TechMagic

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Motiflow is a pattern design database. Partners can use our patterns on their own products or sell our products through their website or platforms. I’m a product owner for the customer experience and I write the requirements.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TechMagic?

We wanted to build a mobile platform for validating our concept without having to use a full-time, in-house development team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a meeting with Sofia [Client Partner, TechMagic], their account manager, about our wishes and how we wanted to start developing. When we got a team, we had them start building a mobile platform for us, along with a desktop application. They've done the backend and frontend development.

For features, I write our requirements, making sure there's a mockup or a full design if needed, and they give me a time estimation. They start building after I give my approval. Once they've built the feature and tested it, they send me pre-release notes. If approved, they release it. They use Angular. One of the most important features they've built is the way patterns get repeated and how a designer can upload this pattern. It must be able to repeat in a certain way that will fit the product and do so automatically.

What is the team dynamic?

We had up to five to six people. Now, we've scaled down to three people.

How did you come to work with TechMagic?

It was probably a recommendation.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2016, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality is good, though it largely depends on how the requirements are written. In the beginning, we had deployment problems that were later fixed. Since then, every time we've released a feature, it's been good. They do a lot of testing, as we don’t have time to do that ourselves.

Users like the website. It’s a multi-sided platform, which from a designer point of view, is an important part of our concept. We started off as a mobile-first strategy and then built a desktop version. We realize now that perhaps we should've instead come up with a special desktop design.

How did TechMagic perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Jira, and for meetings, we use Skype. They have their own project management, and I've worked with 3 different project managers, one of whom was more iOS minded. When we decided to start building an API, we thought it would be better to have a senior backend developer as the project lead, since it’s a more technical development. Now we're trying to validate some of our features and business concepts and so have scaled down. The person who used to test the website in the past is now a project lead, which is helpful because they know the website from front to end. I ask her all my questions, so I don’t have to spend time figuring out how the website is working or how we should continue developing.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our concept is still in a validating stage where we invest a lot but don’t generate a great deal of revenue yet. So, it’s important to be flexible. If we want to scale up and get the same team members who were on the project before, they work with us. Sometimes we evaluate what we’ve done and start making new plans. We can then scale down the team and still service and continue developing at a slower pace.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I'm used to working with teams locally. We have our Skype meetings, but it’s different. Any way you can make the collaboration more personal is good for the project. In our case, we need a team that doesn't just execute ideas but also comes up with suggestions, which they do. We also need a team that thinks about how they can continue developing.

BACKGROUND

We are a residential cleaning business for the Dubai market, based in Dubai. I am the CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

We needed web and mobile apps to book residential cleaning appointments. TechMagic did it from scratch. We wanted to use technology to reach more customers and book more appointments for our cleaning teams.

SOLUTION

We used their services for web front-end and back end development and iOS and Android mobile development. They outsourced design but handled development internally. They are more expensive than most Ukrainian firms but offer a good team of developers. I chose them because they seem qualified with good skills.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

My only suggestion to TechMagic would be to set up their own design team. Outsourcing design to other agencies just adds time, budget, and complexity. They outsourced to designers, which cost us time and delayed the launch. They also went above the original estimates.

I can say that they are extremely skilled and the best of four Ukrainian development companies I've used. I am satisfied and would recommend them to others, although it wasn't perfect.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Sqord is a digital health company that encourages kids to stay active via a wearable accelerometer. It tracks activity for points, gift cards, and other forms of online entertainment. I am one of the co-founders. Currently, I’m also the vice president responsible for business development, product, and sales.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TechMagic?

We did not have in-house mobile talent, so we needed to partner with a group that could move quickly while maintaining quality.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

TechMagic helped us launch our first fully mobile experience. Their work allowed our existing mobile app to evolve beyond just syncing. They added full registration, login, and account feature functionalities.

How did you come to work with TechMagic?

They were a referral from a Techstars company. We had proposals from 3 other vendors before selecting TechMagic.

How much have you invested with TechMagic?

I would estimate that we paid $150,000 to $200,000 for their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October or November 2015. We continue to be customers of TechMagic.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've launched the updated app in time for our autumn consumer push. TechMagic does it all for an affordable price.

How did TechMagic perform from a project management standpoint?

TechMagic is diligent in meeting with our team weekly. We also have good communication on issues and progress.

What did you find most impressive about TechMagic?

TechMagic is a strong partner who supports us along the various phases of our work together. They did not just get a project done by the specs.

Are there any areas TechMagic could improve?

There were some times when we had a disconnect in expectations around the type of experience we were aiming for in the app. That caused some delays, but otherwise, our experience with them was okay.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Q9 Elements is a software-as-a-service startup providing and building a process knowledge cloud application. Our main target is the Salesforce marketplace, allowing admins to perform business analysis before Salesforce implementations. We're a US-based company with offices in the UK.

I am the chief technology officer and chief operations officer for the company, in charge of both software development and business management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TechMagic?

The challenge was being able to quickly scale a team while having no infrastructure of our own. Keeping a sensible cost was also an issue. We considered building a team in the UK or North America, contracting a UK-based outsourcing organization, or going offshore. Based on my experience and our need for rapid scaling without an HR infrastructure, and the cost involved, choosing a nearshore option (possibly in the Ukraine) made the most sense.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Because we had been running a tech company for 15 years developing the same type of product, we knew exactly what we wanted to build. We approached TechMagic in order to get an initial version of our product to market in a reasonable amount of time. This will be a long-term engagement with no end-date. We're looking for TechMagic to provide an ongoing development team for the foreseeable time. In the future, we might consider building our own team in the UK and bringing all development in-house or running a mixed mode. Given that we already know what the initial product will look like, the main goal now is to obtain a user base as quickly as possible.

How did you come to work with TechMagic?

I had used offshore development resources in the Ukraine, so when I needed to do it again, I looked for a company in that area and found TechMagic. I used a UK company that provides access to a range of development resources in Eastern Europe and had a discussion with them about the project. TechMagic was suggested to us by the broker. I had a look at their background and also met TechMagic's team in Ukraine. We didn't have any checklists, but it was important to gauge how comfortable we felt with the organization. I've run development groups for almost 30 years and have a reasonably good feel for whether or not I like an organization, or if they're technically competent, able to scale, have a good culture, good English language skills, and so on. If we were to engage TechMagic, I would have to visit Ukraine regularly, which was something to consider. My colleague and co-founder, who is responsible for customer success and sales, and I came away from the visit thinking that we could make the collaboration work.

How much have you invested with TechMagic?

The cost of TechMagic's services has been above $450,000 over the course of 18 months.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with TechMagic in June 2015. We've been building out the team since then, reaching 12 members by April 2016. There's been a bit of resource churning, but the number has stayed the same to this day. It was nothing unusual or damaging, but along with our tech lead, I decided we needed a slightly different skill profile on a couple of people. TechMagic has recruited for our project specifically, and they've given us a stable core team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We reached a release-to-market product after 9 months, which is roughly what I expected. We have been adding additional functionalities on a regular basis. I particularly like the fact that we've been able to change key bits of the architecture, as we learned more about the behavior of our application. As an organization, TechMagic worked alongside me, ensuring that we're building the product which we want to have for the next 10 years. I view TechMagic as my development group, rather than a third-party resource; they simply happen to be based in Ukraine.

We had a strategic review 2 weeks ago, discussing the engineering function of our business. The view was that there was no need or desire to bring the development effort onshore to the UK for the moment. We're extremely happy with the way in which TechMagic is delivering and scaling. The most important metric is that, for the next strategic period, we've decided to use TechMagic exclusively.

How did TechMagic perform from a project management standpoint?

I keep contact with TechMagic up to 10 times per day, either with junior developers or with the tech lead, who is also an owner of the company. We run an Agile 2-week sprint system, and I'm deeply involved as a product owner, deciding what will be built and when. We've matured our process, creating 3 distinct teams, each with a team leader responsible for their particular sprints. I have excellent visibility of the work going on. As with all projects, I do wish that the work would complete faster at times and reach the market, but that's not realistic.

I've done work with third-party developers in the past and never felt as integrated with a company as with TechMagic. There are no barriers in talking to anyone there. TechMagic is simply my team. The most junior testers can ping me on Slack or Skype for a quick call any day. If the project management was failing at this point, it would probably be my fault, not TechMagic's.

What did you find most impressive about TechMagic?

Their pragmatic, technical decision-making. I feel comfortable that, when issues come up, sensible decisions will be taken by TechMagic. They know when to make one themselves and when to engage me in the process, which gives me enormous confidence.

I've worked with other companies, particularly Indian developers, who all built to the spec. From my experience, the spec is rarely right, and this can be very frustrating. Others did decide that the spec couldn't be right and built their own solutions, but without understanding the whole context; this is just as bad. TechMagic has a very good balance of understanding our goals, knowing when to take pragmatic decisions, and when to ask me about an issue. TechMagic has also made good suggestions when possible.

Are there any areas TechMagic could improve?

There's constant improvement in our process of working together with TechMagic in order to make things smoother. There have been no major issues, mainly because I can talk to TechMagic about any concerns with the staff or anything else. The fact that TechMagic is a third-party organization has had almost zero impact on how we work as a group. The language barrier is remarkably unobtrusive, and I haven't had to modify the way in which I speak in order to compensate for the fact that I'm talking to a team in Ukraine.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with TechMagic?

I don't know how TechMagic would work with a more hands-off client, but I advise everyone to work closely with the developer. I go to the Ukraine every 2-3 weeks and spend a few days there, even going out with the rest of the team. TechMagic is very open to working in this way and incredibly hospitable. I even have my own desk there.

BACKGROUND

Please introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company, which is located in Kiev, Ukraine, creates secure web services that help users communicate in a simple and secure way. One of our main products is a web mail service—similar to Gmail—but with a much stronger security component. This service is targeted to users who need to communicate by email, but want to be sure that their correspondence is protected. I am the Chief Executive Officer, and I am responsible for all strategic questions related to our products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TechMagic?

Our main challenge was to create a convenient and secure email service for all users, not just for computer geeks and techies. We understood that to create something useful, we needed to develop both a website and mobile apps. To solve the mobile app challenge, we chose TechMagic to create mobile apps for iOS and Android.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They needed to develop iOS and Android applications from scratch for our email service, although we developed the user interface design. The main feature of the apps was client-side encryption. TechMagic created the two applications that we needed. They implemented all the functionality—standard functions for mail clients using IMAP, SMTP, labels, filters, and so forth—but most importantly they correctly developed the client-side encryption.

How did you come to work with TechMagic?

One of our colleagues suggested them. Prior to that time, we had looked at two or three other companies similar to TechMagic but found that they were not a good fit for us.

How much have you invested with TechMagic?

We have spent somewhere between $10,000 and $50,000 working with TechMagic.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project took from the end of May to the fall of 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As a consequence of the work of TechMagic, we received two working applications for Android and iOS, which our own developers polished and made ready for production.

What did you find most impressive about TechMagic?

We were impressed by both their speed and quality. When we decided to develop the mobile apps we thought we would need at least six to eight months, but TechMagic surprised us and finished the work much quicker.

The quality of both applications was good. The few bugs that did show up were corrected very quickly by TechMagic. We thought that we would run into problems implementing the client-side encryption, but we didn’t. Like all of their tasks, everything was solved, which was a pleasant surprise for us. Their resources have perfect backgrounds in all aspects of development, which was crucial in their excellent implementation of the project.

Are there any areas TechMagic could improve?

No, I don’t think so.

BACKGROUND

We are a small company with a big passion for print, customer services, marketplaces, and people. We wanted to build a new kind of 2-sided, easy to use, mobile first marketplace around fashion, jewelry, and handmade items.

We were looking for a team that had the same passion as ours in the tech space, understood the technical needs very well and brought in space and room for us as founders to participate in the development process from start to end.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Our mobile app taps into a huge market worldwide of people selling new and pre-owned items. Our app is doing as expected. Building a 2-sided marketplace is very complex and time-consuming.

SOLUTION

I used a freelancer to find the right partner and I knew exactly what I needed. I found some good reviews of TechMagic but not for freelancers that I could have hired. I had to choose between five-star reviews and an unknown freelancer. I did my research and found that they fit all the criteria I needed to build my app; people who understand all parts of what I wanted to build.

I did the UI [user interface] designs and worked closely with an iOS developer to build the app, so the backend engineers knew exactly what to build.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

As a founder, money and time to market are crucial. TechMagic knows that and gives a clear path of the time to develop. You, as a founder, can always interfere and do changes on the fly. Budget-wise it was perfect.

TechMagic brings personality, customer service and eye for the needs of the founder to a new level. For me personally, I see them as friends that do their best to build my dream, and I want to challenge them with new innovations to keep both sides happy.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a London-based digital product development agency, specializing in startup and small-to-medium enterprise structures, handling product design and management.

What is your position?

I am the managing partner of the company, responsible for our collaborations with remote teams.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with TechMagic?

We rely on other companies for software development. TechMagic is one of the vendors which we use.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

TechMagic has provided consultation and managerial services, aside from software engineering.

How did you come to work with TechMagic?

One of TechMagic's founders had been a team lead for my own startup 5 years ago. At that time, he was working for a big company which acted as a contractor for my project. I later found out that he was running his own agency and gave him a similar project to what we'd worked on in the past.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The costs for our projects with TechMagic have been between $220,000 and $900,000. [150,000 to 600,000 GBP] We are currently running 2 very large projects. Our teams are growing, so the overall cost for the largest project could exceed 1 million dollars.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working with TechMagic for 2 years. We have an ongoing partnership with no plans to stop. We have 2 ongoing projects with TechMagic, as well as 3 others which have been successfully launched and are now in the support stage.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We have been more than satisfied with TechMagic, and our end-clients have also given good feedback. We have successfully delivered 3 projects with the assistance of TechMagic. Our clients have remained in touch with us for support. We run regular satisfaction surveys with them and have found TechMagic to be one of the most reliable and high-quality development houses out of all our partners.

How did TechMagic perform from a project management standpoint?

TechMagic's project management skills are very high-level. In particular, we've appreciated the level of involvement from the senior company managers. Our biggest account with TechMagic had their founder as team lead. They saw us as an important client and were keen to deliver work of the highest quality. In most cases, we haven't been able to count on the involvement of the senior management. It may not be optimal from TechMagic's point of view, given that a Chief Technology Officer will have other responsibilities, but it has been beneficial for us, as a client.

What distinguishes TechMagic from other providers?

As a company that relies on outsourcing for development, we've worked with more than 20 different houses. Comparing our experience with TechMagic to that with other companies, I can say that it has definitely been better. TechMagic is more reliable and they deliver high-quality products. They have good communication as well.

Is there anything TechMagic could have improved or done differently?

Nothing major.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a small digital design agency based in Ukraine. We have some development competencies as well. Our company is comprised of 25 people.

What is your position?

I am the Chief Executive Officer and founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with TechMagic?

We needed development resources for various projects. I wanted to work with an agency that could excel with the architecture. We would provide the design expertise. A partnership would help both agencies get more clients and larger projects.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

We collaborate with TechMagic on user experience and user interface design projects, as well as prototyping and related services. TechMagic develops and delivers final results, including testing. Our focus is on design, while theirs is production. We have a very good collaboration.

How did you come to work with TechMagic?

They are a local firm that I knew in the industry. They came recommended to me, and because of their reputation, it was an easy choice.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The cost will vary depending on the size of each project. The average budget for a project with TechMagic ranges from $15,000 to $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working with TechMagic for one year and a half. We have no plans to stop.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

As an example, TechMagic gave us an estimate of 3 months' development time for a specific project. They delivered the minimum viable product in only 2 and a half months.

How did TechMagic perform from a project management standpoint?

We used to work with different software developers. TechMagic has shown better performance in terms of project management and communication. They are fully transparent and our collaboration has shown better results, compared to previous partners.

What distinguishes TechMagic from other providers?

TechMagic has a very talented team. They attract good resources to their company through open tech events, during which TechMagic describes different technologies used within the company and their general approach. They have created a community around them which has been interesting for us to visit. As a result, we have found better ways of merging technology stacks with the user experience. It's easy for TechMagic to provide optimal solutions and implement technology into user experience and design parts.

Is there anything TechMagic could have improved or done differently?

Any company will have minor issues, but I can't think of anything in particular for TechMagic. The reason for working with them was the fact that they didn't present any major issues.

BACKGROUND

I am the founder and CEO of a startup. I don't want to share my idea or industry, but I have a technical background with well more than a dozen years leading technology projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

I am new to outsourcing development projects and was burned during my first foray into the market by another offshore firm. I had to replace a disastrous vendor and fix their code. The main challenge was that I was short on time and funds after making a terrible hiring decision to start.

SOLUTION

I found TechMagic on the former Elance website [now Upwork] through a traditional RFP [request for proposal] process. I narrowed my initial short list to 40 firms globally and then three shops. TechMagic won my project from their stellar client interviews. I chose them because they work with MongoDB.

TechMagic started by cleaning up code and did node development. After I began to trust them, I let them work on my web development project. They earned my trust and did well with that technology.

The technologies used so far are Node.js, MongoDB, and angularJS. I will start a second project with them in the middle of 2016, which will involve more web development than before. The first project is completely finished, and version 1 of the app was great. We will start on version 2 soon.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

TechMagic has strong coders. They fixed poor code, hit deadlines, and kept on budget. Our project was fixed price and fixed time. They kept to their word and were active participants that suggested improvements throughout the work.

TechMagic is the best technology partner I've worked with in 13 years in the industry. Their communication and English are perfect. They will do regular meetings with all team members. They always do stand ups and demos. I can't recommend TechMagic enough.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a security company. We protect data stored in the cloud and work with cloud providers like DropBox and Google Drive. We provide a security layer on top of applications for different platforms like Android and iOS. 

What is your position?

I’m founder and chief technology officer [CTO]. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with TechMagic?

We had our application already developed and built in the US. The firm that did that job just didn’t have enough resources, so I reached out to TechMagic to help us extend our application to be able to support more cloud providers.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

We used some services from TechMagic to help us with mobile applications. They did quality assurance [QA] as well. The structure of the project required them to find a developer for us, since they didn’t have a developer at the time.

When I gave them the project, they found resources pretty quickly. They have great technical abilities and followed instructions and specifications perfectly. They have a strong QA team to test each and every deliverable. Our team did the last step of the project, so it was a success with TechMagic's help.

How did you come to work with TechMagic?

I am from Ukraine and I have some contacts that referred them. I had mutual acquaintances that trusted their leaders.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The cost of the work with the main project stands between $10,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The main project is finished which took about six to eight months. It was an Android app to begin with and then we added iOS.

Since I work for a security company, I don’t want to do any offshore development. But if it’s going to be a necessity and it will not expose any privacy, I’m happy to use TechMagic again. As of right now, there’s no project they’re doing for us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I cannot disclose metrics due to privacy concerns.

How did TechMagic perform from a project management standpoint?

I am satisfied. They were very quick to respond, and if we weren’t satisfied, they were quick at fixing it. They had a good QA team and the engineers were quite knowledgeable.

What distinguishes TechMagic from other providers?

They are not a big company, so the turnaround is quite impressive. They are young and energetic guys. I know them and trust their character. I went to their office in Ukraine and met with them before I gave them a project. They’re very knowledgeable.

It doesn’t seem to be a tough company that hires people for one project and then gets rid of them. They select people very carefully. When they discover talent, they’re doing a lot to keep resources. They don’t make business mistakes because they are professional and they value their people.

Is there anything TechMagic could have improved or done differently?

Not really. We all dealt with normal development issues. If they come up with something and we don’t like it, they change it. In general, I don’t have any negative feedback.