SmartCat

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of a fintech platform. We provide large companies with many SME clients a solution that helps manage liquidity using AI.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SmartCat?

We needed help developing a specific part of our platform and defining a foundation for further builds.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first element was a proof of concept (POC) that we will continue to develop. It was thorough work, but still a POC. They used Python-based machine learning and statistical mathematics for our predictions. We gave them a set of data, which they used to test predictions. They sent us a standard Jupyter notebook, which is a form of standardizing and transferring Python code.

What is the team composition?

Four team members worked on this project. We were primarily in contact with the CEO and three others.

How did you come to work with SmartCat?

They worked with a local provider here in Stockholm.

How much have you invested in them?

We've spent less than $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from March to April 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were skilled and professional, and we were happy with their work. We did one prediction in a very difficult field. The outcomes of their data forecasting were incredibly close to the actual results.

How did SmartCat perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication and availability were good, and their documentation was thorough.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were entrepreneurial; they had a mission and knew how to drive the business forward. Rather than just finishing the case and moving on to the next project, they suggested solutions. They took ownership of their job and our case.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Their project coordinator and developers already have a good step-by-step procedure. They are well-versed in working with companies, especially non-domestic companies.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO. We deliver full-cycle experience solutions for our customers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SmartCat?

A solution for one of our clients wasn’t working. We needed a company that could provide alternatives.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We develop mainly in JavaScript and wanted to migrate some existing APIs. They created a layer for us using MongoDB, NodeJS, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) configuration. They integrated with us through Jira and Bitbucket to create a hybrid for web and mobile.

We were so satisfied with them that we asked them to take over our complete Amazon infrastructure and systems management. They use advanced text analysis, data mining, and emotion recognition for cameras. We’ll continue to work with them for years to come.

What is the team composition?

There was a project manager, the company director, and one dedicated developer.

How did you come to work with SmartCat?

They were proactive and approached us. They became a part of the company during the process.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent €50,000 or more ($59849.05 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2018 and work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The assignment was very urgent and they completely understood what we wanted. We had no problems with communication or deliverables and are highly impressed with them.

How did SmartCat perform from a project management standpoint?

It was a completely organized and agile project. We worked together as a team, with no distinction between their company and ours. We use Jira, Confluence, and Bitbucket and they adapted to our process. We do a standup call every morning, a weekly progress call, and a weekly visit in person. One of their developers works in our office and everyone is very flexible and proactive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their approach distinguishes them from other companies. They integrate into the project and I was impressed with their level of knowledge. I’m learning a lot from them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We haven’t had any problems yet.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them and give them enough space to do their job. They will give advice to improve your efficiency and your code.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of an internet gambling company. We have retail shops around the world as well as internet sites. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SmartCat?

We started looking for a company that could create a recommender system for betting. We wanted something that would appear familiar to our players, and give them recommendations on what they could play during a particular month.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SmartCat built a web and mobile solution, with machine learning components. The recommender will be present on seven to eight sites and a mobile application. During the next 30 days, the recommender will be integrated into all our sites and applications. The product was built using Apache Spark and Cassandra. The algorithm will be used for all player tickets, according to our offer at the moment, for customers on our websites.

We’ve gone through a few phases of testing, the first one being done by SmartCat. Our team also tested all the parts of the system in various environments such as staging and production.

What is the team composition?

We worked with one project manager and two to three data scientists from their team.

How did you come to work with SmartCat?

We contacted multiple companies regarding our needs. SmartCat got in touch with us and we decided to start a collaboration.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent more than €50,000 ($60,415 USD) so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since September 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve only recently started to get feedback for it, but after testing, our opinion is that the product is good.

How did SmartCat perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve been in touch with them through all possible communication channels: email, Skype, and in-person meetings at our office. We’ve had very good communication during the project. When we identified bugs, or when a solution was not ideal for us, SmartCat addressed the problem quickly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I think that they have very good tech sense. They knew nothing about our industry, but after a few meetings where we told them what was important for our industry, they quickly understood what to do with our data. SmartCat has very good data science capabilities, better than those of other companies.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We haven’t had any problems with them. I don’t have any suggestions for them.