SmartApp

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Alconost, we’re a translation and localization company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SmartApp?

We had a major client that we’d been building a continuous localization process for. However, we needed someone to help us with the infrastructure and full-model development because our team didn’t have any experience with that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SmartApp deployed and supported the solution’s infrastructure model. They handled the custom development of an API for a Moodle platform that was vital to building the continuous localization process. Their team also built a custom plug-in for Moodle, and we’re planning to opensource it. 

What is the team composition?

There were about five people, including a project manager. We usually collaborated directly with the developers.

How did you come to work with SmartApp?

They're local to our company because they’re located in Minsk as well. I heard of them through word-of-mouth. They fit the project very well, and we had no doubt about their abilities to complete it.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested between $25,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from May 2019–March 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was successful, and they completed everything our client needed. I give them five out of five stars.

How did SmartApp perform from a project management standpoint?

There were no issues with project management and if there were, they were fixed quickly. We communicated through Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Communication was easy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, everything was okay.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re a good partner for backend development. I highly recommend using them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Wematec is involved in distribution&consulting businesses: 1, car wrapping and protecion PVC and PU films (tutoring the technology and distribution of materials and equipment 2. interior and exterior design and decoration 3. clothes and accessorioes design 4. visual communications (digital printing etc)/. My job is Vice CEO

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SmartApp?

Wematec decided to made completeli new corporate website with on-line shop, informaion , delivery, online support services etc

What were your goals for this project?

To be visible in the web, to provide new approach and servives to Company"s customers.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We met them at the exhibition at the "SEO Development conference"

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They created and developed completely new corporate website (portal I would say). Starring for analysys of Wematec businesses, its areas, internet activities, competitors etc. Then they offered several possible variants of design and performances. When we chose the version we liked more= they started to adjust it up to final condition

What was the team composition?

There were four team members from our side- sales, IT, logistics and financial depts and six from SmartApp side: design , 2 programmers, content-manager , business analyst, project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We managed to increase out sales up to 50% within 6 months after launching the new web site. It was significant and more we had expexted

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

It was completely new for us that time starting to use the online project management portal Trello. So we could see every task in progress at every time we want to/. We could monitor processes and made our fixings and corrections properly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are really tough professionals with a very honest and open approach. I would say they became our techers in some fildes (web development and IT solutions)

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is no limit to perfection) web development is very fast growing and developing area and there is always something to improve here

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the head of the IT department for Firebird Tours. We are in the travel market and organize and sell tours, as well as train tickets.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SmartApp?

We needed help to develop a website for train ticket sales.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had an existing website that SmartApp helped us develop new features for. They did some new integrations with different kinds of data providers and worked on the back office as well. It was mostly backend work. They used PHP and Drupal 8.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with anywhere from 1–3 developers.

How did you come to work with SmartApp?

We are based in the same city as SmartApp so we found each other locally.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent about $50,000 USD, although I don’t remember the exact amount.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from October 2019–March 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It is hard to measure success, but I am very happy with their work. Their specialists are very strong, and they provided us with a very good level of service.

How did SmartApp perform from a project management standpoint?

We didn’t use any project management tools, as we had internal project managers. Their developers were good, though. They were very responsive and would get back to us on the same day. Communication was done through Skype and was very good.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their quality of work was the most impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could expand their range of services.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would highly recommend hiring them because they provide really good quality of work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a product owner for WorkFusion, a software company that provides intelligent automation products. We offer solutions that utilize machine learning and robotics to automate processes in the banking, healthcare, and insurance industries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SmartApp?

We have a digital product team that’s responsible for the development of our corporate website, our educational platform, and our internal/external portals. SmartApp provides additional web development, web design, and digital marketing support.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have customer-facing solutions like our corporate site and automation platform, but we also have internal solutions, such as a Partner Portal. SmartApp helped with development on both sides.

Utilizing Moodle and coding in PHP, SmartApp enhanced our website which is built on Drupal and WordPress (and hosted on AWS). They also built new products—like a Use Case Navigator and a Partner Portal—from scratch. They focused on UX/UI design for a lot of it.

Last year, we launched localizations for all of our digital projects. It was a large and sophisticated project that targeted the Japanese and Spanish markets. They assisted in the technical side of website translation and other elements.

Now, in addition to all of the development support, their team even conducts SEO and helps us boost our marketing.

What is the team composition?

We currently have several teams of 4–5 developers, overseen by a project manager, on different projects. SmartApp has also provided us with designers, QA engineers, and SEO specialists as needed. In total, we work with around 15 people.

We interface with both the project manager and CTO, but we also communicate directly with the developers. We use Slack.

How did you come to work with SmartApp?

In preparation for the launch of our Moodle-based system in 2017, we were looking for local Minsk companies to help us with development. We found SmartApp after doing some market research.

How much have you invested with them?

We pay them around $250,000 per year.

What is the status of this engagement?

The collaboration is ongoing; we’re currently engaging them for different projects of varying complexity.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

With SmartApp’s help, we were able to launch several platforms this year alone. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without them; their dedication and involvement have been stellar.

We’ve been especially pleased by their eagerness to accommodate our needs. Even if they don’t have the precise competencies for a complex project, they’re still ready to learn and provide the required skills. We’re completely satisfied with their work.

How did SmartApp perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been excellent at ensuring that we hit all deadlines and milestones. We manage projects through JIRA and use Confluence to create checklists and workflows for each project. By handling operations and DevOps completely by themselves, they’ve facilitated processes. Daily communication has made the engagement seamless.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m more impressed by their readiness to adapt and change for us. Even though we initially engaged them for the sole purpose of creating our Automation Academy, we’ve since enlarged their responsibilities.

When we created websites and developed new platforms, they picked up skills along the way to provide us with SEO and content marketing work. It’s been a true partnership; we develop together, instead of them developing for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything. Because we encourage inter-team transparency, we’ll hold a retrospective after each project launch. We’ll openly share areas of improvement to implement in the next project. It’s been a very beneficial process.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients shouldn’t hesitate when choosing SmartApp. Any customer will be impressed by the results since their team is eager to make the project a success.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder and CEO of an edtech company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Curriculum creation, mapping, and management software for schools and content providers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Update our logo and visual style
• Build out our new landing page

SOLUTION

How did you find SmartApp?

Referral

Why did you select SmartApp over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Referred to me

How many teammates from SmartApp were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Update brand logo
• Update visual style and UI kit
• Build out new landing page 
  • Custom design on Wordpress
  • Admin interface
  • All assets delivered for ongoing use

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• All assets were delivered on time and within initial budget estimates
• Initial feedback from users and prospects is very positive

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

• Items were all delivered on time
• Feedback was carefully integrated
• Communication was timely and responsive

What was your primary form of communication with SmartApp?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The speed and quality of work were impressive, as well as the readiness to respond to questions, concerns, or suggestions with patience.

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

Nothing comes to mind. All their service was delivered meeting or exceeding expectations.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Digital Marketing Manager of BGaming

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Professional support, bug fixing, SEO optimization and development of the website

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Bug fixing
• SEO optimization
• UX/UI design
• Technical audit

SOLUTION

How did you find SmartApp?

Referral

Why did you select SmartApp over others?

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

How many teammates from SmartApp were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Bug fixing
• SEO optimisation
• Page speed improvement
• Development of data protection systems on the website 
• Development and design of new website sections, 
• Redesign of individual pages of the site
• Development of the site on a new domain, connection of a new domain
• Bug fixing
• Hubspot integration
• Development of recommendations to improve the site and its metrics
• Planning for localisation of the site into Spanish and Portuguese
• Project management of cooperation processes

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

1.  Increase page speed of the website by 3-4 times
2. The site rose in the search engine ranking by 3 positions
3. We were able to launch Google Ads for the first time thanks to the launch of a new website with SmartApp

We also increased the number of MQLs from the site

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

The SmartApp team always responds as quickly as possible. About 90% of the tasks are completed well ahead of the deadline.
Urgent tasks are solved in a few hours (sometimes up to 1 hour)

What was your primary form of communication with SmartApp?

Email or Messaging App

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

The SmartApp team is always very involved in our company's tasks. They always offer several options for solving the problem and argue for the most effective solution. 
Communication with the team is always professional and correct. All team members communicate in a friendly and prompt manner.
They are also always ready to go deeper into the problematic, to study additional tools and share their knowledge with our internal team.
We especially appreciate the transparency of communication and reporting. The SmartApp team always estimates the complexity of the task in advance, and everything is correctly supported by documents and reports.

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

At this point, we just want to wish the team continued growth and ambitious projects!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO / Owner of Data Engineer Academy

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Data Engineer Academy is ed tech and online training program for people who want to land their dream data roles.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Build website
• Build payment tools
• Market Business

SOLUTION

How did you find SmartApp?

Referral

Why did you select SmartApp over others?

• High ratings
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from SmartApp were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

• Delivered website 
• Ongoing Marketing 
• Create payment and subscription functionality 
• Provides ongoing support for bugs

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Meeting deadlines and allowing for easy use of uploading educational content.

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

Yes - the team has been extremely quick at shipping deliverables and has been absolutely responsive every single day. Their daily updates allows me to stay in the loop. And i can rest assured that once i give them an ambigous task, they will take it to the finish line. Not only that, but their expertise also means they can give grade A recommendations that I as a new business owner may have missed. If you are an entrepreneur and small business owner, I highly recommend!!

What was your primary form of communication with SmartApp?

Email or Messaging App

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

They simply know everything. It's like magic. Every time i thought something wasn't possible for them to build, they surprised me.

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

I simply cannot think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of the company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Custom software solutions: Websites, Web & Mobile Apps, 3D Product Configurators

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Develop a Drupal 9 CMS Website

SOLUTION

How did you find SmartApp?

Online Search

Why did you select SmartApp over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from SmartApp were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Kim was part of our Drupal CMS team and contributed to three different Drupal website client projects. He was part of a scrum team and in direct contact with the client and our developers and business analysts. He developed custom Drupal themes but also custom modules with custom code and functionalities.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Three Drupal websites for clients in Switzerland got released successfully.

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

Kim was part of our Scrum team and communicated very well no mater if directly to the client or to our internal developers and project managers.

What was your primary form of communication with SmartApp?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They have good and transparent communication. Well educated people and skilled developers.

Are there any areas for improvement or something {provider_name} could have done differently?

The team communicates well. Having expert English level skills would be a plus.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the ceo of gargeest

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Clothing brand store

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

SmartApp helps us to move our previous website based on Tilda to the new platform Shopify, where we can manage both content and stock stuff in one place, as previously we had 2 separate CMS.

SOLUTION

How did you find SmartApp?

Referral

Why did you select SmartApp over others?

• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

What was the size of SmartApp’s team?

2-5 Employees

What was your primary form of communication with SmartApp?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

SmartApp developed a brand new website on Shopify platform to showcase high-quality clothing and accessories worldwide. Also, the IT company integrated ShopifyPos which now allow the clients to purchase in offline stores in Dubai, UAE, which is automatically sync with the Shopify admin panel.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Surely, you can visit our website - https://garageest2016.com

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

SmartApp work leading this project from start to finish is truly exemplary. They were always available and supported with any point that we would have trouble with. I know they’ve put tons of extra hours into this project and this is absolutely outstanding work.

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

SmartApp's work and the final result fully met and exceeded our expectations.

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

We're highly satisfied with their work!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of an online tutoring and educational website for primary and secondary students.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

SmartApp was hired to develop an LMS platform that would allow students to be hosted for online tutoring and educational classes.

SOLUTION

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

SmartApp was selected based on past experience and projects completed.

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

1) Develop two landing pages that would match project colour scheme and logo's. 2) Develop an online LMS on moodle that would be child friendly and easy to use. 3) LMS system to be able to schedule classes and content for students of different ages.

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

3. 1 project manager, one web developer and another moodle specialist.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Fantastic outcomes. A very smooth landing page was developed along with a user friendly interface for moodle.

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

Communication tools included trello, watsapp and email. Project manager made changes without hesitation despite us changing various items on numerous occasions. Very patient and willing to help. Fantastic company to work with.

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

Very experienced in the space of educational websites.

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

n/a