Kaldi

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Kamino is a tight knit agency from Ljubljana that focuses on mobile design and development. With 5+ years of experience in building and shipping mobile products and a team of bright and talented people we bring a strong focus to anything being worked on. I am the CEO of Kamino.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Kaldi IT?

We needed redesigned website and Kaldi was perfect match for it.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to let our customers and potential new co-workers know what we are doing and why we are perfect match for them.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Through couple of initial meetings with different companies, KaldiIT showed the most enthusiasm to deliver what we wanted. Also Aleš, CEO of KaldiIT, was very helpful with suggestions on how to solve specific problems.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We wanted new website to give our visitors more info about us. We have provided designs of the website and KaldiIT prepared beautiful and functional frontend and stable backend.

What was the team composition?

Our point of contact was their project manager who then worked with frontend and backend developer. Everything was done so smoothly we only had sync once per sprint.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our website is our first contact with everyone out there. Now everyone can check our key member, our services and our references instantly.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We had be-weekly sprints and while the projects was not too big meeting once per sprint was enough.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They estimated the cost precisely and delivered the website on time. No need to say more.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a Slovenian logistics company that received European funding for developing a project. For now, we employee six co-workers and operate all over Europe.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Kaldi IT?

We cooperate with Kaldi IT on UX, design, software development, software implementation, and everything about system configurations/implementation.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal is to build software which will connect warehouses all over the world and will allow on time bookings.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We chose Kaldi IT because of a good reputation, excellent engagement, and interest in our project. Partners also recommended Kaldi to us.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

First, we did the whole project roadmap, then we design wireframes and make tests. Our next step was designing MVP, and now we are in the phase of implementation and testing.

Kaldi take care of the whole design and system structure. Kaldi also take care of implementation and connection with other third-party providers to connect in our project ( like payment system ).

What was the team composition?

The project team counts four developers. In case of particular need, other developers attend if was necessary.

We have a project manager who takes care that we are on time with roadmap and work go smoothly, a designer who makes things lovely, Front end developer who takes care that things are connected and Back End developer who takes care that all together works.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project is new, and for now do not have a business impact. Because of Kaldi's good planing, we are very early allowed to get first users and received test results which will help us in the future.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management is very organized. Team all the time achieve goals. We use software for communication which is new for us ( Jira, Slack ) and proved to be good.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Most impressive is the engagement of all team members. We have feelings that they don't work just for business but that they are really in the project, connected to the project, and doing their best that project will be a success. They're willing to share their knowledge and connections if you need anything.

Are there any areas for improvement?

For now, there is no outstanding thing that should be improved

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Giro Car Share. Our startup’s mobile app is users who want to rent a car like they would rent an apartment on Airbnb. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kaldi IT?

We needed help with backend development so we could create the products our customers wanted. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Kaldi IT executes backend development for our app based on the requirements we provide. They manage the flow process of orders. The app lets users reserve vehicles. It tracks upcoming, current, and finished trips based on the cars that have been submitted, customers or users that have signed in, and the information each of them has saved. This data shows the entire history of what went on during the rental procedure.
 
Kaldi IT helped integrate our website with other third-party services. We had a basic landing website already, and they synchronized it with our app to store information from when users log in. They’ve completed the MVP at this point. Currently, we’re working on a few additional features. The entire project should be complete within a month. 
 
What is the team composition? 

We mainly interact with Ales (Co-founder & CEO, Kaldi IT). 

How did you come to work with Kaldi IT?

Kaldi IT came as a package together with our frontend development company. We found them on a few different sites. Based on their recommendations, they were one of the best vendors in regards to price and performance. We didn’t make a bad decision. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent €20,000 (approximately $23,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2018, and the work is ongoing. 
 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Surprisingly, the app has very few bugs. Kaldi IT communicates at a high level and completes their tasks in a timely manner. We’re very satisfied with their work. 

How did Kaldi IT perform from a project management standpoint?

I’d give them 9.5 out of 10 for project management. We have weekly meetings. Tools we use include email, Google Docs, Google Sheets, and phone. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Kaldi IT is very quick to understand what we want. The team follows instructions very well. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I advise potential clients to try working with Kaldi IT. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and director of In516ht. We're a consulting company focused on business intelligence solutions. We implement solutions in terms of data warehousing, business intelligence tools, and planning tools.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kaldi IT?

Our clients had difficulty in managing their master data in an analytical environment. The solution needed to allow our clients to work with their master codes and data flexibly. We wanted to create a solution that was quick to implement for our clients, but we didn’t have any internal developers to create those solutions. Additionally, it would have been too costly and time-consuming to develop this in-house.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We collaborated in defining the requirements and how the solution should look regarding our input and output. Their team created multiple prototypes, and we discussed each iteration and brainstormed as a group. They developed the entire solution, from the UX design to the database design. Kaldi IT performed front- and backend work and implemented the product on the cloud and on-premise. The app can be customized and allows users to input and update data, and upload it to a data warehouse for analysis. They developed the backend using Javascript and the frontend using React. We are now collaborating on the future version of this product. 

What is the team composition?

They've provided two teammates for the project, and I'm the project manager for my team.

How did you come to work with Kaldi IT?

We considered multiple local web development companies. After looking through portfolios and considering our connections, Kaldi IT came referred to us.  According to other companies they worked with, we could tell they have the skills to accomplish our needs.

How much have you invested in them?

We have spent around €20,000 ($24,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We began the project in June 2017, and the work on the next version is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been pleased with their work; they’ve made quality suggestions throughout the process. The backend that they developed has proved to be flexible in allowing for modifications, which was part of our goal.

How did Kaldi IT perform from a project management standpoint?

We had regular meetings and communicated through the phone and email. We used Jira to track significant milestones throughout the process. It was easy to stay in contact as we live in the same city.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their extensive knowledge of the architecture and development of the front- and backend is essential for us. We didn’t need to have multiple people onsite because of this, which was an advantage. Their open-minded nature and advanced, tech-savvy skills make them a valuable partner.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be helpful if they provided additional testers in the testing phase, but overall, we’ve encountered minimal issues.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CTO of 28labs Inc. We are a startup operating in the healthcare space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kaldi IT?

We needed additional help on the backend os we were looking for a partner to help us on that part. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with a series of meetings to outline requirements, plan the scope, and organize the initial documentation. Kaldi IT developed the backend for our iOS mobile app using AWS Mobile, MongoDB, and Java and connected it to our API. We plan to create an Android iteration in the future.

What is the team composition?

We worked with one representative from Kaldi IT.

How did you come to work with Kaldi IT?

We came across them on the Clutch website and were impressed by their portfolio of past clients and their positive reviews.

How much have you invested with them?

We expect to spend between $25,000­–$50,000 on this engagement.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2018 and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Because we are still in the process of development, we have no quantitative data, but we are happy with their work ethic and approach to our partnership.

How did Kaldi IT perform from a project management standpoint?

We met in person a couple of times at the start of the project, but now we consistently communicate via Slack. Their team is quick to make any changes or necessary bug fixes.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate Kaldi IT’s easy-going and adaptable workflow. They like to keep things simple.

Any advice for potential customers?

Potential customers should avoid wasting their time looking at other agencies or freelancers and just hire Kaldi IT.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a top-level registry for .si. That's our core business. We provide EPP (Enhanced Parallel Port) and other access to register .si domains and also run DNS (Domain Name Servers) services for .si. The company is a network of Slovenia. The network is an internet provider for schools, faculties, universities, etc. Registry is a small part of our organization. I'm a technical adviser for the main registry business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kaldi IT?

When we started our business as a registry, some colleagues from Kaldi worked at our company. They left and started their own firm. Since they knew how our system works, we hired them to help us with software development of our systems.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They do software development for us. They use Git for version control, so use GitLab as an environment. The code is developed in Java. We have the EPP server which is running in the background, and it's socket-based. There are two more web-based applications, both developed in Java as well. They are using a framework to do the graphics in the browser.

We've used Jenkins for building from source into packages. The application server we use is Payara GlassFish. They designed the UX. The database under these applications is structured with the domains, transactions, contacts, hostnames, and billings. We use PayPal to do the transactions. They helped us design the database. The database is MariaDB and Java connects to the database.

What is the team dynamic?

With this project, four people help us. We have connections with one.

How did you come to work with Kaldi IT?

We chose them because they knew our system before they left our company. They were also less expensive than others, and they do a very good job.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent around €200,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in January 2013. We're still working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Response times are according to public tender. They help our internal development team.

How did Kaldi IT perform from a project management standpoint?

They are responsive to our correspondence. We specified response times in public tender and they respond to us the way it was specified or even faster. We used a ticketing system, but we are not developers, we are system admins, so we don't know all the technologies that are used in the source code.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their work and help with our system are very good. Everything works. The whole project is successful; that's the most impressive thing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think so. We are quite satisfied with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m VP of engineering at Wandera and we’re a provider of B2B mobility services. We sell two different products: one is a data expense management product and the other is a mobile threat defense product for large global enterprises.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kaldi IT?

We were looking to grow our development team after a couple of rounds of investment. We already had a good working relationship with a separate agency in Ljubljana, Slovenia. They were providing web development resources, but we needed to grow our backend development team as well. We were struggling to find what we needed in London, so the team in Slovenia put us in touch with Kaldi IT.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Kaldi IT was completely embedded in our backend development team at the time. Initially, they worked on the same features that our in-house team was working on. As the relationship progressed, they took more ownership over what they were building for us, which led to them owning entire microservices.

They built features that helped manage the enrollment of new mobile phones onto the platform, and also built our notification service, which is a web service responsible for sending emails and official notifications to end users.

What is the team dynamic?

We worked with two developers and the team dynamic was great. They were fully integrated into our backend Scrum team and attended all the different Agile or Scrum ceremonies. They delivered code as per our coding standards and our code review process.

I had regular one-on-one meetings with both managers where we would go over what was going well and what wasn’t. The relationship between their developers and our internal team was very good.

How did you come to work with Kaldi IT?

They were recommended by another agency we were working with at the time. We put them through a regular interview process; I flew out and met them in Ljubljana and interviewed them there.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested €250,000 [U.S.$293,263].

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from September 2013 until December 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were very much embedded in our team and were like a virtual extension for the most part. We’re very proud of our code quality and they more than met the challenge of contributing to our codebase in a way that our in-house development team was happy with, which is a difficult thing to do. They also increased the velocity of our team because they were two very strong developers.

How did Kaldi IT perform from a project management standpoint?

Since they were integrated into our team, we provided the project management support for their delivery. However, they did take on more ownership and responsibility in delivering the notification service. They proved themselves to be mature, capable, and reliable.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re strong, committed developers that have a high degree of integrity.

Are there any areas they could improve?

At the time, they were a relatively small company. They didn’t necessarily have the flexibility that we sometimes could’ve used in terms of additional time and resources.

Do you have any advice for a potential client of theirs?

They were really nice and honest people and should be regarded as such. Go in and explain your problem and they will let you know if they can help.

One of their strengths was that they would speak up when something wasn’t right and wasn’t going to work—they didn’t just take on anything and everything. They understood what they were good at and how they needed to work to make it a success, and made sure that we understood that.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the digital content editor of Delo, the biggest national Slovenian non-tabloid daily newspaper. I run the online page and social media accounts of the publication. We are stationed in Ljubljana, same as Kaldi IT.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kaldi IT?

One year ago, we had an internal developer who helped us make interactive infographics for readers, through which we presented different sets of data on elections, statistics and so on. We went our separate ways with that employee and tried to get external help.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Kaldi IT is our outsourced developer team producing material for our readers. We have worked on three different projects; the first one was related to one of our correspondents, who traveled around the Mediterranean and then the world, checking black carbon levels. The info is sent to us, and Kaldi IT created infographics based on it, through which readers could see the location of the plane, its altitude, its speed, and whether it was flying or on the ground, for every moment of his scientific research. The team made social media posts with photographs and videos, and we added the articles we wrote about this adventure. At the end, they allowed us to show the black carbon results through infographics, text, multimedia data, articles and so on.

The second project was about kids and parents enlisting in secondary school. In Slovenia, kids go to primary school until they are 14 or 15, after which they go to secondary school for four years until they’re 18. We presented how many seats were available for particular school years, how many children were enlisted, what kinds of schooling programs they had, and what the offer was for kids with disabilities or for prodigies. It was an interactive presentation through which readers could look at all the schools and compare them. It was meant to help children and their parents choose the best high school for them. A lot of data had to be entered about each school, and we had to have good UX functionalities.

Kaldi IT made this project for us, and we entered the spreadsheet data. We can do this year after year, without their help.

We’re now working on a bigger project, monitoring elections. First, we had presidential elections, and we’ll have parliamentary ones next year, followed by municipality elections. Kaldi IT is working on a project by which we will be able to see how many votes went to a particular candidate, from a particular voting constituency, at a national level. A part of this is a map showing different statistical data in Slovenia, for municipalities and regions.

What is the team dynamic?

We talked with two contacts, who did most of the development part. We also had a UX developer. We visited Kaldi IT’s offices, and I know that they have more people, but, based on our past experience, we felt that we should restrict communication to two or three people from each of our sides, as this makes communication easier—we don’t get the cacophony of everyone telling everything to everyone else.

How did you come to work with Kaldi IT?

We surveyed the market in Slovenia and got some informal references about Kaldi IT. I know a good developer working in San Francisco, who knows the scene in Slovenia. We’re a small country with two million people, and Ljubljana only has 300,000 people, so everyone knows everyone. My friend told me about a few firms, and we contacted a few. We started three projects in the beginning and gave each one to a different team. The Mediterranean project was the biggest one, and we were most satisfied with Kaldi IT. We have come to work on our third project since.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of their work has been €15,000. [$18,000]

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Kaldi IT a year and a half ago, or maybe less. The flying project started later on, but we had to have everything ready for it. It will last until 2020. We will have a new flight round next year. The school project is the same, and we only intend to change the numbers for 2018. The new data is added as another layer, and readers can check the previous data as well. It’s the same for the elections project as well.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Results are more on our part. The second project had more views than the first one, but we expected this, since we’ve always had the largest audiences around elections.

We haven’t had any issues with Kaldi IT’s work. For all projects, we made extensive testing before going live. There were some minor bugs fixed in that phase, and no other ones later on.

How did Kaldi IT perform from a project management standpoint?

We did some projects in previous years using other companies. There wasn’t an arranged line of communication then, so we knew that we had to setup a clear and direct line of communication now. The process with Kaldi IT has been very good; we usually have one or two people speaking from both sides, so communication problems were reduced to a minimum. They’ve been very responsive; I get email replies in terms of minutes, or less than an hour.

We’ve gone to their office a couple of times, and they came to ours. In physical terms, we’re one kilometer apart from Kaldi IT, or half a mile. Most of the communication was done through email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The seriousness and dependability; Kaldi IT is a small but agile company. Based on previous experiences, we thought that we had to approach them with some reserve, but we found out that we didn’t. They put out realistic timelines and were always able to complete the work. From my point of view, as an editor, I trust them very much. I have no reason not to.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We haven’t given Kaldi IT any projects that they were uncomfortable with. On two occasions, after outlining the project, they asked for one week to get back to us. They had other projects, and needed to see if ours could be fit within that time space. There is always a certain time limit in media: the election, the start of the scientific project or the upcoming school year. We were always on a tight schedule, so Kaldi IT needed to check whether they could fit the projects in. They got back to us in the promised time, and the response was positive. We didn’t get a no, and they were always able to deliver. I have no negative experiences with Kaldi IT.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

From our experience, clients can trust Kaldi IT. They should be frank and think about the projects. If they do, Kaldi IT will be able to follow up on the time limits. If the company ordering the project knows what it wants in advance, the team will be able to follow.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We provide a service for collecting feedback on behalf of companies, everything from products to services. We identify the customer and collect on those points.

I am the CEO of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kaldi IT?

We were developing a brand-new platform for our startup and had to find technical solutions fitting our needs, as well as a consultant who could who could advise us on the management of our data and the performance of the future platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Kaldi IT developed our feedback platform. For instance, after a client meeting, the client will be asked to grade the person they interacted with, as well as the product presented to them, so that the company can evaluate the performance and how well the product is received. It’s feedback collection, but on a deeper level. The platform also connects to companies’ websites or software, and automatically sends invites to clients, in order to get feedback on certain aspects of their interaction, be it store purchases or visits to the company. We are able to track those interactions, send personalized invitations for feedback, and create custom surveys for multiple topics. We either provide it as a blank solution or one customized to the client’s needs. Users can see feedback for every employee, product, and service in their offer. It’s a comprehensive system for collecting information which the company can use. Java was used for development, along with several other tools. We used our internal team for the design.

How did you come to work with Kaldi IT?

I found them through a recommendation.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost has been at least €200,000 [$235,000].

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Kaldi IT in October 2015, and it is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Kaldi IT helped us go in the right direction. We had ideas of what we wanted to implement, but they were able to show us why some were not ideal. They served as a litmus test for our decisions before implementation. This way, the development time was usually shortened, and we were able to choose the best ideas for our long-term goals. We measured their success by how well the platform works and its timely delivery. We haven’t kept other KPIs at this stage.

How did Kaldi IT perform from a project management standpoint?

We had daily communication using tools like JIRA for getting an inside view of what was happening. We used the Kanban method, which worked well for us in terms of meeting deadlines. They were heavily involved in the development and management process, acting as a co-owner of the project. They took part in all stages of planning and execution.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I had experience in the field, and have run my own IT company. It was challenging to find someone who could develop and think in a business kind of way, to come up with an idea and evolve it according to how it would be perceived by clients. There were technical and business aspects involved, and we’ve gotten both from Kaldi IT.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Usually, in a startup, we will try to do as much as possible, since we want to release fast, but this may not be the best approach. We can forget something or take a wrong direction. Planning could be improved by both our sides.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

HEJHEJ is a startup company, I'm the manager of major investor/owner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We produced web site for ordering video messages from celebrities. We could use one of web shop platforms but our intention was to produce web platform with best UX, for consumers and celebrities.

SOLUTION

How did you select Kaldi IT and what were the deciding factors?

We organized bidding with 5 web development supplliers. We choose Kaldi IT based on their full involvement in the bidding, their offer was precise, transparent and the team they presented was adequat. Price was acceptable for quality they presented.

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

SOW front end, back end development, UX & UI support. We had weekly sprints, evaluating and prepating ongoing development.

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

3 full time + 2 for specific tasks.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have very positive feedback, no problems. We will continue to develop the platform with some new features with Kaldi IT.

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

We used Jira and Slack.

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

Agiltiy, relaxed & efficient workflow.

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

Some parts of development proces could be executed in different way. But to be fair, deadlines were extremly short.