Light IT Global

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former director of engineering for a learning platform that teaches programming and robotics to kids.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Light IT Global?

We needed to evolve and maintain our existing web platform and develop a new application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Light IT Global provided us with full stack engineering services. They were primarily responsible for maintaining our existing web platform to ensure it ran 24/7 and fixing any bugs. The team also helped us develop various new features using Python, Angular, and PostgreSQL. Additionally, they used Linux to deploy the features they built. 

Furthermore, the Light IT Global team developed an Android app to help mentors manage the day-to-day operations of their classes. They used Java and Jenkins to build the app, which features an admin interface that enables permitted users to edit content. The team also helped us build and maintain an Eclipse plug-in, so we could teach kids programming skills through LEGO® MINDSTORMS®. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with one full stack engineer from Light IT Global. 

How did you come to work with Light IT Global?

Light IT Global was already working with our company when I joined. I believe we found them on Upwork and decided to move forward because they had competitive pricing and strong development expertise.

How much have you invested with them?

We paid them $30–$45 per hour.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January 2017–December 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Light IT Global was a good partner who exceeded our expectations; I would recommend their services to anyone. They provided capable, technically skilled engineers who delivered on our asks.

How did Light IT Global perform from a project management standpoint?

I managed the project alongside Light IT Global, and the team was very professional and timely. They were responsive to feedback and eager to overcome any issues we encountered. Working with them was easy. For example, when they replaced one of the team members with a junior engineer, the new teammate did a good job integrating into our existing workflow quickly. We used Slack to communicate and GitHub to manage tasks.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed with the quality and proactivity of their engineers. They went above and beyond the requirements to deliver the best possible work, which was nice.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Our relationship was very straightforward, but they could have been more communicative. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Light IT Global is a competitive partner who will work hard to deliver what you ask for. If you want to build a team from the ground up, I recommend strategizing ahead of time, so you can go to them with concrete requirements.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a software development company, we are also expanding the team, so we help CxO technology companies around the world to access the most talented software engineers from Ukraine and Poland, developing software solutions for large enterprises, new ventures, and NGOs in the most risk-proof and cost-effective way possible.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our client is a startup operating in the healthcare industry, and their request was to develop an AI-based health-tracking app with a focus on mental health. Our workload and plans were developed in such a way that it was optimal to divide the project into several parts and give one of those to a third-party team. We chose Light IT Global as an iOS development contractor.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

At that time, we already had experience working with Light IT Global. However, it worked the other way around as we helped them with their project. Our partner network includes not only Light IT Global, so for some time, we were evaluating different options. The project was NDA-protected.

We could not talk to candidates about specific requests, and we paid attention to experience in implementing similar tasks. Keeping in mind experience, reputation, prices, desire to develop healthcare solutions, and our own impression of cooperation, we chose Light IT Global.

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

Our customer understood very clearly what business functions should be implemented. The only issue was the technical implementation. The designs were dictated by the strategic vision of the brand book and were carried out on the customer's side. Light IT Global was involved when the work was cut into directions. We gave them full IOS direction, got their AI engineer on our side, and proceeded to the estimation phase.

The tasks were defined and set up by Light IT Global’s team. We stayed in touch and controlled the progress on the road map. The main tool for iOS development was Swift, AI functionality was implemented in Python.

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

When it comes to iOS development, the core of the team consisted of 3 people: a PM, a QA engineer, and an iOS Developer. Due to the circumstances, two more people were added to the team, but that was an exception. To help us implement AI functionality, we invited one of our senior Python developers to join the team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Together, we managed to create a product helping to improve the psychological health of the users. The solution monitors the mood and helps to develop healthy habits. It has soothing sounds and binaural beats to help you sleep better, personalized meditations, mood-tracking tools, and a feature allowing a user to write short daily reflections.

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

We really appreciate the openness. We could see their tasks in Jira, and we had access to the product during development. Communication with any of the employees took place in Slack. We always understood what was happening, and that was very helpful.

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

Again, I would mention transparency and reliability. It allowed us to always keep in check and see the future of the project for which we are responsible to the customer. I was also pleased with their healthcare expertise. It’s sad to talk about this, but this team completed the tasks despite the Russian Invasion. It didn’t affect our communication and the final result. How can this not be impressive?

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

—

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm Partnership Coordinator in JetSoftPro Company. JetSoftPro is a team and network of tech professionals ready to help your business achieve its technology objectives, through superior software development and data science.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our client is a supplier of data cleaning and analysis software for law enforcement, government agencies, and financial institutions around the world. Due to the constant growth of the project, we needed to strengthen the team with a Senior Python developer in order to reinforce one of the focus areas.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Specifically, Light IT Global was recommended to us by our partners. Since this was a recommendation even before the first contact, we already had reason to trust them, we only had to check to see that the candidate had the right level of skills. The first thing we had a chance to examine was the level of English, which was more than satisfactory. Then we had a technical interview with our team. The last step was an interview with an engineer from the customer’s side regarding the specifics of the platform.

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

It's a bit difficult to answer a question without revealing sensitive information. The main value of the platform is data, its acquisition, cleaning, and processing. For convenience, it can be called a connector. A specialist from Light IT Global closed the full cycle of these needs for one of the new sources of information.

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

We needed one highly qualified Python developer to complete one specific task. Also, at one of the stages, we needed a small (~ 10h) consultation with another experienced Python developer. The sales manager was in touch with us at all times.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our result is a job well done. Our client's platform has become more functional once the data from a new source was added.

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

In our situation, project management was not a concern. The strategic objective was transparent, and the PM from our team made sure that we were sticking to the roadmap. Time was logged in Jira. We were looking for an experienced engineer just so that there was no management issue.

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

Competence, punctuality, reliability

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

I can't say anything

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at a biological material storage company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Light IT Global?

We had a CRM system, and we wanted to upgrade our software. To do that, we needed to create some tests to ensure nothing was broken for the upgrade.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Light IT Global created automated tests for us to upgrade our web application. They started from scratch, which was challenging at the beginning because the system was difficult to test. Regarding technologies, they used Python, Selenium, and Docker.

They also made the system suitable for us to maintain it ourselves; their team explained how the project worked and gave us good documentation.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two testers from their team.

How did you come to work with Light IT Global?

A colleague referred them to me, and we chose them because they could write in Python and Selenium, which was important for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent €50,000 (approximately $51,000 USD) with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from March–July 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before the product, we created tasks for them in Jira. We planned to complete them, but maybe they weren't well prepared initially because we didn't describe them well. We had to redefine it during the project, but in the end, they completed all tasks, and we could land the project and check that the most important features of our system worked correctly.

Overall, we received a very positive response from our team.

How did Light IT Global perform from a project management standpoint?

We thought it would take three months but learned that the system wasn't easy to test. We had to extend the project by two months, but it wasn't an issue, and I'm satisfied with them.

Regarding tools, we used Jira, Bitbucket, Slack, and video calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were experienced testers and had many ideas for making the project work well. They also introduced interesting tools like an Azure report which gave us visualization of the tests we ran. They propped it, implemented it, and it works well — their team was innovative.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were able to finish the project despite the political issues they were having in their country — nothing could stop them from delivering their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communicate with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a resource manager at Forte Group. We’re a full-spectrum customer service delivery partner for enterprises. We also do web and mobile development and are based in various countries, including Argentina, Colombia, Poland, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Light IT?

We needed help with mobile app development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Due to the skills required for the project, we needed iOS developers to expand our team. Our in-house development team was also busy on another project, so we really had to bring in new developers for a small period of time.

Light IT came in and helped us develop a mobile application for our mortgage company client to streamline their automation and distribution of calls. Their team specialized in PHP, Python, JavaScript, React, and Vue.js. Their work also involved using Swift as the framework and doing code review, refactoring, and CI/CD testing

What is the team composition?

We worked with two iOS developers and a project manager whose assistance we required at one point.

How did you come to work with Light IT?

We met at a conference and had worked with them on previous projects. We were intrigued by their experience in mobile development, so we decided to hire them. This was also the first time we engaged with them for this type of work.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $50,000–$100,000 USD.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from September 2021–March 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They successfully completed the work, and it was really easy to work with them.

How did Light IT perform from a project management standpoint?

They stayed within budget and delivered everything on time. Their interaction during the project was very well structured, and their developers were synchronized with our time zone. They used Azure to generate a clock and prioritize items and worked in an agile fashion. Moreover, our communication mainly consisted of daily meetings and interpersonal communication via Slack and Google Meet. Overall, their developers fitted perfectly with our team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We didn’t have any unpleasant moments during their work with us; all tasks were completed without any problems. They were also very involved throughout to make sure we got the best possible outcome.

Are there any areas they could improve?

None — we really liked working with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They have solid experience in web and iOS development, so I definitely recommend hiring this company. They always want to exceed expectations, work without any delays, and fix any problems.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am CMO of e-commers project FatLine, based in Ukraine. We specialize in making custom clothing and accessories.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We wanted to rebuild our mobile app on react native and make some functionality updates.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We searched for a local developers and shortlisted several. After interviews and personal meetings, we chose this vendor based on their past projects, skills and cost estimate.

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

After several meetings, we decided to remake our app in react native, making all the necessary changes to the design and functionality. When the task was completed, we tested both Android and iOS apps, compiled a list of necessary changes. After implementing the list of edits, we published applications in the stores. After that, we implemented a few more update packages.

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

We mainly communicated with the project manager and directly with the back-end developer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Now we have a perfectly working application with an up-to-date design and functionality. We have over 100k downloads and an average rating of 4.6

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

Communication speed and competence of team were great

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

Thanks to their experience and professionalism, we managed to solve many issues and prevent problems.

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

During the work, we have established perfect communication

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Chief Product Officer at a Web3 Influencer Platform startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

LightIT is our development arm: backend & frontend development. This is a project from complete scratch that they helped us staff, build and grow.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

This is the 2nd time I work with LightIT. First time was so good that I called them this time for a new startup from scratch.

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

This is a startup from scratch. We started with absolutely nothing but a blurry idea of what we wanted to build. After building the initial UI/UX designs, the LightIT development team established all the backend & frontend infrastructure & code and started building! Great agile scrum way of working in sprints and we are still building nicely and smoothly with a wonderful team!

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

1 senior frontend + 1 senior backend developer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Built a successful MVP in 3 months that is launched and is helping us also raise funding from invesdtors.

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

We work in 2-week sprints, all managed on a structured Jira board & backlog. The team is very experienced with Jira which is great! We run 15min daily standup calls as well as sprint planning and retrospective calls every 2 weeks to plan and prepare for the upcoming sprint.

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

They're a great team that emphasizes transparency, communication, and quality of work. Development always takes time and if you have a team that overpromises and you end up not delivering, you will end up paying more ultimately. Even if they might not be the cheapest in terms of hourly rate, your piece of mind, planning, efficiency and speed will make it worth it and ultimately cheaper actually!

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

Nothing really!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of technology of a tech startup. One of our products is a peer-to-peer tutoring marketplace for school students, and we’re working on another one. We’re based in Ukraine, but the startup is incorporated in New York. We have product managers, a CEO, and investors.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Light IT?

We hired Light IT to do custom software development for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with the discovery phase to better understand what we needed. After the discovery phase, we began to develop an MVP, which took us roughly four months. After completing the MVP, we built an in-house team and continued the development into the minimum marketable project phase.

We’ve used PHP and Laravel frameworks on the backend, Angular on the frontend, and AWS cloud services to run everything. The purpose is to allow students to sign up and tutor other students of their age to help each other with certain subjects in school. Students can complete their profiles and participate in the marketplace. When they find their peers, they can conduct the lessons there. The interface is similar to Google Meet but within our platform.

Initially, we outsourced Light IT to work. Now, we outsource just their engineers — they’re developing a web app. We also have the idea for a mobile app, but we haven't gotten there yet.

What is the team composition?

We work with about five people from Light IT. Since we started to work with them, we’ve had backend and frontend engineers, a designer, a project manager, and a QA engineer.

How did you come to work with Light IT?

We searched online and spoke to around 20 agencies from Ukraine, Israel, the US, and India. We had a scorecard where we rated them with specific options. One of the most critical points was how good they were at technology. Based on our scorecard, we realized that Light IT matched our requirements best.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent about $200,000 on the project.

What is the status of the engagement?

We began our engagement in June 2020. The project was delivered after four months, but we’re still working together on a slightly different setup than initially.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They entirely handled the initial MVP, and it was pretty successful. Light IT fit into the budget that we communicated to the investor in the beginning, so it worked out well. Overall, we’re satisfied with their work.

How did Light IT perform from a project management standpoint?

They delivered within the timeframe that we outlined. It wasn’t easy, but they went to great lengths to ensure the MVP was finished before the deadline. Although we had to reduce the scope, they stayed on budget, so they didn't bill us more than they estimated. After the discovery phase, they spent a lot of time calculating how much time it would require.

We’ve used Jira and GitHub for project management. Communication is through Slack, Google Meet, and Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have an employee development plan and certain knowledge-sharing practices within the company that help them to grow great talent. Moreover, they’re very professional. Everyone tries to do their best to deliver and match the bar we set.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In the beginning, the sales team was eager to sell us and communicated very optimistic numbers, but the pandemic began. However, they acknowledged the problem and tried to smooth things over. In the end, we were able to get a great product and service despite the challenges.

Any advice for potential customers?

Have a discovery phase to understand better what you want to achieve. If you’re not very technical, don't hesitate to involve their team leaders.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of a CyberSecurity startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Light IT helped develop our AWS cloud based SaaS cyber security MVP platform, specifically on IOS.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We searched for the best IT company, based on recommendations, reviews and completions timetables. Light IT had a reputation of exceeding all three, and basically exceeding customers expectations.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

LightIt researched our products, and took adequate time to create proposals based off our specs. They took their time and were very thorough. They asked the right questions, and were very pro-active in follow-up with my team.

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

Their VP of IT services was our main point of contact. However, they also assigned us a business development manager, as well as early access to their UI developer. This helped in mapping out the project, creating realistic time tables, and helped us budget accordingly.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The program was a success. They did a great job, that was on time and within the budget. They also follow-up after the software was completed, to make sure any integration went smoothly.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We communicated over voicechat and video conferencing software. They were really easy to work with.

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

That they treated your product from an ownership point of view. They did not just do the bare minimum. They thought about the project, and how it could be done not only in an efficient manner, but what was best for the end-users.

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

No. They were very great. Highly recommended. Looking forward to working with them again.