Swan Softweb Solutions

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Farshid Mahdavipour I am the founder and CEO of a Cloud Security SaaS. I play the role of the product owner as well. I take part in the product development features technically as well. Shift Security to the left by our end-to-end cloud security platform.

Our platform's static code analyzer for Infrastructure as Code (IaC) enforces cloud security posture right from the development lifecycle. And our continuous compliance engine scans your cloud in real-time based on Policy as Code.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Swan Softweb Solutions?

We hired Swan Softweb Solution for working on our python project. I hired them to extend our framework and build an enterprise edition of the product. We are now is a SaaS product that helps in cloud security and compliance.

What were your goals for this project?

My Goal for the project is to continuously expand and build a product that keeps up to date with the cloud platform and market needs. I am working continuously with Swan Softweb Solution for achieving my goal.

SOLUTION

How did you select Swan Softweb Solutions?

I received Maulik's email proposal for providing the development services for the development. And I was looking for the development team to support my development.

Describe the project in detail.

To move to the cloud, companies are using various methods to provision and deploy resources. That includes custom-built scripts, manual provisioning from web-based interfaces, use of available provisioning engines, and use of custom automation frameworks.

Since the deployed resources in the cloud could grow exponentially over time, the Security Operators (SecOps) team should be equipped with the right tools to ensure cloud compliance. Our platform is a multi-cloud validation framework that can be used by any company Security Operators to validate and verify cloud implementation before and after the deployment.

What was the team composition?

We were working directly with multiple developers from the team. Developers were able to communicate and add value to the problem discussion and build a solution for the same.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Yes, it is now a ready-to-use product available in the market. It will be one of the prominent cloud security tools.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had direct communication with the developers and we are taking daily scrum calls and constantly communicate via Microsoft Teams.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

About this company, I was impressed that we could access resources working directly on the project. And I was also impressed by their dedication to making a successful product. Also, they take moral responsibility for making contributions to the product or company’s success.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Well right now I am more than happy working with them, I do not see any improvements in our engagement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a senior team leader that manages three development teams. Our organization has been around for 20 years. We have two divisions and the first one deals with control systems programming. I work within the second division and we work with enterprise IoT monitoring solutions that are cloud-based.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Swan Softweb Solutions?

A third-party client of ours needed to solve some COVID-19 related problems, specifically on their school systems. A lot of it involved enabling remote access and we built the system using Google App Engine.

We wanted the solution to have the technology needed for the school systems to monitor and enable the remote support necessary for the stakeholders to work. As a result, we hired Swan Softweb to collaborate with our internal development team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We identified our external stakeholder’s requirements first. We had our own development team and Swan Softweb came in to provide extra support to us. Our software architects came up with the whole system’s architecture. Moreover, we already had internal developers who were well-versed in Google App Engine.

We had the Swan Softweb team do the onboarding training with all the developers that worked with us. There was a 1–2 week period where we just had them conduct the training on our programming staff. They provided us with two dedicated developers and they operated as part of our team for 3–4 months. 

When we assigned them to develop code, we provided the engineering specifications first. It served as a blueprint for every bit of code that gets written. They would often review it and come back to us with questions. Additionally, they performed a lot of research and testing for us, which revealed the technical limitations of what we were developing.

What is the team composition?

We had two full-time developers, namely Aadit (Python Developer) and Khushal (Fullstack Developer). They also provided a project manager. 

How did you come to work with Swan Softweb Solutions?

When I ran across Maulik’s (Founder) profile on Upwork, I directly contacted them. When we talked to Maulik, we found out that their services were focused on Google Apps and he told us that we were going to get dedicated developers for our project. He was also fine with their developers going through our training since we had a very process-oriented development system that involved double-stage testing and other things that most companies don’t do. 

Moreover, he decided to let Khushal do the 40-hour training for free even though we normally pay people to do it. Then, Maulik also had four people in their company understand our internal process even though we were only paying for two. We tried to work with development companies before but it always went terribly. However, since Swan Softweb went in-depth into our process, we hired their company. 

How much have you invested with them?

In total, we spent $25,000–$30,000. On average, we spent $6,400 per month. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked from September–December 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They provided competent developers during our partnership. Whenever we wrote codes, a lot of times people review and test them. Then, we also had a second person whose job was to make sure it met our programming standards. In that regard, we had very little issue with the codes Swan Softweb wrote and it all worked reliably. 

The other thing that they did really well was process compliance. They followed our system where everybody had a personal checklist, and that system gave them their tasks. All of it was automatically generated and through that, we could track if a certain person finished their deliverables. In connection with that, I never had to remind the team about anything and that was something that I really appreciated about them. 

How did Swan Softweb Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Trello quite extensively. They were not familiar with Trello at first, but they went through our training. They picked it up and became proficient. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Maulik was very selective with who he onboarded and that impressed us the most. He was also an experienced developer and understood the complexities of our work. Furthermore, he was very involved and his leadership skills really set them apart. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

The hiccups we had were pretty minor. For example, we had an issue of communication in terms of their headset. Within 1–2 days, they were able to purchase a new headset and everything was great again. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Assess the level of expertise you have in your company and once you identify your internal strengths, spend the money to get the right resources you need. Spare no expense hiring the right people.

If you don’t have internal software architect resources, take advantage of what Swan Softweb Solutions has to offer. They offer cost-effective services and skilled developers. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a children’s learning business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Swan Softweb Solutions?

We’ve been developing an in-house scheduling app for the last four years. We were having some trouble with the existing developer.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team worked with me on the in-house scheduling app. A big part of the process includes a Google API integration and DevOps. The hope is that it will be developed in a few months and be available for both iOS and Android.

What is the team composition?

They provided me with a Python and an Angular developer.

How did you come to work with Swan Softweb Solutions?

I found them on Upwork. I interviewed several companies and chose Swan Softweb Solutions. They were a good fit and were exactly what I was looking for.

I received some references from our previous clients, and they were good.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Swan Softweb Solutions started in August 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The developers are great.

How did Swan Softweb Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

I manage the project, communicating with the developers. We have daily standups to see where they are in the process and what they did. They use the tools I have in my company.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team is very professional. The coding is good.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I see that they need to improve, but I’m not a developer.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re a good team that knows what they’re doing. I recommend working with them.