Octavian Technology Group, LLC

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a manager at a marketing services company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Octavian Technology Group, LLC?

We brought them in to give an assessment of our company’s DevOps capabilities and identify where we are on the roadmap for DevOps maturity.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Octavian Technology Group, LLC provides us with IT consulting services. They started off by interviewing various teams within our company. They then collected all of the findings and compiled them in a report. After that, they presented the report to our IT leadership team. They also did some cloud technology assessments for us.

We’ve re-engaged with their team to help us implement some of the things they uncovered from their findings.

What is the team composition?

We work with two people from their side: a senior cloud architect and a senior cloud engineer.

How did you come to work with Octavian Technology Group, LLC?

I was already aware of their services back when I was still working at a consulting company.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $10,000–$25,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2022, and our engagement is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re happy with Octavian Technology Group, LLC’s work — in fact, they’ve exceeded our expectations and have started incorporating their findings into our IT groups.

How did Octavian Technology Group, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done a good job from a project management standpoint; they complete tasks on time and stay within budget. For communication, we use email and Microsoft Teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Octavian Technology Group, LLC’s level of knowledge on the subject matter is impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve on?

I can’t think of any constructive feedback for them at the moment.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Octavian Technology Group, LLC is a small company, but they’re not less skilled or knowledgeable compared to bigger companies.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We're a regional passenger transportation company (no freight) transporting people in a wide-ranging number of ways - school transportation, campus, hospital, and business shuttles, airport transfers, weddings, etc. I'm the CFO and have been with the company for 9 years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Octavian Technology Group, LLC?

We hired Octavian to consult us on implementing a KPI system.

What were your goals for this project?

To implement KPI metrics and dashboards for our managers and executive team to use obtaining real-time operational or financial data that would help us make faster and more effective business decisions.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Brad has been a value-added and insightful consultant in another capacity and we felt his company had the knowledge and industry experience to capably perform this engagement.

Describe the project in detail.

The Octavian consultants mapped out in a series of diagrams our operational and finance software systems in painful detail. They also held interviews with the President and I on what KPI's we would like to measure, broken down into three categories - financial, people, and safety. They then prepared a powerpoint roadmap to get us from where we are through implementation of the systems needed to house the information and report on the KPIs.

What was the team composition?

We were assigned primarily two project coordinators ( for lack of a better name) - that each led different parts. Chris led the discussion and development of the systems mapping and Dave led the discussion on the KPI's.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project has been put on hold for the time being, mostly because we've been shutdown due to the Covid epidemic. We hope to get back on track in the near future but it's unknown right now when that will be.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had a good working relationship with everyone involved. Both Dave and Chris were responsive, kept the projects moving, and provided valuable insight as we met to discuss the various areas of focus.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The level of expertise in their respective areas was impressive as well as the level of professionalism and responsiveness.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I'm sorry if this isn't helpful but none come to mind.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior director of strategic planning and operations at an insurance company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Octavian Technology Group, LLC?

We needed help with an artificial intelligence project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, they did a pilot project and evaluated some data sets. Then, they wrote an assessment on how we might proceed with a full implementation. They used a Microsoft AI tool along with Python custom code.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people from their team. Those included the founder and CEO, a data architect, an AI specialist, a principal data scientist, as well as a sales representative.

How did you come to work with Octavian Technology Group, LLC?

I learned about them through an article in the Milwaukee business journal.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent approximately $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2020, and our work is ongoing..

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Carolyn (Principal Data Scientist) was very thorough, technically sound in her role, and articulate in explaining concepts of models and algorithms. Brad (President & CEO), was attentive and responsive to our questions.

How did Octavian Technology Group, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very strong with project management. The team was very good at communication around project milestones and met or exceeded expectations.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team at Octavian clearly articulated the science of data modeling. They applied to the insurance business and talked us through the different scenarios and approaches and recommended one that they thought was the best for our engagement and why. We ended up going with their recommendation because we agreed with their logic and thought that it would be the best path forward.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they were great all-around. They were honestly the best vendor I’ve ever worked with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to trust Octavian and hire them for a large project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the president/CEO of a P/C insurance company with 100 employees headquartered in Milwaukee, WI. We write home, auto and commercial lines in 10 states totaling about $125M in written Premium.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Octavian Technology Group, LLC?

We hired Octavian to do an initial assessment as to where we could utilize their expertise which would help improve our bottom line. Many ideas came out of this assessment but the one that was collectively agreed upon to start with was applying data analytics to improve profitability in our auto line of business.

What were your goals for this project?

Improve profitability in our auto line of business.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I became aware of Octavian through a LinkedIn associate that worked for them. After interviewing the owner and his associates, Octavian was exactly the type of company I like to work with. They are a small local hungry startup with very talented personnel that came with many years of experience in the insurance space.

Describe the project in detail.

We are taking a deep dive in our current rating algorithms used today to see how that can be improved. in addition, introduce new ideas to the algorithm so the overall effect is a more profitable line of auto business. Octavian was given large amounts of data from numerous data sources along with executive level qualitative analysis to produce a more favorable outcome in relation to where we stand today.

What was the team composition?

Octavian has two associates working with our company. One takes the lead and the other seems to help where needed. They have a great dynamic and are very efficient and easy work with. The president will check in from time to time to ensure the process is going smoothly.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project is ongoing and so there are no measurable results at this time. But I am very impressed with their passion, knowledge and dedication to the project. This has in turn motivated and excited our executive team, bringing to the table a new energy that is already successful in my mind.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication has been excellent, easy going and very professional. Honestly one of the best vendors we have worked with. We are very comfortable and confident that they are putting their best effort forward to ensure this project is successful.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The associates are very smart and they are very eager and willing to learn the business they're working for. This couple with their easy going communication style is a perfect recipe for a successful consulting company.

Are there any areas for improvement?

N/A

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior vice president at a relocation services company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Octavian Technology Group, LLC?

We had a very small internal IT team, so we looked to OTG and Brad (President & CEO) to act as a fractional CIO. We wanted help to better allocate our resources and find resources outside that we didn’t have in-house.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We first sat down together to talk through our overarching goals for the 1–3 years from a technical standpoint. Brad turned that into a general roadmap so we could start taking bite-sized pieces. COVID-19 derailed some of that stuff, but that’s how we started.

Now they’re working on a network project for us. We want to potentially move from a dedicated server environment to the cloud. Brad is helping us with network mapping, strategic review, and decision-making.

What is the team composition?

We mainly work with Brad. There was also an individual that helps with the cloud project and someone with a lot of IT strategic project management experience who helped the roadmap.

How did you come to work with Octavian Technology Group, LLC?

They came as a recommendation from an external board member. Our CEO reached out to Brad, and we went with him because the services he offered aligned well with what we needed. We hit it off from a relationship standpoint as well; Brad had a good understanding and similar personality to our company.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The partnership started in September 2019 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Having the roadmap and taking a step back to prioritize has helped significantly. If we hadn’t done the roadmap, I don’t think we’d be moving along with the cloud review. We were also able to roll out some new technology offerings to clients and transferees more quickly than usual. OTG was able to advise us on how to focus our resources and get the most out of our limited internal team, alleviating some of the work for us. 

How did Octavian Technology Group, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

We have OTG on a retainer and meet weekly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very consultative. I’ll talk with Brad about whatever’s on our plate that week, and he’ll give suggestions. However, if we come up with potential solutions, he’ll listen to us before offering advice. He doesn’t push for just something he’s done in the past. Instead, OTG works with what fits better for us rather than what’s most comfortable for them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, to be honest. They have more services than what we use them for, so I don’t know if my opinion would be different if we used those. But, from what we were looking to accomplish, I feel like we’ve gotten exactly what we hoped to get out of the engagement. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CIO of a mid sized plastics manufacturing company with 12 locations around the world. We have about 2500 employees globally.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Octavian Technology Group, LLC?

We have done some AI/ML development for our manufacturing process. Wanted to understand the capabilities of Azure AI/ML better as well as any additional knowledge that we could learn to improve our process.

SOLUTION

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

Knowing the guys at Octavian Group for several years, I knew they had the experience and knowledge to help us with this project. They are very knowledgeable in this area and were a great fit for this project.

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

Proprietary project but they helped mentor our team with some of the latest capabilities of Azure AI/ML and the configuration of these tools online. Also some improved ways to teach our model and setup of the CI/CD pipeline in Azure.

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

Senior Architect primarily.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We gained an improved knowledge of the tools and processes to improve our proprietary system. We were very happy with the results and knowledge that was transferred.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Timeliness was good. A professional and productive process all around.

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

Cameron's knowledge and experience with AI/ML.

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

n/a