365 Digital Consulting

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m part-owner of Concrete Experts, a relatively small concrete company with about 20 employees. We offer different concrete services in Calgary, Canada.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 365 Digital Consulting?

We were looking to grow our business, and we needed a tool for communication and organization. I searched for various software solutions that we could use, but they all had costly monthly fees. We were looking for someone to help us build a custom software tool.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

365 Digital Consulting built our custom software tool from scratch. I first detailed the functionalities we were looking for before they proceeded to develop the solution. After the development, we had about a month to test and customize features. 

They used SPFx for the tool’s UI and Power Automate for the workflow, while they built it with JavaScript and Sharepoint.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Ehsan (Project Manager) and two developers. 

How did you come to work with 365 Digital Consulting?

I reached out to Microsoft, who connected me with 365 Digital Consulting.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $26,000 CAD (approximately $20,000 USD). 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from August 2021–February 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The software tool 365 Digital Consulting developed functioned as intended, and it met our expectations. 

We would have to pay $800–$900 a month to get the features that we wanted from third-party software solutions. However, with 365 Digital Consulting’s tool, all we had to pay for now was about $150 monthly for our Microsoft license. Additionally, we owned the software, so we were free to implement adjustments if we wanted to.

How did 365 Digital Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

365 Digital Consulting was excellent at project management. Ehsan’s communication was very clear, organized, and detailed — he ensured his team followed our specifications. 

For the most part, they delivered on time. However, we encountered issues that were out of their control, which was completely understandable. We communicated through email, Microsoft Teams, and WhatsApp.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Ehsan was an excellent project manager and communicator. In addition, 365 Digital Consulting’s team was willing to go above and beyond to ensure things worked out for us. They were highly resourceful and client-focused.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could’ve improved their understanding of our vision.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ensure everything you want is in the solution design. Additionally, understand that custom software development takes some fallbacks.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Finance Manager at the Greens Victoria.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 365 Digital Consulting, and what were your goals?

We have 50+ branches and we need the reporting tool that can fetch the information by branch directly from Xero so that each branch can access to their data only. Before that, we had the reporting tool that is not integrated with Xero so we have to re-enter each transaction in that reporting tool.

SOLUTION

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

We found 365 Digital through Google search as they had done similar project before and they are also partner with Xero. I was impressed with their professional services and the way the approach the issues from the beginning. They quoted very reasonable fees without any hidden costs. Also, their commitment to delivering on their promises was impressive and professional.

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

Developing a web application for presenting related transactions to users who are in branches. Define list of users, passwords, branches in a Database so users can login to system and see information about their own branch. Create an authentication and authorization system which allow user to login to system securely.

Integrating the system with the Xero platform so that it can query all transactions from Xero system using REST API. Adding a feature which enables the users to choose a specific period and show its transactions and balance. Ability to assign multiple branches to one user so that the user select the branch and see the information of the branch. Then ability to able to switch between their branches.

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

I mainly contacted Ehsan and Narges. Ehsan also organised the meetings between us and their developers so make sure that they understand our expectation effectively.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to launch the new tool on time and the deliverable meet our expectation. 365 Digital Consulting also gave us a discount and added more functions for us.

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

The management style and communication are professional and effective. Ehsan was willing to work during public holiday/weekend to make sure the deadline are met.

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

Fees

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

There are a few accounting concepts that they do not understand. However, they have involved their accounting staff in the meeting so that person can help with the communication. Also, there are limit in Xero capabilities to run the data queries which 365 Digital Consulting should have known in advance before taking on this project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Managing Director for a UK Energy Efficiency survey company. We provide a national service producing various energy certificates and advice for the commercial & domestic property market. Our client base includes blue chip commercial agents and local Council and Housing Associations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

We required a new CRM that would help reduce our manual inputs and also automate our website quotes and emails. We were unsure which software or platform would be best but it was a prerequisite for the CRM to be able to partner with Mail Chimp, Xero and Microsoft Office.

SOLUTION

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Ehsan & the team at 365 offered a solution that included using MS SharePoint for the CRM. This allowed us to integrate it seamlessly with our emails on MS as well as the rest of the 3rd party softwares - XERO / Mail Chimp / SMS - Text Marketer

365 showed that we could run all our WP websites and emails on SharePoint with bespoke actions for Sales inquiries and bookings. It would collect all metadata and allow us to filter. The main benefit was the calendars and booking solutions for subcontractors.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Ehsan and the 365 teams would always update me with the progress of the project and we had weekly video calls.

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

The quick understanding of our business model was impressive. They were able to help suggest other ideas and solutions for us that we hadn't thought of.I felt like they wanted to build the best CRM they could and not just doing exactly what we thought we needed.

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

Possibly a better Demo and training process but they did follow up with additional videos for staff and so they went the extra mile.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Better Business Partnership is a joint council funded business sustainability program supporting local small and medium businesses to be more successful through sustainability.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 365 Digital Consulting, and what were your goals?

BBP had a Microsoft 365 CRM and required integration with a third party platform providing sustainability assessments to our business members.

SOLUTION

How did you select 365 Digital Consulting and what were the deciding factors?

365 Digital became an accredited Better Business with the BBP program and became quite acquainted with our program process and its requirements. Even before engaging the 365 Digital team, Ehsan was very helpful and generous with his time and his expertise to guide us where we needed to go. The level and depth of expertise in the field was immediately apparent. An excellent level of communication, ability to understand the requirements and provide innovative solutions together with a highly competitive price put them ahead.

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

CRM Integration with third party assessment platform obtaining daily data retrieval and storage in Microsoft CRM. Once the project commenced, the 365 Team ran into some challenges which required changes of direction and scope midway. The team undertook more work than initially anticipated to achieve the required outcome but did not seek variation of project price. We discussed as a team every week progress and the 365 team made many useful and innovative suggestions which assisted greatly.

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

Ehsan Hakimi - Project Lead Coordinator Hasan - developer Kimia - Project assistant

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was delivered quickly and on all contracted items. I know that the team had to put in more hours and work to achieve them than initially anticipated. We area also underway planning Phase 2 to further improve functionality and useability of the CRM for the BBP team to build on the successful delivery of Phase 1.

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

Very proactive and structured approach to project management. Stuck to timelines and very responsive to all requests. Made themselves available at short notice. Using Microsoft Teams to share screens and collaborate across entire team no matter where located globally.

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

Ease of working with this IT consultancy. Communication very clear and proactive working style.

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

It has been a pleasure working with the 365 team. For what we asked for everything has been delivered well.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Systems Consultant

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 365 Digital Consulting?

Integrated Systems Development

What were your goals for this project?

Create a single web platform (Web Portal) to securely manage dynamic business information in across internal and external stakeholders providing real-time updates on the status of information flow

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Shortlisted and then commenced detailed interview process where skills, capabilities, level of engagement and flexibility were prioritised

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Developed a secure Custom Web Portal which integrated data from legacy on premise business systems and securely exposed data across these systems in a digestible format to the end user. This required an understanding of the business process to lay the platform for future expansion beyond the first phase.

Services provided were:

• System Design & Architecture
• System Integration via REST API
• Custom Javascripting
• Project Management with regular project status reports
• Web Development

What was the team composition?

4 Developers and 1 Project Manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Great result thus far and with further fine tuning this project will continue to evolve into setting a new standard across the said industry

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Scheduled project meetings every 10 days with regular updates in between. The team was very flexible and adaptable hence if information was required before scheduled reviews the team would rearrange their priorities to ensure the requested support was provided.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their ability to understand our business objectives and turn that into a design in a timely manner was impressive. They then proceed into creating work breakdown structures for the weekly sprints (and of course delivering) were the most impressive pieces of the engagement.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is always room for improvement for any project. Without being too critical I think the technical skills provided were great, as was the project management and overall understanding of the project.

However, one small area of improvement could be to provide a more weekly status document and review the minutes of previous actions to ensure traceability in delivery. This was done ok, but think it's an area of improvement since all projects should have minutes, risk registers, actions, status updates etc

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the head of marketing for SpaMedica, one of the leading providers of NHS eye patient service, especially in cataract surgery. I’m focused on delivering marketing strategies that help build our brand and deliver business growth.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire EQ-ON?

We have grown very quickly over the last couple of years and needed to develop an effective internal communication tool to share our news/events and access key documents across all our teams. Therefore, we decided to develop a company intranet within SharePoint. Many of the elements we required were not provided as out-of-the-box solutions, and we didn’t have the internal resources to develop them.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted our intranet to be a useful resource and communication portal. The site needed to be easy-to-use and reflect the brand and values of SpaMedica and our teams.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We used online research and project auction sites and found EQ-ON through People per Hour. We liaised with three different companies on scope, pricing, and cost. One of the main factors for choosing EQ-ON was that they were a good value. They also had the experience and capabilities to deliver the project within tight timescales.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They developed an internal intranet through the SharePoint platform. The platform features document collaboration tools, crucial information for current employees (HR/IT/Compliance/Business policies), events and news information, brand marketing materials, and new employee onboarding features.

What was the team composition?

Ehsan (Team Leader, EQ-ON) was the project manager. He had a team of 3–4 developers working on different elements of the site.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re still in the early stages post-launch, but we have already seen a 15% reduction in locating key documents and information and 87% engagement across the company. People have registered positive feedback about the network’s UX and navigation as well. New employees are brought up to speed quicker thanks to the solution’s training resources, and internal departments are much more collaborative than they were previously.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

There was good communication throughout the project, with weekly video conferences on progress and regular emails and messages. We mostly used, AppearIn, WhatsApp, and Skype. There were no issues with the time difference or languages.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The responsiveness of the consultants/developers was great. They went over and above to help us, even when we changed the scope and functionality halfway through. They were very flexible and understanding of our objectives.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There was a lack of understanding, experience, and capabilities on our side, so sometimes the explanations were too basic and detailed. That wasn’t a big problem though.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a Technology company dealing with IT, Digital development and Telecoms

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire EQ-ON?

To take on the migration of an extremely large SharePoint migration required at very short notice.

What were your goals for this project?

The successful completion of the migration project.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Online via reviews of existing customers

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

365 and SharePoint intergration services

What was the team composition?

Approximately 4 people

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We now have an extremley happy customer as the migration project has been completed successfully.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Very good, we have been kept informed with timescales of work and als requirements of anything we need to action to enable EQ to complete their work.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are extremely nimble with work. even though they are remote from us they are contactable 24/7.

Are there any areas for improvement?

none

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of a micro-consultancy which provides consultancy services to help project teams manage time.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire EQ-ON?

We hired EQ-ON to create a web part which enables MS Project task updates via Microsoft Teams.

What were your goals for this project?

To have the facility for our users to update tasks scheduled in MS Project Online via the Microsoft Teams App.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I selected the vendor from a number of proposals submitted via an online platform used to locate Vendors who would help us.

Describe the project in detail.

To have the facility for our users to update tasks scheduled in MS Project Online via the Microsoft Teams App. This comprised working with MS Project Online, SharePoint task lists and MS Teams.

What was the team composition?

Lead consultant + delivery consultant + specialist external consultant.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have achieved the objectives and plan to do more work with EQ-ON in the future.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They used their initiative to go and find extra specialist assistance to overcome problems encountered during execution.

Are there any areas for improvement?

EQ-ON are like my company, they are a young company and they are evolving fast!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the president of Kleen Condition. We are a mold and asbestos removal company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire EQ-ON?

We hired EQ-ON to develop an internal software system.

What were your goals for this project?

With the new software, we hoped to automate and streamline workflows and the transfers of documents.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We selected EQ-ON after extensive online research.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

EQ-ON created, developed, and implemented a software package that manages all aspects of documentation for our company. The product allows for greater internal communication between various teams, and it automates our responses to clients.

What was the team composition?

We communicated all of our needs to the CEO and a full-stack developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new software will be critical in expediting the flow of documents and making it easier to find certain information within our system.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

EQ-ON coordinated a well-organized and efficient workflow. We communicated easily through texts, emails, and video conferences.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

EQ-ON exhibited deep technical knowledge, and they transformed my ideas into amazing software.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No. We’d prefer to not have such a drastic time difference between our teams, but that’s a small complication.