Inovatica

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO & Founder of an eLearning company that promotes "Social & Emotional Fitness" for families with teens.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our goals were to take a proven manual process performed offline and convert it to a total online solution for client access to proprietary digital content and software resources. The online system needed to be intuitive, seamless and provide pathways to successful client outcomes. Our online platform needed to allow us to effectively and efficiently scale and onboard large volumes of new clients.

SOLUTION

How did you select Inovatica and what were the deciding factors?

We evaluated alternatives in various countries and throughout the United States. The interview process was conducted with key executives of each technology company and reached out to previous clients to gain a perspective on their experience and quality of the deliverables.

The deciding factors were that Invotica built trust with our executive team and our evaluation concluded that they were overall the best "Fit & Match" for our company.

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

The scope of the deliverables included but not limited to:

• Web site construction
• Learning Management System (LMS) for storage and distribution of proprietary digital content
• Client Relational Management (CRM) customized to our specifications and to meet our needs for database, marketing, and sales.

Our IP was built from open source with a PHP foundation, which is the only technical understanding I can share.

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

• Bogumil - General Manager
• Marcin - Project Developer
• 2 Web Designers
• 3 Software Developer
• 1 Graphic Designer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In 2019 we launch a beta test of our online system and made modifications based upon client recommendation during the fourth quarter. During 2020 the worldwide pandemic delayed our market launch until the time a vaccine becomes available and school in the United States open up again for live education experiences.

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

We had a very collaborative relationship with the project developer meeting on a frequent and regular basis to measure and monitor the progress of each segment of our system creation. On a monthly basis we would meet with General Manager and the entire team of specialists working on our project. This provided an opportunity for both organizations teams to establish and expand lines of communication.

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

The high quality of their deliverables was a consistent theme when we shared new innovations to our clients and channel partners. The in-depth understanding and thoughtfulness during discussions and strategy sessions with both the General Manager and Project Developer was extremely impressive and exceedingly helpful.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Timelines for certain projects would slip behind on certain projects which caused minimal concern to our team.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We provide a reputation management technology to the healthcare industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Inovatica?

We hired Inovatica for a number of reasons. Projects ranging from system maintenance and architecture, product maintenance and architecture, web site design and maintenance, and creation of new micro services.

What were your goals for this project?

The goals for each project were varied, but under every circumstance, Inovatica went above and beyond in delivering. Our systems are overly complicated. Inovatica's team was very adept in getting up to speed with our current system, and merging that with the newly created micro services and technology that we were wanting.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were recommended by another associate who had used them in the past.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Again, we used them for many different projects and will continue to do so. But each project started with a managerial round table discussion of what was needed and the vision that we were trying to achieve.

From there, Inovatica would bring in the necessary resources (depending on our requirements for time and functionality) to then go through a deep dive into specifics.

Once this was all communicated, Inovatica would have regular check-in's on progress until final completion and push to live production. Once live, Inovatica has also continued to help with the maintenance of each product in the live production environment.

What was the team composition?

The composition of the team varied depending on our requirements and the coding language expertise needed. We always had a consistent communication, feedback, and accountability on both sides of the table.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have had Inovatica work on everything from ancillary mission-critical projects, to behind the scenes casual projects. Each was handled with great care and responsibility from Inovatica.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was great. We utilized ticketing systems that each team was familiar with. They provided in-depth analysis and tracking on every project. In addition, we also had daily and weekly status conference calls when deemed necessary.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Despite being off-shore, it was very much like having a dev team in house. They were very responsive, professional, and would take on anything we threw at them.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None. The only thing I can think of is timeliness. But I have worked with many different dev teams in the past, and it is more the nature of the project. Inovatica was always eager to please and deliver as quickly as possible. To no fault of Inovatica, we always needed it delivered "now."

So our impatience caused some issues at times. But Inovatica methodically combed through everything to make sure it was done correctly (as they should have) and delivered the product as expected.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a digital signage integrator with a focus on public transit. I am the president, but I work with business analytics and specification work for strategic projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Inovatica?

We first hired them to implement TransitArt for one of our clients, but have since gone on to hire them to modify an existing middleware platform we have and to write several new transit-oriented middleware projects.

What were your goals for this project?

We sought a stable and reliable platform to expand our offerings in some areas and to expand functionality in others.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found Inovatica through their existing TransitArt timetable and trip planner platform. We discovered they had outstanding practical experience in mass transit, GTFS, and related industry-specific knowledge, including related APIs.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Inovatica provided modifications to their existing TransitArt platform to meet some client specific needs, and also to integrate it into a kiosk implementation in our digital signage platform. They then provided fixes and enhancements to an existing MEAN stack middleware we had another developer create. We then extended them a contract to help us write a new BLE Beacon-based middleware to automate arrival and departure notifications for public transit.

What was the team composition?

We’ve worked with 1–3 developers at any given time throughout the project, with most of those developers involved in frontend through HTML, JS, and Java. They’ve also provided server operations and Java REST API development.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Inovatica is a cost-effective high-value developer.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We communicate effectively via Skype and email. Language has generally not been an issue despite English not being the first language for any of the team. They bring excellent domain-specific knowledge to the partnership.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are committed to our projects and flexible to work with. Bogumil (CEO, Inovatica) has helped us invest in new POC projects to grow the business.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I would like to see a shared Agile framework such as Trello for better tracking of status and issues. Also, some of the higher-level team members have weaker English skills, so I think adding a team member to provide translation assistance might improve speed and reduce confusion.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a coach at Pabianice Basketball Club. We train children and adolescents with a focus on continuous, systematic training at every age. In addition to basketball, we aim to shape our pupil’s attitudes toward life.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Inovatica?

We needed someone to create a website.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to showcase our young players’ achievements and those of our organization. We were also trying to encourage young people to spend their free time actively.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Another agency recommended Inovatica to us. We considered a few other vendors, but their estimates were too much for us.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We began with a discovery workshop where they laid out what we could expect to receive from them. After gathering our requirements, they provided several design options. They then developed, tested, and delivered the site.

What was the team composition?

It was a small project, but we felt like a large customer. The project team had four people: a designer, a frontend programmer, a backend programmer, and a project manager, who was our direct and permanent point of contact. The Inovatica project team advised us on content and user-friendliness.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website shows that we’re a well-functioning club that truly cares about the physical and mental development of young basketball players. We never expected the site would help us interest such a large number of young people in sporting lifestyles.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They acted transparently and maintained regular contact. They delivered everything on time and adhered to our schedule.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They work closely with their clients from the very beginning, from requirement gathering to development, testing, and delivery. They turn great ideas into successful digital products.

Are there any areas for improvement?

In my opinion, everything was perfect. There’s nothing to improve.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a co-founder and the CEO of JUST ask, a social shopping platform that provides users with trustworthy reviews of products and services left by their family, friends, and friends of their friends.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Inovatica?

We needed to create a system comprised of iOS and Android apps and a web portal with fully defined functionalities and payment gateway integrations. It also had to have a supporting CMS that could produce reports.

What were your goals for this project?

We had to deliver working, verified functionalities according to defined sprints. Keeping the time frame and full scope of planned functionalities in mind was crucial for us because The EU funded our project, and those funds were dependent on us adhering to our schedule.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We selected the vendor via a public tender.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

At its heart, our platform runs on user-generated content (UGC). The platform sorts reviews of products and services by their author’s connection to the user. Users can then filter these reviews based on which circle the author is a part of (1st circle: Friends; 2nd circle: Friends of friends; etc.). To create friends and circles, users either create their own account or connect their Facebook profile. If there aren’t reviews for a certain product or service, users can issue an appeal (call for review).

We brought Inovatica on to build a comprehensive solution. They worked in sprints that divided the development into key milestones. First, they delivered a basic version of the web portal where users could create accounts and write reviews. Then, they built a series of three modules: recommendations, notifications, and communications. Finally, they delivered iOS and Android apps and the appeal module. Technologically speaking, they created our system architecture, identified the best technologies for our requirements, and set up our supporting CMS. They also designed our UX, handled all testing, and provided bug fixing and support services.

What was the team composition?

We worked with many different team members throughout the project including a project manager, a system architect, two backend developers, a database specialist, a frontend developer, a UX/UI designer, a DevOps/SystemAdmin resources, and a QA resource.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Inovatica's development was the cornerstone of our project. Without their immense effort, JUST ask couldn’t have come to life in such a short time, let alone possess fleshed out functionalities.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We were constantly aligned with Inovatica’s development team. Weekly on-site or Skype meetings helped keep our sprints on track. Depending on the project phase we were in, we’d hold daily meetings to discuss what was being done and if any challenges had presented themselves.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I recommend Inovatica to everyone because of the partnership they forged with us. They weren’t only interested in providing design and development, but they took time to understand our business goals and needs. They combined this approach with their technical expertise to advise us on a strategic and operational level. They enable their clients to use their resources in the most effective way possible.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They’re already a well-established, mature company. There were barely any noticeable areas of improvement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the interactive manager at PAVLOV Advertising, a full-service advertising agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Inovatica?

Many of our clients operate bus or rail systems in various cities across the United States. There are very few trip planning tools available to them that also integrate timetable schedules that reflect routes in each system. Inovatica offers an excellent tool that has all of that information displayed on the same screen, so we engaged them to integrate that tool into websites and platforms that we have developed for several of our clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In each of these cases, PAVLOV designs and develops the website for our client, and we rely on Inovatica to implement their trip planner and scheduling tool. They provide us with the technology and ensure that our design adapts to the plugin functionality.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked closely with Bogumil (CEO, Inovatica) and Adam (Lead Project Developer, Inovatica).

How did you come to work with Inovatica?

Our interactive director searched online and found examples and prototypes of Inovatica’s work. We held several calls with them, and we were impressed by what they offered.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $20,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in 2015, and we have ongoing projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

For one of our first clients, a metro bus company for the transit authority in a Midwestern state, this functionality has changed their entire website and online presence. They went from not having a trip planning tool to having this robust tool that is the main feature of their site. Other clients have had similar experiences. The tool has received positive reviews from clients and their customers.

How did Inovatica perform from a project management standpoint?

Bogumil is transparent and accessible, which is refreshing for somebody in his role. Adam has been solutions-focused and willing to tackle anything that our clients bring to the table. They’ve been responsive and available at all times, which speaks to their dedication considering the time zone differences between us in Texas and them in Poland.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We are most impressed with their innovative solution. They have a software that is unmatched by any other transit tools out there. There are some available options from larger companies, but they don’t integrate in the same way. PAVLOV has been able to use that technology as a selling point when we prepare new business pitches. Inovatica's grasp of the technology, and how to utilize it for our clients, is what we appreciate the most.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We research changes in transit technology quite often, and it would be helpful to learn more about how Inovatica plans to address those advancements.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

We found it successful to do the design ourselves, and then we’d share the visuals—screenshots or Photoshop files—with them so that we could show exactly what we were planning.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and co-founder of MakeMe. We provide mobile health software for corporations within the United States and Canada. We also help companies run challenges related to nutrition, mindfulness, and stress reduction.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Inovatica?

Having just built a new backend infrastructure for our software, we needed an external firm to develop the Android version.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We created the iOS version of our app and hired Inovatica to develop the Android client from the ground up. After providing a functional build of the app, we asked them to replicate it as closely as possible. It’s a team-based platform that loads activity from multiple parties into a shared feed. The feed experience constantly refreshes in real-time.

They also programmed push notifications and progress indicators into the app to manage content coming from different time zones. Those features include countdowns, progress bars, and team member profiles. Further demonstrating the app’s complexity, it loads different programs depending on which teams are assigned to what challenges. The advanced architecture is capable of running multiple programs while keeping track of relevant project data.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with their CEO, a project manager, and a developer.

How did you come to work with Inovatica?

A colleague of mine referred me to one of Inovatica’s co-owners. Then, that contact introduced me to the company’s president. Our relationship evolved from there.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our involvement with Inovatica took place from November 2017–March 2018. Now that the app is complete, we’ve hired a single developer to provide support services.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Android app has launched, and it works exceptionally well. While some of the user feedback has been critical of the platform’s UX, that aspect of the project wasn’t Inovatica’s responsibility. We pushed them to deliver quickly, so there was a lot of system maintenance to be performed once they completed the product. Those tasks include updating libraries and refactoring certain decisions. However, they happily accepted additional assignments and helped several large customers use the app without an issue. I’d definitely work with them again.

How did Inovatica perform from a project management standpoint?

They stayed on schedule and approached the project using an agile methodology. That includes utilizing Trello to prioritize features and break down assignments into achievable tasks systematically. We’d keep track of their progress and they’d provide weekly releases. Most duties were handled directly by the developer, but we’d reach out to the whole team for more significant questions. The management staff made themselves available to field conference calls when necessary. They delivered noticeable results and feedback within a week of starting the development process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We appreciate that they delivered what was promised without a requiring a lot of oversight. Compared to the other outsourcing experiences I’ve had, they immediately started working toward project goals without difficulty. That level proactive autonomy is their greatest strength. Shortly after the platform’s launch, they worked with us to fix issues wherever necessary. They stand by their software.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Inovatica assigned a mid-level developer who we wish completed some of the subsequent refactoring tasks during the platform’s first iteration. However, I don’t hold that against them. Logistic constraints like pricing and scheduling drove a lot of the project. They completed everything in a quick and stable manner that achieved our business objectives.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure that their CEO is involved with the project from the onset. I believe that’s Inovatica’s standard procedure. The owners take clients seriously and respond to frequent correspondence. Everyone from the company’s executives to the individual engineers make themselves available to customers. Take advantage of that.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of Allocrypt, Inc., a startup developing biomedical lab devices. We use cryptographic techniques to secure the transmission of data from lab devices. The data goes from a patient’s home, through their cellphone, and to the doctor, all securely, authenticated, and digitally signed.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Inovatica?

In today’s market, programmers that are experts in security issues command extremely high salaries. It was impossibly hard to get enough employees on board because as soon as we identified people who were prepared to leave a secure job and come to us, within a month or two, they’d end up getting poached by somebody else. We needed to find an available pool of talent.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I visited them in Poland for a week, and we worked together to develop all the detailed specifications, flow diagrams, error correction diagrams, and the look and feel of the product, which exists simultaneously inside dedicated lab devices.

They developed a mobile phone app, a web app that connects to the doctor and the health information systems, and the backend database. They used the most recent technologies, such as several cloud-based repositories, which made it really easy for us to collaborate internationally.

The focus is on the security of the infrastructure. We’re using the OpenPGP standard to secure and sign the data, which travels between various parts of the system, including embedded devices, cellphones, and doctors. We now have a proof of concept that works and are waiting for either a real customer offer or the funding. Inovatica is idle at the moment, providing us support when we need it.

What is the team composition?

There’s a project manager, app developer, web developer, and an embedded programmer assigned to us, as well as the company manager. We found all the specialists we needed at Inovatica.

How did you come to work with Inovatica?

Their founders are venture capitalists—one of them based in San Diego. It tuned out that they had a solution for us. We found a pool of talent that was available all at once with Inovatica, and it has worked out extremely well for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $70,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2017 and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The functionality is excellent; it’s more than what we asked for. Every now and then, they’ll let us know if something isn’t adding up and we work out a solution together. The end product is better than the original design we set. It all has worked out great.

How did Inovatica perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was done extremely well, using mostly email to communicate. We followed a Scrum methodology with sprints and a weekly video conference for presenting results.

Overall, their team is reliable, competent, fairly easy to get along with, and they all speak English. We solved any problems that came up and planned the next sprint goals together.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It was fantastic how they had the four different specialties we needed under one roof, which is really rare. Whenever we had an additional need, they had someone they could assign to it. I’m so happy with the collaboration that there’s nothing I’d change.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I did the right thing by going to Poland, meeting the team, and working the first week with them. I highly recommend doing that.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work as a trademark attorney in Poland and the rest of the European Union. My company deals with clients representing many different industries, including clothing, cosmetics, art, services, automotive industry, IT, and more.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Inovatica?

I needed to design and develop a website for my company.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I chose them based on their great reviews.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

The project was quite simple. It basically consisted of developing a website that serves as a short presentation of myself as a trademark attorney and showcases my qualifications and the type of cases I deal with.

What was the team composition?

There were two people assigned to the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Even a small company need a website for attracting new customers, and in my case, it works great. Most of my clients appreciate the website, saying it’s clear, modern, and compatible with all devices.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project was completed quickly, professionally, and without any misunderstandings.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Inovatica is very transparent in everything they do. They are great communicators and do what is necessary to fix issues or problems.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

There is nothing to improve in my opinion.