Volcanic Internet

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the R&D Researcher of Nano1Health SL

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Identify and characterize pathogens and microorganisms for biomarker development and analysis

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Volcanic Internet to accomplish?

• Develop a web application
• Integrate it with a pre-existing AWS infrastructure

SOLUTION

How did you find Volcanic Internet?

Referral

Why did you select Volcanic Internet over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Volcanic Internet were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The WebApp is a sophisticated analytics application that requires specific technical requirements for its successful implementation. These requirements encompass all aspects of the application, including its deployment, integration with AWS, and running of Nextflow flows (scientific data production and orchestration of processes). One of the primary technical requirements is the ability to connect with AWS. 
The WebApp relies on AWS for its deployment and the execution of Nextflow flows. This connection requires a secure and reliable network connection, as well as appropriate access credentials and permissions. Additionally, the WebApp must be designed to interface with the AWS environment, utilizing the appropriate APIs and services for seamless integration. By meeting these technical requirements, developers can ensure the successful implementation and operation.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

There were weekly updates and several QA along the project. The success of the project was measured by the delivery of the different milestones and the completion of the analytic WebApp.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They delivered weekly. During the project, there was one developer that left the project and that hampered the project. Additionally, part of the development happened during both vacation periods, which delayed as well the development.

What was your primary form of communication with Volcanic Internet?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their ability to develop a tailored product following the client's specifications was highly commendable. Flexibility to modify the project on the go for its improvement. Close contact and good support for clients.

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

Volcanic Internet worked as diligently as possible, based on the emerging logistical issues. Compared to past experiences with other companies or with experiences from external collaborators was very good and professional.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of Almabuena Films, a production company based in The Netherlands.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Volcanic Internet, and what were your goals?

I hired Volcanic to create the website of my company, to showcase the finished and ongoing projects, and also to create a system for registered users to rent or buy the films and watch them on the website.

SOLUTION

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

They were recommended by a friend of mine

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

We had an intake meeting with the account manager, which is one of the founders of the company, to review the scope of the project. The technology to be used, WordPress, with ad-hoc developments was defined after that meeting. Afterwards, we had a kick-off meeting with the UX-UI designer, in which we reviewed the pages and features needed for the website.

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

3 people: Account manager, Web designer, Web developer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website is still under development, but it's looking better than expected!

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

We used slack and asana, besides Zoom.

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

We're impressed with their attention to detail, their availability, and their willingness to help us with the process. They have a human touch and the feeling that they were giving me solutions to my problems.

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

As a recommendation for future clients is your duty to have a document with the requirements of your website. Of course, they will help you define your needs, but nobody better than yourself knows which kind of content will be displayed and which features are required.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of an AI-oriented company called Insikt Intelligence, and the core of our business is AI development. We create dashboards, gather and analyze information, and present it to the final users. As a CTO, I’m in charge of all parts of product development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Volcanic Internet?

We were looking to outsource the development of our product because we didn’t have any developers of our own.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Volcanic provides us with front- and backend development, as well as DevOps. They use Node.js for the frontend, Go for the database, and PostgreSQL. For the DevOps, we use Docker and Kubernetes. One of the key features of this product is how it analyzes information and presents the findings on a dashboard. The dashboard has a lot of graphics, interfaces, and tables so the users can filter the information to their liking. In addition, the project is still ongoing, as we continue to develop better versions and features for the product.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact is Jordi (Co-Founder). The number of developers we work with varies depending on our business needs, but we’re maintaining two backend developers as they are what we need the most in this project.

How did you come to work with Volcanic Internet?

We were looking for companies and a friend of mine recommended Volcanic to us. I talked to them, evaluated them, and ended up with them because of their prices.

How much have you invested with them?

On average, we pay approximately $5,000 per developer.

What is the status of this engagement?

The ongoing partnership started in April 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I like the quality of their work and the fact that they’re very flexible in terms of technology — one time, I asked for a certain technology that they didn’t know, so they started looking into it and learned. There was a bit of a learning curve at the beginning, but they are getting better with time. In addition, I have very good communication with Jordi, so we can always talk about the performance of the team. Overall, I’m very happy with our current developers.

How did Volcanic Internet perform from a project management standpoint?

I talk to Jordi and the developers on Slack, and we have a couple of meetings every week. We also have tools like JIRA, but we don’t use them as much as we should.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What we find particularly impressive is their eagerness to help — they’re always available to help or see what my needs are. Whether it’s changing developers or changing technologies, they’re willing to discuss and accommodate my needs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything specific right now.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice would be to tell them your needs and how quickly you need them. What’s good about Volcanic Internet is they make the effort to learn, but it can also take time, so make sure you communicate with them clearly.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Software Development Manager

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Software company focused on enabling corporations to enable Corporate Social Responsibility programs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Volcanic Internet to accomplish?

• Growing development teams
• Team augmentation via outsourcing development.

SOLUTION

How did you find Volcanic Internet?

Already worked with them in the past

Why did you select Volcanic Internet over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Volcanic Internet were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Delivering a project with some specific functionality, in a timeframe of 2 months, for a top tier client/corporation.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Time delivery (project delivered3 weeks ahead of schedule) 
• Work quality and contributions to improve internal processes.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

• They always delivered everything within the Sprint, added value but contributing to the refinement processes of the task and even challenging current designs/approaches that will lead to better outcomes. 
• Honesty is one of the key points of the collaboration, every issue that arose during the collaboration was solved promptly and with total transparency.

What was your primary form of communication with Volcanic Internet?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?
The value added versus the rates compared to competitors in the same sector.

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

Nothing, the project is managed and worked within high standards of collaboration and delivery.