Priocept

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your company?

With regard to Priocept, I was the head of online for Virgin Media or Virgin Mobile in Qatar. The organization that I worked for is a freelancing company that handles various contracts, of which Virgin Mobile was one of them, which is where I used Priocept for the implementation of Sitecore.

We work primarily with telecoms and related industry players. I’ve been with Orange UK, France Telecom, Virgin Mobile, O2, and Vodafone. More recently, I‘ve collaborated with a handful of travel companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges you were attempting to address when you initiated the relationship with Priocept?

First of all, we were launching a brand new venture in Qatar. We had no technical infrastructure whatsoever. We had a network, and that was it. My mandate, as the head of online, was to define what the objectives and principles were for our site, how we were going to serve those, build an online presence that was both in Arabic and English that would be able to sell our products and services, and also support those users post purchase.

The key things that they helped us with, in fact, was the evaluation of content management systems in the market from very heavy weight, full commerce suites through to some of the lighter, pure content management systems that are out there. They helped us implement that system and most of the infrastructure design, including what that would mean in terms of hosting. They worked with us to design the actual application that was supported by the content management system. They also integrated with the planned gateway. It’s not our services that needed integrating down there at the local level in Qatar.

What content management system did they implement for you?

They implemented Sitecore. There was a content management evaluation of which Sitecore came out as the preferred solution for us. Then, it was the actual implementation of that and the subsequent development.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of the project? For example, did it involve custom design, backend development, training, and ongoing support?

The first part was the evaluation of the market, such as whether Sitecore was fitting for us. It wasn’t the only one, there was a couple of others, of which we or the company decided to consider. We also agreed with the recommendations where the actual license was directed to us rather than sold through. So, we have had a license direct with Sitecore. Then, Priocept developed in that license and in conjunction with the other partners as well.

How did you select Priocept as your partner for this project?

I had worked  Dan Norris-Jones of Priocept, who was one of the founding partners, as well as Greg Murray. I remembered them when I knew I'd have to build a new application for Virgin. They went through a process along with a handful of other potential vendors. It came down to whether they had the skills to be able to implement the system and then develop on it. That was the key criterion. The other important criterion was their resource pool, and we were confident they'd have the coverage to handle the project scope. 

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

We’re probably talking in the fringe of about $1.5 million.

When was the most recent project completed with them?

That was the only one that I’ve done with Priocept. That was in 2010, I think.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the effectiveness of the work they've delivered?

In terms of their core competency, it's absolutely in technology, very good at integrating, very good at finding solutions to problems that are probably unique to organizations. They’ve got a very strong group. It’s a small group of people but, on the integration side, they’re very good on how to you get the components to talk to each other, and how their solutions work. They’re very good there. Our system has performed very well. Few bugs emerged after the immediate launch and we were very impressed with the integrity of all of our data and documentation. Having experienced poor launches in the past, I wasn't necessarily sure what to expect, but our system works fantastically. 

I think from an infrastructure design perspective, it’s their bread and butter. From a project delivery perspective, very good as well, particularly in the agile space. The thing with Priocept is our engagement went very well. We had some hiccups on the way, but they’re always upfront and honest about the challenges, both planned and unplanned. Which for me, as a client, I definitely enjoyed that. There’s knowing risks in someone telling me that it’s better than it actually is. They’re very realistic about the challenges that we had and the corresponding timelines. We started with literally nothing. From the time we engaged them and at the point that we actually knew what we wanted to go live was probably about five months. They’re pretty good in terms of launching a mobile site for a telco operator.

When working with Priocept, is there anything you would consider unique or special about them compared to other vendors with which you’ve worked?

They’re very much determined to give you a solution that’s going to work. We have a very good working relationship with Priocept. I think that smallness breeds that close [relationship] whereas some of the medium-sized companies don't offer that kind of attention, because your engagement might not be large enough to warrant so much time and effort. With small [companies], you become quite important. That’s a great effect of this. They've also been extremely upfront about issues that arise along the way. As I mentioned, we definitely ran into some challenges throughout the process, but they were addressed rapidly and wholeheartedly. We really admire that kind of work ethic. 

Do you remain confident that the Sitecore CMS solution will continue to serve your business needs into the foreseeable future?

Sitecore is a very good lightweight content management system. If you look at say Verizon, so a few of some of the other big telcos out there, Sitecore will probably manage the content, but not necessarily the complexity of some of the merchandising that goes on. Sitecore has its place for certain. Sitecore can go a long way. It just really depends on how you want to use it. For us, the answer is maybe. We know we'll eventually grow out of it. Sitecore was definitely the right decision at the time and it continues to operate very well for us. When the limitations become too burdensome is when we'll consider transitioning to a more robust system. 

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your company?

We’re a trade association representing the insurance industry in the U.K. We have about 100 staff, and our membership constitutes approximately 80 or 90 percent of the whole U.K. insurance market.

What is your position?

I’m a Web manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges you were attempting to address when you began these projects with Priocept?

The project initiation started before I got here, so I’m speaking on behalf of the people who were here. The main issue that was being addressed was the existing API website and contacts database were built as one monolithic system several years before. Because it was a custom-built API and built in such a way that it was very, very difficult to modify, it simply wasn’t meeting our business needs.

SOLUTION

What CMS solution did you transition to?

We transitioned to Sitecore CMS. We still have an ongoing project to replace the contacts database with a CRM. The selection for that is not completed yet.

Could you describe the scope of the project? For instance, did it include custom design, development, training, or support?

The project was a complete replacement of the website, and the content management system that drove it. The project included everything from technology consultancy, strategic reevaluation, requirements gathering, design architecture, information architecture, development, content migration, training, and ongoing support.

How did you select Priocept as your solution partner?

That decision was made before I got here, so I’m not sure I can provide you with an accurate account, but I believe there were some references that they had of organizations that have worked with us in the past. We essentially had very good recommendations for them from a couple of other organizations.

What parts of the project did you contribute to directly with your in-house expertise?

We did quite a lot of work on the information architecture. We conducted some minor user research and some of the design work. We also performed some usability testing.

Could you give me a sense of the size of this initiative in monetary terms?

It cost around a half million pounds, or roughly $800,000.

When was the Sitecore implementation completed?

We went live in May of this year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the effectiveness of the work that they delivered?

The new site boasts nearly a 30 percent increase in Web traffic. It’s very much improved now. We’ve got a mass of improvement and in peers. We’ve got generally much higher satisfaction from staff and users alike.

Do you remain confident that Sitecore was the correct CMS solution for your business?

Yes, I believe so. It certainly does everything we need it to do; and it will likely stand the test of time.

When working with Priocept, is there anything you would consider unique or special about them compared to other solution partners you’ve had in the past?

They’re small enough that you receive significant amounts of personal service from them, and they’re quite honest and open about their capabilities. Where there were difficulties, they are always extremely approachable and receptive to our recommendations.  

In retrospect, is there anything that you believe Priocept could improve upon, or are there things you’d do differently as a client before approaching these projects?

I don’t think visual design is their strongest capability. They’re definitely a technology-focused consultancy. They’re very strong with conceptual design and technical implementation, but not quite as strong with visual design.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a director of a company manufacturing electronic automation products for industrial applications

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We worked with Priocept on a project to develop a web application for the configuration of our products (industrial motor controllers).

SOLUTION

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

No formal process was followed.

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

The scope of the work was to develop a web app running on an embedded Linux system for the configuration of an industrial motor controller

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

We worked with three people.  A project manager and two developers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

A prototype web app was developed

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

Project management was good.  Communication was regular and effective

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

Their technical understanding was impressive.

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

More time should have been spent on understanding and agreeing requirements