Crunch-IS

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a co-owner of a commercial company, providing marketing services in the retail industry in Germany.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Crunch, and what were your goals?

We're presently working on a huge digital transformation project, and as part of it, we'll need to build several digital solutions. So we engaged Crunch for an initial project, which turned out well, and we'll soon begin a second one.

SOLUTION

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

We’re working with a design company to help us visualize some of our clients’ projects. They have previously worked with Crunch, requesting custom software development as well. They recommended Crunch as a trusted software provider.

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

We are working with a dedicated team, so they’re doing everything by themselves while we manage other processes. Using our Java development framework, they've built a platform that allows us to produce and distribute promotion campaigns for the products and services of our clients from scratch. Users may choose the items they'd like to advertise, set pricing, select destinations for the campaign, and automate the campaign creation and price management process using this software.

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

They had a managed team of 9 people working on this project:

• a PM
• a Tech Lead
• front-end and back-end developers with Java expertise
• a Scrum Master
• Quality Assurance specialists

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have our own method for assessing the success of our projects, which includes indicators such as team performance, software quality, and user evaluations. This project is ranked first. That's why we'll continue collaborating on the next project.

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

It was really fast and efficient. We just communicated with a PM and Tech Lead, and they delegated tasks to the team.

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

Their great speed-to-quality ratio was unmatched!

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

Just expecting a bigger team for our next project together.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a CEO of a Dublin-based company that is a provider of software solutions and management consulting worldwide.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Crunch, and what were your goals?

We are a cloud-based service provider, and we wanted to have 24/7 maintenance without any faults or breaches.

SOLUTION

How did you select Crunch and what were the deciding factors?

We saw Crunch’s rating of Clutch reviews, reached out, and saw that they have extensive experience in infrastructure maintenance for third-party companies.

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

Crunch now provides maintenance & support for all our cloud servers. We went on a “trial” at first, letting them handle two servers. They effectively took care of issues, that arose, so we decided to have them monitor all of our services. The maintenance is still ongoing, their team constantly checks for updates and offers new ideas for improvements.

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

We had a DevOps team of 3 people, a Senior System Administrator, and a HelpDesk team from their side.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

By allowing us to have additional knowledge on call, Crunch has benefited our company well. We've been able to expand our current team and avoid having to hire new people on a regular basis. They were available as a backup as we hired them using a team extension model.

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

Their specialists quickly responded to our requests and handled all issues.

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

Customer management at Crunch is on point. The employees are very congenial. They have a strong team and created a great organizational structure.

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

They’re doing great!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a co-founder and CTO of a company that specializes in geolocation services. We aim at family safety by releasing an app that lets all the members see the exact location of others.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Crunch, and what were your goals?

As our client base extended, our first small app couldn't deal with loads of data anymore. We no longer felt like a startup, so we had to create an enterprise-level native app for Android and iOS that could support our clients and their data for a long period of time.

SOLUTION

How did you select Crunch and what were the deciding factors?

We have partners in Ukraine and some of them have already worked with Crunch before. They were very satisfied with the results, so we decided to give it a try as well.

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

Crunch built the new app from scratch. They used Objective C for iOS and Java for Android app development. Also, we needed a reliable solution to deal with a monthly increase in new users, resulting in massive volumes of data every day. So, on the backend, we had to have history management and quick reactions.

Crunch suggested creating a cached MongoDB database, and we agreed on that.

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

We had a full team of mobile developers from Crunch’s side along with their representative with whom we did all the talking.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We now have two separate apps and can manage data of twice as many people as we could previously without any performance issues.

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

They didn’t need micromanaging from our side. We received a proposal, created a plan, discussed potential drawbacks, and then they returned with a finished solution.

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

Crunch worked really fast and well. They assembled a team of developers and then explained everything from all angles to make sure we understand before getting to the development itself.

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

Nothing much. There was one time when they started development in their own style, but we quickly solved this problem thanks to great communication. They swiftly adapted to our selected style and continued development.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m Rebecca Thomas, a Head Of Engineering at SolarWinds, that has 5 years experience in creating solutions for the blockchain development field.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Crunch, and what were your goals?

We needed the front-end of a digital contract provider's web app tasks to be designed and built by the Crunch team. They're currently working on the second part of the project.

SOLUTION

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

We had worked with software development firms in Eastern Europe on numerous projects. But we often needed to compromise time or costs. When we met the Crunch team, they had all of the qualities we were searching for: the capacity to think outside the box, technical expertise, and a creative approach to problem-solving.

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

We needed 2 apps for the blockchain industry that had to be fast and secure enough. One app was already developed and just needed a new feature implementation. The managed team from Crunch helped us develop the second one from scratch.

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

We had front-end and back-end developers, a UI/UX designer, and a DevOps team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The first app perfectly represented the user's aim and was successfully implemented. The Crunch team's track record of adapting to changing demands has earned them a solid reputation as a partner.

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

They've been open to adjusting their project management approach and have been patient with our involvement. Both projects have daily meetings to provide feedback and ensure that everything is on track. They'll adopt a different method for each project depending on its objectives and demands from the customer.

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

They're a great company to work with. They care enough about our projects and our needs to really comprehend them. The communication with them is quick, so it didn't result in any deadline delays.

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

No, we fixed all issues that arose during the collaboration together.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO for a company that provides energy services to commercial businesses. I oversee all technological aspects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Crunch?

We were in the startup phase, trying to build a platform that automated sign-up, shopping, and check-out for energy products. We used Crunch as our development resource.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Crunch has built our e-commerce platform. Initially, their developer looked at the landscape of open source libraries to figure out what made sense to use and give us options. We showed them about four images of how we wanted it to look, and they translated the design into technology without any help.

We’ve used Ruby on Rails, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python to create the platform. The site involves a checkout with an automated DocuSign workflow.

What is the team composition?

We’ve only worked with a software developer. He’s very technical and can run ahead pretty easily.

How did you come to work with Crunch?

We were working with another consulting company helping us do our marketing site, and they put us in touch with Crunch. We talked to them and told them we wanted a developer, and they said we could interview whoever they provided.

Since we’re well-versed in technology, we wanted to make sure the person was actually able to meet our requirements. Then, we had the interview process. It turned out well, so we moved forward.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began our partnership in November 2020. Our engagement is currently ongoing, but we’ll wrap up in September 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve rarely needed to do work over. Sometimes things may have gotten lost in translation, but that’s pretty standard in development. However, the software hasn’t been buggy, and it does exactly what we’d asked.

The developer is very knowledgeable. Every time we’ve had a requirement, he’s been able to figure it out, and he’s contributed to some of those ideas. It doesn’t feel like we’re dragging them. Overall, they’ve done a great job.

How did Crunch perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re in charge of project management. However, Crunch’s team has done a great job executing the work and asking questions. There’s a bit of a cultural barrier, but it’s minimal.

We have a daily standing meeting where we talk about what they’ve worked on and if there are any roadblocks. We also have a weekly meeting to oversee the project. We also use emails, calls, and Zoom meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The developer we work with has super strong skills, which is excellent for a company in our stage because we don’t have many resources. He’s been great at getting through work. We’ve actually had problems with keeping him busy because we don’t have enough work for him. He’s amazing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only thing we’d like to improve is our communication, but it’s hard to tap language barriers in different countries. Overall, everything has been solid and straightforward.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of YouWe, a Danish company that helps clients automate and work with e-commerce.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Crunch, and what were your goals?

Our company has created a solution for people working in the warehouses. When we contacted Crunch we already had an application (admin portal) for the warehouse workers (directors, staff), but it only had basic features. So we needed the developers to improve the solution and add new features.

SOLUTION

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

We used to work with vendors from India, China, Eastern Europe before, and also tried hiring freelancers on Upwork. But the problem was that only 1 out of 3 hired developers were professional enough to provide proper results. The quality of the developers we find through Crunch is simply much better.

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

Now YouWe works with clients who use our solution. So we requested new features to simplify the workflow for the clients, to log actions, to collect the orders, to find out in what warehouse and where the items are stored. On Crunch side: all actions after the client has put items into the card and proceeded with payment. The solution developed by Crunch works independently of the webshops. The client planned that there should be a possibility to add new webshops to the system.

New functionality: New integrations. E.g. There is a supplier and they have their own server where we can find out what items they have, how many of them are in their warehouses, basic info about the items: name, photo, description. We add new suppliers to the systems (book seller, food seller). For example, food has an expiration date, so we had to add a new parameter to the system. Integrations take a long time in terms of development and testing because the supplier has a lot of products (192 mln).

Simplified the system for warehouse workers. When they collect orders, they have a cart where they can put the items. So we added the functionality for scanning QR codes to trace the item from the order in the trolley. Buttons for uploading .csv files to quickly update the products, the amount of products. At the beginning, there was 1 application, and we divided it into three. Admin portal, checkout server (processing payments) and customer center. The aim was that the project needed to be less monolithic.

It was difficult to work with a large project and it is easier to work with a project that has a set of functions that remain constant. • Integration with payment systems: QuickPay.

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

Now there are 10 developers working with us. They write in 2 programming languages: PhP and Ruby-on-Rails.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There are many valuable outcomes for our business: the platform was simplified and optimized for working with large files, server capacity increased to 1000 requests per minute and many essential functions were delivered. It led to improving our whole product in general and bringing more clients to use our solution.

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

The workflow was very effective. All developers speak English very well and due to their seniority, there was no problem integrating them into the project. We didn’t need to spend much time on explaining everything.

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

Exceptionally the high level of programmers, proper English level of the specialists, ability to understand the client and find the right people without us having to explain the requirements in detail. This is excellent customer service that we really appreciate.

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

I only wish we could find Crunch earlier to avoid all the unpleasant experiences with other companies.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m COO at Tabulate. We’re a software company based in Austin, Texas, that does financial accounting and bookkeeping for small businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Crunch, and what were your goals?

We’re working together to build a platform. We’ve built a new user interface for the platform and a mobile-first responsive web page that could give users more interaction points. We’ve been enhancing our base product as well.

SOLUTION

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

We had a lot of experience in working with software development companies in Eastern Europe. When we met the Crunch team they had a lot of what we were looking for: technical competency, ability to think outside the box, ability to creatively solve problems, and very good English.

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

We used Java on the back-end, Angular on front-end, and we’re on AWS infrastructure.

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

We had several Senior and Middle developers working with us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s too early to say about the general outcomes, but one of the points that could demonstrate success was the ability of the Crunch team to connect all the dots with the infrastructure team, which helped to reorganize the budget on the project and thus reduce the costs a lot. We wouldn’t be able to do it without their help.

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

It was very effective. Another group does infrastructure for my project, and the Crunch team was really good at working with them to help facilitate many infrastructure updates, and some reliability and performance issues.

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

They are responsive, attentive, and hardworking in project development. I also like the offset hours, because they work when I’m asleep, and when I get up they’ve already executed what we asked for. Besides, I like the consistency: we’ve had the same team for over a year, and that’s important to have continuity on a project.

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

I don't have any major critiques.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Apprime AB, a startup that delivers enterprise-grade systems with very modern frameworks and software.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Crunch?

I had a big customer in Brazil and I needed outsourced developers to help create a backend in Node.js and frontend in React.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

On the frontend, we had a single page application with an advanced frontend. It’s like a YouTube experience with search suggestions, video thumbnails, play video features, metadata, and other such features. I was the solutions architect and I provided the developers with defined tasks.

What is the team composition?

My primary contact was Andrii (React Native Developer, Crunch). I worked intensely with three full-time resources Crunch provided. There were five people in total.

How did you come to work with Crunch?

I looked around in Europe and found Crunch on LinkedIn.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $27,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from March–June 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were very helpful in finding developers. I thought the resources they provided were decent, especially for their rates. They’re all proactive and they work honestly. One of the developers was much more advanced and was willing to help to streamline the design of the app.

If I do another project, I’ll definitely consider using Crunch.

How did Crunch perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re well-organized and they have strong language and communication skills. We had morning calls to see what was being worked on. If I asked for something simple, they’d report the next evening. If it was complicated and I knew they knew what they were doing, they’d keep it for a day or so.

Crunch was pushing to do time reports, but the developers weren’t eager for that and neither was I. The team was small and it wasn’t needed. The existing developers managed to onboard people even though I was onboarding them as well. That was very helpful.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They deliver on time and keep the promises they make. They’re very hard-working and smart and I find them pleasant to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

One small drawback is they provide the contract in two languages and the contract is kind of homemade. It’s not what you’d expect in the U.S. It probably doesn’t matter anyway, but they should invest in using a lawyer to prepare a real contract.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re from a Western company, you should have someone who understands Eastern Europe to manage the relationship. You need someone who understands their culture. Don’t expect very detailed management or an emphasis on structure from them. You need to lead them in that direction if that’s what you want.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a Danish IT development company doing integration work for Danish web shops in a large and broad market. We connect different shops through their warehouse systems.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Crunch?

One of our customers needed a lot of development done, but they had no training in how to run a development company, so they wanted us to help them with that. We hired two developers from Crunch, who were then invoiced to our end client. We’re the middle management in the relationship.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Crunch is continuing the development of a system that I created for the client, which has helped them grown tremendously. The two Crunch developers are improving and creating new features in the system, trying to help our client achieve more value through a bigger platform. They create integrations to different suppliers, helping in the fulfillment of orders and the interactions involved in running a web shop. They’re building it in Ruby on Rails, with both a PostgreSQL database and a Redis database.

When something is bought in the web shop, it needs to be processed in the warehouse, which requires stock information knowledge. The system also manages the stock levels in the physical warehouse, helping with the checkout side. The web shop platform is connected to the main system, which can be tailored to the client’s demands.

What is the team composition?

We’ve had two developers since November. I’m the project manager, and they’ve been learning the system and taking over my responsibilities as the primary developer of the system. In a couple of months, the client wants another developer to come on board.

How did you come to work with Crunch?

We’d been worrying about outsourcing development due to the shortage of good developers in Denmark, so we were searching abroad. My colleague came in contact with Crunch.

How much have you invested with them?

We’re spending around $10,000–$12,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working together since October 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re very happy with what they’ve done so far, and they started generating results after a month. Crunch has created new features and pushed new code into production.

How did Crunch perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve performed very well. The hardest thing is the language barrier, but they’ve been very good at communication. We use Slack and Asana for managing tasks and workloads, as well as Skype.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve been happy with the communication and the technical side.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The hardest part of development outsourcing is not being able to physically monitor the team, so it’s important to have established guidelines and communication. It’s a minor point, but the developers could have been slightly better at communicating when they’re online.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

No, they’re the best outsourcing bureau we’ve worked with because of their capabilities.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of Timegen Consulting. We build web and mobile apps for various clients, and provide tech services for an incubated company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Crunch?

We needed additional development staff to work on a React Native project for one of our clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Crunch provided a freelancer to work on a project that mainly involved React Native development and support. 

What is the team composition? 

We work with just one freelancer from Crunch at the moment, but we may increase the number of resources we work with in the near future. 

How did you come to work with Crunch?

I believe I found them through a contact I had on LinkedIn who recommended them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working together since November 2018, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Crunch did a great job of sourcing a collaborative freelance developer who continues to meet our requirements. 

How did Crunch perform from a project management standpoint?

We work directly with the freelancer, who is available through Skype and other communication channels as needed. Crunch did a good job of sourcing someone who speaks English very well, so there are no language barrier issues.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Usually, there are communication issues when working with freelancers abroad, but we haven't had any problems with the person Clutch assigned to our account. In addition to being technically savvy, they also provided someone who is easy to work with overall. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, everything's been good thus far. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about project needs and challenges, and I'm confident they'll be able to handle it. Our relationship has been pretty straightforward.