Vertex Ray

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a private university that was authorized by the Ministry of Education & Culture over 15 years ago. A prominent figure in medicine in Uruguay and Latin America founded it. She is known for forming neuropediatric, psych pedagogy, psychomotricity and music therapy programs in Uruguay. I'm the director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vertex Ray?

Our objective was creating a student management system for our institution. This required developing an information system.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed a management system that allows students to access administrative procedures related to courses, registration, exams, account information, and access to other current information. It also encompasses internal administrative processes such as human resources, salary information, and professor information.

The technologies they used included ASP.NET MVC, Web API, HTML5, and Microsoft Azure.

What is the team dynamic?

There were 5 developers working on the project and they used Scrum methodology.

How did you come to work with Vertex?

We received a personal reference for them. We interviewed them and presented our objectives to them. Vertex Ray’s proposal suited our needs and aspirations best. They displayed adequate reciprocity and teamwork, along with sound advice.

How much have you invested in them?

The investment for the project has been in the range of $50,000–100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started and finished during the second half of 2014. At the moment, we are continuing to improve the system. We maintain communication with them and take any suggestions they have. We are currently working with Vertex Ray to create a new website for our institution.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their achievements mainly relate to student self-management, which has improved greatly. Their impact on administrative processes has also been significant. It allows a greater flow of information for the integral management of the institution. The same applies to human resources.

This has promoted advances in integrating new functionalities that in turn are improving the efficiency of administrative and teaching functions.

How did Vertex perform from a project management standpoint?

Vertex Ray’s performance has been excellent. Their responses are receptive, fast, and efficient, according to our needs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Vertex Ray has shown strength in executing a personalized system for both academic and administrative processes. Each was customized to a particular set of demands.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a startup that focuses on user authentication topics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with VertexRay?

We wanted to create a platform which centralizes different ways of user authentication with biometrics, passwords, and cards from different providers. Then the client chooses which one to use for their authentication in each site. This project had a deadline and parameters in terms of quality as it was for a government agency. We hired Vertex to help with the web and app development. I worked with them in the development and project control.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

We used Bootstrap, Angular, and there were some limitations of technologies based in .NET. These were the elements we used and they performed well. 

What is the team dynamic?

We had 2 developers and a project manager who was my counterpart. 

How did you come to work with VertexRay?

We had references for them and we started with a small project that went well. They had some favorable skillsets. They were flexible and always willing to meet our methodologies and expectations. They were also meticulous and detailed with following up. Their technology skills were good and we felt confident in continuing working with them. They were good in communications and documentation. We have to inform the agency that funds us on the status of the development. They collaborate well for us to be able to do this. 

How much have you invested in them?

Since it’s a startup, the project cost around $50,000 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working in the last quarter of 2016 and continue working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As a subsidized project, we need to pass some filters. The state agency has to review everything. Once they reviewed the project, their comments were really good and they complimented it. The user experience and design aspect of the project was very good. 

When trying to capture the attention of investors, we show them the project, what we have developed and we always get good feedback. We like working with VertexRay because they provide this peace of mind. If we suggested things, they commented and contributed ideas on why things wouldn't work from a user experience perspective, for example. Their added value is more than just for development. 

I don’t have any particular metrics to share but their development solved several dialogues we had with the review team. There were no objections and they thought everything was well done. They’ve even asked who developed it, to be able to talk to them or to take them into consideration for future projects. 

How did VertexRay perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Agile and Scrum methodologies, with weekly meetings for project management. We set expectations and results for the next 15 days and we met eventually. 

We used several management tools and we even changed them if there were details missing that we wanted to consider. They were good at following up and were always on top of things. There were daily revisions of 15 minutes which allowed us to communicate easily. They are very organized and we are comfortable with how they work. During the project, there was a developer change and it didn’t impact anything. There were no problems related to this change. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

On top of the technical aspects, their communication, good disposition, and willingness to contribute their opinion on things that would or would not work. That was great. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were several things we could’ve done differently in the beginning, but this is a typical trial and error phase in a startup environment. I wouldn’t be able to say a specific area for improvement. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My name is Juan Pablo Eguiguren and I’m a project manager at Dynamize IT. Our company is focused on supporting entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs to accomplish their dreams through technology. We work together with people that have a vision and clear objectives to provide them with different actors, tools, elements, technology expertise to meet their needs and strategies to create these services or products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vertex Ray?

We worked with our most important client in a project where they wanted to evolve the capacity of a product that we had built for this client. This evolution involved a work of more than 1000 hours. Vertex Ray was the provider we chose to take on this responsibility and work together in this project.

SOLUTION

Their responsibility was to self-manage themselves. They used .Net, c-Sharp, HTML5, Angular, Bootstrap and some specific topics of an engine that we trained them on how to use it.

What is the team dynamic?

We handed the whole topic to Vertex Ray. We only had one controller and an architect with a tech governance frame from Dynamize assigned.

How did you come to work with Vertex Ray?

Basically we had a close relationship with one of Vertex Ray’s employees. We have been looking for different technology providers. They brought good credentials, user experience, and we chose them for these reasons. The project required lots of UX these elements.

How much have you invested in them?

Around $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in September.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had two particular appreciations from the client. They were really happy with the form in which we made the product tangible through Vertex. The person was so happy that they wanted to hire them for future projects. Their work was impeccable.

How did Vertex Ray perform from a project management standpoint?

They have earned our trust. Even though we used project management tools to track tasks, we could see the results and it was unnecessary to follow their track. We could see the results there and we were very happy with it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are fantastic in the user experience topics.

Are there any areas they could improve?

At the beginning, there were some aspects when we started meeting each other. We had been working with this client for a while. When the collaboration was starting, we had some friction but it’s just natural behavior of people that start working together and are getting to meet each other. Nothing bad.  

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

FCU Technologies is a consulting firm focusing on the areas of IT, software development, and logistic systems. I’m the president of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vertex Ray?

We needed to upgrade our web platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Vertex Ray has worked on many web-related tasks for us, including projects on securely linking SQL databases with our web services, and HTML5 coding. We also have Android and iOS apps linked to our solution. I've mainly interacted with Vertex Ray's principals over the years.

How did you come to work with Vertex Ray?

Vertex Ray is based in Uruguay, which is also my home country. I was in touch with them in the past, so when I came to the US, I brought my old contacts.

How much have you invested with Vertex Ray?

The cost of Vertex Ray's services has been around $20,000 for 2016. We are planning to spend a similar amount in 2017.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Vertex Ray 8–10 years ago.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We work closely with our customers and track their satisfaction levels. Everyone has been pleased with the solutions built by Vertex Ray.

How did Vertex Ray perform from a project management standpoint?

We are using Trello for interchanging tasks, so there isn't much contact via phone. Vertex Ray has been using the Scrum methodology for many years.

What did you find most impressive about Vertex Ray?

I have been working with Vertex Ray for at least 10 years, which is proof that I've been happy with their services and solutions.

Are there any areas Vertex Ray could improve?

Whenever we found something to improve, it was discussed with Vertex Ray.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

IT Manager

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Vertex Ray?

mostly UX design, consoultories on development

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

calling the most named by other collegues and comparing quotes

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

we have an old interface working with our TOS, need to upgrade and within the look and feel and funcitionalities to be handling and future resiliant develop

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

2-3

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

there is a document but is confidential

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

pretty well, works quite good, it finished before was expected

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

I was impressed with their quick response. 

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

well, some breake ice activity before starting

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the regional director of sales and marketing for a cybersecurity consulting firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Vertex Ray?

We hired them to update our website, which was obsolete.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to receive more qualified leads.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I searched for the best local UX vendor that had experience working with multinational clients.

What was the team composition?

We worked directly with a business developer and consultant from Vertex Ray.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don't have specific outcomes just yet, but we received a lot of excellent input on web development.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project moved fast. We had regular meetings with Vertex Ray. They were highly responsive and always ready to help.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was impressed by their timeline, responsiveness, and high-quality work.