ParallelDevs

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Co-Founder of No Pasa Nada

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Digital Media

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Establish an Engaging Digital Presence: Build a user-centric platform where audiences can explore and engage with content intuitively, ensuring easy access to trending topics and editor-selected features.
• Optimize User Navigation: Design an organized, category-based structure to streamline navigation, offering distinct sections for reading and viewing. This organization allows users to quickly find articles or videos on specific topics, enhancing their overall experience.
• Enable Data-Driven Decision-Making: Integrate Google Analytics and Meta Pixel to gather insights on user behavior, helping to identify popular content, understand traffic sources, and optimize marketing strategies.
• Build for SEO and Future Growth: Employ SEO best practices such as meta tags, schema markup, and URL structuring to improve search engine visibility, making the site discoverable and attracting organic traffic over time.
• Create a Pathway for Content Monetization: Design a scalable, flexible site prepared to integrate future monetization features as traffic and audience engagement grow, ensuring long-term viability.

SOLUTION

How did you find ParallelDevs?

Referral

Why did you select ParallelDevs over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from ParallelDevs were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Webframes of site, UX/UI of a site that can host both written and video content. a user friendly backend for journalists to submit articles

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Functioning website that met our needs

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

We had a project manager assigned to us that followed up regularly. They were open on the time they were working on the project, and delivered and responded in timely fashion.

What was your primary form of communication with ParallelDevs?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The project manager's communication and follow-up to complete the project stood out.

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

no

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO, DataFusion Gmbh.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are working together and continuing to leverage advancing technologies coupled with the power of innovative collaboration

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• We hired them as a software development company that could work with cutting-edge technologies and deliver high-quality results.
• We hired PARALLELDEVS to develop complex, digital solutions tailored to our unique requirements
• because we are seeking a partner who could handle both custom development and platform-based solutions.

SOLUTION

How did you find ParallelDevs?

Clutch Site

Why did you select ParallelDevs over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from ParallelDevs were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The scope of work included developing a complex digital solution from scratch, incorporating custom features and functionalities tailored to our business needs. Key deliverables included a user-friendly interface, seamless integration with existing systems, efficient database management, and robust security measures.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project delivered exceptional results and demonstrated significant progress. Our new digital solution streamlined our internal processes, improved efficiency, and enhanced overall productivity. We experienced a noticeable increase in customer satisfaction and engagement, leading to improved business performance.

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

PARALLELDEVS exhibited exemplary project management throughout the engagement. They consistently delivered items on time and effectively managed the project timeline. Their proactive approach to addressing our needs and concerns ensured that we were always kept informed about the progress. They were responsive, accommodating, and readily adapted to any changes or additional requirements.

What was your primary form of communication with ParallelDevs?

Email or Messaging App

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

One of the most impressive aspects of working with PARALLELDEVS was their commitment to staying up-to-date with cutting-edge technologies. They consistently implemented the latest tools and frameworks, ensuring that our solution was future-proof and able to adapt to evolving industry trends. Their ability to translate our complex requirements into an intuitive and user-friendly interface was also remarkable.

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

No, Throughout our collaboration, we had an overwhelmingly positive experience with ParallelDevs.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the General Manager for Travel Pioneers, a DMC in Tourism Industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We had worked with a designer on a web page proposal, but we had not found the right programmers who, not only, would achieve the performance we wanted for some functions of the page, but who could also advise us with the design adjustments that were needed when get the project running.

SOLUTION

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

We asked for recommendations from other well-known web design companies, and they recommended 3 options. We interviewed all 3 companies and felt that ParallelDevs were the ones with the right knowledge and equipment.

They also gave us the option that we wanted to work with a basic content manager, which also allowed some parts with design in code.

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

First we had several meetings to find out our key wishes, and start designing a prototype. The prototype was reviewed several times as we made adjustments, until we had what we wanted to apply to the page programming project.

Thus we were able to see the scope and costs of the main project. All the work was online and very easy to coordinate. The website was created based on Drupal

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

In the prototype design stage, 4 people were involved. A project administrator and another 3 people for design and functionalities. When we started the programming part, we went to another work team with a new project manager

Jose R who has been an incredible support to understand the best way to achieve our objectives and who always responded very quickly to our queries and requests. Also Wendy, who trained us in the content management part and helped us with all our questions

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven't officially launched the site because we were so happy with the work done that we requested some new features and pages that are already in progress, but finally seeing what we planned on paper so long ago finally come to fruition has been very satisfying.

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

He is an excellent professional in every way. The tone of the communication, always positive and seeking to facilitate the process, the clarity of the communication, the time management, gave us the necessary guidance to make informed decisions.

He always meets the delivery times and gave us enough time for us to contribute what is necessary to continue at each step.

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

The knowledge they have in the matter made everything we asked for always possible, we never had a "this cannot be done" in the process. In addition to managing expectations, we were always clear about what we could expect in each delivered result.

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

I can't think of anything at the moment, because everything flowed very easily.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of a startup company that is focused on teaching app users how to use mindfulness techniques in their every day life. The vision of Veraki is to educate this generation how to live with purpose and lead with compassion.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire ParallelDevs?

We hired ParallelDevs to manage the design and build our our MVP app. This was the first version of the app so there were a lot of work to do getting the initial design completed and the back end of the app set up. They created the concept

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to create a product that we could use to test the market to determine if we had a viable product with the content and tools that users where willing to use and pay for.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

ParallelDevs were referred to us from a contact of my in the States. I had worked with her previously and trusted her judgement in providing me with a quality referral. Once we met with ParallelDevs and laid out our project, we immediately recognized that they were experts in the design build field so we selected them as our vendor.

Describe the project in detail.

The project was to help us to complete the initial design of the app and then build it. We had completed some initial wire frames, but they were very preliminary. The features in the app were a community board, a vision board which had significant photo handling capabilities, and a learning section.

In addition, we wanted a dashboard that would summarize all of these three sections. ParallelDevs helped us tremendously with all of the strategy in how the app would fuction. The app was built for use with both IOS and Android.

What was the team composition?

The team make up changed as we went through the different sprints, as I would expect of any design build team. We always had the resources available to us at the time that we needed them We had consistent weekly meetings to ensure that we were on task with the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to get the app launched into both the App Store and Google Play by March of this year. Since our launch we have had over 1,000 downloads and we have learned so much about what pieces of the app that users find value and what they don't.

Based upon this feedback we are now planning the next iterations of the app. We will definitely be using ParallelDevs for the next round of development and for all of our planned future development work.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was extremely effective. We had weekly status meetings and meetings to discuss specific changes. We would discuss changes that would need to be made and ParallelDevs would always come prepared with thoughts and ideas of how the work could be accomplished.

They exceeded my expectations by always thinking several steps ahead of us. In addition, they are always thinking of how to make sure that the factor in future plans for the app in the current design.

I have been beyond pleased with their partnership and teamwork. I would recommend them to anyone who is looking to work with a development team.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I have been so impressed with how much thought they have put into our product and how much they have thought about how to make it usable now but also in the future as we grow. We have given them several design and build challenges and they have never disappointed us. They have always found a solution. They are amazing problem solvers.

In addition, they are truly experts in the space. They have taken the time to understand who we are and what we want to accomplish. Other vendors have failed to partner with us at that some level. We truly feel as if ParallelDevs is a part of our team.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We have been so happy with ParallelDevs that I cannot see any areas of improvement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Simon Data is the enterprise customer data platform that empowers brands to deliver data-driven, personalized customer experiences everywhere. I am the tech and operations lead for our marketing team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire ParallelDevs?

We hired ParallelDevs to build our new website as part of a broader company rebranding project.

What were your goals for this project?

To launch a new marketing site on the Wordpress CMS with our new branding. In addition to communicating our new company brand and market positioning, the new site would be at the center of our lead generation strategy. The site design called for interactive, animated graphics and an integration with our CRM system.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I have worked with ParallelDevs on website projects at previous companies. I've always been impressed by the quality of the work they deliver. Their communication and project organization is top notch as well.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

ParallelDevs built our new website inline with the functional specs and design requirements agreed-upon in the SOW and site mockup. The new site features pages devoted to product offerings, information about the company, and our blog, which has downloadable content -- an important component of our lead generation strategy. The site has interactive animation, asynchronous filtering of content on our blog page, and an integration between our web forms and our CRM.

What was the team composition?

The ParallelDevs team consisted of 2-3 developers handling different aspects of the project, like CMS development and animation development. All of their activity was visible on a Trello board that they shared with us. They also had a project manager who was our point of contact. We met frequently to discuss project status and answer questions from the dev team on functional specs, QA issues and general questions that arose while the project was underway. The team was consistent throughout the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Our new website has greatly increased the number of inbound leads from our marketing campaigns. We've also received very positive feedback from our clients and company leadership regarding our new site.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We used a shared Trello board so that everyone had visibility on project tasks and general progress. We also had regular meetings to discuss issues, typically using Slack. The team was also available via Slack chat during business hours and were usually quick to respond to questions.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The ParallelDevs team was given a very tight timeframe to build our new site, which required complex features. I was impressed by their ability to solve for our use cases quickly and thoughtfully. They reached out whenever the dev team needed our feedback, and we worked through QA issues together. They are great collaborators. It is difficult to find a vendor like ParallelDevs. They operate like an extension of your team.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The project required more time for QA than had been anticipated at the outset. Planning deadlines more conservatively would have helped us manage expectations better with our teams.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the general manager at a digital media company. We create documentaries, videos, and more, with a special interest in human rights and the quality of life in Cuba. We also cover news in Latin American countries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with ParallelDevs?

We hired them to develop our news website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

ParallelDevs created a website using Drupal, PHP, and Java that supports our video player, which features documentaries, series, and other long-duration content. They also built a gallery for photos and background audio. It’s been a complex coding project because the platform had to not only support all of our multimedia content but also the different website sections.

Their team has also helped a lot with our digital rights, making it possible for people to visit our website despite government censorship.

What is the team composition?

We’re working directly with three or four developers.

How did you come to work with ParallelDevs?

I’ve known their team for years and know of their Drupal expertise and how we share the same values. When the need for help arose, we realized it was going to be easy to work with ParallelDevs since they understood our project and had immediate availability. It was crucial for us as a news website to hire a company that’s available to help us solve any immediate issues that come up.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent about $40,000 on their services so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2019 and the collaboration continues.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

ParallelDevs’ work has been very effective. We’ve reached substantial visibility on Alexa. We’re well positioned in Cuba, the US, and at an international level compared to other similar sites, which we achieved in a much shorter timeframe than expected.

We also needed to adapt our website to be accessible in Cuba, considering that the internet there is slow and there’s a lot of censorship. ParallelDebs did a lot of research to achieve that.

How did ParallelDevs perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team uses Jira and Trello for project management. If there’s ever a delay, it’s most likely our fault. Everything has gone well and ParallelDevs has adapted to our needs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The video player and multimedia module that ParallelDevs created really amazed us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything they should improve at the moment. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Flete24, a marketplace in which shippers and transporters connect with each other.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ParallelDevs?

We hired them to develop the workflow, login, and registration modules for our website. It’s marketplace site, so they worked on a development on Drupal for these specific modules.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They used Drupal, Pantheon, and Github to develop the modules for our marketplace site.

I hired them for simple tasks at first, then later, when they knew project well, their responsibilities increased. I now consult with them when I come up with any new ideas

What is the team composition?

There are around 8–10 people working on it.

How did you come to work with ParallelDevs?

They were recommended to us by other Drupal developers in Costa Rica. Most of the good agencies working with Drupal have more work than they can handle so they recommend each other.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent around $25,000 until now.

What is the status of this engagement?

I don’t remember the exact dates, but it’s been around two years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In general, their work is of good quality. We’ve been able to solve any issue that arose during the work, which is why I’m still working with them. They also give me good suggestions when we discuss ideas.

How did ParallelDevs perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Slack often and we have video calls, while they use Jira internally. Everything has worked and we understand each other well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our partners visited them in Costa Rica and loved them. We had very good chemistry with the team. Their management is also very good—they can be trusted.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m using a Drupal development method, which is not that widely used. They could clear that up with the new developers from the beginning. They change developers sometimes which can cause issues.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm president of two different companies, a development and outsourcing company and a nonprofit. We're now developing a joint project between the two.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ParallelDevs?

We specialize in the development of platforms for the sports sector. We're now developing an app to promote the development of youth through sports, and they're working on it for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The project involves developing a web app and later on, we aim to develop the mobile app. The app is based on Drupal, because the teams are experts on that tool. The hosting is based on Pentium.

What is the team composition?

There are four developers involved.

How did you come to work with ParallelDevs?

We launched that project in 2017 and had already started with another company. They didn’t meet our expectations and caused us to have a delay of at least eight months. We met one of the founders of Parallel through sports, and after we showed them the project they made a demo for us. We really liked it so we started working with them and we're very happy with the results.

How much have you invested in them?

Around $14,000 so far, but the final results will end up costing around $60,000–$80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2018 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We're very satisfied with their work. When we began, we calculated that it would be about two months before we began to see results but before that they had something to show us. They provide us with very high-quality deliverables, the design is very user-friendly, and we are able to add new features according to our needs. We will be able to measure our users' satisfaction, the athletes' performance, and many other metrics. We're generally very happy with the app, which is integral to our business and has everything we need.

How did ParallelDevs perform from a project management standpoint?

We had online meetings. They were always available and we always had very direct and immediate communication. They always have a great response time so we're very satisfied on that side.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The coding is excellent, their project management is great, and the implementation logistics and operational parts are impressive. Also, their cost reduction efforts are solid, plus the platform is great, solid and robust. They meet and exceed our expectations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are always things to improve. We would like to speed up the processes, although that's not something that depends only on them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the Sub-Director of the PREVENTEC Program in the University of Costa Rica. It’s an Academic Unit.

CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ParallelDevs?

We wanted to develop a national system for monitoring of the institutions that are part of the national risk management system. It’s a complete monitor. And our goal is that all institutions can report what they are currently doing regarding Risk Management at a National Level.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was the scope of their involvement?

They assigned four team members for the project.

How did you come to work with ParallelDevs?

We had hired another company before them, but they had to abandon the project due to the lack of time and availability, but they recommended us to work with ParallelDevs. Surprisingly, it turned out I already knew their general manager from a few years ago.

How much have you invested in ParallelDevs?

Less than $10,000.

What’s the status of this engagement?

We started working in late November of last year, and we are still working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

They used a friendly methodology using drawings and wireframes which gave us a true interpretation of what the system would possibly look like. This helped clarify the main concepts and functionality of the system.

They are very flexible people. We’ve had other companies that after completing the platform or system design, they are totally metric and don’t allow any changes to be made. They are people with very impressive development capabilities, which helps favor the variable conditions that you encounter developing software.

How did ParallelDevs perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Drupal CMS, Slack, email and Hangouts.

The communication was very fluid and done promptly. They always delivered on time and only when we successfully finished with a phase we would start with the new one.

What did you find most impressive about ParallelDevs?

The availability the developers had was very good. Whenever we had in-person meetings, we would meet in their facilities which were nice. The environment and the physical contact with them helped us gain trust and confidence.  Usually, when working with development companies online, you lack this personal contact.

Are there any areas ParallelDevs could improve?

They could improve on the documentation because ideally, you must document on reply, but that’s very hard to achieve. Not everyone can develop and document all the results that well.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with ParalleDevs?

Always have a contingency budget, because in software development you will always have things that need to be changed at the end.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Mediaocean is an ad technology company in New York City.

What is your position?

I am a digital lead in the marketing and creative departments.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with ParallelDevs?

I worked with ParallelDevs on any project that we didn't have enough internal resources for. We didn't want to hire a full-time team to work on projects. They had the expertise to execute the front-end and some of the back-end development.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

We built some internal tools with them, including a couple websites as well as a partner platform. We built an internal internet for a company of 1,200 people. ParallelDevs were the primary developers on that. We integrated our LDAP [lightweight directory access protocol] – our exchange directory. We did a bunch of support integrations with Zendesk. There were about 50 people involved in the project.

How did you come to work with ParallelDevs?

Our first job with them was through another agency. That agency signed the deal, and they introduced us to some of the people from ParallelDevs. I became good friends with them. They told me they were their own agency, and we decided to make the relationship more direct, which made the projects more affordable.

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

The internet project we did with ParallelDevs was between $65,000 and $70,000. We also had projects between $5,000 and $20,000. In total, we have probably spent more than $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The Internet project we did with ParallelDevs was completed in early 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We had a good experience with them. I think we increased usage of the Internet by 1,000 percent. Internal adoption was 85 percent or 90 percent. It helped their support increase their response times, and the head of support gave positive feedback.

How did ParallelDevs perform from a project management standpoint?

ParallelDevs was fantastic.

What distinguishes ParallelDevs from other providers?

Raul [Solano] and Alain [Martinez, managing partners at ParallelDevs] are on top of their work. I've had problems with communication with other agencies but not with ParallelDevs. It feels like we're their only client. They were open to the whole process and were flexible with our compliance issues and figured out solutions.

Is there anything ParallelDevs could have improved or done differently?

It would be great if ParallelDevs could come to where their clients are sometimes, but that never bothered me.