Parallel

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am a team lead at an energy & natural resources company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Energy retailer for 4m customers in the UK.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Parallel to accomplish?

• To create regular media moments to leverage data and insight externally.
• To create an ownable ‘franchise’

SOLUTION

How did you find Parallel?

Referral

Why did you select Parallel over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Parallel were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Launched an energy technology thought leadership report, backed by data which encompasses all of our expertise in one place. We want to be the thought leader that media, industry and analysts come to for the latest trends related to energy technology. Going forward this report will show the positives of the green energy transition (e.g. rise in energy efficiency and decarbonising homes / electrifying transport). Parallel supported with the discovery, build and launch of the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Launch of the project ahead of an external event to showcase the data. Creating a moment to share with media and external stakeholders. Use of the dashboard with the wider business.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Responded on time; always happy to help; phone call and/or message away.

What was your primary form of communication with Parallel?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The flexibility with changing timelines, content and launch ideas. They took it in their stride and we were still able to launch on the key date.

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

Nothing we can think of - we're continuing to work with Parallel.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of an alternative data company, and we help companies, traders, banks, and logistics firms drive their vision, and understand the world around them to make decisions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Parallel?

We needed someone to visually present our data and results to clients in an engaging and informative way.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Parallel helped us design and develop a web-based analytics dashboard where users can see the visual representation of their data. They managed to integrate a lot of information into a simple and intuitive dashboard, so people can immediately understand what they’re looking at.

They began the process by understanding the problems and learning about the challenges we were facing. They then broke down the development into different levels of planning, analysis, and drafting. We went back and forth with sketches and ideas before ultimately selecting the ones we want to implement. After that, they built and designed the infrastructure for the frontend.

What is the team composition?

We mainly worked with Hem (Founder) and Christian (Founding Partner).

How did you come to work with Parallel?

I worked with them in my previous company.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around £150,000 (approximately $200,100 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February–May 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Parallel put in a huge amount of time understanding our company, which resulted in high-quality work.

How did Parallel perform from a project management standpoint?

They had very good communications and they always updated us on the progress of the project. We used Teams, and email to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We liked that they engaged us and worked out what needed to be built. They understood and solved our problems instead of waiting to be told what to do.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I genuinely can’t find anything wrong because everything was great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would suggest bringing them as close to the project as possible. The more you share wh them, the better the outcome will be.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of experience design in CCD Design & Ergonomics, and we’re located in the UK.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Parallel?

We wanted to make data easy to understand. On top of that, we wanted people to be far more aware of their environment.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Parallel team is working on a large project to bring physical spaces and elements of big data to make teams of people better aware of what’s going on around them and make communication easier. The team is working with us around situational awareness and it involves visual design animations.

What is the team composition?

I’m working with their two co-founders.

How did you come to work with Parallel?

I knew Parallel through the industry and through a couple of industry events they attended.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in December 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t have metrics to share at the moment because we’re still in the development stage. We plan to track the indicators, metrics, and feedback in the next 12 months, but we like that Parallel knows how to ask very good questions about not only the problem space but the wider context of why a problem is happening.

How did Parallel perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management workflow is good, and they're very personable. We use tools such as Trello, Zoom, Google, Nero, Adobe Suite, and more. As a result, we have no problem sharing documents or presentations with them.

On top of that, they’ve been very easy to engage with despite working in a remote environment. It’s also very easy to meet them face to face because they’re always available. Due to our confidence in them, we invited them to a lab we created with our customers.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’ve been impressed by Parallel’s ability to interpret data and gluing all of those nodes together and making sense of it despite working in a high-pressured environment. Additionally, they have a good understanding of the project's strategic intent and overall goal.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their areas of improvement will come as we partner on future projects, but it’s still too early to comment on that. At this point, we’re learning about our strengths and what opportunities we have moving forward.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be completely open, honest, and transparent with Parallel. Come to the table and share your problems as well as your ideas on how to solve them. Allow them to thrive on your conversations so that they could use that to creatively come back with remarkable solutions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Emteq Labs. Our platform measures human emotions through facial gestures and biometric responses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Parallel?

We needed their expertise in custom software development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Parallel helped us build an emotion analytics interface that combined biometric sensors with VR, allowing us to measure human emotional responses in real-world environments. Based on our requirements, they devised UI/UX solutions that enabled interactive data visualization and interrogation.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four resources from Parallel.

How did you come to work with Parallel?

We saw their previous work for a similar organization and thought they could deliver the same quality of services to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The development project ran from March–August 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Parallel built a high-quality and bug-free product that elevated our online presence and overall engagement. We created a video about the product and easily secured positive feedback across our online channels. Our internal staff was also impressed with its sleek and functional design, so we’re currently finalizing another project scope for Parallel’s team.

How did Parallel perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated via Zoom and Microsoft Teams and relied on Jira and Dropbox for project management. Parallel was a responsive team that maintained a high level of engagement throughout our partnership.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their expertise in making data more engaging and informative was apparent in all their deliverables — Parallel had all the valuable skills and insights we needed to make our product work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was no area that needed refinement — they delivered all our needs when we needed them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Think critically about what you want to achieve before relaying this to Parallel’s team. If you fail to communicate your needs accurately, it would be difficult for them to deliver those.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

SkillCorner is a leading sports data provider working with teams, media and betting operators. I am currently Head of Business Development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Parallel?

SkillCorner wanted to develop a new, best-in-class live Matchplay visualisation Tool. By applying SkillCorner’s proprietary computer vision technology to broadcast footage of matches, accurate player and ball positions can be generated frame-by-frame.

SOLUTION

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

Parallel designed a tool that allows betting companies and media channels to offer viewers a completely new way to follow the action and understand the nuances of each game. As well as position data and match events, the tool showcases a number of novel and highly visual metrics that give viewers a more in-depth view of each team’s performance and helps them make more informed decisions about what is likely to happen in the match.

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

Parallel begun the project with a discovery phase which synthesised the following:
1. Who are we trying to sell to?
2. What do they need?
3. What story are we telling them?
4. How are we telling the story?

As a result of this, Parallel helped define a product vision for Matchplay with a series of concept designs and mock-up across the different data visualizations.

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

We worked closely with all three founding partners from the very first conversation to final delivery of the product vision.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product vision has helped us a great deal as part of my new business and sales strategy.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow has been very effective working closely with all three founding partners.

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

Their experience and expertise. They were able to understand our business landscape and demonstrate their ideas very quickly.

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

None. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief digital officer for a digital agency providing holistic product design, development solutions, and strategies to our clients. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Parallel?

We hired parallel for product design projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Parallel’s primary services are around design outputs. We give challenges and business objectives, and then they provide us with detailed business breakdowns and analyses. After that, they deliver product design outputs. 

What is the team composition?

I work with Christian and Matthew (Directors & Co-Founders). I’ve also worked with their other designers in the past. 

How did you come to work with Parallel?

My previous boss discovered them and introduced them to me. They outperformed other agencies, so we decided to use them in my new company.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve invested over $25,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2021, and it’s an ongoing relationship. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Parallel team is great and amazing; they have a strong ability to identify data designs. They take large data sets and effectively visualize the outputs of such data. As a result, they can tackle complex problems and create a seamless experience for end users. In the end, the customers can interact well with the product. 

How did Parallel perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re strong and always on top of everything. We typically communicate via Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Parallel’s creative genius is impressive because they understand data in ways that most people don’t think about or understand. On top of that, their team members push boundaries of where one can go in terms of data visualization. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you have issues with product ideas or have big challenges that are beyond your knowledge or capabilities from a data visualization perspective, go to Parallel. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Kindred Futures of Kindred Group

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Gambling and Sports Betting Company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Parallel to accomplish?

• Reinvent data visualisation for our customers across multiple sports categories
• Design and prototype a working, testable app solution that demonstrates how the new visualisation will look and function
• Use customer insight and testing data to refine and deliver a best in class experience

SOLUTION

How did you find Parallel?

• Online Search

Why did you select Parallel over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Parallel were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Parallel were briefed to reinvent how we present live sports data to our customers. Providing Parallel with the relevant available data feeds they were given the flexibility to rethink how this could be presented to our customers in new ways whilst maintaining a sense of clarity and relevance.
Deliverables: Parallel were tasked with producing wire frames of a number of design directions for initial review and feedback. After rounds of iteration, they were then tasked to produce a working app prototype that we could test directly with customers to understand how well they understood the visualisations and how they interacted with the different elements.
All the above was delivered on time and on budget to an excellent quality. At any point if we had feedback or amendments the Parallel team were there to help. The final product tested extremely well and the results of this work have gone on to define our core strategy and deliverables in this area.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The results of this project have now been directly integrated into our development work streams. The findings from this work and the quality and innovativeness of the prototype produced has also led to a change in the teams core development strategy, putting this work at the heart of future development.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The Parallel team are professional, extremely talented and a joy to work with. All projects with parallel have been delivered on time and on budget. They were always available when we needed them and constantly adjusted to any requests or amendments we needed. Parallel are a great partner and I would highly recommend them.

What was your primary form of communication with Parallel?

• Virtual Meeting

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

My team and I were most impressed by their creative talent and their ability to re-imagine how data can be presented in unique and innovative ways. They really helped to push the boundaries and inspire our own development teams on what's possible. Their understanding of UX design principles and how customers see, interact and understand data was first class.

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

No I can't fault them! a great partner all round.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the VP of Product of World Data Lab

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We forecast total spending and total population for 180+ countries in the world breaking this down by demographics, categories and lower level geographies

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Parallel to accomplish?

• Create sales deck
• Create PoC for new delivery tool

SOLUTION

How did you find Parallel?

Referral

Why did you select Parallel over others?

High ratings

How many teammates from Parallel were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The brief was to help us design our new sales deck thinking about our brand image but also the new solutions we want to offer. We also asked for some support on thinking about the design of a BI tool to showcase our new data assets.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

A few, actionable sales deck and a UX design for the new BI tool

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

It was superb - everything was first class, and any delays were explained to ensure the best quality as the brief we gave them was aggressive but Parallel greatly overdelivered

What was your primary form of communication with Parallel?

Virtual Meeting

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

Challenging our thinking to come up with new outcomes as opposed to simply taking our ideas and developing them. This has made us thinking truly differently about our future direction

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

None