I-Next Ltd.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a digital manager at an industrial cleaning equipment company. I manage online content. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with I-Next Ltd.?

I-Next built two websites for us: one for our core business and one for a dealership we had with another company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I-Next built multiple websites for us, moving from a Joomla platform to a dual Magento one. The new sites are in Drupal, and the development that I-Next produced for us incorporated a more streamlined branding effort. The features they implemented into the second website duplicated those of the first, so there’s a great similarity between the two.

What is the team composition?

I work with John (Owner) and one other contact.

How did you come to work with I-Next Ltd.?

They came to us through another company who recommended them to us.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since November 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We launched our most recent site just over a month ago, and it’s had phenomenal success. The team is always thinking ahead for us and bringing us solutions to improve our business — they’ve introduced solutions which have saved us hours of manual entry across several processes. They’re a very forward-thinking team. 

How did I-Next Ltd. perform from a project management standpoint?

I-Next is second to none. They run an internal project management system that manages all of our communication. They have an open Trello board, which tracks schedules, finances, and other aspects of the project. It’s all very transparent.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The customized template they coded for us has been the highlight of our engagement. It’s clean, fast, and we’ve earned a great deal of profit from it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing negative I could say about them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust in them. I-Next is an extremely experienced team, and they’ve worked with some big brands over their time.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of a company called Training Ltd.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with I-Next Ltd.?

When we first hired I-Next Ltd. it was to develop our original website presence in the early days of the internet.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Since they originally built our site, they’ve done a variety of design and functionality upgrades for us. Every time we’ve had a new business challenge, we’ve turned to I-Next Ltd. to help us come up with a solution.

In 2017 they built an e-commerce system that allowed us to start selling our services through our website. Another time, we wanted to build an e-learning platform that was quite complex as well. Both of those projects required some very specialized integrations, and they sorted it all out for us.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact is the director of their team, but we also work on a day-to-day basis with a few different members of their technical team.

How did you come to work with I-Next Ltd.?

We had a sort of business mentor a long time ago through a government-funded program who introduced us to a number of companies to potentially work with, one of which was I-Next Ltd.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably spent about £20,000 (approximately $26,300 USD) over the years.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them over 15 years ago, around 2003. The original website build took a few months to complete, but we’ve been continuously engaged with them since then.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I-Next. Ltd.’s support has simply transformed our business. Without it, we would certainly have struggled to continue because of the nature of our industry and the way it was going when we started working with them. The e-commerce side of things, in particular, is absolutely essential.

How did I-Next Ltd. perform from a project management standpoint?

They are absolutely excellent. With any ongoing project, whenever we have an issue to sort out, we can reach out to them via phone or email and they will get back to us very quickly. They really put in the time to do background work on all of our projects so that they understand the core needs we are trying to solve.

What did you find most impressive about them?

John (Director, I-Next Ltd.) himself is extremely knowledgeable, and I think the team that he has gathered are exceptionally skilled as well. I’ve heard a lot of stories from other people who’ve hired web developers and found that they didn’t have nearly the same level of expertise. We’ve given I-Next Ltd. some seriously tricky problems over the years and they always just take it in stride.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything I wish they did differently.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about your ultimate objectives, but let their team have some input on how to achieve those because there’s a good chance they’ve done something similar a thousand times before and can provide some really good insight on the specifics.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a project manager for a consumer services company. We develop financial recognition and incentive websites and programs, and we outsource some of that work to I-Next Ltd.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with I-Next Ltd.?

We’ve been working with I-Next Ltd. for about 15–20 years to develop websites and IP aspects of some of our projects every year.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We do what we call a Christmas stocking recognition and award program with one of our clients, and we’ve done it for about 10 years now. I-Next Ltd. provides the technology for that and we handle the project management, gathering requirements and then working with them to develop a system solution that fulfills those requirements. Right now, we’re moving our infrastructure into the cloud, which is one of the more technical projects we’ve taken on with them.

Year by year, they help us upgrade the design, functionality, and technologies of the websites that we develop. They go through quality assurance and then hand the products over to us to run our own QA and user acceptance testing with our clients. Any bugs we find in the process we take care of together before launch.

What is the team composition?

I work very closely with their owner for the most part, but when we get into testing and the more technical and functional aspects of the work, I also have direct contact with one of his developers on the platform.

How did you come to work with I-Next Ltd.?

Since we’ve been working with I-Next Ltd. longer than I’ve been at the company, I’m not sure how we initially hired them. I do know that we continue to work together because things have always gone very well.

How much have you invested with them?

Year-by-year we spend somewhere in the $10,000–$15,000 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

We generally do about one major project with them a year. The current one started in July 2019 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I read the post-project questionnaire that we receive from our clients after every project that they do. Last year, we completed a similar stocking project and were scored, on average, about nine out of ten on both development and project management. The feedback that we receive from our clients on how the system looks, feels, and operates is always highly positive.

How did I-Next Ltd. perform from a project management standpoint?

They are always really responsive to our requests. We have access to them via phone, so between that and email, we receive responses in about two hours — never more than a day. They always stay on top of the projects, so we are never worried about making sure they do the work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I find them really easy to work with because they are always willing to go above and beyond to deliver a solution. If you think of an idea and you go to them with it, they then think about what else you need to consider to make it work rather than telling you that it’s outside of the scope of their involvement.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think from my perspective, our projects could probably use with a little more documentation around process flows and wireframes to help our clients visualize the solutions before we develop them. To be fair, though, I think that sits with our company as much as it does with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Apart from encouraging anyone to hire them, I don’t really have any specific advice to give.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a graphic design and web agency called Studio B Creative.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with I-Next Ltd.?

I wanted a robust hosting platform and a partner to make the workflow for building, coding and developing websites smoother.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I’ve worked with I-Next Ltd. for a long time. I direct the creative side of projects, providing design and development solutions. Their team will then build the design on the Drupal 8 platform. We’ve used Magento in the past which wasn’t particularly smooth or beneficial to our workflow. During the development process, I manage the content, design and provide feedback. Once this process is complete, we will then preview the website development to the client for further feedback.

Most recently, I-Next Ltd. supported the development of two e-commerce sites for a client who sells a wide range of specialist cleaning equipment. Their team wrote code and managed the build. They created a feed based on the client’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for direct integration into the site. We continue to manage both websites as a team.

What is the team composition?

I mainly work with John (Owner, I-Next Ltd.) and one other I-Next Ltd. teammate.

How did you come to work with I-Next Ltd.?

The partnership has continued for a long time through my business and the last business I worked with. There’s been no reason for me not to carry on with our engagement.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around £10,000 (approximately $12,000 USD) a year with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked together for ten years. Our partnership began in 2009 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

All the feedback we receive on our joint project work has been positive. The sites are robust and reliable with very little or no outage. Any issues we’ve experienced, I-Next Ltd. has dealt with them quickly and efficiently.

How did I-Next Ltd. perform from a project management standpoint?

We mainly communicate by email and phone along with joint client meetings if required. If the project needs more in-depth discussion at any point, we will have a conference or video call to involve all relevant parties. I-Next Ltd. has always responded quickly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team is good at what they do. In terms of coding, I’m probably working with some of the best people in the country. They’re reliable and try to keep costs sensible, which is good. Their team is loyal to me which is paramount and we've had a positive working relationship.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing that I can think of at the moment.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As with anything in business, make sure communication is clear. If you’re stuck on a problem, get on the phone or drop an e-mail to John; I’m sure it’ll get looked into. With any partner, look for longevity in the engagement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the manager of Home Start Reading; we’re a small, local family-support charity.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with I-Next Ltd.?

We needed a new website because ours kept getting hacked. Following the initial hack, we hired a different website designer who built another platform, which got hacked.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I-Next Ltd. migrated our existing WordPress website to a Drupal 8 platform. Their team researched our leading organization and the websites of individual charities’ that compose the national organization to understand the brand. We’d all just been rebranded, so our website was a blank space for their team to design. We run a charity, which means our team is always busy. Our team didn’t have to do a lot of work because I-Next Ltd. managed all of it.

What is the team composition?

We’re a small charity so we rely on the kindness of people, family members, and friends of staff. A friend of a trustee set up the first website, which was hacked. Then, the trustees put an offer out for local businesses to come forward and build a website. I-Next Ltd. was one of the companies that demonstrated interest. Unfortunately, another company that came forward won the work. Their team wasn’t as skilled as they should’ve been. We were in a right pickle. I-Next Ltd. found out and phoned me. I told them we needed their help. They decided to work with us at a discounted rate.

How did you come to work with I-Next Ltd.?

I worked with John (Owner, I-Next Ltd.) and another team member.

How much have you invested with them?

I-Next Ltd. built our website for $3,000. They’re quite passionate about local families and wanted to help.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in February 2018, and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I love the website. Their team did a fantastic job with the design. It’s really colorful and happy. The platform is all-encompassing and has made a huge difference for our organization. I-Next Ltd. developed an inviting platform that works. The website hasn’t been hacked and I feel safe that it’s not going to be. I don’t have to worry about coming to work knowing that our website has been hacked. It’s just wonderful.

How did I-Next Ltd. perform from a project management standpoint?

The process has been really easy. I could speak to them on the phone but their team prefers e-mail. They have a queuing system. You email them and create a number, which opens a slot and then an issue for them to resolve. The system has been quite easy. It hasn’t been hard to work, which is great.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m not technologically savvy. I don’t know the difference between WordPress and Drupal. When you’re a small charity dealing with an accountable for funding, it’s crucial to have a partner who you feel confident is doing the right thing. Trust has been essential to our collaboration, especially since we’d been let down twice before. I-Next Ltd has worked to the best of their ability. Our relationship with them was founded on trust. I-Next Ltd. has done an amazing job. I’ve felt very happy and confident with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not that I’m aware of, no.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go for it. Given the experience we’ve had in dealing with different website designers, we would never partner with anyone besides I-Next Ltd. again— even if the quote were cheaper. They’re worth it. Their team offers peace of mind, which is priceless.