Daffodil Software

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive of an IT consulting firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Daffodil Software?

We’ve been growing our business, and we wanted to bring on offshore developers to help us handle a lot of the off-hour work of our company to be competitive in specific business areas.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Daffodil Software provides application development services for our clients — they’re an extension of our team.

What is the team composition?

We’ve been working with around six people from their team.

How did you come to work with Daffodil Software?

I was looking for a provider based in India, and I spoke to several companies along the way. We chose Daffodil Software because they seemed the more professional company; they wanted to be part of our success and work with us to reach our goals.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $200,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2020, and the engagement is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been getting spectacular results from their participation in this project. They’re also customer-facing to some of our clients, and we’ve been receiving fantastic feedback on that as well.

How did Daffodil Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been great. Our project managers and senior developers set tasks out, and Daffodil Software’s team knows the timelines and budgets for those assignments, which they always meet. Their account management has also been a great resource; they’re proactive and fix any issues through a communicative approach.

In terms of tools, we use Microsoft Teams, Slack, phone calls, and emails for communication, and Jira for project management and updates.

 What did you find most impressive about them?

The customer service and account management are outstanding. They’re also responsive and always available night or day even though we’re based in different countries. We heard horror stories about offshore providers, and we’ve not experienced any of that with them — they’re fantastic to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on — they make a true partnership in customer service and understanding our business.

Any advice for potential customers?

Keep good communication with your account manager to ensure that everything is getting taken care of. Take advantage of the fact that they’re good at managing teams, which is another line to ensure that the project is going in the right direction.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CTO for Sentiance. We create a contextual insights and behavior change support platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We wanted to develop a new product to support people to become safer drivers, e.g. use their phone less behind the wheel. We needed a partner to help build the mobile app. Our goal was to provide data-driven tools to support people wanted to change their driving behavior.

SOLUTION

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

We choose this vendor because of their long track record in providing development services. Deciding factors included quality of work, lead time to get started and price.

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

We embedded the app developers of Daffodil within our own development team to cooperate on this product. They took on the app development for Android and iOS using ReactNative and some of the API work in node.js. They were present in standups and sprint plannings to stay up-to-date with the other backend work that was happening on the product.

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

Two fullstack engineers worked with us on this.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app was delivered with all expected functionality implemented and is actively being used to support a safer driving campaign.

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

Project management was handled by us. The Daffodil developers used our tools (Jira, Slack) together with the rest of team. They arrived on time for standups, planning meetings, etc.

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

Their developers had very good technical skills. We never had to ask to swap someone out because they were not performing.

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

Adding a third developer halfway through the project took longer than originally expected.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO and co-founder of HealTheia, a healthcare software company developing integrated solutions to bridge in-person and virtual care into a hybrid healthcare model.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed to create a software solution specific to eyecare in order to allow all levels of providers to provide safe, efficient, and top-notch care for patients with eye problems. Our goal was to create software to allow better virtual consultations for patients with eye-specific problems with specialists with unique expertises.

SOLUTION

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

We looked into several software development companies, but Daffodil had experience in healthcare that we valued and balanced excellent product development with costs.

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

Working with them, we initially discussed our clinical problems and how we wanted the software designed. Working with a team assigned to our project, we had weekly design and workflow calls to map out our software solution.

Once development commenced, we had constant access to the software to asses the workflow and functionality. We provided constant feedback on features, functionality, UI/UX, etc. Our project encompassed a web-based application for clinicians, as well as a web and app for patients.

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

There were 2 main software leads and 1 business development lead that we worked with to design and build out our software and workflows. There were 3-4 software engineers that were performing the coding.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are currently in the process of rolling out our software live and onboarding pilot practices. Covid-19 presented some delays on both ours and their ends. Overall, we have an excellent MVP that exceeds our initial expectations.

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

Project management was great. We worked with the same key contacts from the start of the project. We utilized regular Google Teams calls, WhatsApp, GitHub, and other communication tools.

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

We had regular contact with the key people overseeing our project. As a result, we were able to create the software that we envisioned. Additionally, we were able to do it all while controlling costs, a very important aspect for a startup.

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

Their work quality and communication were excellent. We could have better defined each scope of work with each iteration of our software. Slightly out of anyone's control, we had some delays from Covid, but overall, they handled the situation well.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CRO at iamplus responsible for Business Development, Corporate Development, Partnerships and R&D efforts. Our company, iamplus is building the next generation of AI and is looking to build one of the most complex applications using Flutter.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Given Flutter is fairly new, we had contracted a couple of agencies to fill the need for Flutter developers. The goals were to build full-fledged apps using Flutter covering multiple domains and complexities. The breadth of the offering is very wide and we do not believe any one has every built such a complex Flutter app to-date.

SOLUTION

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

We sourced various vendors through our network and via Clutch reviews and Daffodil was one of the vendors we signed. We decided based on track history, professionalism and ofcourse resource/talent available.

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

We build multiple team leads and Daffodil have been given responsibility to develop full domains. They have to work closely with our internal leads that are responsible for the core AI technology and enablers that the developers need to integrate with.

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

We have hired more than 10 developers working full time on our project and continue to grow these positions. We have flutter developers, project managers and back-end developers working for us from the Daffodil team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team have been working closely with us for almost a year and they have shown professionalism throughout the process. They have been quick to mentor and replace resources as needed to make sure deliverables are met.

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

The team have been working within our processes and have integrated well. Vipin and Jasmeet who are the two development and BD leads are always reaching out to make sure they find ways to improve further. Timelines are driven by us and Daffodil does their best to support us over weekends as needed too.

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

The most unique part of the company is the tendency to follow up to make sure they are always improving. Most agencies tend to get comfortable and stop improving.

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

More senior developers and team leads like Vipin are needed - we have a lot more junior developers working under a lead which could be improved - its an opportunity for Daffodil to win more business with us .

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

My company is a software development company, specialising in insurance, energy and financial services comparison systems. As Head of IT I was directly involved with Daffodil and worked closely with them as they helped to augment our IT teams.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Daffodil Software?

Daffodil helped augment our IT teams during a very busy period as we roll-out upgrades to many of our internal systems.

SOLUTION

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

We worked closely with Daffodil as they were flexible with their payment terms, our hiring requirements and were able to provide suitable candidates quickly.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The Daffodil developers came in and quickly trained on our internal systems, before helping to then roll-out various upgrades working closely with existing team members. Laterally, they have trained in more complex areas, helping to maintain the systems as product upgrades continue, allowing our in-house team to use their domain knowledge and concentrate on product development.

Describe the recruitment process in detail.

We discussed our requirements with Daffodil's sales team, techcnial teams and account manager. Profiles were then provided for selection and an onboarding process agreed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Hundreds of our partners are now using upgraded implementations of our white label systems, using new technologies, improving speed and increasing conversion rates.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Daffodil Software's developers were flexible and learned our workflows quickly. They used Jira and Bitbucket to resolve issues daily.

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

They were flexible in their approach, took feedback well, and made their own recommendations for workflow improvements.

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

There were some technical issues at the beginning of the project due to our requirements for developers to have fixed IPs to access some of our internal systems. This was resolved quickly, despite the complexities of the pandemic with everyone working from home for periods.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Health Gauge, as well as the publicly traded company that owns it.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Daffodil Software?

We started working with Daffodil in April 2020, and we were interested in establishing our mobile application work using a development tool called Flutter.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Daffodil is responsible for the overall execution of our mobile applications development for the Android and iOS platforms using Flutter. In addition, they’re also responsible for the ongoing testing, code verification, and quality of the products.

Flutter is becoming a more popular toolset for creating consistency with both the Apple and Android mobile platforms, so we decided to work with that field based on past experiences.

What is the team composition?

I don’t really lead the tech development team for my company, but I’m plugged in on the daily channel so I have good visibility of what the team is doing overall. I just generally do my guidance with my CTO and my project manager here. The person who is most associated with us is Sushant (Key Account Manager), who sets up the calls.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested at least $100,000 CAD (approximately $79,300 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2020, and we continue to work today.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I can tell you that the measurement is more qualitative than quantitative. People are very impressed with the mobile app, and the feedback we get is all positive. We have both light and dark modes for both platforms, and the app is really quite impressive overall. Daffodil has done well in executing our vision, and they continue to be responsive to some of the tricky requests that we put on them.

How did Daffodil Software perform from a project management standpoint?

We regularly communicate through Skype where we require them to enter their daily tasks along with their estimate of time. They’ve done well to maintain that discipline, and it gives us great visibility on a daily basis — they keep us informed on what they’re working on, or when they’re not available. Moreover, they’re required to associate their tasks with JIRA-based deliverables, so that we can track them using a Kanban Board-like tool.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We like their ability to manage the resources well for us, and they conduct themselves like employees of our company. They have a good management oversight, degree of professionalism, and consistency. In addition, they’re quite responsive and we’ve been really happy with the work they’ve been doing for us.

We know them all by name, so there’s a really intimate relationship with the people from Daffodil. Our team is quite committed to meeting resources daily, so it’s good having people here in Canada, and it’s been great to be able to tap into that organization and build that relationship.

They work hard to maintain consistency between the two platforms, as there are always variations between them. This is good for our branding because we brought in a fairly demanding visual design and UI, and they’ve been doing a good job in establishing that design interface in addition to the underlying code work in Flutter.

The work we do in our company is quite original, and there's a lot of very sophisticated software underneath all of that. They’re just doing mobile applications, but we also work on online applications, AI, and neural net-based software development. All of these things have to work together, and they’ve been really responsive in making sure that everything is working.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are always things to improve on. The thing that really comes to mind is how to maintain the hygiene points around articulating code with the comments and reinforcing that — so when bugs happen, we can find them. We’ve actually employed an additional resource at Daffodil, who is more of an expert in identifying bugs and maintaining the bug clean-up.

As far as improvements go, it would be great to see the continuing effort around the maintenance of code with comments and other supports because that’s not going away — we can do better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Nothing’s really coming to mind at the moment. I’ve been quite happy even with the administrative stuff. They’re pretty consistent and I haven’t had any issues with how they administer and manage the organization. I’m generally quite pleased with working with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the manager at an energy management company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Daffodil Software?

We needed help with development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We outsource our development to Daffodil. They help with our react native mobile app development for iOS and Android. They take care of everything from planning to delivery.

There’s an option for prospective clients to buy energy and see the benefits between different selections. The contracts are also handled 100% through the app.

What is the team composition?

I work with Nishant (Key Account Manager), Monika (Project Manager), and three other developers.

How did you come to work with Daffodil Software?

I found them through Upwork. We had an interview with them and other companies and I liked their portfolio. They had a reference who showed me an app that they’d completed with good reviews. We did a project with them at that point and we hired them for this project, too.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $7,600.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2020, and we wrapped up in December 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app is working 100% well. We’re still testing at the moment but we’re very happy with the results right now.

How did Daffodil Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great. They had a very good grasp of the scope of the project with milestones and delivery dates. They kept track of everything and they were great at communicating.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were very organized with planning the project. The team delivered everything on time with excellent quality. They delivered everything exactly according to the specifications.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they had a very good work methodology, especially since we were on different time zones.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would definitely recommend them; they have a great team. They can fulfill all aspects of the work from planning and design to development. They’ll definitely deliver a great product for you.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Spirituity Pte. Ltd. and we make Singapore-based products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Daffodil Software?

We wanted to develop an SMB application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Daffodil Software is building our cloud-based mobile application. We provided them with wireframes and discussed what was needed. They transported to production and the app can be used for both Android and iOS.

What is the team composition?

There is a project leader and a couple of front-and backend developers, along with QAs.

How did you come to work with Daffodil Software?

We looked at all the records that were available publicly and saw that they had won many awards. When we asked them specific questions, they were the only ones who were able to understand our idea. When a partner understands things, the journey is smooth. We interviewed about 5–7 other developers and we had to explain every step to them. Daffodil Software was more organized and everything was in place. It seemed like they had a lot of experience.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve finished the first phase and are onto the second. We started the collaboration around May 2020 and it is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everything we have recorded in terms of UX/UI has been great and everything is functioning.

How did Daffodil Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is excellent, especially with timing and keeping deadlines. We communicate with each other through Slack, daily. They respond very quickly, so if I have a problem in the morning, by the evening it’s solved. We also use Confluent and Trello to keep up with milestones.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The best part about Daffodil Software is that they’re very friendly and good people. The people they hired are all really good and we see them as our own team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there is nothing.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You should go with them if you’re looking for someone to develop a mobile application. Most importantly, have the design UI ready before getting into development.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Brimstone Allon Enterprises, LLC. We sell foodservice operation software and provide consulting services. We also have an online education platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Daffodil Software?

We wanted a complete revamp of our online education platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Daffodil Software built an education fee-for-service site for us 15 years ago. It’s a site that offered credits for healthcare workers to stay certified. They did a complete redo of our site and completed the upgrade four years ago. Since then, they are providing site updates and adding new content to the site. I lay out the things I wanted them to do and they’ll incorporate these to the website.

They also built custom software for us. It’s for healthcare institutions like nursing homes to have their employees certified. We give them access to the classes and training that we built. We also provide testing, running reports, and tracking progress for the students that availed of the classes and training.

We worked very closely together during the transition period from the old website to the current one that we are using now. Daffodil Software assigns a developer to me to cover the items that I needed to be created. We just finished three projects this past year and we’re looking at doing another one.

What is the team composition?

We work with one project manager and four programmers from Daffodil Software’s team.

How did you come to work with Daffodil Software?

I was not happy with the previous provider that built the site for us originally. I wanted to have our website updated and looked around for companies to partner with. I spoke with Daffodil Software and we just clicked, I liked what their concepts were. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $170,000–$175,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Daffodil Software in January 2013 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The application runs well and it serves its purpose. I get feedback from my clients that it’s a user-friendly and intuitive system. That’s important to me because I don’t want to spend a lot of time teaching people how to use the system. It tracks progress easily for them. I have virtually no downtime. The application’s ease of use and functionality is good and uptime has been excellent.

How did Daffodil Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Daffodil Software performed outstandingly in terms of project management. They provide good communication feedback and are always available. They always deliver results in a timely manner. Despite the time difference, they always respond to my queries promptly. We communicate mainly through Skype and emails.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Daffodil Software is very good at making my ideas into reality. We’ve been working for many years now and our relationship is easy. They are very easy to work with and they take time to understand what I’m asking for. They’re spot on in delivering what I wanted and hits the target the first time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I really don’t have anything to respond to.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to have a very clear vision of what you want and be very specific about what you’re looking for. The better you are thinking through what you want, makes it easier for Daffodil Software to deliver results. Make things simple and don’t complicate things.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the manager of a public sector management consulting firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Daffodil Software?

It was twofold. One, there was a level of outsourcing for bandwidth that we didn’t have internally. Two, we were looking for some offshore capabilities that’d allow for development to occur around the clock. We’re US-based and work during the daytime, so we wanted something that’d allow for development to occur at nighttime.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Daffodil Software provides staff augmentation and resources to work alongside our staff. They’ve also done some application development that’s on a fixed-fee basis. We have certain scopes of work that they handle. Everything is either in software development or DevOps. They do UI, frontend development, and API development work.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 5–8 different staff members over the course of our engagement. At any given time, it’s usually between 2–5 people.

How did you come to work with Daffodil Software?

We’ve tried a handful of different vendors and found that Daffodil Software was very responsive. They provided good resources so we slowly built our relationship over time.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $50,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started in March 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their supplemental work has enhanced the speed of our development. They’ve also enhanced the quality of the development. I like that Daffodil Software is a large company so they have a lot of different resources. The staff that’s assigned to the project may not know something but they can go and ask superiors or other colleagues. They have access to a lot of different personnel.

We like that we’re dealing with a company that has institutional knowledge of what they do. This is the single key reason I use them and will continue to use them.

How did Daffodil Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very client-focused. What the client likes or uses, they adapt to it. It’s been a great fit for us, but inexperienced clients who don’t have a preference may be lost because they don’t tend to come in with a standardized approach.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m most impressed with the depth and breadth of their resources. They have a lot of resources as well as the capacity to get resources. They’re efficient in the resource management piece. If we need something, they can find someone who could assist with it.

Daffodil Software has the ability to get us anything we need; they serve as a full-service development shop. They don’t have any specialties but can do anything we need.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Having some type of standardization and project management might be helpful in the future, especially for projects where we relied heavily on their expertise.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You need to do some planning. They’re not just an outsourcing company; they work alongside you. If you aren’t prepared to work with or manage resources, then they’re probably not the right fit. They’re a partner. In order to have an effective partnership, be prepared to work with them.