DevOctopus

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Digital Marketing Manager at EveryonePrint. EveryonePrint creates cloud-based print infrastructure on a subscription basis that enables any company in any industry to successfully migrate, modernize and manage their print infrastructure in the cloud.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We did not have in-house developers that could build a website for us, so we hired this team to develop a WordPress site for our Client.

SOLUTION

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

We searched online, and I asked my colleagues to share any professional and reliable teams they know and could suggest. I started to collaborate with another developer, but things were not the same as supposed to be, so I resumed the search and found Devoctopus.

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

We had several meetings with the team to discuss tasks and requirements. From there, the team delivered several design options to choose from. After our approval, they developed a WordPress site for us. Also, we needed a few integrations with Mailchimp, which they implemented very fast.

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

A project manager was our main point of contact. There were a designer and a developer. Maybe there were more people that I am not aware of.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site has been developed for our Client, so I do not have access to the numbers in particular. The Client was happy, and we delivered all their requirements.

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

We used Asana and Telegram to communicate. We had Skype calls with their project manager every day.

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

I want to thank the Devoctopus team for the work done. The guys helped to complete the project for our customers on time. Moreover, they are initiative and implemented the product even better than expected. They treat work as a personal challenge, and this was felt right away at the design stage.

Their experience allowed us to avoid many problems that we really could not pay attention to (since we had no experience). The guys did their job responsibly and with dedication. My management and I enjoyed working with Devoctopus, so we decided to continue working with them. Now their experts are working with us and helping us to implement beautiful and interesting projects. Highly recommend!

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

There were some minor bugs before launch but they fixed everything fast.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

At the time of my engagement with DevOctopus, I was working for Monsanto, an international company that produces crop protection products. We mainly operated in the agricultural industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DevOctopus?

They were supporting us with the creation of a special CRM platform within a system that was aimed to protect our products from counterfeit.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their team provided a CRM solution to elevate the workflow, communication, and business processes to offer us an end-to-end solution. We provided them with a whole scope of services that they would provide to us. That included design, development, and front- and backend work. They worked very closely with systems compliance, which was very tricky and technical. 

Arrangements also had to be made for data protection regarding compliance as well. The entire scope of the work culminated in a release of the fully-developed product along with respective marketing, commercial materials, and technical requirements. They were retained by our company to handle maintenance as needed.  

What is the team composition?

They assigned about seven full-time people to our account. There were also a few part-time resources. There was a key account manager.

How did you come to work with DevOctopus?

They had a connection to an industrial organization that we had a connection with. We had discussions with that organization, during which they recommended DevOctopus to be our partner. We contacted them, and they had to pass a few different checks from our procurement and compliance team. In the end, we decided to cooperate with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $100,000–$250,000 on the project. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July 2016 - December 2017. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The system is still working effectively today. We were pressed by time to introduce the full system because we wanted to launch it in time for our key sales months. They were very practiced and prompt. From my side, there was no commercial loss or trouble in the relationship. The team demonstrated flexibility to meet our requirements, so the collaboration was smooth. While their impact is hard to quantify, we’re positive that they’ve delivered quality to us. They care about providing value to their clients.

In terms of brand image, their services helped us further establish ourselves as leaders in our industry. The solution was a direct answer to pain points from our partners. The solution was perceived well by both our B2B and B2C customers.    

How did DevOctopus perform from a project management standpoint?

It was very nicely managed through a project manager on their end. They were able to handle all the internal communication on their side with designers, developers, and more. We didn’t need to manage that coordination. They also handled budgets and timelines well. Everything went pretty smoothly, and we didn’t have much trouble. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were flexible with our challenging requirements that required strict legal compliance. The team was proactive and willing to listen to the customer. They were implementing exactly what we asked of them. It was clear that we were on the same side. When things went wrong, they would find alternative solutions. I really appreciated that they didn’t always blindly follow us as the customer. Their honesty and flexibility made the difference. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing coming to mind right now.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them an executive brief that clears up any ambiguities in terms of your expectations for their performance. That will help you keep up an organized process.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company providing art outsource services for AAA game projects(Metro Exodus, Mafia 3, Farming Simulator 2019, Wreckfest). I'm CEO at Scythgames since 2014.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DevOctopus?

When we increased our artists amount - we've faced the problem with financial accounting, planning. Also accounting of vacations, sick days, day offs, and e t c. Employers accounting, reminders about employers salary review.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to make our financial management, and planning easier ,and faster. Also we wanted to have clear view of our employers work time, for better work planning.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We got a great review from our mutual business partner.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They developed our CRM system from scratch. We gave them our vision, and what result we want to receive. They made analytics based on requirements and create a plan of developing.

We decided what we wanna have in MVP version(only financial accounting), and start. We have demo each two weeks, also we were able to communicate and make changes when we need them.

What was the team composition?

At the start we had around 7 people on the project. When they developed MVP, we decreased team size to 3 people full time, and few were working part time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Right now it’s a lot easier to manage our financial situation, create financial plans. Manage workers salaries, sick leaves, documents, add some notes about them. Have notifications about birthdays etc. Manage documents for each of them.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We had calls each two weeks, to watch what was developed. Planning at all was very good with real timelines, sometimes they could make things faster, and sometimes it could take more time. But we didn't have problems with deadlines. We communicated through Slack, Skype, e-mails, phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They developed our system like their own, the involvement was awesome, they discussed everything, and analyze, and propose their own ideas. It feels like each one of the team members was 100% involved.

Are there any areas for improvement?

It's hard to say. I think nothing from the main areas.