Nava IT

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Tripodij is a geodetic company based in Split, Croatia. The business was founded in 2001 and our main activity is cadastral and engineering geodesy, aerial photographic survey of terrain and hydrographic survey of the ocean floor, as well as forensic expertise for geodesy and hydrography. My name is Mile Ćatipović, and I am the company manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

In addition to our main activities, we have decided to offer our clients a three-dimensional view of the objects that we measure. There was an obvious need for a specialized IT solution that includes displaying spatial images obtained by drones and laser scanners, as well as measuring distances, areas and volume of three-dimensional objects in creating cross-sections along arbitrary axes, as well as clearly displaying coordinates in 3D terrain simulation.

What were your goals for this project?

The aim of this project was to create a platform where 3D images of space can be displayed and measurements of distances and surfaces in space can be made. This platform should save time and resources through the ability to measure distances between measured objects faster and with more accuracy, as well as accurately display the coordinates of measured objects. Our future plan is to offer the application to all our clients as an online service, where one could create and manage their own 3D projects.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Nava IT was personally recommended to us by employee's acquaintance. Unlike other potential vendors, most of which have offered off-the-shelf products, Nava IT was willing to listen to our ideas and work with us on a fully customized solution.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We have defined the requirements of the project, planned the design and functionalities of the application, and created the visual design of the application. We developed it together and then tested it on a client who has provided us with valuable feedback and suggestions for improvement, which Nava gladly applied. Nava’s agile methodologies allowed us to quickly come to a high quality solution which is user friendly and performs very well.

What was the team composition?

The core team consisted of three persons, a programmer, QA tester and project manager for ensuring constant feedback and flawless flow of information.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The application had a substantial impact on our clients since we are the only company in the region that displays geodetic recordings in 3D quickly and in high quality. Our approach has impacted other geodetic companies as well as investors, which are now frequently demanding a 3D image as an attachment to a geodetic project.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Considering that we are somewhat new to the world of IT projects, we completely trusted Nava’s initiative in most activities. After a long initial session where we defined what the application needs to do, we had bi-weekly meetings where they updated us on the progress. During this phase we made some minor changes and suggestions, and they were always taken into consideration. By the end of the project we were more involved in testing.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We appreciate Nava’s expertise in business systems, systematic approach, communication skills and especially assistance that they provided in the first steps of the project, where they significantly improved our initial idea through incorporation of the newest technologies.

Are there any areas for improvement?

As ERP systems are their main business, they take up most of their time and resources. Spatial IT solutions are only gaining momentum and we hope that they will be further involved in this line of business, dedicating more resources to it, so that we can keep our market edge in the spatial IT systems.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and a board member of a Swiss-Croatian company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Nava IT?

We were established in 2006 as a partnership between two companies and one of them was using Navision as their bookkeeping program. After an introduction period, shareholders agreed to implement that system across the two companies. This switch would make it easier for everyone to understand reports and prepare them on time, but it needed some customization, so we hired Nava IT for the task.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We purchased Navision with the assistance of our sister company. However, every country has its own set of rules and the Croatian company also had its own wishes regarding reporting, bookkeeping, information, and everything they wanted to get out of it.

Nava IT helped customize the platform to fit all our needs. It was a slow and long-term process, but the solution was tailor-made for us. It’s very sophisticated in the sense that it provides a lot of information to traders and executives, following the entire trade process. It also covers stock values and more.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with three to four people from their team at any one time. We had two main contact persons, Igor (Founder, Nava IT) being the main one. The other contact focused more on bookkeeping in the beginning. 

How did you come to work with Nava IT?

We were using another bookkeeping program at the time, but when we formed the new company, Nava IT got in touch with us. They contacted our director for an introduction, but the decision to change our system came from our shareholders. Nava IT was already hired when I came on board.

How much have you invested with them?

The main project combined with all the improvement and maintenance work so far has had a cost of $300,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Nava IT around 2010. It has been a huge and slow project, and everyone has learned a lot during the process. Every project is unique, and we've met a lot of situations we didn’t expect, so we've had to adjust a lot. We still have a contract with Nava IT for maintenance and new requirements, as the software needs to continually mirror the reality of what we’re dealing with every day. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve worked with Nava IT for years and the Navision system is really the backbone of our data. We’ve invested a lot of time, money, and knowledge from the majority of the employees here. We’re a big company with a relatively low number of employees, so everybody is actually using the system to book and issue invoices.

The impact of Nava IT’s involvement is really huge because all the information about our company’s efficiency and profit is coming from that software.

How did Nava IT perform from a project management standpoint?

It was a complicated process and tailor-made software that required a lot of meetings and work from both sides to bring it to a satisfactory level, and it’s still a work in progress. Some things were done well, but we have asked their team to make changes. However, we wouldn’t have continued working with Nava IT if we weren’t satisfied with what they’ve executed and how. They’ve shown us that we’re important to them and that they’re devoted to the project. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I don't follow Nava IT's work on a daily basis. I mainly know Igor, who’s very much dedicated to the collaboration. He wants to provide the best software and service.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They understood our requirements immediately on some occasions and came back quickly with solutions. We’ve struggled together on other things, which weren’t what we wanted. However, it wasn’t due to a lack of effort. We’ve had to find the best way of working with them, and overall, they’ve delivered what we want. 

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients that are firm with their ideas and expectations will make it easier for Nava IT to know what they have to do. We didn’t always have a clear picture of what we wanted, but we were able to work together and build the software we really wanted.