Intellias

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of product at Onogo, an e-commerce platform that sells a range of different goods.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Intellias?

We needed additional development help because we only had one developer working on our system.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have one mid-level Java developer whose output and working style Intellias helps to manage. They give us weekly and bi-weekly updates on how he’s doing. They’re always looking at different ways they can help and offer suggestions.

What is the team composition?

There’s one point of contact and one team member. We are looking to potentially expand to another Java developer and a QA teammate.

How did you come to work with Intellias?

I researched 15 companies around the world and chose Intellias because they had the best offering.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend $5,000–$6,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2020 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They bring in a fresh and modern approach that we don’t have. It comes down to process. Intellias asks the right questions, and if there’s a delay or any issues, they communicate right away. There haven’t been any issues, and they’re top-notch.

How did Intellias perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Jira for project management and Slack for communication. So far, communication is as needed and frequent. They review the requirements, ask any questions, provide an estimate, and based on the estimate, we have a due date. It’s been a good experience.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a very good, professional company, and they have different positions. For example, if we wanted to do some short-term projects based on AI, we know we could use them.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing that stands out that I’d have them improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very upfront about what you want. Asking a lot of questions will really help them in deciding who they bring on for you and will inform them of how they can help you going forward.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

"I’m a technical product owner for an electrical technology firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Intellias?

We needed developers to help build our IoT product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Intellias handled the front- and backend development of our IoT solution using JavaScript and a bit of Java. We collaborated on creating wireframes and mockups, but they provided their own UX designer. A highlight of the development process was their microservice architecture on the backend.

In addition to that, their team provided mobile app development and web presentation services. The apps were built using React Native and they serve as the content of our IoT product. The website was developed using React. Intellias also established a few of our continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) processes.

What is the team composition?

The delivery manager was our main point of contact. There were two people on the mobile app team and two on the website team. We had 8–9 people working on the front- and backend team. Also, there were 1–2 UX designers depending on the project phase.

How did you come to work with Intellias?

The initiation occurred before my time here at the company, but there was a public RFP and they won the competition.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from April–December 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Intellias was very good at handling scope and short-term changes. At the end of the year, we had a lot of last-minute changes related to our company going through a restructuring process. Intellias was extremely flexible throughout all of this. What’s more, they did a fine job on the front- and backend of the website. The mobile app team, however, was still in the learning phase. Overall, the best parts about them were their flexibility and professional UX designers.

How did Intellias perform from a project management standpoint?

They worked with an agile scrum methodology. We mainly used Jira and communication went through the delivery manager. Throughout the process, we held standups and meetings with their whole team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their flexibility and UX designers were very good. The rest was okay.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The mobile app developers were okay but they still have a lot to learn. In my opinion, they have room for improvement. Some of the developers did a lot of proactive implementation and communication, which was very good. However, there were some who struggled with the language barrier. This is often an issue with remote teams, but they’re still on an overall high level.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make an effort to filter through and hand-select the people you want to work with. In other words, make it clear that you aren’t taking the B or C team members. We conducted interviews in order to do this and had a pretty good team in the end.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

One of the big players and most innovative in the agrochemical industry. About 30.000 thousands employees worldwide. My position was Digital Delivery Manager, in charge to setup a dream team in Kiev to support the digital strategy of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Intellias?

A layer of transformative digital products and services for the farmers. It went from proof of concepts, tech spikes, integrations and extensions with other applications, mobile apps and a SaaS.

What were your goals for this project?

Build a core team in Kiev, part of a bigger network of digital product engineering teams.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

A request of proposal was sent to different companies. Intellias was the most responsive and thorough in their answers.

Describe the project in detail.

We were a special client of Intellias in the sense that the team members we hired were working in our offices in Unit City (Innovative Business Center at the heart of Kiev). Intellias adapted their management style to accommodate to our demands. I was in contact of different representatives that had specific roles (HR, Delivery/Account manager, etc.). However I was in contact with my counterpart that was basically like a member of the company. The hiring process was transparent and it didn't feel like a process from a separate company.

What was the team composition?

We started with an agile team from Business Analysts, UX/UI Designers, Backend and Front End Developers (Java and React), QAs, Tech lead and one Devops at the end. (the team was around 30 people)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

While I cannot share the product we developed, I can measure the success on how fast we setup a team of 10 and later augmented it to more than 30 members. The skills and maturity of the team has been recognised from the first weeks of activity.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Well, almost all 'my' team in Kiev was coming from Intellias. They worked with another dev team in The UK and other developers from US and India. It was challenging at times but their professionalism and pragmatism made the team very flexible. I cannot criticise much since they passed my hiring process and we had great time working together. I never considered them as part of another company.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

When they tell that they care about their staff, they don't only say it, they do it almost on a daily basis. Intellias was like an extension of our HR office but specialised for IT. Hiring and keeping developers or any staff in IT can be challenging to say the least. They helped us to get a great team! Another thing that impressed me is the way they are using JIRA. A showcase for any company.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I loved discovering their center of expertise. They need to get better in advertising what they do. They deserve to be known by more companies and create more synergies. The presentation of their CVs was top notch but sometimes the content was incomplete. The rush of hiring was the cause but these details could matter for other companies. At the end of the day the most important was that we built a trustable and fruitful collaboration.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My relationship with Intellias started when I was the VP and CTO of a location platform. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Intellias?

We had opex pressure as well as a talent shortage. I wanted to free up the talent we had in-house and shift some of the development operations of mapping cloud systems over to a lower-cost location, where I could still have engineering skills but at a fraction of the cost.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Intellias mainly worked with us in the Geographic Information System (GIS) space. They helped us develop mapping and data compilers for GIS systems.

What is the team composition?

We worked with around 20 people from Intellias. They were an extended partner for us, and we concentrated on building a process that was scalable and would render high quality. I believe that the rest of the company took that model and expanded upon it. I can’t speak for the other parts of the business at the time, but I think it grew to about 800 people.

Where did you find Intellias and why were they the best fit for this particular project?

We were looking for a partner rather than a subcontractor or supplier of human resources, and we did a very broad survey that lasted about eight months and included practical development. 

Of the companies we shortlisted, Intellias was the one that came out on top. There was a good compromise of price and skills. Company culture helped a lot, since we wanted engineers that were motivated to work with us; we’d had cases of partner companies with internal cultures that weren’t as good. We needed to have that extra motivation, and Intellias proved to have a very good internal culture. They still cultivate that, bringing high value for whomever they work with, internally and externally.

It was a bit of a gamble, since we’d never worked with them before, but the results we got from the survey were very accurate. I think they’re a very trustworthy partner.

How many companies did you look at on this shortlist?

We shortlisted six companies.

Were you the main person involved in choosing them for this project?

I was the executive in charge of the process. I was the main sponsor, and I was on top of the process very actively. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started discussions in 2014 and commenced the project in 2015. The work is ongoing.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They took on an internal work package that was being done by highly skilled people, and they were able to produce the same output quality as our internal organization in a very timely manner. We helped them and went through the process together.

We successfully transferred and lowered the cost of a key operational piece of the company, and we were able to free up talent. Secondly, we started a pattern that could be leveraged by other elements of the company to outsource operational elements.

How did Intellias perform from a project management standpoint?

They followed very good industry-standard practices and were very much on the ball most of the time. Any issues we had were due to things on our side rather than theirs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We wanted to have people who were dedicated to working on our projects, and that could only happen if they were motivated to work for the company. Intellias has a culture that renders results; their people are motivated, and I believe this is their key strength.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’ve grown very quickly, and it’s not always easy to keep the same level of quality. I think they need to be a bit more selective as they grow. It’s more something for them to watch out for, rather than correct.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder, CTO, and R&D director of Snappy Gifts. We sell B2B employee engagement software, and I lead development. We have a development center in Israel and a remote team in Lviv, Ukraine.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Intellias?

We wanted to expand our development team, and it was hard to source developers in Israel based on the numbers we were looking for.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Intellias augments our development team. They’ve provided frontend React developers and backend Node.js developers. We work with AWS.

What is the team composition?

They’ve provided around six developers to our team.

How did you come to work with Intellias?

I had personal experience working with them. I got in touch with at least three companies and, after some consideration, found that Intellias was the best fit for us.

First of all, we were looking for a team that we could be in easy contact with, and Lviv is in the same time zone as Israel. Secondly, Ukrainian people are similar in culture to Israelis, which was another point in Intellias’ favor. Their cost worked for us, and it wasn’t easy to find people with the same skills as our team in Israel, so their technology stack was also a factor.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost mostly depends on the number and type of engineers we’re hiring. One engineer will cost $3,000–$5,000, depending on whether they’re junior or senior, and this includes Intellias’ fee. What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Intellias in December 2018, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re very pleased with Intellias in terms of quality, responsiveness, communication, and flexibility. It’s easy for us to determine the process with them, which is another thing we like about them. We’re very satisfied internally.

How did Intellias perform from a project management standpoint?

We work in a particular way with the engineers, and we don’t fully outsource projects. We use a model called “team extensions,” meaning we manage the team members directly. My company handles project management, but we have a delivery manager on their side who helps us solve other challenges and define processes.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very adjustable to our needs, and this was something we looked for in the beginning. We didn’t want to work with a company that was too big with inflexible processes, nor with a small company, where the quality and other assets would be missing. Intellias is the right size, and they’re flexible to our needs. That’s very important to us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Lately, their recruitment cycle could be faster. From what I understand, this is more or less related to Lviv and the demand for engineers there. Still, it’s something we’d like to see improved.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of infrastructure optimization at Philip Morris International, a tobacco company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Intellias?

I needed a company for staff augmentation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Intellias provide staff augmentation for our engineering capabilities. Our first project was with a team of 3–4 people for the development of a custom application, and it expanded to additional services.

What is the team composition?

We worked with up to 35 people at a certain point. There are currently 15 people working for us.

How did you come to work with Intellias?

I found them online and looked at the services they provided and their references. We started with a small project that went well, and then I scaled up to a bigger number.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2017, and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Intellias does a great job of providing the best options. We reviewed and selected the candidates with a formal interview. We are responsible for the people working for us, but Intellias helps us find, maintain, and expand their competencies. They’ve been very flexible in all discussions, both commercial and operational. The management has always been supportive to help us to achieve our goals.

How did Intellias perform from a project management standpoint?

Intellias provided the facility, support, compensation, motivation, and training so that the team operates according to our requirements. The management of the project is on our side.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m impressed with Intellias’ ability to attract talent and keep the talent up to date. Their flexibility and attention to our satisfaction also stand out. They’re always persistent in explaining a situation we might not be able to see because we’re not in the office with the team members. 

There were a few times when people were leaving or not performing well. Intellias has compensated us with additional resources at no charge.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The process of finding resources in the beginning was not optimal. It’s improved over time.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product manager at a digital banking platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Intellias?

We needed assistance with the backend web development for a white-label banking solution.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their team developed our banking platform using CMS, HTML, Ruby on Rails, and Ruby. Within the platform, there was ApplePay, a bonus system for customers, a new overdraft loan, and a couple of other features.

What is the team composition?

One half of our team is in-house while the other is Intellias. There are 2–8 developers, a scrum master, and another remote team.

How did you come to work with Intellias?

They had been here a year when I onboarded.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent €350 (approximately $388 USD) per manday.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2017. The project was ongoing for around two or so years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their team had a fast development cycle. Some of the more extensive features were a bit of challenge, but they have a good working attitude. Compared to other vendors, their team works extremely hard. Intellias employs great talent. They’re smart people that are quick at hiring.

How did Intellias perform from a project management standpoint?

Intellias always meets timelines and estimates. Communication throughout was great. We used Jira and Confluence.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed with their positive attitude and professionalism.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The skillset of the developers varied. Some were outpacing others, but on average, it was good quality. I’d hope for a bit more of a balance between the team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior blockchain architect at Deon Digital. We create entirely digital contracts for a variety of clients from industries like tourism, multilevel marketing, and finance. Our company is currently in the prototype phase, and we're in the blockchain development field. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Intellias?

We have two projects with Intellias. The first assignment from our insurance-industry client required the frontend of a web app to be designed and developed. The final product needed to allow for all processed information to be moved to the blockchain. In the second project, we needed them to develop an interface for our client in the multilevel marketing industry to view reports, commissions, etc.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our engagement began with Intellias designing and developing our insurance industry client. They handled the frontend design, as well as the logic implementation and integration with our middleware server. They connected the frontend they designed to the existing backend using API coding. The site allows for user interactivity for registering, searching insurance coverages, making claims and appointments, and receiving feedback.

What is the team composition?

For the first project with Intellias, they provided a designer and two developers. We have one designer working on the current project, and we anticipate they’ll provide 1–2 developers for the next stage.

How did you come to work with Intellias?

I chose Intellias because I had worked with them at my previous job. We had a positive experience working together and, though we considered two other companies, Intellias were the most professional and timely in their proposal.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $15,000 at this stage.

What is the status of this engagement?

The first project took from March until April 2018. The current project recently began.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been satisfied with Intellias' high-quality work. Their implementation has matched our designs precisely, and we’ve received everything we envisioned so far. The first app they completed led our client to pursue a second project with us because of its success.  

How did Intellias perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been flexible with their project management style and are open to being as involved as we need. We have daily meetings for both projects to receive feedback and make sure everything is on track. Together, we use a Kanban system and GitLab to manage the project. They are willing to adopting a different style depending on the project and customer needs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their willingness to fully understand the projects and our needs makes them a pleasant partner to work with. Additionally, they are quick to respond to our emails, and they make us feel as though we're their priority.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are instances where we could make the requirements clearer to avoid Intellias heading in the wrong direction. The results would match our expectations more entirely if our needs were easier to understand.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We provide software development for customers in Germany and Eastern Europe. I’m the CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Intellias?

We wanted a partner to help us with apps and web-based development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They collaborate with us in several development areas, including web-based applications, iOS, Android, and cloud applications. We use JavaScript, Angular, and React.

What is the team composition?

We draw from a base of 15 developers, but the team size varies with each project. We’re currently working on a project in the automotive industry and have a team of six.

How did you come to work with Intellias?

We spoke with their CEO and decided we wanted to cooperate with each other. We decided they would be the best fit for us because of their experience in the technologies we wanted.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2009. The most recent project began in September 2017 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of work is always excellent. They are cooperative and flexible and always come up with the best options for us. They provide the right people for our projects and engage in a timely manner. The collaboration is very satisfying.

How did Intellias perform from a project management standpoint?

We have an agile model with them. We work in scrum mode and tailor their work to each sprint. They deliver what we expect at a good velocity and their performance and productivity are good.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They communicate well in our steering meetings. They look for good compromises with us and are supportive. We always find the right solutions with them and they bring us to the next level of engagement.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are little things that could improve, but I have no complaints about their work. They’re engaged and proactive and are responsive to last minute changes. They perform very well and I can’t think of any weaknesses.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of CRX Markets AG, a fintech startup. We are developing software for supply chain financing and working capital optimization tasks, which we provide as a service to our corporate clients. Basically, the software is a marketplace for transactions with corporate payables and receivables.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Intellias?

We're very product-centric, meaning we have our own software and platform for these kinds of financial services. We needed help to push out new software and features in a shorter time frame.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided developers that we proceeded to use on multiple projects. I think we’re a difficult client because we only hire senior developers; we didn’t look at juniors or mids. They’ve used the whole stack of Enterprise Java technologies, from JPA, Enterprise JavaBeans and CDI to JSF,PrimeFaces - a UI component library - and JavaScript.

What is the team composition?

We currently have seven people at Intellias’ office, but we’re in the process of growing the team by at least three to five people.

How did you come to work with Intellias?

It’s generally challenging to find a sufficient number of developers in Munich and Germany, so we looked nearshore in Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, and other places. We chose first the geographical location; it’s easily reachable from Munich and the culture is similar. We also compared prices, company sizes—we didn’t want a 1,000-person company because we needed sufficient attention, nor a less than 100-person company, because we wanted a group experienced in delivery.

We talked to multiple companies to see how much attention we’d get from management, as well as some developers to ask them about project management. We looked at their processes and how they’d fit internally. We checked how long people stayed with a company and actually visited them as well. We then ran a test with a small team from Intellias and it was successful.

How much have you invested with them?

Our spend is around the low six-digits.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since early 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The primary result is the ability to deliver more software in the same timeframe; to welcome more features in parallel and to deliver them to customers faster. Second, is being forced, by having to deal and coordinate with an external company, to look at our own processes with more attention to detail and think about if they’re good enough. It’s made us improve them in some places to make them compatible with an external service provider.

How did Intellias perform from a project management standpoint?

Since we have developers mixed together in Munich and Ukraine—we don’t split them totally—we insisted on using our project management tools and our means of communication. We do use Intellias’ time reporting, though.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were able to discuss and solve a lot of problems quickly and directly that were not trivial.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As I said, we're growing our team, so of course we’d be happy to get more candidates and more recruitment initiatives. I know how the market is today, and I think they do a good job. We’d love to double our team now but I don't think I can really blame it on them.