Professional Soft-Tech

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a web development company called Knectar.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Professional Soft-Tech?

We hired Professional Soft-Tech to extend our resourcing capacity. Our team mostly builds web portals and CMS solutions for fairly large organizations, but our focus is more on architecture and backend development. We needed to augment our team’s talent with a frontend specialist and Shopify resources.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Professional Soft-Tech provides technical resources who can support our internal development team. That ranges from frontend developers to Shopify specialists. On the frontend, they’ve done some animation work for us in JavaScript.

As for Shopify, they know the technology deeply. The team is strong at working through the Shopify configuration, business logic, and API integrations. We also rely on them to build the extensions and stitching that connect Shopify to third-party services — this is where things can get really tricky.

They’re actually working on a project with us right now, helping to define the architecture that connects Shopify to a backend system called NetSuite. As we build the middleware that brokers that communication, they’re building out the parts that connect the middleware to Shopify.

What is the team composition? 

We primarily work with a lead developer. In the past, we’ve also worked with another frontend resource. It’s really just been those two people dedicated to our team over the past few years.

How did you come to work with Professional Soft-Tech?

We originally hired one of their employees over Upwork. Over time, we switched to more of a direct relationship.

How much have you invested with them?

It’s somewhere between $120,000–$150,000, so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We hired them in October 2014 and still work with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Professional Soft-Tech’s developers have become our go-to’s for frontend development and Shopify configuration. They’re just so reliable and proficient, and the quality of work is extremely high.

We only hire senior talent, so we have faith that they’re not going to take shortcuts in their coding. They follow best practices such as using the documentation as intended and collaborating without overstepping boundaries — all things that we look for in a service provider.

How did Professional Soft-Tech perform from a project management standpoint?

I’d describe them as professional, mature, and sophisticated. In particular, the internal project management and expectation setting have been very strong. Their team is clear about what the dependencies are, so, if there’s a bottleneck, they’ll assist in specifying what the issue is. 

We do have to deal with the time zone difference because they’re based in India. However, it hasn’t affected the quality of work nor deliverable timing, and they’re used to adjusting to their clients’ time zones.

What did you find most impressive about them?

As a business owner and engineer myself, I look for my subcontracted service providers to demonstrate what I call “creative engineering.” What I mean by that is not just waiting for instructions and doing what we say, but also understanding the depth of the issue and interpreting what needs to be done. I’m looking for a provider that can go beyond the task and realize that there’s actually a business need behind it.

Professional Soft-Tech is exceptional in this regard. Oftentimes, they’ll mention when we haven’t thought of something, and I’ll thank them. That’s exactly why we keep going back to them — they end up being protective of us and our end clients, which adds real value to the relationship. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’d be nice if they also did Drupal theming, which is a very specific service that we do. The team doesn’t do it because they know what their core competencies are. They won’t tackle something if they don’t know that they can deliver at a high enough level of quality, and I respect them for that.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

This is more of a general statement, but having a successful relationship with an engineer involves doing your part as a client to be clear on the project needs and management. In essence, you need to earn a good engineer’s respect. That means showing up and doing the hard parts right alongside them without expecting magic to just happen.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder of VinTrail Solutions, which is specialised in the wine and wine tourism sector. We develop software for wineries to help them streamline processes, increase visibility and revenue. Our multi-channel approach and specialisation sets us apart from our competitors.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Professional Soft-Tech, and what were your goals?

They have accompanied me during the whole development process and continue to work with me full time today. Our goal is to become the leading wine tourism platform in the world.

SOLUTION

How did you select Professional Soft-Tech and what were the deciding factors?

I initially found them through Upwork. Their ratings were very high while their prices were reasonable and they were easy to communicate with.

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

We went about initially designing the platform needs and targets. We then started by developing the different layers for all the different users and connecting them all. From there, we created the frontend and usability.

This allowed us to go public, all the while continuing the development of all our new products lines and upgraded features. We are continuing this process so that we incorporate richer and more powerful digital winery tools.

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

We have primarily worked with one developer, but when we had deadline to reach, they would add the number of additional developers to ensure the target was reached. This has been extremely beneficial for us as it gave us the flexibility we required.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We started in Australia and New Zealand and are expanding into Europe and Latin America. Our software is already the market leader in Chile and making great strides in Europe.

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

They receive my development diagrams and notes via Google Docs. This allows us to discuss options and best solutions for each requirement using Skype and Meet. As mentioned their ability to add personal when needed is a real benefit when timelines are involved.

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

They have always gone above and beyond to make sure jobs are done cleanly and quickly. They do not hesitate to stay back late or work weekends when a job needs to be completed. That being said, they have become an integral part of my working life; they are my colleagues.

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

I think we have found a strong balance that makes our partnership strong and enduring. When we find better solutions, we discuss and change where needed.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a digital marketing agency and I am the COO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Professional Soft-Tech, and what were your goals?

We needed them to do web development for various clients and provide IT support.

SOLUTION

How did you select Professional Soft-Tech and what were the deciding factors?

Great communication skills and very friendly. They stuck to deadlines. They got the job done right the first time, always.

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

We had them make various frontend and backend changes to our clients' websites.

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

I worked direct mainly with one person who was their head developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Confidential.

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

They're very communicative and honest.

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

It's hard to find a reliable, quality, and friendly web dev team like them.

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

None.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the founder and work with various partners to delivery innovative solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Professional Soft-Tech, and what were your goals?

We've worked with PS Tech team for a few projects before and collaborated again to develop web app for ecommerce.

SOLUTION

How did you select Professional Soft-Tech and what were the deciding factors?

Since we've worked with PS Tech team for a few projects before, we believed the delivery will be on time and decided to work with them again.

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

Scope was to develop customized ecommerce for frontend store & backend CMS.

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

There were 1 Project Manager & 2-3 Developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was finished on time and already launched.

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

We used whatsapp/skype for urgent communication and used Asana for project management & tracking Bugs.

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

The team has expertise in both web & app development.

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

The whole development was smooth and no issue.