Eleviant Tech

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Informatix is composed of two business entities: Wasp Barcode Technologies and System ID. Our relationship with Impiger, as far as Wasp Barcode Technologies is concerned, consists of developing software for small to medium sized companies, as well as business units within larger enterprise companies. The products we develop are related to inventory management, asset management, time and attendance, and some various other applications. We manufacture barcode scanners, printers, and things like that; just about everything you need as a complete solution. That’s the general background of what we do.

What is your position?

I’m the Director of Research and Development here at Informatix.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Impiger?

With any company these days, getting talent in and doing it fast, especially in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, tends to be a little bit of a challenge. By partnering with Impiger, it’s allowed me to scale my resources appropriately with my existing staff so that I can accomplish some of the goals I have. When developing applications, the market is rapidly changing, so we are always having to adjust and continue to change our products.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

We went forward with Impiger first on mobile development. It was very successful for a mobile platform to get done and added to the product. With any outsourced development, you always have your fun challenges and it’s all good; you just have to learn to work through those. In general, the project went well and we successfully built that mobile platform. From there, we knew we had other projects that we were developing, so we just kept Impiger engaged in various aspects to see if they could help us with the other new development we were doing, to help augment the team and get products out faster. Then, we started engaging them a little bit more on bigger projects. It’s been a very successful partnership.

How did you come to work with Impiger?

We started working with them maybe three or four years ago. We originally went out to bid three or four companies on a project that we had for mobile development. We didn’t have mobile development expertise in house. We really needed to find someone that had the capability to help us augment our team when needed. We went out and searched, and got a few bids for developing a mobile app that would go along with our existing products. That’s how we first got introduced to Impiger. They came back with what we felt was a fair and reasonable pricing structure for the mobile development. Others were very comparable to be honest; it was a pretty close running for that. We ended up going with Impiger because they were very engaged and very informative, and of course, had slightly better pricing.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

We’ve spent a decent amount over $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership with Impiger has been a long-term partnership.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

For me, a successful metric is being able to get the product out on time and being able to have a quality product. The mobile product that we first developed with them met both of those: it was a quality product and it was out on time. By releasing that product to our general market, we increased our sales revenue by over $300,000 for that one mobile piece. It was a nice mobile addition that we knew we needed in the line, just didn’t have the resources here to do it.

How did Impiger perform from a project management standpoint?

Impiger does a good job overall. Our project manager is good from a relationship manager side and at making sure that when we have concerns or questions, she’s conveying those and relaying those appropriately to the teams responsible for fixing them.

What distinguishes Impiger from other providers?

I think it is Impiger’s willingness to listen when you have issues, and to make adjustments if you need them that really sets them apart from other firms. Those two things are good qualities in teams. The other thing is that they’re willing to go the extra mile. For example, if you have an issue with something or you had a code push that wasn’t quite right and you push it back to them, they are willing to go a little bit further to spend the time to fix that before they re-push again that same evening. Those kind of things, and just the willingness to go that extra step, is important in our relationship.

Is there anything Impiger could have improved or done differently?

I think that you’re going to find challenges with anybody you deal with. There needs to be a constant effort to improve communication, and make sure that you’re a successful communicator because if you are, you won’t have any blind spots.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

WatchGuard Video is a manufacturer of law enforcement video systems, supplying in-car, and wearable video solutions to about a third of law enforcement agencies in the US and Canada.

What is your position?

I am the Director of Engineering, responsible for the Windows development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Impiger?

We didn’t have the resources to take on the project in the amount of time that the business needed it, and so we went out to Impiger.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

The product developed by Impiger is Cloud-Share. Cloud-Share allows law enforcement agencies to share video evidence outside their agency. When district attorneys request video evidence from the agency, the agency can push it to the cloud via the on premise Evidence Library application. The district attorney can then download the evidence from Cloud-Share. This removes the need for the agency to burn DVDs and mail or deliver them to the district attorney.

How did you come to work with Impiger?

I had used them before in a prior company, so we engaged them to help us with our application. We chose Impiger because we didn’t have the experience in smart phone development. We went out and did a search, and brought a few people in. Impiger won our business. They went a little extra on what they presented. They took our application, they went through it, and they built a prototype of sorts to show that they understood what we were talking about. I just feel like they did a better job on the pre-sale than any of the other organizations did.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

Our project was definitely over $200,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

The project was pretty much on-time, on-budget, and it’s up and running now.

What distinguishes Impiger from other providers?

Impiger does what it takes to get the job done. If they’re behind, they’ll add more people. I feel that they’ve got good management here in the United States. I enjoy working with the Chief Executive Officer; he has always been very accommodating and understands our development needs.

Is there anything Impiger could have improved or done differently?

We have to do a considerable amount of training when we get started with a new team with Impiger. I don’t know that it would be any different with anybody else though.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We developed an app that worked like a bookmarking system where you can add all the websites that you like to read. Users can collect their favorite websites and frequently visited sites in one place. It's easier to read and find. It's a service in a way for phones and desktop.

What is your position?

I'm the founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Impiger Technologies?

I was taking a course at SMU [Southern Methodist University] on web development. Then, I had the idea. When my investor saw it he said let's make it a commercial product so everybody can have access to it. I knew I wouldn't have the expertise or the manpower to do that so I looked outward. 

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

The app is available on iOS, Android, and the majority of browsers when on a desktop.

How did you come to work with Impiger Technologies?

I researched many developers and got quotes. I really liked the CEO at Impiger [Jude Ramayya]. He sounded very savvy and knowledgeable. He was very honest and said Impiger could develop anything I wanted, but was frank that, without a marketing budget, I should reconsider, I thought that was very honest of him. He was more worried about the product being successful. He didn't have to care whether I had money to advertise. That struck a chord on me.  I decided I wanted to work with them and have been very happy.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

My app has cost more than $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started work in August 2015, and Impiger is still helping to maintain the app.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Not yet. It went live in March, and we're still dealing with marketing agencies. We have two marketing teams here and in Brazil. It's been difficult. We just started advertising last week in the United States, and we'll start in Brazil in the next 60 days. There's 1,500 people using the software so far without advertising.

How did Impiger Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

My Impiger project management team is fantastic. They're responsive. They are very organized. The schedule works like clockwork. They delivered on time. If something is going to be pushed back, they're very up front and let me know. 

What distinguishes Impiger Technologies from other providers?

Impiger works to control the budget very well. They have a very transparent delivery process – very different from the marketing agencies.I receive weekly reports of how many hours were used and for what. That makes my investor very comfortable, too.  I only have good things to say about Impiger.

Is there anything Impiger Technologies could have improved or done differently?

I wish they had a marketing agency in-house.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We’re creating technology that provides a user experience initially through mobile apps on iOS and Android. They give people the ability to create fan pages of anything they’re a fan of, compete with other fans to become the biggest fan, and win memorabilia and fan experiences.

What is your position?

I’m the Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Impiger?

We have an internal development team but we wanted to go mobile first. We were designing a web application, and we were going to create a responsive application that can be viewed on mobile, but we made a decision that we needed to create native mobile apps. We had the choice to continue to build our team internally or we could look for an outsourced partner.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

Impiger is doing all of our native iOS and native Android app development, and they also do some testing. We’ve also hired resources through Impiger that are our senior .net server side resources as well. They provide a full fleet of services. We have our own senior .net developer and Chief Technology Officer on staff, so we don’t need that full time, but there have been times where we have had one of their senior.net architects on our team for an extended amount of time.

The process we’ve gotten into with Impiger is that we do the design and then we hand that over to Impiger, and they create the mobile app based on those designs. They also offer design work but we have that internally. Unlike other contractors who will give you exactly what you say versus voicing their opinion on the user interface and improvements, Impiger does a good job of that. They give us their opinions on things. That is extremely helpful.

How did you come to work with Impiger?

I’ve worked in leadership roles for lots of technology startups. I was doing some consulting for one several years back, and at the time we felt we needed a native mobile app. I did some research and talked to some people at Impiger. I was extremely impressed at the time. That company didn’t end up going down the Impiger road, but I just remembered my experience with them through the scope of work, their estimate, and their feedback. They were at the top of my list. Another big thing was that a lot of their developers are offshore, but they’re actually a US based company. They have their corporate office in Richardson, Texas. If you need to meet with somebody, they’re in the US and can do that. Our company is in Dallas, so we’re very close to the corporate office. Just having an American based company makes you feel a little more connected with the people that you’re dealing with.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

$50,000 to $100,000. Our partnership is one that I’m looking to be long term. I got into it thinking it was short term but I’m definitely viewing it as a long term partnership. I have developers and project managers that are dedicated to my project. If I was going to bring it in-house and hire people to replace them, I would be looking for people just like them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I can’t give you any qualitative metrics other than my opinion. We’re just now launching it. We haven’t started marketing yet. We have maybe 500 users on the app right now. For the money that I’ve spent to create the products that I have, I think it’s a positive. If I would’ve tried to do this in-house, I think I would’ve spent more than what I’ve paid to them. Normally when you outsource something the opposite is true.

How did Impiger perform from a project management standpoint?

We have an account manager, a project manager, and then we have our resources that are full time with us through Impiger. We have weekly calls with our project manager and account manager. They’re extremely responsive. I’ve had employees in the past where they’ll do Apple development and we’re on two week sprints, and if you have to break the sprint for any reason, everybody’s up in arms. Impiger is extremely flexible. I’ve come to them at times where I’ve got a big event happening the coming Thursday and we need to get these X things done for that presentation, and they just treat it like it’s their own company and have come through for me with no complaints.

What distinguishes Impiger from other providers?

They’re extremely flexible and they don’t take anything personally. I’ve worked with lots of developers. When you have an opinion that’s different than theirs, and that’s what you’re going to do a lot of times, they’ll have the opinion that it’s going to be crappy. Everybody on the Impiger team that I’ve dealt with are good people. They are high character, high quality people that I would refer to anybody.

Is there anything Impiger could have improved or done differently?

There’s not a company that can’t improve on something. I would say the only thing that at one point they could’ve improved on was on the testing. There were times we felt that was the case and we’d tweak our testing, and it’s improved significantly to the extent that it’s not an issue at all.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

At Vexster, we create branded mobile channels and offer businesses a turnkey platform for mobile apps. We’ll do an Apple and Android mobile app in their brand. Unlike most apps, ours is a little different. It allows most people to publish content, including all kinds of media format, from videos to audio slide shows, podcasts, and documents. Recently, we’ve gone multi-lingual and actually integrated a translation interpretation component.

What is your position?

I’m the Chief Operating Officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Impiger?

The server side and backend of our platform is a lot more complicated and we needed help managing it. Behind the scenes, we have a studio where we’ll professionally do voiceovers on video and we’ll do the content on interactive forms. Impiger had to bring in two teams – one that was specialized on the web/server side, and the other one was to do the Android and Apple mobile apps. It’s been a great relationship.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

We’ve used Impiger for almost five years on two different specific platforms. We created a framework for Apple and Android so we could actually do a turnkey network for a client within 14 days.

How did you come to work with Impiger?

We talked to a lot of companies. Most of the companies in the US weren’t within our budget. We wanted to use someone in India, but we wanted to be sure they had a US presence because we thought they’d be more reliable. We met one of the founders at Impiger, and they are based out of Dallas, Texas. My account manager that handles all my projects is out of Seattle. I’ve got the US presence, but the team that’s actually doing the work is over in India. It’s been great. We talk at about 9:00 in the morning every day. The hours have never been a problem. They’re around any time I need them and they offer support 24/7 if I need it.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

With both projects we’ve spent over $2.5 million with Impiger Technologies.

What is the status of this engagement?

Ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

What’s unique about our app framework is that it allows me to go into every industry. We’ve done a great job with a company called Patient Portal. We brought on 30,000 customers in the first two months. It’s unique. It lets every doctor, every medical center, everybody have their own channel on that mobile app. We integrated a lot of the top features that are popular. The ability of having Impiger’s structure behind the scenes, and be able to have that network in place within two weeks, has been amazing.

What distinguishes Impiger from other providers?

What I find pretty amazing is that they have leads on each type development whether it’s Apple, Android, or the server. They’re all very knowledgeable and easy to talk to. They are very strategic in designing the platform before they start the project. They’ll give you screen shots and a lot of detailed support on what the final product will look like. They have you sign off on everything before they start working to make sure everyone is on the same page. Projects have stayed on time, even at times when I threw them a curveball.

Is there anything Impiger could have improved or done differently?

I wouldn’t have been with Impiger this long [5 years] if anything was wrong. I’ve been very happy with everything they’ve done. They have a very good handle on the mobile world. Even if it’s a web based solution, being mobile friendly has been important to us.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

QTrak is an internal delivery tracking software as a service product that helps colleges and universities, corporate mailrooms, and multifamily housing developments track and notify recipients of incoming packages and deliveries.

What is your position?

I'm the founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Impiger Technologies?

I brought Impiger into the equation because I needed a cost-effective way to support the program we develop.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

Impiger provided a great service in that they took our product, learned it from the back-end all the way out. They provide software updates, feature enhancements, and customer service for us and our customer base. They do a great job of it. Our product is available on iOS and Android.

How did you come to work with Impiger Technologies?

We vetted a bunch of agencies. What I liked most about Impiger is that they gave us direct access to the developers. That was important for us in that we don't keep a large technical staff on-site. Having direct access to the developers was a real plus.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

Our project is in the range of $50,000 to $200,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Impiger has saved us a bunch of money. I don't know if I can put an exact number to it, but they've probably saved us 50 percent to 60 percent of what we were previously paying.

What distinguishes Impiger Technologies from other providers?

They're very conscientious, and they're extremely responsive. Impiger is very quick to respond with the right solution. They're also very patient in terms of dealing with nontechnical people.

Is there anything Impiger Technologies could have improved or done differently?

Not a whole lot. No relationship is perfect, but I think they're very close to it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company is Grundfos Pumps India Private Limited. Iam working as Assistant Manager taking care of coordination activities

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Impiger Technologies?

Mobile App development

What were your goals for this project?

To develop an app for Management of complaints

SOLUTION

How did you select Impiger Technologies?

Based on the reputation

Describe the project in detail.

The service app to provide an effective way of getting service support for any grundfos product. Through this app, one can locate the nearest service provider, fill in the details of the complaint / request, attach a picture of the pump/system and raise a service request. This app enables one to easily track the status of the complaint /request, escalate late response, get a service report and quotation for spare parts , provide feedback on the service.

What was the team composition?

A project coordinator is assigned and we are in constant touch for any request / issue to be solved out. The coordinator connects to developer if required to understand our actual requirement

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app comes will and we have extended to other countries of Grundfos too

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow is very effective and requirement of frequent enhancement of the app always exists

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Fixing and updating the issue as quickly as possible is what impressed us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Even during the UAT, our requirement is being seen as separate request. The minor changes to be allowed and not be seen as a separate request