Unified Infotech

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Director of Marketing at eShipper which is an online shipping platform and 3PL

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Unified Infotech, and what were your goals?

We had a vendor prior to Unified Infotech but we needed a better team to support with improving our SEO, fixing/cleaning up our WP backend, developing pages with somewhat complex use-cases and more. The UI team was also able to help us mobile-optimize our website to improve the UX and our SEO performance.

SOLUTION

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

We were referred to them by a client

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

It's an ongoing engagement - they've touched pretty much every part of our website already and will be assisting us in migrating to a new website template with updated content this year

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

We had our point person, a project manager and a developer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Improved Core Web Vitals results from FAIL on both Mobile & Desktop to PASS on both Mobile & Desktop, with Desktop reaching a maximum rating of 98/100

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

Projects are managed through GitHub, weekly calls are scheduled with our in-house Web Developer, monthly calls with myself (Director) + Digital Marketing Manager + Web Developer. Monthly performance reports are always sent on time and timelines seem to be managed quite well. Overall very happy with this aspect.

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

They work with us like true partners - they don't try to gouge us for more money, in fact, they're happy to train my in-house Web Developer to take on and execute tasks himself, so they can work on other high priority or highly impactful projects.

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

Anything which I would've mentioned last year is already being addressed or has been addressed already

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of an entertainment company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Unified Infotech?

We hired them for their web development services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Unified Infotech handles our web development needs. They’ve helped us redesign our website, including the user journey. Additionally, they’ve modified some information and features that needed to be corrected. Some of the features of the site include user registration and payment processing.

What is the team composition?

We work with 4–5 people from their development team.

How did you come to work with Unified Infotech?

We found them through an online search. We chose to work with them because they seemed very knowledgeable.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve completed all the tasks, and we’re potentially planning to work with them on other development projects.

How did Unified Infotech perform from a project management standpoint?

We mainly communicate with them via Zoom. In terms of cost, they’re a little pricey but willing to work on a compromise.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They divide tasks into different positions, which is impressive.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be descriptive.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the owner of a company that offers online tax prep services to clients based in the US.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Unified Infotech, and what were your goals?

We hired Unified Infotech to build an online tax prep platform for us. Our goals were to get the tax prep software up and running in just 4 months.

SOLUTION

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

After interviewing Unified Infotech, we decided that they had the best team to do this work.

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

Scope of work included the entire web application development including both frontend and backend aspects. We provided the Unified Infotech team with certain portions of the backend code and they were required to integrate these into the architecture. Deployment and QA/QC was also part of the work involved.

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

A project manager was our main point of contact. He was extremely helpful, smart, and diligent throughout the process. Several team members from the Unified Infotech team also joined the weekly calls that were set up by Unified Infotech to track progress.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Clients loved the design and the performance of the web application that was built.

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

Project management was done in Confluence. Unified infotech shared a link to a Confluence page with us where we could track progress whenever required. Documentation was well created and maintained.

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

The quality of work is great and developers are experienced.

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

Overall, the experience was great and there were no major areas of improvement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Funeral Insurance Assignment Funding for funeral homes and cemeteries nationwide. Director of Sales & Marketing

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Unified Infotech, and what were your goals?

EFF hired UI to redesign and develop their website it to accurately present who they are, what they do, and what makes them different, i.e., their unique value proposition, in an effort to raise awareness, engagement and conversions in the form of contact from registrations and in-bound phone calls.

SOLUTION

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

We decided based on experience/knowledge, best value for our budget and liked the support/large team that would be available.

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

• Define/validate platform and business goals
• Technical review of proposed documentation
• Finalizing the required features/functionalities to meet business objectives
• User persona definition
• Epic identification and mapping – A list of epics & stories under them
• Define user journeys
• Wireframes
• User story definitions
• Creation of the software requirements specification (SRS) document in user story format
• Mapping out the list of 3rd Party Integrations to be used for development
• Bi-lateral brainstorming sessions for future additions

CREATIVE DESIGN & MOCKUPS

• Leverage existing brand/style guidelines to create custom UI designs to complement your brand image, user engagement and experience.

DEVELOPMENT

• Build your optimized website to engage and convert users. The SRS documentation defined/validated during Discovery & Planning served as the technical guidelines during development.

QUALITY ASSURANCE, TESTING & LAUNCH

• Defined software quality assurance (SQA) process in the organization which assures that all software engineering processes, methods, activities and work items are monitored and comply against the defined standards.

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

12 - 13 people all from Account mangers, design, development

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've had 4 true website leads since the launch in March and a higher percentage of our Funeral Homes enrolling on our website whether rather than our hard copy forms/

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

Weekly meetings were scheduled with progress discussed. Paul our account Manger and Santanu would lead the meetings and kept communication simple and easy.

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

How cohesive and well the group worked together. Even though there were several people working on our website, everyone was always up to speed and knowledgeable about progress and deliverables. They created an environment that was productive when feedback or concerns were needed. They were prompt and communicated very well.

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

One thing when we launched we had a couple of bugs and it would have been nice to have had a developer available on our USA time but we understood and they were very prompt to help with any bugs once they were aware.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The company is a tech startup I founded as president and CEO in May 2020. We tried to use predefined fields and AI to make it easier for people to find jobs. EmploySee was shut down in March primarily due to Unified Infotech's mismanagement of the project impacting other contracts we had in place.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Unified Infotech, and what were your goals?

We hired Unified Infotech to develop a list of features and functionalities prepared by our operations and graphic design teams.

SOLUTION

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

We chose Unified Infotech because they had experience in our industry and quoted us at a very low rate, which I was told was because they outsource labor. However, their fees tripled so we were misled.

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

First, we provided Unified Infotech with a detailed list of the features and functionalities to be developed. They gave us a SOW which we agreed upon. We use a combination of many technologies for our platform, such as Laravel and Javascript. Deliverables were supposed to be provided periodically, and the steps were supposed to be followed in order so we could review each deliverable. Despite my attempts to ask the project manager for updates, I was told everything was going according to plan when in reality they had already exceeded the project's budget within the first month and were not following the contract language in our agreement.

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

On a daily basis, I was in contact with 4 people: The Project Manager, the development team manager, the frontend team manager, and the backend team manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After working with Unified Infotech, we were forced to shut down our company. Their mismanagement of the project cost us 314% more than they quoted us, and the project took 145% longer than they quoted us, both of which directly impacted other contracts with other agencies with mandatory monthly payments.

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

Unified Infotech set up our team with two communication platforms, which we only used on 6 occasions at most. The project was ultimately handled via email, making it very difficult to track comments and instructions related to specific subject matters.

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

What I found most unique about this company is that the outsourced developers were actually great to work with and spoke very good English. Any and all discontent with Unified Infotech is solely directed at management and administration. I wish I could hire their developers internally.

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

Improved communication between teams: There were many instances where I had to repeat things on multiple calls or correct people because not everyone was on the same page. More diligent administration. Less bias: I believe my age may have been a factor in why my expressed concerns were not taken seriously until the problem had escalated to Unified Infotech's Board of Directors.

Company Responses

The vendor responded on July 4, 2022.

We are extremely surprised and shocked to see this rating, as the client had provided a 5-star rating during the final handover and feedback document. We have the document and would be happy to show it to anyone interested.

Firstly we would like to thank the client for giving due praise to our Development Team for their excellent execution of the job as specified by the client, despite Change Requests after the initial plan and estimate were agreed upon.

We understand and confirm that the client did not receive the revised estimate immediately after the Change Requests. The reason for this is we did not receive the complete set of design pages from the client. We were waiting for the missing pages and the estimate wasn’t shared. At the same point of time, we later gave the client the option of discounting the amount that went over his budget, but he went ahead and made the complete payment

After all the diligence and praiseworthy work from the Unified Development Team, as described by the client, it is incredibly unfair to receive such a low rating and disparaging comments from the client. We request the client politely to give us a fair rating and review for the work he received from us.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We provide a software solution for stylists, freelancers and small businesses to manage their appointment scheduling and market their business using our marketplace.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Unified Infotech, and what were your goals?

We are a brand new startup and we hired Unified Infotech to build out our entire software. We provided the figma designs and they were hired to build the software for web and mobile. Our goal was to have a functioning product that we could take to market.

SOLUTION

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

We selected this company based on the pricing which was affordable as well as reviews we had seen online and lastly, the promise of a quick turnaround time.

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

They were to deliver our software using Node js and Angular tech stack. Our mobile application was built using react native tech stack. We divided the project into milestones which were all to be completed within a timeline of 5-6 months.

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

We had 6 developers working for us during the time of the project. This consisted of frontend, backend and react native developers as well as a project manager and QA tester

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Unfortunately the project that was delivered to us with riddled with bugs and did not function as expected. We gave the company many additional months to fix the issues - ultimately we went from thinking the project would be finished within 5-6 months to spending over a year.

After which we were still unable to launch our product due to many issues with the code and standard of software that was delivered. Unified Infotech claimed to have in-house testers but there were many bugs and clear items that were overlooked.

We ultimately had to hire a new team and spend tens of thousands more just to fix all of the issues with the product. Upon doing a code review we found many instances of bad code and overall a poor standard of work.

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

We used slack to communicate as well as google sheets for tracking bugs and issues and lastly we housed project specifications on Confluence.

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

Initially, we loved the communication; however, several team members left shortly after the project started which seemed to cause confusion with the teams

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

The project timeline should be adhered to and if there are complications this should be communicated to the client. Additionally, there should be actual testers involved in each project to ensure the standard of work delivered is of the highest quality as our product had many obvious bugs and issues that were overlooked.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of PinDo Inc. We’re an online service marketplace.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Unified Infotech?

We hired them to build our platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Unified started with design. Once that was completed, they built the platform in a microsystems architecture approach. There were a number of technologies used. Primarily, it’s a LAMP stack, but they’ve also used different JavaScript systems for both the front and backend, which is React, Angular, and Node.

What is the team composition?

Right now, our main point of contact is Indranil (Head of Operations). We’ve been working with them for a few years now, so our point of contact has changed several times.

How did you come to work with Unified Infotech?

We originally found them online. One of the things we liked about them over the competitors is that they had some presence in the US. 

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent about $120,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since August 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t have any metrics yet, as we’re still trying to get the project off the ground.

How did Unified Infotech perform from a project management standpoint?

Unified communicates well. We’ve been working together a long time, so we’ve learned to communicate with them effectively. We use JIRA.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Unified has a robust team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It took us a little while to get better with QA testing, but we worked with them to get there.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure your documentation is very clear, your standards are in place, and that everybody is on the same page.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of eBinaa.com, a construction-services-related website.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Unified Infotech?

I went to them to build an e-commerce website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Unified Infotech is designing and developing my website. They’re using AngularJS and Node.js.

What is the team composition?

I work with a project manager.

How did you come to work with Unified Infotech?

I found them on Upwork and vetted them through Clutch.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent about $35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with Unified Infotech in December 2019, and we have an ongoing time and materials agreement.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Although we had a few issues earlier on in the project, they took my first Clutch review seriously and responded well to my feedback. The CEO of Unified Infotech took immediate action toward my project and replaced the project manager, UI/UX developer, and business analyst we initially worked with. Then they brought a senior designer on board to ensure that we get the quality of work we expect.

As a result, development improved drastically. They committed to making updates and fixing bugs quickly. Since then, they’ve delivered everything I wanted, and almost everything was on time.

How did Unified Infotech perform from a project management standpoint?

Our new project manager is prompt and has resolved a lot of the issues we had earlier in the engagement. He established communication channels and scoped the project well so we had a set timeline. We used email, Slack, Zoom, Jira, and Confluence to communicate with them and manage the project.

On top of that, he followed up every meeting with minutes that highlighted what actions needed to be taken next, ensuring that everyone knew exactly what to do and when things were due. It became easier to interact with the development team; I knew exactly what they needed from me in order for them to deliver on time.

They were very timely, but they communicated with me whenever there was a problem. The project manager was very clear on what they needed from me and how it would impact the timeline.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed by their persistence and knowledge. Our new project manager gives excellent advice and presents many well-informed solutions. When I give them a task to work on, they think critically about how each solution will affect the cost and quality.

Compared to our previous project manager, the one we work with now is well-informed of the possibilities and solutions. He provides very valuable advice.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Initially, I had communication issues with them and I didn’t think they were qualified. However, their performance has consistently improved since I left a review on Clutch in September 2020.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I would recommend them for development, but not for UI/UX design. Although they have the capacity to deliver a good design, it’s not outstanding.  

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was published on September 23, 2020. 

Founder, Construction Tech Startup

Construction

1-10 Employees

Muscat, Oman

$10,000 to $49,999

Dec. 2019 - Ongoing

Project summary: 

Unified Infotech is designing and developing an e-commerce website for a construction tech startup. They conducted front- and backend development.

Feedback summary: 

At the start of the collaboration, Unified Infotech was quick to fix bugs. As the relationship went on, they lacked a plan and didn't follow through on their promises. The team hasn't been available or responsive, making communication challenging. This review includes the vendor's response.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a construction tech startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Unified Infotech?

We needed an e-commerce website designed and developed.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built the website from scratch doing both front- and backend development. They used Angular.js and Node.js for development.

What is the team composition?

I interact with the CEO and a project manager who oversees the developers.

How did you come to work with Unified Infotech?

I found them on Upwork and decided to hire them based on their Clutch profile.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent about $25,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in December 2019, and it is currently ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They did well initially; however, they didn’t have a clear plan or manage the process well. I had given them some requirements, and we were supposed to discuss UI/UX after they did development but we never discussed it. They didn’t provide the design experience they’d promised, and merely put the functions required. When they first launched the site, they were quick to fix any bugs, but they slacked off as the engagement continued.

How did Unified Infotech perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project manager had meetings with the developers. The business analyst prepared documents with me for development, which were converted into proposals of images for my feedback. They were not available or responsive, and I had no direct contact with anyone. Communication was done via email, Slack, and Zoom video calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their developers are very good, have good attitudes, and tried to be helpful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Upper management needs to improve greatly regarding the management of projects and they also need to finish projects. They told me this could be done in three months but weren’t able to do it, and they eventually said they needed the project split into two phases. They want additional fees for the second phase, but they aren’t responding and are making communication a struggle for me. The team also needs to be more systematic in taking requirements and submitting more documents that are properly structured.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Only go to them for development, not UI/UX. You should hire a different company for that.

Star Ratings

Overall rating: 2.5

Quality: 3

Schedule: 1

Cost: 4

Willing to refer: 2

The vendor responded on September 30, 2020.

With due respect, this is a completely false and untruthful allegation. We believe in partnership in every project we undertake. Being a partner for the client's project, after accommodating several change requests to the initially approved scope of work within the original cost, the client wanted further functional changes at no additional cost, to which we had to disagree. We explained to them the budget constraint on our end, but they wanted to create pressure points to make us agree to their unjustified demands. We rather take our first negative feedback than to work for free with an unreasonable client because that's against the spirit of true partnership.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a pharmaceutical manufacturer and supplier. I’m the manager of business application for the commercial and technical services space within our company. That involves supporting and managing legacy systems and new applications. I have a team of project managers, business analysts, and developers that supports CRM systems, marketing automation, and websites in each of those areas.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Unified Infotech?

We were looking for a frontend web development partner to create a portal to complement our marketing website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our team was handling backend implementation internally, so we needed a partner that could take on the UI and frontend development work as well as collaborate in integrating our APIs with their frontend screens. They used Angular and React to produce the platform. We aimed to focus on a serverless component to avoid dealing with server maintenance. They addressed that requirement in their work as well.

Throughout the engagement, we gave them requirements but they were responsible for putting them into practice on the frontend to create a site that would require less maintenance. That required technical knowledge and capabilities with Rest APIs and transaction-level interactions.     

We also required that they be able to support this system for the long term and assist with new initiatives, maintaining uniform designs as the portal is enhanced over time. 

What is the team composition?

We were in contact with a project manager, UI specialist, and a handful of other technical development resources throughout the project. 

How did you come to work with Unified Infotech?

I found them on Clutch, and their reviews helped us identify them as a strong candidate for a partnership. We hoped to hire a company of a similar size that could handle QA of their screens. It was apparent that they were capable of fulfilling our needs. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent under $50,000 on their work at this point in time.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since June 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were easy and flexible to work with. When our timelines changed, they were always able to accommodate our needs. Sometimes there was some confusion in the handoff between our teams, but their design work was very smooth. However, they didn’t provide the level of technical guidance we were expecting. Other than those growing pains, the quality of their work has been pretty strong. 

How did Unified Infotech perform from a project management standpoint?

Our timelines and deliverables changed, so we caused any delays. They supported us throughout that, which was appreciated. Sometimes, communication was not as clear regarding roles and responsibilities for certain tasks. After bringing that issue to their attention, the problem was resolved. We started out using Jira, which has helped us tremendously in managing releases, production requests, and feedback. Jira played a role in solving some of our initial communication struggles.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate the connection we have with their business development manager. Additionally, they were able to scale rapidly to fit our changing needs. That flexibility was appreciated. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be good to see them proactively provide more clarification on roles and responsibilities from their team and what is expected of the customers. Understanding their team activity more thoroughly would be ideal.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a company that produces educational content for medical students.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Unified Infotech?

We needed a new website. Our old site was too slow and clunky.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They created an entirely new website for us on Node.js. Now, we have videos you can watch and organize into a playlist. There are also practice questions to track individual performance.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a team of 4–5 programmers. One was the lead and others were working under that person.

How did you come to work with Unified Infotech?

We found them on Google. We also looked at other companies that streamed videos and looked at the vendor they used. We narrowed it down to three companies and they each gave us a formal proposal. We liked Unified Infotech the best.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2019, and we launched in August 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measure success based on strong sales, which we’ve achieved. We also measure success based on complaints and how quickly they turn around requests for changes to the site. With all three of those metrics in mind, their work was a success.

How did Unified Infotech perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very good. The owner gave us his cell number and he joined many of our calls, especially around our site’s launch. We used Slack for communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s clear that they know what they’re doing. They have a lot of people with a lot of experience. They’re very knowledgeable and resourceful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s a bit of a time difference and we don’t work at the same time. If there’s a problem they don’t typically have the whole team working in the middle of the night on their end. I don’t know if they could fix that.