SoftTeco

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of software development at a software development company. I bring in additional developers when needed. I train our developers and select the technologies that we use. I select the development methodologies and organize the teams.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SoftTeco?

We worked with another company in which we didn’t get the results we expected; we were behind schedule and the quality was lacking. The mobile web apps were slow loading and wouldn’t respond quickly. We didn’t have enough developers in-house for the project. We needed to find a company to help us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We first added two developers and they were awesome. They asked the right questions and had the right knowledge needed for C# and .NET. They helped us bring the software to the next level. We then added more developers for the web development side as well. They rescued the web project within three months.

With the web development, they did everything. The first thing was to make a code review to check how they know their stuff and how they approach the project. Then they came up with a solution for the project. They shared their impression of the architecture, code design, coding rules, and how it’s implemented. They provided the correct people who could do this which was really great. The provided us with insights on how they’d approach the solution, what the solution is, what the benefits are, what the costs are, and how long it will take.

What is the team composition?

We started with two developers and have added more.

How did you come to work with SoftTeco?

We found them at a conference. They shared with us what they’re capable of and what they’ve done. It sounded good to us and we had more discussions. They provided a CV and we could take a look at it but with our bad experience with our previous provider, we did some coding assignments and tests. They passed those tests very good. We made programming assignments that they cannot do in the expected timeframe and we wanted to see how they behave with such a hard task. They had exceptional good behavior like we wanted. We really happy how it went. I then flew over to Belarus at their headquarters. I was very welcomed. We talked about our product.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent €50,000 (approximately $57,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2020 and the work is ongoing.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was the CTO at GUDU Fitness LTD. We created an App that is aimed to eliminate the need for people who want to go to a gym, to have a subscription. We offer a one time entree without the hustle.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SoftTeco?

We needed a development team that will rewrite our app, provide a scalable API and /devOps infrastructure that includes CI/CD to allow a fast moving development.

What were your goals for this project?

Rebuild our App from scratch. Make it better!

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We interview some companies. Softteco had good references, and we had good chemistry.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

I managed the team, having daily meetings but most of the work was done by the team members. They created the new App (ReactNative) which was connected to an API written in Node. Data was stored in MariaDB. All server side resources are handled with Kubernetece.

What was the team composition?

• App engineers (2)
• FullStack engineers (2)
• QA (1)
• DevOps (1)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was on a path to be very successful. We nearly completed all tasks. We had a working CI/CD in place. The Coronavirus forced us to put this project on hold for now, but I still value the work done by Softteco and believe that having a normal continuation we could have completed phase 1 as planned.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

I was very happy working with Softteco. They provided a very good product and were very open to our needs. I put in the technical requirements and softteco dealt with implementation. I had seniors to talk to if there was an issue.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are open to changing circumstances. Their team is very professional. They were able to provide a good replacement when there was an employee that wasn't a good fit for us. AND, they are very nice!

Are there any areas for improvement?

All in all, I was very happy and wouldn't change anything - everything was in the open and communication was excellent.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of R&D at Waycare, a smart mobility startup. We work with large organizations like government authorities to safely manage their systems.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SoftTeco?

We needed an IT staff augmentation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provide remote developers to assist us with IT-related needs. We interviewed a few developers and accepted three of them. Each day, we work together as a team. They use JavaScript and Angular for frontend development. For backend development, they use Python. We also use MongoDB, RabbitMQ, and Reddit. They develop various features, some of which are built from scratch. They're also in charge of bug fixes and small adjustments.

What is the team composition?

There are three developers and a data scientist assigned to our account.

How did you come to work with SoftTeco?

Someone from my company contacted them. We interviewed the developers, and they seemed skilled. That encouraged us to continue.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $100,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2019, and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’re highly committed and motivated, working as if they were full-time team members. Answering after hours, they worked really hard to meet the deadlines.

They helped other team members, showing a high level of professionalism. With their can-do attitude, they always deliver good products. They put the effort in to deliver against our limited timeframe.

How did SoftTeco perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate via email, phone, and Google Meet. With the account manager, we were in contact once a month for invoices. We communicated with the developers daily.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their developers acted like they were a part of our team. They even answered on the weekends, making themselves highly available. They give the best service they can, which can be rare when outsourcing. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

If they had a security certificate or certificate of compliance, that would allow us to move forward with our partnership longer into the future. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Interview the different developers until you a good match. Once you have someone on board, treat them like they’re part of the team. They should be invited to every company meeting. They need to feel like they’re part of the team and not an external resource.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of a company working in the requirements space, providing a product focused on traditional use cases and appealing to more waterfall organizations. In the last couple of years, we’ve been focusing more on the Agile space, with a product meant to become the frontend of the modern DevOps pipelines. I oversee product development, Cloud/DevOps, and IT.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SoftTeco?

We were struggling with development capacity. We have a massive roadmap which, even with a team twice the size, would have taken us at least 2 years to deliver.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SoftTeco acts as a remote extension of our internal team, and have worked on new features for our newer product in the effort to move away from the old one.

Our stack is based on the Microsoft SQL Server and .NET on the backend. On the frontend, we use JavaScript, AngularJS 4, TouchScript, and other modern tools. They've has been working across the board, full-stack, from the database layer all the way up to the frontend, mainly on new features.

The first project was creating a new admin portal for our Agile product. In the old one, we had a Silverlight frontend, which is almost a dead technology and similar to Flash. We based the new version on HTML5/JavaScript technologies compatible with modern browsers, but didn’t have the admin functionality available in HTML5, and needed to keep using the old admin panel. SoftTeco created a user-management portal in HTML5.

They also created an admin functionality which allows users to develop their own customizable workflows for their organizations. The workflow management could only be done through the database. SoftTeco created an interface which allows users to upload, modify, and remove different workflows. As a continuation of that project, they’re now working on a graphical editor for workflows.

What is the team dynamic?

The initial team size was around 7 people, but we quickly doubled it. We currently have 15 people on the team, and will be increasing to about 20 next month. The team includes both back and frontend developers, QA people, and a project manager who acts more as a development manager and handles the entire team and much of the process. We also have a part-time business analyst who helps with requirements verification and composition.

We have an internal team lead managing their resources, despite SoftTeco having a project manager on their end as well. This reduces the chances of miscommunication, and provides them with full support from our end on figuring out how the platform works, clarifying requirements, UI/UX, etc.

How did you come to work with SoftTeco?

A friend of mine used to be the CTO of a technology company and had used SoftTeco before establishing his own presence in Belarus. I asked him for some recommendations when I needed extra capacity, and he introduced me to some of his former partners. I’ve had a lot of experience with different outsourcing options, so I didn’t really need a formal evaluation. I reached out to a few people, considered some options, and ultimately decided upon SoftTeco.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of their work has been almost $300,000 so far. The plan is to spend at least another $500,000 in the next 7 months.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2017, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We track the same metrics with SoftTeco that we do internally, including quality, velocity, throughput, and commit/claim ratio (they come up with a Sprint plan, and claim a certain number of closed stories within it). If the commit/claim ratio is anywhere between 90%–110%, then it’s healthy. If it’s below that, then there is something to review.

In terms of velocity and commit-to-claim, SoftTeco has been doing great work. They deliver what they promise, plan fairly accurately, and have done a good job in terms of requirements clarity and timing. They don’t become idle because our UX team didn’t provide something on time. We have hit bottlenecks, but usually it’s because of the process or some dependencies we haven’t met.

The metrics regarding code quality and number of bugs we’ve seen have been normal, and not above what our internal team produces. We’re fairly happy with SoftTeco’s work.

We’ve already shipped a number of features together, and have a significant roadmap ahead of us.

How did SoftTeco perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very experienced in this sense. When we started, we tried to impose our internal process on them, but it was counterproductive. They have their own cadence and were used to 3-week sprints, while we had 1-week iterations internally. After we figured out the best process, we gave them almost full freedom in terms of project management.

SoftTeco is integrated into our JIRA, and they have their own boards. We’ve adopted 2-week sprints on both sides. Everything is transparent, and we’re able to see where they stand at any point. They work tightly with our product management team.

We have a 30-day notice clause in our contract that allows them to easily add more people or reallocate resources if the team needs to be reduced. The flexibility, process, and quality are all there.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate their commitment. They hold themselves accountable and truly take ownership of the work despite being an external partner. It would have been easier for them to just sit and wait until something happened, but they’ve kept pushing in an aggressive and proactive manner. The sense of dedication makes them feel like a real part of our team and business.

They did an outstanding job providing a strong team with short notice, and added more resources when needed. Their team is technically strong, caring, and committed to their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could have been a bit more proactive and aggressive internally in terms of the process itself. When we tried to impose our own process on them and failed, it became clear that they had enough experience to handle things independently. They should have informed us of this from the start in order to allow for more productivity. We did finally overcome this, but it took more than a month. We were just starting the relationship and trying to figure out roles.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients need to be proactive in terms of the process, and formalize it at the start of the relationship. Making sure that the overall structure and expectations are presented is important. Depending on the overhead required, clients need to figure out how to retain efficiency on both sides.

They should also learn to sell themselves better and present their process so people understand that there is a mature team behind the company, and not just a bunch of developers.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

AZ Books LLC is headquartered in Belarus, with an office in New York as well. We are a publishing house, mainly focused on children's books.

What is your position?

I am the development manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with SoftTeco?

One of our initiatives is the creation of educational applications. We needed help in doing the development work.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

SoftTeco developed an educational game for the iPad, based on our designs and artwork. Their work involved converting our art and animations into a software product. Three months ago, we started working with them again on developing iPhone and Android versions of the app.

How did you come to work with SoftTeco?

We were searching for a Belarus company that could provide programming work. We wanted to work with a local provider. A friend of our project manager referred SoftTeco to us, based on his previous experience with them.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The cost of the project was around $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The initial project was completed in 2013, and the new development run was completed this year [2016].

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Our product reached the top 10 free children's educational apps within the App Store.

How did SoftTeco perform from a project management standpoint?

Their speed of deliver and communication stands out as above average.

What distinguishes SoftTeco from other providers?

SoftTeco completed their work fast, and we were satisfied. Our designers couldn't keep up with providing SoftTeco the necessary artwork because of the speed at which they worked.

Is there anything SoftTeco could have improved or done differently?

No. My team, which collaborated with SoftTeco directly, was very satisfied with the process.

BACKGROUND

BlazeJobs is a technology company that provides a mobile hiring solution for the high turnover and entry-level job market. We service the hospitality, retail, manufacturing, and home health service industries. We are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I am the CEO of BlazeJobs. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Today's hiring environment is transitioning because of technology and intergenerational management styles. We are bridging the intergenerational gap by providing a mobile, easy access tool for employers to source matched candidates quickly, and for job seekers to find available jobs near their location quickly. 

This entry-level job position market represents 40 percent of jobs in United States. We're targeting the hospitality and retail areas because of their need for a good solution because their turnover rates are as high as 60 percent.

Our technology gives these hiring managers a quick, seamless way to pre-vet candidates before they start their interview processes so that 80 percent of candidates that aren't ideal for them are washed out. The time and direct costs involved in training are lowered by using the BlazeJobs app. 

SOLUTION

I found information about SoftTeco online while searching for offshore development teams. They had many online reviews on sites like this one that helped me make a decision to start vetting them. 

Our project was a duplication of our existing iOS product into Android. We already had design, back-end support, and a roadmap for this project. SoftTeco was to provide the developers, and we had our quality assurance developer overseeing their team.

SoftTeco provided us with top-shelf service, project management, and communication, and they moved at lightning speed that worked well for our team. It took six weeks to finish the Android mobile version of the app. We were able to constantly review code and check bugs through sprints. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

SoftTeco fulfilled all of their promises to us. They finished the project one month ahead of our original estimated timeline and stayed within the budget. They were flexible when it came to some changes that were still within scope, and they worked diligently to provide solutions to problems we had not expected.

We did add a piece to the project within our analytics dashboard, and they came up with the product solution within their team, presented to us, and executed the final product. This out-of-the-box thinking separates them from most offshore teams and, to me, makes them much more valuable than just a development partner. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with SoftTeco?

We use SoftTeco as another team member for the iOS development team. We have two outsourced companies we work with, both in Belarus. At some point, we needed more iOS experts, which the other company couldn't provide. We've been working with SoftTeco for a little more than a year.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

We brought in someone from SoftTeco, who is essentially another team member. From our perspective, since we're remote, our person at SoftTeco is like any other developer. We use only one person from them, and have a project manager at the other outsource company. The SoftTeco developer interacts with the rest of the team.

In handling our outsourcing, we handle the design and architecture internally, and give it over to the developers. They have feedback in that process, but, at the end of the day the decisions are ours, and so is day to day management.

How did you come to work with SoftTeco?

We've been working with the other company for quite a while, and it turned out that they themselves would sub-contract people from SoftTeco from time to time. I wouldn't say it's a close community, but it's definitely a community over there; so, when we needed people, SoftTeco was the place to go.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

We have spent between $50,000 and $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

It's ongoing for a year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I don’t really have any metrics to share. We did a soft launch on a small scale of 100 users and we're working with some issues on that. All the issues we found are overall design ones. There were implementation bugs, but nothing that I could attribute to one person in particular.

How did SoftTeco perform from a project management standpoint?

We are satisfied. The developer we have is responsible, he takes the initiative on things, and he works late. I don't actually review the code he writes; we have another person more familiar with iOS that does that. I trust the iOS team to keep each other in line. Generally, his results are clean, and when something is not quite right and we have to revisit or refactor something, he's happy to do it.

What distinguishes SoftTeco from other providers?

I've only ever worked with three or four outsourced organizations, and two of them were outsourcing for a client of ours. I would say that SoftTeco, and the other companies in Belarus that we work with are all high-quality, relative to others I've worked with. I can't say that they're the best but when I've looked for new people, I never felt the need to look outside of these organizations.

Is there anything SoftTeco could have improved or done differently?

There were a couple of times when I wished our developer would have dived in a little deeper, but that's true for every other developer I've worked with. It was true for me, when I was a developer.

I've never used them for management or design. They're really a body-shop for us, so I don't have any experience on the other end. Other than that, I'm quite pleased with his responsiveness and his level of engagement with the project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

My company is a software development company. It’s an American company, but I am running our business in Canada.

What is your position?

I’m the business development manager of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with SoftTeco?

They are our partners and we are working with them to build mobile applications. 

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

They’ve worked on mobile app development projects. We’ve done quite a few with them. The most recent one is a global system for documentation and similar projects, which we are now testing in North America. They did the development and design for us, and our customers are happy with them.

How did you come to work with SoftTeco?

We used to know their leaders for a couple of years, and we have had no problems with them.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The projects average over $10,000 but less than $200,000. This year we will have a higher budget for the work. 

What is the status of this engagement?

This work is completely ongoing with no plans to stop.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

They’re great; responsive, reliable, and flexible. If our clients are happy, we’re happy. When I have questions, they can solve them quickly.

How did SoftTeco perform from a project management standpoint?

We don’t have any problems with timelines.

What distinguishes SoftTeco from other providers?

They are specialized in mobile and CRM [customer relationship management] applications. We have companies that work only with Salesforce, for example, and we rely on SoftTeco’s expertise. Maybe they’re not the best, but their price and quality is awesome. They have a lot of experience in the banking and telecom industries as well.

Is there anything SoftTeco could have improved or done differently?

I share their contact information with companies that need help. They don’t have a representative in the States, but they always have someone available for support. I’m happy with SoftTeco. We have a few companies who are involved with us for development, and we share the projects with them. Mostly we send the projects to SoftTeco.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a small Swedish company. We have several lines of business all related to software. Some are in the United States, some are in Sweden, and some are in Israel. We are currently working on a software product that helps startup businesses in Israel. I am in the Israel office and manage the work on this product, which is quite popular domestically in 2015.

What is your position and responsibilities?

I am one of the cofounders.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with SoftTeco?

We use four SoftTeco people as members of our team, so its outsourced staff work. They do 99 percent software development work for us.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

They not only do software development, but they also do some design work as well in small amounts.

How did you come to work with SoftTeco?

Mostly by accident. We saw the need, and they approached us. We said that we'd be in Moscow at a certain time and if they would like to meet with us and talk, they were welcome. They came, and we liked them. We felt they were people we should work with, so within a week we had them on our staff.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

Monthly fees are generally $3,000 to $5,000. They are great. For this price, you receive high quality and fantastic resources.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have worked with them for six or seven years. We put them on our staff, so they work like members of our team. For us, it is much more convenient because we can easily upgrade and downgrade our staff on a need basis. Of the four people we have right now, two have been with us for five years and the other two for more than three years. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

It's hard to give metrics but the length and scope of work speaks to the success. As I mentioned, they have worked on a very popular software product in Israel that has been very profitable for my company.

What distinguishes SoftTeco from other providers?

They are great engineers. If you give SoftTeco a problem, they give you a solution. What they don't give you is a problem to be solved. Out of their four people, only one needed to be encouraged to do better occasionally. One thing that is part of their company culture is continuous fighting, which took some getting used to. However, if you gave them a job that needed to be done with high quality, they would do it as soon as possible.

My business approach and my partner's business approach is good, but we're not so good in marketing, Our products look great, are extremely convenient, and they help you but, for marketing, you need to be creative. So, they are always thinking about how to do things better from a marketing perspective currently which is an improvement and unique.

Is there anything SoftTeco could have improved or done differently?

No.

BACKGROUND

We are a company in the Middle East focusing on sales and marketing of mobile app solutions. The companies that are listed in our app pay us to advertise.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Our company needed a solution that would help consumers find locations for businesses in the Middle East Region. We also requested mobile advertisement and coupons to be included into the mobile solution.

SOLUTION

SoftTeco worked on a mobile app for Android, iOS and the Blackberry operating system. They were selected because of their record of high-quality development of mobile and server software, and their strong pricing and delivery schedules. 

The application was complex because it included GPS and voice recognition features. The app also has a phone icon allowing users to call companies directly.

The main development work was completed in early 2015, but feature enhancement work is ongoing. We still cooperate with SoftTeco to improve the product.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

SoftTeco is the best development firm I've ever worked with. We launched the beta version of the application in Saudi Arabia and had 150,000 downloads. User feedback was very strong. The application won an award in Barcelona, Spain, for having the best software. None of this success would have been possible without SoftTeco.