Devsar

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

HYNET is an Argentine company, with more than 15 years of experience in the Information Technology industry. Always in constant growth and evolution, we provide comprehensive solutions that seek to improve our clients' business. From our origins we often work to build a solidly renowned company, with business ethics, innovation and a commitment to the success of each project as core values.

My position is that of After-sales Manager, my job consists of coordinating the human group that assists our clients in support cases, such as any case referred to after-sales

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Devsar?

We contacted Devsar to develop a tool that allows us to keep track of all our service contracts with our clients.

What were your goals for this project?

To have a clear overview of the status of contracts, maturities and details of each of these, as well as alarms with information corresponding to the expiration and terms of said contracts.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We reached them at the recommendation of a third party, also a Devsar customer

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They provided us with a tool with the aforementioned solutions to our requirement of having a management base for our contracts. For this, a web platform was developed using SPA in frontend and API Rest based on DJango Rest Framework and Maria DB as data base.

What was the team composition?

For this work on our part, the team consisted of 2 people, Joaquin Martinez and I, between both of us we know the internal requirement well and we were able to transfer our request to Cesar and Matias de Devsar, both were able to understand and improve our requirements in order to achieve a tool that even in a fine stage, already gives us clear ideas of being a total success

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

For contractual and data privatization issues, we cannot show anything, but the tool is a success, it is achieving a better approach to our clients at the right time based on the data obtained from the platform, we no longer have problems with contract expiration and unannounced services.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The organization was always on Devsar's accounts, both Matias Garcia (Dev Frontend, Dev Backend) and Cesar Vargas as Scrum Master, the coordination of the meetings was a complete success, they knew in a short time to understand our need and to be able to translate it into the code of the tool.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The truth is that there is nothing surprising for the rest of the complete package, from day zero they showed much more commitment and professionalism than several direct competitors whom we also consulted before opting for Devsar.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Always, in any organization there are areas to improve, in this case I would not have much to say since in our experience everything was very fluid, very comfortable and simple to scale towards an improvement in development.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the Director of a company called Calculate, and we are a financing and accounting firm for startups and growing businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devsar?

Calculate is building a software platform for handling some of the more monotonous or recurring tasks involving shipping data from one system to another in the ecosystem of different accounting softwares. Devsar is helping us manage the infrastructure layer and deployment layer of that platform by providing expertise and devoted resources.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with a flask app that was written in Python, and since then they’ve been using Airflow to handle the scripting work. That system has a much more robust sequencing engine, along with a lot of bells and whistles that help with handling and flagging errors, managing runtime, and anything else we need to keep our operation running.

What is the team composition?

They provided two developers, one senior and one more junior, as well as a project manager on their business side.

How did you come to work with Devsar?

We looked at a wide variety of options for development partners, primarily with the criteria of a team that was willing to work within our existing code base rather than re-engineering the entire project. Several parties, including one of our clients, recommended Devsar very highly, and they met all of our requirements, so we decided to work with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in November 2019 and is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of their work has been excellent. They have been able to implement a lot of the best practices necessary to avoid errors that can occur when scaling up a platform. The competence and knowledge base they’ve demonstrated throughout the project has given us a great deal of confidence in going out and making sales on the platform.

As a company, the impact of the software has been huge, since the service side of our business is limited in a way that software is not. Thanks to Devsar’s work, we have been able to diversify into a different revenue stream while continuing to serve the same customers with the same degree of quality that we historically always have.

How did Devsar perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve primarily managed the partnership using Slack and Jira. They have project managers on their team, but I’ve handled the engagement for the most part myself. The developers themselves are incredibly communicative and respond almost immediately any time I have a question.

What did you find most impressive about them?

That prioritization of communication is definitely one of the highlights for me. As someone who is managing a project in an area that’s not my real expertise, having people that give me confidence and answer questions that I have is the most important thing for me, and they have always completely fulfilled that need.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I really don’t have anything negative to say.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work at a financial services agency in Argentina.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Devsar

We worked with them to develop our institutional website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

The site displayed information, research, contributions, and other data. It contained both public and private content. The private part of the site allows our clients to log in and check their balance, movements and their specific account information. They chose development technologies for this project, such as Python.

What is the team composition?

Around seven Devsar staffers worked on the project.

How did you come to work with Devsar?

They were referred to us by someone who had already worked with them. We did some research on their work. Consequently, we liked their portfolio and their client’s references, and they seemed like a good fit for what we were looking for. Thus, we decided to work with them. 

What is the status of this engagement? 

We started working with them six months ago. We recently finished the first phase of the project and are about to start with the next one.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work has been great and we are very happy. High-quality, prompt, and efficient, their development process has been highly effective. Our clients have given us great feedback. We've been testing the site with Google Analytics tools and have had good results there.

How did Devsar perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very good at project management; we had a couple of delays but all of them came from our side. The Devsar team were always on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have great expertise using the most modern development tools. Their team utilized Python and other technologies that we didn’t have before, which has worked great.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing worth mentioning, it all went great.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an outsourcing manager for Cresset Group, a medical software development company. We specialize in the development of software for a medicinal chemist that helps in a drug discovery process.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devsar?

We were developing a web-based cloud solution and needed resources to expand our internal team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They collaborate on a daily basis with us to develop the platform, using Django, JavaScript, and Vue.js.

What is the team composition?

We asked for two developers and we’re happy with them. There’s also a project manager who oversees the team.

How did you come to work with Devsar?

We started with a test project with several candidates that we found through Clutch, asking them to work on a small application. Devsar delivered everything within a reasonable timeline and we liked what we saw.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $60,000–$80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2019 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There haven’t been any issues so far. We’ve just finished the first of our four development stages and are in preparation for the first beta release in the next month or so.

We’re happy with their services and are looking to continue our collaboration. Since they came on board, we’ve made considerable progress in the development process of our application and they’ve contributed positively.

How did Devsar perform from a project management standpoint?

They have adapted to what we use quite quickly and they’re responsive. They assigned us a project manager who coordinates the team in Argentina. We don’t have any problems, but if there are small things, they’re resolved very quickly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their customer service and responsiveness are the best things about them. On one occasion, one of their members was changing jobs and they were very responsive, letting us know in advance and coming up with a better replacement. We were very happy with how they dealt with the situation.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There haven’t been any issues. We had one instance of downtime because the internet connection was down on their side, but it only delayed a meeting by 10 minutes.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of and creative director at The Glue. We’re a full-service agency that designs and builds applications and websites. We do branding, copywriting, and production, as well.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devsar?

We were working with a previous developer to create a dashboard for our client’s finance website. However, they weren’t performing as expected, so we brought in Devsar to take over development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Devsar developed a dashboard for a finance website. It displays live information on the value of assets in the market. We provided them with a rough basis as a starting point, and they created the dashboard using a Vue.js framework. 

Currently, they’re still providing development support to build out features. Since the dashboard deals with complex information that changes frequently, making sure that all features are responsive and well-connected is vital to project success. 

What is the team composition?  

We’ve mostly worked with three solid developers, but the team sometimes scales up to five in case someone has to pitch in on certain tasks. 

How did you come to work with Devsar? 

A mutual connection introduced us to Devsar, so we selected them for the project. It’s been great having a team that understands all the moving parts involved in building a dashboard with several complex components.

How much have you invested with them? 

They have a direct relationship with our client who is responsible for paying them.

What is the status of this engagement? 

Their work began in September 2018 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our success is based on our client’s feedback, and he’s been happy with their work so far, especially considering that we had a rough start with the previous development firm. 

How did Devsar perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s been great. We work with their Martin (Managing Director, Devsar) who is on top of everything. I believe they’re also working with a few offshore companies, too.

What did you find most impressive about them? 

The biggest advantage of working with Devsar is their flawless communication. Rather than selling us by saying that they know everything, they’re specific about their skills. They specialize in a core selection of frameworks and take a detail-oriented approach to solving problems.

Are there any areas they could improve? 

No, I don’t have anything negative to say about them. There have been some requirement changes that they’ve had to adapt to, which has affected the timeline. But, overall, it’s been great working with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As with any development team, you need to have specific requirements.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the Chief Technology Officer at Blue Square Wealth, an asset management and wealth advisory company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devsar?

We're building a system to allow us to advise our clients better.  We are developing the backend in-house and have out-sourced the development of the frontend.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Devsar is implementing our single-page web application. It’s built primarily for Chrome but will run on other browsers. The application addresses functionality that spans our business model, including research, trading, trade management, sales, and marketing.

What is the team composition?

We work regularly with a developer that is dedicated to our project and a project manager that oversees the work being assigned to their people.  Devsar provides additional people to bring in specific expertise as is needed.  We have availed ourselves of this option often, for issues as minute as highly crafted CSS to detailed architecture discussions.

How did you come to work with Devsar?

A friend recommended them because they’d had a good experience. When we started this project, we tried working with different partners in India and then Serbia. Neither of those engagements worked for us. We’re an active development house with our own in-house skills so needed an interactive group that we could work with. We wanted a situation in which our expertise could flow towards them and vice versa.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2018, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve built our frontend the right way, and it's working. We've engaged many people around the globe to help us do this and Devsar has been our most successful development partner. It's a pleasure working with them.

How did Devsar perform from a project management standpoint?

Our designers provide overall daily project management. They provide their own project managers as well, it's part of the package, so there’s no extra fee, which is wonderful. Our weekly sprint meeting includes their developers, our developers, our QA people, and project managers from both sides. The project managers talk to each other, manage details, and align the teams. They’re very professional and communicate well. It takes the management burden off of the developers so they can focus on development.

They have a lot of broad experience within their team that they manage flexibly. They’re not rigid about what we’ve contracted for. If we hit a challenge that requires a different skill set, they will pull in a relevant expert from their team. It helps us achieve our goals. When something looks really complicated, we work on it together via paired programming. That way we come up with solutions together and they don’t spend a lot of time going down the wrong path.

It has been a nice added bonus that they are located in Buenos Aires, only a one-hour difference from us in New York. This has been much more manageable than the larger time-zone differences we’ve experienced with other partners. The increased overlap of working hours provided a lot more opportunity for interaction resulting in much better productivity.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Past partners could often do a fine job delivering what was asked, but their implementation only took into account the current objective.  We have a lot of in-house development experience and want the software being written to not only address the current tasks but be implemented in a way that can leverage earlier work from other parts of the system and result in code that is itself can be reused when possible.  Finding common architectural solutions that can be applied across the larger system results in cleaner, more maintainable code that can be implemented in a faster and more reliable way.  What works so well for us with Devsar is that they're interactive. They are open to discussion and not afraid to contact us to discuss if there is a better way to solve a problem.  They’re able to give us constructive feedback. As a result, they don’t just deliver something that works, they deliver something that works well and is architected with considerations for the larger system.  Consequently, overall development costs go down and maintainability goes up through proper development of re-usable components.

For example, they were willing and able to use a component across all of the different parts of our app that allows you to save the way you've currently configured any “page". They were initially going to apply a one-off approach, not aware that there was a plan to use similar functionality on all “pages”.  However, because of the interactive nature of our work together, we were able to identify this as an opportunity for improved generalized design.  They went back and developed a proposal for me and then accomplished it. We got exactly what we needed. Their willingness and ability to work with us and adapt is an incredibly successful part of our relationship.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have no complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They're very responsive, but don’t underestimate the need for good communication. Don't assume that your development process is theirs. Tell them not just what you want but what kind of relationship you want. They’ll be receptive and very good at adapting to that—but make sure you have that conversation.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Hall & Partners is a brand consultancy that helps companies gain a better understanding of their customers and how they engage with their brand. I’m the director of The Hub, our data analytics platform, and am responsible for its health and feature development. I work across all areas of the business, as well as with our clients and our engineers, making sure that The Hub runs smoothly and that we’re creating features that make a measurable impact on our clients' business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Devsar?

We needed a vendor to help us expand our existing development team. Our team was too small for the project’s scope, and we needed a full-stack developer to step in and give us the ability to remain focused on the feature development of our application while still having someone in charge of support and maintenance.

What were your goals for this project?

We manage a multi-faceted platform that we're constantly adding features to. With an aggressive roadmap, we needed to find a skilled resource that could not only join our team but also work independently and still perform. It was important that the developer was experienced in Python, Django, and JavaScript, and could get up to speed quickly on our platform architecture.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We researched and interviewed several potential vendors over a period of several months. It was important to us that the vendor was in a time zone compatible with ours, had the ability to scale up if needed, and had the confidence and drive to challenge our thinking. Another consideration was that Devsar is an agency, not a headhunter, so if we scale up, there’s an existing knowledge base within their agency that we can fall back on.

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

We have a full-stack developer engaged on an ongoing basis who focuses on feature development. Devsar is responsible for delivering against set requirements provided by me and/or my UX agency. They work closely with our other development team members to ensure that everything meets the goals of our application.

What was the team composition?

Currently, we have one full-stack developer from Devsar. He works with our technical lead/full-stack developer and our frontend developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Working with Devsar allows us to scale our development team more economically without sacrificing quality. Having a separate point of contact to deal with allows the assigned developer to remain focused, which has been helpful.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management is managed internally utilizing Slack, GitHub, and Zoom for conference calls. We’ve had no issues with coordination, language barriers, or connectivity.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I appreciate that they have a learning culture and that they’re a part of the broader development community in Argentina. They challenge your thinking, and they have smart people working for them.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

To date, I have no negative or constructive feedback to provide. They’re very proactive, dedicated to the project, and have become an integral part of the team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Lendealo, a startup that delivers C2C and B2C services in LATAM. We are creating an application that is trying to change the way people consume goods and services, making it more rational and sustainable.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devsar?

We were looking for a software development agency to help us build a C2C and B2C online web platform within our limited budget.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We approached them to create the first MVP of the platform, with a deadline of three months. They build it and delivered the product on time.

We provided the necessary documents describing the functionality and initial scope of the product. They were responsible for designing the layout of the site, creating the wireframes, mockups, and building a fully-functional product.

What is the team composition?

They allocated one full-time, full-stack developer and a part-time project manager.

How did you come to work with Devsar?

A friend of mine strongly recommended them. I checked the company profile, had a couple of calls with them, and then engaged them after a challenge test with one of their developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had a very inflexible deadline because of a business opportunity with a group of investors coming to town. We launched and were able to make the product presentation on time. It helped us to showcase the product to potential investors.

How did Devsar perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Slack and Google Hangouts as our main communication tools. We chose Trello to manage the project's sprints and track our tasks' status.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a really agile, creative, and customer-focused approach. We rapidly engage with them and there was seamless integration between teams.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not at the moment. I think as we expand our team and add more members, we'll have to find a more efficient way to sync. Right now, we're matching up with what we expected from them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of product for a fitness software company. We’re a startup focused on developing platforms for traditional gyms and fitness clubs that help them reach their members via mobile apps and other digital experiences. The products help users manage memberships and book classes while also pushing content to keep them engaged.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devsar?

We had a large contract come in and we needed resources to help build enterprise-grade, robust mobile apps for Android.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Devsar strictly works on our mobile development for Android. They use Java and some Kotlin for the app, which is native with some hybrid and web view features. Our in-house team created design specs and gave Devsar mockups, which they executed on.

What is the team composition?

We work with three people from their team.

How did you come to work with Devsar?

Our CEO had a contact who referred us to Devsar.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent around $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in September 2017, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app has launched in the App Store and has between 50,000–100,000 users. It’s had good growth, and the functionality has been well-received. We take feedback seriously and adjust accordingly.

How did Devsar perform from a project management standpoint?

Most of the project management is our responsibility. They’re great at managing their time, checking in, and getting clarity when needed. We mostly use Slack and Google Hangouts for communicating. For task management, we have Asana and Bitbucket.

We broke the work up into two-week sprints with checkpoints and daily check-ins. We have a standardized process, which keeps the communication up and makes it easier for everyone to monitor the progress.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have great ideas and execute well on all our specs. They’re responsive and knowledgeable, both offering new suggestions but also doing what we ask.

They’re dedicated to our project, which is rare. I’m pleased with their commitment; they’ve exceeded expectations and seem passionate about our product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’ve been really pleased.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about the scope of what they’re building, the process and timelines, and the bigger picture of the work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO at Educatemia. We have a webinar platform that people use to take free online courses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Devsar?

There were no solutions in the market for our volume of users and this is why we came up with the idea of our webinar platform. We needed someone to build it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I gave requirements to Devsar and they delivered a phenomenal product that really works — we wouldn’t be able to run our business without it. It’s worth clarifying this that is an internal technology for us and it’s not a live product available for sale in the market. ​​​​​​

There were times in which we had up to 3 developers, but usually had 1 or 2. Our platform was developed in Google App Engine — they used Python, Django, and JavaScript. They also did lots of research on live screening for our webinar platform. The application works really well and we’re grateful that we were able to develop it with Devsar.

How did you come to work with Devsar?

I’ve known Sebastian Serrano, Devsar’s founder, for a long time. He introduced me to his team and we started working with them.

How much have you invested with Devsar?

We have invested more than $200,000 on this platform so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together for 2 ½ years approximately, and it’s still an ongoing relationship. There’s a functional product in place already, but we still use them for support and adding other features.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

To be able to accomplish what this technology does, we needed 5 developers in-house and spent $15,000 per month in servers. Now, we only spend a tenth of that thanks to Devsar’s development. I can give them clear guidelines and they are able to understand what we need and turn it into reality. It’s great to have a technological partner like Devsar.

How did Devsar perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Asana and they didn’t have any issues with getting on board this tool. Like any other software development project, they give us weekly or monthly updates depending on the sprint we’re working on. Sometimes deadlines aren’t met, but this is normal. We continue working with them because we believe they are the best option for us.

What did you find most impressive about Devsar?

What impresses me about them is their ability to walk in their client’s shoes, understand the need, and their ability to execute without having to follow through daily or weekly. I travel a lot and this doesn’t affect my project with Devsar. They have the ability to think through the client’s next step.

Are there any areas Devsar could improve?

They are always trying to use the best technologies, which is great, but they could improve on doing more research before jumping into a technology. It has its pros and cons.