Zco Corporation

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of a company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zco?

We needed help building a mobile app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I contracted Zco to create specifications and features for a mobile app.

What is the team composition?

I worked with two people from Zco: the project manager and the lead engineer. They had people offshore who were doing a lot of the work as well.

How did you come to work with Steelkiwi?

I was searching online and found Zco.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project was completed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did your relationship with the vendor evolve?

There were too many delays on Zco's part. In the end, they produced the app, which is something I give them credit for. However, it took too much work on my part to keep the project on track.

How was project management handled?

Zco had a lot of problems keeping track of details. The US-based people were continuously having to get their offshore team to do the work, and a lot of it was lost in translation. It was exhausting for me to keep pointing out corrections and then, pointing out corrections to the corrections.

Is there anything that the vendor did well or that you would consider a strength?

The people I had contact with from Zco’s team were very nice and very responsive. They did put a lot of work into the project. Perhaps, they just needed to charge more and get more staff on board in order to produce a higher quality experience.

What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours?

For a simpler project, maybe Zco would be fine, but mine was a complex one. For that kind of project, you may want to look elsewhere.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of digital architecture at Aliv, a telecommunications company. I’m responsible for all new technology and building opportunities to earn revenue through tech.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zco?

We had a proof of concept (POC) AR product 2–3 years ago. When users clicked maps, content popped out. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Zco helped us turn our POC AR product into a tourism product. Visitors to The Bahamas can use the product to find their way around the country using AR.

What is the team composition?

I dealt directly with three people, but the team was probably close to 20 people.

How did you come to work with Zco?

I searched for the best AR development companies. Zco came up as one of the top 10 companies through a few different tech blogs and Google.

How much have you invested with them?

My company spent about $170,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Zco in February 2020, and we wrapped up that September.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m very happy with the end-product. The most important thing was that Zco understood our business rules very well. They had product managers who asked a lot of questions in non-technical ways so that they could understand what the business wanted to achieve. They also translated those objectives into functional requirements.

Zco’s core skill is that they manage their team of developers well. They found easier ways of achieving the same results, so they did a lot of third-party plugins and best practices that they brought themselves. The team didn’t have to do a lot of new development; rather, they were able to use existing technology.

How did Zco perform from a project management standpoint?

They did very well. Zco used a lot of technology like Basecamp or Slack to keep us up-to-date on all of the releases and the work that they were doing. It was all live, so we could watch it in real-time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our company works with a lot of developers. One thing that Zco did very well was management. They had a meeting at the beginning of the week to review functional requirements with the client. They made sure that we all agreed upon what they would be working on. Then, later that week, they had another meeting to articulate what they’d built, and they walked us through that bit-by-bit.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The original project cost was $140,000. With all development comes the need to translate an idea from one group to another. The only commentary I’d have is that the cost did increase as we developed the ideas over time, and I would’ve liked to keep it within budget.

Any advice for potential customers?

Have very clearly defined functional requirements. Document everything that you have in mind and use as many resources, like photos, links, or videos, to help explain your ideas. Also, ensure you have a weekly touchpoint with Zco. Quite frankly, they’re really great at managing clients’ expectations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of a contractor company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zco?

We were looking to expand our services by building a mobile app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did some extensive iOS/Android development work for us, and they continue to provide developing work.

It was a collaborative process. We approached them with our scope of work, and then we worked together to work on the first version of the app. Since then, we’ve told them what features we want to add, and they’re able to develop and deploy that for us. We’re on about the twentieth iteration of the app now.

What is the team composition?

We have one project manager that we deal with most frequently, and I’ve worked with 4–6 people over the course of the project.

How did you come to work with Zco?

We did a lot of research online and interviewed about 10 companies. In the end, we narrowed it down to three different agencies, conducted some interviews, reviewed their previous work, and then settled on Zco.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $100,000–$200,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2016 and we launched the app in April that year. We’re always giving them new features to incorporate into the mobile app, so our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve had a positive response from our users. Whenever we notice an issue with the app, we bring it to Zco’s attention, and they’re able to resolve it immediately. They're every quick and agile. I’m extremely satisfied with their work.

How did Zco perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve performed very well. We’ve had many meetings over the phone and work closely with our internal team. We typically communicate using Basecamp as well. When we finally came up with the final scope of work, they followed the scope of work to a T.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their attention to detail sets them apart from other providers. I feel like they’re part of my own staff. They work all the time and respond within minutes of any request we ask them. It seems like they really value our partnership as well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m not sure there is anything they need to improve. Everything they delivered has been spot-on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

No matter who you work with, it’s important that you have a clear scope of work. Then set up a consultation with them to go over the scope and make sure that they understand it and think it’s realistic. It’s also important that you have a good project management tool like Basecamp. Basecamp was very simple and easy to use, and it helps ensure that the project will run smoothly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP and co-founder of a manufacturer of gamified fitness equipment and app development game technology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zco?

We needed to find a company that could create games for our specific platform. We needed them to be able to do so consistently, month after month.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Zco helps us determine the design and functionality of the various mobile games for our product line. My team handles ideation; then, Zco comes in, takes our concept and wireframes it, and figures out the front- and backends and graphics. They do a series of sprints and then launch the game. The games are for iOS and Android. 

We do about one project each month. We’re doing major app redesign right now.

What is the team composition?

I work directly with Randy (Senior Account Executive) and Don (Executive VP).

How did you come to work with Zco?

We went through three different app developers, and then I did some online research. Zco has been around for quite some time, and it seemed like they had both international and US-based people. They also had skillsets in Unity game development.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend anywhere from $20,000–$50,000 per game.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work together began 2–3 years ago.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The fact that we’re able to deliver our digital technology to our customers consistently has allowed our company to grow at a pretty significant rate. Zco has done a great job; I have no major complaints. We’re very happy with them.

How did Zco perform from a project management standpoint?

One person in our office works directly with Zco’s developers through some project management software. He takes our ideas to Zco and talks directly with the developers in India. We have weekly meetings with the team here in the US – Randy and Don – to review projects.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re pretty organized. They have a system that oversees coders, so they can scale up or down based on your needs. They also have English-speaking resources in the US, so that we can clearly articulate what the project is.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We shopped around and looked at other people when we thought their prices were high, only to find out that we’re getting a pretty good deal.

Any advice for potential customers?

Clearly wireframe your idea or concept in advance so that you don’t waste money and time changing your mind. I think a lot of people have an idea for an app, but they don’t know what the end will look like. Be very clear about what you want, and you’ll get a good value out of Zco. They’re good about providing feedback on categories and markets they’ve worked with in the past. I’d use them for other projects in the future.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our organization is called South Western Advantage. We have a group of individuals who sell door-to-door educational products during the summer. My role is director of applications, which covers several platforms that we use for selling as well as several customer-facing education products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zco Corporation?

We hired them to rewrite one of our educational apps.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They rebuilt the product from the ground up using Unity. The app is built for both iOS and Android, and it allows the user to read e-books, watch videos, play games, and take quizzes, all within one cohesive interface. Those activities are organized around a learning path that advances the user through our set curriculum.

How did you come to work with Zco Corporation?

One of our sister companies had worked with their team on an augmented reality app, and they highly recommended their services to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We were originally quoted at around $63,000 for the project, but they have only charged us for actual hours so I’m not sure how much of that has actually been spent so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in October 2019, and we are currently entering phase two of the project with the first version of the app going into production this week.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They have been doing milestone releases every other week, and we are incredibly pleased with what Zco is providing so far. One of the things they’re bringing to the table which you don’t often see with contractors is their ideas for making things even better.

Their team will often be working on something and will come to us and point out something that they can add to the project within the original estimate, or a different approach we can take that will make something more efficient. In that regard, they really have been like an extension of our own team.

How did Zco Corporation perform from a project management standpoint?

We have really been amazed by their project management. Everyone on their team is incredibly professional and communicative at all times. I have a lot of projects going on so I can sometimes be vague in what I’m asking for, but they do a great job of understanding or making sure that they take time to ask questions to make sure they do in the end.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Compared with the other contract groups we’ve worked with, Zco has an unbelievable ability to turn high-level ideas into practical designs and implementations. They are able to translate our mockups identically onto the screen in a way that is incredibly difficult to do.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I honestly cannot think of anything that I would change about our business relationship.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Treat them more like a partner than a contractor and they will be able to provide a better service for you. They have a lot of experience and are on top of all the newest trends, so allowing them to help you with creative designs and flows will make the final product exceed your expectations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of Shordio. We create tools that allow creators of short-form written content to distribute that content as audio read by the author. Bloggers, journalists and any type of media publishers that traditionally only distribute content through the written form can do so through audio.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zco?

The business challenge was figuring out how to build the types of tools that would allow writers to record their content in a relatively easy and seamless way that encourages them to put their content on this platform. Ease of use was our goal.

It is a concept that was largely untested, so part of the challenge was figuring out how to make something that is eminently simple and encourages people to distribute their content.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built us an iOS app and mobile website. An Android app will probably be on the way at some point.

I initially created a design. I sketched out a design, and they gave me very specific specifications in terms of what the work would entail. It was a very specific blueprint on cost, the scope of project, hours, and they presented all of that from the get-go so there weren’t any surprises. 

They were iOS and web products, and they were fairly basic. However, the work helped me realize that I wasn’t ready to introduce it to the marketplace, but I definitely knew I wanted to pursue it in a much more expansive manner. At that point, I reached out to a different designer.

Once I had new design specs, I presented them to Zco and they implemented it. It was much more robust and expanded the scope of the platform. It made it look a lot nicer. With the new design specs, they built the project and gave me milestones along the way.

It was an agile development process and along the way, they would go through their own quality control. I would get the product in whatever its current form was, beat it up a little bit, come back to them with any changes or alterations that needed to be made and they would deliver.

Like any major project, there were going to be hiccups along the way. They were able to adjust. We had some issues with Apple and some other requirements to being in the App Store which was unanticipated, but Zco was able to adapt and implement, and ultimately deliver a product that works well. 

What is the team composition?

Including the product manager, there were two to three working on it in India. My product manager is the vice president of Zco. I don’t think it is a massive organization, but I think he is fairly senior. In the development team, we had an iOS engineer, a website and backend engineer and those were the primary engineers who have been working on this project.

How did you come to work with Zco?

I was looking for a design and development firm within 50 miles from me. They were well regarded. Before I signed a cheque, I did a bit more digging into the quality of their products and I was impressed. I liked my primary contact there, and I thought they were honest and that they presented themselves well.

What is the status of this engagement?

I began working with them in April 2016, and the work is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don’t have business metrics that I can point to, but from my perspective of working with Zco, I had asked them to deliver a product that was reliable, works, and is capable of doing the things that I designed it to do. They have consistently delivered that.

How did Zco perform from a project management standpoint?

I think they did really well. I pushed them for a delivery schedule. Most of the work was being done in an agile environment so they would give me an approximate day or week when work was going to be completed and I would push them on that. There were times when they didn’t hit the milestone date perfectly, but there are always unexpected things that occur in the development of any small or large project. I never got the runaround.

They were straight shooters. If issues came up, they would explain them to me. The development was being done half a world away and things would come up. People would get sick or there would be unexpected weather events. They have always been very open and honest, and I have never felt that they tried to evade responsibility for completing something.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I have always gotten a really strong level of responsiveness from Zco and my product manager.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I like more communication rather than less. I will make a request to him and he will pass on that request to the development team with whatever language around that that he has to. I won’t always get the acknowledgment that he is going to pass that onto the development team. Quite honestly, that is on me because I haven’t been explicit about wanting an answer. When I email with a question or instruction, I just want an acknowledgment.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be honest, upfront, and clear about what you are looking for. They are going to be really good at translating your directions into a product, but that is all they'll do. They are going to translate your vision per the instructions that you provide, not per their own level of experience.

Their level of experience will be eminently apparent in the high-quality code and the way it translates into a product. Their job is to bring life to your concept. Have a really good idea of your concept and they will bring life to it, but they aren’t going to enhance it in ways that are unexpected.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a technology startup that builds marketplace mobile apps for the real estate industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zco?

We needed help in creating mobile technology to facilitate our business goals.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I’m not familiar with the technical end of things, so they came in and really managed the entire development process. We provided wireframes and overall ideas and business goals. Then, we worked with them to plan the product. They got to work and later helped us implement the technology.

The final product is a mobile platform that sells home services specifically for real estate professionals. Homeowners are also able to use the product. As of now, we’ve paused our Android development to realign from a business development standpoint. Their team also completed the web development end of the project, so we’re currently working on iOS. 

What is the team composition?

Originally, we were working with an iOS team, Android team, and a web development team. Now, we have a few iOS engineers, testing personnel, a business analyst, one project manager, and an API developer.

How did you come to work with Zco?

We found them on Clutch. Our team vetted them and several other potential vendors through interviews. We appreciate how much the Clutch platform provided for us, and the team used its listings as a guide to help narrow down our list. In the end, we had the best discussions with Zco and felt most confident in hiring their team.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in March 2017, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re extremely satisfied and grateful to have an excellent working relationship with them. With outsourcing, there’s always uncertainty surrounding how the relationship will work out. Two organizations aren’t likely to have the same processes or schedules, so it can be difficult. We’re happy to have our long-term partnership with them. 

How did Zco perform from a project management standpoint?

Our project manager was personable and helped to develop our ongoing relationship on a personal level. Whenever I need assistance, he’s on it. When there’s something urgent that needs deeper discussion, we jump on a video call to share screens and walk through issues. Otherwise, we use Basecamp, email, and phone to communicate. That’s been effective, so we don’t see a need for additional tools.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re trustworthy and dependable. Knowing that we have a company we can count on means a lot to us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’ve been great. I can’t say anything negative about them. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I wouldn’t hesitate to hire them because of their trustworthiness. From a technical standpoint, they’re also very strong. I haven’t come across a situation where they couldn’t deliver on a feature we wanted. They’re professional and competent. It’s just a matter of managing the project the way you want to and finding the company you can rely on. If those things are important to you, Zco is the match for you.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m on the marketing and business development side of a material handling company. We sell any service that goes into warehouses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zco?

One of our issues was that whenever we had sales reps inside of a warehouse, they didn’t have internet service. Because of this, the reps couldn’t pull up different product information on their tablets to show customers. In partnering with Zco, we hoped to eliminate that by creating an application that holds all of the literature, videos, and information about our products, which would be accessible without an internet connection.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team at Zco created an iOS and Android application for our sales team. When we met the first time, their team got to know our ideas before coming back with their suggestions. Once we decided on a solution, I provided all of the content before their team focused on all of the design and development.

We have around 200 products. The app would host all of the spec sheets, brochures, literature and any videos that went along with each product. It also has an ROI calculator. When the sales rep is meeting with the customer, they can punch in the parameters of the warehouse and receive what the ROI would be.

What is the team composition?

In total, our team has four people. My main contacts are Michael (Senior Project Manager, Zco) and Randy (Senior Account Executive, Zco).

How did you come to work with Zco?

We did a Google search. Our team was actually going to work with another company, but then we decided Zco would be a better fit. After interviewing several different companies, we went with Zco because of their responsiveness. They also wanted to come out and see our business. Their team wanted to learn what we do so that they would have the background before creating our product.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Zco in June 2019. We’re in the final stages, and it should be finished in the next few weeks.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re still in the testing phase. Our teams meet to go over issues or things that could be improved upon. Since we’re not experts by any means, they also give us feedback on what could be better.  

Everyone is excited about the app. Back in July, I revealed the concept during a sales meeting. I let everyone know what we were working on and what designs we had. All of our sales reps are pleased with it.

I also showed it to our vendor partners, who asked me about the development and who we hired. A lot of them want to do something similar with their teams. This morning, someone emailed me, asking for a couple of screenshots that he could share with his team.

How did Zco perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team is excellent at getting back to me. I could send them a message right now, and within seconds, they’ll respond. For project management tools, we use Slack, email communication, and sometimes Basecamp.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I have nothing but good things to say about Zco. I appreciate their responsiveness the most. If I’m having an issue during testing, they get right back to me. If I need to add something, they’re on it. Even if we throw a curveball.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’ve done everything great. There are no complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Let them know about your business and industry. Once they have that information, they can zone in on what’s important.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of R&D at Streamline Automation. We build inspection software for fire departments within a city municipality. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zco?

We hired Zco to port our iPad-exclusive remote inspection software solution to a cross-platform build. The original was written using Objective-C, and the latest version would use .NET Xamarin to run on Windows and iOS.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Zco assigned two teams to work concurrently on our inspection software. The first team initially took over our native Objective-C platform to get a sense of our architecture and then continued to make enhancements throughout its lifespan. All in all, they’ve completed about nine major releases over the course of a year, building out new features as requested.

During this time, the second team was working on the Xamarin initiative to port the solution to Windows. They’ve completed the cross-platform version, and it’s now available in the Microsoft store.

What is the team composition? 

The first team consisted of an architect, a QA lead, and an Objective-C developer for the native iOS tool. That architect and QA lead would later go on to head the Xamarin team, joined by two Xamarin developers, a business analyst, and graphics artists to complete the package. The later helped with UI work, creating icons and other visuals.

How did you come to work with Zco?

We’d searched a number of companies but found that their fees were really expensive. Eventually, the owner of our company found Zco because they offered a reasonable price.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, we’ve spent about $250,000 so far. The Objective-C development cost a little over $102,000, and the Xamarin initiative has been about $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them on July 2018 for the Objective-C app, and they’ve recently released the final version to the App Store. The Xamarin build started in September 2018, and we’re still working together to make enhancements.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As I’ve said, we’ve had nine major releases to the App Store and one initial release to the Microsoft store. Each one has seen a great success rate. We’ve hardly ever had any QA issues after the fact, and, if we did, they were very responsive to them.

How did Zco perform from a project management standpoint?

We meet with their team once a week on a live conference call and interact using project management tools. Because we’ve been able to communicate our needs clearly, they’ve helped us hit all of our milestones by following our custom Scrum process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Zco has a wide range of skill sets at their disposal, which allows them to adjust their team to as they see fit. For example, if we need a graphics artist or any other specialist, they’ll assign someone who can participate at the team level for a few short iterations. Once they complete the job, they switch out. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we always have a high level of satisfaction with what they’re doing.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s best to have solid requirements and project definitions upfront before engaging any development firm. We were fortunate enough to have our software well-documented from our previous vendor, which became the basis for our requirements and project definitions. This helped minimize Zco’s discovery period.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a founding partner of a fitness mobile app company called Challenge Me App.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zco Corporation?

We engaged Zco Corporation to develop our mobile and web app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Zco Corporation designed and developed our app for iOS and Android from scratch, along with an administrative web-based platform to manage the app's insights, data, downloads, and other functions. They provided UX design in addition to development, using technologies such as PHP and MySQL. The app's features allow users to access and post to national leaderboards, accept fitness challenges from other users, and subscribe to fitness influencers. 

What is the team composition? 

We work with an account executive, the senior vice president, and a handful of designers, developers, and QA testers. We've probably worked with about 30 people on their team in total throughout different stages of the project. 

How did you come to work with Zco Corporation?

We found Zco Corporation at a networking event. We had also hired a business consultant to help us find the right app development company, and they were one of our top three choices. After meeting with them, it was clear that they were experts in gamification and other capabilities. We knew we would be able to scale easily if necessary with their team, so it would be possible to do everything we needed without having to hire any additional agencies.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested over $300,000 thus far, or about $15,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with them since October 2017 and have continued the relationship through a monthly retainer. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Zco Corporation has been instrumental in the growth of our company. They've done a great job of managing our expectations when it comes to developing something that's never been done before. They've helped bring our ideas to life by laying out a data-driven approach to achieving those goals. 

How did Zco Corporation perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Jira and Basecamp to manage communications, addressing bugs and checking off tasks through each sprint phase in an efficient manner.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have the ability to bring enough manpower to a project when needed in order to get everything done on time. We never have to worry about delaying our timelines with their ability to scale their team to resolve any issues that may come up. They're very business-development oriented, so they do what they need to do in order to hit our deadlines. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they've made improvements wherever we've requested them to as they come up.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have as many in-person meetings as possible with their team.