SPEEDNET

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CTO of an online brokerage.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SPEEDNET?

We had a big project, we had architects, but we didn’t have enough software developers who could do this fast for us. We didn’t have the time for the recruitment process so we started to look for a company like SPEEDNET that could provide us with software developers and other specialists.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They prepared the system according to the guidelines of our architects. We worked with .NET core, Java, Angular developers. We also had DevOps engineer who helped us to create CI/CD (Continuous Integration/ Continuous Delivery). The project is up and running, and it was developed from scratch in six months.

What is the team composition?

We started with 15 people from their team, but we started to replace SPEEDNET people with our people, which we had planned to do. Now, we only work with 1–2 frontend developers from their team.

How did you come to work with SPEEDNET?

SPEEDNET was cooperating with us before I became CTO. My colleague started working with them prior. They were the best solution because they won Call for Tenders.

How much have you invested in them?

So far, we’ve spent around 2 million zloty (approximately $502,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in June 2017. The work is still ongoing with frontend developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It was really great timing and everything works fine. In about five months we had a working system and were running in a production environment.

How did SPEEDNET perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was on our side.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were able to get 15 specialists for us in 1–2 months. They have specialists that are up to date with current technology.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There is always something you can improve on, but I don’t have anything in mind specifically.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

No, our work together has been really smooth.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and co-owner of an app startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SPEEDNET?

We needed assistance in the development of our apps for Android and iOS.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have an inhouse team who handled the design and back-end development of the apps themselves. When SPEEDNET came onboard, we provided them with our designs and specs, and they’ve been developing the front end on React Native based on those materials. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with about seven or eight members of SPEEDNET, but the core team is composed of about four people.

How did you come to work with SPEEDNET?

SPEEDNET was referred by a former colleague of mine who’d worked with them in the past and been pleased with the experience.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began the project in August 2019, and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been tightly managing the project in terms of schedule and quality, and so far the team has hit every benchmark. Though we’re still developing, we’re happy with what they’ve produced at this point and the quality of their work is very strong.

Since SPEEDNET is an offshore provider, we only have a few hours of overlap each day with the time difference. However, we’ve never had any issues come up as a result, as the team has done a great job managing that window of time.

How did SPEEDNET perform from a project management standpoint?

The team has performed very well. We have a strong project manager on our side who’s taken the lead on the project, but every component SPEEDNET has been involved in has met our expectations.

What did you find most impressive about them?

SPEEDNET has been a pleasure to work with and their performance has been ideal for what we need. The team is transparent, efficient, and communicative. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

As far as we’re concerned, there’s nothing they could improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Having a clearly communicated plan and idea of your goals in advance will be helpful.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a project manager in the financial services sector. I’ve been involved in our mobile finance efforts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SPEEDNET?

We hired SPEEDNET to develop an application for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SPEEDNET is developing an app for iOS and Android. The app is for our private customers; they can access all of our financial services through a mobile device.

What is the team composition?

More than ten people from SPEEDNET are involved, including a project manager, analyst, tech leads, and DevOps testers. We get the whole package from them.

How did you come to work with SPEEDNET?

They were already on board when I joined this project.

How much have you invested in them?

We have spent more than $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

I began working with them in 2017, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of the app has been our main focus. We validate the app’s performance and also do our own testing. Everything has worked out really well.

How did SPEEDNET perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything has gone smoothly, and it has been a really good cooperation. We have never had a problem when it has comes to scheduling. They keep their promises.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It is easy to work with SPEEDNET. Communication is effortless, even though we don’t share the same language; their English language skills are very good. They deliver really high quality, and they know what they’re doing. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

From a customer’s perspective, sometimes we need to have discussions about the solutions they are offering and certain ways of doing things. Challenging the customer is also a good thing because the way we think isn’t always the best way, and we always try to find a solution. It is really nice that they give us a lot of options.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would hire them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a startup that addresses efficiency in organized home services. For instance, the platform can route a community gardener to houses more intelligently to deliver a more predictable, cost-effective service.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SPEEDNET?

To achieve our goal, we needed to write a backend algorithm. It was important for us to find a partner who could build that and a visual interface, so a scheduler could see what was happening

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They worked in four different capacities: Android, iOS, web frontend, and backend development. The frontend was created using Angular.js. Their team was also in charge of running QA tests to ensure their deliverables function correctly.

What is the team composition?

We started off with just a few team members, but that grew to about 10. The majority of them were developers for different tech stacks.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $600,000–$700,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from 2017–2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Daily, we reviewed the functionality of the features as well as the integrity of the code. We were always impressed with their work.

How did SPEEDNET perform from a project management standpoint?

We work together every day through Slack. The project manager handled the project well, delegating work to a UX designer, engineers, and two QA resources.

What did you find most impressive about them?

SPEEDNET isn’t a team of newbies. They each have deep, specialized experience that aided them in handling a fairly complex product. Additionally, their breadth of abilities was impressive. They house many disciplines under the same roof. As I said, we had iOS, Android, QA, and other development work being handled simultaneously. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind. They were fairly priced, and the quality was great, so I have no reservations.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They have command over several different programming languages. As a dev shop, they’re high-quality and predictable, which is really what we care about. They’re senior, experienced developers, too. You don’t have much to lose by hiring them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of online systems for Carolina Biological Supply Company. We supply anything a science lab in the educational space might need.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SPEEDNET?

We offer an e-learning platform that was built by an offshore company that went out of business. We brought on SPEEDNET to take technical ownership of the platform, hosting it for us and building out more features as needed.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

With SPEEDNET’s help, we’ve completed revamped our e-learning application. SPEEDNET worked with us to update the UI/UX, restructure our content, and create new methodologies to house our content. Now our users—mainly teachers—have a lower barrier of entry to learn our platform and access our content. 

We’ve also used some of SPEEDNET’s DevOps and server administrator roles to change our host server from a Canadian facility to one based in the US. That project came in on time and under budget.

What is the team composition?

Our team grew as large as 17 people to make sure our revamp project finished within our budget and timeline. We now work with five full-time employees, including a project manager and software delivery manager. That number grows and shrinks depending on our project requirements.

How did you come to work with SPEEDNET?

Our previous vendor, that first developed our platform and had gone out of business, recommended SPEEDNET to us as a partner. They had planned on selling the application as a licensed product to other education companies, but they instead transferred ownership to SPEEDNET so that their team could further the platform for our purposes. SPEEDNET also hired employees from the prior vendor to continue that quality of service.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $1.3 million–$1.5 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working together since the transition happened officially in the summer of 2017. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Much of the work we do on our platform is based on our sales contracts. They dictate our project requirements and timelines. We judge SPEEDNET’s performance on their ability to meet our hard deadlines; so far, they have met every launch date without sacrificing quality in each deliverable.

How did SPEEDNET perform from a project management standpoint?

SPEEDNET can quickly scale the size of our team to accommodate our project requirements and budget. We communicate with the project manager to get a feel for the roadmap and resources we need to complete a project. That may involve hiring new talent or rolling someone off another project to join ours. 

Our project manager and software delivery manager are the same for every project, and we’ve had a fantastic experience work with them. They work hand-in-hand to coordinate the delivery schedule and to ensure that the team is staffed appropriately and meeting our deadlines. Whenever we give them a large project, they break down the requirements into granular tasks. As a result, SPEEDNET always meets their timeline estimates.

We’ve met a few times with SPEEDNET’s team to work together and problem-solve in person. We also work together quite a bit through desktop sharing and video conferencing tools. Over our two years of working together, we haven’t had any hiccups or miscommunication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

In my opinion, the quality of people that SPEEDNET finds sets them apart from other vendors. Everyone—from the project manager to the developers to the business analysts—cares about the work they do. They come to the table with excellent ideas to solve our problems. They’ve never said no to any of our requests. SPEEDNET is genuinely dedicated to delivering to the client.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The SPEEDNET team is full of perfectionists. They’re invested in finding the best way to solve a challenge, but sometimes that doesn’t fit into our timeline or budget, and we have to readjust their expectations. They have the best intentions, though.

Any advice for potential customers?

Treat SPEEDNET like a partner instead of a vendor. If you're honest with them about what you truly need and expect, they will tell you whether they can deliver 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of the IT systems development and management department of Paytree SA

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We operate in the white label strategy - we create dedicated products for our business partners, with whom we build the potential and identity of our products. We are always looking for solutions that will satisfy each party. One of the products is Payka a deferred payment service, which allows its users to pay monthly utility bills like phone, internet, cable, or energy bills in the - Buy Now Pay Later schema.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• We needed Speednet to support the development of our system. We used their services for the frontend and backend of the application. It is continuously being developed, adapted to EU-compliant financial standards, and equipped with new features regarding the service’s visual and procedural aspects. In addition, they conducted application security audits to ensure the process is fully secure.
• Application Testing
• Web Development

SOLUTION

How did you find SPEEDNET?

Referral

Why did you select SPEEDNET over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from SPEEDNET were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

When choosing a partner to cooperate on this project, our requirements were mainly related to experience in online payments and banking. Speednet has extensive experience in working with fintech and banking companies. Their experts know the industry background and can advise us on favorable and most efficient solutions. 

Opting for a team extension model, our front-end team collaborated on tasks with 5 external backend developers implementing all the new features. Speednet supported us at all stages of the project whenever the need arose. The system is built and maintained with technologies such as: 

• .NET 5
• TypeScript
• React
• Node.js

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Together with Speednet, we have built a fully functional deferred payment system. They stand out for their steadfast belief in the project, high responsiveness and problem-solving attitude. Technical competence is undoubtedly their forte. In short, working with them is a pleasure.

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

The work SPEEDNET has done and is doing has exceeded our expectations, so nothing comes to my mind regarding any improvements. I hope this is a relationship that will last many years.

What was your primary form of communication with SPEEDNET?

Virtual Meeting

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

Flexible involvement in the project.

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

I can't think of anything to pay special attention to

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Kamil Sztyler, currently working for Hand2Band as a Head of Growth. We are an agile software agency where business and development go hand in hand. We develop software across a wide set of industries, focusing on software development Just in Time. Years of creating in-house projects as well as raising VC funding, and developing successful solutions for clients, give us a remarkable understanding of code and business. That's why we know, you need the right people at the right time. 


OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SPEEDNET?

We have been working with SPEEDNET for over three years on body and team leasing projects. We supplement our just-in-time teams with the needed competencies. Our technology stack differs slightly, so we support each other in missing technical competencies in projects for different clients. So far, these have been both short-term and long-term projects.

SOLUTION

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

As a technology company, we offer a wide range of services in various models - from body leasing to dedicated teams. We wanted to find a trustworthy partner who would suit us in terms of high work culture, good responsiveness and transparency. So far, we have cooperated with various companies, but the cooperation with SPEEDNET is the one that we want to continue.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We have completed several projects together, the most recent ones include an application for organizing events and weddings, a large application for managing audits for a German corporation, and DevOps support provided for a large banking client. Our developers invariably value cooperation with SPEEDNET teams. Regardless of the contract model, they are always treated as part of the team. They go to ambitious projects that are well-managed.


Describe the recruitment process in detail.

If we talk about the process of establishing cooperation with SPEEDNET, we know them from our local market, they have a good reputation and always play open cards, it convinced us to start talks about cooperation. The project staffing process is also very similar to ours. Each recruitment interview is conducted to a high standard, with care to check the technical skills of programmers. The procedures related to the involvement in the project are structured and clear to all parties.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The continuation of our cooperation for over 3 years is the most remarkable confirmation of its effectiveness. Expanding our talent pool is of great value to us. We can always count on consultations in technical areas, quick responses to staffing inquiries and fair terms of cooperation.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have never had problems with working in mixed teams, communication or getting used to a new project. SPEEDNET specialists are very empathetic, open to feedback and react quickly to projects problems. Projects are well managed and project requirements are clearly established and communicated. They simply care about the projects and the people they have on board.

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

SPEEDNET is a trustworthy partner. They always play open cards, are transparent and are always on time - which is consistent with our values. We know that cooperation on staff augmentation will always be comfortable for us and our employees, which allows us to avoid project shifts due to a bad match between the candidate and the project.

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

Nothing comes to mind for now. I hope we will continue our cooperation in various areas of software development.