Impekable

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a computer security company providing solutions for Internet of Things devices. Over the past several years, laptops, cell phones, tablets, and computers have become more connected. Industrial robots, manufacturing equipment, and medical components are becoming connected to the Internet. Currently, there aren't any security solutions which can help protect these devices. That’s where our company comes in. I am the vice president of product management. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Impekable?

We are a very lean startup with few full-time employees. We quickly recognized a need for exploring various design concepts before starting development. We were looking for a design partner to conceptualize the product with us. That should happen while we were on an exploratory journey to understand our customers and figure out a solution. As we started putting our solutions together, we were trying to figure out which market segments they would accurately fit in. We explored different verticals like manufacturing and healthcare. We wanted to put together certain design solutions, take them to customers, come back with feedback, and retread them on a rapid basis.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Using this customer feedback, Impekable quickly explored various design solutions and put together prototypes. Impekable helped us understand the market, quickly presenting results from a prototype perspective. We would then take that output to customers in order to get quick feedback. Early on, Impekable also helped us put together a mobile application when we didn't have in-house developers. When we had a need for front-end or mobile app development, we also received resources from Impekable.

We worked with various team members from Impekable on and off. At one point, we were working with 4 resources, including a permanent developer. They also sent other specialists who were brought in as needed. Impekable assigned an interaction designer to us. That person often engaged a graphic or visual designer. We didn't handpick the team. After working with the team lead for a couple of months, we have come to trust him to with selecting other team members.

How did you come to work with Impekable?

We wanted to have an extended relationship with a design agency. That’s instead of the more common one-time, project-based engagement. After investigating many design studios in Silicon Valley, I stumbled upon Impekable. They proved to be a perfect match, given their expertise in the enterprise infrastructure market. We didn't want to hire someone and begin by explaining how security solutions worked. Rather, we were looking for a design agency with some experience in the enterprise space. They needed to bring in some domain expertise, as well as a lot of design expertise. That way, they could help us figure out how the solution was supposed to be put together. We found these strengths in Impekable. From my past experience with another company, I knew that Impekable had worked with a large client. I was impressed with their work there. After speaking with Impekable and seeing their portfolio, I decided that they were the right partner for us.

How much have you invested with Impekable?

The total cost of Impekable's services is between $10,000 and $15,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working with Impekable for a little over a year and a half. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Impekable's impact has been tremendous in terms of branding, product design, and website design. Impekable has done a phenomenal job in defining how the outward-facing part of our company looks. They designed zingbox.com, our product, and our logo. Impekable has helped us in every possible way.

How did Impekable perform from a project management standpoint?

I trust Impekable completely when it comes to project management. They have always delivered projects on time. We have weekly meetings, during which I will articulate what types of features and projects we have lined up. Impekable's team comes up with various additions and solutions to the feature that we're working on. I don't have to get involved in the nitty-gritty of project management; Impekable takes care of the majority of it. Once their lead becomes involved in a project, he will manage it fully. We are connected with Impekable through a Slack channel. Their visual designers and interaction designers are always online for communication. We also use shared Trello boards for identifying and managing dependencies in our projects.

What did you find most impressive about Impekable?

Impekable offered a long-term relationship, which made us select them over other vendors. We spoke with several agencies who offered equally good design jobs. Unfortunately, they didn't have engagement models which were suitable for a startup like ours. They had project-based models that meant we'd have to handle requirements and hand them over to the company. This process meant that we would expect results in 6 or so weeks. That model can work well for a large organization with an existing product which only needs a refreshing. However, we were in a completely different phase as we were still exploring our options. Impekable's core value proposition was working as an extension of our team and being a partner in exploring the market.

Are there any areas Impekable could improve?

Impekable is more of a design agency than a development one. We didn't want to outsource our development to Impekable, so they only provided developers as needed. We didn't find this area to be particularly effective. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The company I work for offers a proprietary system for communications in the cloud. We handle the back-end of many communications applications in the world. I am a product marketing engineer. I take conceptual elements and turn them into content aimed at customers. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Impekable?

I function more as a product manager, creating demos through mobile and web apps. We started making so many apps that we needed an outside vendor to develop them. We chose Impekable for the task.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Impekable has helped us create 5 product demos and 1 video. Their work has included both design and development. They've also provided some competitive analysis and research for us. Many of our projects ran in parallel—in one instance, we had 2 demos being developed at the same time.

How did you come to work with Impekable?

I don't know how we were connected with Impekable. When I started working for the company, Impekable had already done 1 demo for us.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started a new project with Impekable yesterday. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Impekable's impact across the board has been substantial. One of our key demos has been used at large conferences. It is a great visual aid for presenting what our service offers and how it can be used. It creates an "Aha!" moment, showing customers that we offer more than text message sending. Impekable helped us create a clearer picture of what we can offer. Many of the designs that came from Impekable have been beneficial for our company.

How did Impekable perform from a project management standpoint?

We've mostly had a back-and-forth process with Impekable using Google Docs and Hangouts. We are also using a new project management tool on our side at the moment.  We worked with 6 people from their team. In the beginning, I was speaking with our designer from Impekable directly, but now we're coordinating with a project manager.

What did you find most impressive about Impekable?

Impekable is not our only vendor. We decided to use another partner for a different demo because they had presented a better deal. We regretted that decision. The Impekable team is hard working, exceptional at communication, and were always on top of their work. We sometimes have heavy sprints and tight deadlines. Impekable's team will stay up as long as it takes in order to complete the work. They also have a good sense of design, which is very important. Impekable took creative liberties which made sense, letting us know that something could be made better. At the end of the day, they're also users of the application, so they wanted to create a good experience. This hasn't been matched by our other vendors.

Are there any areas Impekable could improve?

I talked to Impekable about getting a project manager, which they did. I would also appreciate having access to a project management CMS like Basecamp. Impekable did propose using Trello.