Synergo Group

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Interim CTO of a financial services company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a Financial Institution regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority servicing clients within the EEA, offering European payments accounts and merchant payments solutions with perks that give you the most value for your money. Our Payment Account consists of a unique IBAN number, together with a full set of options: - The ability to perform national and international SEPA and SWIFT payments - Multi-currency accounts - Currency exchange - Joint signatory - The security of an European Regulated Financial Institution and many more. Our Payment gateway will act as a solution to sellers worldwide. Through our vast network of payment solutions nearly every payment method is available for you, meaning you will be able to accept payments coming from customers around the globe in more than 150 currencies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Provide DevOps and solution support to connect and standup our new core banking solution.
• Enable Operations excellence to manage the systems and security elements with it.

SOLUTION

How did you find Synergo Group?

Referral

Why did you select Synergo Group over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Synergo Group were assigned to this project?

16-20

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

The project had multiple phases. The initial phase was an assessment of potential integration points with third party systems, IT system evaluation and the security evaluation. The following phases was to establish an integration layer between the new core banking solution and any third party partner. Further the standup of the IT system and cloud systems as well as the system management on the various system zones. Including hardening of all security layers, and measures to expand on the security in place using various technology stacks and monitoring stacks. Final part of the project is to move the complete enviornment into production mode. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Each phase of the project had a measureable outcome in terms of target that needed to be made accessible for testing and evaluation and optimization as well as hardening.

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

Team responded to our needs and where deeply engaged to ensure the deliverables made sense. Project management was based on agile and kanban delivery mechanics. Therefore agile delivery focus was on a two week tracking and evaluation including verifcation of delivery and progress. 

What was your primary form of communication with Synergo Group?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Synergo Group was always engaged and made sure they deeply understood the needs. Sometimes, this included going the extra step to add resources to the project as they saw gaps developing to ensure the project could be delivered on time and with the value that it needed.

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

Some improvements in the communication would help the project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an executive at a sports company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We sell travel related products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Finish the development of our platform
• Launch MVP

SOLUTION

How did you find Synergo Group?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select Synergo Group over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Synergo Group were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

I came to Cristi to help pick up a project from another development team that failed to complete the project. He helped assemble a team that would clean up the mess that was left behind and improve the overall product. The key deliverables were to launch a scalable MVP product to market.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Going live with the MVP product to market.

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

The project management was top-notch. Vlad was always in constant communication with the team through slack. Any concerns were categories based on priority and almost always updated weekly from stagging to production. If something was urgent it was resolved immediately.

What was your primary form of communication with Synergo Group?

Virtual Meeting

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

I was particularly pleased with their ability to adapt to our needs. At times we needed additional help for Q&A or specialized help and they were able to bring in new team members to help assist with each part. They were also able to reduce the team when we needed to roll out the MVP and determine what the next steps were without wasting budget.

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

It is tough to say. Since this was a project they took over from another team, getting it rolling took a bit of learning and figuring out what was done to get momentum. Once the team was confident in the needs, they managed to make it their own.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of digital transformation for a hospitality company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Synergo Group?

We needed help with mobile app development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Synergo Groups helps us with mobile app development. We started the project with a white-label solution, but they’ve developed the React Native app from scratch.

The app is for iOS and Android; it allows users to collect coins from each purchase, which they can redeem in our stores. We’re also adding push notifications for communication.

What is the team composition?

We have 5–6 people on the team, including developers, project managers, and account managers.

How did you come to work with Synergo Group?

We worked with a white-label solution provider, but they couldn’t support our requirements. They recommended Synergo Group to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2021, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t have a specific KPI right now, but we really like their work.

How did Synergo Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is good. They’re always on time, and the team is responsive and gives clear updates. We have weekly meetings, but we also use Slack, Jira, and Asana for communication and project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We have an open relationship.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we haven’t faced any issues with technical capabilities or responsiveness.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Volo Technologies Inc. We’re building a mobile application designed to help friends and family lend to and borrow money from each other safely, securely, and automatically.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Synergo Group?

We hired them to build our mobile app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Synergo Group is building our mobile app from scratch on top of an existing technology stack. They're using an API from Astra, which facilitates inter-bank transfers. The team also uses an API from a company called Plaid to enable access to user bank accounts. The app is for both Android and iOS. 

The app's core functionality allows borrowers to create projects and send invitations to friends, family, and associates who may be interested in lending them money to support the project. The app facilitates the transfer of the funds and then automatically schedules and executes the repayment of the loaned money based on the terms of the contract the borrower and lender have established. 

What is the team composition?

We work with a project manager, a lead developer, a secondary developer, a designer, and a tester from Synergo Group. 

How did you come to work with Synergo Group?

We found them through research online, including on Clutch. When interviewing various development houses, I got a positive sense from Cristian (Founder & CSA). Additionally, Synergo Group had positive reviews on Clutch, and I liked the type of work that they'd done in the past. 

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent $50,000–$100,000 CAD (approximately $38,000–$75,000 USD). 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in March 2022, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app is still in production and coming very close to completion. So far, all the functionality works as expected, and the testing has been successful. Overall, I'm very happy with the level of service Synergo Group has provided. They've been very flexible and accommodating in managing our cost and offering and deploying the necessary resources throughout development. 

How did Synergo Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very responsive and timely. When we started this project, there were many unknowns because the API technology is very recent. Synergo Group has done a great job of accomplishing things in a timely manner while working through those unknowns. 

The project has grown in scope due in part to those unknown factors and partly to change requests we've made throughout the development. As a result, our original timeframe and budget haven't played out. However, Cristian has been extremely supportive in working with me on the budget and making some concessions. 

We primarily communicate virtually through email, Slack, Zoom, and Google Meet, and we also use phone calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Synergo Group's team is very competent, and their management is organized. They have very high integrity and are committed to completing the project successfully. The team cares a lot about the quality of their work and the satisfaction of their clients. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything they need to improve off the top of my head. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take the time to get to know Cristian; he's very accessible and easy to talk to. The more you're willing to discuss details of the scope and expectations from the beginning, the easier it'll be to create a smooth and amicable experience.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Magnusmode. We leverage technology to create mobile apps that help autistic and neurodiverse people to live with greater inclusion and independence.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Synergo Group?

We needed to outsource our technology development efforts so that we could develop new features for our app and maintain it in a cost-effective manner. However, our clients are also Fortune 500 companies, and our technology has to pass rigorous testing from these companies to gain and retain them as customers. Therefore, we also needed a trustworthy and 24/7-available partner so that our app could still meet the standard of our corporate customers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve worked with Synergo Group on various development projects, and they constantly maintain the app and its uptime for our users and customers. Moreover, they help us maintain our website. As for the technology stack, our website is based in WordPress, and our app is available for Android and iOS, so it uses cross-platform coding languages and technologies.

When Synergo Group joined, they had to take over the work done by a previous developer, so they found a lot of parts of the app that kept breaking or hadn’t been developed effectively. Thus, they first helped us fix those issues to streamline the app.

Since then, our multiple development projects have been focused on constantly making the app more usable and user-friendly. Among the features that Synergo Group has created are a voice integration and a geopositioning tracking feature, and we’ve recently implemented a gamification system in the form of collectible badges.

Given that we have two audiences, Synergo Group also helps us create features and updates our corporate clients ask for. For example, Whirlpool, one of our customers, requested that their content only shows within a specific geographic region.

Our app has 12 life skills categories for users, including shopping, personal care, travel, safety, and more. Within these categories, users can see digital card decks that walk them through the life skill step by step. Synergo Group has helped us create a whole new category for home care, as requested by Whirlpool.

What is the team composition?

We work with Cristian (Founder & Chief Solutions Architect), a project manager who also steps in and helps, and a whole development team, including backend developers, frontend developers, and designers. For our most recent project, we’re working with a backend developer, a frontend developer, and a UX designer.

How did you come to work with Synergo Group?

We were hitting many roadblocks with our development setup, so we were actively looking for a new developer that could help us out. During that search, our executive director came across Synergo Group’s website and met with Cristian. As soon as I met him, I noticed that he was very logical and took accountability for his work.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent close to $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2021, and our engagement is ongoing. We’re currently starting a huge development project with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to Synergo Group, we currently have a 99% of uptime, which is a requirement from our corporate customers. We’re meeting that goal, which is fantastic. Whenever we have a bug, they fix it within hours or days at most, and they don’t seem to stop until the issue is resolved.

Additionally, Synergo Group has been able to add new features that help end users to utilize the app better. Given that our app is used by autistic people, it needs to be very simple to use. Now, users can easily access content quickly, thanks to the improved UX created by Synergo Group.

We've really appreciated Synergo Group’s initiative in creating a better product for us. Before working with them, we paid over $1,200 per month for services we thought were required to host the app. Since then, they’ve streamlined the services we actually need and found more cost-effective ways to do what we do, ultimately taking that cost down to about $100 per month. This result has been great for us because we’re always looking for ways to be more profitable and thus create more value for our customers, investors, and stakeholders.

How did Synergo Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Synergo Group has a flawless record regarding being on time. If I tell them that something is a priority and I need it done by a certain date, they deliver it by that date.

Additionally, Cristian and his team are very hands-on on the project, and they’re available whenever we needed. Their availability is amazing because most of their team is in Romania, so we have a time difference. Still, they’re always there when we need them. Whenever we need a new feature done, I simply send Synergo Group an email, and they create and implement it in a matter of weeks.

As for communication, everyone from Synergo Group is a great communicator, which is rare to find in technology teams. Other teams are usually data-driven, but Synergo Group’s teammates are great at explaining what they’re doing, what needs to be done, and what they recommend in such a simple way that non-technical people can easily understand.

We mainly use Jira and Slack for communication and project management, and Synergo Group also uses other tools for prototyping and similar tasks. Whenever they can’t reach me on Slack, they can send me an email or call me — our lines of communication are always open.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Synergo Group’s professionalism and courteousness are outstanding; they’re the best development team we’ve worked with. They feel like part of our team, and I no longer view them as contractors. My background isn’t in technology, so having a trustworthy partner like them has been very important for us. Moreover, everyone on their team is very positive and has a can-do attitude, which is great — they represent their company’s culture very well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Although no one is perfect, I can’t think of anything Synergo Group could improve on.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a partner at Red Banks Consulting, a consulting company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Synergo Group?

We had internal IT resources, but we also had a backlog of projects, so we hired Synergo for support.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired Synergo Group specifically to develop a web-based app for customer onboarding for one of our clients. We already had a baseline product, but it was poorly done, so they did an overall enhancement and redesign. Now, we’re close to finishing our second project.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 6–7 people from Synergo Group, including a project manager, technical architects, developers, and QA resources.

How did you come to work with Synergo Group?

Someone who had worked with them previously introduced us to their CEO.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February–April 2022 on our first project, and we will wrap up our second project in July 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our client is a startup, so they didn’t have any internal development processes in place. Thus, Synergo Group’s efforts brought a formal structure to their development cycle, helping them develop the product they needed.

How did Synergo Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Synergo Group has excelled at project management, working through requirements creating sprints, and implementing QA processes to develop the products we need. We’ve used Slack, Wrike, and Jira to manage the project and communicate with the end client.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Synergo Group is a very professional company that delivers great quality work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We had a once-per-week meeting to check the first project’s progress, but it would have been great if that meeting were more frequent.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Founder of restaurant and bar customer rewards solution

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We wanted to introduce a more stable and scalable app and backend environment suited introduce future features.

SOLUTION

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

We contacted various development agencies through personal contacts and online search. Deciding factors were full stack capabilities, previous experience, cost and personality of team.

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

We set up various meetings to review and assess current environment and future goals. Key deliverables included addressing known system bugs, completing set up of dev environment, improving client side UI and UX, creation of more secure and reliable processes, development and implementation of new user rewards feature.

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

Worked with project manager, system architect, designer, backend and front end engineers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within the first 4 months Synergo help establish a more stable environment, introduce a key new user feature, improved UI and UX for a number of sections of app, shoring up security vulnerabilities and a redesigned website.

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

Had weekly meetings with project manager and lead. Communication via JIRA, Slack, email and meetings was clear and all members of the team were responsive and open regarding any uncertain project details.

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

Their professionalism in all manner of communication from billing through to execution and testing was much better than any other offshore team we've worked with before. They quickly communicate and address all issues, and they take full responsibility for any internal errors.  The team has all been easy to communicate with and seem to genuinely care about the success of the project and company.

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

Clarification of some tasks could have happened sooner and, like all companies, there is a desire to move faster, but overall they've been a pleasure to work with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a chiropractic clinic.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Synergo Group?

We needed someone to create a second website for us — a patient-centered website containing exercises and program design to improve our clients’ health. It had to be easy to access and allow non-patients to sign up for our programs and exercises.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did everything necessary to create our website, from design to implementation. We gave them a word document layout of how we wanted it to look in the beginning, and they created a template. We also provided examples of video content we wanted on the site. Working through a collaborative platform, we made changes to the layout. Synergo implemented it on their own platform to do all the coding and setup.

What is the team composition?

Christian (Founder) was our main point of contact, and he had a development team of 4­–5 people.

How did you come to work with Synergo Group?

I’m now sure how our owner found them, but he set up a call together.  

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $12,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since April 2021. We’ve launched the website, but Synergo continues to make small changes that we request.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our site isn’t available to the public yet, meaning you can’t find us on Google. You would have to type in the URL. When we fully launch, we’re going to track site traffic, as well as the number of sign-ups for each of our two programs.

How did Synergo Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They are great at communicating. Having Christian as our one point of contact has made the whole program run smoothly.

We used Skype and emails to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re more timely and communicative than our other providers in the past have been. Other web design companies take much longer to make changes, and they don’t communicate as frequently. Synergo Group functions very well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It took a few times to explain what we wanted because Synergo Group doesn’t have much experience in the fitness and healthcare industry. There isn’t anything else, however.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communicate what you want to accomplish and what your intentions are.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a coastal stewardship technician for the Lake Huron Coastal Center. We’re a nonprofit charity that runs research projects, education projects, and restoration projects on Lake Huron.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Synergo Group?

We have a citizen science data collection program and were receiving more data than we could handle. The time it took to input it all into a spreadsheet and analyze it was overwhelming. Synergo Group developed a web application that would streamline the process for us and limit human error.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we entered a design phase. Synergo collaborated with us before we implemented the code to ensure the app looked how we wanted it to with a color scheme and logo. Starting development, we received click-through version of the application that allowed us to demo the functionality and suggest and approve changes.

For now, the solution is a web application that is linked to our website, but we’re hoping to putout Android and iOS versions in the future.

What is the team composition?

We worked with both a design team and a development team. Alex (UX Lead) was our main point of contact there, but he had a group behind him. There were two main people on the development side, as well as an admin resource and Cristian (CEO & Founder).

How did you come to work with Synergo Group?

I was looking at reviews and seeing who had best the best feedback and the highest star ratings. After meeting with a few companies, I knew that Synergo understood us and what we wanted.

Our budget was fairly limited as a charity, and Syergo was able to deliver everything we wanted while also meeting our price point. Finally, I got a good feeling from Cristian; he seemed to understand and care about the nonprofit world.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $24,000 CAD (approximately $19,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The first phase ran from August–December 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I had little understanding of development since I’m in the environmental field, and Synergo made it very easy to learn the necessary skills.

In terms of the application itself, we fully expect that the time we have to invest in managing data and number of volunteers able to participate in the program will improve vastly next water season when the app is used for the first time.

How did Synergo Group perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Slack to communicate, and Synergo had a booking system that made scheduling meetings very easy. In fact, we could see the open time that Cristian had and book ourselves into a slot in his schedule. We loved the direct contact we had with him. He made our team feel comfortable and confident at every step along the way.

Jira allowed us to collaborate on the application, seeing changes in real time and approving those we were positive on.

Additionally, Synergo was very responsive and quick to get things done. They made it really easy to work in a new field.

What did you find most impressive about them?

This is my only experience with app development, so I don’t have a ton of experience to pull from, but Synergo delivered everything we needed. I can’t imagine the engagement would have gone much better with someone else.

Moreover, as a nonprofit, we have budget limits, and Synergo’s team respected them, keeping costs down in every way they could while still delivering what we needed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

This could be a positive or negative observation— but they were very fast to respond. At one point we were busy with other project and we didn’t have time to get them the information they needed. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but we could have had more leniency to give feedback and review items.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do a lot of prep work. This was my first time, and if I were to do it again I would home-in on what I wanted out of the job — do some digging into color schemes, look and feel, and imagine how the app would work in real life. Figuring things out on the fly that aren’t part of initial scope will increase the cost of project.