Polytech Software

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CIO of a company that manufactures and distributes industrial tools and safety equipment. We operate in North America and Europe, and we’re rapidly expanding through organic growth and acquisitions. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Polytech Software?

We needed help developing a B2B website and handling our Salesforce account.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Polytech took over the development of our existing website, and we provided them with the original business documentation. After that, we’ve worked with them later to revise and add features to the platform. They used Salesforce, Pardot, and Tableau to work on the site. 

The site displays information about our company, products, and location. It also has a B2B portal that requires a sign-in, and people can purchase our products individually or in bulk online. Our customers can register an account and see their order history through the site. 

What is the team composition?

We work with 2–6 developers depending on our needs.  

How did you come to work with Polytech Software?

We were looking for more economical web developers. We talked to various companies using offshore resources, and Polytech was recommended to us. We spoke to them and called their references, and we received excellent feedback about their work. With that, we decided to hire them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent close to $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2018, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have an agile system with Polytech, and we have an ongoing cadence. They’re very good at hitting their targets. They’re also good at providing innovative solutions — they deliver solutions that Salesforce can’t offer. 

Polytech fulfills their promises. We encounter very few surprises when dealing with them — they’re very reliable.

How did Polytech Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Polytech is very good at project management. Their project manager keeps everything on track, and they update us on their progress through regular meetings. We use Microsoft Teams, Jira, and emails to collaborate. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Polytech knows their stuff — they are well-educated. They’re also very clear with communications, and they are prompt in delivering products. Additionally, they’re reasonably priced. It’s great to work with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. I enjoy working with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re very reliable. You can start with a few test projects, and as you build confidence and trust, give them more work. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a data company. We're an organization that assists other companies to collect personal data from their customers, employees, clients, usually for the purpose of doing a transaction. Our companies need personal data collectors and keep it secure, while also having General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance. All of this needs to be done in a smooth and efficient way.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Polytech Software?

We had a full-time developer who wasn't with Polytech Software that eventually left, so we contacted Polytech Software's team to continue the development. They are essentially our developing partners. We have worked with them from a very early stage and we have been with them since. We've found them very cooperative and very flexible.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They've developed our platform and our dashboard, which was originally on Microsoft Azure and has now migrated to Google Cloud Platform (GCP). They've also provided general work on our apps.

Initially, we needed an application developed, and they did the work alongside our CTO. After that, we wanted to expand the scope of the application, so they developed the dashboard. Between 2018–2019, we did a complete rebuild of the whole system. The app allowed individuals who were sharing data to hold their information on their phones. They could see what data they’d shared, respond to data requests, and share information with multiple organizations as requested.

Polytech Software helped us all the way through that project. Their team was very involved in the development of the application. It used the Xamarin platform, which would allow the app to be used on both platforms iOS and Android. 

Now, we’ve moved over to a web-based system for our newest version. Organizations have full cloud access to all of their data and can call in information from clients or employees using the dashboard. They can manage these activities with tools to help with GDPR compliance. Polytech Software has been working with us ever since.

What is the team composition?

We've only had one main developer, who has been working with us for about three years now. Depending on the project we've also got a few of the people in the background who, for example, do manual testing of the platform and automated testing. We also have access to more senior people on the occasion that we might need further advice.

How did you come to work with Polytech Software?

One of our team members had worked with Polytech Software before in a previous company; he had some experience with them and recommended that we should contact them. We had a chat with them and went from there.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested close to €200,000 (approximately $237,420 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We engaged with them in November 2015. It's an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

How they build it isn't necessarily going to have a big impact on how successful it is, as long as they create what we have asked them to build in a reliable way. The solution works and allows us to expand — that's all they can do. If you ask someone to build a product and the product isn't good, then it's not going to be good regardless of how well it's built.

Another example is that another developer built the first version of our product. When Polytech Software became involved with our project full-time, we moved to version two, which has been a lot more stable and better put together. That's how we've noticed the impact on our customer’s experience because that's what would affect our sales.

How did Polytech Software perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate mostly by Zoom, Slack, GitHub, and GitLab. We are the project managers; we work with their team and pull in whatever resources we need. Then, they have a lot of developers. That's big because, when you need more help, you can call them. There’s a lot of documentation, communication, discussion, and handholding in terms of daily meetings with the team.

Some developers will just do the job but don't think of long-term expansion and scalability; that’s no problem here with Polytech Software. We rebuilt our whole platform after two years of development, so we could integrate more scalability. They helped us all along the way.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I think they're a reliable and professional team. Our main developer who worked with us for about three years has become an important asset to our team. We've asked Polytech Software to let him come on to our team full time, and they've been very gracious in allowing us to do that. It shows that they see the big picture and want us to succeed. Now he works for us independently, but we're still using their software services for things like testing and backup support.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't really think of anything. When we ask them to build something, they build it. They've given us good quality people. There are very few problems in our workflow. However, we are all learning as we go along, and maybe we might have done things a little differently with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.

Any advice for potential customers?

You want people to be there not just this year, but next year and the year after. You want a company that's going to be stable and reliable because if you start development and the company has issues if they take a member of your team away, that's a serious matter.

You want people to be there, not just for this year, but the next and the year after. You want a company that's going to be stable and reliable. It's a serious matter when a company takes a team member away after you've started development. The only way you're really going to know if you have a stable team is by getting a good reference from somebody else. 

With Polytech Software, we’ve always had access to senior managers, so if we had any problem, we could go to them. In terms of the availability of a particular person, we have been able to reach them, and they were very responsive.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of MyMonii. We’re a fintech company based out of Denmark. We do financial responsibility for families and children. Essentially, we issue a MasterCard to kids which can be controlled within our app by their parents. This allows parents to have full control over spending and how much pocket money the children should have.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Polytech Software?

Initially, we brought them on to build our MVP. Our objective was to build it to make sure we could prove our concept.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

For the MVP, we initially scoped what we needed then Polytech Software delivered the technical capabilities. They built the app and the backend. Now, we’ve taken over more responsibility for the solution in our office. However, they’re still leading the development. They utilize Node.js with TypeScript.

They’re a part of our day-to-day. They work as our extended team. We scale up and down as needed. Currently, we have three developers working with our team. There are technical leads for Android, one for iOS, and one for the backend.

They do a wide range of things including analytics. Polytech Software wired our application to Firebase by Google Analytics. This gives us a view of the onboarding and activation funnels.

What is the team composition?

Right now, we have three full-time developers.

How did you come to work with Polytech Software?

One of our founders had previously worked with Polytech Software. He had very good things to say about them. Of course, the obvious choice was to use them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our going engagement started around September 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since they’ve been working as an extended team and not just a project-based team, they’ve integrated into our scrum sprints. The number of new features delivered is tracked. Their team delivers consistently throughout the year. We make sure we measure quality and stability. We expect the apps to have <1% of errors each month.

How did Polytech Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They take responsibility to ensure that they meet deadlines. We’ve taken over more of the project management internally, but when we need something from them it always works well. Polytech Software knows what they’re doing, and it’s easy for us to interact with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s really important for us to have flexibility. When we need something we don’t have in-house, Polytech Software can make it happen. We can easily switch a resource or find a person who knows about that domain. We can switch around and get different competencies as needed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind. If those kinds of situations occur, feedback happens immediately and they adjust.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have an organization that supports taking in an extended team or project that fits with their services. If you’re prepared, you’ll be good to go. Polytech Software has everything to make it happen but it depends on the organization bringing them in.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CTO and co-founder of a US software company that’s building a SaaS solution in the cloud space. My responsibilities include everything that has to do with engineering or technology within the company. We've recently closed a funding round and are currently in stealth mode.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Polytech Software?

I wouldn't characterize it that way. My business partner and I have successfully built a startup in the past using Polytech, so there wasn't any question as to whether or not we would use them again. There wasn’t a business need so much as it was obvious that we wanted to use their talents for this work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

With them, we follow an outstaffing model. The people who are on our team look and feel like our own team members instead of their own Polytech team members. They handle all of the minutiae of making that work.

First and foremost, they provide us with a pretty consistent flow of qualified candidates which we interview ourselves. When we find someone we like, they take care of all the legalities and compliance issues regarding onboarding that person under Ukrainian law.

They also have custom onboarding workflow elements that are specific to our company in terms of the agreements that we need to be signed by each member of the team. Once somebody is onboarded, they just keep the process running smoothly. They take care of the payroll and benefits as well, so from our perspective, that’s the value they bring to our team.

How did you come to work with Polytech Software?

The partnership dates back to probably around 15 years ago. At our previous company, one of our employees brought them in because we needed some very specific tasks done. It was a specialized skill that we couldn’t easily find in the US, and our engagement with them grew from there.

Over time, as we continued to have challenges hiring in the US, we gave Polytech more and more work. By the end of that process, the majority of the team consisted of Ukraine-based resources.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in September 2019. The partnership remains ongoing in terms of financial investment.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As I mentioned early, we use an outstaffing model with them. That means that we're responsible for managing the actual engineering work and output. The way that I measure their value to the business is primarily in how quickly I can go from an open req to a filled req. I’m not prepared to divulge the details of those metrics other than to say that we’re quite satisfied with them.

How did Polytech Software perform from a project management standpoint?

I have never had a problem with any of their performances. Our model isn’t a project-based model where we ask them to build an app and give them a specific timeframe. We can’t provide any comments regarding that, but I am quite happy with the results that we’ve achieved with them so far.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It's the fact that they really understand the particular needs of a product-oriented tech startup. I never really feel like they’re putting their profitability ahead of our shared goals.

Our incentives are very much aligned. If we succeed, then the team grows and their revenue increases. If we don’t, their revenue decreases. I've never felt that wasn't the case.

They're not trying to maximize their own short-term gain by nickel-and-diming us. The pricing is transparent, and we know exactly where the money goes and what the margin is. I find that to be really refreshing compared to the other experiences I’ve had.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If there were any, it would’ve come up from our previous arrangement 15 years ago. I feel like they’re a pretty well-oiled machine by now.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would urge anyone who is building tech startups and tech products to consider the outstaffing model as opposed to conventional outsourcing. There are a lot of advantages and not a lot of disadvantages. If you’re open to using talent outside of the US, it’s something you should strongly consider.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a fintech software and data company. We’re based in London, and we have offices in Barcelona as well.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Polytech Software?

We wanted a partner to help us understand software and create an MVP to test in the market.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Polytech Software has been our software building partner since our inception, from building the MVP to successive products. They’ve also built, APIs, databases, and other tools for my clients. 

The software is all hosted in Azure Cloud. We have hosted databases on the backend, and then we have a frontend comprised of widgets for all of our clients, as well as specific widgets and tools for our clients. These are hosted solutions that we then give to our clients to include in their product platform.

We’ve built out a number of APIs that allow data that builds off widgets and get ingested into our clients’ platforms.

What is the team composition?

I work with seven people from their team. 

How did you come to work with Polytech Software?

They were recommended by a friend who has worked with them at another company.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested more than $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in early 2014, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The most valuable thing that the team provides is trust and advice. When I started off in this business, I had very little understanding of technology, and they’ve proven that I can trust them along the way. 

Employing a team of tech experts without having any background in technology yourself is tricky, but they’ve helped me achieve that and build a high-quality team over time. My clients respect my company for the quality that Polytech produces. Their work is well received by our internal team.

How did Polytech Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Culturally, they’re very strict. When they say they’ll do something, they do it. That’s particularly nice now that we’re remote; I know things can easily get lost in translation, or teams might not work well when they’re in different locations.  However, I’ve found that Polytech is very reliable in completing requests. I’ve worked with other teams that were keen to please but didn’t actually fulfill their promises. Polytech tells us when they can or can’t do something.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their trust, honesty, and integrity stand out to me. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would prefer that the contractual process and banking be done through someone in London or New York. Strictly working with their team in Ukraine has been difficult because of the currency fluctuations. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d just reiterate that they’re trustworthy.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the general manager for a company that published financial applications for business valuations, mergers, acquisitions, fixed asset accounting, and tax reporting.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Polytech Software?

We needed a partner that could maintain, update, and improve our existing products for our customers. Polytech Software offered full-service product development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They maintained the existing programs, fixed bugs, and improved products with each update. Starting where our former developers left off, they became familiar with the preexisting code. They used Delphi Whenever we required programming expertise, we went to them for recommendations.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with about three people. We’ve worked with 1-2 programmers throughout the project.

How did you come to work with Polytech Software?

They were referred to us by a colleague. We have a connection in Ukraine, so we were leaning towards working with a partner there.  We chose Polytech Software because they had very competitive development rates.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in August 2018 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work has been well-received internally.

How did Polytech Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very organized and methodical in their approach. We’ve tracked how well they’re able to adhere to deadlines; they miss some, they meet some, it all depends on the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very well-rounded. They have a lot of expertise in different areas so they have an extensive knowledge base. It has really helped us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Overall, their communication is very good but we’ve had a few miscommunications because of the time differences and language differences. However, those are infrequent.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know what you want to accomplish going into the project. The more specific you are, the better the results will be.