Infinum

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a B2B [business-to-business] marketplace for the overstock industry. We are similar to eBay, with the exception that our customers are buying hundreds of thousands of pieces at a time. This is very much an offline market at the moment and involves emailing Excel files between partners. We're trying to transform it, and have brought Infinum in to help us build the marketplace from scratch.

I am the chief technology officer of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Infinum?

We had a legacy solution which had been built upon a third-party platform. It was an okay piece of auction technology but wasn't fitting for our business needs and where we wanted to scale to. We looked at building on top of an existing framework but came to the conclusion that building from scratch would align with our business better.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Infinum handled the writing of our backend, including database design, modeling, wire-framing and building out the JavaScript front-end. I participated in the design process.

How did you come to work with Infinum?

I got Infinum's name from a friend who had worked with them in the past. I flew to Croatia and met them in person, in order to better understand how we could work together. I contacted a number of other options, but Infinum struck me as someone who could help us figure out how to build what we wanted, without having to come up with a complete design spec. We knew what general direction we wanted to take, but I left the user interface design up to Infinum. They came up with some great suggestions for this.

How much have you invested with Infinum?

The cost of our project with Infinum has been above $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Infinum in early-March 2016. The first iteration was completed mid-July, and the development has continued since.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The developers from Infinum whom I've worked with have been some of the best and brightest I've seen. They came up with good solutions and business ideas which we hadn't considered but ended up implementing. I've had a very positive experience with Infinum.

What did you find most impressive about Infinum?

Infinum engineered things correctly while remaining proactive about making sure to create the right code, rather than finding shortcuts. Infinum asked many questions about our design, which we hadn't thought to specify, and erred on the correct side, without us having to request this. Some other developers I used in the past might take some shortcuts unless I specified otherwise.

Are there any areas Infinum could improve?

No software is ever developed as quickly as we'd like it to, but this is the nature of the field. I have no specific criticisms of Infinum. They've done a good job.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our department works for a government-owned Croatian postal bank. I am the deputy head of direct channels for the company. My main responsibilities include digital and mobile banking, and the contact center.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Infinum?

Our bank was using an out-of-the-box mobile solution from another vendor, with only its colors customized for our institution. That software was outdated and the challenge was to make a new, modern banking app which could make a difference in the market and stand out.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Together with Infinum, we built a new banking app for Android and iOS. Infinum handled design and development, including an API for the app.

At the beginning of 2016, we added an account opening functionality to the app. Through a video call to our contact center, new customers could be introduced to the bank. This was a completely new service for the Croatian market.

How did you come to work with Infinum?

I first worked with Infinum in 2011, for another bank, developing a mobile application, but I wasn't working for my present organization when Infinum was brought in.

How much have you invested with Infinum?

The total cost of our project with Infinum was under $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We first approached Infinum one year ago, and finished the first version of our product at the end of 2015. The upgrade project began in early 2016 and was completed in May. It was a large project with a strict timeline, but with the help of Infinum, we managed to pull it off.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We currently have around 60,000 mobile banking users. We've received an award at the Weekend Media Festival one month ago, for the best banking app in Croatia. The app has made a big impact on the market. The Croatian Bank is more traditional, and other banks didn't expect that we could pull this off.

What did you find most impressive about Infinum?

I have been personally working with Infinum since 2011, and see them as more of a partner than a software development company. Infinum has given us suggestions on how we could create a better app and better user experience. Infinum's key strengths are the quality developers who have managed to deliver everything on time. Banks usually have different approaches, but Infinum brought in its experience in developing for other fields.

Are there any areas Infinum could improve?

Infinum could employ more designers, but they don't have any particular improvement points.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Hungry-For-More Enterprises was formed in late-2014 in order to develop Foodfaves, a picture-intensive food app aimed at foodies and anyone that gets hungry. It features a unique concept called a "Crave Quiz," where users search and swipe sequential images of food in order to determine what they're hungry for.

I am the president of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Infinum?

We knew from the beginning that our app required a complicated search algorithm, probably the biggest challenge we faced when choosing a software developer. The provider needed to understand our needs, be responsive to our financial hurdles in the startup space, while also delivering the right product. Because our product is heavily structured on social media, we needed a young group of social media-savvy developers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Infinum developed an initial build of our product for iOS, and a full-featured website. The app will eventually be built for Android as well.

Our Crave Quiz concept works as a sort of Tinder for food, allowing people to swipe dishes right or left, based on whether or not there is a visual appeal. We envisioned this as the central piece of a minimum viable product but ended up achieving a much more robust, full-featured and functional product over the course of 18 months. We attribute this largely to Infinum's ability to understand our vision, and contribute to its design and functionality.

How did you come to work with Infinum?

We vetted Infinum from a field of developers both in the US and offshore. Infinum in particular, was recommended by our legal counsel, an international firm, on the basis of positive experiences between Infinum and their other clients.

How much have you invested with Infinum?

Infinum has logged close to 4,000 hours of development and design time over the course of 18 months, which is indicative of our project size. The scope grew over the course of development, becoming larger than we'd anticipated. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Development with Infinum began in February 2015. Our project has been completed and made ready-to-launch to the app store in September 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are very excited and confident with the quality of our first build.  As Foodfaves was just launched, it’s too early to measure traction. 

We've asked Infinum to achieve something unique and difficult, in terms of the actual search algorithm powering the Crave Quiz. Not only did they succeed in development, its “uniqueness” earned the co-founders a formal U.S. patent on the Search Algorithm itself.

How did Infinum perform from a project management standpoint?

Consistency was key. Where this was a team effort by over 25 developers & designers, Infinum's project manager, Luka Maric was our main contact through the entire project, responsible for understanding our needs, helping us fine-tune our vision, and ultimately getting it done.  

What did you find most impressive about Infinum?

One of the most positive things I can say about Infinum is that instead of working as a group of software coders who only responded in step with what we asked for, Infinum actually tried to understand what the client was setting out to do, and used their creative instincts in helping us achieve our goals, even when we sometimes didn’t know ourselves.

As a practicing physician, there's a saying in my field which applies to many different industries: the three colors of excellence (or three A’s) have been described as availability, affability, and ability. Infinum has certainly displayed this. They were easy to work with, responsive, and delivered what we asked for.

Are there any areas Infinum could improve?

I can't think of anything off the cuff.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company's one aim is to make the lives of truck drivers crossing Europe easier and safer. We do this by showing them the best and safest parking spaces across their routes. We have developed an app and web portal, and have over 300,000 users at the moment, so our business is going well.

I am the managing director of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Infinum?

Our business strategy is to help truck drivers in their daily routines, and we needed an expert company able to transfer our technical requirements into the perfect app for our users.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Infinum is responsible for the majority of the work on our website, including maps, logins, user registration functionalities, and so on. Infinum has also built our iOS and Android app in its entirety.

How did you come to work with Infinum?

We approached the purchasing director of the German-based software company which owns us, asking about a developer which could support our group. Infinum came out on top.

How much have you invested with Infinum?

The cost of Infinum's services has been between $150,000 and $200,000 per year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Infinum 2 years ago. We've used them for development on additional apps, including one for our US market.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The number of users we've attracted is more related to the marketing part of our business.

Infinum has been able to advise us on which direction we could take on the development and improvement of the app. I met Infinum's team for a day, in Zagreb. I was impressed by their building and by the young but skilled team. They're able to think in terms of mobile application integrations with websites and portals, getting into the heads of the target groups. I've been impressed by this, and find Infinum to be more than a company developing apps from a technical point of view.

What did you find most impressive about Infinum?

I tend to only provide Infinum with portions of the requirements, given that I'm not a technical person, but they've always impressed me with the feedback provided.

Are there any areas Infinum could improve?

Improvements are always a 2-way street and depend on whom we're working with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a large photo concessionaire in the cruise business. We collaborate with various international cruise lines, over a total of 40 cruise ships.

I am the managing director of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Infinum?

We had been trying to move our business from an analog to a digital model, whereby we would not only take photographs digitally, but have the whole process in the digital space from end to end, including viewing and delivery.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Infinum has helped us implement different elements of our solution. They've been involved in developing a variety of guest-facing, web-based technologies. Because cruise ships are often not connected to high-bandwidth internet, many of our solutions are running akin to an intranet approach, rather than being web-based in the true sense of the word.

How did you come to work with Infinum?

We were introduced to Infinum by someone else in the industry. We started working with Infinum when they were a much smaller, younger company. We were impressed with the speed at which Infinum was moving, and the flexibility with which they operated. As Infinum has grown bigger and bigger as a company, those aspects are still there, which is a positive factor.

How much have you invested with Infinum?

Unfortunately, this is proprietary information.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Infinum in 2013. We've continued to collaborate on multiple projects, all tied to an overall platform.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don't run metrics for this type of development, given that it's more of a custom approach. That being said, our satisfaction with Infinum has been high.

The work has been generally bug-free. For projects as complex and authoritative as ours, there will never be perfect results. We have a very structured testing and development program which exists in order to get rid of the known or anticipated problems. Infinum has always made sure that, by the time the product goes into production, it will be ready.

How did Infinum perform from a project management standpoint?

Infinum has delivered continually within the bounds of when they said they would deliver and they stuck to general cost estimates. We have a high regard for Infinum.

What did you find most impressive about Infinum?

Infinum has worked quickly and flexibly. Seeing this on a consistent basis has been good. Developers can vary in skills, but we've stuck with Infinum because of their quality.

Are there any areas Infinum could improve?

We've had a very close working relationship with Infinum. There are always areas for improvement, but we've been satisfied with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company has developed a collaboration app for the iPad. I am the founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Infinum?

We tried to replicate the ease of working with a local team using a whiteboard during the ideation process of a project. When working remotely, I found that doing the same tasks over the phone was a much less productive process. Our business challenge was to create an application that replicated the in-person feel of people sitting around a whiteboard, brainstorming.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I engaged Infinum for all the iOS development work, including the features of the app itself: drawing, text, incorporating images, and so on. Infinum also developed a backend infrastructure which enabled users to save sessions remotely, via cloud. It also facilitated a sharing mechanism for all the users in a particular session, showing them all the changes being made as they happened.

How did you come to work with Infinum?

I was introduced to Infinum by a designer that was working with us for the user interface and user experience of the app. I had also gotten a recommendation for Infinum from another group that I was talking to. When I gave Infinum's team a briefing, they quickly understood what I needed and what would go into building the app. Infinum's pricing was fair as well.

Mobile app development involves building software for a relatively new platform, unlike web development for example, where the process has matured enough to allow for accurate estimates. Our app came with many uncertainties and a lot of inventing. Infinum understood this really well and enabled us to have some flexibility in some areas.

How much have you invested with Infinum?

The total cost of our project with Infinum was within the $10,000 to $50,000 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our app was launched in January 2015, after a 6-month development period.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of the development offered by Infinum was great. Our app did exactly what I had designed it to do, without any issues.

How did Infinum perform from a project management standpoint?

We had to over-communicate and be very clear with each other, by phone and other mechanisms. We were able to do this well through weekly calls. Infinum has also developed a project management platform called Productive. We employed it successfully throughout the project.

What did you find most impressive about Infinum?

The quality of the development offered by the iOS team was top notch. I worked directly with Infinum's lead engineer and Chief Technology Officer, who were both excellent.

Are there any areas Infinum could improve?

I wouldn't call any single issue out. I've had a good experience with Infinum's team. The only downside was related to working with their team remotely. Being able to meet them in person would have been useful, but that was impossible, given our setup. Infinum's Chief Executive Officer spends most of his time in the US currently, building a client-facing team for project management. This will be very helpful to have.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Memory Web is a photo app with the unique twist of allowing the user to store all of their photos in their phone. We utilize specific technology for organizing the photos, navigating through them and sharing them privately.

I am one of the founders of the business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Infinum?

I started this company along with my wife. Neither of us is a developer, so we needed a specialized firm. We tried two companies, one in the US and one in India, failing each time. They were in it more for the money than actually helping the client build something. Infinum was unique in the sense that they had made wireframe mockups right from our first call.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Infinum helped built our app for iOS. We've come to use them as our outsourced development team. We're constantly modifying the product, implementing different UI elements and changing features.

We changed the scope over time and used Infinum for other things besides development, like putting together initial versions of our website, video production, and design work. Infinum has provided us many resources for building the components which we needed.

How did you come to work with Infinum?

Because of our frustrations with the companies we'd already tried out, we came to talk to someone we knew in the East Coast. They highly recommended a Croatian company they'd used. We researched Infinum and saw that they'd won various European awards for development. We were weary of using an overseas partner again, but once we saw what Infinum were putting together, we decided to contact them. Besides capabilities, Infinum's cost structure was really attractive to us, compared to a developer in the US. We decided to give it a go, and Infinum has been our team since then.

How much have you invested with Infinum?

The original design built by Infinum had a cost of between $10,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Infinum in September 2014. Our app was launched publicly in April 2016, after an extended period of modifications and tweaks.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before launching our app, we gave demos to many potential investors and major companies. The constant feedback which we received was praise for our UI and how well the app was put together. They were basically talking about Infinum's work.

What did you find most impressive about Infinum?

Infinum is not in it for how much money they can extract from the customer. Their goal is to build a product, which was a big distinguisher for us. We have weekly update calls with our project lead, for which we're not charged. He wants to make sure that we're satisfied.

A unique factor about Infinum is that they've always told us if an idea was good or bad. Nine out of ten times, they're right, which is invaluable feedback to me.

Are there any areas Infinum could improve?

Infinum has its own tracking system for tickets which allows us to manage our own project. One downfall of this is that they're very busy and their company keeps growing. There have been times when we wanted to work on something, but they were booked up. This can be tough when launching a product to the market and things need to be achieved on a dime. Resource allotment has come up a few times, and we had to make sure that Infinum could feature us into their calendar.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Repsly has created a solution called Field Activity Management, which is a cloud system aimed at companies whose employees are working outside of the office. We help those teams collaborate, organize, measure activities, and provide metrics from them, as well as collect data from the field and create analytics for it. Our presence is mostly within the retail field, but we're also entering the services industry, keeping track of service technicians on the field. Our company was founded in 2010, in Croatia. In 2012, we moved our headquarters to Boston. We've gone through a funding round and have been working as an American company since 2014. Our sales, marketing, and support teams are in the US, while research in development is done in Croatia.

I am a co-founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Infinum?

We needed to migrate our iOS app from PhoneGap, which wasn't a functional solution.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We consulted with Infinum in order to have them take on both the design and development parts of building a native iOS app in Objective-C.

We have engaged Infinum for a separate rebranding project, when we changed our company name from Salespod to Repsly. Infinum was in charge of the design and user experience parts of the application, based on our visual standards. It became a completely different product.

How did you come to work with Infinum?

Infinum is a very well-known company, at least in Croatia. They have proven to be one of the best-organized companies that we could approach, with an extremely high level of quality. Infinum was also a fast-growing company. These were the main things that drew us to them. Infinum has some great people in its team, which are active in their communities. We knew that they'd be capable of delivering what we assigned them.

How much have you invested with Infinum?

The total cost of Infinum's development was in the $10,000 to $50,000 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Infinum in 2012. Our most recent project was completed in 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We continued working on the source code produced by Infinum using our own developers. Their code is still in use, 2 years after it was written, so it was very solid work. The transition was smooth, so our developers' satisfaction was high. Customer satisfaction doesn't apply to Infinum's work, and I don't have any other tangible metrics.

What did you find most impressive about Infinum?

Infinum has paid a lot of attention to our company culture, which influenced the people selected for the team. From our experience and that of other companies which worked with Infinum, I can say that this understanding brought great results. Infinum's people are magicians in terms of organization. From this ability of organizing work really well, also came great output quality.

Are there any areas Infinum could improve?

We had good ideas of where we wanted Infinum to go. I would have to think hard in order to determine if there was a level of freedom for Infinum, where the output was mostly their responsibility. Infinum has been considerate about our requests and paid a lot of attention to them. One of their designers became very involved in finding out how our app would work for our users and understanding its deeper workings. I don't think there's anything Infinum could have done better.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Managing Director of a digital agency.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We unlock tomorrow's possibilities for today's most ambitious companies with our AI-native consulting, tech and marketing solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Deliver quality work for our customers
• Scale up existing projects

SOLUTION

How did you find Infinum?

• Referral
• Other

Why did you select Infinum over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Infinum were assigned to this project?

30

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

Infinum’s expertise accelerated our team’s development on several projects over the years, enabling us to achieve faster results and scale our operations more effectively.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our proximity and shared commitment to excellence have been instrumental in achieving key milestones and delivering consistent high-quality results.
Always on the ball and very open in communication. 

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

Yes, always open & avaible to discuss timelines and budget. 

What was your primary form of communication with Infinum?

Virtual Meeting

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

Infinum is very knowledgeable in mobile and has extended experience on other platforms.

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

Not directly as we are working a long time together. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the R&D Manager Software of Signify

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The company manufactures electric lights, light fixtures and control systems for consumers, professionals and the IoT

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Development of mobile app for installing and commissioning a lighting installation

SOLUTION

How did you find Infinum?

Referral

Why did you select Infinum over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Infinum were assigned to this project?

15

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

Infinum developed the iOS and Android apps from the start. Initially only an installer app was made, later also end-user control apps were developed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Commercial releases of mobile apps 
• Reports on key quality metrics (releases, test coverage, test automation, post delivery defects, etc.)

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

Objectives agreed and scheduled per quarter. In general agreed deliveries were handed over on time with good quality. In case of defects an open collaboration was ensuring good resolution.

What was your primary form of communication with Infinum?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Infinum has talented engineers and collaborates well with cross-functional teams at the customer.

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

Even when not specifically requested it is good to have a solid foundation with automated regression testing.