Vega IT

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Lead Developer for a fintech which provides data processing, reporting, and insights to asset and fund managers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Vega IT?

We needed to augment our internal engineering team to deliver on medium-sized projects with tight delivery timeframes, during a period when the internal team was busy with other work.

SOLUTION

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

Serbia is an up-and-coming tech hub with good quality developers for a reasonable price. Vega IT comes well reviewed so seemed a good choice to begin a working relationship with.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Development of a new web application for our front-end, written in React. Development ran in parallel with back-end implementation which was challenging but with agreed API specifications this was managed well.

Describe the recruitment process in detail.

We provided Vega IT with a specification of the role and our company. They came back to us with a few CVs of developers they believed could fit. We booked interviews with those that interested us, and hired the best fit.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the engagement that demonstrate progress or success?

The resource we hired has worked autonomously to deliver against specifications, and provided suggested improvements along the way. This is testament to his expertise and experience which was a requirement of the hire.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We created a Slack channel for the project, and have daily standups including the Vega IT resource. Ad-Hoc screen shares / calls when required. As we all work remotely, he feels just like any other member of the team.

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

We appreciate Vega IT's efforts to find not just a good fit for the role but for the company too.

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

We find Vega charges a premium compared to other staff augmentation companies in Belgrade / Novi Sad

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the group CIO in a media intelligence company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vega IT?

We had a big project running but lost a few people to the COVID-19 pandemic. It wasn’t easy to find a substitute for them so we decided to outsource the work. That’s how we started working with Vega IT.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The project involved our internal software for which we provided documentation. Vega IT’s task was to turn two software solutions into one and adjust everything to ensure that everyone could work with it. We used the Microsoft stack, C#, .NET, Angular, and Elasticsearch.

After the team completed that initial project, we decided to engage them further for the development of a native mobile app. This year, we’ve started another two projects with Vega IT, one of which is a new cross-platform product for our customers that includes a web and mobile app for media reviews. These were made from scratch for both iOS, Android, and Microsoft Teams. The other project involves the maintenance of a customer platform that we already had in place.

Overall, Vega IT has done web development, mobile app development, backend support, microservices, and Stripe payment integration. They use an Agile methodology with three-week sprints. With the newer projects, they do all the review work to show to the stakeholders. 

What is the team composition?

We probably have about 12 people from Vega IT currently working with us. Three people were involved during our initial project while two members worked on the mobile app development. For the third project, we had four developers and a desktop engineer. Now, two people are in charge of maintenance for the fourth project. 

Whenever we need something done, they deliver CVs of potential candidates one or two months before the project kick-off so that we can do interviews and find the right match for our team.

How did you come to work with Vega IT?

I knew that there was a big technical university in my hometown, where Vega IT is based, so I asked around who they could suggest I work with. I received recommendations for 4–5 companies in Serbia and Vega IT was one of them. 

We established contact with them and they showed us their work, pricing models, and employee profiles, among others. We ended up hiring Vega IT along with one other company.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between €400,000–€500,000 (approximately $500,000–$600,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The first project lasted from April–September 2020. In October, we decided to hire them again for another project which lasted until February 2021. In January 2021, we enlisted them for two more projects. One is almost complete and is set to be delivered by June. Our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Working with Vega IT is different because they really take care of their customers. Whenever I need something, they ask a lot of questions and when I request to see the CVs of candidates, they actually do a pre-selection process so that all the ones I receive are qualified for the project. I could pick whoever and they would probably be a good fit. 

We’ve never had the issue of having an employee from Vega IT not perform well. This wasn’t the case with the big outsourcing company I had worked with at a previous job. There, I had to be really thorough during the interviews and we often risked having a mismatch.

How did Vega IT perform from a project management standpoint?

From the start, we’ve treated every external employee as an internal employee, so they get access to everything and are part of our team. When we had an issue on a production project, we had people from Vega IT working on the weekends, just like our internal staff was. They approach everything as we do and stick close to us.

We use Microsoft Teams to communicate everything. There are group chats for conducting daily business. When it comes to requesting for new employees or reviewing the work, Vega IT emails me every six months or so to ask for feedback. We also set up calls to further discuss certain aspects of the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The best part of working with Vega IT is that you know that you can rely on them to do their work on time. They don’t promise things that are impossible to complete and they don’t overestimate. This is why we’ve hired more and more people from their company. They are a reliable partner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was one thing that I wrote to them about. When we were setting up the environment during our initial kick-off, they hadn’t gotten in touch with our IT guy within the set time. Their communication could’ve been a bit better back then, so I made the complaint and asked them to push it forward to give us a real kick-off. That was the only issue I can recall.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Try to define what you need from your project as best as you can. You can rely on Vega IT to find the right people for the work, but you need to be honest and clear about what you really need.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a communications agency based in Belgium, and we have our own development design strategy teams in-house. I’m a UX designer and content architect, and I mostly work with B2B clients, for which we make digital communication varying from websites to mobile and iPad apps, but also to digital installations in physical events. In addition, we also do print communications, but we’re doing it a bit less at the moment. 

I’m the bridge between the concept and the design when it goes to the development team, so I work closely with the designer.

We’re quite a small company, varying between 15–30 employees, give and take depending on the projects that we’re handling.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vega IT?

We needed someone to help us with web and mobile app development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The description of the project is actually more of an umbrella approach and in the beginning, Vega assisted us with a skill set that we didn’t have in-house — which was mostly app development and native application. Afterward, we had backend developers from their team work with us full time.

Recently, Vega helped us deliver a corporate website for a client. It’s a website that runs on Sitecore CMS — they developed the front- and backend of the project. We’re continuing to work on the website after its development because there’s still a lot of enhancements to be done.

What is the team composition?

Since I’m not a management profile, my main points of contact from Vega are the developers themselves.

How did you come to work with Vega IT?

I’m not completely sure, but we did have some experience working with other sourcing agencies. Vega had a good reputation as leaders in their country, and our partnership went on from there.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of the projects that we’ve worked on so far is between $1 million–$5 million. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our partnership in June 2017, and we’re still working with them. At the moment, we have two resources from their team that's supporting our backend team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Vega’s flexible way of organizing their teams has really helped us in scaling our frontend departments whenever necessary. We can always fall back on Vega because they always provide us with good resources, and if we have more specific needs, they’ll always help us find relevant skill sets and profiles.

Additionally, they’re also a solid choice for their turnaround time and consultancy whenever we have questions about technology or other systems. They’re always happy to provide us with options to explore so we can figure things out and start ahead. Also, the speed and the quality of their service really helps us as a small agency to provide the needs of our clients.

How did Vega IT perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Asana as a project management tool, and Google Drive to share documents — they’re also set up with a full Microsoft 365 account, and we use Skype for our team meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Compared to other sourcing agencies we worked with, a large number of skill sets and people Vega has on tap is a very big plus. From what I get from their employees and the communication that they do, the company spends a lot of time keeping their employees happy. We’re also impressed by their state of mind, as they’re quite positive in maintaining relations as well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We sometimes have difficulties in communications, and details get lost in translation — on our side and their side as well. Sometimes, it takes a while to get the developer’s needs and how we can improve that communication. However, aside from that, we have a very transparent channel with Vega. If anything pops up, we can address that, and they’re always ready to find a solution.

Also, I think the developers should feel that they can ask us more questions, but we always manage to have a nice collaboration so no complaints there.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s always nice to know what you need up front. There was one instance when we had to switch a profile around because frontend development in Belgium, isn’t the same as other places. My piece of advice is to try to define what you need, so Vega can help find the best fit for your team or your needs.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Director of Technical Program Management. I work for a private full-service digital advertising agencies that creates anything from campaigns to websites for our clients, utilizing up-to-date technology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Vega IT, and what were your goals?

Our project was to redesign our client's main website, while incorporating branding design refresh and a backend systems upgrade to the latest Sitecore platform. Their previous website, also in Sitecore, had been hardcoded in such a way that the entire structure required a rebuild. The goal of the project was to do that based on the expectations and written requirements of the client partner.

SOLUTION

How did you select Vega IT and what were the deciding factors?

We searched online for experienced Sitecore developers with proven records of excellence. After several conversations with VegaIT and speaking directly to several of their references - we knew that their team and the way they approached business is what we were looking for in a development team partner.

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

This was an entire website redesign using Sitecore. Key deliverable was a 360+ page website in Sitecore with basic form integration, chatbox. As we went through the project, we (Vega and my agency) discovered that our client overpromised and could not support some of the executions they initially outlined as requirements. There were many detailed and documented conversations where we scaled back on the site requirements in the end.

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

I worked with 6 of VegaITs dev team. One project manager, 1 project lead, and several front end and Sitrecore back end developers. I cannot remember their exact positions but there was a mix of senior and jr. developers. This did not matter to me - as all of them were extremely skilled.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The VegaIT dev team we used for this project met the expectations of the deliverables that were outlined in the scope of work. I was extremely happy with the product and let them know. Our client on the other hand was not happy with the end result as they (the client) neglected to include critical infrastructure requirements in their scope with us, so it caused additional rework for your team. This was no Vega's fault at all. This one project proved to my agency that we could trust them as dev partners. We then proceeded to engaged them on atleast 2-3 other website projects.

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

We had daily stand ups with their project manager and entire development team we worked with. We did these via Google Hangouts. We also communicated using Slack and JIRA and email as needed. Their project manager was very clear and inclusive on making sure we were aware of the team's schedule and availability. During the final push to launch the site, several members of my agency team adjusted their working hours to coincide with our Vega team. We were more than happy to do that because of how amazing our team was to work with. We knew it would help us all be more efficient during crunch time.

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

I loved that VegaIT is not just a production shop. I truly relied on them as my development team partners. If there was a design or functional user story that was provided to them that didn't make sense or could be done a better way than we were directing them to do - they spoke up and let me know. I loved this! To me, it was the perfect example of them actually being invested in the deliverable and striving for excellence rather than just being order takers. I also found it unique that on each of our calls - their entire teams were encouraged to speak English, which is likely not the first language for many. They were already doing hard things - explaining dev code and now they were doing it in another language. It made it easy for me and my team to communicate with them and I was impressed.

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

With this project I think the areas for improvement weren't on VegaIT. They did an exceptional job with poor requirements from the client at times. There's one instance where I felt like I had to really pull information out of them - I wanted them to be more confident in communicating their expertise to the Client freelancer developers who were condescending. VegaIT is super knowledgeable, but respectful and never disparaged another dev. That was frustrating to me at times when I knew that the Clients' developers weren't developers but more like an IT support person.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the co-founder of the live mentoring platform, Hi Live. Hi Live empowers beginner electronic music producers to learn from the experts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Vega IT, and what were your goals?

We were hired for a new project by an influential record label. We had to facilitate a demo drop day for them. We asked Vega IT to develop the extra features necessary to run the mentioned demo day.

SOLUTION

How did you select Vega IT and what were the deciding factors?

We've heard from Vega IT through a friend. We got offers from different companies, and the pricing and expertise Vega IT presented was the best for us.

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

Vega IT delivered their first version. We gave feedback using Google Sheets throughout multiple rounds.

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

A project managers and many different developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The demo drop day was a success. The record label was very satisfied with the technical support Vega IT delivered during the demo day.

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

We communicated in email, but they were easily reachable via phone and on Whatsapp in urgent cases.

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

They have a fast response time and deep, versatile knowledge. They even gave us extra help which was not even in the scope of the agreement.

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

To be honest, no. Everything went how wanted.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a startup consultancy that provides startup services to corporate clients. We help them build startups or do specific projects within their organization, from a tech perspective, performance marketing, and on a strategic level.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vega IT?

We needed staff augmentation to extend our team on some projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Vega IT has provided people to work as an extension of our team for some of our projects. Over the course of the engagement, they’ve provided 2-3 frontend and mobile engineers. We’re currently working with one engineer.

What is the team composition?

I work with the management team.

How did you come to work with Vega IT?

I found them through an online platform. I liked their high ratings for satisfaction and the way the CEO presented their company culture.

Their team appeared to enjoy working with the company, which I found to be a positive thing.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between €20,000-€30,000 (approximately $24,000-$36,000).

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement with Vega IT started in May 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Vega IT consistently provides a skilled staff. The CEO is quite helpful, ensuring easy transitions with new staff members. One of our clients had an issue with them, but I believe the client wasn’t clear on specifications. Overall, it’s been an exceptionally good experience working with them.

How did Vega IT perform from a project management standpoint?

I communicate with their management team through Google calls and email. They’re responsive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a large team. Their satisfaction score is much higher than their competition in the area. They’re extremely involved, dependable, and take care of their clients.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Though I haven’t worked directly with the staff, they could provide prospective profiles a bit faster when we have a new project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and co-founder of Bright Marbles, a software development firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vega IT Sourcing?

One of our projects scaled up really fast, and we needed additional help because we couldn’t follow the requirements of the project alone.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Vega IT Sourcing helps with front- and backend development as well as mobile development. The solution is a platform that connects doctors with their patients. They developed the mobile app for both iOS and Android using Swift and Kotlin. The backend was built completely through Microsoft and ASP.net as well as SharePoint, Microsoft Dynamics, etc. This project was completed in November 2019. We’re working on another one now.

What is the team composition?

There was one frontend developer and one backend developer. The project management was done on the client’s side.

How did you come to work with Vega IT Sourcing?

I hired them because they’re one of the well-known IT companies in Serbia. They have over 200 software engineers. We had worked with more than six of them in the past.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between €200,000–€250,000 (approximately $230,000–$280,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2019, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our client adores us because of the work we delivered. On top of that, we received two new clients through this client. The Vega IT Sourcing team members are like one of us. They have a very senior crew, and everything was done perfectly. Their team works independently. The client is still satisfied, and we’re going to do additional work for this client soon.

How did Vega IT Sourcing perform from a project management standpoint?

We have the whole process implemented between us. Vega IT Sourcing is always on time. We use our Slack channels to communicate as well as Google Meet, Zoom, and Skype. They’re located really close to our office — we’re about two blocks from each other. There’s fluent communication between us, and we work as one team. The work is really fluid, and they’re fully transparent.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication, expertise, quality, and culture are impressive. Also, they’re really easy to talk to.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they do a great job.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be transparent. The owners really understand software development and have vast experience building many products. If the client has a potential problem with the budgeting, being transparent will help.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am one of the founders of Software engineering company MarbleIT. Marble IT is your reliable partner for custom software solutions, mostly working with clients from North America and Europe. We have around 10 employees but from time to time we need assistance with our projects and we outsource it.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Vega IT Sourcing?

Vega IT helped us build a platform for Sky photo. The platform is for media storage and our client needed a custom solution. Vega IT have already had experience with custom CMS development so they were able to start immediately. We got the project where we needed to scale up our team very fast so we hired Vega IT to help us with our IT needs.

What were your goals for this project?

Goal of the project was to create a bespoke Photo sharing platform with a custom CMS that can handle a large amount of parallel requests for static files. Vega IT helped us reach the wanted performance level and meet the deadlines!

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

The deadline for this project was very short and we needed experienced developers immediately. I knew that they had been working on similar projects so Vega IT was the right choice for us.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The project was a web application that was heavy on static assets. Vega helped us by providing experts in web development and managed the project successfully.

What was the team composition?

We work with two developers from Vega IT (one front end and one back end developer).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The platform was live on time. Our client was very satisfied with the results and so are we! The feedback from the users was very positive.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Because they already have experience with this kind of CMS, they were very easy to talk to and they started with this project with no obstacles. They use agile methodologies before, Trello and Slack are part of their everyday routine, so communication was excellent. We also have a daily meetings and make plans for the sprints together

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They're very fast and the quality of their code was excellent. They are very responsible group of people and it was a real pleasure working with them.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I don't see any areas for improvement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO and co-founder of an e-commerce digital agency from Serbia. Our aim is to deliver quality software development solutions to retailers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vega IT Sourcing?

We needed an outsourced partner to help us develop and deliver products to our end customers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In our most recent project, they worked with us to develop a webshop from the ground up for a bicycle retail company. They interfaced with our team to understand the requirements for the project and then delivered a working product primarily on their own.

What was the team composition?

They provide several developers — in this case, three — as well as a project manager who coordinates all of the work.

How did you come to work with Vega IT Sourcing?

We originally started our engagement with another company, but we were not satisfied with the quality of the work that they were providing. I had known about Vega IT Sourcing for a long time because of their reputation in Serbia, so we reached out to them and moved forward from there.

How much have you invested with them?

Our total spend with them has been a little over €300,000 (approximately $340,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The partnership started in October 2018 and we are continuing to work together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

All of the platforms that they have developed for us work well and completely satisfy our end customers, so we are very pleased with the results.

How did Vega IT Sourcing perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was great. We have developed a great relationship over the years, and they understand the importance of our clients’ deadlines and work incredibly hard to meet them. Our teams use a variety of communication platforms to discuss the deliverables and progress on the project, including Slack, Skype, and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The whole team is incredibly professional. They have a great grasp on their industry and understand the scope and needs of any project we throw at them. I have complete confidence in their ability to deliver results.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing that I can think of that they need to differently.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as direct and open in your communication as possible. The more you can treat them as your own in-house employees, the better they will be able to integrate with and supplement your team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We provide software for social housing companies. Our product is basically contact center software, and we connect with different ERP systems to collect customer data and create 360 views of customer profiles. I'm the manager of engineering and am responsible for local and near-shore resources.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vega IT Sourcing?

Our other near-shore partners raised the price beyond what we were willing to pay for the quality they were providing. We wanted a new vendor to provide resources.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We are currently rebuilding our backend and frontend using React, GraphQL, and other programs. Our specific requirements focused on the developer's experience. We wanted a team that could be creative, beyond just following orders. They question some of our choices, which I value, and they work side by side with our scrum teams.

What is the team composition?

They have six developers who join our team with React Native, .NET, and Umbraco experience. We only use their engineers, and we don't have any project management on their side.

How did you come to work with Vega IT Sourcing?

I knew they had a lot of experience in the systems we use, which is why we reached out to them. I've known them since 2012 when I worked with them at a previous employer. We had a fairly extensive selection process, but I chose them because of my previous work with them. I knew them really well, and I knew they were willing to travel to us and could handle large, long-term projects.

How much have you invested with them?

I'd guess we've spent about €180,000 (approximately $205,000 USD) so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together on this project in February 2019. It's a continual process, and we plan to work together for a long time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The progress is measured in story points, based on agile scrum methodology. It's difficult to attribute the success to any one factor, but we're pleased with their work. Our scrum teams are happy with their knowledge and the work they've done, especially on the React Native and Umbraco framework. We've learned a lot from them, and their expertise is very helpful to us.

How did Vega IT Sourcing perform from a project management standpoint?

Compared to other companies we work with, their English is very good. We work with mixed groups, divided into scrum teams. Their engineers slot into those teams, and we have daily standups, retrospectives, and backlog grooming. We do everything through Skype, so I really value the quality of their English and ability to provide input on the choices we make.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We're used to buying resources for a fixed period, but their contract is very flexible. There is a 24-hour cancellation period, and we can downscale or upscale as needed. We've not seen that kind of flexibility in our other near-shore providers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything major they should change. Their knowledge and their hourly reporting are all satisfactory.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Visit them frequently, and have them visit your location. The relationship between developers is very important. Trust each other and have a good rapport.