Zealous System

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a startup company called AppUrService. It’s a mobile application that enables people in Manitoba to request a handyperson, electrician, technician, plumber, or any kind of house service.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zealous System?

When we came here, we found that people had difficulty finding service providers, especially with commissions, electricians, and plumbers. We were trying to solve this problem and make things easier for customers and vendors.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Zealous System built the mobile app with an admin system to control everything. First, we explained our idea to Zealous System. They allocated a project manager on their side to get our objectives and develop them into paper. Then, they started developing the system, and we did some modifications. It was a large project, and it took us almost a year to finish.

The app is available for iOS and Android. Customers can view all the services available and book an appointment. We have another application for the vendors, and they can view the request and details of the job, such as timing and address. Also, customers and vendors can upload pictures. For example, if someone has a broken fridge, they can take a picture, upload it, and write a brief description of the problem so the service provider can identify the problem before visiting them.

Additionally, we’ve integrated a payment system. The payment goes through us, so we take the customer’s money and deliver it to the vendor’s bank account after the job is done.

What is the team composition?

We dealt with 3–4 people. Pranjal (Managing Director) was the team leader, and there were two other designers. In the end, an IT manager also worked with them.

How did you come to work with Zealous System?

We were looking for software developers in Canada, and we found that Zealous System had an office here in Montreal. We spoke to them and found out that the designers were located in India, but we didn’t have a problem as long as we had accessible communication. We offered the project to them, and they gave us the complete documentation on paper within a month. Then, we agreed to the price and scope.

Overall, we chose them right away. It was an easy decision.

How much have you invested with them?

We paid around $17,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from November 2019–October 2020. However, they promised maintenance after we finished, so the relationship won’t end. We need them, and they need us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The functionality of the application showed the quality of their work. We did many tests, and they were flexible to add and remove features or do any modifications from their end. Also, Zealous System delivered anything we needed within a week or ten days maximum.

How did Zealous System perform from a project management standpoint?

They did fine. We had some delays due to the pandemic, but we understood that. Apart from it, the communication was good. Our only challenge was the time difference between Canada and India, but we could send emails and communicate over phone calls. Also, they used Teams to call us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were really attentive to all our requests. We asked for many changes, and it was pretty challenging for them to modify things. Even if it didn’t make sense, they were professional, and they always did everything to finish the project for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we were amazed by the project’s result. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Put all your ideas in order to avoid any delays because adding more features or requests will take more time.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the founder & CEO of Findayly Singapore

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Zealous System, and what were your goals?

We needed a new web application to be built with a custom backend for data management, inventory management and campaign listings. It had to be a responsive front end and migrated to AWS within a short timeframe.

SOLUTION

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

We evaluated close to 10 vendors and the dedication to the final outcome without being hung up on the costs were the deciding factors.

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

Laravel backend. We had a very good communication structure set up with effective tracking and resolution of issues and bugs.

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

There were 3-4 people we work with and Raj is the principal architect for us. The CEO, server management and account personnel are in touch as needed. We have an open comms line to the CEO, which helps with urgent issues and to plan for future projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to launch in September 2021 which was our soft target.

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

They have excellent communication and as mentioned earlier, are only focused on a successful outcome with everything else coming second.

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

Their commitment, ease of access and true conviction about the project.

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

More skills and resources will be great!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a simple and low cost risk management software provider, I am a risk expert and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Zealous System, and what were your goals?

We have in-house development capability but wanted to supplement our internal resources with a technology partner

SOLUTION

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

We tendered for this project and we liked the flexible working arrangement, language skills and responsiveness of the team.

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

We use Zealous particularly for front end development of our product in HTML and webside, they now provide onward support and enhancements and are an extension of our internal capability.

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

We have a key developer that we interact with daily and a senior developer which we engage on when planning and discussing major development projects. They bring on additional subject matter experts where necessary and we have direct access to the MD as necessary.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

All deliverables are tested in UAT by a technical and business user before we deploy to production, of course there are always things we will find but the final deliverables always meet high code and user standards.

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

Zealous are transparent and honest about project management, estimations, and delivery. I can track the hours they are recording in a shared google sheets document, we speak as necessary and interact in real-time through Skype. This process works perfectly fine for us.

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

What I like most about Zealous System is that they are responsive and always there when I need them.

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

It's not a big deal but where they engage other subject matter experts, they could introduce them to us and make them part of the extended team instead they are a little anonymous.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Metropolitan College of New York (MCNY) is a small, private college in the NYC metro area. We cater to adult, minority students with flexible programs and extensive academic and personal support. Many of our students transfer from other colleges, often at the last minute. I am the Assistant Director of Technology for Enterprise Systems.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Zealous System?

Our process of evaluating transfer credits from other schools was fully manual and based on paper or PDF forms. Employee A would look at transcripts and map out the credits on a form, send the document to various approvers, and eventually Employee B would key the final document into the PowerCampus student information system (duplication of effort, since Employee A already keyed it once).

The entire process was slow enough that it couldn't be completed before students registered for classes, meaning that advisors had to cross-reference multiple documents in order to know which classes a student should take. Knowing which students had transfer credits in process was nearly impossible; this had knock-on effects for many other processes.

What were your goals for this project?

Digitize and speed up the entire transfer credit process. Eliminate re-keying of transfer credits. Integrate with our Admissions CRM (Slate) and central SIS (PowerCampus). Allow Admissions to quickly mock up transfer credit evaluations with a student and compare how credits would transfer to different programs, then push one mockup through the entire process until officially approved by the registrar, at which point the credits are instantly inserted into the SIS.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found Zealous via their website. We compared them to several US-based vendors and found the latter prohibitively expensive. We contacted several existing clients of Zealous and heard good things both about the quality of their work and their ability to work internationally (timezones, English language, etc.).

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

MCNY already had a project design with flowcharts, wireframes, etc.; we submitted this to Zealous for a bid; they pointed out some problems and asked for various clarifications. We then negotiated a contract and they began work right away. Zealous first created a dummy UI; we were impressed with their graphic design.

Once we approved the style, Zealous deployed iterative builds on our servers; we tested and provided feedback. The first two builds took several weeks to develop and included major changes. Towards the end of the process, builds had minor changes - small feature tweaks, bug resolutions, typo corrections, etc.

We were very impressed with the speed of development. Partway through the process our end users submitted additional requirements and feature ideas not in the original plans; we submitted a change order to Zealous at a very reasonable cost.

What was the team composition?

I worked with two individuals at Zealous - a project manager and a managing director. The director handled contracts, invoices, etc. Everything else went through the project manager, who was very responsive at all times.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We recently deployed the application in our live environment and have not had time to evaluate its impact yet.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project manager engaged me in weekly Zoom meetings for a time and then we sent regular emails back and forth. I was exceptionally pleased with how efficiently meetings were conducted. No time was wasted and we did not engage in endless bureaucratic make-work.

The project took longer than it should have, but that was our fault. Every time we submitted a problem, Zealous resolved it in days - often less than a day. Nearly all delays were on our end as we tried to wrangle busy staffers to test the application.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The US dev shops we spoke with all wanted to take responsibility for all phases of the project, including design (at significant additional time and cost). However, we already had experience with in-house software development and had a detailed design. Zealous was the only vendor willing to accept as much or a little responsibility as we wished to outsource.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I don't believe Zealous had much prior experience with American higher ed. This led to occasional misunderstandings because they were unfamiliar with terms and processes that we assumed were common knowledge. Both sides could improve here. Also, our lawyers wanted many changes to their English-language contract; Zealous was easy to work with on this point.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Managing Director of a property services organisation who works with investors by providing research, due diligence and a consultative approach. We have a national and international reach, serving clients around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Zealous System?

We engaged the team at Zealous initially to build out the website an bespoke features including a partner portal. We have since used them to create and edit landing pages and other marketing collateral used by the company.

What were your goals for this project?

We were looking to drive enquiry to the website and use the landing pages in connection with various marketing programs we launched with partner companies.

The work Zealous delivered allowed us to execute on these goals as we have seen a big increase in visitors and have been able to streamline client engagement through the use of the landing pages.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We searched on-line for some time looking for the right creative team. Since engaging the guys at Zealous our website and marketing activities have become very easy as we regularly lean on them for support.

I must say, their after sales service is some of the best I've encountered in 25 years in business. They are responsive to questions, comments, changes and are happy to edit and re-purpose content to suit our purposes.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Once we formally engaged the team, we were introduced to the members who would be looking after our job/s and a video conference was scheduled where they asked us many questions in order to gain a deep understanding and insight to our organisation. This was very impressive as it seemed they really cared about delivering exactly what we wanted.

They offered us as many follow up calls as we needed to ensure the brief was being followed and to input any changes we wanted as we progressed through the delivery of the jobs. On every occasion they were very punctual with their responses and more than happy to make any changes we requested, even if they were outside the brief.

What was the team composition?

I have worked with the Directors and various creatives in the organisation. They seem to share the work and responsibilities which to me indicates the Directors trust and have confidence in their teams. We found this to be true.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Website traffic has increased 10 x and our client engagement process has been streamlined, leading to higher close rates and more revenue for us. On-going support has been outstanding, no job has been too small or difficult and they have always been happy to action any changes quickly and efficiently.

Now they have a deep understanding of our business it is even easier to communicate our ideas and they execute with little fuss.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow we experienced along with the talent and their teams ability to execute meant we never waited long for a job to be completed. Lines of communication were always open and we received quick responses to each enquiry, every time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Efficiency, attention to detail, talent and a genuine interest in our company are things that stand out the most. I also found their pricing the be very fair and they have always been happy to go the extra mile after the job has been completed. I am incredibly happy with the service we have received.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not as far as I can see.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of a small risk management firm and we provide risk management software.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zealous System?

As a startup organization, we understand the business problem and market. Our co-founder is a technology expert, but we still needed technical support.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided Zealous System with wireframes from a separate design agency. They then did frontend development and jQuery work. They also helped us to develop our frontend customer website. The team used .NET, React, HTML, and JavaScript. 

What is the team composition?

The team has been fluid, but we’ve had one main point of contact throughout the project. They’ve also brought in day-to-day and specialist resources as well. 

How did you come to work with Zealous System?

They were recommended to us by the team who did the wireframes. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spend about £1,000 per month ($1,260 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in November 2018, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Zealous System has been really good in terms of responsiveness, professionalism, and trust. We’re very pleased with them. We’re very happy with the final product and the level of quality we’re getting

How did Zealous System perform from a project management standpoint?

Our point of contact is very knowledgeable. He understands the business problem and asks the right questions. Their communication is excellent. We use Skype, and the scheduling is very flexible. When I send them requests, they deliver almost immediately.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Zealous System is a flexible resource you can depend on. When we have specialist needs, they have resources that they can call on. Additionally, the continuity of staff has been great, too. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could offer a few more ideas. Some of their development logic can also be improved in terms of their code governance. In the beginning, some of the code wasn’t the best, but since we talked to them about it, we’ve seen an improvement in quality.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My approach has been perfect for what I need. I haven’t scoped out large portions of the project. In fact, I’ve given them drip feeds and smaller requirements which allows me to see the progress and pace of the delivery.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CEO of Augustine Tours, a tour company based in Germany. We offer private tours and corporate travel services to Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Zealous System?

We had issues with our tour management and booking system.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted an improved booking system to increase our sales. We also needed a redesigned website to expand our business.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I found Zealous System through online reviews.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The Zealous System team designed and developed an online booking system for us. They also integrated a payment system and redesigned our platform.

What was the team composition?

I had an initial meeting with the business development manager and now have a dedicated project manager and developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our booking system allows clients to make bookings and payments online without contacting us, so we have a more efficient system now.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Their team communicated with us effectively and the work was well-organized. They considered all of our business needs and offered great customer service.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Zealous Systems’ responsiveness was valuable to us. They were also willing to help in every area of the project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the founder of a consulting firm. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Zealous System?

I hired them for web development.

What were your goals for this project?

I wanted to build a user-friendly website that served as a resource for our clients and followers.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They approached me after I posted a brief on a freelance-hiring platform.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

They were supposed to build a website membership functionality that provided useful content to prospective clients. The website was meant to include newsletter opt-in, content protection, site login, and registration functionalities.

What was the team composition?

They provided a web developer and sales manager. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project had a negative impact since visitors and prospective clients were unable to log into my site.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They managed the project poorly. They consistently missed deadlines, and the lead developer was often unavailable, which resulted in delays.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I have little positive to say about my experience with Zealous System, aside from the fact that they successfully migrated the data and content from my old site into WordPress.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

They failed to execute the functionalities agreed upon in the scope of work. The code they created kept breaking down. Many clients and site visitors complained about a confusing registration process even though I had flagged this issue with Zealous System multiple times. They never fixed it despite going back and forth for over 12 months.

To make matters worse, they left most of the testing to me rather than taking the lead and ensuring that no errors existed. I regularly found sloppy errors, typos, and design flaws. They also refused to acknowledge their mistakes when my next team summarized the errors in their code.

Working with Zealous System was hugely time-consuming and a big waste of money. I will never work with them again, and I would recommend that others steer clear of them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and manager of SeeVirtu.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zealous System?

We needed a partner to build our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I created an outline of the requirements and then worked with Zealous System to fine-tune them and make them functional. The platform is a scheduling system for dentists to organize and book hygienists online. I showed Zealous System a few sites I wanted mine to look like, and they built a unique WordPress site, using PHP. We just finished up phase one and are moving into phase two.

What is the team composition?

They have a project manager and a dedicated team.

How did you come to work with Zealous System?

I put out a request on LinkedIn and had 12 companies contact me. I then narrowed that down until Zealous System was the winner. They communicated quickly and were organized and affordable, so I hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent less than $8,000 on phase two.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since June 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Those who have seen the site say it looks nice and unique. It’s easy to navigate and will bring in lots of traffic.

How did Zealous System perform from a project management standpoint?

I have a busy schedule, but they always try to reach out to me to keep things moving along. We used Skype and InVision to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have excellent project management. They make it extremely easy to communicate and understand their processes.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Our different time zones cause some issues, but they accommodate me and are willing to stay up late to communicate.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Make a detailed outline so that everyone is on the same page.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the associate VP at Annet Technologies. We’re a software development and knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zealous System?

We have a healthcare customer in the U.S. that we’ve been working with since 2008. Business has increased in the last couple of years. This year has been fantastic for us, but we are short on skill sets and the workload has increased. We needed an ongoing technology partner to help us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They allocate .NET development resources to us on a case-by-case basis. The healthcare system in the U.S. has requirements and policies so we have to depend on tools to work on those systems. They use Microsoft technologies like .NET, C#, SQL, and other technologies like Java. We are also doing some Magento open-source work with them.

What is the team composition?

There are three FTE resources on their side.

How did you come to work with Zealous System?

We were referred to them. We started by using them on a trial basis. They did a good job so we assigned more work to them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2018 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They work as an extension of our team to our customer. Internally, we have a mutual agreement that they have to deliver the work that they’re doing to us, and our internal project code review team checks the work they deliver. That team does manual and auto machine testing. According to our QA and code review team, they’ve done it at a satisfactory level to be delivered to the customer. Most of the time, it passed through from the first level of testing. Our customers and our team are satisfied with them. The work is on time and on budget.

How did Zealous System perform from a project management standpoint?

We got great cooperation from Zealous System. They have been great for us by providing development and support.

For our first meeting, we had a meeting at our office. We mainly use Skype and phone calls internally. When communication involves customers, we use GoToMeeting.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have great expertise. They’re a Microsoft Gold Partner. They have highly skilled resources available. They’re a process-based company, which is great for us. Everything is documented, and all the processes have been followed. It’s a positive experience and we look forward to continuing our business with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes they should be stronger in communicating with our team. It’s not poor, but it could improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You have to remain slightly flexible and set rigidity aside. In the long-run, it is beneficial to both partners.