Whitecap Canada

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Sales Coordinator of Easylease Corp

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Easylease has been around for over 25+ years helping Canadian companies get approved for financing, as well as partnering up with dozens of suppliers to assist in their clients' financing needs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Whitecap Canada to accomplish?

• Enhance user experience by implementing responsive design and intuitive navigation for the company website
• Streamline internal processes through automation and integration of robust backend systems for improved efficiency.
• Boost security measures and data management protocols to ensure compliance and safeguard sensitive information across both website and internal systems.

SOLUTION

How did you find Whitecap Canada?

Referral

Why did you select Whitecap Canada over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Whitecap Canada were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Website Redesign: Overhaul of company website with modern design, responsive layout, and improved user experience. 
• Internal System Upgrade: Integration of new features, enhanced security measures, and streamlined workflows for efficient operations. 
• Migration to Cloud: Transfer of data and applications to cloud infrastructure for scalability, accessibility, and cost-effectiveness. 
• Training and Support: Comprehensive training sessions for employees on utilizing the updated systems, coupled with ongoing technical support for smooth transition and continued optimization.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Improved website traffic by 30% within the first quarter post-implementation, indicating enhanced user engagement and visibility. 
• Decreased average customer support ticket resolution time by 25%, highlighting enhanced efficiency and satisfaction. 
• Achieved a 20% increase in online sales conversion rates, demonstrating improved user experience and interface effectiveness. 
• Internal system uptime improved by 99.9%, leading to enhanced productivity and reduced downtime-related costs.

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

Whitecap Canada executed their modernization project with robust project management, ensuring timely delivery of all items. They remained responsive to our needs throughout, promptly addressing any concerns or requirements. Their proactive approach and effective communication facilitated a smooth and successful transition for both the company website and internal systems.

What was your primary form of communication with Whitecap Canada?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What struck me most about Whitecap Canada is their commitment to innovation and modernization. Their approach to updating both their website and internal systems reflects a forward-thinking mindset. Their ability to seamlessly integrate technology into their operations showcases their dedication to efficiency and staying ahead in their industry. 

Their emphasis on continuous improvement set them apart, ensuring they remained competitive and adaptable in a rapidly evolving market. Overall, their proactive stance towards embracing change is truly impressive and indicative of a company poised for long-term success.

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

No, we are satisfied with the modernization project for our company by Whitecap Canada. We believe they executed it effectively and met our expectations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing at an independent publishing company. We started as a case book publisher for law schools across Canada, but we’ve expanded to become one of the leading publishers for not just law school but higher education programs across the country, with a focus on law and justice.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Whitecap Canada?

We needed their team’s development expertise to rebuild our website; our e-commerce function wasn’t adequate for our sales volume. We also had another website for our exam preparation products, and we wanted to combine the two.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Whitecap Canada developed a mobile-responsive integrated website, combining our two old sites. Before we made any commitment to them, they met with us at least once or twice for an hour each time. 

Phase one was the discovery phase, which was the longest. We spent a few weeks meeting for two hours each week to answer their questions. They facilitated conversations that uncovered potential problems and helped us give shape to our idea. Then, they gave us a detailed estimate of the effort and hours for each deliverable and component, including design, development, QA, and project management. We scaled back the project in response to this to reduce the cost.

Phase two was the build phase. They built the site using Pentaho. They developed all the features expected from an e-commerce site, including the ability to host different products with different pricing, an integrated checkout experience, a digital library where users can access purchased products, digital couponing, and a blog. 

We also had a sophisticated registration process. They customized the registration because we wanted to gather information about our customers before they make a purchase; since we serve many different markets, we needed to understand if a customer was an educator, student, exam candidate, or lawyer so we could market products of interest to them in the future. Whitecap Canada integrated a membership program within the registration process that grants discounts and free shipping within Canada. Members could also access gated content. They implemented email sequences surrounding the purchase process for different items.

What is the team composition?

Peter (Senior Project Manager) was our project manager. David (Sr. Software Engineer) was a developer and our problem solver. Alfred (Design Manager of UX & UI) designed the UI. Dan (President) was the one who initially brought us into the fold and helped us create a plan that intersected with our budget during the discovery phase.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Whitecap Canada from June 2019–August 2022.  

How did you come to work with Whitecap Canada?

They came highly recommended to me; my relative's company had worked with them. It was important for us to work with a Canadian company. At Whitecap Canada, all the employees are at the office or remote members of the Canadian office, so we trusted we’d be able to reach any individual who worked on a given piece of the project if we needed to fix an issue.

We interviewed a few different companies and selected Whitecap Canada because they were the most professional and seemed to really understand what we were trying to do.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The biggest change I observed after the site’s launch was a huge drop in bounce rate, which was 22% on the old site and 1.4% on the new site; this was a big improvement. We saw a 34% increase in unique web users and a 23% increase in web sessions. The website speed also definitely increased. Unfortunately, we don’t have conversion data for the old site because we didn’t track that.

The website was unified and adaptable, which made it more powerful than our old site. Whitecap Canada was very thorough, detail-oriented, and precise when we asked for something specific. If we wanted something in red font, they would do it in red font. I’ve had experiences with other web development companies where I’d ask for something multiple times, and it might never even happen, but the experience was totally different with Whitecap Canada.

Peter was fantastic to work with. The team saw the big picture — if we wanted to make a change or add functionality, they thought through the implications on future development and made sure we understood those.

How did the company perform from a project management standpoint?

Whitecap Canada was very professional; they were extremely consistent and responsive. They were communicative about the budget and let us know if our requests were going to require additional time and resources. The project did end up costing more than we’d initially projected, but I don’t attribute this to them; the scope evolved because we needed to add features.

We used Azure DevOps, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft SharePoint, and Microsoft OneDrive for communication and project management. Figma was used to share designs. Overall, we had a very positive experience with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s not much that jumps to mind.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

You can save money if you have internal discussions beforehand about what you want to achieve and how you want to achieve it. Whitecap Canada will ask questions you may not have thought of, but if you’re proactive, that will facilitate a cost-effective process.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Corporate Marketing Manager of Tricon Residential

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a rental housing company dedicated to providing an exceptional rental experience to every resident who makes one of our houses or apartments their home.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Whitecap Canada to accomplish?

• To create an efficient and user-friendly intranet that promotes well-informed employees, streamlined collaboration, innovation, increased employee satisfaction, and high admin efficiency through targeted and personalized news, centralized team sites, easy file sharing, Q&A for key business topics, rich profiles, self-service tools, stronger connections to colleagues worldwide, task-oriented backend processes, and single sign-on.

SOLUTION

How did you find Whitecap Canada?

• Referral
• Clutch Site

Why did you select Whitecap Canada over others?

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

What was the size of Whitecap Canada’s team?

2-5 Employees

What was your primary form of communication with Whitecap Canada?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The scope of work involves developing a modern, user-friendly, and flexible intranet platform on SharePoint that integrates well into the corporate structure.

The key deliverables include:

• Implementation of the newest version of SharePoint and a roadmap for the rollout of further intranets.
• Concept, screen design, and coding (HTML, etc.) for the new corporate intranet, including well-integrated team pages (or areas) with social features throughout.
• Corporate news coming from the headquarters, including mandatory and optional news for users, and department news coming from respective departments.
• Project workspaces defined by project groups, with collaboration technologies such as file sharing, Microsoft Teams, and Workday.
• Integration of work tools such as employee self-service, which includes plugins for TSX, NYSE, social media accounts, and Google Reviews from multiple sources for Tricon Residential Canada and Tricon Residential US head offices.
• Enabling Microsoft Graph for email and active directory integration. Total cost of ownership for the new intranet platform.

The intranet platform should be designed to maximize engagement with stakeholders and empower growth, while allowing for personalization based on user needs. The platform should be flexible and integrated into the corporate structure, with easy-to-use tools that promote collaboration and innovation. The project should be executed within the specified budget and timeline, with regular updates and communication with stakeholders throughout the development process.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• The implementation of the SharePoint site improved collaboration between team members, resulting in more efficient communication and project coordination. Team members found it easier to work together and share information, leading to increased productivity and a stronger sense of teamwork. The SharePoint site resulted in increased efficiency in completing tasks and projects, streamlining processes and simplifying task management.
• Employees reported saving time and effort by using the SharePoint site, allowing them to focus on more important tasks and projects. The implementation of the SharePoint site resulted in cost savings for the company, reducing expenses associated with previous communication and collaboration tools. The SharePoint site helped the company save money on physical storage, printing costs, and other expenses related to document management.
• The SharePoint site improved communication between team members, allowing for more frequent and effective collaboration.

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

In terms of project management, I found Whitecap's approach to be highly organized and efficient. Throughout the project, Whitecap kept us informed of the progress made and timelines for each deliverable, and they were always on track with their commitments. The team demonstrated an excellent ability to manage their resources and ensure all project requirements were met within the agreed upon timelines.

Additionally, the team was very responsive to our needs throughout the project. They were always available to answer any questions we had and provide assistance whenever required. Their promptness in addressing our needs was highly appreciated and helped us complete the project on time. Overall, I was impressed with Whitecap's project management capabilities. They delivered all items on time and responded to our needs in a timely and effective manner.

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

One of the most impressive and unique aspects of Whitecap was their ability to understand our specific needs and tailor their solutions accordingly. They took the time to truly understand our business processes, challenges, and objectives, and created a SharePoint site that perfectly suited our needs.

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

Working with the team at Whitecap was a great experience overall. While we did face a resourcing challenge towards the end of our project due to a team member exiting, the team quickly shifted gears to ensure a successful launch. Even though enhanced communication was critical at that point, the team was still able to deliver the project on time and under budget, which was highly appreciated.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of IT for Hazelview Properties, a property management organization. We are approximately the third largest property manager for residential properties across all of Canada.
 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Whitecap Canada?

We wanted to build out the intranet for our organization using SharePoint.
 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The initial part of the engagement was the requirements gathering process where we described our needs. Whitecap Canada provided a project plan and then we began the development exercise until it was completed. 

It was a custom software development — the intranet was built on the out-of-the-box SharePoint platform, then customized by Whitecap Canada to meet our needs. In terms of documentation, we provided them with our initial scope or requirements document, which we worked through and further refined and finalized.

What is the team composition?

We primarily interacted with three different individuals. Aside from the VP of sales development, we interacted with the project manager and two developers.

How did you come to work with Whitecap Canada?

We started with an RFP process and Whitecap Canada ended up being shortlisted. Upon interviews with a shortlist of providers or vendors, we ended up choosing them. 

I already knew Whitecap Canada, because I had worked there approximately 10 years ago. I started their SharePoint practice — in fact, one of the team members assigned to our project was my first hire there. Above and beyond, they were very competitive, and they had a great resume as it relates to SharePoint. My familiarity and experience with working with their lead developer over the years solidified them winning the project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested approximately $90,000 with Whitecap Canada.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around September of 2020 and launched in June of 2021, so the project is live now. We did have a three-month interruption while we were migrating from one office 365 to another, which put the project on hold briefly. 
 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since we launched the platform, we have had more than 200 unique users on it every day. With how our organization is structured, this accounts for about 75% of our team interacting with the new intranet on a daily basis.

We also migrated about one terabyte worth of data from our traditional file-sharing system to the new platform. Eventually, we look to migrate all our files, which would give us a savings monthly of about $1,200.

Prior to the new SharePoint platform, a lot of our team had serious issues with their VPN that required technical help. Since our move, we’ve seen 50–100 fewer help desk tickets each month. 

We also were able to decentralize our document security. Instead of our IT team having to fully manage security for every little folder in our traditional file share, we were able to decentralize that and allow each of our regions to manage the security of their files. Once again, this reduced our monthly help desk ticket count by about 50.

The new platform has also allowed us to centralize communication for the organization. We're located all across Canada, and communication informing the team about a new hire, departures, or an event was traditionally done through email. Although we would reach a part of our audience in an effective time period, other teammates would read those emails late and miss out on that particular news item or notification that we were trying to send. We've now moved all of that to the platform that Whitecap Canada built. With our current viewership, we feel that we're now much better positioned to have a centralized and uniform communication to the organization.

As part of the platform, we publish a lot of training content, policies, procedures, and documents that are relevant to the organization. Because they're in a single location and there's only one version of the document, it has increased our accuracy from everything, from operations, and the training aspects of what we do.

We have started to create an on-demand and self-service model where people can go onto the platform and seek the news, the files, and the training materials they're looking for and not have to spend hours and hours looking for, or asking other team members for that information.

This is phase one of where we're headed with the platform, but we're quite happy with the outcome. We have a good audience and it increases as our audience goes up daily.
Again, it started to change the culture to focus a lot more on self-service. The centralized ability to communicate to the organization on a single platform has been extremely beneficial.

Finally, allowing document management and document security to be decentralized to our regional managers, as sort of been the goal of that initial phase.

At this point in time, we're quite happy with where we are.

How did Whitecap Canada perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed very well in project management. Having come from that organization, one of the biggest pros of working with Whitecap Canada is the transparency at the project management level both from work being done as well as the budget.

We met with them weekly for project status updates, and they were always 100% transparent on what exactly was happening in terms of timelines, scope, and budget. This was extremely beneficial for making the most out of our collaboration. We communicated primarily through Microsoft teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was most impressed with their flexibility.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would have liked it if they were a bit more proactive when it came to providing documentation. However, we would always get documentation when we asked them for it.

Any advice for potential customers?

Have a well-thought-out scope of the project and requirements ahead of the engagement.
 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re Whitehots Inc., a library service provider. I’m the president of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Whitecap Canada?

We were dealing with older technology on our website, which is highly used. It’s a web application for our customers. We were looking to leave our current provider and rebuild the site with new technology.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have a complicated website with a database of about 10 million units. There’s also a lot of customization for our larger customers within the site. Whitecap’s scope of work was to re-engineer the site from the ground up with newer programming language.

Significant features included the display of the seasonal list we distribute to all our customers. They also did design work and launched the new site. Rebranding was also part of their job, including redoing our marketing page.

What is the team composition?

We worked closely with four team members and contacted 7-8 throughout the whole process.

How did you come to work with Whitecap Canada?

I found them through a Google search.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent over $600,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from December 2018 until December 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The number one thing was the budget, number two was the timeline, and number three was customer feedback. The overall feedback we’ve received has been extremely positive.

How did Whitecap Canada perform from a project management standpoint?

They worked at a high level. We were assigned a project manager, who we were in communication with weekly. They gave us insight into their progress and performance against budget. Their investment in the project, both in time and getting to know our company and customers, was very impressive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their commitment to the project stands out. They were as passionate about it as we were and understood it’s importance to our business.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There wasn’t anything significant.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take advantage of their overall experience in programming and design. You have to get the whole team involved. They’re a great company to deal with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CRO of IXACT Contact Solutions Inc.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Whitecap Canada?

We needed a partner for software design and development to help us design and architect and program from scratch a CRM solution for realtors.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we had a discovery process to identify our design and requirements. Then, we moved into development and testing and QA. From my experience, Whitecap is simply the best company I’ve ever worked with at web-based application design, development, and integration.

Their core developers are very strong. A key part of our technology infrastructure includes Microsoft Exchange and they’ve got deep skills on the Exchange side of things. They were also building a mobile app for iOS and Android; those skills were outstanding too.

What is the team composition?

One of the great things about working with Whitecap is the range of expertise they bring to a project, everything from UI designers, graphic designers, database architects, and more.

How did you come to work with Whitecap Canada?

I had a prior business connection with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $1,000,000–$5,000,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from fall 2007 until 2009.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The entire business has sprung from their work; we’ve been extraordinarily successful. From launching about ten-and-a-half-years ago to becoming one of the top real estate CRMs in North American. One of the main reasons is because we have an exceptional project. It’s well-thought-out, well-designed, and the interface is truly intuitive, which you can’t say about a lot of other CRMs. It’s full-featured and robust as well — a rock-solid piece of software. All this I can attribute to Whitecap.

Since we launched, the product has evolved and expanded tremendously; the original is a fraction of what we provide today. It’s still as easy to use today as it was then, though, just with more automation and functionality.

How did Whitecap Canada perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s excellent. They have mature processes.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their discovery process was called ERAD (electronic requirements and design) and it’s a big differentiator for them. Lots of software companies start writing code before they’ve really understood and mapped out those use cases. Whitecap has built a real expertise doing that design phase for over 20 years.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not really, to be honest. We’re very happy with our partnership. If there was anything we’d want them to improve we’d handle that privately.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work at an entertainment company that specializes in horse racing. We own two race tracks, and we host casinos at those properties. We also have 60 off-track betting locations throughout our area and have an online betting platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Whitecap Canada?

We first hired Whitecap to help us build our online betting platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped build our online platform and write the rules for online betting for horse races in Canada. It’s a custom .NET application that interfaces with systems in the racing industry.

Once we developed that platform, we entered a support agreement with them. At the time, they didn’t offer ongoing support services, but they created the service for us.  They’ve rebuilt the site several times to provide updates. 

What is the team composition?

There are three team members that are dedicated to our platform.

How did you come to work with Whitecap Canada?

My company started working with them before I started in my position. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spend around $200,000 each year. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them about 18 years ago. I started working with my company 15 years ago, so the relationship predates me. Our relationship with them is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There are a few KPIs that we keep track of. We look at uptime metrics, and our SLA around uptime is about 99.9%. We also measure response time using New Relic. Additionally, we’ve been able to sell the product they developed as a SaaS solution. 

How did Whitecap Canada perform from a project management standpoint?

For our maintenance agreement, our solution architect is also our project manager. We use an agile methodology. We have designated project managers for each individual project we work on with them. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We don’t have to worry about their work or constantly check that they’re on track. They just get it. They feel like an extension of our in-house team. We have a fairly large in-house IT department. With other partners, we struggled with collaboration between our team and the vendor. We can brainstorm and find solutions together. 

Are there any areas they could improve? 

I’d like to see them grow and start offering more services. Our team is working on some projects with new technologies, and we’d love to collaborate with them on that as well. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

Being involved in the project is important. You want to understand what they’re working on and get feedback from them on strategy.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Manager, Web Applications for an electricity utility 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are an electricity utility wholly owned by the City of Ottawa.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Whitecap Canada to accomplish?

• Create and Maintain a Customer Portal

SOLUTION

How did you find Whitecap Canada?

Referral

Why did you select Whitecap Canada over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Whitecap Canada were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Creation and maintenance of a web based customer account portal.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Customers signing up for an online account and ebilling

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

Whitecap was a constant and reliable partner in development, maintenance and troubleshooting as needed.

What was your primary form of communication with Whitecap Canada?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their commitment to our success and our customer experience is impressive.

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

Investment in native mobile app development.