Sparkbit

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of a company that develops the first solution of its kind - smart flavoring appliance

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Sparkbit?

We've hired SparkBit for helping us with the challenges of building algorithms and models to offer users general and personal flavoring suggestions to leverage their home cooking

What were your goals for this project?

Our main goal was to create recipes automatically through a given list of possible ingredients. The models were tested through a board of senior chefs that were asked to rank the suggestions that were provided by the system

SOLUTION

How did you select Sparkbit?

We were introduced to SpartBit through a very warm reference of someone that worked with them in the past.

Describe the project in detail.

At start, we had 2-3 conf calls to discuss the challenges and what is the best way/s for addressing them Once we have picked the one is the best conceptual solution, SparkBit team started with data collection, preparation, and initial analysis.

As we've all validated the data, we've started with the deep analysis and learning along with the support of our experts - the board of chefs, that help all along the way

What was the team composition?

The team included a big data expert, a junior analyst (that both were fully hands-on with significant coding capabilities), and their CTO that managed the whole project

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Couldn't elaborate too much on the way we are running the project and the results we are starting to get, but i can say we are measuring the results based on

• predefined set of examples that we're measuring the models performance based on
• feedbacks and scorings from our experts monitoring the models

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We having very effective workflow with the SparkBit team, they are very engaged, committed and fully responsive to our needs.

Due to their diverse and impressive experience, knowledge and willing to learn, they gave a lot of value, even from the very initial steps where we have defined together the project's needs, and through the whole process. 

What did you find most impressive about this company?

• commitment to the project and willing to push sometimes on our behalf - passion to explore, learn and improve
• guys that is a real pleasure to work with

Are there any areas for improvement?

Yes, relocating to be with us physically

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CTO of AlterMobili, a startup based in Munich.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sparkbit?

We needed custom software developed for our location-based smart-parking application, that required specialised skills.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked in close collaboration with Sparkbit, suggesting features and functionalities for them. Sparkbit created mockups and fully detailed UI/UX design as well as the software.

The team developed an MVP for the first phase of the project. They created an iOS and Android mobile app using Swift 5 and Kotlin, respectively. They also built a cloud-based backend system to show information collected from mobile devices and organize it. 

They added functionality that helps people find parking on the street, with the help of other drivers. When a driver leaves a parking spot, they use the app so that anyone in the area looking for parking will be notified of the now available spot. 

On the backend, Sparkbit used the Kotlin programming language and all the usual data engineering infrastructure including Kafka, Redis, and PostgreSQL. They also used Docker and Kubernetes for cluster orchestration and Spring Boot to program all the application services.

How did you come to work with Sparkbit?

The CEO was looking for a company with reference work in spatial or telematics projects. After finding them on Clutch, we interviewed them and felt that, with their prior work in telematics domain projects, they would be a good fit.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in February 2019, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After launching the MVP in November 2019, we rapidly acquired a few thousand users in Munich. In February 2020, we started re-working some of the functionality we thought would make the app more appealing to people outside the area. 

For example, we’re working on driving stats to make the app usable in isolation, since the parking aspect requires other users to be active in the same area.

How did Sparkbit perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate daily through Slack with the entire team, and we have one-on-one meetings with developers as needed. We also have daily video call standups. Prior to the COVID-19 situation, I flew to their offices for bi-weekly planning sessions. 

That’s where we made suggestions of stories or design elements to be worked on and introduced a specified set of streams and features for the developers to work on in the current sprint. We follow a scrum agile process with two-week sprints. The majority of the sprints were completed with only a few minor spills.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Sparkbit has a team of great people who listen to the feedback we give them. Initially, we did not have anyone doing quality assurance and testing. They hired someone professional for the job. She was an excellent asset, taking on not only the testing, but also some of the admin work such as helping me keep the product backlog tidy. She was also proactive in making suggestions to improve the user experience.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was an issue with their in-house testing not being reliable. We brought it to their attention, and they made the necessary changes to ensure more reliable testing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the executive technology director for a group within a large IT consultancy. Our company provides strategy, design, and technology services for clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sparkbit?

We needed to develop a React.js web application for a client in the energy sector. React.js is in demand and we needed to find a vendor with the right competencies for that specific technology.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Sparkbit helped us build an enterprise mobile and web application. The solution managed the workflows and processes for monitoring energy plants. They developed the frontend with React.js and integrated Java microservices for the backend using REST-based APIs.

What is the team composition?

We worked with one developer.

How did you come to work with Sparkbit?

I had worked with them in the past at a previous company.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around €30,000 ($34,294 USD). We had a time-and-materials contract.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Sparkbit between September–December 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The client was very happy with the results. From our perspective, the engagement was smooth and efficient.

How did Sparkbit perform from a project management standpoint?

Our team used in-house project managers and interacted directly with Sparkbit’s developers. The team communicated clearly and made realistic promises for the timeframe. They ensured all deliverables would be completed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciated their level of expertise. We never worried about the quality of the output. They were experienced and trustworthy—exactly what we wanted in a partner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I keep working with Sparkbit because they produce high-quality work and respect agreements. If the team maintains those qualities as they scale, I wouldn’t ask for more.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder of Dear Employee.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sparkbit?

We needed help with the augmentation of our platform, building out the MVP.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

As well as technical input, they’re really helping us to build out the whole system. They’re working our MVP and, within the last several months, they’ve improved the stability and speed of the system, as well as the robustness. They also worked on additional features and helped us digitalize our service as many parts of our service are still offline, which takes a lot of time for us as consultants. With their help, we’ve added more features to our platform and scaled up our services.

It’s a web-based platform that uses Python and React.js. Depending on the user’s role, they have access to the web app after taking our surveys, so it can be called a people analytics platform. Users can also see current reports for their company, and switch between the project and the client to see the latest reports and status of the company’s employees.

What is the team composition?

We work with one frontend developer and one backend developer who we speak to daily. They have full responsibility on the technical side.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in February 2018, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve had a huge impact because they’re building out the core of our product. We really like that they are not only delivering, they’re thinking like a part of our team and giving us great suggestions for building a scalable product. Overall, they’ve had a huge impact on our technical decisions.

The feedback from our client has been positive; he’s more than satisfied with the technical solution, as well as the schedule.

How did Sparkbit perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re pretty happy with the communication with them, and they speak English well. We have sprint meetings at the beginning of each week, speak every day in a stand-up, and then communicate via Jira—all of which has worked brilliantly.

From time to time, their CTO checks in with us to see if the project is going as we imagined, and also gives us feedback on our bigger questions.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They really act as though they are part of our team, and I never have the feeling they are there just to deliver our requests. They’re interested in our vision as well as the business side of things, and they contribute technical expertise. Beyond that, Sparkbit always delivers on time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If one of our developers isn’t available, it would be good to have someone else that can work on the project. However, it has worked out with the two developers we have.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the VP of engineering for italist. We provide an online marketplace for high-end Italian boutiques to sell their goods to customers around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sparkbit?

We engaged Sparkbit to provide staff augmentation and supplement our engineering teams in Italy and California. We wanted to work as partners rather than merely delegate difficult or tedious tasks to their team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Sparkbit first expanded our product search system, increasing the number of filterable attributes such as sizes and brands. They analyzed our scenario and implemented a solid design that remains active today. Their ability to handle such a substantial project impressed us.

The team also augmented the Golang service that supported our Elasticsearch functions. They set up another Golang service to manages our transactional emails, interfacing it with a third-party mail delivery service and adding features such as email scheduling.

They are now working on improving our SEO. The project requires technical analysis, SEO tooling, and defining specific strategies to address problems reported by feedback and tracking. Their team has fixed several SEO problems and stabilized our Google rankings

On the frontend, Sparkbit demonstrates proficiency in React, Redux, and Node.js. For the backend, they’ve implemented fixes to a PHP-based legacy system and performed work in Python as well.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three software engineers and a Software Engineer in Test (SWET) who works on our end-to-end testing suite.

How did you come to work with Sparkbit?

We were looking for development partners based in Europe who follow an embedded model. We found Sparkbit through Clutch. They demonstrated broad expertise and flexibility in using a variety of tech stacks.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in May 2018, and it is an ongoing partnership.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Sparkbit delivers high-quality products with consistency and timeliness, and we’ve added more projects to our docket to continue our engagement with our team. They’ve made our collaboration effortless and pleasant; we can’t imagine working without them now.

How did Sparkbit perform from a project management standpoint?

The engineering team communicates fluently in technical and non-technical English. Jedrek (CTO, Sparkbit) is exceptionally understanding and adaptive. We have overseen numerous project kick-offs and staff increases together; Jedrek keeps a close eye over every new member’s onboarding and every complex project’s infancy to ensure a smooth transition. Jedrek and I host weekly one-on-one meetings, and the team coordinates with us via Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Sparkbit takes initiative while maintaining a team player attitude. They offer ideas, observations, and constructive criticism. They recognize that this is a long-term process with many stages and that we value a solid foundation over delivery. They’ve blended into our team seamlessly and provide excellent value as working partners.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Talk carefully with Jedrek to negotiate what you want out of your project, especially if it has complexities. Sparkbit’s leadership is integral to their success, and Jedrek’s technical and business expertise made him a valuable partner.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a senior consultant for a major management consulting firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Sparkbit?

We engaged Sparkbit to build a telematics system that would collect drivers’ GPS data and then score their skills accordingly.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to deliver a stable version of the system to the market in a short timeframe.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Sparkbit impressed us with their level of experience and the demo application they prepared for their proposal.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

Sparkbit first collected our business requirements. The team next created a design that they then implemented and deployed. Sparkbit also conducted their own project management throughout the process.

What was the team composition?

We communicated primarily with their project manager who led a team behind the scenes. The PM worked with us to clarify our project requirements and then liaised between us and the Sparkbit team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before our engagement with Sparkbit, we commissioned a similar system from another vendor. Sparkbit delivered a new system with superior features and better scalability than our previous vendor.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Sparkbit conducted all their project management internally. They delivered the project in a short amount of time and responded promptly to any questions or requests.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They demonstrated excellent technical skills via their comprehensive algorithm and their high-quality final product. The team was also highly accessible to questions throughout the project.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

No, we were highly satisfied with their work. We hope that their company continues to grow and that one day we can build even larger systems together.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the tech adviser at a software company. We’re developing algorithms for trading on different exchanges.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sparkbit?

We wanted a company from central Europe so they’d be in the same time zone. We also wanted a company with backend Java programming experience. They needed to commit to our deadlines.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We collaborated with Sparkbit to build a platform. They proposed Java 8, Spring Boot, MySQL, and Angular 5. We integrated Ethereum wallets and REST APIs for data exchange.

The first phase for the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) lasted a month. We’re in the second phase and are still testing the final product.

What is the team composition?

They have one project manager who was also a programmer. There’s one backend developer, a full stack developer, and one frontend developer. Our designs cooperated with their designer. Our backend programmers cooperated with their backend programmer.

How did you come to work with Sparkbit?

We found them on Clutch. We didn’t have any specific requirements, so we were open to proposals. We checked which companies proposed Java and they set priority over the others.

How much have you invested with them?

$20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2017 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their feedback is quick, and they’re very responsive. Our bug checks took longer than anticipated, but we finished them. We’re very satisfied with their implementation.

How did Sparkbit perform from a project management standpoint?

They proposed a Gantt chart objectives for each time interval. We kept to that for the first stage, but the second stage was more complicated. It was harder to stick with the schedule. We mostly communicated by email. We shared and modified our proposals on Google Docs, where they could check them in real time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We have very specific guidelines for the platform, but they implemented it as we requested, which was surprising. They have been responsive during the programming and development processes.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their responsiveness to bugs and fixing of issues wasn’t so good. Final product testing could be improved.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Bacca. We’ve been operating in the financial area and helping people pay for insurance for the last eight years. We’re a leader in the Polish premium finance and insurtech market and are introducing a lot of fintech innovations in insurance.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sparkbit?

We decided we needed to respond to the insurance market’s current telematics trends—specifically automotive insurance.

Telematics is a term for user-based insurance where the user’s style determines payments in order for them to get cheaper third-party liability insurance. Premiums are higher for riskier drivers than safe ones or those who don’t drive often. The market doesn’t exist in Poland, but the demand for solutions and services will grow rapidly within next 3 years. This scheme already exists across significant markets like the U.S., UK and Italy, and specifically targets young drivers. We decided to be the first ones in our region to develop this kind of advanced system.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We approached Sparkbit to develop a full-scale telematics system. We asked them to set up and connect our backend with third-party suppliers of maps, weather systems, and other components that play a role in a driver’s rating. It’s important to track a driver’s adherence to speed limits during normal conditions, through bad weather, and at night. The system gathers road traffic data along with other information and includes both in the rating.

In addition to the backend, Sparkbit also developed an Android and iOS app that tracks driver behavior. It leverages devices’ gyroscopes, accelerometers, and compasses in order to determine if the phone is in the car or not. It can tell the difference between walking, riding a bike, being on a bus, or driving a car. The app turns itself on based on the smartphone’s sensors rather than depending on the user to do so. It can detect sudden breaking and general behavior on the road in comparison to other drivers.

My company has experience with technology implementations, but this type of system is not part of our core business. Sparkbit took over the whole development process and project management, app and web design, development of the desktop version, and AWS implementation. We only provided sponsorship and general guidance.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with up to seven people from their team for mobile, Windows desktop development, and backend integrations. Three of those members worked with us on a full-time basis throughout the project. I was in contact with Sparkbit’s CEO and project manager on a daily basis.

How did you come to work with Sparkbit?

We’re both located in Warsaw, Poland and they happened to have some experience with the crucial aspects of telematics solutions. They knew a lot about needed backend system and the algorithms we required within it. Sparkbit had worked on similar projects for large insurance companies around the world. They’d also worked on a patent execution platform for the E.U. We knew they would be able to conduct the whole project based on all of these factors.

Other local software houses were not able deliver on required quality and time. We considered companies from other countries, but they were too expensive and far away. This was a specialized project with a short timeline, so management would be too difficult for us. We needed to work with a local partner in order to check that the project was going well.

How much have you invested with them?

The overall cost of their work so far has been around 1 million Polish zloty ($300,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in February 2017. The development took nine months to complete and we launched in November 2017. Customers of the platform were given access in December. Having a good experience we’ve recently launched a separate project with Sparkbit.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Insurers began testing our solution in December 2017, but we don’t have a lot of users yet.

The apps successfully manage high battery consumption since they’re constantly gathering data from sensors. We’ve had to balance the data’s precision and when the trip logging should begin (e.g., within the first seconds of a trip, within the first minute). Sparkbit made a lot of self-invented adjustments and upgrades to reduce battery consumption.

Many of valuable features and ideas were implemented during the minimum viable product phase. The first version has been great. Sparkbit also help in production setting up on Amazon cloud.

How did Sparkbit perform from a project management standpoint?

They delivered on time for all platforms. Sparkbit’s project managers and co-founder were very active. Once a week we discussed arising issues and developments.

They provided standard reporting and organized meetings when we needed to make new decisions. The process wasn’t information-heavy, but it was valuable for us as project sponsors. Control and our perception of the ongoing work were great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Finding major IT development companies able to work on products like ours in an agile environment isn’t easy, but Sparkbit was able to deliver. They have top-tier staff with excellent academic and business backgrounds, including architects and designers who are familiar with different development technologies.

They stood out in terms of product management and architecture, making big solutions scalable. It wasn’t a case of creating the system infrastructure, but of optimizing the process and determining why something was important.

The final product was functional and done at a reasonable cost for us. The system has high demands at its peak due to the large amount of data it has to process.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think so. Our money was well spent.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a recruitment company helping technology startups grow their teams with good software engineers, DevOps, UI [user interface] designers, and so on. I am the CEO and founder of the company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sparkbit?

We process approximately 1,000 candidate applications per week, and we had a problem with the parsing, searching, and management of this data. We were looking to buy a license for an ATS [applicant tracking system] for managing candidate relationships on an ongoing basis. None of the systems available on the market met our requirements, so we asked Sparkbit to build one for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Even though we recruit software engineers, we’re not a technology organization ourselves. We had to describe our business challenge to Sparkbit, and we also pointed them towards a couple of systems that we found to be useful. During the next stage, Sparkbit drafted a scope for our web-based system and built it using Scala, Java, PostgreSQL, and some JavaScript.

Sparkbit built a business enterprise system encompassing all the logic from candidate acquisition to the management of those candidates, collecting feedback at different stages of the process.

Our team size depended on the phase of the project. We initially worked with one resource from Sparkbit and increased our budget to a maximum of three. After the main part of the application was deployed, we scaled back to one person.

How did you come to work with Sparkbit?

One of their founders was recommended to me by both the university where he got his PhD and by one of my former colleagues, who is a senior engineering manager at Google. We did consider other providers, interviewing five or six.

How much have you invested with Sparkbit?

The cost of Sparkbit’s work has been $200,000, more or less.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Sparkbit in Q2 of 2015. The major part of the project was accomplished in Q4 of 2016. We continue to add new features to the platform using Sparkbit.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or impact of the engagement?

I was engaged in the early stages, but I’m currently hands-off in terms of product development. Nonetheless, it’s still a matter of me and my team submitting requests for features, and we continue to monitor the work done around the product. The only measurable outcome I can provide is that the features we’re requesting arrive two to four weeks later, and we can start using them.

I do not have the technical capabilities to verify the work directly, but I’ve heard praises from my team about the functionalities developed by Sparkbit, so I can’t complain.

We are measuring the cost of acquiring one candidate on a daily basis. We have seen a reduction of 25% in that cost since we’ve implemented the system.

How did Sparkbit perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a weekly 30- to 60-minute sync-up with the person responsible for developing our system. We’re pretty much up-to-date with what is happening, what the next steps are, and what roadblocks are happening. We use Trello as a project management system.

What did you find most impressive about Sparkbit?

Our biggest fear was getting a coding monkey that developed whatever we required without questioning it. We wanted people who could think in the broader sense, and Sparkbit didn’t fail us in this regard. They’ve taken a product ownership role and are good sparring partners for us.

I haven’t met the entire team, so I couldn’t comment overall. The five or six people I’ve met, out of Sparkbit’s 12-person team, were extremely well-educated. They graduated from top-tier universities and are extremely strong in their field.

Are there any areas Sparkbit could improve?

If we had any real concerns, we would have definitely moved the work to another vendor. My only comment is that we haven’t developed all the features we wanted, but this comes more from us not spending more money. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of CognitionConcept, located in The Netherlands. We’ve been doing projects with a dynamic case management system. We’ve been working with Sparkbit on several projects, one of which was for the European Patent Office, and another was for Metronic.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sparkbit?

We were doing a project for Metronic that was all about the way legal documents were handled online. Different people were responsible for those legal documents, and they all had to be signed-off; there were a lot of rounds of approval to go through. There was a lot of work, and the way it was first implemented had a very high click rate. It took people too long to go through all of it. We wanted to change the user interface to make it more user-friendly.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

For the Metronic project, Sparkbit changed the existing user interface to make it more user-friendly and give it a lower bounce rate. We discussed various solutions with Sparkbit; they’re good advisors on how best to change the user interface. We followed their advice, and they implemented the changes they had proposed. So in essence, they created the redesign and handled the development work.

We also worked with Sparkbit on a project for the European Patent Office. It’s a multi-layered application. There’s a UI layer that is being built by the client, and a separate business layer, the dynamic case management system, which is what we are building. Hooking those two up gives the complete application.

How did you come to work with Sparkbit?

We’ve been in a tender with the European Patent Office. That office asked us to work together with Sparkbit to deliver the final product.

How much have you invested with Sparkbit?

For the Metronic project, it was about €13,000 [approx. $14,000]. The Patent Office project is in the millions, but that office is paying Sparkbit directly.

What is the status of this engagement?

The first project began in 2012, and we continue to work together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Metronic only wanted to take the product into production with the improved user interface, so that project was crucial. Sparkbit was able to understand it in one go. They had a good overview of what was expected from them. They could easily see where things were wrong, and the areas they didn’t have to pay any attention to. There were a number of cycles, so it was very important that they could make a quick determination whether something was okay.

How did Sparkbit perform from a project management standpoint?

I’m very satisfied with them. They are reliable. If they say they will be ready by a certain time, they are, even if they have to work day and night. They’re easy to work with, and they have good technical expertise. They come up with their own ideas if they think it can be done in a better way.

What did you find most impressive about Sparkbit?

If they promise something, they will really come through. They have a very good technical expertise. If they don’t have it, they’ll make sure they get it in a short period of time. They come up with their own ideas and make suggestions to improve the quality of the solution. They are very quality-driven, yet it’s still easy to work with them.

Are there any areas Sparkbit could improve?

They’re very development-focused, and they could sometimes be a bit more commercial and customer-focused.