HST Solutions

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Director of Research and Innovation with Horizon Nua, a not-for-profit foundation specialising in social innovation, research, capacity-building and communications. Our mission is to accelerate the transition towards a sustainable EU economy as set out in the Green Deal.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire HST Solutions, and what were your goals?

We contracted with HST Solutions to create the Connecting Nature Enterprise Platform, an online marketplace connecting buyers and sellers of nature-based products, services and solutions.

SOLUTION

How did you select HST Solutions and what were the deciding factors?

HST were selected through a tender process and individual meetings with each of the bidders. Their professionalism, competitive offering, flexibility and grasp of the brief were deciding factors in awarding the contract to them

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

The project commenced with the design of the User stories & User interface. From there we progressed to User Interface Frontend Design & Front-End Development, Middle Tier & Backend Development. The work was completed in sprints which enabled us to test and provide feedback each step of the way. HST continues to provide on going platform support where we continue to provide additional functionality to the platform.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

There were 4 on the core team, a project manager, designer and 2 developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The platform was launched in October 2020. The interface is intuitive and easy to navigate. User feedback has been positive and we continue to add functionality to the platform with HST

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

Project management was very good, considering we were developing a platform in the middle of a global pandemic with all the challenges that it brought. Regular meetings with the team were held via GoTo Meeting and email communication in between. Jira is used for ongoing platform development and support

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

Their flexibility, hands-on approach, and ability to find solutions quickly were a real bonus.

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

I think sometimes things got a bit lost in translation between ourselves and the development team. The introduction of a project manager quickly resolved this issue.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am CEO of Franchise Direct a worldwide portal for matching franchisors with potential franchisees

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire HST Solutions?

Franchise Direct excels at customer care and quality of service and delivery. We are constantly upgrading our front-end and back-end features to provide the best possible experience for our clients and our visitors.

What were your goals for this project?

My primary goal was to find a number of development companies we could work with on an ongoing basis and which would become an integral part of our development team. This involved taking on small and large projects, being flexible with the team size and team skill set, being available and be excellent communicators.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We interviewed 6 companies and sought references from all of them for work similar to the type of projects we were working on. Two we disqualified at initial interview. Following interviews and reference checks we decide to appoint 2 companies to our projects.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The projects range from major front end changes developed through A/B testing to back end changes to facilitate the management and delivery of our products. We work in a very dynamic world wide environment across 6 continents with constantly changing demands from the market place and our clients. We provide services on 14 websites in multiple languages.

An example of a project was the development of an online insertion order system allowing clients to update profiles online and update our CMS automatically. This project reduced editor review time by 80% and improved our client experience. HST also radically improved our site search facility streamlining the process, providing more targeted results improving conversion rates by 6% as a result.

What was the team composition?

The team consisted of high level java developers for back end projects and skilled front end developers to implement A/B tested changes.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

HST performed so well that we had sufficient confidence to transfer all the development work in this sector to HST. Projects were completed in a timely and efficient manner. As the relationship developed the need for detailed specifications was no longer required and projects were defined only by the required outcomes significantly reducing overhead costs for Franchise Direct.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

HST has effectively become an integral part of the FD development department and are fully integrated to our back end and project management systems and have full communication with all our development personnel, web hosting services, testing and quality department. As of now project management is seemless.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their constant communication, attention to detail, and ability to upscale impressed us. They provided full stack services on very short notice. HST worked closely with our testing and QA departments to refine outcomes and provide an on time delivery service. Solutions were provided on a very cost-effective basis.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is always room for improvement and we strive for continuous improvement within our organisation. HST are part of this continuous improvement process along with all the rest of our organisation.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

ComplySAFE is a complete compliance management solution that includes all the checklist policies and procedures, including GDPR, employment law, health & safety and child welfare.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire HST Solutions?

Design, development and support of compliance database

What were your goals for this project?

To develop a secure, GDPR-compliant solution for the processing and management of customer's data. We also needed the solution to be scalable so that the system can be further developed in time.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

As part of our procurement process we interviewed 5 software development companies who had experience in the development of similar system. HST demonstrated not just an understanding of our technical requirements but also showed an understanding of our business goals. We were impressed by the flexibility of their service model and their pro-active engagement in proposing solutions at the design phase.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

HST have developed our compliance system to a high standard and have continued to support us in the production environment.

What was the team composition?

The HST team consisted of up to four developers (a mix of front-end and back-end experts) with overall responsibility for delivery managed by a HST project manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The ComplySAFE system is at the heart of our compliance management solution, and having the system fully functional and operational enables us to on-board customers.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project was arranged with weekly calls and status reports, and it was also possible to contact developers and project manager directly if required.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

HST are very customer focused. They displayed a high level of technical expertise, but their desire to also understand the business objectives behind the technical development and offer creative solutions to achieving those makes HST stand out from other providers.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

DMS is the global leader in the provision of governance, risk and compliance services to investment management firms. I am responsible for all aspects of product development, including technology solutions across the DMS Group.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire HST Solutions?

Customised ETL Data warehouse solutions Customised reporting

What were your goals for this project?

To develop a scalable, secure and efficient technology solution for the enterprise-wide management of our data.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

HST were subject to a rigorous procurement process and won out after demonstrating extensive technical knowledge and flexibility in their service model.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

HST have developed a scalable , secure and efficient technology solution for the enterprise-wide management of our data. This was done via the implementation of: Customised ETL, Data warehouse solutions, Customised reporting

What was the team composition?

We utilise up to four developers and a project manager at any one time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are able to run our business processes of single source data and expand our product set to include leverage off this same information.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project is arranged with weekly calls and status reports, along with continual and flexible access to developers and project managers.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their technical knowledge and customer-centric nature set them apart.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is little in terms of improvement that HST can offer. We are very happy with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Engineering Manager. The company develops cybersecurity risk management software for medical device manufacturers and healthcare providers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire HST Solutions, and what were your goals?

We needed to rapidly expand our engineering capacity to support our business plan, however, given the difficult recruitment market in Ireland we were unable to attract local talent. HST Solutions supported our expansion by augmenting our existing software development team with top quality Engineering, QA and UI/UX talent. HST’s engineers slotted seamlessly into our structures and processes.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

I assessed 3 potential partners before selecting HST. The primary differentiator was HSTs flexible engagement models.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

HST provided senior Angular, Java & QA engineers and a senior UI/UX designer who integrated seamlessly with our existing team.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

6 in total. 2 angular engineers 1 java engineer 1 QA engineer 1 AI/ML engineer 1 UI/UX designer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The HST resources delivered quality work on time and helped us meet our project deadlines.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

The project management aspect was handled in-house, not by HST.

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

The flexibility and availability of senior engineering talent were impressive.

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

No