Unicsoft

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

GFI is a car hauling digital platform that unites all market players in one application. I'm COO in GFI.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Unicsoft?

Custom software development

What were your goals for this project?

To build a well-design, smart, and sufficient application that can lead the car hauling market, help all market members to speed the processes of car transportation, and reduce side costs.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Based on the friend's recommendation.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Unicsoft created the platform from scratch. So we had all the phases: planning, UI/UX design, implementation, testing, prod release, and now support.

What was the team composition?

We had a PM/BA, 4 developers, 1 tester, 2 designers,

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I can definitely recommend Unicsoft as a reliable partner. They have flexible working approaches, pleasant and dedicated staff, and always trying to solve the problem - not to redirect it. Reasonable price model, technically strong engineers, and quick and efficient staffing process. Separately, I would like to admit they have a very intelligent, confident, and full of positive attitude account managers.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We have a fully managed service model. Unicsoft was able to manage all development related activities very well.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Reasonable rates, pleasant staff.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is very little they could improve. My only suggestion would be to document technical decisions and to have technical specifications. Validating your project requirements will be much easier with thoughts already articulated.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Concept stage AI project. Given favorable technical and business plan review plus deliverable's, we will proceed and search for pre-seed/seed investors. Founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Unicsoft?

Concept stage AI project. In general, technical feasibility and business plan assessment, clickable prototype, UI/UX, AI suitability/appropriateness assessment, visionary document and budget estimate.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Internet search focused on specialist AI skills. The Unicsoft option was preferred to 5 other companies across Europe.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Concept stage project with a focus on AI (machine learning and NLP). Business case and general concept information was circulated prior to the start of the project with the Unicsoft team providing the most suitable and appropriate tech to enable the project.

What was the team composition?

A dynamic 5 person team was assigned to our project which included, a project manager, developer, business analyst, UI/UX and business development.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Concept stage project. "Hats off", the Unicsoft team exceeded my expectations.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Google Hangouts. Meetings were structured at a time convenient to us over series of days . The Unicsoft team members were up to speed on the information circulated prior to the call allowing for an efficient and effective use of time by delving directly into the details of the project..

What did you find most impressive about this company?

A professional, highly skilled and dynamic team was assigned to my project who from day 1 was committed to my projects success! Even during the global lock-down period, they were responsive and quick to provide high-quality deliverables, thank you!

Are there any areas for improvement?

N/A

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an international full-service design and branding agency from Germany. Our core expertise is building and implementing brand strategy for large enterprise companies across various industries including automotive, retail and logistics. My position at the company is Director Digital Solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Unicsoft?

We hired Unicsoft for development of new features for some of our products, customizing the system for new customers, and fixing issues in the existing setups.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to bring more value to our existing customers as well as to create a powerful marketing tool for international corporations and gain access to new group of customers.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We wanted to avoid diluting our company’s focus by hiring additional software engineers and product delivery departments. Therefore, we decided to involve a delivery partner to support us during large developent projects. The search for the right development partner was not easy and did not work out from the first attempt. By the time we reached out to Unicsoft, the product’s roadmap was strongly delayed. On top of feature release delays, the existing customers were reporting a significant amount of bugs in their implementation. This is where we started working together.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Unicsoft started our partnership with a legacy code review to know what issues it had and what needed to be improved in the product. The code review allowed them to identify primary points for improvement of the system: to retain the existing customer base and, at the same time, build a stable foundation for the new versions of the product. After partially re-working and stabilizing the current version of the product, they were ready to start work on the next version. It had an ambitious roadmap which included:

• Centralized media library for storing brand identity elements including images, documents, and video materials;
• A content management module linked to the media library. It eliminated the risk of releasing media communications with wrong or outdated identity elements;
• A content localization tool, which significantly simplified a coordinated launch of marketing communications in different languages across several countries. Such capabilities were facilitated by integration third-party services based on Adobe InDesign server;
• Significantly improved user and permission management as well as powerful search across the content.

What was the team composition?

We started for the first big project with a full team consisting of - Project manager - QA manager - 3 full stack developers - Account manager When it came to supporting tasks later during the project we reduced the team size a bit, always being able to scale up for new projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The stability of the product has been constantly improving over the 2 years partnership, and now is in-line with enterprise customer’s expectations, resulting in high customer retention. High-quality and timely roll-out of the solution to new customers is crucial in extending our customer base. The onboarding heavily impacts the first impression, and it can only be made once. During our partnership, there was not a single case when a customer churned due to onboarding issues.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Depending on the project size, we use our internal project managers or we rely on the project management team provided by Unicsoft. As working for large enteerprise clieents, we fully provide our own infrastructure for development, testing, issue management and collaboration - so Unicosft is fully integrated into our workflows

What did you find most impressive about this company?

There are some basic rules of cooperation, we stress out in every partnership and with Unicsoft we found a partner that has the same understanding as we do: - We work together at eye level - We communicate open and honest - even bad news - If shit happens, we solve the problem together

Are there any areas for improvement?

Today: There is nothing to improve for us, but on the long run it could be helpful to have a counter-part for our development lead at Unicsoft, who would be able to do the onboarding of new team members.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We're a computational finance company with a core competence in econophysics and complex systems science. We develop trading strategies and financial market analysis tools. I am a company co-founder and a Chief Science and Technology Officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Unicsoft?

About two years ago (at the time of writing) we have developed a new approach for investing in cryptocurrency aimed at reducing the risk.

The strategy seemed very appealing particularly in the aftermath of the early 2018 Bitcoin crash when lots of investors lost considerable funds and were afraid to participate in the market in a plain buy-and-hold way.

We decided to build a financial product accessible to a wide variety of customers globally (without the accredited investor restrictions) and negotiated a collaborative deal with a global financial platform to make that possible.

What was left to do was a custom software development task that would link platform's accounts to our algorithmic trading strategy logic, provide a web and mobile application front-end for the users, and integrate the required pieces in the cloud. After some research and in-person interviews in Eastern and Western Europe we have chosen Unicsoft for that task.

What were your goals for this project?

Our objectives included:

1. Finding a way to make our proprietary algorithmic trading strategy drive user transactions within a global financial platform's API restrictions
2. Developing a web and mobile application for the users to opt in/out of the offering and to provide a user dashboard.
3. Integrating several pieces of software in the cloud.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had a few rounds of in-person interviews in Eastern and Western Europe that included representatives of Unicsoft. We had specific requirements in particular with the AWS serverless stack which was fairly new at the time, and Unicsoft demonstrated a good working knowledge of that stack.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They designed and developed web and mobile applications per our specifications and using the stack we have selected for the project. They were able to follow fairly rigid time constraints dictated by our marketing effort and developed the product in relatively short time.

Unicsoft engineers were constantly adopting to changes in the affiliate platform API we were integrating since that API was evolving in the process of our application development. All objectives listed above were met with the custom cloud-based event-driven software.

What was the team composition?

Unicsoft provided us with a Project Manager, several backend engineers, a web and a mobile front-end engineer, a designer, and an AWS devops specialist.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have launched the Hedged Bitcoin product at the end of 2018 and onboarded early users in January 2019. To date we have over 10,000 users who have authorized the application on a global financial platform. In the retrospect, we can claim we had a successful launch.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The Project Manager at Unicsoft successfully coped with a number of changing API requirements and motivated the engineers to keep refactoring their code in order to accommodate to those changes.

The team was managed in a transparent way and we were able to follow the development both in terms of the code and in terms of the user load. Overall, I can say the project management was excellent.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Familiarity with novel tools and the ability to evolve. We have seen quite often other companies trying to fit ones needs into their well established and somewhat outdated software development conveyor.

Unicsoft was the opposite, they were ready to adapt to new challenges as needed even if that meant more learning on their end.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There were a couple of times when we received invoices exceeding what was expected based on the estimates. Everything was clarified afterwards, but I wish the PM or Accounting would have given us a heads up that more expenses than originally estimated were coming our way 1-2 weeks ahead of the invoice.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I own the e-commerce site for Best License Plate Frames.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Unicsoft?

I contacted Unicsoft to build a new version of my site. Another firm initially developed it, and I was running into several issues, including some security concerns.

What were your goals for this project?

I wanted to retain the structure and logic of the older version of the site while making it more user-friendly. I was also hoping to fix the security deficiencies and upgrade our version of OpenCart.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

One of my close friends referred me to Unicsoft.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Unicsoft is maintaining the older version of our site, and working on designing and developing the newer version. They’re building new features for our website and have upgraded our version of OpenCart to the latest release.

What was the team composition?

The team includes a project manager, an OpenCart developer, and a QA specialist.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m very satisfied with their designs and the progress of development. I’m convinced that this new version of our site will grow my business and delight my current clients.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We have regular status calls via Google Hangouts, and when we have urgent issues to resolve, we can reach them on Skype. They're flexible and responsive, despite being located in a different time zone.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They continue to address my needs and answer all of my questions and concerns. Their team also provides reasonable time estimates and keeps their work under budget. Their professional approach to project management distinguishes them from vendors I’ve worked with in the past.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Recently, in addition to answering my requests, they’ve given me advice regarding business strategy and product improvement. I would like to see them expand the consultancy side of their services.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm CEO of a software development company. We mainly help a few clients develop and maintain applications to aid their business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Unicsoft?

One of my developers quit, which jeopardized the delivery of a project. My staff had neither the time nor the skill to take over.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to quickly catch up on development to keep the project going and please the client. 

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I hired Unicsoft a few years ago and was happy with the results, so I didn't consider other suppliers. I contacted Unicsoft and began the process quickly.

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

Two developers from Unicsoft worked with my developer. The project was fairly complex, including several standalone Node.js applications, a Laravel PHP application, MongoDB components, and a React.js application.

What was the team composition?

We had three or four developers. I served as project lead.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We're currently deploying and using this application. Our client has spent considerable time and money, but that's necessary to stay competitive.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We managed the project, using Trello for task management and Slack for communication. Their documentation was fairly good. We met several times to set up local development environments. 

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They produced two strong candidates, and we were happy to get help so quickly. They were genuinely interested in ensuring our satisfaction.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

This question isn't applicable to this project, since their developers were excellent.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder and CTO of Virgil Security, Inc.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Unicsoft?

We needed greater internal capacity to develop iOS and Android applications with a heavy security focus.

What were your goals for this project?

One of the key challenges was the audience and open source requirements for the projects. Our customers (software developers) demanded the highest quality of work, all of which was publicly available and accessible.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We met at a conference where we were looking for vendors to augment our team. Unicsoft was hungry for new business and their team was more than qualified for the project. Unicsoft’s responsiveness and technical abilities were the deciding factors for us. Our selection process included our CEO, CTO, and members of the technical staff.

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

They developed technical specifications and performed a business analysis to ensure that their product would meet our needs. Unicsoft developed iOS and Android applications with the highest security standards built in. They integrated security into the user flow, which was a massive requirement for us. Then, our team performed QA of the final results.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a project manager and three software developers. We also provided our own QA and documentation staff. The team we worked with grew over time and we didn’t play a role in assembling the team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to quickly grow our staff. As a startup, we couldn’t waste time looking to hire people in every part of our company. But by working with Unicsoft, we were able to rapidly grow our product line and engage with our core customers quicker.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The development was done according to the Scrum methodology and we were able to see the progress reports every two weeks.  

Unicsoft provided day-to-day management while we reviewed the code using our own staff. We used Jira and GitHub to track our progress and the project was subsequently open sourced and used by hundreds of thousands of developers worldwide.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their communication and technical ability stood out to us. Unicsoft was able to quickly work with us to define the necessary product and functionality and then dive in.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

No. Unicsoft performed as well as can be realistically expected.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Since 2007, our company has been helping accelerate forward-leaning companies like Facebook, Sunoco, MasterCard, and P&G through digital product innovation by defining, designing, and delivering highly useful and usable digital products for mobile, IoT, web, augmented and virtual reality, and AI bots. Unlike digital agencies, we are hyper-focused on delivering digital products at the speed of innovation. I am the company’s project delivery manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Unicsoft?

We hired Unicsoft to help us develop a B2C portal for dentists and their clients.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to deliver an advanced, cloud-based platform that enables dentists to easily design and manage their own membership plan for direct sale to their patients.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They are on our list of preferred partners and we work with them on regular basis.

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

They designed the majority of the platform’s backend.

What was the team composition?

We had our own development team that worked on different parts of the solution. Unicsoft augmented the team with one backend developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

No, not at this time.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Working within our internal project management system, Unicsoft provided a project manager to supervise their team members. 

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are talented software engineers with broad experience.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

They can always expand the breadth and depth of their knowledge and experience. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner and CEO of a manufacturer of garden log cabins and other wooden constructions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Unicsoft?

Each of our products is custom-made. We needed to develop a tool that would help us transfer specifications from the end customer to our team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Unicsoft designed and developed our iOS app.

What is the team composition?

I was in touch with their owner, a project manager and a developer. They have specialists for various programming languages.

How did you come to work with Unicsoft?

I posted the work on freelancing websites. I gave Unicsoft a test project and decided to work with them. Their qualifications and pricing matched my expectations.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Unicsoft 3–4 years ago. We have continued to improve and maintain the app.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m satisfied with the results. Unicsoft’s work has helped us to achieve our goals.

How did Unicsoft perform from a project management standpoint?

I never had to wait for an answer, and I’ve established good relationships with their team. I have visited their office personally. We mainly communicate through Skype and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The personal connections we’ve established help us find good solutions. Unicsoft has been our main supplier so far, and we’ve been happy with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I haven’t received any unfair treatment, and I have no reason to doubt their professionalism and competence level.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was recently the owner of an automotive software as a service (SaaS) analytics company until it was acquired.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Unicsoft?

We wanted to upgrade an out-of-date software product to the latest and most modern technology software stack.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I initially worked with their designers on re-engineering the visualization of the product. After that, we began a pretty aggressive project plan to create and complete that design using Angular PHP.

How did you come to work with Unicsoft?

I spent a couple months interviewing and discussing the project with some other teams. Unicsoft had some relevant experience in the legacy technology, and had done a conversion on similar software using similar technology. It was this experience that got them the job.

How much have you invested with them?

I spent about $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Unicsoft from January 2016–February 2018. The initial software build was about six months, but when we completed the process we decided to keep them on for other enhancements and requests.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I would say the biggest measurable result is that our company was acquired. This project was one of our flagship products, and their work was one part, at least, of that acquisition. We also had our largest sales year in 2017, which I think is attributable to the delivery of this project.

How did Unicsoft perform from a project management standpoint?

Our workflow was very effective. We communicated via Slack and other technology tools on a daily basis, and had monthly milestone check-ins.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I think that they have a can-do attitude. We threw a lot of requests and a lot of very specific timing requirements at them. They were pretty adaptable and willing to put in extra hours to service us.