Zymr, Inc.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CTO for a mental health app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zymr, Inc.?

We needed a mobile development team to create two apps. We wanted to sell our app to hospitals as a subscription, and provide it to patients for free.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Zymr, Inc. has developed two mobile applications for hospital administration staff and patients. Their team has implemented features to enable symptom tracking and assistance. They’re also working on functionalities to record and follow a user’s progression. 

What is the team composition?

We work with two programmers.

How did you come to work with Zymr, Inc.?

They were referred to us by one of their former clients. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $150,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around May 2018, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their deliverables have been great so far. 

How did Zymr, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done a good job. We implemented the Agile method they used and work in two-week sprints. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They go the extra mile and are willing to work on weekends. They’re flexible and roll with the challenges we face as a small company. They have good knowledge of how to implement the things we need.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There is nothing that comes to mind. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I had two startups that I worked at before my current role. I was the CSO [chief strategy officer] of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zymr?

We were going from an embedded software model to a cloud and SaaS [software-as-a-service] one. We did not have the in-house expertise for this, so we reached out to Zymr.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We were building a SaaS cloud solution meant to guarantee the availability and performance of business-critical applications like Skype for Business. It was the first application which our customers identified as being essential for their users, given that they were dealing with video and audio communications.

We worked with customers in getting a design on paper and presented it to Zymr. We had some building blocks in our embedded software, but we needed to bring the solution into the new world of cloud. Zymr proposed using their own platform through which our codebase could be converted to a more modern solution using AngularJS and other frameworks.

Zymr started with high-level and low-level design pieces, had us approve the work, and assigned 15–20 engineers to the project, both on-site, at our offices, and from their research and development center in Pune, India.

How did you come to work with Zymr?

I knew of Zymr from my network, and also knew their founders, but had never worked with the company. I introduced them to my VP of engineering, entered them in the bidding process, and ultimately chose Zymr. They've been instrumental in bringing new innovations into our product line.

How much have you invested with Zymr?

The initial six-month phase of the project had a cost of between $300,000 and $400,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I first worked with Zymr 6–7 years ago. My former company has gone through some ups and downs, so I don't know if they're still using Zymr. Since I knew their owners, I stepped out of the financial aspects of the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Zymr's members are excellent listeners who can adapt to technology requirements very well. They've brought a lot of their own IP, but whenever it needed to be applied to a new domain, Zymr proved to be fast learners able to work with Agile methodologies. They're nimble, allowing us to change requirements once new elements are identified by early customers.

How did Zymr perform from a project management standpoint?

Zymr was an excellent partner, without which our company would not have been able to deliver the first result after only 6–8 months. Timely delivery was an important part of our contract, and Zymr lived up to it, even though they had to use extra people from their side in order to conform to our changing requirements. This was appreciated by our CEO and others.

Beyond just being communicative, Zymr pushed us to get clarifications from customers and our own members, allowing the team to make decisions.

What did you find most impressive about Zymr?

Zymr's founding team has enormous experience in their space. The company is not a Swiss army knife of development, but rather only takes on projects in the networking and software space where Zymr can bring in a vast background and many strengths. Their CEO has delivered a good number of projects in record time, and working with a sense of urgency (what I would call a "Silicon Valley vibe") is how Zymr engaged with us. Most of the engineering team from my old company was out of Toronto, and it was refreshing to see some Silicon Valley DNA brought into our culture.

Are there any areas Zymr could improve?

The only thing I noticed was that Zymr was not able to hire some skillsets as fast as they needed to. It wasn't uncommon, since those resources are hard to find even in the Valley, so finding them in India or Toronto was even more so. We've had to train people who weren't necessarily experts in that area and bring them up to speed fast in order to make up for the difference. Zymr did this in its own time, so I can't complain.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We offer WAN Optimization and application performance solutions for enterprise customers. I am the VP of engineering for the company. I am solely responsible for all our projects with Zymr.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zymr?

We were looking for additional Development, UI/UX and QA help to rapidly grow. We didn't have the time to assemble a team and kick-start a project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Zymr initially provided a small team of QA testers for our work. We then started a new project with Zymr, for a product which they built from the ground up. The solution provides visibility and control for Skype for Business administrators to ensure an exceptional quality of experience for their users. This is done by integrating with the Microsoft Skype for Business SDN manager to get quality stats and perform network analytics to provide root cause analysis and recommendation

How did you come to work with Zymr?

Our CTO knew Zymr's principal.

How much have you invested with Zymr?

The cost of Zymr's work was over 1.2 million dollars in 2016.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Zymr in July 2015. We are working with them on version 2 of our product.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Zymr's quality is quite good. Their QA team is very strong and fairly independent, which is important to us.

How did Zymr perform from a project management standpoint?

Zymr is an Agile group. We have frequent meetings and demo sessions. We've involved our own project management, as well as internal engineers which ensured that we would have regular code reviews. After the initial phase, once we established a working standard, things went smoothly. During the last 3–4 months, we've removed the additional checks and Zymr's team has been working on its own.

Deadlines have been maintained well. There was a period of uncertainty from our end in terms of what we wanted. Once we established a task backlog, things went smoothly. I can't blame Zymr for any delays, given that we approached them with just an idea. Zymr's team went above and beyond, working during weekends and evenings. We released our 1.0 version in only 3 months in order to present it at a very important show. After that was done, we started managing expectations better in order to not burn out Zymr's team. Zymr added additional resources when needed, in order to meet our dates.

What did you find most impressive about Zymr?

Zymr has experience in terms of front-end development, and they have access to any skill level. We were able to pick and choose our resources.

Zymr's biggest strength is its leaders. The top-level people are knowledgeable and experienced in working with non-US companies. They integrated with our team without any issues.

Are there any areas Zymr could improve?

By default, Zymr doesn't include project management into the team. We requested it, but I would love to see this done proactively. Zymr's CEO and other high-level people have been involved in our project, which is good.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CEO of a consumer-focused web application company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ZYMR?

Our first goal was to build an elegant, mobile-friendly web application that allowed anyone to create their own website with no technical or design skills. We had a team that was pretty good but wasn’t yet ramped up with certain skills to build this application. They had depth in several areas but there were other areas where we needed to build more expertise. We therefore decided to augment our team at the time with additional resources from ZYMR.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

ZYMR’s role was to execute some key tasks in our joint development with them and then transfer the knowledge to our team. My CTO was the architect of entire application and he provided guidance to the ZYMR team throughout.

How did you come to work with ZYMR?

We spoke with a few companies that did software services – and ZYMR was one of them. I also knew the chief business officer of ZYMR for many years previously. After evaluating our options and understanding the capabilities of the companies we considered we decided to pick ZYMR.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with ZYMR in 2015 for several months and we’re re-started another engagement with them in 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had them help us with our web app and were satisfied with the quality of the work. Our application used a modern tech stack on an Amazon cloud infrastructure and they brought to bear the right expertise to help with that. We have been in beta mode with the application – and our product has been praised by many customers and others whom we’ve demo’d it to.

We also had ZYMR help us start building an iOS app. However, we were a small team and very constrained by our own resources, so we were not able to devote the required level of resources to fully productize the app. Hence, we created a version used primarily for our own internal testing. We learned a lot through that engagement since iOS was completely new for us.

How did ZYMR perform from a project management standpoint?

It was not an issue for us because they are good about that. ZYMR has a pretty strong project management setup using Agile.

What did you most impressive about ZYMR?

They brought in some good resources, were good with customer support and demonstrated the right flexibility required to work with a startup.

Are there any areas ZYMR could improve?

My impression is that at the time that we first engaged with them (2015), they had not done a lot of iOS apps. That’s an area they needed to build more expertise in and it is likely they have now done so.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company developed a cloud-based network management system which caters to different types of wireless access points. I was initially an architect and technical lead for the company but grew to become director of engineering.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zymr?

We had the typical startup challenge of trying to manage resources in order to get a job done. We had an in-house team of 5 engineers and needed some extra hands. We started looking at consulting companies and engaged with Zymr.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Zymr built an enterprise Wi-Fi network-as-a-service solution. We were initially building a generic platform, using Zymr's team for pure backend and front-end work, but we also engaged them for mobile development. The mobile project may have involved another party.

How did you come to work with Zymr?

At the time, I was an architect for the company, so I wasn't involved in the selection process.

How much have you invested with Zymr?

The cost of Zymr's work was over 1 million dollars, for a one-and-a-half-year project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Zymr in the first quarter of 2013. I have moved on to a different company, so I don't know if the relationship with Zymr is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One thing I would like to highlight about Zymr's team is their trustworthiness. We could assign particular tasks for particular timelines and expect full transparency whenever something went wrong. Zymr gave us clear project statuses, which was an important factor for me; I always want to know what's going on and why a task may be slowing down. That information helps reallocate resources and find other options for delivering the overall project.

In terms of quality of work, I never had any issues with Zymr's coding or design standards. There will always be a two-way handshake with consultants; we had process and design approval disciplines in place, making sure that Zymr delivered enough milestones to assess how the code was evolving. We made sure that Zymr was completely keeping us in the loop, and had no technical issues because of a lack of domain expertise or programming skills.

How did Zymr perform from a project management standpoint?

I've appreciated Zymr's Agile methodology. They adapted nicely to our style, delivering in sync with our team. We used JIRA, through which we could see that Zymr's engineers were as diligent about timelines as our own group. We were kept informed both technically and execution-wise, which are required areas for delivering on time.

What did you find most impressive about Zymr?

In our case, we were specifically looking to develop a wireless network management system. Zymr's engineers had that niche talent, namely a good understanding of network management and Wi-Fi domains. Skill sets vary on a case-by-case basis, but for us, Zymr's team was a close match.

Are there any areas Zymr could improve?

We had some processes in place in terms of design and execution. One thing we noticed was that it took Zymr a while to sync with our work style. This isn't necessarily a negative aspect, but rather a part of the game. Once Zymr was in tune with our approach, the work became predictable.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

SoPact provides an impact environment platform designed for mission-driven organizations such as foundations, impact funds, accelerators, incubators, various networks, and corporations. We reimagine technology for social impact management in these organizations. To better the world, we believe that uncovering data for insights is imperative both at the organization's operational level and as a contributor to the international community, driving collective impact. SoPact is transforming the way impact is assessed and communicated. Currently, we have three product lines. Turbo Metrics is a cloud-based software that aggregates impact data for foundations. We have two other products called Lean Impact Measurement and Impact Lab, through which we provide the services to our customers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zymr?

The mission-driven organizations tend to be less tech-savvy than other sectors, which is perfectly understandable since their staff is primarily focused on social and human skills. In SoPact, our biggest challenge is to build technology to manage social impact data that is completely user-friendly and flexible enough to be valuable to different types of organizations.

There is a massive gap in data collection, or what I call intelligence, in the mission-driven sector. It’s very important to understand aggregated data and learn from the impact data so that outcomes can be improved. There are 2 separate ideas—philanthropic and impact— coming from essentially different angles. This gap shows a lack of transparency and understanding of the impact data. For example, a foundation gives funds to 300 grantees. If I want to know how effective those grants are, the foundation won’t have a very comprehensive view. One of the challenges in the sector that we are focusing on is that most of our potential customers are lacking the resources or capacity altogether.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

For my first project with Zymr, we had built an initial framework on Drupal, which has a CRM-like [customer relationship management] functionality. There were a lot of unique requirements for that particular nonprofit, which is the largest nonprofit in the world. It was a very ambitious project done on an individual basis, as a small nonprofit. We wanted to make sure that it got delivered completely and customized based on the unique requirements on the ground. Obviously, that journey moved quite a bit after that. Later on, we built another platform based on Salesforce. We’re using a Salesforce Heroku-based platform, which is a completely OpenStack platform. It provides a very high level of flexibility. Because our customers usually have limited resources, the design has to be very simple while still being flexible and comprehensive. This is very difficult to achieve, but it is very important to build that in the future.

It is a completely metadata-driven platform with 4 major functions. First, we have the largest metrics repository for impact, based on various standards. These are categorized through a metadata resource directory. Second, it includes a data collection process for the program, program agencies, and partners. Third, we have a series of visualization processes. Depending on who the audience is—whether it’s a donor, funders, or internal management staff—there are different types of data management and visualization capabilities. These include a story building aspect, 2 dashboards for visualizations, and data management for internal practices so that they can learn from the data. It’s all built into the Salesforce Heroku OpenStack. The backend uses PostgreSQL with many layers of PHP, while the front-end uses AngularJS.

How did you come to work with Zymr?

I started working with them about 5 years ago. The motivation was completely different. At that point, I had been in the corporate technology sector for more than 22 years. I left the corporate sector because I wanted to serve in the nonprofit sectors in a more effective way, using my knowledge and technology. I brought in Zymr because I had a project in India and they were in the same city where I needed to work. At the time, I wasn’t quite sure that Zymr had the skills and expertise we needed, but they proved to be a very professional team. For our first engagement, they were able to deliver all the features that I wanted nearly on time. That was a really big confidence booster for me. That’s how I really got engaged.

How much have you invested with Zymr?

I’m comfortable with the pricing that they have provided. Just to give you an idea, I compared them with other agencies in Bangalore. Even within the same city, they were very reasonable.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in 2012. The engagement is ongoing. There is only a short period where we stopped because I needed to think about my business model. But otherwise, I have been working with them all along.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We work with an Agile project management approach, which makes it easy to keep track of the performance metrics in every sprint. Our new product has taken more than a year to develop, and it's ready to go live. I think that’s a very good time, given the level of complexity of the product. I don’t think I would have gotten any faster results from anyone else.

Our business model changed a year and a half ago, from being a nonprofit to a for-profit social enterprise. At that point, I had built up a pretty strong confidence because all of the developers were still with me. I know they can be trusted because they are essentially working on an actual model. The most important thing is the ability and knowledge of the team, as well as the quality of the work. Even though the technology stacks changed several times, they were able to pick up my new requirements. To my amazement, they rapidly built up the architecture and design of the product in the way that I wanted.

What is unique about Zymr is that they have a very deep, technical bench strength in the technology, no matter how complex the problems are. There are many companies who can build the software, but the depth of technology has been substantially high. I wouldn’t call it a metric but more of an observation. For example, one of the clients in this area needed very specific Salesforce integration skills, something that no other Salesforce company could do. Obviously, I have a lot of understanding of the integrations—I designed the initial architecture. But once we did that, we were very engaged with this team and they were able to figure out these things nonstop. I guess nobody else could have done it. We did the whole thing, and our customer is extremely happy and excited.

How did Zymr perform from a project management standpoint?

They did very well. In our case, we are managing things. They work very tightly and I’m partly technical, so that helps. It was my choice not bringing in a project manager because it would’ve cost more. Instead, I built up a very strong relationship with the main developers and the software architect. They manage the timeline fairly effectively among themselves. This is not a factor I can give you a lot of data on because I’m the one doing most of the project management.   

What did you most impressive about Zymr?

I was impressed by their professionalism. They are a very professional design and delivery team. Second, their bench strength is significantly higher, which is very important for someone like us who works with a very broad range of technology. These are the 2 most important things that I would say about them. Plus, they are mission-driven like us.

Are there any areas Zymr could improve?

I can’t come up with anything. It doesn’t mean that I’m not trying to give you anything. It’s just that given the constraints in terms of resources and the money I can spend, I think they are doing phenomenally well for us. For one thing, I would prefer not to manage this team on a day-to-day basis. But since our project involves learning in a very iterative fashion, the way that we are doing it works out just fine. I wish we had a stronger development team of my own. I really cannot review the project delivery or the quality very thoroughly. It’s not really their fault. It’s just that I don’t have enough resources to examine whether they have a good quality code internally or not. Those are the issues that we face. Those are areas that when we have more customers—we’ll see how successful we will be because if our software does not scale, there will be an issue. There is a level of the uncertainty that will happen when we have more and more customers. With better and more success, I'm sure that we'll be able to invest in even stronger development teams.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Zymr?

First of all, I would suggest that clients qualify their needs and the technology part of the project. There are things that they do well, but there are other things that they don’t do well. For example, they are not necessarily the best in content marketing or design, but they are very clear about it. If you asked them, they will probably give you some services, but that’s not their primary thing. The customer should really qualify them. Their level of technology and knowledge is higher than building the shell of the content management systems. They can do it, but that’s just because the customer will ask them to do it. But that is not their primary strength. Their primary strength is in software development—Java, PHP, SQL, building databases, and cloud-based architectures.