Montrose Software

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Market Data Products of Climate Bonds Initiative

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Climate NGO

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Montrose Software to accomplish?

• Design and build a new tool to aid in bond screening

SOLUTION

How did you find Montrose Software?

Known vendor

Why did you select Montrose Software over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Montrose Software were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

As of today, CBI manages all of its bond data and the screening of those bonds on a combination of Excel spreadsheets and a very basic CMS system. These tools are inadequate for todays requirements and future developments. 

We needed to move to a more advanced tech environment where we could realise the benefits of an integrated system with tools to aid in our workflows. Our key deliverables are a set of tools to perform extract, transform, and load (ETL) tasks on the input data, QA tools to ensure data accuracy and consistency and a set of UI's to allow the team to manage their workflow.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We had a clear project plan with deliverables by timeline. The daily stand-ups allowed us to keep on top of progress and drill down into any areas requiring additional information or resources. Montrose published additional progress reports with a 30, 60-90 days fwd look so we know what's coming and by when.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Project management was carried out by regular on-line meetings and the sharing of workflows, blockers and progress towards deliverables. They are very responsive to our questions and needs. Emails are answered quickly and effectively and the CEO has taken an active role in our project which is very productive.

What was your primary form of communication with Montrose Software?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They are very committed to both the project and its underlying philosophy, i.e. mobilizing finance towards climate mitigation. All the team members we have dealt with so far have been committed to our objective and most pleasant to work with. They are very competent and have all the skills needed to deliver on our project.

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

Not specifically. Will probably have more to say further along in the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO at Freshpair. We sell lingerie and intimates.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Montrose Software?

We needed help with a Shopify migration after having our own custom website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

During the migration, they set up an ecomdash connection, importing each field we still needed from our legacy software. Montrose Software then duplicated our Amazon Web Services (AWS) server to clone our legacy site and download it onto our internal server. We can now access the old backend—including order histories—as needed.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with the senior software developer, speaking at least three times a week. The founder was our contact for invoicing and general high-level concerns.

How did you come to work with Montrose Software?

They were the company’s vendor when we took over in July 2016. We decided to keep them because they were already managing our software, and given the platform’s complexities, onboarding a new agency would’ve taken too long.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $180,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2016 and the project ended in August 2017. However, I still reach out with questions about the AWS server. The team can log in and check our account.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The platform was so old that it would’ve stopped working without their help. The migration was a huge success because it imported helpful legacy information—such as customers’ pre-2016 order histories—while maximizing our site’s performance. For example, we accessed historical data to resolve one of Shopify’s fraud alerts and ensure an order’s validity.

How did Montrose Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They were on top of everything and had quick fixes and response times. The team always overestimated costs to prevent unpleasant surprises. Their current AWS support is responsive and complimentary, which we greatly appreciate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’ve transitioned from solely B2C to having partnered with over 40 vendors. Of those agencies, I’d put Montrose Software in the top-three for their responsiveness, value, and accuracy. Their straightforwardness further distinguishes the team from the competition.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, because service was immediate and deliverables were either on time or early.

Any advice for potential customers?

When asking for a service, do all the research and explain the requirements in detail. As long as the team has the detail, they can complete the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

EmmaOneSock is a leading online retailer of designer fashion fabrics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Montrose Software?

We needed to renovate our website’s outdated middleware, migrate to a major cloud services provider, and catch up with our clients’ mobile-centric preferences.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The overarching goal was to develop a mobile-friendly website and migrate the platform to the cloud. Since we were already familiar with Microsoft technology, we decided to use Microsoft Azure SQL Database. Montrose rewrote the entire backend and converted the Classic ASP site to ASP.NET. They also implemented various JavaScript-based client technology, bridged two websites using hybrid solutions, and updated our encryption certificate.

What is the team composition?

We worked closely with their head of technology and two additional programmers.

How did you come to work with Montrose Software?

We initially reached out to their sister company, but they recommended Montrose as a more appropriate fit for our project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with Montrose since November 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our clients are enjoying the mobile-friendly enhancements and other improvements to our website. While Montrose had more experience with Amazon cloud services, they adapted to Microsoft Azure seamlessly.

How did Montrose Software perform from a project management standpoint?

We held daily status meetings via Skype. Jira and GitHub were used effectively to track project issues and dynamically maintain source code integrity. When issues occurred, they documented the error on Jira, and we promptly met to discuss the best solutions. Their exceptional communication was consistent when communicating with other vendors, so we never had issues getting information from our former web host.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Mistakes were rare because they understood our business and actively listened to our needs. If our ideas weren’t coherent, they came back quickly with intelligent questions in order to arrive at an actionable understanding. I’ve been in the industry for 50 years, and Montrose met and exceeded all of my expectations. We're very happy with their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

My only advice is that they keep up the great work because they’re doing a fantastic job.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our platform allows people to select a home, purchase it, and rent it back to the previous owner. After a 12-month lease, there is an option to buy the home. I was the manager of our data and software team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Montrose Software?

We needed a new website but didn’t have the resources in-house to build one.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our website from scratch on Ruby on Rails. They also did all of the design and UI. The site is hosted on AWS and leverages many AWS systems, including Elastic Beanstalk and dynamic load balancing. The site integrates with Salesforce and credit agencies for credit checks.

What is the team composition?

We mainly interacted with one project manager the whole time. The development team varied in size but was typically between two and four team members.

How did you come to work with Montrose Software?

A friend of a friend recommended them. We considered a few other Chicago shops and decided to work with Montrose.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $750,000–$1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in June 2013 and went live around April 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their QA is solid; we rarely had any failures or malfunctions after the release. They continued maintenance and upgrades for us after the launch and did a very good job. The executives tried to bring software development in-house and the relationship with Montrose ended. The in-house team never worked as smoothly as they did.

How did Montrose Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Their English is good and they’re very responsive. We had weekly calls and the time overlap with Poland worked well for us. We called early in the morning here, which gave them at least half of their day to complete tasks. They responded to emails within eight hours at the most and always updated us when they encountered an issue.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were communicative and organized and their billing was very detailed. We rarely had to wait for them; whenever the process slowed down it was usually because of issues on our end.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They had minimal turnover but anything they could do to reduce that further would be helpful. Otherwise, I was happy with everything they did.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you are well-organized when you start with them. They’re fast, so be prepared to keep up. If you provide the right specs, they will work quickly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of product and marketing at Bond.co. We leverage robotic and software technology to send customized handwritten notes at scale. With our service, people can send notes as easily as a text message or an email. Our clientele includes big companies that use us for their marketing strategies as well as personal consumers who use us for event invitations and thank-you notes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Montrose Software?

We needed resources to help us build a mobile app for iOS.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Montrose Software integrated the API that we developed with the mobile app, which involved creating a new microservice. The app allowed customers to conveniently send handwritten notes on the go. After choosing the stationery, they could type out the note and preview how it would look. From there, they would put in the recipient’s information and place the order for us to fulfill. Beyond development work, the team also created customized stationery for businesses that wanted to include a logo or image on their documents.

What is the team composition?

At the height of the project, we worked with three developers, including two senior engineers and a junior engineer. The team fluctuated depending on our needs. When we were pushing to meet deadlines, all three worked at full capacity. We would then scale down to 1–2 developers based on our initiatives.

How did you come to work with Montrose Software?

We reached out to them because they had a really strong mobile development team. We felt that they could help us fulfill our business strategy.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent close to $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Their work lasted from January 2016–December 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We currently have about 3,000 monthly users who send between 1–2 notes on a regular basis. In terms of the app’s functionality, it works well. The UX is seamless and remembers the user’s activity, which creates a more convenient experience. If the user has sent a note to someone, the app will save the address. It also remembers message templates and integrates credit card information.

We performed rigorous QA tests before releasing the app, so we haven’t experienced any crashes or bugs. In the end, they produced one of the most polished MVPs for launch that I’d ever seen, which speaks volumes to the amount of care and diligence that they put into their work.

How did Montrose Software perform from a project management standpoint?

It was delightful working with them because, in a lot of ways, I knew more about what was happening on their team than with some of my own. Although they were based in Poland, they accommodated their schedule to match our local business hours. They also went above and beyond to make sure that everything was well documented and easily understood, which was great, considering that English was not their first language. We used Jira and Confluence to track everything.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve been in mobile app development for about eight years, now, and Montrose Software is one of the best development groups that I’ve worked with. Compared to other agencies that are in it for the money, the team really cared about their work. They treated our app as if it were their own, which was evident in the end product. Ultimately, they exceeded our expectations in every way.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind. I only worked with them on the mobile development side, but I know they also offer other development services. I’d be keen to try those.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As with any vendor, have a clear idea of your project and what you want to build, and then make sure that Montrose Software’s team understands it. Communication can be challenging because it’s a two-way street. But they try their best to make sure that everyone is on the same page, so clients need to do their part, too.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Client Side Development of Bond Gifting

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Bond Gifting was a company that created personalized, hand written notes at scale for our customers

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Montrose Software to accomplish?

• Expand mobile presence and experience
• Integrate with our API

SOLUTION

How did you find Montrose Software?

Referral

Why did you select Montrose Software over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Montrose Software were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We had a project to grow our product and wanted to create an iOS native app. We hired Montrose to help us with the development of our iOS app, and it was a great experience. The goal of the project was to create an iOS specific experience for our webapp while providing some iOS specific features to it, like customizing your own stationary card for the note a client wanted to be produced. 

The dev team was app to intergrate with our api, and help us provide improvements to it, to help meet the demands for the iOS app. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Being able to meet project dead lines and quality of code for maintainability.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Yes, their communication was great, and help a lot when it came to measuring and managing deadlines

What was your primary form of communication with Montrose Software?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

I was impressed with their quality of work.

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

none

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Director of Product of an education company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

World's largest online nutrition school.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Montrose Software to accomplish?

• Maintain iOS app
• Maintain Android app

SOLUTION

How did you find Montrose Software?

Other

Why did you select Montrose Software over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Montrose Software were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Maintaining iOS and Android apps, fixing bugs, keeping app in line with web app, ensuring app works with evolving API

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Continued downloads and usage of app, closing bugs and reducing bug backlog

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Extremely well-managed, great communication, very timely

What was your primary form of communication with Montrose Software?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

We were impressed by the excellent quality of their developers, excellent project management and communication skills, great value for money

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

n/a

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Founder & CEO of a healthcare company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Health tech/digital health

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Montrose Software to accomplish?

• Joined as a technical partner and shareholder to further expand and strengthen our company and tech team
• Addition of new features
• Ongoing growth, product development, and scale

SOLUTION

How did you find Montrose Software?

Referral

Why did you select Montrose Software over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Montrose Software were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Montrose joined to help us expand our web platform and build our App. They added new features a continue to develop and enhance the platform and app each day. Montrose is not just a vendor but a partner and shareholder, and has been fantastic to work with in every way

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Montrose completed our offline app, and we grew over 85% in the last year alone due to their great work!

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

All items were completed on time, the schedule was always very clear including any changes to the schedule if we had additional changes or requests. They responded to all our needs and were always accessible.

What was your primary form of communication with Montrose Software?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They have an amazing team, incredible developers, and their quality of work is fantastic.. We are fully committed to this company. They can develop anything with the highest standards.

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

Nothing yet, the experience has been fantastic