Savvycom

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO and founder of dressCODE, an online marketplace to book wardrobe stylists and personal shoppers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Savvycom Software?

I needed help building out a mobile app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Savvycom Software developed an iOS app for us. They developed the app from scratch, including both the stylist and user side of the app. I provided the design work and their team created the core functionality of the app, which is a booking platform for clients.

The client selects a service, enters booking details such as time and location, and duration of the appointment. They then receive a list of available stylists and their profiles, which include their portfolio, bio, ratings, and reviews. The client-side also features profiles, which include age, occupation, and a link to their Pinterest account so that potential stylists can understand their style aesthetic. 

Clients can book that stylist with Apple Pay or their credit card and can use discount code. After booking a stylist, they can engage in one-on-one chat conversations with them, sending photos and links.

The stylist side integrated Stripe to allow them to process payments. Stylists have the ability to set their availability, design their profile, and communicate directly with clients.

What is the team composition?

Our product manager switched a couple of times, but they were my main point of contact to make sure that deliverable goals were met each week. A number of their engineers would interact with me over Slack, but I primarily interacted with our project manager.

How did you come to work with Savvycom Software?

After deciding we wanted to work with an overseas vendor, I did some research and found a TED Talk by Savvycom Software’s CEO. She gave a beautiful speech about selling peanuts on the side of the street as a child and how she went on to create a global company that services hundreds of clients. I was really inspired by her and felt that they had a really transparent and healthy work culture. I also had a great gut feeling after talking to our account manager.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested about $27,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Savvycom Software ran from August 2018–April 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are still beta testing our app, but I am very pleasantly surprised by the attention to detail and functionality of the app. Our MVP works from beginning to end and is 100% crash-free for our users, which makes me feel good. Any bugs that we do find have been relayed to Savvycom Software and they’ve been able to fix them quickly.

Overall, it was a great experience and I would recommend them to anyone looking for contract support. We’ve been able to book 4–5 appointments beginning to end on the app. Customers have been receptive to the design, which is very sleek. The app turned out great and is easy to navigate. I would love to continue to work with Savvycom Software to enhance our product.

How did Savvycom Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was amazing. Savvycom Software works in agile methodology and communicates with us over Slack every day. Our teams shared a Google Doc that they would update with questions that I would then go in and answer.

Every member of their team is smart and is able to explain the product I was trying to make. They were always willing to ask questions when they had them, which I really appreciated. It was a smooth seamless process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Savvycom Software actually cared about our project. They understood what we were doing and they cared about the product and helped us build the best MVP we could.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were a few changes to our team early on which caused a few setbacks. I had to explain the project to different members of their team. Other than our internal chances, we were really happy with our team at Savvycom Software.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communicate efficiently and speak up when you have questions, comments, or concerns. Go in with a clear vision of what you want so you can best communicate that to their team. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO and co-founder of a meditation startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Savvycom Software?

We were looking for someone to build our app for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Savvycom Software developed both iOS and Android versions of our mobile app. The app mainly functions as a subscription-based service, although non-paying users have access to a few courses. Paying members have access to all of our meditation and psychologically themed courses.

The app also features a record of how long each member has meditated and how much content they’ve listened to. After a course ends, there is also a sharing option that allows users to share a graphic and quotes from their meditation with friends.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four members of the Savvycom Software team.

How did you come to work with Savvycom Software?

I read an article about their team online. It mentioned that they were a good team that had won loads of awards, so I sent them an email. I know Hanoi, where their office is, very well so I went to visit. I liked them and their prices were reasonable so I decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested about $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Savvycom Software ran from October 2018–July 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our app works very well and doesn’t crash very often. Our users have found it to be user-friendly. Their work met our expectations.

How did Savvycom Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They have a great system of project management. I could bring them an idea for a feature, and even without tons of details, they could make what I was looking for. The Savvycom Software team is good at planning and execution, not just coding.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team is very business savvy. They recognize that actions will have business results instead of just building our code.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’ve done a great job.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Set expectations well in advance. I also found it to be more effective to work with them on a monthly basis rather than a project basis.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder and CEO of Stampp, a locally based social mobile app and website that helps business massively increase their word-of-mouth referrals. It’s a 2-sided marketplace for both consumers and businesses that allows consumers to record, organize, and share a list of all the businesses they like and use in a central place. It’s also a marketing tool that allows small to medium businesses to take their offline business referrals and put them online in a place that can leverage customers’ friend networks.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Savvycom Software?

About 90% of the world's word-of-mouth business referrals are still happening offline. As a result, businesses are not able to leverage these referrals effectively, so they waste lots of money on broadcast marketing instead, trying to sell to people that don’t necessarily need their services.

When I initially started the project to solve this need, I knew we had to tackle functionalities. We’re offering a complex solution, and I needed to find someone who’d worked on something similar before. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Savvycom was involved in all aspects of the project, acting as a virtual CTO. Their tasks included strategy, design, and development. Stampp allows businesses to store their details permanently on customers’ phones, making them easily available for whenever the customer actually needs that service. We chose Savvycom as our partner because of their experience with a product that had similar features to those we wanted. Our project was technically challenging, but we felt Sayycom had the required skills and problem-solving ability to handle it.

I spent a lot of time designing what I felt would be the best solution in the marketplace and actually built a prototype using the Proto.io tool. I gave Savvycom the end-result and documented my specifications.

When building a 2-sided marketplace, I knew we had to make it functional from day 1. This is hard to do when we only had 1 side of the marketplace, so we’ve had to come up with some smart solutions, including a Google Places integration. That was tied with our database, and we had to work out a way of syncing those 2 items in real-time.

Google has around 22 standard categories for businesses; but, in our database, we have hundreds of them. The Google offering was too generic for our solution, so we needed to provide clients with more specific options. We also wanted to ensure that all images could be displayed anywhere in the world and in real-time, without latency.

About 6 people were involved from their side, including a project manager, a UI designer, a tester, and 3–4 developers. The PM was my main contact, and Savvycom also had an internal technical project lead. I worked with the same people throughout the cycle, except for the project manager, who became unavailable and was replaced.

I decided to build the web solution first, after which I looked for further funding for a mobile app. I initially needed a business portal for companies. The iOS version was developed first, and I am still looking for funding to build an Android version.

How did you come to work with Savvycom Software?

They had worked on a similar technology solution for a local company. I looked at the end-product, which had the quality I wanted. I was confident that they’d be able to build the right technology. Having worked for companies in an IT capacity myself, I looked at their skill level and maturity. I had been burned by vendors with immature processes in the past, so I researched the quality of Savvycom’s people. They were attracting talented members from universities and had well-established processes.

The cost of developing in Australia would have been 6x as high. As an offshore company, Savvycom seemed a lot more affordable. Overall, I looked at 5–6 offshore and local companies. I did consider the security of working offshore, but the price was a big differentiator.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Savvycom in April 2016. We initially scoped the web component, and it was delivered within the timeline. They started the mobile solution in January 2017. Because the web component was already done, I got a bit of market feedback, and we implemented many changes to the mobile scope as a result. We finished the mobile MVP 2–3 weeks ago, and it has been launched to market. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or impact of the engagement?

We are very pleased with the outcome of Stampp. We did a soft launch a week and a half ago, and 200 people are already registered on the site. The 200 people who have signed up are all sharing businesses and inviting friends, which shows us that our hypothesis is actually valid. Around 70% of them have also downloaded the mobile version. There are around 3,000 claimed businesses on the site, but none of them are paying at this stage. We will start another funding round in order to finance the Android version. One of our challenges, from a business point of view, is pushing the platform to customers using both Android and iOS.

How did Savvycom Software perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve pushed them quite a bit from the beginning, wanting the product to be done quickly and cheaply. Savvycom was committed to the milestones and told me what it would cost to reach them. One thing I admired, which is quite rare in the software development space, is how they’ve been able to deliver based on the deadline. Many other companies will say yes to anything, take the money, but never actually intend to achieve the deadline.

When we reached the end of the mobile app development, I had other deadlines to meet, coinciding with certain events where I wanted to showcase the app. Savvycom pushed through and assigned extra resources, meeting the deadline. They even worked on weekends.

We mainly communicated over Skype. When the connection wasn’t great, we also used FaceTime.

What did you find most impressive about Savvycom Software?

The project was delivered within the initial budget and project timelines. We have since added functionality, but that is normal with ongoing development work. The solution was a real technical challenge, but Savvycom always found a way to solve the issues we faced. That sets them apart from most providers.

My project is a startup, and I have a sense that Savvycom shares this background. I have a technical background, but, even so, I’ve put the challenge to them and used their team as a virtual CTO. In many conversations, they were thinking through and challenging me on the reasoning behind a certain item, rather just doing what I asked. I needed someone like this in the startup space.

I visited them on location before committing to the mobile solution in order to brief the team on the requirements and timeframe. One of Savvycom’s chairmen is a university dean and a generally smart person; he was involved in a couple of meetings and pushed the guys to come up with solutions to our technical challenges. Having access to this expertise has been great, and I’ve never had that during previous vendor experiences.

Are there any areas Savvycom Software could improve?

I was lucky in this instance, but communication is a challenge with any offshore collaboration. As a business, the more English-proficient people they can get, the better the business will continue to perform. I generally spoke to the project manager but also communicated with the developers on a few occasions.

Savvycom had some issues managing the change requests I assigned. I asked for a more structured way for tracking tasks, so we started using Trello, which improved this area quite a bit. I also introduced Savvycom to Basecamp, which can unify all communication compared to email, which is a bit scattered. They’ve taken this on board and have started using JIRA and Confluence, 2 Atlassian products. The work is being done professionally. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a creative agency that provides that provides design, web, and app development services to a range of international corporations, INGOs [international nongovernmental agencies], and United Nations agencies as well as local companies and nonprofits. I am the managing director and chief technology officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Savvycom Software?

We were seeking a reliable agency to port an existing Android app to iOS on a tight deadline.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They handled the porting an existing Android app to iOS.

How did you come to work with Savvycom Software?

I relied mainly on online search and online references when selecting Savvycom.

How much have you invested with Savvycom Software?

It was between $5,000 and $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran from September 5, 2016, until November 11, 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

The app was delivered in an efficient and professional manner. The app has not been publicly launched yet by the client, so there are no metrics yet to be able to share.

How did Savvycom Software perform from a project management standpoint?

This was our first outsourcing experience, so I cannot really compare it to others yet.

Are there any areas Savvycom Software could improve?

I have no criticism so far. 

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your organization?

We’re basically a seeded startup focusing on improving insurance in Asia. Our primary delivery channel is a mobile platform, which we’ve custom built from the ground up.

What is your position?

I’m the owner and founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenge that you were trying to address when you first approached Savvycom Software?

I engaged Savvycom to help me build a mobile Web app. I don’t have the technical expertise necessary to build our mobile solution, but I have the vision and know how it should function. I needed a development firm that had a successful track record in delivering enterprise-level mobile applications. I needed someone with the right industry knowledge so they could help guide me through the nuances of the development and launch.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail?

They’ve focused primarily on mobile app development. Because of my budget, I have not fully engaged all of the capabilities they have, such as design, testing, and training. I’m heavily engaged in those areas myself, because I want to save money. Once the minimum viable product is functional and I get revenue coming in, then based on this project’s results, I may go on and use their services more fully.

How did you come to choose Savvycom Software as your partner?

They were recommended by someone that I know, who is also Vietnamese. He engaged Savvycom to develop a prototype for him, and his experience was very positive, so he recommended them to me. I had met him at a hackathon hosted in Singapore a few years back. I told him about my need to find an affordable developer. He said that this company is very reliable and trustworthy as well as being relatively affordable. My top two criteria were trust and affordability, and Savvycom seemed to fit those criteria.

Could you provide a general cost estimate for this particular engagement?

It cost about $6,000. They’ve been good at squeezing in some extras for me without additional charges.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the quality of their performance?

They’re very good at doing exactly what you tell them to do. In fact, I was very surprised. This is my first IT [information technology] product, and I don’t have a lot of experience. I just gave them some mockups and they did exactly what I told them. They’re relatively forgiving, in that they’re willing to make some changes without charging me. They’re very good to work with, but I really don’t have any specific figures that I can share.

The project is slightly late at the moment, but that’s my fault. I wasn’t very clear as to exactly what kind of metrics or tools we should establish for tracking the number of bugs and fixes. I’m not quite sure whether they have someone who can do that. It takes a lot of time to track this stuff, and I’d rather have them focused on making sure all the features I want are in there and that it works properly.

I’ve been doing some testing myself, and I definitely see a huge improvement since the first time they gave me the app to look at. There are still things that need to be done, but it’s a process.

When working with Savvycom Software, is there anything that you would consider unique about their approach or development methodology that distinguish them from other vendors?

They have many capable coders and developers. Sometimes, I’m happily surprised because they deliver more than what I wanted. I think there’s a genuine professionalism and pride in what they do, and they’re very responsive in getting things done.

In retrospect, are there areas in which you think they could improve as a service provider?

I would say maybe volunteer a little more on the UI [user interface] and on the design. If I give them something, sometimes I’m not 100 percent sure that’s the best. They sometimes just implement it exactly the way I give it to them. I wish there was a little more input and discussion before they go ahead and build it. They just assume that the client is always right, which is nice, but that’s not what I want. It would be nice if they would challenge me when it’s in my best interests to help me find the best possible route in the development. That would be my only recommendation.

What advice, if any, would you give a future client before approaching Savvycom Software with a project?

I would say to be as thorough and detailed as possible in the design and also to expect changes and be flexible.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization and your role and responsibilities.

I work for a software company. I am the chief technology officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Savvycom Software?

The goal for the work was to have Savvycom create and develop software for us on a mobile platform. They also provided custom services in general.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

Savvycom creates and develops software for us on a mobile platform as well as providing general custom services. They are flexible with our requirements and handle multiple projects.

What was your process for selecting Savvycom Software with which to work?

They were a referral from one of my chief colleagues, with a referral from one of their previous customers. That referral came from the University of Southern California.

When was the project completed?

It's ongoing work. It's not time and material [or] hour by hour. Our efforts are fairly long term. It's ongoing, but we contract them on statement of work. As we have an effort come in, we'll check out the time required to determine cost and the resources that are needed.

The work will continue for years. From their service point of view, they're doing a great job. Pending changes to our business model, we have no reason to leave them at this point.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

The average scope of work is about $10,000 spanning about 10 weeks.

How long have you been working with Savvycom Software?

We started working with Savvycom in May of 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Are you satisfied with Savvycom Software's work?

I'm quite satisfied. Savvycom is the third vendor I've worked with in Vietnam, with two different companies I'm involved with. I have a good set of lessons learned from working in Vietnam. One of the key success factors with Savvycom is that they have very educated, senior, communicative staff. Their management is very supportive of the account itself. Rather than just throwing it over to their project manager, their owner and chief are involved. They are very proactive in following up on issues we spoke about the previous week, for instance. Their administrative process is also very good. They have formalized contract signing processes, from estimates to signing SOWs [statements of work] to receiving payments. They have a financial person dedicated to managing their accounts. It extends to their technology staff, who reach out with questions, rather than waiting for us to push information and find bugs.

Can you describe your experience working with offshore firms in more detail?

I have had experience working in India for about 10 years. India is much more mature when it comes to the IT [information technology] industry compared to Vietnam. There are big companies there as well as small shops.

In Vietnam, we interviewed a number of companies. Some companies are too big. They throw project managers at the job and have to manage the PM, which incurs a bigger cost. I think a boutique company is the best solution for small to mid-sized companies like us. We can manage the project much better, and the technologies are much more on the ground rather than throwing out a big requirement. I don't think they can handle that culture or a full vendorship at a large company [at] several hundred thousands dollars a year, or a million-dollar contract. Savvycom and other boutique Vietnamese companies are strictly project-based firms.

Their success highly depends on the technical and management maturity of their clients overseas. If you have someone in the United States who is trying to manage the project without cultural understanding, it's not going to be successful.

I've been in the U.S. for 40 years, but [I] am Vietnamese. I’ve lived in this country since I was five years old. Even I still have that challenge because our culture here in the West is quite direct. Over there, they try to read between the lines without communicating explicitly. That has to be clarified in the beginning.

Also, because of the language barrier, Western clients have to understand their requirements and what they really want. They need to understand their own technical designs. They have to lead the design. Allowing the team over there to lead a design is a disaster. That happened to me three years ago. I designed the database over here and handed it to our Vietnamese vendor to own the database. They started designing it. It went amuck. I had to pull it back completely and redesign it from scratch.

A large success factor is technology and management leadership here, as well as understanding their culture, and being able to gauge their technical expertise with the Vietnamese company. It's very important. I think the model is workable, but has immense challenges.

Point number four is regional. When you do national research, regional culture is huge. I went from Ho Chi Minh City in the south with one vendor company, we later switched partnerships and found Savvycom. There is a huge difference in upbringing, and the culture of learning is very different than it is in the south of Vietnam.

I think Savvycom is a great find.

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

No, but they complete projects successfully.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

One of the most important aspects is understanding the culture over there, as well as how people learn and work. Part of that is finding the people who aren't afraid to ask questions and pose different solutions and options. Savvycom does that, and I think that's critical in finding the right vendor.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think Savvycom Software could improve upon or that you might do differently?

Savvycom has done quite well. I'm going to challenge them in the near future and start giving them more design responsibilities, and see what they come back with.

They have a UI/UX [user interface/user experience] offering. We flew there and met their UI/UX person, but they're not very strong in the UI/UX realm.

Also, they're not too strong with infrastructure, meaning servers, such as understanding server operating systems and networking design, and setting up a large-scale system for a million or more users. Their understanding of the infrastructure is not too strong.

The third item is their interviewing skills. I’m not confident they are always finding the best resources. Finding the right skills and the right fit is an art, and they're not there yet. Through my lessons learned in the last three years, I am involved in interviewing their people.

We gave an SOW to do Android development, and I said that I needed to interview their candidate before they hired him. It requires more work on our end to make sure the person is truly qualified with the right skills and personality to succeed with our projects. I am involved in looking at the technical abilities of each individual. That's the unfortunate part. It would have been much easier to have them sign the SOW and get it done, but you have to go back and manage that knowledge. They are very good overall, and they're the top shop I can find in Vietnam.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

Our company is 6 Degree. It is a social media and marketing company. We provide software services for our customer in social media in the digital space. The business model is analysis and requirements are done onshore in Australia. The sales process is partly on the net as well as B2B [business-to-business] sales. The development and operations center are all based overseas.

What is your role and responsibilities, please?

I am the founder. We have a team of 10 people now.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Savvycom?

Our primary objective is an outsource model to deflate the cost of our development. Our objective is to have a workforce that is expandable. The background for what we do is that I run a software business. I have hired overseas staff, particularly in Malaysia and Vietnam. I have increasingly realized that there are outsourcing companies that are doing something similar. We decided to partner with Savvycom to handle all of the development work.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

Savvycom provides development and operation support.

What was your process for selecting Savvycom to work with?

We have a client that is a global telephone company, and they have operations in Asia including Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. We did a major project with them and we sent staff overseas to Vietnam to manage the project. In the process, we got to know the local outsourcers. Two of our Australian staff members were onshore, and we were able to talk to them in person.

When we first visited Savvycom, the office was in an area near the university. The founder was attracting some technical staff from the universities, and she picked Vietnam.

We had been everywhere in Asia, and we found that in general, the people of Vietnam are very good because they have an engineering educational background. Their engineering principles are very good, but their English is a bit limited. That has always been our concern when working with staff from Vietnam.

Once thing that struck me about Savvycom is that the founder had an overseas education. When we talk to her, her thinking style in terms of approaching a project is similar to what we do. We communicate well, which is an important factor for me.

Savvycom said there were several ways to reach our goal. We could commit to a number of people we would hire from them and/or on a project basis. We decided not to go on a project basis because we run agile development. By the time we finish writing the [stack], explaining it to them and getting a quote, it takes too long. We hired four staff members on our books and structured a one-plus-four team. The team leader was here, and there were four people on the other side. That works very well.

Our model has been to hire people from the company who have the skill sets that we need. We do primary development around two areas. The first is databases, because we process complex data. The databases use a SQL server from Oracle, and of course, .NET, which is for website development. Savvycom has team members with those two skills. They also have a pool of people who have skills in mobile application development.

When we came to the second part of the project, developing a mobile app, they were very good at it.

Do you have any plans to stop the engagement or is it ongoing?

No. We have been using them for three years. We still have some maintenance and support relationships with them. They are quite good. I found them to be quite easygoing and easy to talk to. We try to lock in the key people that they send to talk to us, which is fair enough. Sometimes, people do leave companies, but the handover has been quite good. They find a person to replace them and give us four weeks to transition them. I’m happy with that because we have continuity, so I don’t have any issues with that.

We tell them when they are working with us, they have to be online on Skype. When you’re managing a team, you don’t know whether they are actually doing something else or work for somebody else. I told them, if we're paying you, we want to see you on Skype with a green sign during this time because we run an agile team.

We also insist that they show me what they’ve got, and I do this for all outsourced teams. Instead of explaining verbally, they have to show me with a PowerPoint screenshot. That cuts through the communication problems.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

I would like to keep that confidential.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

One onshore team here costs about three times what we can get out of Savvycom in Vietnam. We also did a comparison for cost-effectiveness, which is quite good. We were able to achieve 33 percent of the cost.

Also, we compared with other outsourcers in other countries, particularly in India. Even though the costs are on par, we find the management and effectiveness of getting through the work is a bit different. In Vietnam, our efficiency is probably 30 to 40 percent better than the other outsourcers. A big part of it is that we control the development process, having an agile team. You can drive the conversation harder, and that works very well.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

Technically, a lot of people can do the work. The key difference is not even having an account manager. Savvycom is not big enough to have a big bureaucracy. The founder and owner is involved and quite flexible when it comes to working with us.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

They could get an English translator. We have 10 of their staff. Most of them type very well on Skype, and they all read English so they can type something back to you. In a more complex situation, we want to explain to them easily using our share screens. About 30 percent of them have an accent or their English is not strong, so we have to pause and get someone else to talk to them. That slows down the process a little and is the only concern I have, which is a tradeoff between doing business in a country where the primary language isn’t English. We can get around it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

My company is Spectos. It performs systems for service quality monitoring and management. We work for companies like Samsung, AT&T, and Audi to help them improve customer service.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I am COO of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Savvycom Software?

The goal was to develop mainly mobile and Web applications for our services.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

They built the project from scratch. We have been working with him on everything from the roots. They made suggestions on the design, functionality, how to set it up, and how to integrate it into our systems. They were very knowledgeable. Our staff is all Web-based, which worked very well. They had some operations in Asia, so our project managers worked directly with them. We communicated via Skype as well as face-to-face onsite. Some of them worked at our office for a few weeks.

What was your process for selecting Savvycom Software with which to work?

We checked a lot of software development companies in Asia, mainly Vietnam because we are based there. We ran pilot tests with many of them. Savvycom worked the best, and they understood our processes the best.

Can you provide an estimate for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

We ran one project for three years continuously, with between two and five developers. There were also smaller one- or two-month projects, for about 200 man-hours. We have done small- and large-scale projects with them, from 100 hours up to several years.

When was the latest milestone completed for that work?

The work is ongoing and will probably last several more years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

I don’t have any metrics. They contributed within our structure and worked very well. We always hit our targets. We didn’t measure it with a clear KPIs [key performance indicators], but the goals that we set were mainly reached. There is always some small items that need to be discussed, but we always had very good results.

How did Savvycom Software perform?

Savvycom performed very well. They worked independently, which I liked very much. I didn’t have to tell them every line of code. They were able to manage the project and solve problems. From our side, that was very important to make the project successful because we could not track it down to the code level with our people. That was very helpful.

When it comes to meeting deadlines, Savvycom is very good. Some deadlines were postponed, which was also our responsibility. They were generally very efficient.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

Savvycom is very good at searching for topics themselves. They always try to be updated with the latest programming technologies, which is very good. They are also connected to the university and the top people in the development process. They have a dedicated project manager, which works very well.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

We always have something to improve. They can improve English language fluency. Sometimes, I have to repeat my words to be sure everything is spelled correctly. I would like to see the words in the app spelled correctly the first time, so we don’t have to correct them in a second round of proofs. We can also organize that better on our end; that would add more value.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Positioning Strategist of TMIGEN Media

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

TMIGEN Media focuses on building strong LinkedIn presences for executives, founders, and senior professionals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Savvycom to accomplish?

• Our team handles multiple client builds at the same time, and as the business grew we needed stronger technical support behind the systems
• We needed to improve reliability and make sure our internal tools could support a growing number of client engagements.

SOLUTION

How did you find Savvycom?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select Savvycom over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Savvycom were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Savvycom came in to support our development needs. They assisted with backend work, system adjustments, and technical improvements that helped streamline how our platform operates. Their team worked alongside ours to implement updates and ensure everything continued to function smoothly.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The technical improvements helped make our systems more stable and easier for our team to work with. With that foundation in place, we have been able to focus more on serving our clients and expanding our executive branding services.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Working with them was straightforward. They stayed responsive throughout the project, provided regular updates, and were open to feedback whenever adjustments were needed. Overall, the process felt well coordinated and easy to manage.

What was your primary form of communication with Savvycom?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their practical approach stood out. Instead of overcomplicating solutions, they focused on addressing the issues and delivering results efficiently.

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

There were no significant challenges during the engagement. As our needs evolve, there may be opportunities to collaborate on additional enhancements that support future growth.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Assistant Professor of Mass General Brigham

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Mass General Brigham is an integrated academic healthcare system that provides a full continuum of care across hospitals, physician networks, and community-based services. The organization is also heavily involved in research and medical education. I work within the technology and digital solutions team, supporting system improvements and innovation initiatives.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Savvycom to accomplish?

• We were looking to improve some of our internal systems to better handle data flow and support different departments across the organization. Given the size and complexity of our network, it was important to have a solution that could integrate well with existing infrastructure while remaining scalable.

SOLUTION

How did you find Savvycom?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select Savvycom over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Savvycom were assigned to this project?

3

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Savvycom supported us with custom software development tailored to our internal needs. Their work included backend development, system integration, and improving overall application performance.

They collaborated with our internal team to understand requirements and worked on building a solution that could support multiple users and departments. The engagement involved a small team of developers and a project manager, and the work was delivered in phases.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The updated system has improved how we manage and access data across teams. Processes are now more streamlined, and there’s better consistency in how information is handled.

While it’s an ongoing effort, the improvements we’ve seen so far have made a positive impact on internal operations and efficiency.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They maintained regular communication and provided updates throughout the project. They were generally responsive and open to feedback, which made collaboration easier.

What was your primary form of communication with Savvycom?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their willingness to understand the healthcare environment and adapt to our requirements stood out. They were flexible and made an effort to align with our internal processes.

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

There were times where more detailed documentation and clearer timelines would have been helpful, especially during handover phases.