dFusion Tech, Inc.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Affinity Media is a web publishing and virtual reality company originally based in the UK, now based in California. We own and operate more than 20 websites in the online entertainment, casual games, and online video space. WorldTV.com is one of our websites.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with dFusionTech?

WorldTV.com was a cutting-edge online video platform with a very novel interface and innovative payment system in its time. It is a subscription-based product, and we wanted to offer a-la-carte features within the control panel interface so that customers could pick and choose exactly the features that they wanted. This required a very flexible subscription-based system because we wanted to offer both one-time payment options to buy a feature in perpetuity, or a monthly subscription fee for that feature. One feature included an expanded video library. That might cost $50 as a one-time fee, or $5 a month. 

We were looking for a provider that we could work with over a long period of time at a reasonable cost, who could understand our vision for WorldTV.com and implement that effectively.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

dFusion was our sole provider for WorldTV.com. They built the entire site from beginning to end, aside from the graphic design. We had a graphic design company in London who did the initial logo design and the look and feel. The backend was PHP, the frontend was a combination of Flash, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. We used our own API, as well as third-party APIs. It was a complex server architecture with 10+ servers. In 2007, we built the system to live stream from a mobile phone. That was very innovative. We had live streaming, VOD streaming, scaled to millions of users.

It was an online video platform that allowed people to create their own linear-style TV channel built out of clips posted on YouTube, Vimeo, or any other popular online video sites. You could build your own library of your favorite video clips from YouTube or Vimeo, drag and drop playlists, go live to the channel, and brand it. You could build your own YouTube, if you wanted, out of your own YouTube clips. There were a lot of different functionalities. dFusion still does the maintenance, but it's on life support.

It's 10 years old and things have moved on. Our business has moved on, and we have other projects that are more interesting to us at this point. There may be plans to move forward with it in the future in a different way. We haven't made a decision about that at the moment.

What is the team dynamic?

There was a project manager, frontend developer, and backend developer working on this full-time for a few years.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent several hundred thousand dollars with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with them since 2007. We worked very closely for a couple of years to build this site, and it was a massive project. I went out to Ukraine, where they are based, 15 times. We've worked both remotely and in person together, so I got to know their team really well.

There were some upgrades over the course of the following 5 years, and then for the past 4-5 years, it has just been maintenance work. We haven't pushed it forward recently.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We couldn't have done it without them. The quality was outstanding. It's an extremely complex website and platform, running across 10+ servers with a lot of third-party APIs. It's still running, and it very rarely needs any maintenance, which is incredible. Unfortunately, Flash is less popular now. Google keeps trying to kill it and making it harder for people to get it to work in their browser. At the time, it made a lot of sense to do in Flash. Now, you would do it in HTML5. It was a million-dollar project to build it, and to rebuild it in HTML5 would cost the same amount of money, and that's not going to happen, but it still works. It still looks great.

How did dFusionTech perform from a project management standpoint?

We used an Agile process, a source code management system, etc. There were no issues with deadlines and communication timeliness. I got to know their team really well. Eugene [CEO, dFusion Tech] is brilliant. He's a genius. They were great, extremely hardworking, good value, and they know their stuff. I wouldn't hesitate to use them again in the future.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their commitment and work ethic. They're dedicated to the task at hand.

They were ideal partners for the project. This site has been running for over 10 years and we still have an active user base. It's just not a profitable venture for our company at this point. I've built a lifelong relationship with them, in the sense that we've become close to them. I like them a great deal. I would use them again in the future. I would use them again in the future.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They are where they are in the world. That means by definition, most working arrangements with them are going to be remote working arrangements. My only issue is a meta-level thing. It's harder to work with people remotely than it is if you're looking over their shoulder. The frustration of mine with remote working is it takes longer and you don't have the same kind of creative spark that you can have if you're sitting alongside someone. That's not on them; that's just remote working. It's why I went out there 15 times. Because when you're with people side-by-side, there's absolutely no way productivity won't be higher than if you're not. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a director of operations for ScoopDragon Publishing, and we manage a network of football news aggregation sites. We have a couple of sites on different topics and teams, but it’s mainly focused on U.K. premier football leagues. We have clients who pay us to have their news appear on our sites, and then we also run a network of nine blogs where we publish original content. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with dFusionTech, Inc.?

I needed the news aggregation sites to be migrated to a new server. I also needed additional development in multiple areas.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

dFusionTech and someone from a previous company developed the proprietary software architecture for the network of football sites in 2006. dFusionTech built the software according to that technical spec, which was used to power the site and to launch over 50 strong networks of news sites. The software updates every couple of minutes, and is powered by RSS feeds that are checked for each particular team, then generated onto a page. We also have blogs containing original content for nine of the biggest sites, and they assist with those as well.

After the previous relationship ended, dFusionTech set everything up for me on a fresh server. They were also instrumental in working with our developers in London to build mobile sites for our entire website, which was a key strategic decision that allowed for 80% of our traffic to become mobile. They’ve also built iOS and Android apps for a couple of the team websites.  

In 2014, they redeveloped the software and created Newsfinity 2.0, because the older software was somewhat dated and needed additional security. They also added features allowing for more platform flexibility and reinstalled everything on a fresh server again.

dFusionTech remains instrumental in what we do because of their technical expertise and ability to offer different technological options. They continue to provide day-to-day maintenance and ongoing development.

What is the team dynamic?

I currently communicate with four people, including the developers, Vadym [VP R&D, dFusionTech], and Roman [sysadm, dFusionTech]. I sometimes interact with Eugene [CEO, dFusionTech] when we’re discussing invoices or new projects, and I also interact with Marina [Business Development Manager, dFusionTech], who handles their PR and general office management.

I partner with a different company in London, so dFusionTech sometimes works with a couple of their developers on joint ventures.

How did you come to work with dFusionTech, Inc.?

The founder of my previous company began working with them in 2006. After that relationship ended, ScoopDragon Publishing was started, and I continued working with dFusionTech.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost exceeded half a million dollars with the previous company. Since then, we’ve spent less than $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with each other in 2006, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The user feedback from the apps was very positive. The mobile sites were monetizing far better than the apps, so the monetization of the apps was an experiment on our side. As it turns out, the mobile sites are drastically different regarding monetization, so we instead decided to focus on them. We have 2–2.5 million unique users with 40–45 million page views during a good month.

How did dFusionTech, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They consistently exceed our expectations with their delivery, and I’m always pleasantly surprised when the work is finished ahead of schedule. They work many hours, but they still remain responsive. I’m in constant contact with them via Skype, and we also use email. Their written and verbal English is excellent, so we’ve never had trouble communicating.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve retained the same core staff the entire time I’ve known them, which proves they handle their business well.

I’ve worked with other developers over time, but I’ve remained loyal to dFusionTech because of their efficiency. They’re always prepared when there are emergencies or issues, and they’ve even made themselves available in the middle of the night. I highly recommend them due to their level of responsiveness and overall competence.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’d be great if they moved to Ireland, but other than that, I see no areas that need improvement.