Geeks Ltd

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We’re a group of seven dental practices covering the Leicestershire and Rutland regions. We provide private National Health Services (NHS) dentistry services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Geeks?

We needed an app for our business.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted the app to make it easier for us to store company data for staff (e.g., HR documents, contact numbers). We wanted to have a platform we can use to communicate messages across the business internally.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found them online after researching suitable providers. We thought they could do everything we had envisioned.

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

The Geeks team helped us design and create our platform. We had a series of workshops with them to fully explain the objectives of the project. They built it in a way that allows us to file internal documents and communicate across our teams.

What was the team composition?

We worked with the tech and design teams, and our project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Though we haven’t gone live with the app yet, we imagine it will have a positive impact. We are excited about the launch.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They were always very active and prepared to complete the project within the deadlines we gave them. Our wonderful project manager planned and executed everything well. Their team was very professional.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We appreciated their professionalism, as well as the relationship we built with them throughout the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of Search Acumen. We provide online conveyance and due diligence information as well as search reports for the U.K. property market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Geeks?

When we first approached Geeks as a startup, we needed them to create our proprietary back office and e-retail platform. We’ve since continued to work with them to further develop data-rich online services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

For about five years, Geeks has handled all of our development projects from start to finish. Their initial project was the first iteration of our e-order platform to get our business off the ground. This consisted of an online web ordering system for conveyances based in Wales, a delivery platform that took in requests/orders and distributed them to wholesale data providers, an automated payment function, and an invoicing and direct debit collection function.

From there, they’ve continued to develop future retail services such as selling information in ports and providing portfolio services for clients with multiple properties. Most recently, they’ve been working on a GIS (Geographic Information System)-based data portal. Rather than providing data reports via PDF, we can now provide real-time data interaction for properties in addition to GIS services and various data sources (e.g., official registries, local government listings). We’re currently considering using AI to interpret some of our data and information to provide analytics for our clients.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with a project manager, a business analyst, an architecture specialist, a tester, and senior and junior software developers. At any given time, they’ve assigned between 1–3 team members depending on the task and schedule.

How did you come to work with Geeks?

We researched and compared about five onshore development companies, including Geeks. We liked their staff and previous work, so we chose them to be our partner.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over £1.5 million (approximately $1.9 million USD) over the last five years.

What is the status of this engagement?

Their work began in 2013 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re a platform-based business, so we wouldn’t exist without their support. They’ve allowed us to go from an unknown startup to a company with nearly 7.5% of the market share within a five-year period. The platform itself is reliable, and we’ve had virtually no downtime. Not to mention, it has a very low error rate. Any bugs that we’ve missed in testing have been minor and relatively easy to fix.

How did Geeks perform from a project management standpoint?

We work in a very agile marketplace, so we use an agile methodology. They’ve remained flexible in their approach, adapting well to our processes. In terms of tracking, they keep backlogs of all user stories produced in sprints and releases using their internal project management tool. We also have a project manager on our side and use Microsoft Project to track our developments.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate their willingness to be fully agile. Although they remind us of the consequences of our agile approach, they never hinder our progress. They understand that it’s how we want to conduct business and are happy to find the most efficient way to produce results. That’s one of the main reasons why we’ve been so successful as a business.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve already discussed this with them, but I wish they would invest more time into developing their internal project management tools. That way, they could share it with us, and we would have better visibility over the backlog of stories and task progress.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder of Lentum, a learning transfer application that allows you to support and monitor new skills and behaviors as they are applied back into the workplace after any kind of learning intervention.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Geeks?

Learners need to take more responsibility for their own learning, but research also highlights the line manager is the single biggest influencer in the whole learning process, so I wanted to bring the two more closely together. Enabling the tracking of goals and targets after the learning intervention will show if a new skill or behavior is present. Through the application, there is also the ability to further motivate the learner and line manager to work closely together and by doing so they can either raise points to be used against a company's internal rewards scheme or raise a donation for charity paid for by the organization's CSR budget. 

I had the concept, but I needed to work with a team of software developers that would help me make the process as efficient as possible both from the UX point of view and also the actual development of the software itself. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I had already created some basic wireframes, which they utilized to build the software with .NET. Since I don’t have a development background, they assisted me with workflows and gave me clarity on the process. Geeks executed the project from a client and end-user perspective, working backward in a collaborative approach. I’m still in negotiations to get trial clients on board, which will hopefully happen by the end of 2018.

What is the team composition?

At the initial kickoff meeting, I had an account manager and two developers. I worked directly with a senior developer and the project manager.

How did you come to work with Geeks?

I did an internet search, but not for offshore vendors because I wanted to be involved actively. I went out to tender and sent about nine questionnaires to different companies. I met with three of them after considering a variety of factors, including past work and costs. Geeks presented a very competitive price that made building the minimum viable product (MVP) affordable.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February–June 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was delivered on time and within budget. I was happy with the product.

How did Geeks perform from a project management standpoint?

We worked collaboratively in sprints and had great communication throughout the engagement. The project managers were qualified, which made me confident in their ability to deliver. We used Geeks’ internal project management system.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team communicated well and was very responsive per my requirements. They had an agile approach, but were also flexible with changes.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Even though Geeks develops the products, the client can’t just offload it and expect to not invest time in the project. Clients should be available relatively quickly to answer questions and keep the workflow going. By not being present, progress stalls and the engagements gets more expensive.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of client technology for a financial healthcare firm. We provide financial legal services to the National Health Service (HHS).

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Geeks?

We needed a way to manage off-payroll workers, from onboarding and timesheets to payment and invoicing. As such, we approached Geeks to develop a frontend web-based portal that was also accessible on mobile devices.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, we met with their project management team and business analyst. The business analyst mapped out our requirements, considering the client feedback and looking at potential features. They then passed the requirements to the project management and development team, who built the portal for our system with a SQL back office.

Since then, they’ve continued to make updates and add new features every eight weeks or so. Typically, I design a new functionality, and they lay out the specs to make wireframes. Once we approve their designs, they test it in a user-acceptance test (UAT) environment, which is a direct replica of our system. This allows us to see how the update will function in real life.

Essentially, the product is a vendor management system for healthcare providers. When a client needs a resource, they create a job listing and send it to our supply team to fill the position. We submit CVs from qualified candidates into the system for review. If the client accepts the candidate, the candidate will have access to the timesheets. At its core, the system tracks contracted work hours.

What is the team composition?

The team changes depending on our needs and the number of sprints we have. We’ve worked with a business analyst, a project manager, and project coordinators. At one point, we also had access to three developers.

How did you come to work with Geeks?

I did some market research and found them. Our vetting process included some other agencies, but we ultimately chose them because they’d designed similar systems before.

What is the status of this engagement?

Their work started in July 2015 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As market leaders in our industry, our success is underpinned by the strength of Geeks’ technology. Their system has been running for three years, and it’s still going strong. It’s never gone down nor crashed, and we keep making enhancements to it.

In terms of timing, it was crucial that they completed the original project within our limited time frame. They’ve always delivered the sprints on time and have met every delivery date. Whenever we’ve needed to push a deadline back, they’ve been quick to accommodate us.

How did Geeks perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project manager always keeps us up to date. We hold daily calls with specific team members to discuss certain tasks; we chat with the broader team during weekly calls. This helps us requalify certain requirements and remain in the loop.

We also use an online portal to track their progress as well as a communication platform called Amp. Here, we can voice any questions or show them designs. We keep an audit trail of all of our conversations, which they use to map out our technical requirements.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate how easily we can communicate with them. They consistently keep us updated and never shy away from lending a hand. We have a strong relationship with them, and they’re just easy to work with. They have some knowledgeable people on their side who know how to problem solve and troubleshoot.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind. This is the first time I’ve worked with a company like this, so I don’t know how other agencies operate. But as far as I’m concerned, we’ve never had a negative experience with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you don't know what you want for your system, their team is capable of understanding your requirements and can provide some guidance. Conversely, if you know exactly what you want and can articulate it, then Geeks can deliver, even in a tight time frame.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Mason & Cook, a consulting and technology service. We work with law firms to set up internal results-management processes for them.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Geeks?

About 18 months ago, we realized that there was a lack of resource management technology to help our clients with these processes. We found that existing products only focused on what individuals were doing at any given time. We felt that failed to capture a number of things such as an individual’s skills and experience and projects they were working. We wanted an easier, simpler way to forecast individuals’ activities and to display individuals’ metrics that were going to be both useful to them and drive better behaviors with regards to resource management.

We looked at designing and developing these resources ourselves to offer bespoke technology products to our clients. We needed a partner to completely outsource this development to who could also guide and advise us through the process.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Geeks built our web application with a number of key features that provide a view of the firm’s capability and capacity in real-time at any given moment. They created individual profile pages that are integrated with other enterprise systems to provide consolidated, real-time data. They included a capability to map individuals profiles—including skills, experience, development needs, clients, and internal relationships—at a firm-wide level to visualize the firm’s skills and capabilities through a user-friendly interface. They also built a capability to quickly and easily forecast each individual’s activity such as projects they’re working on, the stages of those projects, when they’re taking leave and for how long, etc.

Geeks held our hands through the entire process. We provided them with basic ideas and drawings of what we wanted. They turned these into wireframes that we talked through. When we had refined the wireframes, they advised us on the best approach to development. The provided us with design support and project management to oversee the development and ensure the right seniority and balance within the team. They managed quality assurance and testing.

We launched our minimum viable product about three months ago and will continue to develop it. We’re currently in conversations with Geeks about establishing a longer-term outsourcing partnership with them.

What is the team composition?

We had a team of 10 to 15 people that guided us through each element of the software development that we required. We regularly communicated with the project managers but also with the developers at times.

How did you come to work with Geeks?

We found them on Google. We found a number of firms, did our due diligence, and decided to go with Geeks.

They were personable and we liked them, which was really important to us. We also felt that they were extremely credible based on projects they had done and the software and approaches they had used. Finally, we liked the fact that they had a number of full-time developers based in one location that we could go meet in-person.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent close to $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2017 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The key things that we've looked at have been whether they delivered what we've asked within the timeframes and on budget—all of which they’ve achieved.

We have now sold and implemented the software with our first client. Geeks were very involved with that process. They met all of the deliverables that were asked of them both from us and from the client. They've always provided us with good service that’s been well communicated.

How did Geeks perform from a project management standpoint?

We use their internal systems to manage all of the development requirements. It’s helpful in offering reference points and structuring things. Their project managers are good at communicating with us, highlighting risks or issues as well as managing our expectations so we can manage those of our clients. They have a methodical, structured approach to project management which makes for an easy-to-understand communication channel for us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They obviously have good development capability. That’s important to us as we consider establishing a long-term partnership. They’ve produced a high-quality product that receives positive feedback from clients, which is the main thing. Beyond that, the way they communicate with us demonstrates a partnership approach which is how we prefer to work as well. They’re accommodating and flexible but also manage our expectations and push back as appropriate, which is appreciated by all sides.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not necessarily. From our point of view, it's been a great experience that we look forward to continuing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and director of Histropedia, an interactive timeline of everything in history.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Geeks?

The major challenge involved extracting large amounts of data and information from Wikipedia for our timeline. We engaged Geeks to help us create a modern, highly dynamic web app with an intuitive interface.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

For much of the project, Geeks worked as our software development partners to build a complex web application from scratch. They started working with a high volume of data on the spot and wrote a quick script to extract information. We provided them a scope of the ideas and design we’d solidified beforehand.

Once they came onboard, we had a series of meetings at various stages of the project to present and refine our ideas. On the frontend, Geeks crafted a timeline visualization engine which we hope to monetize by selling it to other businesses. This system is now also being extracted into a JavaScript library. For the backend architecture, an extraction algorithm was created for a very large database.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager, one senior developer, and one junior developer from Geeks. This is the team we’d normally hold meetings with, too.

How did you come to work with Geeks?

Of the three companies we had narrowed it down to, Geeks stood apart from the competition. After forming our initial idea for the project, we thoroughly researched software companies around the UK. We analyzed portfolios and tried to isolate the companies that were capable of creating highly dynamic sites and big-data-driven applications. While other vendors seemed wary of working with large databases and files, Geeks was very enthusiastic about our project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about £100,000 ($135,080 USD) on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with Geeks since May 2012.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have not been outwardly pushing anything because we’re still figuring out how to monetize our application. But our visualization engine can generally handle ten times more data and the average JavaScript library. We’ve had no problems with the stability of their code and it’s proven to be incredibly stable even with a high amount of access. The server has always been perfect.

How did Geeks perform from a project management standpoint?

Geeks has been very efficient, professional, and organized. Their internal project management system they've developed themselves basically allows us to keep everything very nice and organized. We submit all the bugs, changes, and requests into the system and it can all be categorized, discussed, and marked as complete, straight from the developers. The project manager has also done a good job of sort of doing what they need to do, keeping the oversight of things, and reporting back to us promptly. The communication has always been open and we’ve never had any trouble with getting updates.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their creative input personally impressed us. They were happy to sit down and creatively think about ideas rather than just blindly do what we asked them. They were coming up with pretty interesting innovative ideas that really helped us along the way.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I haven't had any negative experiences with them yet. There are always a few ups and downs where you feel like everything could have been communicated more clearly. But there's never been any major issues.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I don’t have any advice at this time.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the Head of IT at Lucid Issuer Services, a financial services company that specializes in debt security.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Geeks?

We hired Geeks to create an end-user platform for us that would consolidate a few other IT systems we had into one system.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted the solution to provide a login system for custodians and beneficial owners so that they could receive relevant information when deals were launched. We also wanted it to connect with SWIFT to ensure that a deal’s financial information is visible all in one place. Finally, we needed it to provide reporting so whoever’s running a deal doesn't have to collate data from multiple sources.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We have a previous working relationship with them.

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

They helped scope the design of the project via their business analyst. They created a backlog of work and split this into phases and sprints, assigning development teams to work on specific parts of the backlog. We worked together to ensure the work was correct and tested.

What was the team composition?

We interacted with their project managers for the most part, along with a few key developers. Due to the complexities of the system, we were assigned a primary developer who understood the product very well.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The final product is used every day for all of the work that we do. It’s had an enormous impact on our day to day work and is very robust. It’s made our process for working on deals more efficient.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was conducted via phone, email and through their AMP portal. Their project manager was very effective. They followed-up with us first, when required, to get all the information they needed.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They’re providing the additional bits of software they use to manage the work; their AMP and VisualSpec are very good. They make the communication process seamless and let us properly visualize the end product before it was built.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

We felt the communications between the business analyst and the development team could be improved. We had to repeat ourselves, but this was solved during the second phase solved when we insisted the developers were present.