Softkit

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Distil.ai and we’re developing a CDP platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Softkit?

I was essentially trying to find senior Java developers to help me build our platform. The customer development platform relies a lot on underlying open source big data architectures. We needed experts in Java, Apache Cassandra, Apache Spark, and Elasticsearch. We also require them to know Spring Boot and PostgreSQL for the backend development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Softkit has been involved in the project from very early on in the development and is still involved heavily on an ongoing day-to-day basis.

We scope the work in Confluence and break down the tasks onto a Kanban board in Jira to plan the current and upcoming work. Daily stand-ups using Google Meet are performed to keep all stakeholders informed, and the daily/short-term goals aligned.

As part of the ongoing development, Softkit is heavily involved in the discussions of building the architecture behind the app, including a couple of phases where we’ve had to do some technological discovery and assessment, to see which solutions are going to meet our requirements to the fullest degree.

What is the team composition?

I’ve primarily been working with Vitaliy (Co-Founder & CTO), involving 1-2 other developers from their team when required.

How did you come to work with Softkit?

I used a website called Upwork where I posted an initial contract for the work. As part of that process, I set an extensive and rigorous testing procedure to test potential candidates. Vitaliy scored incredibly high on the test and subsequent interview, and we immediately thought he was a good choice and fit.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve invested approximately £90,000 (about $127,300 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The ongoing partnership started in June 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I couldn’t recommend Softkit highly enough. I’ve been immensely impressed with the level and amount of work they can achieve. They put the time and dedication into the project we’re working on.

How did Softkit perform from a project management standpoint?

There are only a few of us working on this project. I use the Kanban approach as opposed to 2-week sprints and it’s a very fluid management style that they have adapted to. We have stand-ups every morning to make sure our priorities are set for the day/short term and keep all stakeholders updated on progress. We use Google Meet for our internal phone/face-to-face meeting, and use Slack extensively as our primary communications channel.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What distinguishes them from the other providers is the level and quality of the work they provide.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Based on my interactions with them, I’ve got no complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d give them the same advice I give to anyone hiring external developers. Test them out to make sure they fit your needs, and if you’re on the same wavelength. From a technological and fundamental point of view, I’d have no hesitation in recommending Softkit.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO and lead software engineer at Casefair.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Softkit?

We hired Softkit to help us with some of our backend development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Since the initial engagement, we’ve been using their services a bit more. We also hired them for backend development, frontend development, and some project management. They’ve done some research related to their tasks on their own, but nothing out of the ordinary for a normal developer. For the backend development, they helped us with Kotlin.

What is the team composition?

We work with Vitaly (Co-Founder). We also hired Diana (Project Manager) to help us with case creation and project management.

How did you come to work with Softkit?

It was through Upwork. I posted a job position there and did some interviews. I came across Vitaly and felt they were a good fit because we had an initial interview. Additionally, he was very familiar with the technologies we were already using. I gave him access to the code so he was able to give a review, and I really liked the review that he gave.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve invested between $20,000–$25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July 2020, and we’re still working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I was very, very happy. I provided them with a lot of standards and best practices that we follow, and they followed everything correctly. Their team provided some recommendations as well. Overall, it went well and the work was good. Everything is stable, and they follow best practices. They provide good quality work.

How did Softkit perform from a project management standpoint?

We have one person that has been working on an hourly basis. She helps us mainly with some case creation. She puts data into the database and then has some control over the estimations of when we can deliver a case and those kinds of roadmaps for the cases, but it wasn’t the complete project itself. There isn’t really a lot of project management involved.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very dedicated and aren’t afraid to challenge certain aspects of the project that were already implemented or ideas that we already had. They provide good feedback.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s a bit of a language barrier because English isn’t their primary language but overall, it’s fine and doable. The overall engagement has gone very well and I’m very happy with the work they’ve provided.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them as much freedom as possible in the sense of giving them space to challenge the things you’re doing. Because they’re very dedicated, they’ll do the proper research around it and will have a much better result.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a Real Estate company since 2016, providing solution service for our customers. I am a Recruiter in this company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Softkit?

We hired Softkit for Web Development in Java (strong back-end)

What were your goals for this project?

We needed a special quiz, that our clients can pass and receive the best solution for the new house buying.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found Softkit in Upwork. We considered 3 companies, had interviews. But, only Softkit got our point. Also, we cooperated previously, so we hadn't any doubts about the quality and fast communication.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The goal of the project is to provide the best ways to buy or sell real estate. It's a free service that allows consumers to compare dozens of real property buying and selling options to define the approach that best helps them to achieve their purposes – whether it’s saving time or getting the best price.

Technologies: Data Analysis, MongoDB, Java, MVC Framework, Kotlin, AWS Lambda, Node.js, Spring Boot, Bash, Angular 2, JPA, Docker, Redis, Jenkins

What was the team composition?

Actually, we hired 2 developers and they worked within the whole project. It was ongoing-project, developers worked with mentioned technology stack.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to this development, our sales increased and this cooperation met all our expectations. The project got 2020 Inman Innovator Awards for inventing new ways to showcase properties and building new technologies.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Our collaboration was excellent! Every time - great experience, fast response, perfect communication skills. Softkit working according to the deadlines and customer requirements. Tools: Slack, Jira, GitHub

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Among all companies, just Softkit has the needed experience in strong back-end and clean code. Also, they have experience in a similar project.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Everything was fine, will be glad to cooperate with Softkit in the future!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Webdevium

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a web development agency. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Help to push project to finish line
• Take initiative

SOLUTION

How did you find Softkit?

Online Search

Why did you select Softkit over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Softkit were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

I needed additional development power for an enterprise client. They put staff on the project who are very knowledgeable and self-starters. They have even taken over the weekly meetings with client and communicate very well. They make pushes on sprints weekly in a very organized manner. Fit right in with the workflow. I couldn't ask for a better experience.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

GitHub sprints completed weekly.

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

They deliver punctually and if they are stuck on something they ask for meetings to clariy so nothing gets stuck. Everything is always progressing great.

What was your primary form of communication with Softkit?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Most impressive thing is their ability to take charge of the project and communicate.

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

No, I have no complaints at all.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the founder of gogeta

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Employee benefits

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Create employee benefits products
• Create Employer Admin portals

SOLUTION

How did you find Softkit?

Referral

Why did you select Softkit over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Softkit were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We built a employee benefit platform focusing initially on 2 salary sacrifice products. We had to build a entire employee application flow as well as an employer approval and payment flow. We created custom Admin portals for both employee and employer We increased with finance providers and Xero for auto invoicing and Direct Debit

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Incredible user reviews from both employees and employers 
• All employers tell us the Admin flow and the UI/UX is much better than what they had used with previous vendors

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

They were fantastic, always on time and on budget

What was your primary form of communication with Softkit?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their technical work is great, but whats most impressive is how much they care. I genuinely felt they were part of the core business team, and not contractors. We would be working late at night and over the weekend - they seemed to love the project as much as we do..... Thats incredibly rare, and valuable

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

Nothing I can think of And if there were any small issues, they were immediately acknowledged and resolved

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Team Lead Partner Management of Expert Minds GmbH

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We provide highly skilled and experienced remote Tech Experts for German market based in EU and non EU

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Provide us with a qualified Tech Expert for our client

SOLUTION

How did you find Softkit?

• Online Search
• telegram

Why did you select Softkit over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• they provided the best candidate for all the requirements

How many teammates from Softkit were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Implementation of specific features as part of the "Best Metasearch" project 
• Processing the backlog of the frontend team 
• Removal of legacy in the frontend area of the frontend microservice
• Removal of legacy in the backend area of the frontend microservice Java, Struts, Spring, AWS, K8S
• Frontend experience is helpful (angular, typescript)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

the contract was long-term and the client renewed it.

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

The customer was satisfied. Softkit is a pleasure to work with, they are always in touch, responsible and attention to details

What was your primary form of communication with Softkit?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Softkit demonstrated a high level of professionalism throughout.

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

We hope to have more projects with this company!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of a software company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

A dev & design agency for startups and agencies ☺️

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Ongoing software development using Java

SOLUTION

How did you find Softkit?

• Online Search
• Other

Why did you select Softkit over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Softkit were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Ongoing development of important features for the business

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Tickets completed & closed successfully, after passing QA, and released to production

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

Delivery was on time, good communication skills & time management skills

What was your primary form of communication with Softkit?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They provide strong candidates who know their stuff very well and are very kind and smart folks.

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

Nope

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are offering IT consulting and software development for german companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Softkit helped us developing our backend services of our online marketplace.

SOLUTION

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

Out of 20 IT companies in eastern europe we decided to work with Softkit and it was worth it! They delivered what they offered.

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

We worked with one full stack developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of the code was really good and we like the work of softkits developers.

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

None.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a floral wholesaler serving customers across the East coast.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with the vendor?

Improve the search capabilities as well as content management on our e-commerce platform. In addition, we are adding AI/ML to the platform to help customers find more relevant products.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Adding features and functions to our e-commerce platform, which included web app and mobile app.

What is the team composition?

• Frontend developer (React/ React Native)
• Backend developer (Java)

How did you come to work with the vendor?

Upwork

How much have you invested with them?

Over $12k so far

What is the status of this engagement?

Ongoing

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our website, web app, and mobile app are all live.

How did the vendor perform from a project management standpoint?

They are excellent with communication and delivering work on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

• Reasonable pricing
• Great technical skills
• Communication skills

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing that we can think of at this time.