Cycloides

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of WarrierTech Inc., an IoT company that designs and manufactures sensors for data collection and analysis for industrial applications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cycloides?

We needed a partner to develop a cloud-based dashcam app for one of our end clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cycloides built a desktop application that allows people with a dashcam to have it directly interface with a USB-enabled device and push the data into the cloud repository. We provided the project requirements, which was an internal technical document. They reviewed it and provided a proposal which covered all the different functional and technical aspects of the project. We iterated back on forth until we agreed on the details, then they began development.

They used Angular for the frontend, and the backend is a cloud deployed solution hosted on the Azure platform. They also utilized SQL for the databases and Azure Blob Storage. After defining all of the necessary infrastructure for the app, they then deployed it.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with up to 10 people, including UX designers and developers. The team is split across their Indian and Canadian teams, and we primarily interact with five people.

How did you come to work with Cycloides?

I knew one of their vice presidents.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $14,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We partnered in January 2019, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve met our expectations, and the end client was extremely satisfied with the outcome.

How did Cycloides perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re incredibly responsive, getting back to our emails and texts within an hour. The team is professional and outlined a plan so that we know exactly what to expect.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team is well rounded with expertise in various different areas. Instead of looking at a project from the dev perspective, they consider how the end user will interact with the product. That makes their work much better and optimizes the solutions. They provide feedback when necessary and often make suggestions to improve the end product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Some of their initial designs seemed a bit outdated, but we gave them feedback on that, and they improved.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Pay attention to details and have good communication with their team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of BOLO Mobile, a photo-sharing application and communication service exclusively for law enforcement.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cycloides?

My partners and I wanted to create a simple app for law enforcement that would enable them to share photos in a more streamlined, modern way, but we are not software developers. We hired Cycloides to develop and maintain the app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I used an online wireframe creation tool to create a rough mockup of the app we envisioned. After we discussed my team’s ideas and how we wanted the app to look, Cycloides handled everything. They built more elaborate wireframes and developed the software from scratch. They developed a native iOS, Android, and web-based app. The team also created an open API so that if a partnership opportunity arose, we would be able to integrate systems easily.

Cycloides is currently providing app support and maintenance. If we integrate new features in the future, we will do so through them.

What is the team composition?

We were amongst Cycloides’s first customers, and I worked directly with Anil (Founder and CEO, Cycloides). As the company has grown, I’ve worked with various project managers and team members.  

How did you come to work with Cycloides?

We found Cycloides through a referral. After interviewing a few software development companies, we chose Cycloides based on their affordable services, the quality of their references, and the overall impression they gave as a great partner.

How much have you invested with them?

My team has spent around $50,000–$75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership began in April 2015, and it is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The impact is significant, since our company wouldn’t exist today without Cycloides. Their affordable, top-notch services were a driving force in getting our app off the ground. Soon after the app’s launch, we partnered with a company that had pre-existing relationships with sixty police departments. Because of the open API that Cycloides built, we successfully integrated our app with our partner’s product; we gained early customers through this channel.

Today, nineteen police departments use our app to share photos. Rather than having to provide a verbal description over the radio, the app enables officers to send and receive photos, which in turn allows them to act quickly. For instance, when there was a bank robbery in adjacent towns whose police departments both utilize the app, an officer shared a photo from the bank’s surveillance monitor. An officer in the next town saw the photo and immediately recognized the suspect, and they made a swift arrest.

How did Cycloides perform from a project management standpoint?

Cycloides provides us with whatever we need, from documentation to late-night phone calls. Because they’re in Canada and we’re in the US, we speak via phone, email, and Skype. Communication has been great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

My team presented Cycloides with our idea, and they brought it to life. Anil has assembled a well-rounded team with experience in several different areas. My partners and I are relatively non-technical, so it’s great to have a resource like Cycloides.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would like for them to open a US office, but that’s just because I enjoy meeting with them in-person; our remote partnership has gone well.

Any advice for potential customers?

Anytime you have a custom software project, leave as little to the imagination as possible. Define as many specifications as you can to guide the initial conversation. After that, you can rely on Cycloides’s experience to lead the rest of the project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the founder of Zenoxila Technology Solutions Inc. We’re in the business of running software services for startups and enterprise-level companies. Our clientele come from a range of industries such as gaming, insurance, and retail.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cycloides?

We hired Cycloides for application development and sustenance services across multiple projects. For some assignments, they helped us with digitalization, and, for others, they had to completely rewrite the app without any source code nor documentation.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were to digitize three projects and to rewrite our legacy system to increase its speed and scalability.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We validated Cycloides’ cost and work efficiency to see if they could support us on startup- and enterprise-level projects. The team’s defining strength was their capacity to work on small and big assignments at the same time.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

So far, we’ve completed five projects with Cycloides to build out apps and rewrite our system. For each project, we would typically provide them with wireframes and requirements, elaborating on the stores as necessary. Their team would use our assets to design and develop the apps in two-week sprints with demos after every sprint. This enabled us to stay in sync with the business and development teams. 

What was the team composition?

The team scaled up from an initial three-member group to about 25 resources during peak development. They had project managers based in Toronto who would communicate with the development team in India. In the mornings, we would discuss the projects with the project managers, and they would have the India team complete the tasks during their hours. We refined this rhythm as the engagement progressed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The greatest impact we’ve seen from their work is our new system’s processing speed. Compared to the earlier version, the rewritten system is very efficient and easy to use.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project management was very impressive. We were always able to reach the project managers, and they kept us informed on the project health through weekly status report meetings. We used Skype to hold conferences and Apache Subversion (SVN) as our configuration tool.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We found the team to be capable. They were efficient, brought a lot of technical expertise, and helped us successfully launch our applications on time and within budget. I appreciated that we had access to both the project managers and the development team. If we ever had a problem, the CEO himself would respond to our queries. 

Are there any areas for improvement?

They might consider improving their documentation process and hiring a few technical writers. Otherwise, the whole team was impressive, from the junior resources to the CEO.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of a real estate services platform. The website serves real estate agents, buyers, renters, and investors in Canada. The platform is integrated into a few data sources.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cycloides?

We'd had the project designed but we needed help to have it developed from scratch.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our platform from scratch. The web-based version was developed on AngularJS platform, which runs on the Python backend and PostgreSQL database. They designed and architected the entire system. It was done in a way where we could see one version and then approved it through the quality process, then they would push it online to the server. They also set up the server and the infrastructure for us on Amazon.

We don’t have a payment system live yet. They integrated PayPal and Stripe. They integrated a few other services from Google including Geolocation APIs, Google Maps, address locators, and address completion APIs. Most notable was the clear data distribution service (DDS) from the Real Estate Association of Canada, which they created an integration API with. That was the most significant segment of this project, involving a 1 ½–2-month integration process.

What is the team composition?

There were at least six or seven people on the development team. They also assigned a dedicated project manager.

How did you come to work with Cycloides?

They were referred to us by a contact who had prior experience with them. We were comfortable dealing with them in the initial stages. I also visited their development center in India after we had the initial discussion and proposal. I found them to be a reliable company.

How much have you invested with them?

Around $100,000 CAD [$77,650 USD].

What is the status of this engagement?

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

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They developed three different projects for us and we’ve had a very favorable engagement. Their very flexible, especially considering the time difference between our management office in Vancouver and India where their development center is. They’ve been quite accommodating with that. They’ve been reliable compared to all the companies I’ve worked with. Our users are also very happy with the UI.

How did Cycloides perform from a project management standpoint?

The project manager would liaise with me through daily and weekly reports. If needed, I would also discuss milestones with the developers during the calls. We were integrated into their Jira so we could monitor the project progress. I found them to be very responsive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re always available on call even if there’s a delay in the schedule. Most other companies don’t take your call when they’re on a delayed schedule. They’ve always been reachable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Getting the developers more involved with the interaction would definitely be more helpful. That’s something they have been working on over the last few months.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d recommend anyone to work with Cycloides. I’ve not had any major issues with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a software firm. We have a product that is a completely integrated cloud-based solution for binary management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cycloides?

I was looking for development partners in India.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I manage the project from our side. They helped to build the ERP platform, which is a web and cloud-based platform.

Before starting with them, we’d already decided on the programming language so continued working on .NET technology. I had some other developers working on it and passed that knowledge onto Cycloides’ developers.

What is the team composition?

We’ve had between 5–7 developers, and up to 10 at times.

How did you come to work with Cycloides?

They reached out to me. I initially hired one person from their side and gave them some smaller projects. We went from there and started giving more projects to them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in December 2015, and it’s an ongoing development project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, I’m happy with the work.

How did Cycloides perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication has been good and I’m happy.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m happy with the quality of developers they assigned to us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the EVP of Focus Softnet. We’re a software solutions provider based out of India and we have operations in the Middle East as well as North America. I look after the North American operations. We’ve been in operation for just over 23 years, and we have 25 offices across 17 countries, with 40,000 customers worldwide.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cycloides?

A prospective client contacted us our admin solution for colleges and universities. When they contacted they really wanted a complete browser or cloud-enabled software. We were not prepared with a cloud-enabled application at that time, so we contracted with Cycloides to develop that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We were in touch with Cycloides and ran the idea by them to see if this was something they could do for us. They had the capability to understand the requirements, and they were not just delivering what we asked for, but also came back to us with additions as to how the latest technologies could be applied and how other features could be enabled. It was helpful for us because at the end of the day, we could go to our client with a better solution.

The whole application was on a Microsoft backend, sitting on an SQL database. They used a lot of the latest tools that were required to make the application quicker. Anyone can develop a solution, but the challenge kicks in when the load comes in. They’d brought in a lot of toolkits, which wasn’t in our knowledge base, as well as their methodologies.

What is the team composition?

For this particular project, we interacted with a project manager and a functional consultant, and they had a team of UI developers, coders, and testers behind them. We didn’t have to go through their team and educate everyone on what was required. We interacted with the functional consultant who sat down and took our requirements and translated that into a document. Following that, the project manager who was above him ensured that timelines were met. Having just two individuals to communicate with made it easy rather than talking to many different people.

How did you come to work with Cycloides?

The main reason we selected them was because of their capability to understand our requirement. I’ve had dealings with a few other companies in the past in similar situations and there were a lot of difficulties.We stumbled across Cycloides, and one small project just led to another.When it came to this particular project, it was a default selection because we had some good experience with them and their team is very accommodating.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent over $80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them on this project from May 2016–December 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I was able to hand off the project on time with my client. They had a strictly defined way of rolling out the application where they gave us a non-functional prototype and then a functional prototype. At every stage, I involved my customer, picked their brain, and got them on board as to how the whole application worked. At the end of the day, there was no new ground for my client, as he had already seen it many times over and was already on board with it, which led to a seamless delivery.

How did Cycloides perform from a project management standpoint?

I have nothing to complain about when it comes to project management. I didn’t have high levels of expectations and it was very simple. I gave them my requirements, needed to know how much it would cost, how long it would take, as well as what their terms of engagement were when it came to hitting any bugs. For all those questions, I received very positive answers and they lived up to my expectations as far as those areas are concerned.

There were some issues during the coding process, but the project manager reassured me that he did his due diligence and things were rolled out. Communication was mostly done through email and telephone, and the project was managed through Microsoft Project Management Software. We seldom used Skype because we are located in the same city and were able to meet in person if needed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their capability to understand what the client needs is impressive. When you’re explaining what you need, they’re able to interpret and translate that into a prototype and present you with what you envisioned as software. That is their biggest skill. We’ve had failures with other projects in the past because of that. If I get another project, I’ll definitely invest in their services again.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As a company, I’d expect them to get onto the Capable Maturity Model (CMM) Level 5 certification, and for them to display more CMM level documentation, as it would allow them to take on larger projects. Going forward, our customers would need that kind of transparency as to the coding methodologies they use and the documentation we use at the time of development and deployment.