Software Mind S.A.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the CTO of a software company. We built SaaS products for financial management, and I worked in product development and operations. We had 300 people in the company, and then we utilized external resources for product development, so I also managed them.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Software Mind?

We were developing our own software product. We needed someone to scale up and resource our product development. Mainly, we were after scalability and expertise.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Software Mind acted as a subcontractor for us. They provided a pool of SCRUM resources, and we basically hired them on a full-time basis. Their team worked with our product development unit, which consisted of in-house and external resources work. Software Mind produced 80% of that external resourcing.

We started with a pilot on a small scale and ramped up from there. Initially, we provided some basic documentation, but they gathered the experience and knowledge they needed throughout our collaboration. We mostly used JavaScript, but we ran a bunch of other languages as well. We used MySQL on the database side, Vaadin on the frontend, Spring Boot, and Cassandra for the message queue.

In summary, they produced quite a lot of things. Their team did the document management part and most of the public API provided to our customers. Also, they made critical changes to the core of our product and worked on UI design as well.

What is the team composition?

We had a main point of contact and 35 people working on 6–7 SCRUM things. Some were software architects, and we had a few software engineers, 5–6 QA engineers, SCRUM masters, and 1–2 designers.

How did you come to work with Software Mind?

I spent a while researching the options and went through about 50 companies. I came across Software Mind through someone I knew beforehand. He had more experience in this type of operation, so he suggested some good companies.

How much have you invested with them?

It was roughly €5 million (approximately $5.8 million USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2016, and I left in May 2021. The company is still working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The final evidence was the company’s business growth. During those years, our revenue increased by 30% annually. Moreover, Software Mind produced good quality work. When we compared their quality, it was on par with what we did in-house. We were very happy about that.

How did Software Mind perform from a project management standpoint?

They delivered what they’d promised. We didn’t do much project management together. They were under our management style, and they did well. We mainly worked remotely, but our teams also visited each other. Every month, someone from our office would go there, and then they’d visit us a few times a year. On the other hand, it was pretty different during 2020 due to the lockdown.

We used Slack, Microsoft Teams, emails, and phone calls to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Overall, they stood out for their ability to deliver technology. From a cooperation standpoint, they were direct, honest, and easy to work with. Software Mind said what they thought and actually told us when we asked things that didn’t make sense.

Are there any areas they could improve?

At some points, we saw people leaving. Also, there were occasions where we could’ve prevented changes if we’d acted sooner, so maybe they could be more proactive on that front.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Getting the home base in order first helps a lot. Then, you have to approach them and be willing to hand them business-critical tasks and complex challenges. That’s when they prove they’re valuable.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Burning Glass is a labor market analytics firm providing quantitative insight into the demand and supply of workers in labor markets around the world. I am the Chief Technology Officer of Burning Glass.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We required data engineering personnel quickly to develop high throughput data processing pipelines and insights underpinning new applications under construction.

SOLUTION

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

The vendor quickly provided numerous qualified candidates to work with our team in a cohesive team structure. Deciding factors for us included quickly presenting multiple potential resources with excellent language skills at a per month costs fitting within our budget.

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

Key deliverables included bringing on a team quickly, Python and database engineering, data modelling, plus analysis of data quality.

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

We hired 3 software engineers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new application launched on time within a 3 month window and sold three new customers within 30 days of launch. Key deliverables included Python and AWS Cloud Formation Template (CFT) software comprising the system's backend.

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

VirtualMind served as a management resource providing personnel to our team, but their model focused on embedding their personnel within our existing scrum teams in a cohesive manner.

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

The speed in which they provided highly skilled resources sourced from South America that could cohesively work with my global software team.

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I have led Operations for our early stage digital health company for 4+ years, based out of Austin, Texas.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

As our business evolved and it came time to implement dedicated software development resources, our VP of Engineering had previously worked with Virtualmind and strongly recommended that we build a hybrid software development team between Austin (full-time, in-house) and Virtualmind in Buenos Aires. We developed an IoT platform, as well as business and consumer-facing mobile applications. It was also important that communication be fluid and on/near the same time zone.

SOLUTION

How did you select Virtualmind and what were the deciding factors?

Initially, this was largely based on our VP of Engineering's prior experience with the Virtualmind team. We also met with Javier and really appreciated his approach, transparency, and demeanor. They also displayed a strong set of technical capabilities and references.

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

Their team worked in tandem with our in-house engineers to develop the back-end systems for our applications, as well as iOS and Android mobile applications.

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

This varied, but there were generally 4-6 members of the vendor's team working with us, primarily focused on back-end and mobile development.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Virtualmind team completed high quality work, on-time, and with consistent communication. They were also flexible as we needed to ramp up/down various areas of development.

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

Strong project management and timeliness, including direct communication with each member of their team. We mostly communicated via Slack.

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

They represented a rare combination of skill, positive attitude, and flexibility. We also found them to be genuinely good, caring people - which is incredibly important. Javier, the CEO, leads by example.

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

There were a few instances where their team could have flagged challenges earlier and saved time, but relatively minor.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Quik! provides enterprise forms automation solutions to make paperwork the easiest part of every transaction. As CEO I help customers improve their customer experiences and change the way they use forms.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired VirtualMind to become our software development team. Although the team is offshore, they are every bit a part of our company as any other team member. They build and develop our software.

SOLUTION

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

We chose VirtualMind for several reasons. Their company culture and overall country culture (Argentina) closely matched ours. Second, the timezone difference was minimal. Third, they speak great English and communicate well.

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

Our goal was to build a team at VM that all other teams wanted to be part of. We've done this through extending our company culture to our team members and treating them like they were employees.

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

Our team at VM is now 11 people including a full-time QA, designer, dev-ops leader, team leader and engineers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have now been working with VM for over 11 years and have successfully recommended them to other firms, including our clients.

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

One of the keys to our success has been not having to manage the HR issues (hiring, training, etc.) that go with an engineering team as VM has done all of that very well.

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

VirtualMind is a true partner - we're not in a client-vendor relationship, we support each other very well and we both give and take.

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

We have learned over the years to understand each other and to know what to expect. For example, don't expect VM to be something they're not or you may not get the results you're looking for.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I oversee multiple teams that include Devs, QAs, and BAs, and as a company we focus on hotel benchmarking. We collate statistical hotel data and measure these establishments against each other.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with number8?

We needed their team’s software development and testing services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Over the course of our working relationship with number8, they provided resources that integrated within our teams and helped develop several platforms and custom applications for both internal and external consumption.

What is the team composition?

The number8 resources were mixed in with existing teams, which usually consisted of 3–4 devs, QA, BA, and a PM.

How did you come to work with number8?

One of our managers had an existing professional relationship with number8 before I was onboarded in the company.  

How much have you invested with them?

I estimate we spent close to $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our relationship with number8 lasted several years and came to an end in March 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We saved valuable time and money because of number8’s efforts. We didn’t really have definite KPIs or metrics to measure number8's specific impact within the teams, but I could confidently say that number8 delivered cost-effective results.

How did number8 perform from a project management standpoint?

number8 was a highly cooperative team — all the resources we worked with were accommodating and delivered tasks efficiently. They knew our business well given the length of our partnership, and they used that as an opportunity to generate quick yet logical results.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were most impressed with their keen ability to deliver tailored and high-quality solutions. Our long-term engagement with number8 was enough proof that we found their services beneficial to our business.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I didn’t encounter any aspect that they could’ve done differently. number8 was a proactive and professional team that listened to our needs and took our feedback into consideration.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust number8 to be the right partner for your company. They’ll not only deliver efficient results, but they’ll also work closely with you to ensure they are meeting expectations.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am CTO in the biggest MVNO in Poland

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were looking for partner that could support us in both development of our BSS (new products, APIs and CRM development) and support of whole BSS related software stack.

SOLUTION

How did you select Software Mind and what were the deciding factors?

Software Mind is widely known as a company with high telco software competence. Among the competitiors Software Mind offered us the best terms.

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

Development and support of enviroment consisting of custom BSS system build in JAVA, Amazon RDS Postgre and MySQL databases, Apache based rest APIs, Rabbit and Nginx LBs, JIRA, Amazon EC2 and S3, CI stack (GitLab, Jenkins), ELK stack

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

There were always at least 5 people, PM, Software Architect, devops /CI specialist, tester and senior developer. Other members joined the the team depending on workload, during thempst intensive development team included up to 6 developers and a leader / chief developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Software developed and maintained by Software Mind is running without any serious unplanned downtime while servicing more than 400k customers since 2017

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

The project management style is based on good communication and personal relations. It makes it both easier to understand each other and just more fun to work together. Primary means of communication are weekly status meetings, Slack and Jira

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

Flexible approach. We has (much too often) required the order of product delivery to be changed when development had already started or some development to be made "immediately" to secure bussiness continuity. While no one would be happy with impromptu changes, Software Mind is always ready to help us find solutions.

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

Every issue that occured was possible to be solved by talking or negotiation (sometimes a lot of it). I guess when you're open to feedback you just improve on the way.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of engineering for a technology company that provides a meal plan subscription service online and through mobile apps.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with number8?

We needed to address our backlog of work in a cost-effective and timely manner. We hired number8 to expand our development team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve augmented our team for full stack web and application development. They’ve done everything from traditional software engineering and development tasks. At this point, they’re completely integrated with my team.

What is the team composition?

There are three full-time contract developers on my team, but I also work with two account managers that help recruit talent. We’re also in the process of bringing on a data developer as well.

How did you come to work with number8?

I found them through Clutch. We were looking for a partner for nearshore staff augmentation and talked to several agencies. They sent us samples of their work,  I talked to some of their existing team people, and I checked their references. In the end, they could provide the best talent for the most reasonable price.  

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $50,000­–$200,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

The first developer started working with us in September 2020 and we continue to work with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

By adding one software engineer, we increased our throughput by about 30 percent. Since then, we’ve brought on two more developers.

Anecdotally, they fit right into our team. They’ve become trusted partners and resources.

How did number8 perform from a project management standpoint?

Our partnership has been seamless. They’re in the same time zones as us, so we’re able to contact them easily, which helps us turn everything around quickly. To communicate,  we use Zoom for video conferencing

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their engineers have exceptional technical abilities.  They clearly understand the facets of the project and can work across a broad tech stack.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything specific they need to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

New clients should understand that there are different ways to work with a nearshore provider, and how they manage that partnership can have a big impact on the success of their project. They need to be willing to support them.

Also, like with any partnership, there may be some challenges that are outside of their control. For example, we had to reschedule an interview because they were hit by a hurricane and lost power. So, new clients should have realistic expectations and flexible in their partnership.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Software Developer III at a freight company headquartered in Fort Smith, AR. We provide integrated logistics solutions for a variety of supply chain challenges. I am responsible for implementing and improving our IT systems as well as overseeing various team projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire number8?

Our company currently uses an in-house browser built off of Internet Explorer which allowed us to keep our existing web applications in a deprecated Internet Explorer version. We decided to start moving towards allowing users to use modern browsers, but needed these older applications to work in them as well.

We did not have the resources to devote to converting the numerous applications to HTML5 standards and outsourcing seemed to be our best option.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted each system to be able to successfully run in Chrome, Internet Explorer, and our in-house browser. Each system also needed to remain virtually the same from the users perspective which presented a difficult challenge. We anticipated that this would help us move from supporting our in-house browser to allowing users to use a browser of their choosing.

SOLUTION

How did you select number8?

I was not personally involved in the selection process of number8, but I was the first person from our company to work directly with them on a project. The quality of the programmers they provided encouraged our company to use them on other future projects.

Describe the project in detail.

The project had already been underway when we decided to add a vendor to the team. I started as a developer on the project and soon moved to project manager when we added number8.

The overall scope was to convert all applications which had already been identified to HTML W3C standards (currently HTML5). The vendor was responsible for taking the applications they were given and updating them to HTML5 standards based on the given instructions.

They would then fully test each application in Chrome, IE and our in-house browser. Once tested the application was given back to me and I would pass it on to the user for further testing. The vendor had to not only learn our conversion guidelines, but also business knowledge on each new application.

What was the team composition?

Initially, we started with one programmer from number8 and as our project grew we added two others in order to speed up the conversion process.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Once completed all of our applications will be able to run in a modern browser which will allow for newer development and better user experience.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was excellent. We had daily stand up video meetings each morning in order to get a quick update from each programmer. This was vital in making our team work so well together. I also have a monthly check-in call with the vendor manager to ensure progress is being made and their are no issues.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The most impressive thing about number8 was their people and their integrity. Our team quickly became a "family" despite us not all working for the same company. I could trust that work would get done in a timely manner and I always felt like I was updated on task status.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I do believe we worked at a slower pace, but I believe with that came quality work versus if we had worked faster it might have been less quality and more quantity.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

YourGolfTravel is the worlds largest Golf Tour operator dealing in a B2C Market. As CIO I am responsible for approving all IT spend and tech partners

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Software Mind?

We engaged with Software Mind to design and develop the front end mobile App for our customer base. The App had to integrate with our existing internal systems to deliver accurate and relevant customer content

What were your goals for this project?

To provide our customers with a detailed itinerary of their golf holiday with additional functionality of assigning groups to hotel rooms, and for everyone on the trip to make payments. The App had to be built in a way to make it easily rebranded for sister companies within the same group.

SOLUTION

How did you select Software Mind?

A recommendation from a trusted source coupled with our own due diligence based on capability cost and culture.

Describe the project in detail.

The initial phase was to workshop designs and mock up the front end experience to validate with our existing customer base before the development/build phase. This iterative approach of refining the design assisted in ensuring the development scope was agreed and not changed materially throughout subsequent sprints.

What was the team composition?

Our internal team were responsible for the mid office delivery of data to the front end App (for both ios and android) which was delivered from beginning to end by Software Mind.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Despite a relatively soft launch across a handful of golf resorts, we immediately experienced a significant increase on online payments and downloads of the app for travellers already booked. This is despite the current market conditions of Covid and lockdowns in the UK.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Excellent. Daily standups successfully run and all projects risks regarding costs and timelines were managed professionally and satisfactorily

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We hit a few bumps along the way but the ability of Software mind to manage issues as they arose with minimal fuss was outstanding

Are there any areas for improvement?

None come to mind!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a managing partner at Elko, a software development company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with number8?

We were doing a custom software development job and we needed additional staff on the project. We wanted to have a way to quickly scale up the project in order to get it done faster. As a result, we hired number8 to leverage the skills of their .NET developers and get some more expert developers from them.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team took over our integration project, allowing our system to be connected to multiple different apps. It would’ve been like a POS, a financial accounting system, invoicing system, and inventory management systems — these separate apps were connected to seamlessly work together. 

I can go to number8 and tell them whenever I need developers and state my requirements. Then, they will fill me in the next day with resumes and tell me the staff that can help me. They also set up a time so we can talk to their developers. After that, I'll do a text screen with their developers, and the one I like the most, I hire to be part of my project. 

I still have a project manager that oversees them, but they have senior-level developers on the project to knock out the technical parts that we need to finish. At the beginning of every project, we communicate with our project manager and our manager tells the developers our milestones, what we need to complete in each time frame, and the dates they need to complete it. What we do is basically integrate them as part of our team, so we also have our own developers on our project. We have daily meetings with the team where we talk about what we’re going to do about that day and discuss what blockers we may have.

There have been projects that have ended, but because I’ve liked working with them, we’ve brought them on for a new project that’s currently ongoing.

What is the team composition?

We’ve had at least four people that we brought on to our projects at any given time. 

How did you come to work with number8?

We liked that they are based out of Kentucky and they're a US-based company that has nearshore connections. In addition, I also had a colleague that at one point worked with number8 and they had some good things to say about them. As a result, I gave them a call and I was impressed with their responsiveness and willingness to work things out with me. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably spent over $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October 2019 and  I’ve continued to work with them for over a year at this point.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measure their success by what they're deploying and what they're being able to get into production on a daily basis, making sure that we are on track to hit the future milestones that we've committed to.

number8's developers are good at communicating things upfront and it extends beyond the team as a whole. They've checked in with us to see if everything is going okay. If we experience any communication breakdown, they've always step in and help with that as well. 

How did number8 perform from a project management standpoint?

We have very positive feedback on their timeliness. They also have excellent communication skills. Their developers have been quick to raise concerns or any flags they might see in the project, which is always appreciated because we can pivot ahead of time. They're experienced enough to say what they can and can't do, and also state why they can't do it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We've been impressed with the broad skillset of number8's developers. Whenever we have a requirement for something, chances are they’ll be able to dig up quite a number of well-qualified people — whereas if we go to other places and if we ask them hypothetically to handle our Java framework, they can get stumped. However, number8 has never been stumped yet, at least not for the projects we've been looking for. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We have no real complaints about number8 or things that I would say they need to improve on. If anything, I should probably implement their communication and formal processes on my projects.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just understanding the project requirements ahead of time and being able to communicate that with number8 will allow them to provide qualified people. However, if you become very generic and just say you need a good developer, there's going to be a lot of interpretation for that. There could be good developers for mobile apps and for Apple Software, so a definition of a good developer could change drastically depending on your needs. So far, I’ve found that they can find the right person as long as you are accurate with your project requirements.