10Clouds

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

The product is now in user testing. During the project, we worked as one team. We had a good relationship built on trust. 

How did 10Clouds perform from a project management standpoint?

We involved our end-client in the scrum sprints. We had biweekly sprint reviews where our client gave us feedback and where we decided on what needed to be done next.

There was a continuous feedback loop. There was no micromanagement, and I trusted 10Clouds’ estimations. We use Jira and Confluence for planning and documentation.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed with the backend engineer’s seniority and proactive suggestions. 10Clouds would come up with an approach and then we would build the whole architecture together. 

I had other experiences where we were expected to deliver everything to the vendor on a silver plate, but with 10Clouds, it was really an exchange. That impressed me and helped the project. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Every transition was a bit chaotic. At the beginning of the project or when it came to onboarding people, it took a while to get everything running smoothly. But once that was sorted out, it was all good. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have clear requirements and that 10Clouds understands the business context.

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

They have a great work ethic. Our priority right now is making sure everything is getting done. We change directions every few weeks, and they’ve been able to adapt. We just want to get the product out there, see how it works, and pivot as needed. They’ve done quite a lot in our engagement so far.

How did 10Clouds perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication has been great. They manage most of the day-to-day work under our guidance. We have daily meetings with biweekly sync meetings. They keep us updated on all Jira instances.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed by their flexibility and expertise. Every time we present a new request or throw a new idea at them, they rise to the challenge.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing stands out.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open and direct when you communicate. Make sure you establish expectations.

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

We were happy with how they were integrated into the team, even though they were part of another company. We measured them like we measured other parts of the team, focusing on the number of PRs created, the number of projects delivered on time, and the number of issues handled.

We’re very happy with our work with them. We definitely recommend them to other people to try them. Their seniority and experience were quite high.

How did 10Clouds perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated via video calls, emails, and Slack. We had daily communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were quite quick to provide us with the right team that completely meet our needs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everything went well. It took a little while to find the right people. There was some turnover with their engineers, and they could have managed their staff members a bit more.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would recommend them.

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

We're at the early stages, so nothing specific to report yet, but I'm very happy with the product overall. There are a few aspects of the product design that didn't fully match my vision, but 10 Clouds was very open to revisiting and making sure the final design is what I had in mind.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was effective. We largely communicated on Slack and had periodic check-in calls.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I think their design skills are very impressive, and the thinking they brought to the project exceeded my expectations.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I received 3 different quotes on the same design request, which made it hard for me to understand why the price would be different for the same requirements. Some of the communications around my requirements weren't fully incorporated, but 10 Clouds is very open to revisiting.

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

What I love about their developers is that they really take ownership of what they do. They don’t just do what they’re told to do; they really think about the product, code, and solution, and they recommend their own improvements. They even create improvements to the solution without any input from us, which just demonstrates more ownership on their behalf, makes our lives easier, and makes for a better outcome to the whole product.

How did 10Clouds perform from a project management standpoint?

We have both online and offline communication through things like Slack and daily morning huddles. They provide scrum master support for us, and that scrum master also works a lot with the team internally during their business hours to move everything along. He’s always up to date and knows everything that’s going on in the project. He creates agendas and meeting summaries to make sure that everyone is on the same page. He is constantly looking out for topics that need to tackled, discussed, or communicated about to move things forward.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Everybody we’ve hired through them has had very high skillsets. They’re eager to learn and try new things. We frequently ask them to pick up work that they’ve never done before, and they’re very willing to work with us and take up the challenge.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I only wish that they offered more than just programming services, but I don’t think that’s necessarily in their business model. We’ve been hoping they could help us with certain marketing activities like marketing, creative or SEO. There has been some turnover on their side, but that’s expected with a lot of consulting companies.

Any advice for potential customers?

I’d say that you can trust their expertise and suggestions. They’re honest and transparent in everything that they do, so it’s easy to establish a good working relationship. They’re willing to grow and hire skillsets that they might not have initially. Even if they don’t have somebody available right now, they’re good about hiring skillsets that you might need on your project, so that shouldn’t be a stopper.

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

With everything going on with COVID, a lot of stuff has gotten pushed back. We started our work together before the outbreak really took off, and we’ve only been delayed a week – and that was because of me trying to get some documents together. We just completed the branding yesterday, and it looks great. There has been no slowdown, which has definitely been a testament to them.

All I had to do was unload my ideas on them, and they delivered amazing branding. My investors have been blown away, which is especially great since they’re older, and this is geared toward millennials and Gen Zs. I’ve shown the app to millennials, and they all wonder where this app has been.

How did 10Clouds perform from a project management standpoint?

They are amazing. There are some really great companies in America, but 10Clouds has blown them out of the water. They manage a bunch of people in different time zones – they’re out of Warsaw and I’m in Dallas. Olena (Agile Project Manager) literally changed her schedule because I’m in America. Even if I write her an email late at night, I get a response, and by the time I wake up the next morning, action has been taken, everyone has been queued in, and we’re up and running. It’s really impressive how they manage their people.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I talked to a lot of companies that said they love working with startups, but the walk didn’t match the talk. Something I’ve found with 10Clouds is that, throughout the project, they’ve made it as unintimidating as possible. They’ve shown unbelievable enthusiasm. I’ve been telling other entrepreneurs I know that if they want to partner with a team, they can’t go wrong with 10Clouds. They genuinely make you feel valued and like a true partner, no matter how small you are.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. We haven’t even had a hiccup; it’s crazy how flawless this has been, considering we’ve never developed an app. I wouldn’t change a single thing about them.

Any advice for potential customers?

I have a friend who’s the social media manager for a really big energy company, and I was showing him the mobile prototype last week. He was very impressed and asked how it was working out with 10Clouds being abroad. I told him that you get unbelievable quality and much better prices and service. My recommendation is to hire them as soon as you can; just set up a phone call, and let them do what they do best.

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

Our client was very happy. I’m a bridge between development and the client. If the requirements are met and the features are working, then it’s positive. The client also gave the whole project team a good grade. It’s always important that we progress and deliver value over time. Every sprint feature was developed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s the trust and relationship we started to build with them. They added additional seniority on the team. If I work with a partner, I need to be able to rely on them. In terms of issues, we had clear communication and knew what to do. They also proactively came up with options. They’re always thinking about the project, sometimes challenging us rather than just delivering something.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It was a little unclear in the beginning about how we should work with them and onboard new people. They improved it when we onboarded a new team for a bigger, new iteration, though, and it went well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have an agile mindset. It’s best if you have a team and a capacity set and then define the features during the project.

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

In every area, the team at 10Clouds is full of highly-qualified, experienced developers that work at a competitive price. The developers also are professional and customer-oriented. The quality of code was very high, with a focus on unit testing and fully automated continuous integration.

There are no issues. If there were any problems, they would solve them quickly. 10Clouds is a strong Python shop but also specialize in React and other frontend technologies. They’re also skilled in web design.

How did 10Clouds perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication skills are very high. The team at 10Clouds performs above expectation. They’re easy to work with. I’ve been in engagements with businesses all over the world, and 10Clouds is the best company to work with. They are amazing with project management, product analysis, and account management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team at 10Clouds is willing to go above and beyond to solve any problems. Along with being excellent at communication, they pay close attention to the account management side. Their general attitude is that of partnering rather than providing a service. They’re invested in the success of the project. Their development quality is also extremely high.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m happy with everything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Kickoff an engagement with an onsite visit. After you have a core team, have a face-to-face meeting. Their developers are very capable, so try to give them as much information up front and let them give their input.

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

The project exceeded our expectations, and we are able to meet a very aggressive deadline. We did exceed our initial budget, but this was largely due to the addition of new features mid-project, based on user feedback. We continue to gather significant user feedback, which is will be the basis of our 2.0 iteration.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was great, and followed a strict agile/scrum process. Very disciplined and very transparent, and allowed us to hit a very aggressive deadline

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Great team to work with, very professional and capable. They were easy to communicate with and delivered on their commitments. They are very flexible and willing to do what it takes to get the project done.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We had a few hiccups on mapping the design approval workflow, so making sure everyone understands that from the beginning would be helpful. Budgeting forecasts, always a tough thing, could be slightly improved. Ours was a very fluid project, and so this would have been tough in most cases.

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

The difference between when we started working with them and now is night and day. We’ve been able to start accepting new contributors in a certain part of the business, and we’ve picked up some other enterprise clients. It’s been a really exciting time to be working with 10Clouds. We had a product launch, and we launched on schedule–what more can I say?

How did 10Clouds perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been a pleasure to work with. In the past, I’ve hired other formulas, including hiring other offshore vendors who ended up costing me money. The budget was certainly a factor in hiring 10Clouds, and I’m able to do more because of their rates, but I’d say the most important thing is their expertise. We wouldn’t be working with them if they didn’t have the level of expertise and professionalism that we demand. Otherwise, they’d be costing us money and risking the business.

Our partnership works pretty well. I think any type of vendor relationship comes down to personal relationships, i.e. how they connect with your team, how they communicate, and whether there is a level of trust. We’ve been able to establish a relationship that certainly makes everything go smoother. 

They’re six hours ahead of us, which took some adjustments on our end. However, there are some advantages to the time difference. No vendor wants a client hovering over them. We have daily scrums, morning our time and mid-afternoon their time. This seems to work well for everybody since they can relay what progress they’ve made that day, ask questions they have for us, and provide updates. We also discuss what they’ll be working on when we’re sleeping.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their expertise makes them stand out from other service providers, as does the type of people within their organization. They’re the kind of people we like working with. 10Clouds’s team is flexible and understands that clients sometimes have changing or last-minute needs. I see them as a real partner in our success, and that’s why we continue to work with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’d say not in the context of this project. We’re pretty much on track with everything. During the first couple of months, both sides had to make scheduling and communication adjustments, but that comes with engaging a new vendor. They worked to understand the project scope and what our needs were. We got through that phase as expected. 

Any advice for potential customers?

This is general advice, but definitely make sure that project management is in place, whether that’s an individual or a team on your side or theirs. When you deal with any type of developer, clarity is the most important thing; without it, they’ll go down rabbit holes. 

Make sure your product and goals are clearly defined. The project manager should always have a firm grasp of what the team is doing and the progress they’re making. As things come up, which they always do, you need to be able to trust the project manager. With strong project management in place, productivity will be high.