Forbytes

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Trademax is a Swedish furniture company selling products online to the Scandinavian market. We were founded 8 years ago, and have been growing fast. Our turnover for 2016 has been 100 million US dollars, [1 billion SEK] growing by around 35% each year. Our company has around 180 employees.

I am the chief technology officer of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Forbytes?

In the beginning, we were using a basic solution which wasn't tailored to our needs. We started an in-house development team, but I came into contact with Forbytes and found that they had experience with companies like ours. We wanted the ability to control every aspect of the development flow, so we needed a partner that could provide the developers and allow us to take care of project management. Forbytes was a perfect fit in this sense, taking care of the recruitment process, as well as the daily HR tasks.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our platform was built using PHP and ReactJS. Forbytes initially assigned 2 developers for our project, but the number has been scaled to 8 full-time resources, including a dedicated quality assurance person. Our senior technical lead is responsible for the technical architecture of our system.

How did you come to work with Forbytes?

We found Forbytes through a friend who had worked for another Swedish development company and knew Forbytes. I didn't have any experience with offshore development, so I had an initial discussion with Forbytes and started a trial period using 2 developers. Things have worked well since then, so we decided to scale.

How much have you invested with Forbytes?

The cost of Forbytes' services has been between $250,000 and $300,000 per year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Forbytes 5 years ago. Our work is completely ongoing. We see Forbytes' team as our own employees. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measure success by our site's conversion rates, so I don't have any specific metrics for Forbytes' team. We are very satisfied with them, which is why we've grown the team. The developers assigned to us by Forbytes have been very loyal, which is a hard thing to find, especially locally.

How did Forbytes perform from a project management standpoint?

We are using Jira for project timelines. Forbytes' team flies to our location 2-3 times per year in order to work closer to us and get a better feel of our culture.

What did you find most impressive about Forbytes?

In the beginning, we were looking to build an in-house team. Forbytes has made us feel almost as if they were our own employees. The management has been available when I needed it, but I've been free to run projects directly with Forbytes' developers the rest of the time.

Because Forbytes works with a number of companies, there is a lot of knowledge-sharing between their teams. We wouldn't have this if we simply employed in-house developers.

Are there any areas Forbytes could improve?

No at the moment. I'm overall satisfied.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're a small independent game developer based in Sweden. We're working on our first game at the moment. Our team consists of one developer, one designer, and an IT manager. I am the founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Forbytes?

We have been working on the game ourselves for some time, and have a skilled developer, but needed some backup assistance. Our game uses the Unity engine, and we're developing the backend in C#.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Forbytes told me that they could help us with C#, but they didn't have Unity skills. A developer from Forbytes' team was interested in working on Unity games, so they suggested assigning her to our team and having her learn the platform. She has provided good support for our main programmer, and helped improve the game's database and other elements we weren't aware of.

How did you come to work with Forbytes?

Talent in our region is difficult to find and expensive. We approached a government-run company in Sweden for help finding developers. I was introduced to Forbytes' principal and found that the company has a development team in Ukraine.

How much have you invested with Forbytes?

The total cost of Forbytes' services will be around $9,000 for a 3-month development period.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have an ongoing project with Forbytes.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our developer has been satisfied with the work done by Forbytes. They've supported us, and they want our business to be successful, to continue our collaboration in the future.

How did Forbytes perform from a project management standpoint?

We're newcomers in the industry, and Forbytes has helped introduce us to the process. They implemented Jira and another tool, to manage the project. Forbytes's team was always available, taking calls even over the week-end, whenever we had issues.

What did you find most impressive about Forbytes?

Forbytes took an interest in our business and wanted to build a relationship. They have e-commerce experience, which was important for managing our database and connecting us with one of the world's largest resources related to the game's subject.

Are there any areas Forbytes could improve?

I'm a bit green in this area, so the main downside was our lack of knowledge.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Lekmer is an online retailer based in Northern Sweden. I am the chief executive officer of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Forbytes?

We have no in-house backend development resources and have used Forbytes' help.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We were using an e-commerce platform called Volusion. Forbytes had developers which had worked on that system, so the team proved a good match when we took over the source code development on our own. The collaboration worked well so far.

We initially worked with 1 developer from Forbytes' team, and have used as many as 4 people. We're currently working with 2 full-time developers, and bring in additional resources when needed.

How did you come to work with Forbytes?

Our sister company had worked with Forbytes before, so it was easy for us to try out their services.

How much have you invested with Forbytes?

The total cost of Forbytes' work has been in the hundreds of thousands of dollars range [millions of Swedish krona].

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working with Forbytes since 2013, and have an ongoing collaboration. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did Forbytes perform from a project management standpoint?

Forbytes performed very well. I act as project manager for a number of projects, but Forbytes has assigned a resource on their side who takes care of this part. We have used Jira for project tracking.

What did you find most impressive about Forbytes?

Forbytes' team has been thorough in everything they've done. The work is detailed and professional.

Are there any areas Forbytes could improve?

There's nothing in particular.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CTO of GardenStore.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Garden products online

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Forbytes to accomplish?

• Change/update e-commerce platform
• Optimize server setup

SOLUTION

How did you find Forbytes?

Referral

Why did you select Forbytes over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Forbytes were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Staff was provided full-time. Very professional work and a great understanding of the business aspects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

All tasks completed above expectation

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They were always available, and we never needed to wait for a response or a suggested solution.

What was your primary form of communication with Forbytes?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The combination of technical skills and business understanding

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

Nothing I can think of

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the founder of kookooapp. We provide an audio delivery service for therapists.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Forbytes?

We engaged Forbytes to build an MVP application for Android and iOS devices.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted an MVP of our app.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had an excellent relationship with Forbytes’ project manager. The team provided a clear roadmap of tasks and time required to complete each.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Forbytes built an MVP of our application for iOS and Android devices.

What was the team composition?

I worked with a project manager and a developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team delivered and tested the MVP on time and within our budget.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Forbytes’ project manager had excellent communication with our team.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Forbytes delivered an MVP that met our deadline and budget.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, we’re happy with their work.