Innovecs

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a software developer based in Israel, working with the e-lottery business. Our contracts are mainly governmental, working with the Michigan State Lottery, for example. We plan to launch a platform in Virginia at the beginning of September, which will give us an involvement with 50% of the US lottery business, as there are 4 states at the moment who engage in this. We also have clients in Europe, like the lotteries in the Czech Republic and Portugal. We develop platforms, provide integrations, and end-to-end solutions for the e-lottery business, working with organizations from around the world who want to extend their offerings into the online area. I am the chief operating officer of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Innovecs?

As a part of our R&D [research & development] team, we work with remote teams in Ukraine, both in Kharkiv and Kiev. Our Kiev team is operated by Innovecs. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Innovecs has provided frontend development using the standard technologies in this space. We also use a Flash developer from Innovecs, and have recently built a quality assurance team using their resources.

One example of a feature developed by Innovecs was integration with third-party payment solutions. Innovecs has also developed other add-ons and games for our platform.

We use Innovecs as an extended team, replicating our local operations within their location. We use the same processes and development cycle. Innovecs hasn't handled dedicated projects for us. Altogether, we have around 10 people on Innovecs' team, and are looking to expand it.

How did you come to work with Innovecs?

We were working with an outsourcing company in Kharkiv, but didn't have success in hiring resources for frontend development. We tried our luck in Kiev, and were successful. I first met Innovecs' owner 5 years ago, when he used to work for another outsourcing company.

How much have you invested with Innovecs?

The total cost of Innovecs' services has been around $300,000. We worked on a cost-plus model. Everything is transparent, and we know what the compensation is for each employee that we hire. Whenever we work with one-time resources, we can assign bonuses to them directly through Innovecs.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Innovecs in July 2015. We have an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We compare outsourcing companies through internal benchmarks. One of the advantages offered by Innovecs has been hiring time. The market is very competitive, both in Israel and in Ukraine. Finding qualified developers takes around 3 months in our location. Putting together a frontend team like the one from Innovecs would take around 6 months. We managed to do this within one month, and we are happy with the people that we've recruited. The level of cooperation, both in administrative and technical terms, was very good. Our interactions with Innovecs are very smooth and efficient. Whenever we had an issue, we found that it could be resolved quickly. I'm overall happy with Innovecs.

How did Innovecs perform from a project management standpoint?

In terms of schedule and budget, Innovecs delivered perfectly. We control the process on a weekly and monthly basis, so there are no surprises in terms of the information going back and forth.

We don't use specialized project management tools. Each of our project managers has visited our location, and new employees have had training periods in our R&D center. We have an internal dedicated team leader for each team, usually Russian or Ukrainian speakers, in order for us to overcome the language barrier.

Are there any areas Innovecs could improve?

We've learned a lot from our previous engagement, so after 5 years of working with outsourced companies, we've come to know what to expect in terms of performance, relationships, and financials. We share information and suggest ideas to each other, improving on the go.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Innovecs?

Any client should have an exact definition of what they expect to achieve, including job descriptions. They should be willing to invest time for hiring and managing the relationship. We believe in having a high involvement with our outsourced company, with face-to-face interviews for our shortlist candidates. We tend to travel a lot, visit the sites, while also having our resources visit us. Other clients tend to work remotely, on a more project-based model, but we see Innovecs as an extension of our own company.

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was updated by the client on January 23rd, 2020. The original star ratings were: Overall - 4.5, Quality - 4.5, Schedule - 4.5, Cost - 4.5, NPS - 5. New content is below.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the managing director of a firm that provides a platform that allows governments and other lottery providers to migrate their data from kiosk to online.

For what projects/services did your company hire Innovecs?

managing of people

What were your goals for this project?

ensure business continuity, staff satisfaction and client satisfaction with the delivery

How did you select this vendor?

We first zeroed in on Ukraine and then chose Innovecs based of reputation recommendations and personal meetings

Describe the project in detail.

delivering a custom made end product/integration based on client needs

What was the team composition?

product managers, architects, developers, database analysts, QA, designers and artists

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

meting timelines providing a high quality product

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

amazing. Simply seamless

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are very innovative in the way they provide unique environment for their employees. They are process-oriented and strive to constantly improve.

They have very skilled and professional staff in all specific areas. They are attentive and flexible

Are there any areas for improvement?

none