Software Planet Group

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of The LunchMaster

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We make grandma's scratch cooking accessible to all, by providing vended meals to students in schools. Our food is madedaily and delivered to over 100 schools in the Bay Area. We provide breakfasts, lunc, snack and supper. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Software Planet Group to accomplish?

• Develop and maintain our Sales Order Management system
• Develop a suite of data analytics
• Enable new functionality to address customer friction and internal efficiency

SOLUTION

How did you find Software Planet Group?

Online Search

Why did you select Software Planet Group over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Software Planet Group were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

SPG developed and maintains our customer facing sales order management system. It has online and mobile app interfaces. They regularly add functionality and do trouble shooting. Our business has evolved over the 10+ years and so have our needs. We are now doing more sophisticated data analytics, integrating with systems like Materials Requirement Planning and Accounts Receivable and continuing to build new value into the system

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Customer growth - our business has quadruped over the time of the engagement

User feedback - we have positive feedback about the ordering system and app

Internal functionality  - the app drives our ordering and delivery and we have strong OnTime, In Full metrics 

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

They are very good at scoping work and communicating progress on a project. We have weekly status meetings and communicate via Jira. Our team is small and busy, the SPG team makes sure we are on track with actions and outcomes. They are good problem solvers and listeners. 

What was your primary form of communication with Software Planet Group?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The clarity of thinking around systems and process, the responsiveness of the team. They're truly a business partner and seem invested in our success 

Are there any areas for improvement or something Software Planet Group could have done differently?

Nothing material here 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Appsembler

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Appsembler enables organizations to deliver online training with Open edX and hands-on Virtual Labs for immersive, code-free technical learning.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Software Planet Group to accomplish?

• Migrating backend to private cloud
• Database update
• Service maintenance

SOLUTION

How did you find Software Planet Group?

Referral

Why did you select Software Planet Group over others?

• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Software Planet Group were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The scope of the project was to support our development roadmap, moving our labs and LMS products from GCP to office cloud (Kubernetes), updating a database, creating documentation, among other things.

It was a long-term engagement and the Software Planet team worked as an extension of our core team, owning myriad responsibilities from handling day-to-day production issues to long-term upgrades.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The outcomes were pretty defined:

• Moving the virtual labs product to the new cloud, ensuring everything works well.
• Moving the LMS product to the new cloud, ensuring everything works well.
• Handling day-to-day production issues on time while keeping the customers satisfied.
• Preparing clear documentation to be handed over to our team.

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

Yes, they delivered the items on time. The tasks were managed on the task board, keeping everyone updated on the status. There were weekly calls where summary updates were shared by the SPG team and priorities decided.

They owned the product completely and were proactive and quick to communicate, even representing the Appsembler team to the customers if needed.

What was your primary form of communication with Software Planet Group?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The ownership, the professionalism, the initiative.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Software Planet Group could have done differently?

Nothing comes to my mind. They really worked as one of our own. They did the best they could to help us, even after the project was over, in answering questions, etc.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director, Client Development & Program Management of Source2

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Software Planet Group to accomplish?

• Consolidate several dozen Google sheets
• Create an ATS
• Reduce overhead through technology

SOLUTION

How did you find Software Planet Group?

Referral

Why did you select Software Planet Group over others?

Referred to me

How many teammates from Software Planet Group were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Develop a tailored solution that is scalable, minimizes administrative tasks, integrates seamlessly with existing technology, and ensures financial compliance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

SPG delivered significant results that showcased their expertise and dedication. They implemented a retention solution in under 60 days, allowing us to engage employees at critical milestones in their tenure. This achievement enabled us to consolidate systems, reducing costs associated with licensing and overhead. Additionally, the solution strengthened our services for our largest client, enhancing our competitive position and operational efficiency.

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

SPG’s project management was exceptional. They conducted thorough technical planning to ensure accurate feature deployment and consistently delivered on time. When faced with our need for a rapid deployment of a retention solution, they compiled resources, scoped the project, and successfully implemented the feature within an impressive 60-day timeframe. Their proactive communication and flexibility in responding to our evolving business needs made them a reliable and indispensable partner.

What was your primary form of communication with Software Planet Group?

Virtual Meeting

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

What impressed us most about Software Planet Group was their ability to quickly master our business and systems in under 30 days, even after inheriting a complex and disorganized setup from our previous developers. Their proactive approach to improving the system beyond the scope of their engagement and their seamless integration as part of our team, aligning with our core values, set them apart. Their adaptability, collaborative mindset, and commitment to delivering value.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Software Planet Group could have done differently?

I do not have any recommendations for improvement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of TeamPassword

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

TeamPassword provides a password management tool built specifically for teams.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Software Planet Group to accomplish?

• Build a migration tool for customers to move from TeamsID to TeamPassword
• Build some TeamsID features into TeamPassword
• Provide technical customer support

SOLUTION

How did you find Software Planet Group?

Referral

Why did you select Software Planet Group over others?

• High ratings
• Referred to me
• Professionalism

How many teammates from Software Planet Group were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We had a deadline by which we needed to migrate customers from one password manager to another. This involved transferring encrypted data from one codebase and moving it safely into another. Given the complexity of the task, the project was rolled out in waves so as to make adjustments based on user/customer feedback. 
In addition to the migration tool, there were a few key features that we wanted built into the password manager customers were moving to. These included encrypted attachments, one-time share links, and improvements to auto-fill and auto-import functionalities.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The migration tool was completed in time for us to move customers. Various versions were deployed so as to enable us to move customers over in batches. The Software Planet Group team checked in with us regularly to keep us apprised of their work and for confirmation that we wanted to move forward.

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

We received daily emails detailing their progress, asking clarifying questions, and providing any other information that needed to be conveyed. We also received weekly demos of their work. This was helpful as it allowed us to review features and updates before they were deployed and to provide constructive feedback. Responses were timely and professional.

What was your primary form of communication with Software Planet Group?

Email or Messaging App

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

Their "can do" attitude and ability to complete complex tasks. This was not an easy assignment, but the team jumped to it and completed it with very little oversight or assistance from our own development team. Unlike other contractors we have worked with, they could be trusted to do the job without being micromanaged.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Software Planet Group could have done differently?

The cost definitely added up. The team size grew during the project (with our permission) with increased costs substantially. Ultimately, we got what we wanted out of it, but we did go over budget. There were additional assignments outside of the initial scope that they were asked to do and that they did, as well.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Vice President of Technology of a software company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Provides a variety of regulatory compliance products to a broad range of customers and regions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Software Planet Group to accomplish?

• Add key features to our products
• Optimize performance

SOLUTION

How did you find Software Planet Group?

Referral

Why did you select Software Planet Group over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Software Planet Group were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

SPG partnered with our software development teams to more on key features we are brining to the market. In addition SPG helped us optimize the performance of several areas of the application, including many SQL statements.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Feature were released on time and application performance was significantly improved.

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

SPG staff integrated into our Scrum teams. They attended daily meetings and where an active part of our team. SPG Management also joined Sprint Review meetings to ensure the team was providing value. Very responsive organization!

What was your primary form of communication with Software Planet Group?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The quality of their engineering staff is amazing. We've completed several project with SPG and they always have top notch engineering talent. Their staff are engaged and deliver results!

Are there any areas for improvement or something Software Planet Group could have done differently?

No, love working with this company!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Vice President of Marketing Technology of Venue Driver, LLC, part of Tao Group Hospitality

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Tao Group Hospitality is a global leader in premium hospitality, operating over 80 branded locations that offer best-in-class cuisine, award-winning nightlife, and world-renowned daylife experiences.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Software Planet Group to accomplish?

• Deliver a next-generation, serverless event management component for our ticketing workload.
• Integrate the next-generation system with enterprise systems like Active Directory.
• Deliver a bespoke affiliate sales management app.

SOLUTION

How did you find Software Planet Group?

Online Search

Why did you select Software Planet Group over others?

Prior successful engagements that grew and grew over time.

How many teammates from Software Planet Group were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We have operated our own ticketing workload for more than a decade, and have handled about a quarter of a billion dollars in sales. The components in our ticketing workload were outdated, based on Ruby on Rails code running on servers that we managed ourselves. We have transformed our legacy ticketing workload into a set of next-generation serverless components that reuse as much of our legacy Ruby code as makes sense, while decommissioning components that ran on servers that we had to manage ourselves. 

We had already upgraded some of our key components but we needed to upgrade the core event management system that our staff uses to manage the ticketing workload. We wanted it to integrate with our enterprise directory, to shift user management responsibility to our enterprise user management team in IT. We also wanted a new component for managing affiliate ticket sales. We built all of this on AWS Amplify and serverless technology, which has a steep learning curve. 

The project was to deliver the serverless management system in the form of a React/Next.js app on AWS Amplify with a GraphQL API, plus Active Directory integration for authentication, plus the separate affiliate sales management app. We continuously expanded the scope as the project progressed, because Software Planet did just a great job and we wanted more from them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have launched the new system in production. We have transitioned some mission-critical functions from our legacy system to the new system in production. The Active Directory integration works perfectly. We're building new features every day on the solid foundation that Software Planet delivered.

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

Software Planet is always transparent and communicative and they're always responsive to our requests. Even though we constantly change requirements and expand scopes. They're a shining example of the success of agile software development practices in responding to changing requirements. Their project management revolves around a scrum sprint style, which gave us a clear understanding of their direction at any given time so that we could guide them.

What was your primary form of communication with Software Planet Group?

Email or Messaging App

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

Their willingness to tackle any learning curve and meet any challenge impressed me. I have been coming back to Software Planet over and over for more than a decade, always with a request to build a new project in some strange, non-obvious way. They're always up for it. I love that adaptability.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Software Planet Group could have done differently?

No. We're extremely happy with the return on our investment, with the experience of working with Software Planet, and with the special attention that they put into doing things in the way that we asked so that we could get the maximum long-term value from what they delivered. Much success all around, as always with Software Planet.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We're an IT company that specializes in Cloud Infrastructure and Infrastructure Security for IAM.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We wanted to develop a WordPress plugin that allowed websites to integrated Single Sign-On using their in-house IAM such as Azure AD, Office 365, Okta, Google, etc. Software Planet helped us achieve our vision and develop a WordPress plugin from scratch.

SOLUTION

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

We put an advertisement online and we had quite a few applicants from many different developers and software development companies. I chose Software Planet because they came across very professional, took the time to understand my requirements and put together a detailed plan on how they could achieve the type of plugin i wanted. They took the time to answer all my questions and spent time researching more into my project and made all the steps very clear on how the project would be run. I really like the fact they had a dedicated project manager who led the development team and was a single point of contact throughout the project.

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

We had an initial meeting to understand the project and my requirements. They then went off and did some research on the best way to approach the project and which technologies would be best to use.

Technologies used were:

• WordPress
• PHP
• .Net
• Payment Platform Integration
• Freemius Licensing integration

Product features: Single Sign-on for WordPress

Identity providers:

Azure AD integration

• Okta Integration
• Google integration
• ADFS integration
• Azure B2C Integration
• Sales integration
• Auth0 integration
• One Login integration
• Keycloak integration

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

• 1 Project manager
• 3 Developers
• 1 QA/Testing engineer
• 1 UI Designer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The UI design is so much better than what we originally had. They had a UI designer redo our plugin for us

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

Communication was excellent, everyday i had an email update on what was done for that day. We had 1 weekly update meeting to give me a demo on what was completed and for me to give feedback. Emails were answered immediately. Communicate was excellent, its one of the things i liked about this company.

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

How the projects are managed. The communication from the whole team. They understood my requirements well to make sure everyone is on the same page in terms of features and expectations

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

The only area for improvement would be the testing of features before being deployed. We need a person who should be dedicated to testing all the features looking for bugs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a company that provides tax compliance software to a variety of different markets across the world. My position is VP of product development, so I’m responsible for the development of the software that our customers use in certain market segments.
 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Software Planet Group?

We had a strategic project that we needed to increase staffing for.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

This is a fairly strategic long-term project, and the team from Software Planet basically participates in the design and development of our software. It’s basically a technology consolidation project where we’re building the next generation of tech-compliant systems. Software Planet has done a lot of work designing the frontend components, and we’ve asked them to help us in a way that’s flexible and configurable to meet a lot of our needs.

The project is like a massive asynchronous processing engine with a lot of configurability built into it, and it also has the capability of storing massive amounts of data and analyzing it. In a world of tax compliance, there’s a lot of electronic invoices, and this system processes electronic invoices.

In addition, they’re primarily using React and they’re responsible for helping us with the development of the architecture and frontend screens.

What is the team composition?

We work with about 10 people, and they’re mostly made up of front- and backend engineers.

How did you come to work with Software Planet Group?

We’ve worked with them over the years on a variety of projects, so we’ve always had that ongoing relationship with Software Planet — we’ve had a really good experience with the quality of their staff. One thing that we like about them is they do a really good job of joining in on our scrum teams for a lot of our work in the US.

We don’t have a whole lot of overlap, as they adjust their schedules a little bit so that they can actively participate in the scrum team — they have excellent engineer quality.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve probably spent over $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

For this project, we started working with them in April 2020, and our partnership is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve never asked them to replace an engineer on our team. Everybody that they’ve given us has been fantastic — every person that we’ve worked with from Software Planet has been doing a great job.

How did Software Planet Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Because they’re integrated into our team, we don’t really have them responsible for the deadlines. We use Microsoft Teams to communicate, and Jira as our primary project management tool.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with the quality of their engineers and how their staff always makes substantial contributions. Another thing we’re impressed with is how their staff comes up to speed really fast. When somebody from Software Planet starts on our project, they start making contributions very quickly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t really have anything for them to improve on. They don’t always get us more people to work with right away, but I get it, especially now that there’s a high demand for technology staff.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I think Software Planet works best when they’re able to be a team. If you only want two people and you spread them across different projects, it won’t be as effective. The engagement could work better if you let them work together as a team as well. It may or may not make a lot of sense, but what we found is it’s best to hire them in groups.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

VP of SaaS Operations, Software Architecture & Corporate Technology

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We had a legacy system that needed replacement. The system was unwieldy to use, non-scalable, problematic and the vendor was not supporting this product any longer. We wanted to execute this migration/replacement of this legacy system without having to reconfigure from scratch, so part of the challenge was to include in the new system seamless migration functionality to take the existing configuration (1000s of individual items) and migrate to the new system system. We also wanted something truly scalable as compared to the legacy system.

SOLUTION

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

We selected SPG based on prior experience working with them. They are simply reliable and serious about delivering exactly what they commit to deliver, on-time and with quality.

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

The team had to reverse-engineer the configuration files of the old system in order to create a migration module. With that, they gained a deep understanding of the functionality required to support 1:1 everything the old alerts system supported. The team delivered first a core system supporting all functionality the legacy system supported built on top of Quartz as a scheduling engine with a basic admin user interface. The system was built on C# and the storage layer is based on MSSQL. The system is designed to be clustered for high availability.

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

They rotated between 2 and 3 people sprint by sprint based on need including developers and a QA person.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The initial phase of the system was delivered on time and including all the functionality required. The stakeholders were so pleased the project was extended to continue with further deliverables that were considered to be part of "Phase II" of the project. Quality was excellent (as usual) to the point a Product Owner at Ascentis said this was the best product launch he ever experienced in his entire career.

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

Scrum using two-weekly sprints.

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

The quality of the deliverables, the technical capability of everybody that works at SPG, the adherence to timelines and their overall honesty.

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

Not really. The best third-party custom software development provider I have worked with.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work for University College London as a PhD student. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Software Planet Group?

We hired Software Planet Group to develop the Ignite mobile app. There was a version of the app already available but it needed vast improvement before it could be used in research.

We asked Software Planet Group to help make the app available online so it could be downloaded straight from the App Store, and so the data could be uploaded online as well. We needed a lot of improvements to the tests, including updated example videos, instructions, the addition/removal of tests, and also updating the data output of the tests themselves.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal of this project was to develop an app that would be fit for a validation study. We needed people to be able to access the app on the App Store, read and sign a consent form, follow the instructions to complete the different tasks, and then upload their data to a platform accessible by us.

The app needed to be easy to navigate, and have detailed instructions on how to complete the different tasks, including example videos of each test.

SOLUTION

How did you select Software Planet Group?

My team were provided with a list of app developers from a trusted company that we have worked closely with in the past.

We contacted each app development company and received their initial pitches. It was a tough decision, but we selected Software Planet Group based on the quality of their proposal, the extremely helpful interactions we had experienced with them so far, their proposed approach and sensible timeline, and their price point.

Describe the project in detail.

Once we selected Software Planet Group they arranged a series of meetings to discuss our goals and objectives for the project. We had weekly meetings to discuss the updates that had been made to the app, as well as physical demonstrations, to allow us visualise the new version of the app and make any alterations if necessary.

Software Planet Group kept in regular contact with us so I could promptly address any queries they had. We were able to test multiple versions of the app before it was uploaded to the App Store, and Software Planet Group were extremely helpful and accommodating to any last minute changes we wanted to make.

What was the team composition?

We were assigned a project manager to support us throughout the app development, who served as a main point of contact, but we also had direct contact with the app developer as well as a senior manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within a month of our app being launched over 300 people had completed it and it received multiple 5-star ratings in the app store. People that have completed the app commented on the impressive design, flow, and usability of the app, and we continue to receive extremely positive feedback.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The team from Software Planet Group were very easy to contact and communicate with and provided us with frequent updates. We communicated over email if any queries arose during the week and had weekly meetings over Zoom for updates. I was very impressed by the timeline that this project was completed in, the Software Planet team worked openly and efficiently.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was extremely impressed by the professionalism the Software Planet team showed, their patience in communicating aspects of mobile app development that I was unfamiliar with, and most of all their speed and efficiency in delivering a high-quality mobile app in a short time frame. I will most definitely be contacting Software Planet group again to collaborate on any future projects.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can’t fault the service that the Software Planet team provided, especially under strange circumstances where meetings were conducted virtually and we were all adapting to new ways of working.