OL Software

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a technology engineering leader at a utility and electrical distribution company called Celsia. We’re based in Colombia.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with OL Software?

We hired them for the following services: custom software development, data engineering, and UI/UX design.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

After we hired OL Software, they assigned someone to communicate with us and make sure they fully understood the needs of our project, as well as the design specifics. For the UI/UX design project, they’ve created prototypes that are later on transferred into the coding language that we need.  As for the analytics project, they’ve also assigned a data engineer to help us with dashboard generation, API construction, data model building, etc.

What was the team composition? 

We work with 6–7 people from their side: a technical leader, a couple of developers, a data engineer, a UI/UX designer, a commercial manager, and an operations manager.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve invested about 350 million Colombian pesos (approximately $74,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?
 
We started working with them in January 2020, and it’s still an ongoing collaboration.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The software is designed to be used by external clients, and all of them have very positive feedback regarding its new design. On our side, we’re also very satisfied with the platform.

How did OL Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management style is very good — they always meet deadlines and follow up with us. For project management, we use Azure DevOps and Figma. We use Microsoft Teams to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with their knowledge of the electrical sector. Also, they have a highly skilled and specialized team that provides quality deliverables and excellent customer service.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I honestly can’t think of anything that OL Software could’ve done differently.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take the chance to get to know the talent they have, as well as their commitment and the quality of their development.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there

I’m a technology lead for an energy company called Celsia. While we’re based in Colombia, we have a presence in four different countries.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with OL Software?

Employees who worked on manual processes retired. We wanted to capture all of their experience and create technology for many of our manual processes.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?
 

OL Software helps with process automation. The project consists of two phases: the automation of employee knowledge via questionnaires and the creation of an application.

Their team follows an Agile methodology and continue to execute this project in three phases. During the first phase, they developed a dashboard using Oracle. It also included the modernization of our commercial systems.

Currently, they’re helping to develop an application. The platform follows up the detection and correction of energy losses.

What is the team composition?

Generally, we work with roughly 4 people.

How did you come to work with OL Software?

We met OL Software through the Cali Commerce Chamber. They became well known for their work on a project in our sector and region. Based on their experience and our introduction through the chamber, we decided to start the first project with them. As a result of their performance, our partnership evolved.

How much have you invested in them?

So far, we’ve spent about $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our partnership in 2019, and the project’s in progress.
 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have client satisfaction evaluations for every one of our projects. When we engage OL Software, clients rate us 10/10.

Their team’s innovative. Based on their experience, OL Software provides advice and improvements beyond our requirements.

How did OL Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Our project committee meets weekly, and our tactical team meets once every 3 weeks. We review our needs and create strategic plans accordingly with our project manager. They’re able to adjust to our needs. It’s also easy to integrate their team into ours.

What did you find most impressive about them?

OL Software’s well-versed in our sector, which is an added value. Based on their knowledge, they make suggestions and add features.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can't think of areas for improvement. In the beginning, we had a bit of an organization issue. That was quickly solved.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there

I am a process and systems manager at Naturgy Peru S.A, a company that develops gasification in the southwest of the country, which includes the local gas transportation and distribution system.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with OL Software?

We sought a commercial system that would allow us to manage processes and clients. We decided to use Open Smartflex because it had a partnership model as well as allowed for customizations and incidents attention. We needed a company to customize the system and function as a help desk. That’s how we came to work with OL Software. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

OL Software consults on technical services and acts as our help desk. They also work on customizations to the Open Smartflex system. We extended our initial one-year contract because their team came to understand our company and our needs.

What is the team composition?

Two people from the OL Software team provide full-time support. 

How did you come to work with OL Software?

We consulted representatives from Open Smartflex who highly recommended OL Software because their team had customization experience. We decided to give them a try.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the initial contract in October 2018 and finished it in October 2019. We extended the contract until April 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’re flexible. As we’ve only operated for a couple of years, it’s important that our partners adapt to our changes as a company. Their team focuses on improvements, not billing hours. 

How did OL Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team’s transparent and efficient. They’re based in Colombia, and we’re based in Peru. Their team visited our offices, which was great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their flexibility and transparency stand out to us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’re working to increase the efficiency of our customizations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there

I’m an IT Manager at the Cali Chamber of Commerce, which is based in Cali, Columbia.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with OL Software?

We were looking to ease virtual transactions with the business owners that belong to the chamber. We relied on OL Software for all development projects so that our own team can focus on inter-chamber relations.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve taken on multiple software development projects for us. Their tech stack has included Java and Angular. They’ve also executed product integrations with Oracle databases.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager, an architect, and three developers.

How did you come to work with OL Software?

The chamber of commerce has a shortlist of certified companies. We also had a pre-existing process though which we stipulate minimum requirements (like a certain number of Java experts, etc). We utilized what basically amounts to a company database to find OL Software, who met our criteria.

How much have you invested in them?

We've spent somewhere around $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2015 and are continuing our collaboration. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of their services has been excellent. Their team is well-structured and responsive. Thanks to their software support, our virtual transactions have increased from 18% to 25%.

How did OL Software perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Jira and the project management has been just great. They are very professional in that sense.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They always go the extra mile. They not only worry about delivering a finished project, but they also have excellent after-sales service. They’re always prompt to address any setbacks and are eager to implement value-adding technologies. They’re different from other companies, whose primary objective is making money.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re growing as a company, and at some point in this process they might encounter some new challenges, but so far they’re doing great.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a software engineer at an individual and family subsidiary services organization based in Colombia.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with OL software?

We hired them for development services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve had two different projects, one is maintenance for our core system, and the second is the development of our e-commerce platform. These projects have been developed using Oracle and Java.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with three developers and a project leader.

How did you come to work with OL Software?

We usually outsource our development, and they approached us about five years ago, and we decided to work with them. We had good results so we have continued our collaboration with them.

How much have you invested in them?

At the moment, we invest around 200 million Colombian Pesos per year (approximately $55,425 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2015, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are satisfied with their work, the quality of the products and processes has been very good. They’ve met our requirements.

How did OL software perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve made changes during the projects, and they have been able to adapt. The team is very flexible about changes.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The design for the mobile version of our e-commerce site was great, I really liked it. The UX/UI design was also very good.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would suggest that they work to stay in tune with the industry to continue using the newest technologies.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am an IT manager at a banking services organization based in Cali and Bogota.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with OL Software?

We hired OL Software to develop a solution for client retention.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

OL Software built a platform that allows us to offer our clients new services and promotions so they’ll stay with the bank. The team used Oracle and Java. We also have an internal system, which the team integrated the program with.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people from their team.

How did you come to work with OL Software?

They had worked for the bank before on a smaller development project. When the need for this platform came up, we had a very high number of inquiries and couldn’t do it ourselves so we decided to hire them.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent around 25,000,000 Colombian pesos (approximately $6,700 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in January 2019 and took about five months to finish.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They met every deadline in a timely manner. Along the way, we had to adjust the budget, but the change was completely manageable and they met all of our expectations. The platform’s users have rated it a 5/5, noting the platform is useful and high-quality. 

How did OL Software perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Microsoft Projects for project management, and OL Software adapted to our needs and used the same tools we did. This allowed us to track the process efficiently and to identify inconsistencies and report back to them easily.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team provided great service. They were always willing to go the extra mile, demonstrating a great commitment to the project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

At the time it was a mixed team and there were some senior developers and others with less experience. I believe the collaboration would have been better if the team members all had the same level of expertise.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our business is an event and ticketing platform that eliminates fees and matches participants with events. I am the president of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with OL Software?

We originally tried to develop the software ourselves, but due to some challenges ended up outsourcing the work to India. That product didn’t end up being nearly as satisfactory as we wanted, so we looked for another partner that could help us correct all of the issues that we found and improve a few other things about the application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

OL Software has helped us to audit and continue to build out our platform. Their team works in Xamarin primarily, as well as Amazon and Firebase for databases and Azure and C sharp from a coding standpoint.

What was the team composition?

There have been about five members of their team interacting with us on the project.

How did you come to work with OL Software?

We found them through a personal recommendation from the owner of a company in our space. I was originally trying to find someone in the states, but everyone spoke very highly of OL Software, so I decided to give them a shot.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, the project has cost $35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

This partnership began in December 2019 and is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In terms of the quality of the product, the value that they deliver has been incredibly high. We have been totally satisfied with their work so far, and plan to continue working with them in the future.

How did OL Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They are an extremely responsive team, all the way from the individual employees to the president of the company. We use GitLab to manage the project and a few other tools such as Discord for communication with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their design team is incredibly capable. We have been very impressed with the quality of the product that they consistently provide.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think we could make a little bit of progress on balancing quality and deadlines and just staying on top of everything throughout the process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of marketing of Open International. We’re a software solutions company specializing in public services and telecommunications enterprises with more than 30 years in the market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address OL Software?

We hired OL Software to support our projects that involve designing and building interfaces within our solution. Also, we wanted them to design ERP systems for some of our partner companies. This included systems applications and products (SAP) and other linked systems that our clients have for their own operations.

OL Software has worked with us on projects for major gas and electrical companies. They’ve created great help desk systems for some of these companies.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Besides using our own custom technology, OL Software has provided mobile development while using different coding languages.

What is the team composition?

I’m not completely sure, but whenever a new project arises, we ask them for a specific team to respond to the needs.

How did you come to work with OL Software?

We found them while working with natural gas companies. Because we had similar projects in common, my team noticed they had industry expertise and could complement our services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since 2015, and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

What we look for in a partner is their capacity to generate an added value and to extend the services we provide to attend particular demands from our clients. With OL Software, we’ve found an ally who specializes in understanding the needs of our company.

They focus on training and continuous learning of our technology and solutions. In doing so, they’re able to precisely meet our needs. The best metric we have is survey results taken by our clients who express that OL Software is one of our best-rated and top-performing partners.

How did OL Software perform from a project management standpoint?

As contractors, my company has to meet deadlines, and OL Software has to adhere to those targets. They’ve consistently met deadlines and that has allowed us to provide great service to our clients.

What did you find most impressive about them?

OL Software has a great service vocation; in fact, our clients always emphasize this when they evaluate them. Also, their team has a great drive to learn and collaborate with the software solutions industry.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there are no areas for improvement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work at Comfandi, a compensation fund focused on offering benefits for families with a low income. We currently have around 5,800 employees and we provide services oriented to recreation, education, housing, health, and social markets. I am the head of business solutions in the technology area.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with OL Software?

We have been working with them for two years, in a project consulting format. Besides providing support, maintenance development services, we also have other projects that the organization demands.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

What we have done with OL Software is to involve them in these projects, since the beginning, from information gathering, solutions design and sometimes to adjust and redefine processes. We have done RSPs, tool evaluation, tool implementation, and quality checks.

They are savvy in several languages, however, the projects they’ve had with us haven’t focused much on development. Although, they have shown us great solutions in HTML and Java. 

What is the team composition?

We work with around 2 people every month, although they change.

How did you come to work with OL Software?

They are based in Cali, the same city we are based and they are registered in the Cali Commerce Chamber. That’s how we first found them, then we had an RFP with different companies and they were selected.

Some of the aspects in which they were superior to other companies included their experience. They had worked with several clients and had an established methodology that made clear for us that they knew what they were doing and that they were doing things right.

How much have you invested in them?

The total cost is around $5,000 a month, and around $120,000 over the last two years we’ve worked with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them since around January 2018 and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The results have been great. We actually have a yearly supplier assessment as part of our auditing process and we evaluate all of our technology suppliers, which are around 60 in total and they are always among the top performers.

They are very strategic and always looking to provide added value. Their team has provided great results and has received great feedback from our side as well as from our users.

How did OL Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They have shown great adaptation skills, their expertise allows them to adapt to diverse business processes and to understand and absorb all the information required to be able to provide a good service that has been very useful.

They have a monthly follow up process, so every month the assigned project manager visits us and reviews the work of the two people we have working on-site and also checks on us, makes sure that we are taking advantage of the services they are offering.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their timeliness and transparency were hugely beneficial to our project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I couldn’t say anything that they could do better.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an IT manager at an energy solutions company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with OL Software?

We’ve had several design projects with OL Software.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

One of our projects involved the design and creation of a CRM Solution. With them, we did everything from information gathering to user cases to design. Their team used their own information-gathering technology. Our main goal was to develop .NET platforms with Oracle and SQL databases.

What is the team composition?

In total, we’ve worked with six or seven people.

How did you come to work with OL Software?

The team at OL Software has many different clients in the region. They’ve developed solutions for the energy sector, so they had great knowledge of the business. That was important to us when choosing a company to work with on development projects.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $50,000–$199,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started with the CRM solution in February 2018 and finished it that December. Our engagement with OL Software on other projects continues.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work has been excellent.

How did OL Software perform from a project management standpoint?

At first, we created a schedule and work plan that they met fully. Their team is very serious about deadlines, achieving every goal we’ve set.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team has great skills, striving to go the extra mile. They also provide new proposals and alternative solutions that are valuable to our business.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve discussed this, but we had a few issues with the aesthetics of the project.