Digis, a Fiverr company (NYSE: FVRR)

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the co-founder and CEO of Raters Group Ltd. We’re a social network where movie lovers can find movies based on reviews from their friends.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DIGIS?

We needed to develop our app further including new functionalities, a more robust backend, and a new screen design.

What were your goals for this project?

I wanted to create a unique, well-loved app.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I started looking on Upwork, as I found my previous developers there as well. DIGIS contacted me the day after the job was posted. I reviewed their profile and noticed they were one of the top Upwork developers in the space I needed. We had a call, discussed the project specifics and pricing, and started working together the next week.

Describe the project in detail.

They're optimizing the iOS app’s backend and improving our existing design and functionality. They've implemented an algorithm that recommends movies to people based on reviews from their friends, which involved a lot of design and backend work. They also provide SEO services and obtained an SSL certificate.

What was the team composition?

Firstly, I discussed the project with the project manager and explained what I needed. Based on that, they identified an appropriate designer, backend developer, and iOS developer. Subsequently, I needed an SEO specialist and an admin resource for SSL certificates, all of whom were provided by the project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We launched a new version last week and it’s doing very well. Since DIGIS came on in November, our user base increased from 270 to 604. The app now looks much more appealing than it did. We’ve become the first platform of our kind.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Despite our lack of documentation from previous developers, it’s been very good. They understand where we’re coming from and speak directly, letting me know if there’s a better way to accomplish a certain goal.  

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their ability to work with both large corporations and startups around the world is outstanding. I desperately needed quality developers that would stick with me, and I’m certain DIGIS will do just that.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They often apologize for not responding right away, but non-urgent requests can always wait I don’t expect instant answers to them. When it comes to urgent requests, they always respond (and sometimes even solve the issue) within five minutes.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior contractor manager at Dals Media. Our large media company collects content to publish for our readers. We have multiple bases of subscribers on Facebook and other social networks. I’m responsible for working with the contractors we source for our projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DIGIS?

Our company needed a platform to combine our 27 websites so we could manage them from a single location. It was difficult and inconvenient to pay seven content managers to review and publish content on all our channels using the latest commands. We decided to hire a team to develop a single location that could combine all our offerings. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We sent over all the requirements for our project. Based on a backend analysis they conducted, DIGIS decided on an architectural migration from legacy technology to Microservices. We checked the plan for viability before proceeding.

DIGIS took our APIs to integrate into the server portion. They developed the administrative component and integrated it with the frontend. The two portions needed reliable connectivity in between.

Through the platform, all 27 of our company’s websites run on the same technology and connect to the same backend. It includes tools with comprehensive management capabilities for all our content. 

Each integration goes through our server, and the server storage is all hosted in a single location. The team also set up mirroring to prevent any failures and outages. 

Our contract with DIGIS is complete at this point, but we reach out to them for technical support and bug fixes.

What is the team composition? 

The team included eight developers, a technical writer, an architect, a couple of QA testers and DevOps specialists, and a project manager.

How did you come to work with DIGIS?

We contacted 20 companies we found on Clutch and shortlisted about 6–7. After researching each option and comparing prices and scheduling, we chose DIGIS. They offered great prices and a suitable schedule. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested over $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January 2015–August 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t have a single complaint about the quality of DIGIS’s source code and products. They produced a deliverable that aligned with all our requirements. 

How did DIGIS perform from a project management standpoint?

We worked together using the Agile methodology. We split the entire project into milestones, each with a required deliverable at the end.
DIGIS was always responsive. Our communication was perfect. The project manager was available 24/7. He never allowed more than 30 minutes to pass before responding to our emails or phone calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality to cost ratio DIGIS provided was impressive. They offered very competitive prices and adhered to the schedule we set. Based on our research, we had expected higher costs. We had the option to speak to the developers directly, who were very helpful and responsive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In the beginning, we had some misunderstandings that caused the deliverables to be two days late. We discussed the issue with the product and project manager, and they agreed not to allow this again. I recommend they develop a program to account for each deliverable to send and what it needs to contain.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend working with DIGIS.  Anyone considering working with them should discuss the project in detail. Writing down all your requirements, expectations, and requests will help prevent misunderstandings.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a partner and CTO of Initiativa srl. We’re a system integrator specializing in open source system management and software development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Do IT Programming Solutions?

We needed Do IT Programming Solutions to help us develop the GUI and the workforce management system.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to help our client manage a complex workflow.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We searched for vendors online and had a few interviews via Skype.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They created a workforce management system to streamline internal processes.

What was the team composition?

Do IT Programming Solutions provided a Java/Vaadin programmer for the development. We supplied a project manager, an analyst, a QA tester, and system administrator.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was completed according to very strict standards. They built the system to comply with an internal separation-of-duties rule.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Our team handled the project management aspect, and they were highly available throughout.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their team provided a crucial skill set for the project. Additionally, we could always reach them when needed.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Their overall method could benefit from a different approach.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a co-founder and the CTO of Parkopoly. We provide a car logistics platform that connects dealerships and rental companies to freelance drivers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Do IT Programming Solutions?

I needed development assistance on two Angular web apps and accompanying native mobile apps. They also provided a host of IT services like implementing continuous integration, security audit systems, and database connections.

What were your goals for this project?

I wanted a flexible and agile team that could provide specialists capable of handling our project.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I searched for agencies on Upwork. After a short discussion, I gave them a minor project. I was happy with that results, so I extended the partnership.

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

Do IT Programming Solutions provided a well-rounded team to develop the frontend and backend for several applications. They developed two webs using Angular 1 and Angular 5. In the backend, they used Java with MongoDB, a SQL database, and microservice architecture. They’re about to start working on corresponding native mobile versions for Android and iOS devices. They’re going to use Fuse for the iOS build.

What was the team composition?

We’ve worked with anywhere from 1–6 back- and frontend developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Despite some initial obstacles, we settled in with a team of sound developers that are highly committed to our project.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We use Wrike to create, assign, and track tickets for each task. We have daily scrum meetings with additional discussions if necessary. We’ve improved our system since the beginning of our partnership. Now, we’re more efficient in discussing and prioritizing our workload.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

There was a significant amount of turnover in their staff. We lost one developer to unforeseen circumstances, and we had to replace another due to sub-par performance and communication. I was impressed with their seamless onboarding process; we were never delayed.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

They were very accommodating when we requested a new teammate, but I would’ve liked them to staff our project correctly the first time. Aside from those instances, the rest of the project was good.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a senior project manager at a company that integrates AI solutions with natural language processing for business use.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Do IT Programming Solutions?

As a startup with limited resources, tight budgets, and pressing timelines, we had to find a smart and efficient way to ramp up our capacity.

What were your goals for this project?

We were looking to create and implement a new UI design for a recently added section of our portal that allows users to create and personalize a profile.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were recommended to us by our sister company. We gathered a list of potential vendors and went through a well-rounded selection process. It was important for us to choose a results-driven partner for a long-term collaboration.

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

We outlined basic UI specifications, and their team managed development and implementation. They provided substantive advice and resolved technical issues as needed. The team primarily used React.js to develop the solution.

What was the team composition?

We were in direct contact with the developer that Do IT assigned to our project, while our CTO provided guidance and managed code review.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The solution that their team provided succeeded in accomplishing our goals for the portal. The project also established a relationship with the Do IT team, and we plan to do more with them in the future.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We were in direct communication with the developer assigned to our project. Their PM was also available in case of issues. The communication was very smooth throughout the project.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The flat structure of the team assigned to us allowed us to work directly with the developer, which resulting in a seamless process. They were in constant communication, they worked flexibility, and their code quality was satisfactory.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

My only suggestion is to be even more proactive. They shouldn't hesitate to come forward with ideas and proposals on solutions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder of Kartunix, an online-based avatar creator. You can cartoon yourself as your online logo for your social profiles or for printing it on items such as t-shirts, hoodies, and mugs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Do IT?

I needed a functioning website with little investment. The challenge was to create a gainable vector graphic engine that allowed me to not only create the avatars but also export them in any dimension. Creating this engine was the big challenge. I had a company that did the design, a third-party illustrator to create the avatars, and I was searching for somebody who could put it all together.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our website. Its database is MongoDB, which is object-oriented and important for our application. We have NGINX as the web server and Angular as the programming language. We have a special library to design the t-shirts, and we’re using various technologies to make it all happen.

What is the team dynamic?

There were four programmers in the beginning. As the program comes to an end, we’re down to one expert who follows the project.

How did you come to work with Do IT?

It was a long search. I found a good design company from Ukraine, and they told me Do IT were young, open, and reliable, so I went to see them in Odessa.

How much have you invested with them?

$25,000–$30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2015, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We launched a month ago. We have 60 different collections of avatars, 10 different sets of icons to print on, and PayPal integration. When we started to advertise with Google AdWords, we had about 400 visitors a day. For just starting, that was great.

The target audience for this type of service is kids between 8–16 years old. My own children think it’s awesome, and their whole school is on the site and buying these items.

How did Do IT perform from a project management standpoint?

We collaborate in sprints, which works well, and we use Trello. We can reach them on the weekends.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They delivered in a very short time. In three days, everything was done. Because of this, I could further develop the idea. Plus, they never stop improving. When it's time to go to the next step, they're open and give suggestions. They’re not only here for the money but also because they want to make it happen. They do things outside the budget because they dig hard into the project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes we have language barriers on the phone or Skype, and we have to write it up again. It’s minor, however, because, in the end, they understand. They’re also not good at documenting, so their bookkeeping department needs to improve. Their main service works but the back office is lagging.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My name is Martin Steinbrecher, and I am the CFO of CRMtronic. We provide a cloud-based CRM [customer relationship management] system using the latest technologies and modern UIs, which helps businesses resolve their tasks.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Do IT Programming Solutions?

The idea of our product is to involve AI [artificial intelligence] into basic CRM processes. We integrate top-level analytics, and, while CRM development is challenging as it is, combining it with AI is more complicated. Do IT has been able to understand our business technologies quickly, and has handled any challenges we provided.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The main task was to combine a basic CRM with AI. It was a full software development cycle which included frontend and backend work, design, UX planning, and quality assurance [QA]. The technology stack included AngularJS on the frontend, Node.js on the backend, and MongoDB as the database.

The most complicated part of the work was creating the AI which combines with our CRM. Another challenge was maintaining compatibility with all common browsers. Many companies develop only for Google Chrome and Firefox, but we wanted Do IT to create a product which also worked on Opera, Safari, and even Edge. The tool is being sold to clients.

What is the team dynamic?

I am not sure how large the team was exactly, but it included 6-7 people from Do IT’s side: 2 backend and 2 frontend developers, a designer, a QA resource, and a project manager. At one point, we needed to involve additional QAs for some parts of the project.

How did you come to work with Do IT Programming Solutions?

I got in touch with them at a local IT event which was sponsored by Do IT. We visited their website, looked at some testimonials, and contacted some references.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested about $300,000 for the first part of the scope. There were some additional features which we tasked Do IT with, which increased the total cost.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Do IT in March 2014. We continue to maintain the product using their team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

CRMtronic itself is the best evidence of our success, which was developed with the Do IT team. Our clients have liked the solution.

How did Do IT Programming Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

Based on the discussions we’ve had with Do IT’s managers, we decided to move ahead with the Agile sprint methodology. They handled all project management on their side, while we acted as the product owner. The communication remained clear and lean, with no superfluous discussions.

What did you find most impressive about them?

While they do a good job as a software company, I also like Do IT’s ability to act as a part of the team. They’re not simply committing hours, but also try to understand what our request is, and why we would or wouldn’t need a particular part. Do IT’s project management was very good, and has helped us avoid some mistakes in the development process.

Are there any areas they could improve?

On a few occasions, we would have communicated better with some members of the technical team, but not all of them speak good English. This was a problem at times, but the managers were able to quickly solve it.

The time-tracking system is not perfect. I would like to know exactly why additional hours were used, and how they were spent. We do get explanations later on, but I would rather see the details in a more explicit manner.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Alpha Crew Group, a manning service provider for the full fleet shipping industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Do IT Programming Solutions?

About 3 or 4 years ago, we started searching for a company that will provide us with IT services. We wanted to automate our systems.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Do IT is doing the whole cycle of IT services for us. We have 1 project manager, 8 developers, and some QA resources who help test the code.

Our first project was big, and Do IT helped us figure out the specifications for the platform. It’s a kind of ERP [enterprise resource planning] or CRM [customer relationship management] system. The platform helps us maintain full crew rotation on board the different vessels that we manage. It also allows us to liaise with different suppliers when we need to purchase spare parts. Do IT developed the software using Node.js and Angular. In some cases, they used Golang. Our database is MongoDB.

Last year, we asked Do IT to deliver mobile applications for our internal use — it’s easier for our crews to use cell phones to perform their duties. At the moment, Do IT is creating new features according to our requests. They also help us maintain the platform.

How did you come to work with Do IT Programming Solutions?

We met their sales team at an exhibition in Germany. We went to Ukraine to visit their offices. Although we looked at several companies, we decided to move forward with Do IT.

How much have you invested with Do IT Programming Solutions?

So far, we have spent more than €1,200,000 [$1,396,914].

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2010, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Currently, the software is being used onboard the vessels that we’re operating and managing. The code is of high quality. There are bugs sometimes, but Do IT’s team fixes any issues quickly.

With Do IT’s help, our business has grown faster than ever before. I’m sure we will continue to use Do IT in the future.

How did Do IT Programming Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is very good. We don’t need to coordinate our activities or speak directly to the developers. Instead, we just speak to our project manager, who then translates our business logic in a way that can be understood by the developers. I can call them or send emails.

What did you find most impressive about Do IT Programming Solutions?

They always deliver what they promise, and they are always on time. That is extremely important in our business because we are also engaged in iterations with a different group.

Are there any areas Do IT Programming Solutions could improve?

No. We are satisfied with their prices and the quality of their work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are running a recruitment platform which uses machine learning and AI for marching profiles. There are 12 people working for our company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Do IT Programming Solutions?

We provided the same service in the beginning as we do now, but it was done manually, which was time-consuming. We needed to find help from a good company, instead of recruiting internally, which would have taken us a year.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Do IT was asked to build my entire web platform, and every separate part of the technology which went into it. Most of the development has been done with Ruby on Rails and Java for the AI. We use MongoDB for the database.

Our AI functionality was challenging to build. It needed to handle a multitude of data points, and we had to come up with a solution which would reduce server bandwidth.

How did you come to work with Do IT Programming Solutions?

I reached out to a few friends, browsed the web for a while, and met with 10-15 companies. I was trying to find a company closeby, and had had good experiences with ones from Ukraine; the average quality there is high. I met with Do IT’s principal, who helped me find a solution for building on a larger scale from day 1, and not being required to change anything later. They helped me create a good MVP, but also considered what could be a good next step.

How much have you invested with Do IT Programming Solutions?

The cost of their work has been above $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Do IT in November 2016. We continue to work together constantly.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

People have really liked our platform. We connect with a number of APIs seamlessly, which allows them to see a lot of real-time information. We had some bugs and issues in the beginning, and there are some to fix still, but the general performance has been good.

How did Do IT Programming Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

I have only worked with one person in their team, so I can’t give comments overall, but our resource has been very good. We usually communicate using Skype, where we have weekly video calls. The timeline has fluctuated by a couple of days from time to time, but this is normal. Compared to other developers, Do IT has delivered on time.

What did you find most impressive about Do IT Programming Solutions?

I like their working style and project management. Do IT has handled this from a business point of view, which meant that I didn’t have to be extremely tech-savvy to work with them.

Are there any areas Do IT Programming Solutions could improve?

Not everyone on the team was perfect, but we managed to change them and work with the ones I wanted.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of user experience for a consultancy based in Austin, Texas with locations across the US and Europe. We focus on business process management through building customer enterprise software solutions on a few different enterprise process orchestration platforms known as BPM.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Do IT Programming Solutions?

We wanted to be able to iterate quickly and cost-efficiently on various prototypes. Right now, we’re in a quickly changing technical landscape. Depending on the customer and the opportunity, we need the ability to build prototypes quickly. Those prototypes might be frontends for new technologies like different machine learning systems or frontends that are specific to a given domain. For example, if the customer is an insurance company, we’re looking to pitch a larger solution that will cover applying a certain new technology to their use case. We pursue a variety of different opportunities at the same time, and not all of them will pan out, but we want to put our best foot forward in terms of creating prototypes and demos that will look good in the RFP process.

Do IT builds our UI prototypes, so they’re supporting us in the frontend development. Our internal organization is more focused on providing products that we offer and offering support from production perspectives. Do IT has been working with a few of our people internally, primarily from our sales team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

All of their work has been focused on UI development. We started by doing a little Angular development, which is a frontend framework, and then moved into some more specific frontend libraries like D3. Currently, they’ve been helping us build different prototypes on Service Now as well as Salesforce. We’ve used them specifically for UI and are potentially looking to use them for backend work, but we haven’t gotten there yet.

How many resources have been assigned to your project?

Right now, we just have 2 resources. We had up to 5 at once. In total, we worked with 7 or 8 of their developers, along with the 2 principals, Oilex and Nikita.

How did you come to work with Do IT Programming Solutions?

We found them on Upwork. We tried working with different teams. In the past, I’d worked quite a bit with outsourcing organizations in different geographies and struggled with some that were located in India, but we had more success with China-based firms. We have a few folks on the team now that have worked on similar technology, and they actually live in the US but are from Ukraine. We started looking at that geography and exploring different organizations that could support us. We tried interacting with individuals at first, thinking about potentially building a team. We eventually tried a few companies and found Do IT.

I like our interaction with Nikita, who’s a principal there. He comes across as less of a sales person and more of an advisor, which is refreshing compared to some of the other experiences I’ve had. I believe they really care about our team. They shared some marketing materials with us as far as their training perspective, and I appreciated that.

How much have you invested with Do IT Programming Solutions?

We’ve spent $120,000 so far with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July of 2016, and the work is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our general sale cycles are about a year in length. Everything we start investing in from a sales perspective takes a very long time, and the deals are generally worth millions of dollars or more. We launched a product recently that they helped with significantly. Part of our organization in Europe is deploying that product with a few customers there.

From a qualitative perspective, Do IT has helped us start producing demos and sales assets using technologies that we didn’t have the time for ourselves. Things like Service Now and Salesforce are not major components of our business or BPM software, so from an investment perspective, being able to start building know-how in those areas in order to get deals is expensive because we have to hire full-time resources in the US who are experts in these domains. With Do IT’s expertise in these technologies, we’ve been actually able to get small sales gigs before needing to invest in full-time resources in that domain. That’s allowed us to explore technologies at a very low cost from an investment perspective.

How did Do IT Programming Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

Since the team included up to 5 people at the peak, we’ve handled the project management. They provided more team leadership. Our first interactions with Nikita and the way he helped us pick the best resources indicated that they’d excel. We just haven’t quite grown to need that many resources to justify moving project management to their office.

We primary communicate through Skype. We’ve also been using our project management software called Rally, which is now CA. They’d never used it before and were happy to figure it out, and they got pretty productive with it. Our Scrum masters break down the user stories and assign them. Do IT broke those items down into tasks and actually worked on them.

What did you find most impressive about Do IT Programming Solutions?

I’ve worked with a lot of outsourcing firms that come across as body shops. Do IT tried to create their own culture. When I’m interacting with people on the team, I never feel like they’re there just to put in the hours. They care about doing a good job for their company. That was refreshing. They also have little recruitment videos and things like that to explain the organization’s uniqueness. I think that’s beneficial from a productivity perspective as well.

Are there any areas Do IT Programming Solutions could improve?

Sometimes, the engineers’ skill set wasn’t completely aligned with the team. They could provide a more structured way for breaking down what each individual does. On Upwork, they have different ratings based on different exams illustrating how competent they are in different areas. It sounds like Do IT is actually doing some of that internally. They actually do testing specific to JavaScript or a given framework, but that doesn’t come across in some of the information that they presented about their resources. This only happened once or twice, and I was able to correct it pretty quickly and find another person to fit the role. If they offered more information as far as what each individual excels at and what kind of credentials that person has, I think the setup process would be a bit smoother.