Netguru

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I have developed a survey platform aimed at assessing employee engagements, making client surveys, and so on. One innovative feature of the platform is the ability to predict business goals for companies. My company is based in London, United Kingdom.

What is your position?

I am the founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Netguru?

I needed development resources for my platform because I did not have the skills necessary. I wanted to outsource because of the cost savings.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

Netguru has built my solution from scratch using Ruby on Rails and MongoDB. The platform is hosted in Germany. They were responsible for helping me refine my requirements before developing the site. I worked in close collaboration with them.

How did you come to work with Netguru?

I met their principal [CEO Wiktor Schmidt] at a conference in London called ProductTank. I had worked with other offshore companies in Europe and had a preference for Polish developers as we are basically part of the same business culture.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total cost of the development was around $70,000 [£50,000].

What is the status of this engagement?

The platform was completed within six months, around two and a half years ago. As it stands, the project is dormant at the moment. Additional work is done as needed. I've used their resources part time in an ad-hoc manner during the course of two years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

There is good positivity and camaraderie between their development team. No one can be completely familiar with a code base, but Netguru employs a good code review methodology that keeps them on track.

How did Netguru perform from a project management standpoint?

A project manager was included a part of the cost, but I've used their resources in an ad-hoc manner and, as a matter of course, I have been very hands-on with the work. I could see the inclusion of a project manager as extra value for someone else using their services. We used Pivotal Tracker for project management at their recommendation. We also used HipChat in the beginning and moved to Slack later on.

What distinguishes Netguru from other providers?

Their code review processes are extremely strong and thorough. I don't embrace old-fashioned approaches to software development, and I expect partners to have the same mindset. They offer code review services, back-end support, and a project manager to clients as part of their standard package.

Is there anything Netguru could have improved or done differently?

I give full credit to Netguru for being understanding with me in terms of cash flow. In general, they work through a point system, which is managed using Pivotal Tracker. There is a minimum budget that is needed for a client to contract their services, and I think they should be more flexible in this regard.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are an investment company and venture capital business. We develop ideas and solutions for the financial services industry and invest in early-stage businesses.

What is your position?

I am a managing partner in the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with netguru?

Some of our business ventures require technical execution, which is the reason we've partnered with netguru. Since only a fraction of our own engagements necessitate technical expertise, it made more sense for us to leverage an external partner rather than develop the capabilities internally. 

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

We use netguru as an external development resource. Many of our projects are confidential due to the fact that we work with large financial institutions. We often spin up business ideas, which remain in the research and development phase.

The first project we worked on with them was a consumer finance product targeted at the European market. We worked with one of the senior developers at netguru and assigned some development resources on our side, too. The person assigned by netguru was very impressive in terms of the code produced. Working with external talent can come with some uncertainty in terms of what their contribution will be – beyond extra manpower. The senior person had a good, in-depth understanding of the programming language. He was able to take our existing code and ideas and interpret them into very high-quality results. He unbundled and rewired some of the underlying classes in order to make things work properly.

We worked on a subsequent project that revolved around a more agile media space. They performed very on that project, too.

We work together on an engine, rather than simply doing web development. There are many algorithmic processes involved in this.

We've employed three developers from netguru at peak capacity. We're a technologically adept company so, even though there were project managers assigned for both of our projects, I preferred to work directly with the development team and the senior person, especially. It was easier to use a more technical language in this way. We may be an atypical customer in this regard.

How did you come to work with netguru?

We looked at a number of Ruby on Rails development companies in Europe, considering both United Kingdom-based companies, which can be extremely expensive, and ones in Eastern Europe. We narrowed our search down to Poland due to their proximity to Berlin, where we had an office. We considered three companies in total. netguru won the first impression. They proved to have a very reasonable, systematic way of producing quality code and seemed to be more switched on than the other companies.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with them since 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

There aren't any figures that I can share with you, but we have been impressed by their performance. They are very reliable and have almost always been able to deliver assigned work on time and within budget. They're also very flexible with their resources. If things ramp up quickly, we can always count on being able to increase our resources to compensate. That isn't always the case during resource engagements like these. 

How did netguru perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Slack for communication, but we tend to rely on the project management tools suggested by netguru. They currently use JIRA, which has worked well so far. We do weekly sprints and have a call every Tuesday in order to make sure that everything is going as planned.

What distinguishes netguru from other providers?

They are very reliable. Having worked with other developers, we've noticed that a lot of younger firms tend to overpromise on what they can deliver. This has never happened with netguru. They've always been clear in what they are and aren't capable of doing. They've always given us an idea of how things would be expected to progress. They're not the cheapest firm possible, and they could deliver the work faster if they actually killed themselves over it but, for a company, such as ours, which requires dependability in delivering the product, there is no one else better.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are an e-commerce company which has created a digital platform allowing users to access information about products for the niche Carnival market in the Caribbean. Customers can easily order costumes for sale on our platform and use our comprehensive backend content management system for managing orders. We also provide other e-commerce services related to the Carnival industry, such as fashion, make-up, bookings, and so on. We are a one-stop-shop for this business.

What is your position?

I am the chief executive officer and founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Netguru?

We had difficulty in finding qualified developers with the necessary experience and available time for developing our platform.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

This was a challenging project to take up because it was already in progress. The site had been launched, and it had an existing user base. Since there is a management component to the platform, our clients viewed the site as a mission-critical component to their organizations. We couldn't afford to take our time on individual features or take down the site for maintenance. Netguru had to read the existing code, understand it, and add to it quickly. It would have been challenging for any development shop. Netguru impressed me with the speed with which they were able to pick up existing code and expand it.

How did you come to work with Netguru?

We considered a couple of other developers, eventually settling on Netguru. We needed someone who would be capable, fast, and who had good quality control over their development methodologies. We gave test work to different companies. The results were everywhere from OK to poor. I did a search across Europe. I knew of another startup company who was building its systems on Ruby on Rails. Netguru was the developer for that company, so based on that information, I opened discussions with them. They described their process for managing a project, which made me think they'd be a good fit for us.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total cost of the development has been around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project with Netguru in September of 2015. The work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Netguru helped streamline the existing application code and developed some of the key features needed to improve value for our customer base. They worked very quickly throughout.

How did Netguru perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management has been good. Our team was issued one project manager as well as several developers and quality assurance people. We use an Agile methodology by creating stories for each feature. Quality assurance members make sure that all the pieces of the work are present before we see it. Netguru is different from other organizations we've worked with. Usually, we would work directly with a developer and the inclusion of a project manager would entail additional costs. Quality assurance was a completely different cost structure as well. The package we received from them included the entire project management lifecycle, which was extremely beneficial from our standpoint, as a fast-moving startup. As a founder, I don't have the necessary time to double-check user stories.

What distinguishes Netguru from other providers?

Their project cycle includes different specializations, including project management and quality assurance. Netguru also provides us with more senior specialists who review code in order to make sure that everything is done as efficiently as possible. Their entire team takes the time to review the work from the standpoint of the end-user. This wasn't an option with the other companies I spoke to. Their customer care aspects are also good. The team is very friendly, and the English communication was excellent.

Is there anything Netguru could have improved or done differently?

The project management could have been better in other respects, like reporting the time and cost spent working on certain cases.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We're a campsite aggregator and booking engine.

What is your position?

I am the founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with netguru?

I needed to scale the development side of the business, and I needed to do it quickly. Hiring full-time resources was out of the question due to timing and cost. This meant that I had to find an outsourced partner to supply the technical talent I needed.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

Our platform was already built. I approached netguru to have them implement a new design, transitioning away from my development partner at the time.

The team assigned to us consisted of two back-end and three front-end developers. We interact with them through a project manager, but we also interact with the team directly, as needed. There's also a quality assurance tester involved in the process.

How did you come to work with netguru?

I did a general search for Ruby on Rails development companies. I looked at a couple of other companies besides netguru, speaking with past clients in order to understand their previously completed work. I was determined to work with an outsourced company due to cost issues. Working with a local company would have been prohibitively expensive.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total cost is expected to be $170,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the work in December 2015 but the project is still ongoing. The biggest phase of the implementation is expected to finish within the next two weeks [May 2015].

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

The first phase of the project, directed at campsite owners, has gone live. The quality of the product is very good. Stability and performance were big factors for us. We've received a stable and scalable solution.

How did netguru perform from a project management standpoint?

We didn't know what the full extent of the work would be in the beginning. It turned out to be more extensive than expected, but netguru has done a very good job in getting to where we needed to get.

What distinguishes netguru from other providers?

They're very transparent in everything that they do. This isn't something that I've encountered with previous providers. It's been great to see and has helped build confidence. I've been working within the development world for long enough to know what an accurate estimate is. I believe netguru in their estimations.

Is there anything netguru could have improved or done differently?

Planning, within the context of where we need to get to and evaluating our milestones, could be improved. This could just as well be an area of improvement for myself.

Any limitations on the client's end will result in a limitation of the project itself. netguru has told us that many people came to them with sketchy requirements, whereas our company drafted complete wireframes and visual designs. This made our lives much easier in terms of implementation. If we didn't have that material, their team would have been happy to work with whatever we had anyway, but my advice is for clients to go to them as prepared as possible.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are an online book dealer combining traditional knowledge of the market with technology systems which identify discrepancies and availability of our inventory across international locations. We know where certain titles are available and source books to different locations accordingly.

What is your position?

I am one of three partners in the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with netguru?

We ran a few projects a few years ago which were not critical to the company. My business partner used to serve as the lead in-house developer, but eventually, we decided it would be best to contact an external company for our work. We started on small projects with netguru and they eventually ended up taking over our entire development.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

Netguru has a very good talent pool of stack developers which they offer to us. We specifically needed experience with Ruby on Rails and database development.

They assign us a senior developer as well as other programmers, depending on our project. We've worked with up to three people at the same time. We work with a project manager from netguru's side and also have our own.

How did you come to work with netguru?

We're based in London. Local talent can be very expensive, so we started looking for external companies. I read about Eastern European developers on Ruby on Rails forums. They were seen as being both professional and affordable. We found this combination in netguru. They were better than any company we could have hired locally. In total, we looked at four or five companies before hiring them.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

Pricing ranges by developer, depending on their seniority. Our monthly cost is between $5,000-10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We don't keep track of metrics as such, but I can say that netguru has a very good methodology in terms of clean development. The code they produce rarely has to be refactored later on. They have an iterative process implemented throughout their organization which leads to high quality output. We've always tried to provide as much information as possible to them as well, in order to make their lives easier.

How did netguru perform from a project management standpoint?

We keep in touch using Slack, on which they're always available. There is a lot of interaction between our teams and we're experienced in working with remote companies, so we're comfortable with the process.

What distinguishes netguru from other providers?

From my experience with other development companies, I've found netguru to be very systematic in their approach. Everything is transparent and we know what their progress is at any point in time. This extends to all their processes, including billing.

Could you share any tips with future clients?

The experience of working with a remote company as opposed to an in-house team relies on how comfortable the client is with remote communication. The fact that the developer is not in the same town as the client means that they have to rely on collaboration tools for any kind of interaction. Tools are readily available, but it's really a matter of the cultural adaptation of the company requesting services.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a marketplace startup from Berlin.

What is your position?

I am the founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with netguru?

We wanted to kick off a minimum viable product for our company quickly.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

netguru has developed our product using Ruby on Rails in the back-end and Ember.js in the front end. We'd worked with Ruby on Rails before, but Ember.js was recommended strongly by one of their developers. Their team consisted of three developers and a project manager. They've also provided quality assurance resources.

How did you come to work with netguru?

I had a connection with netguru since I had worked with them in the past. We screened five or six offshore agencies besides netguru, and settled on them based on our communication, general fit, and their client feedback.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our solution has been live for six months. The project is ongoing, but it's running on a lower level. We've scaled our operations down to one developer. We'll continue to work with netguru for the foreseeable short-term future. Our goal was to build a solution fast, and we've since built our own in-house team. Time to market was the main factor in working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We engage in frequent user testing. The front-end parts and their designs have worked smoothly and have received good feedback from users. There were a few bugs within the platform, but we never discovered any big defects.

How did netguru perform from a project management standpoint?

They've delivered their work within budget and on time. Their overall communication has been very good. Project management and quality assurance are provided by netguru as part of standard development without additional costs.

We use Pivotal Tracker for project management. Both our companies were familiar with the tool. Our communication was done through Slack, which I think is also standard for netguru.

Is there anything that distinguishes netguru from others?

I think they have great resource availability, which is important for more complex projects or ones that have a shorter timeline. 

Is there anything netguru could have improved or done differently?

Anyone can improve. netguru could have had better communication at times but, overall, I'm very happy with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Suggestit is a startup social network that allows people in local communities to see everything happening in their areas, basically local suggestions for what's happening.

What is your position?

I am the founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Netguru?

We were in need of a front-end development team because we didn't have access to those skills. 

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

Netguru provided the functional development for our iOS app. Our team consists of one or two developers, along with a project manager and a quality assurance person.

We've been in charge of creating the platform's design and user experience internally. Their tasks have always been the technical development and implementation. 

How did you come to work with Netguru?

They approached us and made a compelling case, offering the resources and skillsets that we needed, along with all the organizational processes required. We used their company on a trial basis in order to see if they would be the right team to complete our work. Netguru achieved everything that they set out to and we've continued to work with them since.

We interviewed several organizations prior to hiring them. What drew Netguru to our attention was their overall organization, effective communication and stack processes.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We're still in the early stages of our process, so I don't have any quantitative data for our success. Netguru has produced a very stable application with very few bugs, which has been well-received within its market.

How did Netguru perform from a project management standpoint?

They've always delivered their work on time and within the specified budget, with exceptional communication. We use Google Docs, Slack and Jira for project communication. Netguru's strong suit is that they have a very sound process and use the best-of-breed communication stacks.

Is there anything Netguru could have improved or done differently?

There isn't any improvement which I could recommend to them that Netguru wouldn't be already aware of.

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your organization?

I work for a Web hosting company. We host about 4,000 sites globally. We offer various managed hosting services and online marketing for our customers.

What is your position?

I’m the president.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges that you were attempting to address when you first approached netguru?

We came to netguru about six months ago. They were brought on a project that we had already started, a new service. It’s a simple video distribution platform for companies that still sell DVDs. We help them convert those into a streaming format for their customers easily. We have internal staff who works on development, but we needed additional support to compensate for an a few large, complex projects. We needed to find some developer that were qualified and could work well with our internal team.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the level of their involvement in greater detail, the scope of their responsibility?

It was primarily Ruby on Rails development and testing. We had an off-site tester that would review code, too. It was all functional development, and no design. We had two full-time developers sourced with netguru. We mainly worked with junior developers, and we had one senior. They worked right alongside our internal developers.

How did you select netguru as your development partner?

It was through general Web research, I spoke to a good amount of firms and got a feel for how they communicated, how big their team was and their rates. That’s where I made my decision. Obviously, their past projects, and how comfortable they were with the technology. I assessed how the initial conversation went, what their pricing was, how they did development. I was pretty set on an offshore provider, and they seemed very capable to me.

Does this project remain ongoing?

Yes. Currently, they do development for us. We’re planning on working with them throughout 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the quality of their performance?

They did a good job. They’re very responsive. Their project managers are decent. They stay on top of stuff, and their communication is not bad. There is always good documentation. As far as overall performance, they do a good job. When you’re outsourcing, there’s a certain level of acceptance of not being able to manage someone, but working with the developers was not difficult. Overall, it was pretty good, and continues to be. We didn’t have any issues with budget or deadlines, and the communication was clear.

When working with netguru, is there anything you’d consider unique about their approach or development methodology that distinguish them from other vendors?

No. I would say they’re comparable. I think they do good code review for their clients. That’s one thing that sets them apart, so that helps.

In retrospect, are there areas in which you think netguru could improve as a service provider?

No. Honestly, I would say they do a pretty good job. I feel very confident in their level of work.

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your organization?

I work for a technology startup. We offer a CRM [customer relationship management]-like tool for companies to better communicate with independent contractors.

You’re the founder, correct?

Yes. I’m the founder and owner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges that you were attempting to address when you first approached netguru?

What we’ve set out to do is identify a need in the marketplace, which we potentially understand. We started with a basic concept and some wireframes addressing that problem, serving as the potential solution. We didn’t have a developer in place at the time, or any access to a development group that we trusted. We brought on a chief product officer to supervise the product development for us. netguru would assign a developer and project manager to us, but they would also have code review through other people in the company to ensure its quality and viability.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of their involvement?

All of their work has been relegated to custom development, quality assurance, and performance testing. We’ve been responsible for the overall strategy, visual designs, and final implementation.

How did you select netguru as your solution partner?

We found them through online research, and we vetted them through a few degrees of separation. We interviewed quite a few people in the area, and we vetted out multiple development groups through some of our references. We were trying to decide if we were going to go with an onshore or offshore provider. We looked at a couple of firms and checked more references. We liked netguru’s business model, and the way they had their company set up. I required that their developers be proficient in English, and could potentially understand what we were trying to do. We picked a couple of their developers to work with, and we started building the tool out step by step.

When was this particular project completed?

The first phase of the project was completed a few months ago. We’ve been working on the next phase for several weeks now.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the quality of their performance?

We did a quality assurance check with a third-party company based here in the U.S. They performed a comprehensive code review for quality and viability, and it checked out with flying colors. We haven’t yet gotten it into any customers’ hands at this point, but we’ve done a lot of dogfooding with it, and it seems to be working very well. Overall, we’ve been really impressed with what their developers have come up with.

When working with netguru, is there anything you’d consider unique about their strategic approach and/or development methodology that distinguish them from other vendors?

I don’t have enough experience to say that they’re doing anything unique. What I like about them is the fact that even though it’s a fairly large firm, we’ve had a direct relationship with the founders and their executive management team. They’ve been very hands-on with us. In fact, one of the founders was able to sit in on the development process for the first month of development, which we found to be extremely helpful. It was clear that they took real ownership of the project.

We have development calls with them three times a week, and they present feedback to me, which has been very helpful. They have a good project manager in place, too, and I like the code review. I just think they’re straight shooters, and they’re committed to providing a very good product and an extremely high level of customer service. They do what they say they’re going to do. I may be missing any additional value proposition that they have, but that’s just because I don’t know of any other one. I think they’ve been a fantastic development shop for us.

The other thing I really like about them is that they’ve given us the luxury to be able to start and stop development within a month’s notice. As a result, we’ve been able to develop for two or three months, then put it on pause for six weeks and develop some more wireframes, then give it back to them. That, coupled with the lower rates, has been extremely cost effective for us. If we were working with a smaller firm without the quality resources, we wouldn’t have been able to do that. That method allowed us to cut costs and maximize the value we get from them. It’s been great.

In retrospect, are there areas in which you think netguru could improve as a service provider?

If anything, it’s probably from a language perspective: they should keep improving their communication. I’m sure that’s the most often cited thing for offshore providers, but it really can’t be understated because entire projects have lived and died because of poor communication, regardless of the product itself.

BACKGROUND

Please introduce your organization.

I work for an online insurance broker. Our focus is helping to educate people with what sort of insurance they might need. It ranges from life insurance to disability insurance, pet insurance, rent insurance, and various other personal lines. I’m the CTO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges that you were attempting to address when you first approached netguru?

We’re a relatively new startup. We’re about a year old now in terms of our product development. We needed to organize a technical team with high-quality Ruby on Rails programmers. We had a previous engagement with a different outsourcing firm, and that wasn’t very successful. Because of that, we turned to netguru, which I’d known about from industry exposure. They helped us by adding to our team three qualified developers for nearly six months.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of their involvement?

It was more along the lines of custom technical development. Internally, we have a chief of design that was responsible for all of the user interface and user experience stuff. I was acting as the technical lead on the project. The three netguru developers were working on backend customizations and some front-end implementations. Their involvement was mixed, but it was mostly the implementation rather than the design. They also took part in some of the quality assurance and quality control testing.

How did you select netguru as your solution partner?

I’d known about them from the industry, from seeing some of their blog articles, and some of their contributions to open source projects. When I was conducting research on outsourcing partners, they were one of the firms that continuously came up.

How long was this particular engagement, and when was it completed?

The project lasted about six months. We finished at the end of September of 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the quality of their performance?

When we started with them, we basically had an informational website, and that’s it. At the beginning, we started building our custom app with them. In six months, we were able to go live with our product, from basically nothing to a full-fledged working product that was featured in the New York Times. We’ve received considerable feedback, mostly positive, on the ease of use and appealing design.

We worked with them as sort of a blended team, so it wasn’t a very strict scope. It was done using agile development. We learned and modified the specs as we went. Their project management skills were excellent, and the communication was superb. They’ve always delivered on their deadlines, and either met or almost always exceeded our expectations. We’ve been extremely impressed by the quality of their custom coding.

When working with netguru, is there anything you’d consider unique about their approach or development methodology that distinguish them from other vendors?

One of the things that we found very useful is the way that they train their developers and contractors. They take people straight out of college, and even sometimes during college, that they train as juniors. We were able to add a couple of juniors to our project, sort of in training, as part of their service, free of charge. You could really tell the benefit of having good quality, and free resources are always a plus. They’re very good at educating their teams in best practices, and they know when to advise companies like us, when there are things we could or should be doing another way. Having access to that kind of domain knowledge has been extremely valuable to us.

In retrospect, are there areas in which you think netguru could improve as a service provider?

No, we were ecstatic with them. I’ve already recommended them to some of my other friends in the industry. I don’t have any critiques based on our experience.