable to include our existing customers and future clients. We largely work with IT companies with technical mindsets. It is our goal to introduce more digital solutions into business departments with our products. We sought assistance in making our digital go-to-market presentation come to life.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started with their own methodology on digital transformation, using design thinking, and we utilized Microsoft’s framework called Value Discovery in order to make a hybrid of the two. We asked them to customize the content of Microsoft’s workflow—spanning the process of discovering value up until the sales cycle. CreITive developed a collection of case studies pertaining to different business needs, showcasing how the latest products perform against a company’s current methods.

What is the team composition?

We worked with the co-founder/CEO and two other members of his team.

How did you come to work with CreITive - Beyond Digital?

They have engaged with a few Microsoft partners already. Once they were introduced to Microsoft, they walked us through their methodology and how they approach scoping, ideation, and all the phases. It was exactly what we wanted.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2017 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

CreITive does design thinking workshops and co-creation workshops. They aim for more personnel-based engagement to attract more relevant business conversations. We wanted to make sure we captured that experience and somehow provide training to multiple channel partners that Microsoft works with, as well as engage our customers directly through these kinds of workshops.

All parties have responded well, and customers have shown a greater understanding of assessing their business needs. Participants have been engaged and have commented on the value of the seminars. As a result of the GTM strategy, we have significantly shortened the time to land the next step in a sales cycle.

After several successful rounds of workshops in Singapore, we extended the project to five other markets in Southeast Asia. We plan to run more sessions if everything works out well because we’ve seen a really good level of participation from our key customers and partners. It seems to be the way we need to go in terms of how we coach our technology partners and how we build our channels.

How did CreITive - Beyond Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They manage their time well. I didn’t feel at any point that they were delaying communication or they were late in deliverables. They were well-managed. We communicated mostly through email and Skype. We really appreciate CreITive’s partnership. They definitely bring in something new in this game of helping customers with their digital transformation journey.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re fast, agile, and good at what they do.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re not used to working with very large enterprises. It took us a while on the administrative end to onboard them as a supplier. Specifically, processes for privacy compliance and submitting invoices were troublesome.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The best advice for working with them is to start with a pilot or a proof of concept. A large project at the start may not be feasible, but building through smaller, leaner projects can be conducive to the eventual end goal.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Compass is an independent, specialist consulting firm whose activities focus on board effectiveness and governance practices. We help our clients enhance the performance of their board of directors. I am a partner and managing director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CreITive?

At the time, our business idea was a bit hazy in even our own minds, so we needed to take a step back, do some problem-solving, and try to identify the basics of what we were trying to achieve.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have a custom web-based platform and three mobile apps that interact with it. CreITive developed the iOS, Android, and BlackBerry versions of our app, along with the custom PHP platform.

The frontend UX is delivered through the mobile apps. It’s a flexible platform that allows users from different organizations to take part in surveys at different times. It’s intuitive to use, from a user perspective.

The survey data is delivered to the backend web engine responsible for the number crunching. We get a lot of valuable data from the system itself through built-in AI functionalities. We can turn these insights into value for our customers. 

What is the team composition?

I worked closely with Vuk Zlatarov, the managing director. As the project evolved, they assigned other team members, including their CTO and a project manager.

How did you come to work with CreITive?

We found them through someone in Dubai who had worked with them previously. After we first had the idea for our business, we met with seven or eight different developers from Europe and the Indian subcontinent. Out of those, CreITive was the only group that understood what we were trying to achieve. We trusted that they could deliver a quality product.

How much have you invested with them?

Value-wise, it couldn’t be better. The only way we could have gotten a better price was by working with an overseas organization, but I didn’t feel comfortable with that. Our aim was to have a high quality/cost ratio, which they offered.

What is the status of this engagement?

We first got in touch with them in July 2014. The collaboration officially started in January 2015. We’ve continued to tweak and update our software since then and are currently heading into a second phase of development, revamping our offering. We view this as a long-term partnership.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I had some top-level engineers review their proposal. They were very happy with what they saw in it, and the subsequent deliverables. We wanted a sustainable and scalable solution from the start, and that’s what they achieved for us.
I can’t share any exact metrics, given that we work with board members under NDAs. The feedback we’ve been getting is very good, based on the user experience.

How did CreITive perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve been working with the same project manager for the past three years. Everyone on the team has been solid and helpful. Their team was able to help me a lot in scheduling my time and making sure that the project moved along smoothly. CreITive adopted a new strategy for working with Scrum and being agile. We do quick permutations, which helped us make small tweaks.

We have a major revision coming up for our version 2.0. I look forward to working with their project managers, doing quick iterations in order to get to the actual release. When a team is assigned to our case, they’re knowledgeable and provide continuity.

We have video calls and use the InVision wireframing tool for the collaboration. It allows me to add annotations to the work and work in quick iterations. I’ve also visited their team in Belgrade, but that was my personal choice.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They understand startups and have very good business sense. They know what a bottom line is and can deliver a product to what was agreed in terms of timeframe, quality and cost.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Any reservations I had were addressed after CreITive switched to a new style of agile Scrum-based project management. I like this way of working.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients need to take time and think through what they want to do, knowing that they won’t necessarily have all the answers. Sitting down with CreITive can help unlock some issues, even some that hadn’t been identified yet. That back-and-forth conversation helped me a lot in the beginning, given that what I wanted wasn’t crystal-clear. CreITive should be used as a partner, not just a subcontractor.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Invest is a Dubai-based company in operation for 10 years. As the name implies, we provide a citizenship program that helps people obtain a second passport within a matter of months. We are licensed by multiple governments and have helped thousands of clients so far. I am the marketing director of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CreITive?

Our company was undergoing substantial changes at the time, including the development of a new website. Our site was old and outdated, and most of our leads came from paid social advertising. It was important that visitors land on a website that was cleaner, neater, SEO-friendly, and more responsive.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We operate in a niche industry, so it was important for them to understand it. CreITive visited and gathered feedback from our team from day one. They asked us several questions and performed an audit of our site

Since we were developing the website both in English and Arabic, consistency was a very important factor. We provided the content, and they handled the coding. CreITive built our site using a proprietary CMS, which is a friendly and easy-to-use solution. The site connects with our Salesforce instance.

We needed to build a mobile-responsive, SEO-friendly website, along with landing pages for all our campaigns. Since we wanted to increase the loading speed of our pages, everything had to work in a fast, interactive manner. We didn’t want a call-to-action button, as it wouldn’t work for our industry, but we still needed to persuade people to fill in forms and get in touch with us. Having a good search engine ranking was also a consideration. CreITive fulfilled all these requirements.

CreITive’s team collaborated with another company for the site design.

What is the team composition?

We worked with at least four people from their team on a constant basis, including their client director, the coding manager, and our account manager.

How did you come to work with CreITive?

We contacted five or six other suppliers. CreITive was neither the most or least expensive, but they put a lot of effort into understanding our company profile and industry and developing a comprehensive proposal.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with CreITive in November 2016. After a testing phrase, the site was launched in March 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It was a long but fruitful process, and we are happy with their work. The CMS used by CreITive gave us full control of the website. We can make any modifications ourselves, which was one of our initial reasons for choosing their company and platform.

We have also decreased the loading speed of the site while increasing our search rankings. The average visit time has increased drastically, by more than 60%. Given the nature of our business, this was important. There is a lot of research to be done, and we needed people to be informed about all our programs.

We are gradually increasing all our SEO-related KPIs. We’ve seen a dramatic increase of organic leads, which was one of our medium-term objectives.

How did CreITive perform from a project management standpoint?

Despite all their constraints, CreITive has managed the project well. Design was not their responsibility. They had to collaborate with an agency that was nine hours behind our time, and our CEO and I had to revise and approve a lot of content. They updated us every week, and communicated daily by phone and email during the final two weeks. CreITive managed to deliver good results.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were very flexible around all aspects of the project, not only timing. They were always available, and tried to communicate with us in non-technical language. Whenever we encountered a challenge, they explained it to us in a simple manner. That helped us make decisions quicker.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Based on their prior experience, they could have anticipated some of our challenges with the Arabic website and given us alerts on what to avoid. The project may have gone quicker had CreITive also worked on design, but they accepted our situation and tried to adapt to it.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients should be clear about what they want to achieve and provide a detailed briefing around their goals. CreITive can create a good proposal and bring that outcome into fruition.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the managing director of Anigma Computers. We have developed a platform where gamers can build high-end PCs with custom specifications or choose from predetermined options. The main idea was to simplify the PC-building process for customers who can’t visit physical stores or don’t have the necessary knowledge. We’re a relatively small e-commerce company with a team of 10 people, based in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. I dabble in all aspects of the business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CreITive?

None of our internal team members had coding skills. We needed someone to help us with that process from A to Z.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

CreITive developed our PHP platform. They explained the technology stack in detail at the start of the project. Even if we decided to hire someone else at some point, the coding language that they used would be common enough to enable the shift.

One of our challenges was that we couldn’t use Shopify or another ready-made e-commerce platform. We needed a platform on which we could address hardware incompatibilities as logic statements, making it easier for the customer to choose different components and combine them without knowing the technical details.

As it is now, the website has a builder section where customers can log in and choose different components. Once they have done this, they can move those components to the cart and proceed with the purchase. The other element is a typical e-commerce platform from which components and peripherals can be chosen and purchased, just as they would be from any other store.

On the backend, CreITive created an intuitive interface that anyone on our team can learn in less than a day. It can be used to post new products, change descriptions and pictures, and so on.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with Vuk [Managing Director, CreITive], who has handled our account from the start. We have also dealt with other partners and managers from CreITive—around six people in total.

How did you come to work with CreITive?

We asked a friend who had experience with development to sit with us during the interview process, in order to get a better idea of the candidates’ capabilities. We found CreITive online and eventually decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent $50,000—$60,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with CreITive in December 2015. One year after the website was built, we returned to CreITive for upgrades. The collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don’t have any direct statistics, but it has been easier for customers to find and contact us through the website. Previously, sales were done over the phone or through our brick and mortar shop. Now, an increasing majority of our sales have been coming in through the website. This is an ongoing effort with our marketing team, so the more effort we put in, the better the numbers will be.

How did CreITive perform from a project management standpoint?

Even though they don’t have any Arabic speakers on their team, they did a very good job of understanding our requirements. They’ve communicated well with us and finished all the translations. I commend them in this regard. I have an open line with Vuk and his team, both through email and phone. They reply quickly and have an organized process for explaining requirements.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their biggest strength is the team’s technical skill. They were on a higher level than the people we interviewed locally.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could improve the notetaking process. When we discussed the nuances of our project, some small details didn’t reach them clearly. This is not a huge issue, given that everything eventually came to light.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

It’s important to get a clear idea of what is required and explain it as well as possible to the development team. There is no need to get into the technical details, because CreITive will always identify the best technical solutions on the market. Everything about the user interface and customer experience needs to be made as clear as possible.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder of Seidco Communications, an IT services company based in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CreITive?

We contracted them for help with a few development projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We were building a boating platform, and CreITive offered us a solution similar to one of their previous projects. It was quite a unique solution, unlike many of the ones available on the market. Based on our requests, they built a custom software platform with a backend database and an extremely responsive frontend.

The website is highly interactive and visual. It allows users to book boats from any marina in the U.A.E. Available vessels are highlighted, and a legend based on boat size provides details about the marinas, including pump-out services, ramps, and clubhouses. After filtering these details, users receive a list of marinas that they can read more about. Once they select a marina, they can place a booking. The backend provides an administrative panel where marinas can log in and enter a list of services.

We have also worked on an Android and iOS payment solution that caters to domestic helpers working in the U.A.E. CreITive has developed the apps and the PHP backend of the platform. The solution uses blockchain technology, which is unusual for the Middle Eastern market.

Our third project is a government-aimed solution. We developed the backend internally, while CreITive handled the frontend work.

I have used another third-party for branding, and CreITive designed all our websites based solely on that party’s work.

What is the team composition?

I have worked with Vuk [Managing Director, CreITive], who ran the development. I also worked with one of their project managers on two solutions, including an ongoing project.

How did you come to work with CreITive?

We floated a request for quotation on the market a year ago. CreITive was one of three companies to respond. Their proposal made the most sense to us, so we went ahead with the collaboration.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of the boating project was around 36,000 dirhams [$10,000 USD]. The second project had a cost of 68,000 dirhams [$18,500 USD]. The third one reached around 260,000 dirhams [$70,000 USD]. The total has been between 350,000 and 400,000 dirhams [$95,000–$100,000 USD].

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with CreITive a year and a half ago, at the end of 2016. We were happy with the work they did on the first project, so we gave them two more. We hope to give them much more work in the near future.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

None of our three projects have been launched to the market yet, but the people to whom I’ve shown the booking platform have loved it. There’s nothing like it in the world. Half of the people we’ve approached want to continue with us; since they have custom requirements, we’ve gone back to implement those on the backend. We will send any custom frontend work to CreITive.

Due to the central bank and some unique business procedures, our region has placed strict regulations on payment solutions. We have put that system on hold in order to get our licensing in order. We will be launching it within two or three months, but we have entered it into a competition already and came out on top. People were blown away with our solution, and I definitely raised some eyebrows.

I have approached a government entity regarding our third solution, and we were given permission to proceed.

CreITive has delivered on all the projects we’ve done, and they’ve impressed users. We’re hoping we can find real success with the work.

How did CreITive perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve appreciated their willingness to develop projects jointly with our team. We interacted quite well with each other.

The three projects we’ve worked with are very different to each other, ranging from B2B to B2C and B2G—or rather business-to-government-to-consumer—solutions. Although we started off with a waterfall approach, we switched to a sprint-based one for the last project. This makes for a more interactive collaboration.

I generally communicate through Skype and email. They’re not in front of me all the time, but they’ve always understood what I was trying to convey.

The team has a detailed, hands-on approach to every project. In the past week, I’ve been extremely busy with my daily work, but they’ve sent me regular emails. If I was late with an answer, they nudged me to get a bit more of my time.

Our part of the world can seem culturally different to Western people. We’ve worked across different industries and legal frameworks, but they understood our challenges. All I’ve had to do was to explain our requirements and send the team some literature if needed. They’ve done their research and asked me questions when necessary.

Scope changes in our latest project caused some delays. That project relies heavily on the law, so changes there affected our timeframe and made it difficult for CreITive to estimate how much time a certain task would take.

I’ve also appreciated the fact that they gave us the source code for the last project we collaborated on. My understanding is that they also keep a copy on their side for future reference.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve found their interactivity to be quite useful. I’ve only contracted one other developer in the past, so I don’t have a lot of market experience. However, I felt comfortable enough with CreITive on our first project to assign them two more.

Since I have some very unique ideas, a hands-on approach is extremely important to me. I needed a partner who understood what we were talking about. Their team has kept collaboration open and offered multiple suggestions about our approach. They not only identify items that may not work, but also come up with alternatives. I’ve gone along with 90% of their recommendations. I don’t know everything, so it’s important to brainstorm with a partner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Having a technical team in the U.A.E. would be an improvement, but I can accommodate the time difference. Having a team here would help their business in general, since I assume that most other clients are more time-constrained than myself.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

If the client is looking for value-for-money, I would recommend CreITive. However, they’re definitely not the cheapest option I’ve found.

I would recommend that companies looking to have access to the source code sign a confidentiality agreement to make sure that they are protected from potential unauthorized use of that code. I signed such an agreement with CreITive in the beginning, but I’ve become comfortable enough not to require this. I have more than a working relationship with their team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what do you do there.

I work at a marketing and advertising agency that provides creative and innovative solutions to meet all of our clients’ needs and demands. We do everything from conceptualization to execution.

I work on the account management team and am responsible for providing strategic and creative business solution for all my clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Creitive.

We were not looking for a vendor, but a partner who could assist and work with us in delivering top quality websites for our clients. We wanted a partner with an “in it, to win it” attitude. One of the most satisfying part of our industry is making impossible, possible.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Today, technology plays a very important role; especially, when all of your ATL and BTL collaterals drive consumers to a single spot, i.e our web pages we develop for campaigns. So it is necessary to create a website that the consumer will want to explore - a website that has great UX and UI, and enhances user experience. Creitive's team helped us deliver that. With the added technology of live kiosk stations, where consumers could get all necessary information, and then explore the real estate they want to buy. Creitive delivered a website that enriches consumer engagement.

What is the team composition?

I had two main points of contact and I am sure there was a big work force working behind the scene.

How did you come to work with Creitive?

Interestingly, one of our client introduced us to Creitive. They had worked with them in the past and really liked their work. Working with Creitive on one project made us realize that they were a class above rest of the web developers we had worked with.

How much have you invested with them?

Depending on the complexity of the projects, their cost varies. They charge approximately between $30,000 to $40,000 per project. I have already worked with them on 3 to 4 projects.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them back in Feb. 2017, and have continued to date.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Numbers speak for themselves. When you have a property development company as your number 1 client, numbers have to speak volumes, and great numbers are what we have achieved. All the campaigns we worked on with Creitive have been successful, and the clients have accomplished all their project goals. To give a number, they've sold over 1,000 apartments. The website has delivered its KPI’s based on the average percentage drop out below 30 seconds was around 5%.

How did Creitive perform from project management standpoint?

They have performed exceptionally from a project management point of view. They have not missed a single deadline. They have a clear understanding of the brief, good expectation management, and good follow-ups. They make sure that there are no slip-ups from their end or ours.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most important thing for me is managing client expectations and delivering good quality work. They are very best in both the aspects.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There is always room for improvement, they just need to figure out where.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be rest assured that you are in safe hands. Be realistic and they will do a great job as they have done for me.