Silicon Reef

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a project manager at Argent Energy, a biodiesel manufacturing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Silicon Reef?

When I took my current position, our organization had no company intercommunication, so we wanted to create an out-of-the-box solution that fit our security model.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Silicon Reef did custom software development for us. We had a week of feedback sessions to determine the project’s scope based on our requirements and goals. After that, they defined a solution for what we wanted and came back with an internet suitable for us to start building. After that, we approved their proposal, and they started working on the product. 

The product they created helps operators communicate between them when they log into the system. Silicon Reef’s team developed everything from scratch, but we handled the design ourselves. Moreover, it was important for us that the system matched our security model.

What was the team composition? 

We worked with about five developers, a consultant, and an account manager. 

How did you come to work with Silicon Reef?

The head of IT of a company that had previously worked with them referred them to me. We liked what we saw about their previous work, so we decided to engage with them.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent about £30,000 (approximately $37,000 USD) with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from May–July 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re 100% satisfied with their work.

How did Silicon Reef perform from a project management standpoint?

We organized feedback sessions, did boards, and had a design dashboard where we could all log in to add information. This helped us review the process live, which made everything so quick.

Moreover, they were always on time and even early with some deliverables. In addition, they went even above the budget we thought.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Based on what I saw when we chose to work with them, they seemed more mature than other service providers. Some of the projects they showed in their website were way above their competitors in terms of quality.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I didn’t think there was anything they could improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I suggest people go with them; Silicon Reef is price-accessible and quick, and their consultants know what they’re doing.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am an IT training consultant currently managing a number of global IT rollouts for a major Oil and Gas company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Silicon Reef?

We engaged with Silicon Reef to assist in the upskill of our trainers. Specifically around O365 and its applications.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were to upskill our trainers in O365 to a level that they could support and train our end users.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Having worked with Silicon Reef in the past our choice was an easy one. We wouldn't consider using any other supplier.

Describe the project in detail.

As above, we engaged with Silicon Reef to upskill our trainers in all areas of O365.

What was the team composition?

We were provided with the support of a number of Silicon Reef staff. Each with their own area of O365 expertise.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

As a result of the sessions that Silicon Reef ran with our trainers, our trainers are now able to support our end users. Both on a training and consultancy level.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The interaction with Silicon Reef is faultless.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

It is hard to identify what I find most impressive about Silicon Reef. They excel in all areas. They have never let me down. They always go above and beyond.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, certainly not that I can identify. However maybe on future projects something may come up.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m head of technical services for a company that works across five countries in East Africa in three areas: agriculture, natural resource management, and market value chains. My role is to ensure the technical quality of each of our programs so they’re able to serve our beneficiaries, provide information, and report back to our donors.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Silicon Reef?

One of our major challenges is that we’re spread across six different countries, some of which lack the IT capabilities that we have in the United Kingdom. All of our information was being hosted on independent servers in each country, without any central document repository for our core information that everyone across our organization needed to access.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

At the start of the engagement, we had a SharePoint in name only. The person who originally created it was self-taught and without any experience. That led to a dysfunctional solution that was not being utilized at all internally. 

Silicon Reef was brought in to redesign our SharePoint in two major projects. The first was to create a central document repository for all of our project and program information, which functions essentially as a final documentation library. Contracts, reports, and other public information are stored there. They designed that system and made it so new and future projects could be added as needed.

The second project is a tool site, containing resources like manuals and other documentation that field teams may need to access. That’s been set up differently in SharePoint to encourage users to actively search out helpful tools for their work.

What is the team composition?

Across the two engagements, there were about 6–7 resources allocated to the project. We only interfaced directly with 2–3 of them.

How did you come to work with Silicon Reef?

I conducted a simple Google search of SharePoint providers, approaching a few for tenders. We received many, but Silicon Reef was the most understanding of our needs and able to take a practical, tailored approach to the work. They also clearly understood our pricing model.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $15,000 on their services to date.

What is the status of this engagement?

The first project lasted between June–August 2019, and our second project with them was from August–October 2019. We have an ongoing engagement as well, looking at areas we want to improve upon for our future work together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There was a 67% increase in the number of files stored on our SharePoint within the first month of implementing the changes. The average active files increased from 50 and 60 to 110 and 140. On top of that, home page hits increased by 113%. This all occurred within the first month of the project launch. 

How did Silicon Reef perform from a project management standpoint?

From the beginning, they encouraged us to use Microsoft Teams. We have the complete Office 365 package here, utilizing it as our primary tool for communication. I’d never used Teams before, and no one else here had. Despite us being unfamiliar, they decided to educate us on the platform to develop our capacity to utilize those resources to our greatest benefit. That’s been helpful. They created clear, open, regular, and well-managed lines of communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their best selling point is their willingness and desire to understand our operating model. They visited our offices to discuss our challenges, not having any experience working with organizations in East Africa. Despite that, they took the time to consider what our situation meant for our file system to optimize it for us. They’re also very personable, nice people to work with. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing, at the moment. We’re holding a workshop with them next week to develop areas for improvement. Our continued relationship is a testament to their success with us.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Listen to their advice and guidance, utilizing our face-to-face time to develop an output that suits your business.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Technology Manager at a CPG Firm

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Multiple Excels floating around for Data Collection internally and externally

SOLUTION

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

Technical Expertise and Feedback out of previous engagements

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

Requirement Gathering on the exact expectations; Feasibility for MVP and other phases; Build and Roll-out

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

5. 1 Delivery Manager, 1 Consultant, 3 Developers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

A system which works as expected to ensure we now have a single space to rollout questionnaires and collect responses

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

Agile

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

I liked their proffessionalism.

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

A bit more on time and in full