Oyova

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Director of IT for Stenner Pump Company. We are a manufacturer. We manufacture, sell and distribute peristaltic metering pumps.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Oyova, and what were your goals?

Our website was created in over 6 years ago and even then, when it was created it was not created with content management and usability in mind. It was very static with an outdated aesthetic that was not mobile friendly.

We hired the team at Oyova to help us re-envision our website and build it on a modern WordPress platform with an emphasis on content management, SEO and analytics.

SOLUTION

How did you select Oyova and what were the deciding factors?

We chose to work with Oyova because of their portfolio, cost estimates, and their flexibility and commitment to working with our small team on our schedule.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We used a kick-off meeting to discuss our goals and objectives. From there the team delivered mock-ups and wireframes for our site. We had a few meetings to discuss some adjustments and tweaks to the mock ups.

Our site is quite large with some nuances and custom functionality that required special attention to programming. Oyova worked through all of these challenges and went above and beyond to meet the needs of the project and delivered a quality well designed site.

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

A project manager was our main point of contact throughout the process. There was also 2 full stack developers and a designer working on the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Our customers love our new site and can now more intuitively navigate the site to find the information they need about our company and products. Our internal staff can now update site pages with ease and flexibility.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

We had free and open communication with our project manager via email and met frequently with our development team using Zoom.

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

Oyova worked so well with our team and listened to all of our feedback and took into consideration all of our concerns and needs as we went through the design process.

Our team can be quite challenging to work with and Oyova showed nothing but consideration and absolute professionalism throughout the entire process. Thee also took the time to re-train and create detailed documentation to help our team be more proficient at working within the WordPress CMS.

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

We had some minor bugs in some of our custom pages when we first launched, but they were quickly resolved after we contacted them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-owner of a food and travel website.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Oyova, and what were your goals?

At the start, we hired Oyova to finish developing our custom CMS for our website--we had prior to that worked with a string of freelancers who had left us high and dry right before finishing. Oyova literally rescued us and got the job completed. Over the years Oyova has provided continuous updates and improvements to the site, and eventually hosting.

In 2020 we wanted to update further and discussed our options with Oyova. Ultimately they migrated half the site to Wordpress and added WooCommerce capabilities. Our goal with this last project was to modernize the look and functionality of the blog, add a shop for our products, and increase traffic.

SOLUTION

How did you select Oyova and what were the deciding factors?

Back in 2012, we selected Oyova based on their professionalism, their rates, and the ease of working with them.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

For this last Wordpress project, the biggest we've undertaken in years, we had several meetings with key players at Oyova (led by senior implementation engineer Ryan Boulware) to figure out the best way forward. Because of our custom CMS we had a bunch of challenges before us. Oyova gave us a few workable options, and we chose our solution based upon our primary goals and budget/time constraints.

During the process we had several meetings to review, discuss wish lists, and collaborate on the best way forward. Account manager Beth Rener was always quickly responsive with my questions, which I appreciated!

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

The team included senior implementation engineer Ryan Boulware, lead technology specialist Daniel Rener, web developer Max Nemeth, frontend developer Ian Svoboda, and account manager Beth Rener.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The completion of the Wordpress project unfortunately coincided with the start of the pandemic, which killed a lot of our travel traffic. We are still waiting to see a traffic increase because of this; however it is beginning to improve. We have seen product sales in our new shop and love the look of the new blog--it is infinitely improved from the old version.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

We had several Zoom meetings to discuss this project at the start and in the middle of it, and thereafter primarily used email to communicate. I could always expect a same-day reply from Beth. The time line was slightly extended to account for the complexities of this project, but overall we were happy with the schedule.

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

We really appreciated the cost-saving solutions the team put before us in undertaking this project, the responsiveness of Beth (as mentioned), and the confidence with which they worked--this was a big deal for us, and they reassured us the site would be majorly improved. We felt we were in good hands.

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

We have worked with Oyova for many years, and sometimes glitches happen or bugs are overlooked. When they are noticed, the team is always quick to address and fix them. Sometimes I need more clarity on charges I see on invoices. Beth is always quick to clarify.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Marketing manager for multiple firms in the A/E/C Industry

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Oyova, and what were your goals?

Hosting, web dev, and account management services for three A/E/C firm websites.

SOLUTION

How did you select Oyova and what were the deciding factors?

Oyova knew what we needed and felt like an extension of our own team!

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

As a vendor we see oyova as an advanced extension of our marketing team - they have assisted in providing web dev support, updates, upgrades, provided recommendations and suggestions. They are supportive and understanding of our needs.

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

Maybe about 2-4. Beth is our main point of contact as our Account Manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Improved user experience and improved front end/back end of certain parts of our websites. Assisted on any issues or concerns we have.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

Efficient and timely. They are very communicative and leverage email and if needed a phone/zoom call.

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

What I found most unique or impressive is that Oyova just completely understands. The employees at the company are down to earth and are able to listen and understand fully what unique needs we have.

They do not push or have ulterior motives for recommendations or suggestions. One of the most humble, genuine, and honest agencies I have had the pleasure of working with! I have complete trust in all employees at Oyova.

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

Nothing that I can think of!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the President and Solutions lead of Digital Solution Partners, a small marketing technology consultancy. We are a small team of consultants with experience from a multitude of world class organizations.

We bring together front-end customer experience with back-end technical knowledge to work alongside our clients internal teams and partners. We help lead our clients through the necessary transformation to the digital age.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Oyova?

We had a project with Trapollo to migrate their website from a legacy system and server to a newly hosted Wordpress application.

We hired Oyova to be our technical infrastructure setting up the ecosystem, configuring the Wordpress instance, setting up caching, etc. In addition, they were responsible for ongoing server maintenance, keeping Wordpress apps up to date and ensuring stability of the site.

What were your goals for this project?

Complete the migration as quickly as possible to take advantage of the growing opportunity for digital medical services (Trapollo's business) due to COVID-19 to enable exponential growth of the business.

SOLUTION

How did you select Oyova?

They have been our development partner on programs in the past and have exceed expectations every time.

Describe the project in detail.

The initial migration happened very rapidly. Within the first week, we had detailed discussion of the Wordpress setup, configured the AWS environment. By week three, we had an instance of the site migrated over and Trapollo team was doing UAT.

We were ready to go live less than 30 days after initial SOW approval. Upon security screening, it was discovered that some of the approved apps had security gaps that were no longer acceptable.

Oyova team made custom modifications to ensure compliance and get final approval. Post launch, we've had 100% uptime and no issues.

What was the team composition?

We worked with an account manager and development lead. They were our interface.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Unfortunately, we can't share numbers, but I can say that our contract was renewed for 2021 with no questions.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It's been great. We use Slack with them, communication is easy and they are very responsive.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are good people, easy to work with and committed to doing top-class work. They want more than a project completion, they want a relationship and it aligns with what we want from our business.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Everyone can always be faster, get to information more quickly and be more polished in communication; however, the bar they have set is high and it's why we like working with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Oyova works with our communications and tech teams to ensure our website is updated and functioning properly at all times. They have helped us as we improve our digital marketing capabilities and UX experience.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Oyova, and what were your goals?

We hired Oyova to serve as our on retainer website support, and they help us work with limited resources to ensure our online presence is updated.

SOLUTION

How did you select Oyova and what were the deciding factors?

We selected Oyova for their quick responses, ability to maintain institutional knowledge and capacity to help us build and change our offerings.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We are working with them on a regular basis, and initially held two program kick offs to educate and introduce staff on their work. They help us create and deal with issues on our WordPress site.

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

Four people have worked with us, including Beth our Project Manager, Ryan our account development lead, Ian our technical support and Chenoa on administration.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Keeping site updated.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

Timely and responsive via email.

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

Their ability to maintain institutional knowledge and quickly respond to issues as they arise is impressive.

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

We could have more proactively solutions pitched since we've communicated that we don't have tech expertise.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner and publisher of an events Web site for Indianapolis and Indiana.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Oyova, and what were your goals?

The PHP scripting on my Web site was broken due to unexpected changes made by my hosting company. I could not figure out how to correct these scripts by myself.

SOLUTION

How did you select Oyova and what were the deciding factors?

The owner of DK New Media in Indianapolis, who I trust 100%, referred me to Oyova as "the best in the business."

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Oyova rewrote HTML, PHP, and MySQL statements to comply with current versions of PHP.

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

I had contact with two Oyova employees, Beth and Daniel, whom I presume to be the owners of their company.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

My site was broken. I could not fix it by myself. Oyova fixed it completely in just a couple of hours.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

I am so impressed because they were able to make the necessary changes simply by corresponding with me via email.

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

December 28, 2020. I have been having major problems with my 18-year-old web site lately due to unexpected changes made by my hosting company. As a result, all the event listings had disappeared. I simply couldn't figure out -- by myself -- how to correct the scripting on my site that was broken by these changes.

I was so frustrated that I was to the point of shutting it all down a few days ago. Then I talked to my good friend Douglas Karr, whom I always turn to FIRST when confronted with website problems. He recommended the experts at Oyova in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, and told me that they are the best in the business.

I had some conversations back and forth with them via email, and then finally this morning I gave them access to my web site. WELL.... A couple of hours later and it is back up and running at 100%!! I know just enough HTML code to get me in trouble. I know Adobe Dreamweaver CC fairly well.

But I have NO IDEA how they were able to fix every page of my site in such a short amount of time. I know about the "Find and Replace" function in Dreamweaver (have actually used it!), but this was so different. It's hard for me to keep up with the power curve in the ever-changing world of internet programming as new technology emerges.

But Oyova came through for me quickly. They demonstrated pure programming genius in their areas of specialty, plain and simple. I can tell that they are experts at what they do. It reminds me of how LITTLE I truly know about what I'm doing, and it reminds me of how important it is to know the right people when you need help.

I simply cannot sufficiently praise Beth and Daniel at Oyova for their knowledge, their skills, their speed, and their supreme expertise! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! If you need help with your website, I *HIGHLY* recommend Oyova.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a virtual career coaching platform, I am the COO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Oyova, and what were your goals?

This is a start-up business, we hired Oyova to help us conceptualize the delivery of our coaching service - starting from a blank page, and working through launch.

SOLUTION

How did you select Oyova and what were the deciding factors?

We were introduced by a consultant we were working with at the time - Oyova presented themselves as having strong consumer engagement experience, and the ability to help us bring a vision to life.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We approached Oyova with nothing more than a half-baked idea for a virtual career consulting platform. We had no business requirements, no staff, no plans, etc. We needed a partner to work with us on every aspect of design, function, development, timing, cost, hosting, deployment, onboarding, etc., etc.

They served as our developers, our IT experts, our project managers, designers, creative director, and more.

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

Our direct interface with the Oyova team was with three primary partners, the senior implementation engineer, the lead front-end engineer, and our account manager. However, there were at least another two to five people working on our project, I interacted with a few of them from time to time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The site is just now launching, so we do not have data at this point, however, the usability testing we did was very successful, with tremendous response and feedback.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

The first few months were a bit random, as we figured out a working style, communication preferences, a plan..... We use Slack to instant message with the team, and hold weekly release and update meetings.

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

Oyova provided great guidance, ideas and direction. We worked very well together in discussing and debating ideas and visions, always coming out with a better solutions than originally presented.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Marketing Manager for iMethods, a Healthcare IT Consulting and Staffing Firm. We are a family of healthcare consultants who genuinely care about delivering exceptional results and building meaningful relationships with our client partners.

We are dedicated to exceeding expectations and ensuring alignment between customer needs and the resources we provide to meet those needs. We take the time to truly understand our clients, truly understand their challenges, and work diligently to help them achieve their Healthcare IT goals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Oyova, and what were your goals?

Our website was created by a creative agency in 2019, and when they no longer supported the website development and services, Oyova gladly took over those services we needed.

Our goals were to re-organize our website for an easier end-user experience. These changes are on-going with our business goals and objectives that are maturing and expanding. We also worked with Oyova on developing a new website for our non-profit foundation from idea to completion.

SOLUTION

How did you select Oyova and what were the deciding factors?

We were referred to Oyova by a different creative agency. We knew immediately after our introductory and discovery calls that they would be a great partner to have. They took time to understand our business, objectives, and vision.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

For our company website, we had a kickoff call to discuss the current state of our website. From there, we outlined our business goals related to the website and mapped out our priorities to achieve them.

Oyova worked hand-in-hand with us to achieve these goals and also were helpful in identifying gaps that we did not see. For our non-profit website, we had a kickoff call to discuss the vision and mission of our non-profit. Oyova worked with us to develop the big picture outline of the website.

We worked with them on creating copy, and they developed custom event pages, forms, and payments pages to support donation efforts.

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

A project Manager, Beth Rener, was the main point of contact for our team. We also worked with their developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The feedback from our website is overwhelmingly positive. We had a team do competitive website analysis and the feedback from ours outshined the competition. Given the ever-changing nature of our business, Oyova still works closely with us on these changes and updates.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

Beth, our Project Manager, is always very responsive. She is organized and understands the priorities we are constantly working on. Our communication process is visual-based mockups and notes.

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

Communication is everything. In our past experiences, that was one of the most frustrating things working with other agencies. Beth is always communicating, even if there are no updates she will let us know.

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

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of risk at an oilfield services company called Phoenix Services LLC.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Oyova?

We were looking to update our website to make it look fresh and inviting.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Oyova did a complete overhaul of our website based on some of the content (e.g., logos, pictures) that we’d provided. We wanted our site to tie in with Indeed so that we could mirror the job openings directly on our website from our Indeed account.

We completed the bulk of the work years ago, so now they only do ongoing maintenance for things here and there. That’s included moving the domain name and changing some of the content.

What is the team composition? 

Beth (Account Manager) was my main contact, and I also worked with Ryan B. (Senior Implementation Engineer).

How did you come to work with Oyova?

I wasn’t the person who initially chose Oyova, but I believe we selected them based on the sample websites they had as well as their finished products. The cost was also a factor. They had competitive pricing.

How much have you invested with them?

It was about $10,000–$25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

They did the project between February–May 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We wanted to get buy-in from everyone at our company who wasn’t part of the project, and we got that for the most part. After the site was completed, 10–15 key people in our organization reviewed it and signed off on the project.

How did Oyova perform from a project management standpoint?

I appreciated their responsiveness and professionalism. They got back to me immediately, filling in gaps for anything that I didn’t understand. Even though I wasn’t an IT person, they made it easy for me to grasp the process and work with them.

As for project management tools, they used Basecamp to track their work. I could go in there and tell them what I wanted done, including how important something was. Then, they’d immediately put that request into the queue, and I could see the schedule. We also communicated via calls and emails.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Oyova was really easy to work with — a big part of that was due to their responsiveness and professionalism. The fact that they got back to me right away and took their time to explain what I needed to do, what the implications were for that task, and how to do it was great.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not that I can think of.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Depending on the project, it’s a good idea to have a general understanding of what needs to be done. They’ll work with you to fill in the gaps.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of a residential land survey service provider.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Oyova?

We were trying to create a comprehensive online platform to help manage our daily operations.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The scope of the work was to create an online platform that users could enter to order our services. There are about ten steps users have to follow to complete the order.

We’ve continued to engage them over the last seven years to enhance the original platform.  

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with 5–6 people including the owner, a developer, and a deployment team.

How did you come to work with Oyova?

They were referred to me by the client. They were the only partner I considered.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in 2014 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Clients have provided feedback on how easy the platform is to use. It has definitely had a positive impact in the field, which is why we’ve continued to work with Oyova to enhance it.

How did Oyova perform from a project management standpoint?

On a ten-point scale, I would give them a nine. They’re good about keeping a task list and checking through it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were able to learn about our business in a fairly short time period. I also appreciated that they were based in the US.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m not sure how they could improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

When working with any programmer, you have to have a well-defined description of what you wanted to achieve. You’ll have less back-and-forth if you can provide a scope of work.