SAPHI

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director and CEO of Spoto, a technology company. We provide solutions to parking spaces.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SAPHI?

We needed a company that could provide us with hardware and software development support.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SAPHI put together the hardware aspects of our technology, which includes the sensors, cameras, and all of the other electrical components. After that, they coded the software and programmed those electrical components to work with our product. 

They used a Raspberry Pi-based processor with about 12 different electrical components connected, an RFID sensor, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, water sensors, and an accelerometer. They also did all of the printed circuit board (PCB) designs for the project.

We finished the first stage of the project in March 2022, and we’re continuing to work with them for the second stage, which is testing and commissioning.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with three people from SAPHI, including Eric (CTO), who is my main point of contact.

How did you come to work with SAPHI?

I found SAPHI through a referral.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

SAPHI has been able to efficiently put together all of the requirements in our scope. Because of their help, we’ve been able to see the use of the license plate recognition, which was the coding of the camera with the license plate.

How did SAPHI perform from a project management standpoint?

SAPHI has worked well in terms of project management. They communicate well, and they always let us know the issues they’re facing and how they’re planning on solving them. Above all, all of the deadlines we’ve established were met.

We primarily communicate through Slack and Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’ve been very impressed with SAPHI’s high level of experience and knowledge when it comes to electronics and electronics design. I can definitely say they’re above anyone else in the electronics space that we’ve dealt with.

We also appreciate their advice about different componentry and what would work best based on the telecommunications protocols.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve never had any face-to-face meetings, but that’s only because of the pandemic.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to create a Slack account and add the team to their Slack communication protocol. It’s also a good idea to have weekly standup meetings with them to run through their progress.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the solutions manager for Ampcontrol. We’re a mid-sized company with 51 employees; we mostly do electrical control in the industrial mining space. My specific team is the digital solutions team, and we look at how we can deploy software solutions to hardware and field service offerings.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SAPHI?

We lacked mobile development skills and saw SAPHI as a way to solve that problem rather than establish our own mobile development capacity. The product we needed to develop was a proof of concept for a city council. It was more of a PR project than a long-term commercial strategy project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SAPHI created a mobile application for us. They took it over from another outsourced mobile development team. We passed the codebase to them, and they managed to take it to completion. They used a cross-platform framework, which was eventually deployed on iOS and Android.

The app is connected to our IoT structure; it allows users to control lights and report usage. Additionally, other parts of our business engage with SAPHI, but I don’t know the specifics. In summary, they’re a multi-talented pool of resources, and we can tap into them to fill any sort of shortage in skills.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Cameron (Director) and Sora (Full Stack Developer).

How did you come to work with SAPHI?

We’d looked at models to raise our software development outside of our business for a while. We had issues attracting software talent, and SAPHI was in our city. They had a positive reputation for consulting services and third-party development. We’d tried a few other companies with similar services, but we had the most success with SAPHI, so we continued with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $50,000 AUD (approximately $36,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We began our engagement in January 2021, and they delivered the project in November 2021. However, we anticipate using them for different projects as the need arises.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were able to take a half-finished product, salvage it, and convert it into a working product. The documentation was pretty loose, so their ability to work in a self-direct way instead of relying on us for specific details was their most significant attribute.

How did SAPHI perform from a project management standpoint?

It was pretty good. They delivered the outcomes we wanted and gave us an opportunity to work with the council. We used Microsoft Teams as our predominant communication tool, but we also communicated through phone and emails. We didn’t meet in person due to COVID-19.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were willing to have a crack at a half-built project, which was an admirable thing in itself. Secondly, their communication was astounding. We’d struggled with third-party developers in the past because they’d spend weeks to deliver something that wouldn’t be correct. Whereas SAPHI was happy to regularly engage with us to ensure they delivered exactly what we were after.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they did well in terms of a holistic project. We started with one developer, and it became apparent in the first couple of weeks that they wouldn’t give us the result we wanted. SAPHI identified that, and they had the flexibility to take the developer off the project and supply someone who would complete it, which was of high value to us. It could’ve been a real issue, but it turned into a positive outcome.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re an excellent company to work with. If you have a new approach, they’ll be able to manage you through the third-party development process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there?

I'm the CEO of Tag & Trace.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SAPHI?

We needed to have a mobile app developed as part of a larger security system project. Our goal was to create tags that could interact with a near-field communication facility. Then, we wanted to measure the tag's exact coordinates and upload that information to a cloud-based system. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We first presented our needs and how we wanted the device and app to work. SAPHI then researched IoT technology to determine the best approach. 

Afterward, they created physical prototypes of the device and started developing a mobile app. To create a smooth UX, the team has built different versions of the design for iOS and Android. SAPHI continues to work on the app. They've also done web design for us.

What is the team composition?

Cameron (Director) and Liam (COO) are our primary contact points, but four programmers are also working on the project.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent about $130,000–$140,000 AUD (approximately $96,000 - $103,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in June 2020, and it's ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

SAPHI's innovative work has helped us get the project off the ground. It's now morphed into the development of several methods of contact tracing and monitoring.

This product is something new to the market, so the process has been complicated, but they've done a great job developing the app and its functionalities.

How did SAPHI perform from a project management standpoint?

They do an excellent job of managing the project. We have weekly catch-up meetings and communicate via Zoom, email, and phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate their ability to update us daily regarding their progress. SAPHI has laid out and stuck to a clear timeline.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there's nothing they could do better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Stick with the plan and make sure to fulfill your KPIs throughout the process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO and co-founder of Diffuse Energy, a wind turbine manufacturer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SAPHI?

We needed their expertise in custom software and product development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our primary market is remote telecommunications, so we need a custom system to streamline our data gathering and weather monitoring processes. SAPHI has relied on DietPi and Raspberry Pi to execute solutions and build our product, which our field assets can plug into our wind turbine controllers.

SAPHI has also developed a platform that serves as our portal to the data that our product’s system generates. They’ve used Node.js to integrate a two-way UI feature for our internal team and our users, allowing us to access the database through the web portal that their team has also developed for us.

What is the team composition?

We mainly work with three of their resources, including Cameron (CEO), Eric (Developer), and a business manager.

How did you come to work with SAPHI?

Apart from being a local agency, I met SAPHI’s team at a few events in the past and knew some of the companies they worked with. We chose to work with their team because of their broad skill set. Additionally, there weren’t a lot of local companies that offered the same expertise.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our ongoing engagement with SAPHI in February 2021. We’re currently applying some modifications and upgrades to optimize the quality of our products.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our main success metric for SAPHI’s work is the system’s reliability and accessibility, and we’ve been pleased with the results so far. We’re able to operate the system in remote locations without downstream problems, and the web portal offers a seamless viewing experience to our staff and customers.

How did SAPHI perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate via email and phone calls. SAPHI’s team is not huge, but they compensate for that by being good communicators. They manage our project fantastically by delivering our exact needs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

SAPHI has extensive expertise — they have full-stack development experience, which they use efficiently to execute the program for a physical device. It’s rare to encounter a team that’s good at doing all of that.

Are there any areas they could improve?
They’ve met all my expectations, and there’s nothing constructive I can say about their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be present — SAPHI is a communicative and personable team, so you’ll want to match that energy to make the most of their ideas and have a concrete scope.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of a sediment sampling company providing services to environmental companies Oil & gas and port development

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Assist in the development of both software and prototype hardware for a sunsea penetrometer

SOLUTION

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

Recommended by work collegues

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

Asses existing equipment options if available development the hardware electrical stack and provide the software to operate the system

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

4: Senior management to junior technicians

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We now have a prototype base from which with further development a commercial product may become viable

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

Clear goals defined prior to any works with clearly defined cost boundaries. They provided well-timed progress updates.

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

They provided staff qualified for the project who were easy to discuss progress and developments as their input progressed.

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

Final demonstrations

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a living lab coordinator at the City of Newcastle, Australia. We’re a local government organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SAPHI?

We needed their expertise in system integration.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SAPHI helped us evaluate our new technology stack with their data integration and visualization skills.

What is the team composition?

We worked with their CTO and business development manager.

How did you come to work with SAPHI?

We found their team through a local network.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran from June–July 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

SAPHI was on time and on budget throughout the engagement, and they’ve successfully met our expectations. 

How did SAPHI perform from a project management standpoint?

We mainly communicated via email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What stood out the most about SAPHI was their breadth of capabilities, which helped us achieve our goals.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We were satisfied with the engagement, and there were no areas that needed improvement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Specify all your needs to help their team deliver tailored solutions that can address those.