Softedge

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a senior finance leader at a commercial analytics company. My work revolves heavily around the general ledger, so I essentially manage the company's accounting. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Softedge Technologies?

We had an outdated ERP system that required us to track our transactions on Excel. We were also experiencing some revenue recognition issues. We approached Softedge to create a specialized ERP system that would automate and centralize some of our accounting processes. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Thet created an automated system that could properly allocate and aggregate our financial data. They used Angular on the frontend to create the user interface, but I know that their tech stack also included C# and SQL. They provided extensive testing to ensure that all of our needs were met.

What is the team composition?

We worked heavily with a business analyst to flesh out our business requirements. They acted as a project manager who would give our requirements over to the design and development team. 

How did you come to work with Softedge Technologies?

They were subcontracted through another company that I had originally contacted. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We first engaged them in May of 2017, and the new system went live in January 2018. We currently have them on a support contract, where they fix any bugs that come up.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Softedge Technologies successfully delivered a system and database that saves us time by automating our work. By streamlining processes that were previously done manually, they've freed up resources and have generated savings. Our new system also allows for access to a global view of our data, which has been hugely beneficial for us. 

How did Softedge Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

I believe project management was largely handled by the company that was subcontracting them. They did a good job of translating my business requirements to pure code that works. Their output indicates their success. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were adaptable and quick in the face of emerging issues. They were always available to provide great support, which was surprising given our different time zones. There were also very few bugs in the final stages, which was impressive due to the sheer size of the project. I believe it's a testament to their skill and experience.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only thing that I can think of is the frequency and form of communication. I would've held more conference calls and would have engaged the entire team to keep everyone on the same page. It wasn't really their fault, but that was a learning curve. They still managed to churn out a sophisticated system in just six months. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

When working with any offshore provider, I recommend having a very detailed plan. It also helps to have a dedicated, internal project management team to make sure the project is on track.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a partner at Decision Modeling Inc., a software development company. Our primary applications are focused on accounting-based functions, filling niche computation and calculation roles. Our primary clients are government agencies, Fortune 500 companies, large accounting firms, and law offices that make use of specialized accounting tools.

I am currently in charge of managing the conversion of some of our existing products to a web-based platform, including adding new features and capabilities to the system in the process.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Softedge Technologies?

Up until four years ago, everything we did was Windows-based. Then, we just started converting some of our products over to web-based solutions so as not to lose out on sales. We had programmed in Windows for 20 years, so finding a good partnership with a vendor that knew what they were doing important. After our first outsourced vendor didn’t work out, we turned to Softedge.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Currently, SoftEdge is helping us in converting some of our existing Windows-based software to web-based systems.

What is the team composition?

I have a team of five developers and two full-time testers. Alejandro (Founder and CEO, Softedge Technologies) manages things down there. I don't get too involved with him on the details of the conversions, but he's always there from a technical aspect to help out and guide his people in the right way if problems arise. 

How did you come to work with Softedge Technologies?

The main partner in our company sometimes has side projects going on that are not the main core of our business. He found Alejandro online years ago, I believe. After using him on custom projects, and another outsourced vendor failing to deliver, Dave brought him on here at DMI.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $1,000,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The difference between their work and the work of our previous outsourced firm is night and day. I don’t have statistics, but anecdotally, we discovered that our previous vendor had hard-coded a user record feature. Softedge wouldn’t do something like that.

How did Softedge Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

One of the reasons our previous outsourced relationships didn’t work was because of communication. Talking across time zones can be very frustrating, and getting the level of thoroughness and detail we want is difficult. That part of our experience has been much improved with Alejandro’s firm. Being able to communicate with them anytime during the day since there's a one hour time difference is like a godsend.

We use JIRA as a project development tracking tool. Two to three times a week, I’ll have a meeting with the development team, with all three resources together, so we're on the same page. I will also meet with them via a web meeting as required. Sometimes, a week goes by, and I don't have to have any additional meetings with them; other times, it's multiple meetings a day for days on end to try and get stuff right. They're always available and prepared.

What did you find most impressive about them?

There's very little communication barrier there if any. They are professional, pick things up quickly and are eager to develop a long-lasting relationship with us. The enthusiasm has been noticeably different than the groups we used in the past. Additionally, they’ve very detail-oriented. They don't cut corners.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We write very detailed comments in our code because we understand that even if it's me looking at it 10 years from now, you can't spend enough time commenting on what you code. In my time working with SoftEdge, at times I felt that this direction was not being adhered to and have had to bring it up a couple of times in order to get the desired results, which is happening now.   I realize that our level of commenting on how our logic works is probably way beyond the normal industry standard, but time has shown us over and over during the last 20 years that it is better to over-comment that under-comment your logic.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The most important thing in having development done by a third-party vendor is to keep the communication lines open and make sure the expectations and targets and details of the coding tasks are well understood. We’ve learned this the hard way in our other attempts and off-shore development, but with SoftEdge’s ability to be on the same schedule as us, with developers and testers that can communicate effectively with us directly at any time during the day, things have greatly improved.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO Founder of Wavedance Audio

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We make audio plugins

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire SoftEdge Technologies to accomplish?

• Build Audio Plugin

SOLUTION

How did you find SoftEdge Technologies?

Online Search

Why did you select SoftEdge Technologies over others?

High ratings

How many teammates from SoftEdge Technologies were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The work began with translating an idea into an actually programable, executable plugin. Then went through interface design and is now currently under construction.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Great response time and focus on the development of my idea.

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

They are extremely responsive and delivered everything on time.

What was your primary form of communication with SoftEdge Technologies?

Virtual Meeting

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

They build a personal relationship with us, even if they are situated in a different country.

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

No.