Mautilus

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

ShowMax is a subscription-based service offering local, British and Hollywood video content to subscribers in Africa, and African content to subscribers outside of Africa. Our company was launched in August 2015, and we're available on a number of platforms, including web, iOS, Apple TV, Android, and smart TVs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Mautilus?

We needed to spread the reach of the platforms on which we were available, particularly on smart TVs, but also Android and iOS.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We've taken up Android and iOS development in-house within the last couple of months, but still rely on Mautilus heavily for smart TV development. Our smart TV applications were developed both on Mautilus' framework, and using smart TV flavors of HTML and JavaScript. Our apps were developed for Samsung, LG and Hinsense smart TVs, as well as the Play Station.

We've normally worked with 3 dedicated developers from Mautilus. When we had additional requirements, we took on more resources.

How did you come to work with Mautilus?

When we started our company, we were the technology division of another streaming service which was already working with Mautilus. We inherited our platform from this company, and continued to use Mautilus because their knowledge is second to none. Mautilus understands smart TV technology, which has been a tough environment in which to develop.

How much have you invested with Mautilus?

The total cost of Mautilus' development has been well over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have an ongoing relationship with Mautilus.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've just celebrated our company's one-year birthday. We've reached quite a big milestone, managing to roll out our product rapidly. We've launched it in August 2015, and are now available in 65 countries. We've also diversified our platform, launching with Samsung and LG, added additional brands and models, and are now adding Play Station to our supported devices. We've clocked 10 million views so far, which amounts to 700 years of content. This is a big milestone in terms of rollout availability and consumption.

How did Mautilus perform from a project management standpoint?

Mautilus is a very hands-on company. We engage with them every single day through project management meetings with our team lead. The process is transparent and proactive. Mautilus is engaged, and works as an extension of our team. We have a close relationship, and work closely on requirements with Mautilus, going through the whole life cycle, from conceptualization to testing.

What did you find most impressive about Mautilus?

I appreciated Mautilus' knowledge and their ability to figure out ad hoc solutions, no matter what our requirements were.

Are there any areas Mautilus could improve?

The actual delivery takes a long time, sometimes months. It's not really a fault of Mautilus, but rather the nature of the platforms that we're working with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a creative digital agency providing different solutions for companies which want to enhance the visual experience of their products. We mainly focus on the broadcast area, but also on video-related services and products. We provide user interface designs, user stories, as well as technological implementations.

I am the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Mautilus?

We needed development resources for iOS and Android devices, as well as smart TVs and other internet-connected devices.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Mautilus is in charge of the programming for our products.

We have a couple of projects running at the moment. Mautilus' involvement depends on the size of a project. We've worked with between 2-10 resources, including a technical project manager and different developers, senior and junior, for iOS, Android, or other devices.

How did you come to work with Mautilus?

I had worked with Mautilus at my previous company, 5 years ago. We provided a technical solution for Siemens. We worked with Mautilus as 2 external companies creating a product on a commission. It worked out, so from that time, anytime when we needed developers for an application, we contacted Mautilus.

How much have you invested with Mautilus?

The cost of our biggest project with Mautilus was between $50,000 and $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I have been working with Mautilus for more than 5 years. We are running different projects, some of which have been completed. A major one is nearing the end.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I wouldn't have worked with Mautilus for so long if I wasn't satisfied with them. Mautilus has provided input for us without needing to be asked. If something may not have worked out, or would prove to be an unsatisfactory solution, Mautilus told us beforehand, allowing us to rethink the idea. Based on their experience and know-how, Mautilus gave us many suggestions.

How did Mautilus perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was handled by Mautilus' Chief Technology Officer, since the work was very complicated, involving many different items. It went smoothly.

What did you find most impressive about Mautilus?

Usually, when working with an iOS developer, they will only have iOS expertise. Mautilus has provided us everything we needed in terms of user interface design and development for various platforms. Mautilus was able to scale up and also provided consulting for a wide range of areas.

Are there any areas Mautilus could improve?

Nothing comes to mind. I have a collaboration with Mautilus, and always try to learn and do things better. Mautilus knows how I work and allows me to adjust. I have a collaboration with Mautilus, and always try to learn and do things better. Mautilus knows how I work and allows me to adjust.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company is a branch of a broadcasting media group, working out of the Czech Republic. We are responsible for developing the video platform deployed by our media group in all of its locations across Central and Eastern Europe. We have a presence in Slovakia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovenia.

I am a Digital Development Manager. I have been responsible for the development done for our video platform, as well as for rolling out over different territories.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Mautilus?

We initially developed client applications for smart device middlewares in-house, back in 2011. Soon, we reached a saturation point in terms of resources, and came to a critical moment, not finding the necessary resources for continuing. There were too many platforms on the market for us to keep up with, so we started searching for a partner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Mautilus was a startup at the time of first engaging them, and we made a partial partnership in the beginning, only giving them a few development tasks on Android. Because the quality of work from Mautilus was at least as good as what we were producing in-house, we decided to fully outsource client development. By 2013, Mautilus came to work fully on all the platforms which are targeted by our video delivery software, including a wide range of smart TVs from manufacturers like LG, Panasonic, Sony, and so on, as well as mobile devices. We started developing for Android, but have also approached Windows Phone.

Mautilus is developing and maintaining the client products on our behalf. We don't have fixed requirements in terms of how many resources are allocated to us. It's a dynamic environment, which allows us to engage developers according to the project. We don't have a constant need for development, only making upgrades in order to conform to middleware OEM [original equipment manufacturer] changes, or because of new business requirements. There have been moments when Mautilus allocated 3-4 developers at the same time to us, but there have also been months in which we only contracted one person, for maintenance.

How much have you invested with Mautilus?

Mautilus has created a framework for us over the last 2 years. It's easily capable of supporting all the large smart TV middlewares. Whenever we need to add new and complex frontend features, the price may exceed $50,000. For major iOS releases, the development doesn't surpass $10,000, if the development only includes a few improvements and a codebase refreshing.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have an ongoing relationship with Mautilus.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We didn't put a big focus on the technical aspects of our software development. As a media broadcaster, we don't have a large interest in this area, because we don't resell our software. Most of our metrics are user-related, and we've always received good feed-back.

From a price/quality standpoint, Mautilus is one of the most advantageous partners we could have. Most other companies will have higher prices, from my experience. This is due in part to the fact that we have a longstanding relationship with Mautilus, so we may receive preferential prices, but they're still competitive in the market.

How did Mautilus perform from a project management standpoint?

Mautilus has improved a lot recently. Up until 2015, they didn't employ many professional project management paradigms. I have come to see huge improvements, which Mautilus probably needed more than us. They employ good professionals who are in charge of projects at the moment, including dedicated projects managers and business analysts. Mautilus is becoming a big software house.

What did you find most impressive about Mautilus?

From a technical perspective, one big advantage for us was that Mautilus had a lot of initiative, especially in terms of client stacks. We wanted to push away from the responsibilities of software design and development workflow. Mautilus had the right initiative in order to conduct these processes without too much interaction from our side. We mostly took care of backend services, and came up with the proper documentation for metadata delivery. We sometimes only delivered business requirements, and not functional specifications, due to a lack of time. The rest of the process was completely owned by Mautilus.

Are there any areas Mautilus could improve?

Mautilus has had a few issues in terms of maintenance and support, due to having insufficient resources to address multiple tasks at the same time. Mautilus should work on prioritizing.