Critical Mission Computing Ltd

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a researcher and doctor. I specialise in looking after sick and preterm babies in intensive care. My ambition is to improve the longterm health and wellbeing of all babies born sick or preterm through neonatal interventions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Critical Mission Computing Ltd, and what were your goals?

I have been awarded a 5-year fellowship by the National Institute for Health Research. I wanted to create a website for my research that will help recruit patients and patients to get involved. I wanted to be able to let as many people know about our work, and also share any information through accessible means. I find university websites sometimes not as agile without as much control

SOLUTION

How did you select Critical Mission Computing Ltd and what were the deciding factors?

Highly recommended from the local community facebook page. Many individuals recommended Alka, the director specifically when I put a query out asking for recommendations.

The reason I chose the company, was because of the comments about Alka being friendly, a delight to work with, and going above and beyond. They were all happy with the websites- and they all looked great.

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

Alka was very good and took me through the steps and we made progress every day. I had a deadline! The first step was to choose the wordpress template and she guided me through a few examples after hearing what I needed. We chose one very easily out of 3.

I then had to decide how many 'pages' there were and write the sections. It was good Alka made me think ahead, so even if we didnt have content, she was able to hide any future areas. The key deliverables was the deadline in 2 weeks, and enabling parents and patients to sign up.

I needed a new email account and mail chimp to build a contact database. Alka was familiar with all this, and has a good tech team behind her. I needed the contacts divided into categories for ease of mailing list and she helped add certain plug ins to make that happen.

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

I worked only with Alka, but I know she has a team who help her deliver all the tech. She communicates very closely with them, and all requests for changes were made within 24 hours.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Extremely happy with the end product, especially within the timelines. I needed a way to get contact details and have parents /patients sign up and build a mailing list. There were some glitches in the beginning but Alka worked very hard -many hours - to make sure I got exactly what I needed.

Sometimes it was my fault for not explaining myself, as I guess I didnt understand the nuances of the systems. But Alka was always very patient, and very professional and supportive, teaching me how to do things!

Thank you Alka! The website is fantastic and I have already built a database of almost 300 patients/parents all under different categories for ease of contacting them. I also love the magazine style for reading the papers and leaflets. Again, suggested by Alka

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

Alka is an excellent communicator and extremely friendly and enjoyable to work with. I cannot recommend her highly enough. She is conscientious and is very responsive to all comments and queries.

There is not a single request I have made that has not been met. She goes above and beyond. She is also extremely organised, so I felt everything was in control. She has clearly done this many times and is very experienced!

I also like her creativity , and willing to go a step beyond to make my product even better than what I thought I wanted! Example the logo she improved upon, and the change in colour of the logo through different screens is a very cool feature!

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

From the beginning to end, Alka has been so attentive to detail. She makes you feel you are the only client she has! She prioritised my project as she knew i had a deadline, and was also very empathetic and interested in the research subject. So the comms was second to none.

I could not have asked for a more hardworking, responsive web designer The tech was also great. I have videos and written documents to how to manage and edit my website. These are all bespoke for my website.

It is amazing and so user friendly! Everything is so professional and organised. Alka is also very responsive to any questions I have. I never feel alone! She's so supportive. And I love the website! It looks very professional

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

No, not really. If I was to be very picky, I would say perhaps probe the customer more about how they will use the sign ups. Do they need categorising - because we didnt do this initially, we had to manually categorise the first 80 signups. Alka spent hours doing this! I guess as a customer, we sometimes don't know what we want either , so largely my fault, but perhaps probe further so both can have a think and avoid more work later on We solved this by putting in a plug in, and It has worked like a dream since. Thank you again to Alka and the team at critical mission computing. An excellent team to work with.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder and producer of a video production company called Geppetto Pictures. We produce a variety of motion picture content such as short films, music videos, promotional videos and event videography. We are a small-team start-up company based in London with hope to expand in the near future.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Critical Mission Computing Ltd, and what were your goals?

Our business depends on clients trusting and hiring us for our services and it is for this reason I contacted Critical Mission Computing. I needed to create a professional website and image for my company to compete with bigger video production companies. To show that we do have the same resources and capability to give them a great project. Being a start-up company with certainly not nearly as many projects in our belt as our competitors it was a challenge to highlight and portray the absolute best from our company with our limited content.

Despite this, Alka found clever solutions and alternatives which has now made my website look full and complete! My goal was to have a website formed that appeals to the mass. So, whether my clients are male or female, old or young, my services should appeal to them all. CMC designed a site that is very easy to navigate around and articulately describes myself, my company and the services we provide. I want people to recognise our skill and experience but also consider us as a friendly, approachable and humble team.

SOLUTION

How did you select Critical Mission Computing Ltd and what were the deciding factors?

I searched for ‘website design companies’ and found Critical Mission Computing on Google. They were highly rated for their services and I visited their website to look at the portfolio. I found the portfolio very impressive. They have worked around different sectors and all their work looked professional and appealing.

I also went through the reviews on Clutch, Google and Facebook left by their clients. All of the above made it easier for me to choose Critical Mission Computing for my project.

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

My project was to design and develop my website to showcase a variety of motion picture content such as short films, music videos, promotional videos, and event videography. They made the entire process look simple and effortless.

They helped me with finding the domain name I had in mind, suggested, and helped in choosing an appropriate WordPress theme to suit my business model. The entire design, development, testing, and deploying the website to a hosting server was taken care of. My email server and domain emails were created along with setting them on my desktop and smartphone.

They also created my Google Business page and helped with Google Analytics. I now have a user-friendly dashboard where all the stats are automatically reflected without me having to go to different options on Google.

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

Alka was my direct contact from start to finish. As per the requirement of my project, she put together a team. The entire team was highly skilled and experienced with great communication between them. There was a designer for UI, two highly experienced developers, QA tester, a technician and a project manager.

Apart from Alka, my project team comprised of highly skilled and experienced oject manager, a designer, a developer a tester (to perform the testing of control) and a techniciann to make the website go live and set my emails.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Critical Mission Computing was simply fabulous. It’s just been a fortnight since my site went live and I have already received few enquiries through it and I am already booked with clients for the next couple of months! I would simply share my website with people I considered as potential clients and the website would completely speak for itself.

Clients have immediately replied applauding the website and selecting one of my highlighted packages. This was something I had never expected. I believe its rare for someone to compliment a website’s design, as websites are now such an ordinary part of one's life. However, with the website CMC had made for me I have received praise by multiple clients! They helped and guided me right from the beginning to completion.

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

With the help of her team, Alka project managed my entire project from start to finish. I discussed my requirements and vision for the company with Alka and the team reverted with a High Level Specification (HLS) which had detailed all of my requirements and mentioned all the different stages and layouts. The workflow was sytematic with milestones for different sections and stages.

Each day, I was given an update on all the progress that was made and before any decission was made my opinion was always considereed. I was also sent a staging-link to review the project at multiple stages. All my feedback was noted and taken care of in parallel and once we went live, Alka took the time and effort to re-check the site throughlly for responsive side as well as for all the connecting links to ensure all was running smoothly.

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

I was quite impressed as per the management of the entire project, attention to details, very impressive quality control and deliverd before my expectant time. Their post-live support is equally commendable. Most companies would simply complete the project as per a clients requirements and move on. CMC continued to check up on me and ask if there was anything more they could do.

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

I cannot think of anything CMC could have done better, everything was completed to my liking.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am one of seven trustees of a charity The Akamba Aid Fund a small independent UK charity based in South Somerset. It was founded in 2000 with the specific objectives of relieving poverty, sickness and distress, coupled with the advancement of education in the Kyuso Sub-County, Eastern Province, of Kenya.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Critical Mission Computing Ltd?

To provide an updated website and new email accounts.

What were your goals for this project?

As a charity we wanted to up date our profile and be more accessible to possible new sponsors and donors. The charity previously had a website that was out of date, it was particularly difficult to make any changes and unresponsive in search engines.

We wanted a new design with a website that was pleasing to the eye but was embracing new technology, creating a good look and feel. We wanted it to be innovate, user friendly and responsive (with seamless linking between pages) on all handheld devices, including iPad, notebooks and mobile phones.

We particularly wanted a website that we could mange ourselves using a straightforward content management system and include a gallery for videos and images to enhance the website.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Alka and her team at CMC had previously designed a website for my daughter’s company. The initial help and support for the design and set up was excellent and I knew how much on going support Alka and her team continue to provide in order to keep the website current and responsive to developing needs.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Using our previous website as a starting point we discussed with Alka what our vision was for a new website. Alka took the time to look at our old website and understand more about our charity.

Following our brief we received a well documented ‘High level' specification from CMC detailing all website features, sections, costs as per our requirements. A list of suggested keywords followed, which we would require, to enable people to find us through a search engine and the choice of a number of suitable ‘word-press templates' to choose from.

A page by page template enabled us to bring together all our information, with guidance on keeping style and layout consistent on each page giving a great look and feel to the website. Regular updates were given at all stages of the project.

What was the team composition?

My key contact through out the process was Alka, with the backing of a very efficient team comprising of Project Manager, Designer, Developer, tester and technician.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Time spent on researching and developing the list of keywords, and using these through the 'on page ranking' will help visitors find our website more easily.

A more responsive website should lead to more sponsors and enquiries through our website 'Google Analytics' and 'Google my Business' were both set up allowing us to see the footfall on the website, which will help us to to develop the most appropriate areas of our website to benefit the charity.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

This was very efficient with Alka as the main contact, heading up a very efficient team who worked seamlessly together. We were kept constantly updated by email. Any queries were answered very promptly.

Project manager - handled the day to day progress and regularly reported back to Alka.

Designer - worked on and customised certain pages of the website using the latest version of HTML and CSS.

Developer - very experienced and with in depth knowledge of Word press, PHP, java-script, Bootstrap and MySQL.

Tester - the entire project was tested in detail prior to going live and we were able to review on the staging server.

Technician - went live with the website once all trustees were happy.

We also had emails set up on CMC server for all trustees, We were all sent a step by step configuration and a video link helping us to set up our emails. This was particularly helpful. Where problems arose Alka and the team went out of there way to resolve any issues as soon as possible.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

From our first contact with Alka the process was very straight forward with advice and assistance readily available at all stages of the project. Alka gave us advise on setting out our information, along with how we could improve and enhance the information on our website to attract more footfall.

We were very impressed with timescales and delivery of the whole project. Alka was always very approachable and professional. Always ready to explain anything we did not understand. Any queries were responded to promptly. CMC is continuing to provide excellent support ongoing with the live website.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None that I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Senior Manager of ‘Sparkles Pre-School’ and ‘Millies Pre-School’. Both pre-schools provide a high-quality Early Years care and education.

We provide high standard of care and education in a rich, stimulating and inclusive environment to help children reach their full potential. I have a team of 15 to help and enrich the lives of children at my pre-school.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Critical Mission Computing Ltd?

I approached Critical Mission Computing to redevelop and design the two pre-school websites. My websites at the time were not responsive and were created on a free wix platform, which imposed certain limitations to what I wanted to do with my websites.

I needed to redevelop and redesign the websites to be able to showcase all the activities and learning that we offer at our pre-schools and be able to demonstrate various creative examples of children’s work and various different activities we offer. We wanted to show off that we had outstanding settings with a sound family ethos.

What were your goals for this project?

The idea was to overcome the limitations imposed by the previous website and replace it with more modern and innovative style. Having a modern and latest technology driven platform would allow us to have a responsive, user-friendly website.

A website with Content Management System (CMS) which would allow us to update and upgrade the details as and when we needed in order to keep the information uptodate on the website.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I had spoken to three other vendors and came to a conclusion that I may not get two websites designed and developed with the budget I have in mind. When I was speaking to a friend of mine, she highly recommended Critical Mission Computing (CMC), as she had her website designed and developed by CMC and was very pleased with their work.

I spoke to Alka Bagga at Critical Mission Computing and went through my requirement for the two websites. She seemed to offer a solutuon to suit my budget without compromising on design, development and quality. She suggested to use the same theme to produce two websites using different logo, colours and images.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Critical Mission Cpmputing created two independent websites using one WordPress theme. Their suggestions on the layout and structure were innovative.

Alka was very patient in hmaking time to understand what I really wanted on the website and did great justice in adding additional functionality and details where required. I did not have a logo for my two websites and CMC created my two logos to go with the website without incuring an additional cost.

What was the team composition?

Alka was my key contact throughout the cycle of the projects. She had a designer, developer to work on different elements of the project. A tester to perform the testing and quality control. The websites when ready were placed on the staging-server.

I was able to go through the website in detail and my feedbacks were instantly taken on board and implemented. Once I was happy, the website was launched to go live by the technician.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The redesign, redevelopment and launch of the new websites served as a positive factor to our business. The websites received great appreciation from the parents of my pre-school children.

It also contributed towards the Ofstead inspection, whereby we had all the required deatails readily available on the website. As the websites were SEO friendly and had the On-Page Recognisiton (OPR) work done to them, we noticed an increase in the footfall on the websites.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

I was very impressed by the whole management of the project. Her team worked and communicated well with her and in turn I received regular update. Alka made couple of visits when we were able to discuss and take decisions. The project was delivered on time as specified in the project plan.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The whole process was effortless starting from the initial phone call, receiving a High Level Specification (HLS). Communication is the key for me and was able to communicate with Alka whenever I needed.

Their support and help throughout the project cycle was impeccable, including post-launch of the websites. Almost instant response to any queries or where help was required. They contunue keping the website uptodate and mantained.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Alka like me is a perfectionist and professional. I can’t think of anything at hand. The whole process was very clear, planned and executed well. Alka was reassuring throughout the whole project and took complete control but always with clear explanations and so much patience to get things as I wanted them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

My company is by my name ‘Jenni Hallam’ and I am a Personal Development and Career Success Coach. I help women make their own identity, build confidence and self-esteem.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Critical Mission Computing Ltd?

I previously had a wix website which was not responsive or user-friendly and was very difficult and challenging for me to maintain and work with. I contacted Critical Mission Computing (CMC) to help me design and develop a fresh new modern website.

A website that would have revolutionary style, responsive on all handheld devices and give me the flexibility of changing the content from the admin section using the CMS with ease.

What were your goals for this project?

As per the nature of my business, I needed something simple yet visually appealing. A website that would be user-friendly with fluid layout. Provision for showing events and workshops and to be able to build a library of videos for my different highly trained facilitators.

I also wanted to manage all of this at my end using simple CMS. I needed my website to be seen and recognised by Google and hence to have the Google Analytics and Google My Business set up so it is easy for me to monitor the volume of visitors on the website.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

It was not too difficult to find Critical Mission Computing. They were highly recommended by couple of other local businesses in the area who had used their services.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

It was great to speak to Alka Bagga at Critical Mission Computing. After understanding my requirements she suggested to design and develop the website in WordPress. I was presented with some choice of WordPress templates to choose from.

This was followed by a full project scope and specification detailing all the website features and sections as per my requirement and discussion. All the key stages of the project were clearly mentioned. The website was designed and developed as per the specification. I was kept informed and received regular updates at all times throughout the process from start to finish.

What was the team composition?

With my busy schedule and commitments I needed this process to be stress free. What worked best for me is that I had Alka as my first point of contact. She put together a team as per the requirement of my project. To my understanding there was project manager, designer and a developer, tester and a technician.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since the launch of my new website, I have had many good comments and feedbacks. It is very easy to use and navigate to the different sections of the website.

All my keywords were linked very well with setting the SEO elements including meta tags, content, structured data markup and also provided with a ‘Data Studio Link’ that shows me the statistics and tracking for my website without me having to login to my Google Analytics or Google My Business page.

It has also helped with the website being responsive whereby it is more easily accessible by the visitors and they are able to access it on their iPads and Notebooks as well as their mobiles which has reverted with a healthy response.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

I just needed someone to take control and manage the entire project. This is exactly what I received from Critical Mission Computing. Alka was extremely professional and managed the entire process efficiently. There was a full team working with Alka.

• A project manager who was providing a daily update to Alka.
• A designer to deal with the custom layouts of the website
• A developer who created the website.
• A tester to go through the quality and the flow of the entire website.
• A technician who finally plled together all strings to go Live. All in all, the whole process was very smooth and impressive.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

This is a very good question and where should I begin. Critical Mission Computing Ltd is very professional, organized, planned, and structured. The team worked very well together, and the communication must have been great within the team as Alka kept me updated and informed throughout the course of the project.

I found Alka very approachable and patient. She would always have a smile and made things look very simple and easy when presented with queries. Excellent support and reverted with a response to any queries almost instantaneously.

I was also impressed with the timely delivery of the project as per the specification and the project plan presented to me at the start of the project-cycle.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None that I can think of. On the contrary Critical Mission Computing were proactive and went an extra mile by suggesting and implementing some sections which would be handy for me in future.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Laptops and Lipstick is a business networking group for professional women in business. We meet monthly and we make business referrals and connections. I am the chair lady of the group.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Critical Mission Computing Ltd?

1. Had a static and outdated site
2. Our side was not responsive
3. Could not manage and maintain the website as it did not have a Content Management System (CMS)
4. Development and maintenance costs were high
5. Needed a user friendly, responsive website with CMS

What were your goals for this project?

• Revolution slider with good look and feel
• Visually more appealing
• Internal linking between pages
• User friendly
• Responsive Fluid Layout
• Content Management System (CMS)
• Gallery for videos and images

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Critical Mission Computing is part of our business networking group and we have had very positive feedback from all our members about the level of service they offer and they understood our requirements and it was very easy to explain to them and they captured our vision perfectly.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

1. After understanding the requirement was presented with the suitable templates to choose from.
2. A full project specification was provided detailing all website features and sections of the website as per our requirement and discussion.
3. Key stages were very clearly mentioned in the specification
4. A regular update was provided throughout the course of the project

What was the team composition?

Our key contact was Alka who managed the entire project. She organised the team to work on the project. There was a designer, key developer, tester and the technician.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had the On Page Ranking (OPR) for the website, which helped visitors to find our website more easily and hence helped to get the enquiries through. It has also helped with the website being responsive whereby it is more easily accessible by the visitors and have had a good response.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

It was very simple and easy going as I only had to deal with Alka as my main project manager. She put together the rest of the team who worked on the project. We had a designer to deal with the custom layouts of the website, developer who created the website.

Once the website was ready, CMC used a tester to go through the quality and the flow before presenting it to me for review. I was given access to their server to be able to review the entire website. After approval, the technician made the website live. All in all, the whole process was very smooth.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Very organised, planned and structured but also flexible to our requirements. The communication was great as I was kept updated throughout the course of the project. Found CMC very friendly and quick to revert on queries and excellent support.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not that I can think of. Was very pleased with how it was all handled and delivered.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a personal trainer, fitness and nutrition coach specialising in helping women through midlife and beyond. I offer 1-2-1 and group nutrition and fitness sessions, run events and workshops and also sell a small range of products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Critical Mission Computing Ltd?

I needed a company to design and build me a website that would showcase my knowledge and experience and allow people to buy my products and services online. I also knew I needed a web developer who could advise me on the best tools/vehicles to deliver my project.

What were your goals for this project?

My goals were to raise my profile in the local area and beyond as a midlife expert and to be able to sell my products and services from my website. I also wanted a professional online presence for when potential clients looked me up.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I had spoken to several web developers in the past but just didn’t feel comfortable that they could deliver the project as I envisaged it. Alka from Critical Mission Computing was introduced to me and she took the time to understand my business and what I was trying to achieve from the website. That initial discussion was very important as she also asked about future plans for my business which made me think about what I might need from my website going forward.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The project started with a detailed initial discussion where Alka from Critical Mission Computing familiarised herself with all elements of my business, my future plans and what I wanted to achieve from the project. She then provided me with a very clear price and a detailed explanation of what she would deliver and when. Once we’d agreed to go ahead, Alka offered advice and guidance on choosing a Wordpress theme that best reflected the style of my business and she did customise this further so it was exactly what I wanted. She was also able to suggest that Woocommerce was the best vehicle for my online shop given its size. The site was designed and built to time and specification and I have also taken an annual maintenance contract with Critical Mission Computing which has taken away any worry about keeping the site maintained. Alka is extremely responsive with making any changes and updates that are required. We also undertook some SEO work to help to raise my profile in the local area.

What was the team composition?

Alka Bagga was my primary contact and she pulled together a team of people with relevant skills required for my project. She had a designer to design and customise certain pages of the website to exactly how I visualised and explained. A talented and experienced developer to develop the entire site including setting up the Events page and Woocommerce section for some of the products I sell online. A technician who took care of hosting the website, SSL certificate and making the site live.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As I am one-woman band working for myself, time is of real essence. Having a professionally designed and built site has had a massive positive impact on my business. I feel very confident directing people to it to ‘check me out’. Plus, the sales and events provide an extremely useful background income. In addition, the local SEO work brought a steady stream of visitors to the site.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

I was really impressed how the entire project was managed and delivered as per the specification and on time, especially compared to some other vendors twice before whereby I did not get what I was looking for and was a total waste of my time and money. Alka was my point of contact at Critical Mission Computing and that worked really well for me as we were able to liaise on all aspects of the project. The detailed original specification made it extremely clear what would be delivered and when and also when I needed to produce content/photos etc. I was also able to review the site on the staging server before it went live. This was extremely helpful as I was able to share my last minute thoughts and feedbacks, which were addressed straight away.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I really liked that Critical Mission Computing’s initial specification document was extremely clear about what was included in the price and how and when things would be delivered. Being a personal trainer time is of real essence for me and I found having Alka as my one-point contact worked very well for me. I also found the knowledge and advice on what suitable technical tools would be required for my project very helpful. Finally, the support and help provided by Alka and her team has been extremely good and efficient. Running a small business, I have been very well looked after whenever I contacted them for any tweaks and refinements to the site.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None at all. I was extremely impressed with the entire process and management of my project. I wanted a professional online presence with the ability to sell my products and services. And that’s exactly what I have!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Kumarmemorialawards.com is a website of Kumar Memorial Trust which is a non Profit trust created for the purpose of holding competition on public speaking in 3 categories High school students, Professional College students and Working Professionals to hone the skill of public speaking among the participants. I am a trustee over there.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Critical Mission Computing Ltd?

We wanted a dynamic website developed, so that the people who visit it get a fair bit of idea about our concept. They could fill up the registration form and they be informed about the further process of the competition and awards. Along with the development of website we wanted them to handle the SEO component too.

What were your goals for this project?

Awareness of the participants through the website about the event, participation through online procedure and pre & post event video and social media feed posting.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were recommended by a friend & seconded by an ex-colleague. Moreover when we had an interaction and we saw their quality of work we found them to be authentic and creative in their previous ventures too.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They designed, developed and tested the website in greater detail and finished the task within stipulated time as we were quite late in discussing the details of the website. They did a wonderful job in very less time that was given to them.

They are also very meticulous with their communication too as they kept us in the loop and we were practically aware of each and every stage of the project. The detailed specifications were so to the point and well developed that we knew we had chosen the right vendor.

What was the team composition?

The team comprised of 5-6 people. But the point of contact for us was just one Project Manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website was done within a record time for us. We got a lot of appreciations and positive feedback from many about the website specially for it being well structured and ease of use.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project was managed really very well managed. The tools that were used for regular communication was Whatsapp, Skype, Emails and very rarely phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

All the deliverables discussed in the meeting and specifications were fullfilled completely and within the discussed timelines. They had an eye for detail about the communication between us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

According to me, I learnt a lot from them in terms of website features and functionality.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Furnishings Studio supplies bespoke soft furnishings for the home and small office, the great majority of the properties being residential. I am the founder and director and operate on a personal basis with the clients. I employ other teams and companies to fulfil the projects' needs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Critical Mission Computing Ltd?

Critical Mission Computing Ltd. redesigned the original Furnishings Studio website about 5 years ago. They did the job well, upgraded it where necessary and added more to the description of the company, keeping information on past projects with illustrations and adding more pages to the website. They also managed to keep everything user friendly and easy for viewers.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to update the website, increase the traffic whilst at the same time not be too eager to overload the working process as every project is bespoke and needs individual attention.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found the proprietor of Critical Mission Computing was and still is a member of the same networking group as Furnishings Studio

Describe the project in detail.

The project meant going through what was already on the website, adding or eliminating to comply with today's modern ideas and needs. Going through images from past projects, adding new ones, adding a consultancy page, adding a guidance video and last but not least a news letter space which Semaphore PR are very good at producing. This is an ongoing project which is continued to keep the Furnishings Studio website fresh and up to date.

What was the team composition?

Outside the Critical Mission Computing team itself, we were 3 people: Josie Foster from furnishings Studio Alka Bagga from Critical Mission Computing Emma Pyott from Semaphore PR

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

New clients keep contacting Furnishings Studio through the website contact system. It is a small regular flow which suits well. Also it provides an easy reference board for ongoing and existing clients when explanations, comparisons or referals to projects are necessary.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effictive

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The speed at which things can be done was impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is always room for improvement in everything we do.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the MD of a Recruitment Company (Kings) working within Business Services. We have significant high value clients who want the very best service. They can be demanding but also fun if you get it right!

Our areas of expertise are in supplying skilled staff throughout the UK and Europe, working within Digital Document Creation and IT Management in addition to a range of business related and facilities services. In addition Kings have a Consultancy Division that goes into our Clients and analyses their processes and how they can improve the functionality of their businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Critical Mission Computing Ltd?

Kings have worked with Alka at Critical Mission for over 20 years. She first came on board when we moved from a 'very' manual system which included some basic excel data spreadsheets. Critical Mission provided the answers to two major areas of our business which included: The Kings Database Application - Our Primary concern and Website support

What were your goals for this project?

The goals given to Critical Mission included streamlining our processes and to automate as many functions as possible. We had a great deal of manual duplication of tasks going on and many problems to address. In particular we 'man-handled' data too many times.

Critical Mission were able to provide a bespoke system to Kings. We had already 'gone' out to the market and nothing outside could provide the appropriate answers to our problems, hence the reason we called in Critical Mission.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Critical Mission were directly recommended to Kings by our IT supplier. This was after Kings had spent many hours sitting through demonstrations of software applications that simply did not fit the solution that Kings were seeking.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The primary project required by Kings was the Database Application. Kings are unique and so we needed a unique solution. Critical Mission 'listened' to our needs and took the time to 'understand' what Kings do and where we were heading.

By taking the time with us we were able to go on the transitional journey together, moving from an archaic system to what we believe was a state of the art system, we worked very closely to ensure the 'fit' was perfect.

We were able to build a personalised database and functioning application to 'link' all areas of our business, from supplying temporary and permanent or contract staff to our clients to logging data for legal purposes, monitoring customer relationship activities, right through to managing staff performance

What was the team composition?

Alka was the head of the team and we were fortunate in that we could have the 'one point of contact' which Kings found hugely beneficial. However we did also work 'on-line' with her team who provided regular updates.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Wow - where do we start ! As a recruitment business Kings are hugely regulated. There have been many changes in the industry that require Kings to provide an abundance of benefits including holidays, parity of terms and conditions, equal pay etc. In additional Kings have to check and verify all employees that are supplied to our Clients to ensure legal status to work etc.

Bringing in Critical Mission has been a real benefit, it has automated so much of the day to day cumbersome processes that Kings are required to perform and helps with our reporting back to our Clients and Government bodies.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

From initial meetings and discussions Alka went on to write a very significant proposal document which set out the work and the time line for delivery. This document was absolutely crucial and it became the primary source of control of the work flow. By compiling the initial document to such a finite degree with incredible detail it became a real working project that progressed naturally.

Alka kept regular contact with Kings and the Ops Team and timings and meetings were strictly adhered to which was very refreshing indeed. It was simply a pleasure working with Critical Mission, and rather exciting too - seeing your 'database baby' come to life.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their desire to work closely with and get to know our team was very impressive. They demonstrated that nothing was impossible and they were able to make or add to the database application at any time.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Area for improvement - this is a tricky one, probably in honesty no. Kings did a little while ago try an alternative supplier on a small project (as they were cheaper) however it proved a disaster, the project over ran and did not deliver to the brief supplied!