Cumulations Technologies Pvt Ltd

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder of Milesmate, a connected car solution that helps car owners save their time, money, and assets by connecting them with nearby driving assistance centers, giving them feedback on their driving, connecting them with emergency services, providing anti-theft alarms for immobilization, and connecting them to the internet. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cumulations Technologies Pvt Ltd?

We hired them for IOT product development.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to build a comprehensive, connected, and mobile IOT solution.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We could see they had previous experience with IOT product development.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

They worked with us to design a scalable architecture and to decide which tech stack to use. Their team helped us organize the workflow and developed the product.

What was the team composition?

They provided an architectural team and a front- and backend development team for Android, iOS, and web services.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product developed is core to our business.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They rarely missed any deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are an awesome team who really understands their client's needs.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

They could be more open with their suggestions to improve the product. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am vice president of solar analytics at Avi Solar Energy Private Limited.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cumulations Technologies Pvt Ltd?

I hired them for web application development, mobile application development, and UI/ UX design.

What were your goals for this project?

I wanted to create a reliable and easy-to-use solution available on the web and mobile apps.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were referred by a mutual connection. Cumulations was able to understand the requirement and was familiar with our domain. Their expertise in software similarly used by our partners helped us make this decision.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

They fully developed an iOS application. They designed the UI/UX and integrated it into a cloud database using APIs. They built a web application for important day-to-day operational metrics and created an events and reports module. They also developed a CMS to manage assets and supported the app's scalability. 

What was the team composition?

Their project team composed of a UI/UX designer, two full stack developers, one iOS developer, a QA analyst, and a project manager. Their UI/UX designer would come and go as needed. Their iOS developer was provided after the web app was developed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before this solution was built, we had a legacy system which was difficult to use and scale. The solution we built together is very user-friendly both on web and mobile. It allows us to easily scale the placement of additional plants/types of equipment. 

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They followed Agile development methodology where our customers had constant feedback. They incorporated and delivered the app close to the expected time. They used tools like Bitbucket to manage sources and issues.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their depth of knowledge, similar domain experience, and quick turnaround time during the development process was impressive.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

I wanted more weekly face-to-face meetings with them. It would have helped for smoother project execution.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a partner and the CTO of a small Swiss firm in the industrial automation, IoT [Internet of things], and medical devices sector. Our clients are mostly Swiss or German or based in Western Europe. We provide software development services, architecture review, and system architecting for large and small companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cumulations?

We don’t have a development team in-house, but we work with development partners in Serbia and India. With Cumulations, we’re trying to develop an IoT platform that gathers data from a central system such as a Smartwatch or external hardware device and displays that data on a mobile phone. We may also have the platform perform some algorithms and sync data with the cloud. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cumulation was primarily involved with various devices such as Android smart watches from LG or Motorola, developing applications to extract data from the sensors and send data to a mobile phone. They’ve also developed small parts of the mobile application that we needed, including some plugins and a communication interface. They also built another mini-application that extracts data from a custom hardware; that initial design was created by us. They’ve extended the designs and completed the implementation of the code and software.

What are some core features of the mobile app?

Cumulations was involved in just a small section of the app. They developed some native Android plugins to interface with the smartwatch. We are trying to make the app platform-independent. It has been tested on Android. Most of the code can also be used for iOS, but we haven’t tested it yet.

Is there a recommendation or challenge they overcame that stands out to you?

When we interact with external sensors, sometimes we have to build some custom modules since there’s no direct plug and play. For that plugin, they’ve come up with suggestions for using multiple callback functions to solve the problem in a different way.

When we were trying to develop an interface for our custom hardware, they also tried to read the data and extract and understand communication protocol that’s beneath it. Then, they managed to build this mini-application to extract the data from the custom hardware.

How did you come to work with Cumulations?

I found them through a Google search. I also interviewed a few other companies in India. I decided on Cumulations mainly because they showed a good understanding of object-oriented programming and design. They also had experience with IoT and communicating with external hardware. We’re trying to build a scalable data model and a scalable IoT platform that will launch later in the industrial domain.

When I spoke to the co-founders of Cumulations, the communication was straightforward. I didn’t get the feeling that they were just trying to sell their services. They’re trying to understand the problem and pinpoint where they can help. They also mentioned areas where they didn’t have as much experience and gave suggestions. Some other companies were priced lower than Cumulations, but we still decided to hire them.

How much have you invested with Cumulations?

We’ve spent $50,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October 2015, and the work is ongoing. We started with a 6-month trial and started adding features.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are close to having an MVP. This product doesn’t go to an end customer directly. Instead, it’s a B2B solution that will go to our customers in the medical or industrial domain. We’ve been testing locally because we want to build some demonstrations.

We are satisfied with the way things are going. We’ve had some small problems, but those are a part of development. Cumulations’ work will provide a good foundation for us as we move forward. If we do extend this product to iOS, we will likely ask Cumulations for help.

How did Cumulations perform from a project management standpoint?

The project was managed by 2 of our employees. We used to have sprints and sprint-planning meetings, and Cumulations always took part in those. When we have questions, they respond within a few minutes or a couple of hours at most. We communicate using Skype and email. I can also call the senior developer whenever I need.

What did you find most impressive about Cumulations?

They are committed to their work and go out of their way to help us. They’re very accommodating when we want to change certain features. We had some demonstrations locally in Switzerland, so we needed a few things in order to get ready. They were very cooperative with that timeline.

The senior developer is experienced with Android and Java. The team doesn’t just look at the technicalities of the project. Instead, they try to see the whole picture. They found a couple of potential issues that we didn’t anticipate. They question things that could become issues (e.g., if we do too many extractions too frequently, it will drain the battery, so do we have a backup plan?) We know we have additional brains thinking for us, which helps create a holistic picture.

Are there any areas Cumulations could improve?

With some of the junior developers, it’s not always clear if they’ve understood our requirements correctly. So, whenever I speak with the developers, I ask them to explain the requirement back to me. Having the co-founders on the call also helped. They are busy guys but still take the time to communicate with us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We produce upscale men’s accessories. I’m the owner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cumulations?

We needed to develop a Bluetooth app that would help trace a lost object.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cumulations developed all aspects of the iOS and Android app. We wrote up the functional specifications. This type of technology is very new and hasn’t been developed in the past. There was a lot of experimentation involved. It was truly cutting edge technology that we were developing. We didn’t even know if it was possible. When developing these apps, we had to work within Apple and Android’s framework. It’s very challenging. Not only did they have to develop the apps but advised with the firmware development on the hardware as well. The hardware was developed remotely in the US and they had to integrate the app technology with it. It takes a very special type of development team to be able to produce that type of application and to be able to work closely with a variety of different parties that are developing different aspects of it. Cumulations is terrific when it comes to that. We developed a high-level spec in-house of how the app should work from a functional perspective, but Cumulations filled in all the blanks and provided the technology to make it a reality.

How did you come to work with Cumulations?

We did a lot of due diligence in the US. Frankly, after working with one US company that specialized in Beacon technology, they couldn’t produce the results that we wanted. I’d done some software development outside of the US, in Bangalore. I did some research and reached out to some contacts I had in India. Cumulations and several other companies specialized in wireless Beacon technology.  We had to vet them remotely and you can tell how much time someone is willing to spend with you before the project begins. They were extremely professional, patient, knowledgeable, and transparent. They were willing to provide us with the information we needed to assess whether they can do the job or not. Many companies stopped at a certain point because it takes a lot of time and effort to do this, but Cumulations was very open and transparent with their work and knowledge. They provided us with evidence that they could accomplish the job. Given that, we chose them to complete the project.

How much have you invested with Cumulations?

We spent between $15,000 and $20,000+ on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with Cumulations in Sept. 2015 and the collaboration is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They have a tremendous attitude for taking on a project that has unknown parameters. It’s one thing to make a website-based application or standard app with known parameters; it's a totally different thing to develop something that’s never been done before. Testing alone can be underestimated by a severe degree. We never heard a complaint from them. They worked very hard to get the job done. They got it done within budget and in the time-frame we suggested. They were extremely professional throughout the whole experience. It’s very challenging when you’re doing something that’s never been validated by another source before. Different companies might get impatient, but Cumulations was very steadfast in their execution and the testing plans they presented. If something didn’t work, they’d come up with workarounds to make it work. It’s not a linear process when you’re ideveloping something new. You need the right partner that will be able to have the fortitude to go through ambiguity, and Cumulations definitely demonstrated that.

How did Cumulations perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very on top of things. Everybody at Cumulations is very hands-on. It was a delight from the beginning to the end. It was challenging, but we were working with the right project manager, developer, and team. We had an excellent project manager. We developed a camaraderie and trust that was very pleasant to work with.

What did you find most impressive about Cumulations?

They have a very high level of expertise. They are also very steadfast and organized. There is no emotional roller coaster that you go through with them. They understand what the project entails and they guide you through the process. They were able to guide us through the details of what we were trying to accomplish and created a list of deliverables that all of us agreed to. They’re very polite in almost everything they do. It was a good experience for us, and we continue to work with them.

Are there any areas Cumulations could improve?

I wish they would move to New York! I think they were perfect. They were really good in almost every regard that I can think of. I’m comparing them with firms I’ve worked with in the US, India, and China. They’re excellent all the way around.