Valtech

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the VP of digital for Connected Fitness at Under Armour.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Spire Digital?

Under Armour’s client is a large international consumer electronics company that developed a GPS fitness tracking watch. We needed help developing a web and mobile app that would allow consumers to connect their watch with our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Spire Digital provides full-service development support and helps with digital strategy. They’ve taken the lead in managing the client's needs. They helped create the requirements and wireframes for an Android, iOS, and web app. The team designed and developed the app, and they also provided testing services.

They wrote the iOS app in Objective-C and the Android app in Java. My team provided Spire Digital with API documentation, and they built the app so that it would strategically integrate with our platform.

What is the team composition?

I worked with a product lead. There were ten people on their team.

How did you come to work with Spire Digital?

Over the last fifteen years, I’ve worked with Spire Digital in different capacities. They have a really good reputation as a digital product firm, both locally and nationally.

How much have you invested with them?

Under Armour spent between $1 million–$5 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

My company started working with Spire Digital in May 2015, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

At the time that I left Under Armour, there were more than 300,000 users on the platform.

How did Spire Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

We worked in an agile methodology. Spire Digital was excellent at meeting deadlines and following the requirements. We used Slack for daily communication and Zoom or Google Hangouts for our weekly check-ins and standups. Their team deployed Jira for managing day-to-day user stories and issues.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve gone on to work with them on other big projects. I’m a long-time fan and repeat customer. I have nothing but good things to say about Spire Digital.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re growing so fast that it creates a challenging environment for them, but they do a good job of hiding that from clients.

BACKGROUND

Describe your business and what you do there.

We are a healthcare company made up of different hospitals, a traveler assistance company, and a life and work insurance service.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Valtech?

We hired them to develop three platforms—one for patient management on our website, one for digital sales, and one for our partner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built platforms in .NET, C Sharp, and React.

What is the team composition?

We worked with around 15 people.

How did you come to work with Valtech? 

We started working with them through another company with whom we had developed different kinds of projects. Later on, that company was acquired by Valtech, and we continued working with them under that name.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent about 24 million Argentine pesos (about $400,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them about three years ago and continue working together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Some of the platforms worked well immediately and others required some adjustments to reach the expected results. The sales and hospitals platforms have performed well from the start; however, the app for administrative attention required some extra work.

How did Valtech perform from a project management standpoint?

We had some issues with meeting deadlines, although these issues always have different causes. Some of the issues were employee rotation in Valtech and their project management skills. They are great at the technical aspect, but for project management, we had to make some changes. They have to improve their skills in that area.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The UX has improved a lot and that has given us great added value. The quality of the final product is very good.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the general manager at a flagship airline.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Valtech?

We have a project for digitizing our company, so they were hired to create a new website and app for us. We also have a couple of systems that are managed by another company that we're replacing with our own, so that is something Valtech will also be helping with.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They used Java, Azure’s cloud and other trending technologies to create a website and app for us. They're also assisting in replacing and updating our systems. 

What is the team composition?

I am directly in touch with 4–5 people but they have more than 30 people working on the project.

How did you come to work with Valtech? 

Valtech was already working with the company when I arrived. They only thing I did was assign them this new project, but they were hired by the previous administration.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in February 2018 and they continue working on the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

To me, this was the first time in all my years working that we established a deadline to launch a digital project and it was met. That was a great success for the company. We already launched the web and the app and have an integration project on payment and fraud prevention that is wrapping up, which is great for us. They have been meeting all deadlines and expectations.

How did Valtech perform from a project management standpoint?

They used Jira for project management, we are happy with that. I talk to them personally for follow-ups and haven’t had any issues. All of our deadlines have been met, so far. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their managers are very available and flexible. Whenever we ask them to make any adjustments, they do it eagerly. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

As always, I would always like to have everything ready faster and have more people working on it, but it has still gone smoothly.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CTO of OneAssist, a consumer services company providing insurance backed services to consumers. We assist in cases of misused bank cards, damaged mobile phones, and broken-down appliances.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Valtech?

We needed help with software development, specifically to develop a chat system.

What were your goals for this project?

To implement a high-performance chat system that is extendable and scalable with our growth.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We’d worked with them on another assignment during which their customer focus and work was good, so we chose to partner with them again.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They studied and implemented an open-source chat system called Live Helper Chat. Our in-house team developed the consumer-facing systems, then the backend chat framework was implemented by Valtech. They provided engineering, QA and project management services.

What was the team composition?

The team was comprised of a project manager, a QA and three software engineers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The main idea behind a chat system was to deliver a better consumer experience than we can over phone calls. In that aim, the chat system met its objectives as consumer feedback on chat is far better than it is on call. More widely, it’s improved the cost of our operations.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They arranged the project management and provided a very effective manager who planned things to the finest detail. The project was tracked well, and they highlighted risks throughout the lifecycle. The project manager was probably the best performer in the project.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

There’s not much to differentiate teams in the Indian IT services landscape as the talent pool is same. However, in case of Valtech, their management’s focus and the importance they placed on client issues really stood out.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They should improve the quality of their engineers and their coding standards.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I’m the director of brand and creative at an in-flight internet and entertainment company. We service commercial and private aviation around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Spire Digital?

When we hired Spire Digital, we were a very small team. We didn’t have a proper UX person, and our digital team was particularly tiny. We brought Spire on because we’d never done a usability study with our website. We wanted to establish the personas of our site users and understand their goals. We also wanted to see if users were satisfied with our website. At the time, we had no baseline of insights or metrics.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Spire helped us with a usability project, and we retained them to provide some recommendations for how we could improve our site. During the usability phase, Spire guided us through participant selection, telling us what the cohort makeup should be in terms of customers or prospects. They gave us estimates for how many people we should recruit and gave us strategies—incentives and that sort of thing—for reaching out. The team even wrote down the questions that we used in the study. Since I have experience with copywriting and customer experience, I collaborated with them to solidify these questions.

After the usability test was complete, they provided a combination of strategy and design work for our site. Their designers sent us wireframes and prototype UX designs to help us visualize their proposals. We’d already mocked up some designs—wireframes and some high-resolution UI designs—of top-level parent pages. They were mostly conceptual and were based on our industry knowledge, intuitions, and assumptions. We handed these designs to Spire and revisited them with the lessons we’d learned from the usability test. Spire took them as inspiration and guidance and then built on them.

The deliverables from the project were Sketch files and strategy documents. We hired a couple of developers and a web strategist to implement their ideas. We’re planning to redevelop the site in-house.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with three people from Spire. Becky (UX Product Owner, Spire Digital) was our main point of contact, and we also spoke with Ayla (Digital Strategy Manager, Spire Digital) and another designer. I served with one of my colleagues as their points of contact.

How did you come to work with Spire Digital?

We had a relationship with Spire before this project. Our company had used them previously on a number of projects, so I was aware of them and had heard positive reviews of their work. I also knew one of their executives on a personal level. I reached out to him and offered to have Spire pitch for the project. They were the clear winner amongst the other RFP respondents.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in October 2018 and had their final deliverables by February 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re very happy with what Spire provided to us. They took us where we needed to go. Their team used elements from our previous designs and refined our ideas to make them better. They surprised us with how quickly they were able to improve upon our ideas.

Since we received their Sketch files, we’ve been working on our own to develop their solutions. We do check in with them from time to time. As a creative, I think it’s very powerful when an internal team is genuinely excited about an external partner’s work. Everything we’ve shown to our team has been met with positivity and praise. Our team can’t wait to implement their designs.

How did Spire Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They certainly met our needs in terms of project management. We have several layers of reviews and approval at this company, which made the project take longer than expected. I didn’t fault them for that or the quiet periods when we had to reach out to them. This is a part of every agency-client relationship, and I’m not surprised that they moved on to other work and waited for us to ping them. Becky and Ayla were always super responsive. They got us where we needed to be in a short timeframe.

We used email pretty frequently, but I pushed to have more face-to-face meetings. We ended up doing weekly, in-person check-in sessions. Some weeks we would have a long list of items to discuss, and it was vastly easier to do that in person. Typically, we would drive to their office, and other times they would come to us. I was really happy that they were so willing to meet us at our office. As great as Slack and email can be, in-person meetings are sometimes much more efficient.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were always willing to go above and beyond. They knew that extra effort on their end would help us full take control of the project. Spire also understood our brand and our needs. Feedback from my team has been positive all around. The quality of their work and the processes they used were just fabulous.

Something else that separated Spire from others was their willingness to tell us when they thought we were wrong. As a former agency owner, I know how alluring it can be to say yes to clients, but that’s now how Spire worked. They firmly believed in trusting the data, and, when we wanted to go a different way, they wouldn’t budge. It was unsettling at first, but we eventually came to appreciate their insight and expertise. We had many frank conversations with their team, and they always left the decision up to us. I thought their feedback process was really impressive.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing that I can identify as a mistake or a problem. The only change I would make is to look critically at the review and approval process. In hindsight, I would’ve wanted them to hold us to milestones because that would’ve made the project go much faster. That’s less of a comment on them, and more of a comment on our company culture.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I’m the senior manager for lead generation at Inseego. We focus on industrial IoT products and produce the latest 5G technology devices to cell phone carriers worldwide.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Spire Digital?

We’re a relatively new company, in that our organization went through many iterations before we became Inseego. This current iteration is a combination of all of the companies that we’ve acquired, and, because of this, we realized that we needed help in establishing best practices to move forward.

At the time when we hired Spire Digital, which was before I joined, we only had two marketing people that were being stretched thin with limited resources. Another person was brought on for channel marketing, and she also became overwhelmed. The next choice was to bring in a lead generation expert—myself—and scale up that process.

Now there’s five of us, and we needed support from an external team to help us scale our success. We hired Spire to come in and do a small amount of work, and that relationship has since grown to include more and more projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Spire is helping me develop a strategy for our new website and lead generation campaigns. The team is breaking down, piece by piece, the types of things that we need to be successful, especially in how we relate to clients. 

They have provided wireframes that include examples of potential changes, which we can edit and comment on. They’ve also created new landing pages and copy that fit with our current campaigns. In addition to web design, the team sets up email campaigns for our channel partners that typically include three or four emails. They develop the cadence for those campaigns and find relevant images to use. I deal with them exclusively on lead generation, with some minor copywriting. Our senior director of marketing engages them on product updates for our 5g and wireless devices and our channel marketing director engages them for our IoT product line.

What is the team composition?

I talk with about three people on a day-to-day basis. We have a dedicated point of contact, a digital strategy manager, and a PPC specialist.

How did you come to work with Spire Digital?

My coworker found Spire before I started.

How much have you invested with them?

Our retainer is $5,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2018, and the relationship has continued since that time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their services have helped our team a great deal. Spire is fully ingrained with our team, and I sleep better at night knowing that our projects will actually get done because of their help.

How did Spire Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

Spire actually meets and exceeds their deadlines. For example, let's say we wanted something at the end of the week. In that case, Spire would give it to us tomorrow. It’s like magic for us, but it's really just because they know what they’re doing. They have every process already set up. That's the great thing about working with a partner like Spire.

I’m their point of contact, at least in terms of managing the relationship. It’s been really fruitful, mainly because I talk to them every day via email. I’ll sometimes text my point of contact for more urgent things, and we have weekly meetings for status updates.

They’re willing to provide me frequent status updates, so it’s been really good working with them. They’re like another set of hands for me, and other people on my team work with them if a project needs heavy lifting. I know that if I’m ever overwhelmed, I can always count on Spire Digital to help get the project done.

What did you find most impressive about them?

A couple of weeks ago, they gave us a workshop about scaling and best practices. It was actually more of a fact-finding mission for them so that they could provide better help. They ended up giving us a proposal for changes to our website that we hope to implement. That was very noteworthy, because we hadn’t solidified a path for our website, and Spire gave us a level of effort that was beyond what we expected.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were some growing pains in the beginning, but that’s true for any new relationship. I heard about these issues when I started, but right now, everything is very smooth. The cadence of communication has improved because we now act like they’re a part of our team. They’re very receptive to our feedback because they know what we need and what we want. Everything can be improved, but we’ve gotten to the point where our communication has become fine-tuned.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a startup company that’s about to launch an app for making appointments.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Frakton?

They developed our entire project from scratch. We were originally working with another company in Kosovo, but they got into a partnership with a US company so they couldn’t handle our project anymore.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Along with Frakton, we developed wireframes based on our ideas. The app was developed using Xcode for iOS and Java for Android. We don’t have any API integrations yet, but we’re going to make one within the next six months.

Users can sign in to the platform with SMS authentication, where they have access to a contact list and a calendar and can take pictures with their device’s camera. They can set appointment dates, calculate the best options, and share them with other people to vote on.

We also have an integrated database with pictures and videos. Appointments have postcards that can be sent to invitees, which are taken from a public library.

What is the team composition?

There’ve been some fluctuations in project management, but the developers have been consistent. We have one Android, one iOS, and one backend developer, and we’ve been working with a new manager for a month, who’s very professional. Frakton also brought in a couple of designers from a company they collaborate with.

How did you come to work with Frakton?

We were put in touch with them by our previous partner.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve paid them €25,000 (approximately $28,000 USD) so far, and the overall cost of the project will be around €40,000 (approximately $45,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in March 2018, and the project is ongoing. We plan to launch the product in 4–6 weeks, and we’re quite confident about it.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

So far, we have a closed beta that is being used by around five people. We’ve made some changes during the last week and are waiting for the latest release, which should be done in the next two weeks.

Throughout, they’ve taken care of our change requests and have employed some QA on their end. The people who’ve used the app like it, and we like it as well. We’re completely convinced that it will turn out as we imagined.

How did Frakton perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed perfectly, especially with the new project manager, who’s very fast. They’re reliable, they never missed an appointment, and they’re always on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re a startup and this was my first project, so I don’t have a comparison point. We have very high standards and still found them to be reliable. One of our members has worked with them and also been impressed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I'm completely convinced by their performance.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Close communication, written communication, and sketches are important. Misunderstandings are always possible, especially when working remotely, but even though I’ve never met Frakton personally, everything has worked well. We’re using Slack, which is perfect.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Achroma, a bias-free, digital mortgage marketplace.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Spire Digital?

I wanted to build a solution that would help eliminate discrimination in mortgage lending.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Spire Digital design and developed the MVP for a responsive web-based platform. They built a PostgreSQL and NodeJS backend with a React Native frontend. The MVP allows borrowers to search and filter lenders and loan products that suit their financial and credit needs. Upon completing a loan application, the anonymization engine redacts key information and supplants that with externally-based data to ensure strong underwriting process while removing the possibility of bias.

What is the team composition?

The project manager also served as the product lead. We worked with a backend developer, a QA team, and then a few frontend developers depending on the stage of the project.

How did you come to work with Spire Digital?

I knew the CEO and we started talking about my vision for Achorma. I hired his team to build the first release version because he and his agency had a demonstrated track record of delivering digital products for early-stage companies.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2018, completed the MVP in January, and the partnership continues.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t plan to release the product for another month. However, Spire Digital has already proved to be a valuable asset. They guided development, leading with a vision and perspective that yielded great insight into the early startup days.

How did Spire Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

Spire Digital was effective in distilling requirements into a great MVP.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The engagement helped open doors for us as a new company. Their level of service added a value rarely seen in agency relationships.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Clients that can take an active and engaged role in the day-to-day of the project will be rewarded through a collaboration that will exceed expectations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing assistant at NewCloud Networks. We’re a custom cloud computing and communications company that’s been in business for nearly 30 years. I support our marketing director with designing landing pages, writing blogs, managing social media, and anything else related to digital marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Spire Digital?

We had a pretty old website with low traffic and conversion rates and an unclear layout for our content. Users couldn’t find the information they were looking for, and we needed an outside partner to help us improve the site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially hired Spire Digital to completely revamp our website. Their team analyzed our original platform and identified any pain points or specific areas for improvement. After researching industry best practices and analyzing our competitors, they optimized both the front- and backend systems. It’s based on a custom WordPress template, and the frontend was coded with PHP, CSS, and HTML. The team also implemented a few SEO strategies to improve our search rankings. Spire Digital continues to support our web development and digital marketing efforts.

What is the team composition?

I worked with a small team from Spire Digital at the beginning of the engagement to put together a set of wireframes for the new site. Then, I collaborated with a programmer on the technical aspects of the work. Since then, my main point of contact has been Ayla (Digital Marketing Leader, Spire Digital). She helps us continue to optimize and enhance the site to increase our performance and visibility.

How did you come to work with Spire Digital?

NewCloud Networks was working with Spire Digital before I started my position. We continue to work with them for their personalized and hands-on approach to customer service and their extensive industry experience.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in August 2018, and we launched the website in November 2018. We’re currently doing some A/B testing for specific calls to action (CTAs), images, and wording to make sure the content is resonating with our audience. We plan to finish up completely in about three months.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Spire Digital’s work has generated a lot more traffic to the website, and we’re moving closer to our goal conversion rate of 2%. The updated design sets the foundation for a smooth user experience. We track visitors as they navigate through our site, and it’s clear that they’re finding the information and content they need.

How did Spire Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They kept us on schedule throughout the project, and we launched on time. Now in the testing process, we’re still on track to meet all of our milestones. Spire Digital communicates responsively and quickly addresses any of our questions or concerns, even if they’re outside the scope of our partnership. During the development process, we met in-person weekly, but now we check-in every other week. In the meantime, we speak through email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

First, I very much appreciated their level of professionalism, especially when they visited our office to collaborate more closely with our team. Second, I’m continually impressed by their technical and industry expertise. Our website is great. It exceeds every expectation we set at the beginning of the project. Spire Digital leveraged their experience from past partnerships and knowledge of best practices with modern technology to deliver a top-notch product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, it’s been a seamless engagement. If anything, I would’ve liked a bit more guidance throughout the development process. My team doesn’t have much technical background, so they could’ve shared more details about their work in each stage. At most, there was a minor miscommunication, but we were all on the same page generally.

Any advice for potential customers?

I certainly recommend the Spire Digital team to anyone looking for web development or digital marketing help. They’re extremely valuable. Even if you hire them to complete a specific task, they’re willing to assist in other areas as well. The team is friendly, responsive, and involved. They’re capable of improving many aspects of a single business.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the IT manager at Ovation Incentives, a global provider of incentives programs for multinational companies. Our main product is a universal voucher system, which users can redeem in our system for any retail voucher. We operate in 100 countries with multiple currencies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Melon?

We needed an IT team to help us with the development of our website application and provide technical support.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their primary task was development. They also created APIs to enable our clients to connect their systems to our system. They used Microsoft .NET and MySQL. Additionally, they also developed an internal reporting tool using SQL Server Reporting Services. Our products need constant development so they did changes and maintenance.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a couple of project managers and dedicated developers. They also had a QA engineer, which was helpful.

How did you come to work with Melon?

I used to work in Bulgaria as a developer and project manager and knew that they were good, which is why I chose them to be our dedicated partner.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from December 2009 until July 2014. We now have an IT team in-house and don’t outsource anymore.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Without this app, we wouldn’t exist.

How did Melon perform from a project management standpoint?

I was the project manager on our side. On a monthly basis, I sent them the specifications and details about what needed to be changed or improved. We used Mantis. We worked well together. They’re exceptionally friendly and they completed the projects professionally.

For our main project, there were no scheduling problems and they completed the work within our deadlines. On another project, the main developer left the company in the middle of the project so they needed extra time, but it wasn’t a big delay, and it worked out for us. Even though it took them additional time, they stayed within the fixed-price budget.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We wanted to work with a big company because we wanted to have sufficient resources and talent. The risk of working with a small company is they may not be able to replace experienced developers if a team member leaves. The team that worked for us wasn’t that big, but if someone leaves, they make good transitions and provide another resource.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In the first month, we quickly determined our style for project management with one of the projects.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Use them. I’d be very happy to work with them again.