Simulas

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of Mea-Risk, LLC. We track instability in the Middle East and Africa and document it for our customers, who consist of large companies with stakes in the region.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Simulas?

Harsh (Co-Founder, Simulas) works with us to create a mobile app version of our platform. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app—built for iOS and Android—has two main features. One uses mapping and GPS technology to a bird’s-eye view of an area chosen by a user. It gives an overview of incidents that our platform tracks, including crime, political crises, terror acts, and disease outbreaks. The other feature is a pull notification system that lets the user customize alerts that come from our database.

We had hired coders to build the app before Simulas, but I wasn’t happy with their work. As a result, Simulas had to wrangle with poorly written code without documentation. But he’s done a terrific job for our budget, and I couldn’t be happier.

What is the team composition?

I only work with Harsh.

How did you come to work with Simulas?

It was either through a colleague or through a freelance network online that I use to identify folks. I can't recall.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2017, and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app is live and in testing with sections of customers at the moment. Harsh has been absolutely essential to our project. He’s both technologically savvy and excellent at communication—both are critical ingredients to a successful partnership.

How did Simulas perform from a project management standpoint?

Harsh balances having documentation online for us to peruse and being available on short notice. We use WhatsApp and phone calls to communicate—I prefer those to project management software, which tends to have a learning curve.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We plan to stay with Simulas—they get the job done, communicate well, and always stick to the budget. For each task, we agree on how to stretch the costs and adjust the timeline to achieve the end product. It’s that straightforward. Harsh also understood our project quickly and far more easily than I expect. Our product wouldn’t exist without his work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything. Even the time difference isn’t a problem. Harsh is truly on top of his game when it comes to communication and technical expertise.