Simpalm

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Medical Software Innovation produced a pregnancy app on Android and iPhone that came out in July. It gives users lots of information about pregnancy.

I’m the founder. The company consists of just my husband and me.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Simpalm?

We wanted to have a mobile app developed.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app is available in English and Spanish.

How did you come to work with Simpalm?

I found them online in the Washington area. I went to meet them and felt like the director really understood what I wanted. It was not a problem to them that I wasn’t experienced in app building, and they were willing to walk me through the process. I also chose them because their rates were really good compared to other quotes I got.

How much have you invested with Simpalm?

The project cost $25,000 for both apps in both languages.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project took a year but could’ve gone faster if I was fully focused on it.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s been downloaded 8,000 times since July. Users say it’s very intuitive and easy to use.

What did you find most impressive about Simpalm?

I had a weekly telephone call with the regional rep who I worked with most. They set up a specific place where I could list the changes I wanted on the app, and I got an email when each task was completed.

Are there any areas Simpalm could improve?

Anything negative was attributed to my inexperience. The process went very well.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Audiobooks Now is a digital online audiobook download and streaming service. Customers have access to our products through our website and mobile apps. The apps are a huge part of our business, given the convenience of portable devices.

What is your position?

I'm the president of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Simpalm?

The original developer for our apps used a platform called Titanium, which was supposed to be a cross-platform solution that allowed using the same source code across different operating systems. The resulted apps worked well for the most part, but the developer left our project. We needed to find someone else that could work using Titanium, which was a difficult platform to work with by its nature. It was challenging for someone to take over existing work.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

Simpalm was able to reproduce our apps for native Android and iOS, which was a breakthrough in many ways. It made the apps work more efficiently, and it gave us a codebase, which could be picked up by a different developer easily.

They did a phenomenal job of translating our existing apps into their respective native versions. Simpalm worked on a fixed-cost basis, which was ideal from our standpoint. We knew that they would finish the job without any cost fluctuations.

The design came from the existing apps entirely. Simpalm also made a customized version of our Android app for the Barnes and Noble NOOK.

How did you come to work with Simpalm?

We were looking for a developer within our area. They're located close to our company. I've met with them a few times, but most of the work has been done through phone conversations and emails subsequently.

Price was also a big concern for us, given that we're just starting up our business. It was important to keep costs low, since we didn't have a revenue stream coming from the service yet.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total development cost for our original project was between $10-50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The work is ongoing. Simpalm's main challenge was to redo our Android and iOS apps. Since completion, they've been enhancing them, adding features like a sleep timer for the audiobook player and changing playback speed. They will be building Apple CarPlay into our iOS app, since listening to audiobooks in their car is an important feature for people with long commutes.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

They've been able to finalize everything we've thrown at them in a timely manner and at an extremely affordable price.

The apps that Simpalm created for us are very complex, and they’ve made them work exactly as we wanted. Our requirements included managing DRM [digital rights management]-protected content, which involved using encrypted files and keeping the information secure, while still offering a seamless experience for the user. Whether they purchased a DRM-free or a DRM-protected book, it will play and work the same. We also have a player that constantly creates bookmarks and offers offline listening, and our users can also make purchases through the apps.

We've had a lot of positive feedback for the apps on the Play Store and Apple App Store.

How did Simpalm perform from a project management standpoint?

We were assigned a project manager who has remained with us from the beginning, even when we switched to the iOS development team. We had one constant point of contact, which meant that we didn't have to reiterate the same items to different people. We were also assigned a second point of contact which we could call upon if we ever had any issues.

What distinguishes Simpalm from other providers?

We've been able to communicate with them effectively, and they've completed tasks in a timely manner, at an affordable price. These combined attributes were hard to find with the other app developers we've looked at.

Is there anything Simpalm could have improved or done differently?

I can only remember one instance where a task took longer than expected to complete. Their owner got involved, and they were able to finish it right away.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I work for a large global retailer. We sell bath and household products in shopping malls and online.

What is your position?

I am the project manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Simpalm?

We needed development for a warehouse management app.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

Simpalm built our Android app in its entirety, from technical development to API [application programming interface], quality assurance testing, and final deployment. They have resources both in the United States and overseas.

How did you come to work with Simpalm?

Our company had worked with them in the past. Delivery was on time and Simpalm were knowledgeable in their field. We knew that they were good and chose them again.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total development cost was around $230,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project was completed two months ago [December 2015]. We specifically wanted to finish it before Christmas.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We were very happy with our investment with Simpalm and think it's a positive ROI [return on investment].

How did Simpalm perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything was delivered on time, and it was a smooth process overall.

What distinguishes Simpalm from other providers?

They were simply good.

Is there anything Simpalm could have improved or done differently?

Some of their resources work remotely. It would be much better if they hosted their team in a single location from a communication point of view. Even though we consider this a problem, Simpalm handled it well.

BACKGROUND

The Help App is a mobile app that allows staff to rate and review customers. Users can review customers as employees, anonymously, or as a patron reviewing another customer. The app is marketed for anyone in the service industry who wants to rate customers – either as good or bad. 

I am the CEO and brains behind the company. I had an idea that it was unfair that only employees in the service industry were rated. Customers were also becoming very powerful and should be reviewed as well.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

I needed a company that was able to transform my idea into a physical mobile app for multiple platforms. I also needed a graphic design team and wireframe to help create my idea. Simpalm was not only able to execute a great product, they also helped in the designing stages. 

SOLUTION

Simpalm helped with the strategy, design, development, and support that I needed to help create my mobile app while offering the most competitive cost. 

I chose them out of five or six different firms. The project was complicated because it was a social media application. All of the other firms were confused by my concept and gave up without a real attempt at wireframes.

Simpalm was able to guide me through the entire process. They started by creating a wireframe from our written specifications. As a team, we discussed ideas from the initial drawings and concentrated on the user flow. They had a great project management team. They did all of the graphic design and JPEG images for me.

The last step of the project was the development process. Simpalm was great about checking in at every milestone and fixing issues until both the Android and iOS apps launched.

They helped launch my applications on the iOS and Android markets. The work is ongoing for updates and enhancements are still being performed by the Simpalm team. The main project is completed as the apps both launched in July 2015. Our relationship will probably continue into 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Simpalm delivered on the agreed schedule and budget and was extremely helpful with their great communication and feedback. I would use them again and highly recommend Simpalm to others.

They understood the social media aspect of my app when other developers couldn't even grasp the concept. Not only did they develop the features that I needed, they even suggested new features that work great that I never thought to add.

I have only great things to say about Simpalm and am proud of what they produced. They are a strong firm – very organized and gifted.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization. What is your role and responsibilities?

We are a very large financial services company. We deal mainly with online brokerage services. I’m a project manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Simpalm and can you describe the scope of their work.

We needed help building mobile apps for our employees to use internally to connect with our company and each other. Simpalm has built a few different apps for us functional that are functional on iOS. We had another company who we contracted initially for this project, and they did not do a good job or meet our expectations. We hired Simpalm to complete our project, and they did a great job fitting an app into our requirements.

SOLUTION

What was your process for selecting Simpalm with which to work?

I learned about Simpalm from one of my coworkers who utilized them in another area of our business.

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative in dollar terms or a personnel work-hour figure?

It was an extensive project and definitely above $200,000. It was a long-term project. The project is finished, but we hope to work with them in the future.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Is there anything unique or special about Simpalm that really makes them stand out compared to other online marketing companies?

They did a great job. They were able to pick up the existing project, and they understood it and completed it as per the requirements. They did better than we expected.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a marketing company.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I am the lead partner in the corporation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Simpalm?

Our goal was to produce a mobile app that was usable for iOS and Android.  It is a social engagement app as well as a mobile billboard for certain retail businesses.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

We did a native app for both IOS and Android. It’s been a complex project. We plan to engage them for modifications and enhancements in the future.

What was your process for selecting Simpalm with which to work?

We did some background research. We wanted a team that had local contact. That was important to us. We interviewed a couple companies that were based here. 

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative in dollar terms or a personnel work-hour figure?

It’s in the $50,000 to $200,000 range.

When was the work completed?

I’m not sure when it will all be completed. Our key phase is done and available in the app stores.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don’t really have anything regarding metrics since we just launched a week and a half ago. It’s still too new to track trends.

Are you satisfied with their performance?

I’m satisfied with their work. They’ve been a pleasure to work with.

Is there anything unique or special about Simpalm that really makes them stand out compared to other online marketing companies?

This is our first mobile app project, so I can’t really answer that. They are responsive and timely.

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

From a business owner’s perspective it took longer than I expected but I’ve never done this before.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

I work for a global beverage corporation.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I am a project manager. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Simpalm?

We were trying to build an inventory application for iPads and the Android tablet for warehouses. We needed developers who knew about the iOS and the Android platforms and understood the software development lifecycle.

This is an internal app for the internal warehouse to replace our old system, which was at a desk. It would allow managers to walk around the warehouse and work simultaneously.  

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

Simpalm did a lot of the architecture and the UI/UX [user interface/user experience] coding plus the development of the project, as well as a little consulting. We provided most of the design work ourselves. The project has been completed for about a year.

What was your process for selecting Simpalm with which to work?

We were looking for East Coast companies and a firm that had qualified developers who could perform what we needed and send someone who could come onsite right away.

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

More than $500,000 total.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the results of the project?

We are satisfied with their performance. They provided good developers and testers when we needed extra help.

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

Before this application, pulling inventory took longer and now that it’s been integrated with the new system, we no longer require an operator to give warehouse managers instructions. It increased productivity of the warehouse managers.

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

They’re hardworking people who gave us a lot of their time.  

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

They could use more staffing. We had another project we wanted started a month later, but Simpalm didn’t have enough resources. I wish they were bigger and had more employees.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

I work for a very large and well-known IT [information technology] consulting company that operates globally.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I have multiple projects that I manage and my title is project manager. Simpalm handled one major project that I managed. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Simpalm?

It was difficult to find quality offshore firms who could handle mobile app development. 

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

Their work was only with mobile app development.

What was your process for selecting Simpalm with which to work?

I also looked at some companies in Washington, D.C., who had good past performances in mobile applications, and their name came up since they have a Washington office. We found three companies and recommended those to my supervisor.

The research was mostly online initially, and then we shortlisted three or four companies. Then, based on the qualifications and pricing, Simpalm was chosen.

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

The project size was between $350,000 to $400,000. They came in and built an app that was compatible with iOS and Android.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the results of the project?

The app was completed three months ago and it’s currently in production. To sum the project up, they’re a really good mobile app development company and they are very focused. You can tell they are experts in the field. We’ll definitely be working with them in the future.

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

I don’t have that information available. 

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

For their price, they’re well worth it because we were expecting the ballpark figure to be around $700,000, and they were able to wrap it up for us for less than $400,000.

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

No. They were very timely and if there were ever any delays, it was my fault.

BACKGROUND

We are Alexis Mullen and Ailyn Hoey, creators of the iOS app Audio Chef Co., a real-time narrated instruction audio cooking app. This is our first app. We have no previous experience with creating apps, we're just two mothers who like to cook for our families and friends. We wanted a way for our cooking to reach more people and help others learn to cook healthy great-tasting meals. We created Audio Chef Co. [as] an iOS app released [to] the App Store July 3, 2014.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

We were looking to create an audio cooking app for the App Store. We had no previous experience with coding, creating apps, or marketing. We found Simpalm through Freelancer.com and contacted them directly. They sat down with us for a long meeting to get a sense of the project and our needs. We also got quotes from several other app development companies. Simpalm's price and attention to detail seemed to surpass the other companies that we were considering. We provided Simpalm with the recorded audio files for our app, photos, and written content. They did the rest of the work from there.

SOLUTION

We provided Simpalm with some basic graphic design mockups of what our app should look like. They took our input and brought our idea to reality. Piyush [Jain, CEO] and Jass [Singh, technical lead] at Simpalm were receptive to our needs and ideas and incorporated them into Audio Chef. They stuck to their original budget.

The project took about one year from the time we contacted them to release on the App Store. Every time a new test build was complete, we would provide feedback and changes and they would make the changes for us. Simpalm even helped us with some audio conversion and compression free of charge even though that was not in the original contract. Now our app is released and Simpalm has been giving us marketing strategy advice and support for free. We released our app almost two weeks ago and there have been no reports of crashes or bugs. The app performs exactly how we would like it to.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

We plan on contracting again with Simpalm for the next collection of recipes for Audio Chef Co. We will do this because they stuck to their budget, were receptive to our needs and feedback, and created an app that functions well. Overall, Simpalm was great to work with. I would recommend them to anyone.

BACKGROUND

Could you give a brief description of your company or your application idea?

My app [has] the premise [of] a photo app that reminds you to take pictures. This is great for parents watching their children's sports games or tourists. It offers a selected date range and time and adds an interval option of how often users want the phone to remind them to take photos.

Once they've finished the timeline, they have a group of photos from that selected date and time range, and then they go back and they have the option of posting it to Facebook as well as emailing it.

This company is an app startup that I started.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your overall business goal for the app development project?

The first phase was to come up with an initial viable version. We are currently working on a second iteration. I just spoke with Simpalm last week. We went over some new ideas and they're getting back to me about the upgrade.

SOLUTION

Can you describe the scope of work in more detail?

The project involves development for iOS.

What was your process for selecting Simpalm for the work?

I found them on Elance.

Can you give a sense of the size of that initiative with a general cost range or the amount of hours they put into the project?

I don't remember the amount of hours. The cost range was around $7,000.

Is the work ongoing?

Everything is kind of on pause right now until we finalize all the details for the next version. That's what I'm just waiting on right now. They're just going over a bid and everything.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics that you've tracked to gauge the success of this app?

I've looked on my iTunes Connect. For the first few weeks, I think it was moving about three units a day, which isn't bad because I'm not doing any advertising for it right now. It's just kind of word of mouth. I don't think it's even close to that anymore. I haven't looked. I'm not really pushing it right now. I'm just trying to get through the first version and then get on to the next one.

Are you satisfied with their work?

I'm very satisfied. Considering that I'm in Alaska and they're on the East Coast, there was never a problem with communication. I would hear from them within 12 hours after sending an email. If I sent them something they'd send it right back. I'd hear with them within minutes sometimes. They covered everything exactly how I wanted. They gave me sample versions when I was testing it.

You got to try it out before it was fully released and they approached exactly how I was wanted to be approached if I was a larger business and wasn't just doing this on the side.

Is there anything unique or special about them that makes them stand out from other developers?

I wouldn't have another developer to compare them to, but speaking with some friends that have had stuff developed, it seems like I had more people on my project than it sounds like any of my friends have had on any of their projects for websites. We are focused as a team on one unit as opposed to trying to spread out the word and do a bunch of different projects at once.

Looking back on the work, is there anything that you think they could improve upon or something you might do differently?

Not on what I requested from this first version. There is stuff that I'm improving, but it's because I'm just setting up for this next version, but everything that I had asked from them for this version, they did it. They even supplied feedback and gave me some ideas on things to do.