Saritasa

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m VP of Strategy and Integrated Solutions within the Government Initiatives Division at iHeartMedia. We serve government media contracts all over the US.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

iHeartMedia has experiential capabilities, which means we put on events (whether that’s a fair, a concert, or a community gathering) to educate attendees about our clients’ campaigns. 

One of the things that we’ve wanted to do was create an interactive VR experience with gamification concepts. As a user plays the game, they’re actually learning about our clients’ messages and services. We engaged Saritasa to develop those experiences.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Saritasa has created about three separate VR experiences: two for the Vive VR headset and one for the Oculus Go. For each project, they’ve been involved throughout the steps, from the initial discovery to brainstorm the client’s concepts to the content and game development all the way through to testing and location support. 

What is the team composition? 

I interface with 3–5 people, including an account manager, a project manager, the head of engineering, and a developer on occasion.

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

My colleague had found them, so we flew down to meet them in Southern California and walked through our services. They had competencies across a wide range of things, including IoT, UX design, and app development. When we got to their VR labs, our in-person visit and interview sealed the deal.

The main issue was if they knew their stuff. VR is still so new, so it’s rare to find a lot of people who can confidently get you what you need. Saritasa helped us understand what services we should be using, which platforms fit our projects, and how to develop our solutions. It was amazing to see them do this within very tight deadlines.

How much have you invested with them?

 We’ve spent between $10,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2016, and our engagement is still ongoing. The last project we did was probably back in early 2019. COVID-19 has since shut down all events. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measure their success based on our clients’ happiness. These government agencies want to know that we’re doing innovative things to help people experience their services in a new way. It says a lot that our clients understand our work and are happy with the results — especially when someone tells us that we’ve produced a game-changer.

Each of our projects has gone to 10–15 events a year, and several thousands of users have used them. Anecdotally, it seems like everyone is blown away by our VR experiences and walk away with an understanding of our clients’ concepts.

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management is stellar. We do weekly meetings with multiple touchpoints, depending on how tight the timeframes are. The team always comes in on or under budget and always on time. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I find their transparency and collaboration the more impressive. I can come to them with a half-baked idea, and they’ll show me how to make it better while keeping within our budget. 

Additionally, the expectations are realistic given the time in which we need things, so there are no surprises. That’s a big deal for us. We can’t just promise our clients something and then come back and say, “No, we can’t do that.”

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything. After working with so many development houses, I expect screw-ups to happen because these are complex projects. Sometimes, an individual decides to go rogue and do something without telling you, and I’ve never experienced that with Saritasa. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just be honest with your expectations and about your understanding of what you’re dealing with, and their expertise will take over from there. They’ll take you a long way in terms of your understanding so that you’re in the right frame of mind to develop your project.

For example, there are things that people aren’t ready to experience in VR because the technology can cause vertigo easily. They needed to educate me on that point so that I could better calibrate my ideas.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an independent architect and contractor who does both residential and commercial projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

I needed help in creating a training module for building and safety inspections. The solution would be based on VR technology.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Saritasa is developing a VR platform to train inspectors on how to inspect commercial and residential projects. Having a virtual environment rather than a mock construction setup allows us to build a variety of different projects. The project itself is accessible via the Oculus or any other VR headset.

What is the team composition? 

I work with three people, including the company owner, project developer, and project manager. Then, there’s the larger staff working behind them.

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

I started the project thinking that I could develop the platform myself. But, once I ran into some complications, I searched online to find a vendor that specialized in VR technology. Saritasa was one of the first three to come up in the Orange County area.

How much have you invested with them?

The project cost is approaching $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2020 and are just about to finish Phase 1. The development is continuous, so we plan to engage them on an ongoing basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a usable product within the virtual environment, so I’m actually able to interact with their work.  

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re doing excellent. We have weekly design meetings and talk throughout the week, so I understand what they spend their time on. If they need any information or have questions, the team corresponds over the phone or email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Saritasa knows how to translate my ideas into tangible products. They understand what I want to do and how I want to do it, which allows them to piece everything together in a satisfactory way.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’ve been right on schedule so far. There haven’t been any hang-ups or mishaps. COVID-19 posed some challenges because I couldn’t go down to their office to try on a headset and see the designs live, but that’s not their fault.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and president of a software company that produces solutions for the banking industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

I’ve worked with Saritasa on a couple of different projects, ranging from building iOS/Android apps for my other businesses to providing programming resources for some of our banking solutions.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Saritasa has been involved in taking an initial app idea all the way through design, development, and launch in app stores. That was the case with our banking app, which we signed off on at the very end. There have been other projects where they’ve replicated an existing app that was older and needed to be updated.

What is the team composition? 

I’ve worked with six people, including Stan (Client Engagement Manager) who handles all of my business with them.

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

I found Saritasa online and gave them a call. Not only were they local, but I also liked that they weren’t tied to particular product or niche. It meant that they could take on whatever content or subject matter I had and work with it.

How much have you invested with them?

With all of the projects we’ve done, it’s probably upwards of $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I’ve worked with them since 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The main thing is that their team meets my criteria as I specified. Obviously, it’s also a good sign that the apps have successfully deployed to app stores and are doing fairly well.

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

Saritasa can pretty much give you what you want—if you ask for a lot of project management, they’ll do that. If you don’t, then they won’t. 

I’ve done a couple of projects where I’ve dealt with their developers directly in an agile format. In larger projects, they’ve put project management personnel in place to interface with us and provide communication. Both of those arrangements have worked out, so far. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s their ability to work in an agile way that stands out. They can adapt to whatever capacity, speed, or even app type that you need. They’ll make sure to get the appropriate resources on the project and take a suitable approach. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t really think of anything at this point.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The most important thing is having your thoughts and designs well-developed prior to going in.
 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior attorney at a law firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

We wanted to update a form on our website and integrate a CRM platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They added Gravity Forms to our existing WordPress site, collaborating with me to add the form to our platform. From there, the Gravity Form was integrated with a Pipedrive CRM that we use to manage the forms.  

What is the team composition?

There were two business representatives that took me through the initial stages of the partnership. After, we worked with one person to define our project needs before being assigned to a project manager. We had communication with their lead engineer, but there were others working in the background. 

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

We did a Google search for web developers with WordPress experience. It was important to us that our partners didn’t give their work to independent contractors. They were good fits for us.  

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $8,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from June–July 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This is a game-changing internal solution. We made a few tweaks after they completed the work, but there haven’t been any issues with the functionality of the product. Things have been running smoothly since the launch. 

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

There was one project manager that handled all communication with me. I always knew where to turn with questions, so that was helpful.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were reliable and transparent throughout the project. We appreciate that their team had control over the project, knowing who was assigned to each task. Their cost and time estimates were pretty accurate as well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We didn’t have any issues.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about your needs, and they’ll be easy to work with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a developer at a national commodities trading company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

Our company’s principal focus is not on software, and it was a risk that I was the sole silo of knowledge of custom software systems that I’ve developed.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

After some initial calls trying to identify what we were trying to do, we came to an arrangement where we have 20 hours per month from them. We use that time to make sure that Saritasa is engaged in the project and working on tasks. 

When we need to build things quickly, we also have the option to scale up the number of hours with them to accelerate the development of certain tasks. The team works on specific programming objectives in the project that I map out. 

The principal goal of our engagement is to have a backup in the event that I’m not available, in which case they can step in and support the project in the future. We can keep them at a consistent monthly engagement to build their experience. 

What is the team composition?

We typically work with two teammates: a project manager and a developer. In the past, when we needed more help, we worked with 3–4 teammates. 

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

My boss looked at a bunch of different companies and, ultimately, what we liked about Saritasa was that they were totally happy to be flexible in terms of what service they provided. They didn’t push us to do more than what we needed, which is what a lot of their competitors were trying to do. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $30,000–$40,000 so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in February 2020, and our engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As a developer, I’m happy with the quality of work that Saritasa has produced. The work they do is very good, better than I could do on my own. They’ve been a great benefit to the project. We’ve been happy with their overall flexibility, their competence, and the quality of their work. 

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is fairly okay. Sometimes I would prefer a little more communication from our project manager. Generally, when I give them requests, we only hear back when it’s done, which, especially when we’re up against deadlines, is something that they could improve. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their flexibility and lack of sales pressure are impressive. When the pandemic hit, our software development budget got frozen for six months, and Saritasa said it wasn’t a problem. Six months later, they came back and picked up right where we left off.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As I mentioned, their communication could be better. Otherwise, we’re happy with the quality of their work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a French family-owned manufacturer of fragrance materials. I’m the VP of the US fine fragrance marketing division.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

For many years, I’ve launched a physical gallery of perfume as art and education. We turn a conference room into a beautiful interactive space in which our clients make private appointments to come and smell, play, and learn with us and to address specific business challenges that we and our clients are facing.

Due to COVID-19, I was challenged to create this year's gallery in a digital format. We had never done this before; it has always been very hands-on. I came to Saritasa with that problem.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

My budget was extremely tight because what had been budgeted was for a physical build-up space. It had nothing to do with normal expectations for a digital experience. Given my limitations, Saritasa proposed that I use as many pre-existing digital elements as possible rather than building a space completely from scratch.

They directed me to a number of gaming websites where I could buy a house, a room, a piece of furniture, a prop, or existing digital elements that they could physically install for me in cyberspace. 

The team empowered me to take on much of the legwork myself, which didn't hurt my budget, and they guided me on where to find what I was looking for and to make good selections. Along the way, they've also told me which assets won’t work because, for example, they look cartoonish or unnatural. 

They've been a sort of personal shopper in a world where I don't know how to shop. They sent me to the right department, pointed me to the best brands, let me shop, and then helped me construct a final deliverable with the pieces I've chosen. 

What is the team composition?

I’ve interacted with four teammates so far.

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

I went first to my internal IT department who gave me three vendors to reach out to. I did video meetings with all three vendors. Saritasa came back with the best proposal, and they were the only ones that could respect my budget. 

When I first went to them, I thought I was asking them to build me a website. When they understood my budget and what I was actually trying to do, they told me that I didn't need to build it from scratch. 

They asked a lot of good questions upfront about my aesthetics and goals. I showed them a lot of what I'd done in the past and they were able to redirect me toward appropriate pieces from which to construct their space. 

Other companies didn’t suggest that I purchase gaming assets; they wanted me to do my physical build-out at the gallery so that they could do 3-D photography and video. That meant that I would have to use my budget doing the build-out and then pay them for shooting it, which didn't make sense. 

How much have you invested with them?

Our budget is $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in August 2020, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

What I really like about them is that every time they do a little piece, they show me, so I have something to show my team to show progress. None of the pieces so far are perfect.

Nine out of 10 pieces are now finished, but since we're short on time, I want to get everything done first, and then I'll come back to them with a punch list of all of the edits to make in the final round. 

My team is super excited about it. It's going to be beautiful and on-brand. Saritasa has been exceptional at listening and understanding. They’re superlative listeners and unapologetic implementers who are very eager to please.

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

I'm a little bit over timing. I had thought that we would be done a few weeks ago, but I'm okay with that because I understand that what we're trying to do is save money. I have a hard stop when we get to 200 hours of their time. They’re trying to use my time really strategically. 

We have a standing meeting every Monday for about 30 minutes to discuss challenges, to show me where they're at, and to address any immediate concerns. They always send me something to review in advance. I like the consistency of the feedback and the deliverables, and I think we have a really good rapport. 

They ask questions when they don’t understand, and when something is amiss, we always have a good laugh about it. There’s no friction. We communicate via email, telephone, and video chat. Saritasa is always super responsive and quick to circle back with questions, and we’ve been teaching each other our languages.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team’s willingness to work within my budget has been impressive. They were extremely open to understanding how my galleries worked in the past. They proposed budget-friendly, user-friendly solutions for me since I was totally new in this space.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If there’s anything we've had a challenge with, it's that their standards of quality might be focused on elements that aren't so important for me or for my clients. 

For example, they want me to get a gaming computer and share the screen so that the graphics and the flow will be smooth and the render will be as tight as it possibly can be. That's less important for us because we’re not a gaming audience. What I end up with probably won’t look as good to them as it looks to me, but that's okay. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I came to the table with a lot of visual explanation of what the goal was and told them what the art installation needed to communicate. 

Once they understood the meaning behind each one, they were able to suggest alternatives that could work in the digital world. The best advice is to be a good client and come prepared to communicate as holistically as you can. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a manager for a division of a local government.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

The project centered around building a proof of concept. We wanted to implement a VR (virtual reality) experience to replace an in-person service. The original service included a vehicle walk around, which required time and resources. We wanted to streamline the process to limit equipment and time requirements.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We approached Saritasa to replace a part of our service with a VR experience. Based on our requirements, they recommended that we purchase one headset. Then, their team built our experience to meet the requirements of that headset.

As it was a proof of concept, they built an abbreviated experience. Their team proposed a couple of different scenes. The cost was a concern, so they used off the shelf features to stay within our budget. They created a scene in which users can click various items. Their team implemented our logo to make the scene as realistic as possible.

While users interact with the scene, they explain their decisions to click for us to review. For that, Saritasa built an automatic scoring component. They also built in a timer and a practice test component, allowing our users to become familiar with the technology.

What is the team composition?

We first connected with Stan (Software Development Executive) who was our account representative. We worked with Aaron (Vice President of Immersive Technology) and Danny (Project Manager) on the nitty-gritty details of the project.  

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

A few months ago, we researched online anyone with experience in VR development. We found three companies and quickly narrowed our list to Saritasa. It seemed easy to work with them. Another contender wanted to take on a bigger project than what we wanted to start.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $20,000 on the actual experience Saritasa built.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We began the project at the beginning of May 2020, and it wrapped up in July.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our team is absolutely satisfied with the product. When I showed clips and provided updates to our management, they were excited. The idea’s feasible, and I anticipate that we’ll move forward with it pending funding.

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

Danny facilitated weekly or biweekly meetings for us, and we used a video platform called BlueJeans. All other communication was done via email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Saritasa team has a keen eye for developing a realistic experience. When we had questions about voiceovers and ambient noise, they always had answers for us. Their team explained all the details that made the scene more realistic.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, it’s been a great experience.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Brainstorm with them. We started the project with a huge idea and a couple of different avenues. In one brief meeting, we narrowed the scope because they set our expectations for what VR could and couldn’t be. Get their input early because they can guide you.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We're a nonprofit that applies behavioral science to social problems. We conduct rigorous research, replicate and scale what works, in conjunction with our partners in government, the nonprofit sector, and private industry. I'm the director of communications, and as such I am responsible for all external relations work, our digital channels and visual identity, and publications at the organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Saritasa?

To port over and redesign our company website following a subpar relationship with another firm. We hired Saritasa to make our website more functional, more streamlined from a UX perspective, and more up-to-date in look and feel. We also hired them to take over a second website we own, with a database functionality, and to translate the database into Spanish.

What were your goals for this project?

To make our website more functional, more streamlined from a UX perspective, and more up-to-date in look and feel.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We went through a procurement process whereby we solicited proposals from 8 web firms, based on recommendations from our clients, partners, and reviews online.

After reviewing 8 proposals, which included myself and 2 of my direct reports, we decided that Saritasa had the vision and clearly understood our technical needs better than any of the other vendor options, and were clear and prompt in their communication. They're also priced competitively.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We provided a brief overview of what we wanted to change on our site, what we want to merely migrate over from the existing site, and the timeline. We also provided visual assets and were asked to provide input on the new theme, layout, and global elements in partnership with their design lead.

They took the lead on everything else, including making recommendations about which paths forward made the most sense from a UX perspective. They provided multiple design options for the new site global structure/layout, as well as a test server for us to view changes in real time unpublished.

What was the team composition?

They had a project manager who handled day to day project and tasks, a more senior liaison to the company who handled budget and negotiations/client relations, a lead designer who handled the visuals with us directly, and an unknown number of coders. The size of the team shrank to the PM and senior liaison after the initial design period, which was what was called for.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our engagement has been successful--they've given us a refreshed site that we get compliments on from our funders and board members all the time, it's made our site easier to use and navigate, which is crucial for marketing our services and achieving our mission of sharing our work with the world. They've reduced our web costs and time required to make changes/fixes significantly.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

It was handled by them exclusively--they proactively proposed timelines, estimates of labor hours, workplans, order of operations for tackling the multiple components of the redesign, and proactively communicated anything that needed to change.

They also checked in frequently to make sure we were happy, and provided guidance on ideas we had (to make sure they were feasible or not). They used google hangouts and email primarily, with some invision use for design, and a dev server on our own web domain so we could privately see the proposed changes before pushing to development.

They were extremely responsive (above and beyond what I have experienced with other developers), took feedback quickly and well, adapted to our changing needs/timelines, and work very quickly. Met deadlines, and if they felt they couldn't, they communicated it ahead of time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were extremely responsive (above and beyond what I have experienced with other developers), took feedback quickly and well, adapted to our changing needs/timelines, and work very quickly. Met deadlines, and if they felt they couldn't, they communicated it ahead of time.

They seem to genuinely care about our happiness with the site and over time they got to know more about our company. They proposed changes/fixes that made more sense than even we ourselves thought of. In a way they've become thought partners of sorts on our website.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Price estimations initially for our web migration/redesign pieces were very low compared to where we landed, which was due in part to not taking a deep enough dive into our site's subpages when they made the proposal. This led to the costs and time being higher than anticipated, but because they realized this, they worked with me to negotiate something that would work for both of us, but in the future it might be useful to do more due diligence on their end to avoid similar surprise situations.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Boxxle Sports is an online fantasy sports company. I am CEO & Co Founder of Boxxle.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Saritasa?

Hired Saritasa for designs, website and mobile development, and project management.

What were your goals for this project?

To create, design and build a user friendly fantasy sports platform.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We researched various companies and narrowed it down to 4. After meeting the Saritasa team and reviewing the project it was an easy decision.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They designed, developed, and built a custom online fantasy sports platform. Everything from start to finish including front end development for mobile and desktop along with an entire back end portal for site logistics.

What was the team composition?

We had a team of approx 6-8, including a full time project manger and senior project manager overseeing the day to day operations of the site. The CEO was even involved in the project which was great to have that commitment.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project has grown our start up business tremendously. The Saritasa team has amazing vision and provided great insight throughout the entire project that the platform had evolved so much and we are better off for it today.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was on point. We had weekly meetings through zoom and phonecalls/email communication almost daily. From development to senior management to ownership, everybody was involved.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The daily communication along with the vision, insight and skillsets from each and every person involved.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I don't think there are any particular areas for improvement. but knowing the Saritasa team I am sure they will always strive to be better tomorrow then they were today.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The overall company is a research consultancy firm, but the specialization of my department is global media and entertainment. We work with studios and networks across the board; any type of entertainment company you can think of, we try to work with. We provide a service to help them better understand data in the entertainment setting.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

We had a platform on which our clients were able to access the data that we provide about entertainment, as well as the customers who consume that entertainment. When I was brought on board, the platform was not in the best condition; it wasn't very fluid, it didn't work very well, and it was clunky. There were a lot of issues.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

It has been a very collaborative partnership. On my team, I have data scientists and analytics experts. What Saritasa provided was mostly the development side and helping us figure out how to rebuild a platform, through which we could provide our clients with the data that they need. We worked together to build this platform. They did the actual development work, my team did the analytics work, and then it was all integrated together in order to come up with the final product.

What is the team composition?

Stan (Manager, Client Engagement), who was the account manager, basically held our hand from the beginning to the end. He was there the entire way, and he just made sure everything ran smoothly. We had standups three times a week via video chat. The account manager was there every day, and we also worked with Chris (Project Manager). He was also absolutely fantastic. He was there for anything I needed or if I couldn't get ahold of somebody. He kept me on track with our hours and the budgeting. They were just really on top of everything.

For every standup, we were in contact with Dmitry (CTO). He was the lead developer and also really acted as the manager of the whole project. He had an entire team that we met at the beginning, but because they were mostly in other parts of the world, we didn't have daily contact with them. Dimitri knew everything that there was to know about the project. Between these three gentlemen, we were able to work through and get any questions answered, any problem taken care of, and any additions needed. We just worked with them incredibly well.

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

We didn't have an internal development team, so I looked externally. Saritasa checked all the boxes of somebody local that I could go and physically meet with in Los Angeles, as well as their very in-depth surveying of our needs. Their proposal was very comprehensive, so they turned out to be great partners in that respect. Also, a big part of why we chose them is that they were a full-stack dev team. They could do anything we needed, from start-to-finish. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $50,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started talking to them at the end of last year, and we went and saw them in person in January 2020. They had to do an assessment, go through our system, and come up with a proposal. Then, I had to run it by my leadership team. Once all of that was approved, we were able to start working together at the beginning of February. 

I believe they’re finishing this week, and then, there will be testing and realistically some back-and-forth. The platform will be done in 6–7 months.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The platform isn’t up and running yet. The framework has been built, and now, the data itself needs to flow through it. My team is getting the data uploaded and trying to get everything settled. However, that type of testing probably won't happen until the end of July or beginning of August. We'll likely ask a client of ours to just test it out and help us figure out what bugs and things to fix, and we'll go from there. 

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very attentive and comprehensive. Any time we had questions, we Slacked them, and within a few hours at most, we would get a response. Their guys worked on weekends – even though we didn't generally work on weekends, we stayed on call so that we wouldn’t delay the project. 

They stayed 100% on budget, and I was really thankful for that. They looked out for our needs. Any concerns I had, they addressed immediately. Any issues we had development-wise, both my guys talked with Dimitri and his team within twenty-four hours, so everything was constantly turning, and questions were answered. We didn't have any blockers. That was the one thing I kept making sure of throughout the process: was anybody blocked by anything? Because of our constant communication and their open-door policy, we were able to avoid that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The way that Stan was there from the beginning to the end was great, and he was integral to this being successful. He made the process extremely smooth, and he was always available. I had a lot of questions; this was the first time we brought on an external vendor, so I wanted to make sure all of our needs were being met, and he made sure that happened. We even went through multiple iterations of the project plan with varying costs and everything. We went back and forth and finally agreed on a project that fit our needs and our budget, and they were absolutely willing to make that happen.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Because I'm on the product side and I don't work with that type of information, it was a little harder for me to know where we were and to follow along. However, in speaking with my team, they felt like we were on track, and they weren't worried about anything. So, no, in that respect, I don't think they could have improved on anything. As I said, they were always on the calls. They were very attentive, and they met our needs.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be completely transparent and open with what they want. As I said, Saritasa gave us a quote, and they stayed on budget, regardless of their own time. I think that they are very caring and attentive to a client's needs, and that meant more to me than anything. I really enjoyed working with this team, and it really came down to the communication and the open discussions.