8allocate

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of a music tech startup. We research and develop software solutions for assistive music AI technology.

For what projects/services did your company hire 8allocate, and what were your goals?

We had previously worked with another software development company, which was to develop a web service and a mobile app for us. But as their work was of unsufficient quality and was delivered with many bugs, we hired 8allocate to fix the bugs in the back end, to add additional functionality, and to revise the mobile app.

Our plan was to launch the overhauled web service and an early version of the mobile app by the end of the year.

How did you 8allocate and what were the deciding factors?

After examining several options, we chose the vendor based on the experience of their staff with the technologies of interest, the price, and the gut feeling.

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

The work consisted in fixing the identified bugs in the back end, add new functionality, and to revise the technical solution for sound capture and playback in the mobile app. Prior to starting the work, we had several calls, in which the work packages were discussed in detail to see whether the vendor had the required expertise. We started with a trial for the mobile app, and after the candidate was deemed capable, the project unfolded.

The involved staff successfully resolved all issues on the side of the back end and implemented new features. The mobile app was brought to a state, in which it could be released to beta testers. In this process, the entire sound capture and reproduction code was rewritten and a more efficient solution was found, which satisfied the set requirements.

How many people from the 8allocate team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We were in touch with a project manager, who helped organise the time schedule of the developers behind the scenes. Apart from that, we were in direct contact with a backend developer and a mobile app developer.

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

With the fixes made to the back end, our customers can now use our subscription service as intended. They can now also enjoy additional features. The revision of the mobile app allowed us to start a marketing campaign and to attract new leads.

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

We asked from the beginning to be in direct contact with the developers. For this, the role of the project manager was minor and reduced to internal procedures. We communicated mostly through Skype, both with the PM and the developers, and used GitHub for code reviews.

The timelines were not always kept, but the PM made his best to inform us of any delays or restrictions in access to a particular developer.

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

We appreciated their flexibility, in terms of short-time assignments and price adjustments, and their desire to help.

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

It is difficult to say, since our collaboration was very agile by nature.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the executive assistant to the CTO of a solar energy company. I assist our CTO with various R&D assignments.

For what projects/services did your company hire 8allocate?

After a massively successful crowdfunding campaign, we started developing our core product further. We were looking to outsource the development of our native iOS and Android apps.

What were your goals for this project?

We set out to enable users to visualize, manage, and control our solar energy smart panels.

How did you select this vendor?

We needed to find a vendor with relevant experience, a strong portfolio of mobile, IoT, and big data development cases, and unparalleled native mobile development expertise. One of our investors had already used them for a different project and was extremely happy with their quality and level of commitment.

Describe the project in detail.

We hired 8allocate to extend our in-house software development team and add mobile expertise we were missing internally. They helped us build and launch native iOS and Android apps to use along with our solar panels. While our internal team handled backend development, middleware, and IoT integrations, 8allocate provided frontend development and UX/UI design. The project required them to work with Java (Android), Swift 3.0, and Bluetooth Low Energy.

What was the team composition?

We had a tech lead, two Android developers, two iOS developers, and a QA engineer. Their team worked alongside our core in-house team to ensure the best possible outcome.

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

Both apps are ready and available in the Play and App Stores. They work as expected, and we’re completely satisfied with their quality.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

As they worked together with our core product development team, they followed our software development methodology and practices. We implemented DevOps and CI/CD (Kubernetes, Git) to establish a quality code delivery pipeline. Agile and scrum methodologies allowed us to synch up and stay on the same page. For issue tracking and task assignment, we used Atlassian Jira.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their speed in hiring qualified mobile developers was impressive. We got the first candidate CVs within a couple of days of placing our staffing request. The quality of those candidates was much higher than what our internal recruiters supplied as well. Their commitment to quality also stood out to us.

The best part was working with someone that was a true partner and cared about our success. Whenever they saw an inconsistency or an error in our specification, they came up with suggestions about how to build certain features differently so we could save on our development budget. They also recommended effective tools and methods to facilitate and streamline our project, which helped us choose the right approaches and technologies.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There’s nothing significant that needs improvement. If you do have concerns, first use them for a pilot project to see how they work and treat you as a client. This will give you firsthand experience and the right impression. I highly recommend them as a reliable and helpful software development partner.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the technical director of Rainkine Thomson Limited. We develop telematics solutions, including in-vehicle hardware and mobile reporting software. We have two offices based in the UK and Australia.

What challenge were you trying to address with 8allocate.?

We needed help scaling to fit our growing company’s needs. Additionally, our lead developer had recently left the company after we launched our mobile product line. We needed the ability to sustain our growth, but also be capable of downsizing if needed. We wanted the workforce to be available and affordable to fulfill our changing requirements.

What was the scope of their involvement?

8allocate. screened potential candidates to help us with our development process. We hired two people that their team offered, and they helped us build and launch our products.

What is the team composition?

We hired two remote developers that 8allocate. supplied.

How did you come to work with 8allocate.?

We wanted to work with an employment recruiting company because of the deep pool of knowledge they offer, so we considered a few of those companies. 8allocate. met more of our requirements and felt like a better overall choice than the others we interviewed.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $15,000

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2018, and the engagement is ongoing. We’re not planning on stopping the project any time soon.

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

Within a month, we had a fully functioning team to work on our products, and we were able to release new functionalities to our customers. We’ve received positive feedback on the work we’ve released, and we’re now able to more successfully support our mobile platform. Overall, we’re more on track and organized as a company because of the service 8allocate. provided. In a less quantitative way, our offices also have higher team spirit and more confidence.

How did 8allocate. perform from a project management standpoint?

We interact with them on a daily basis through video-calls and team-wide morning meetings. If there are any issues with the scope or a general misunderstanding, we’re able to contact them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

8allocate. are well-organized and knowledgeable about their industry. They provide the resources we need in a timely manner and they continue to fulfill our needs perfectly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing for them to improve on; they’ve made our process simpler. Everything has been smooth, and they haven’t caused any problems.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

You should be as honest as possible with 8allocate. so they can better understand your needs.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and co-founder of Digitaika. We’re a startup that automates video creation from existing content.

What challenge were you trying to address with 8allocate.?

We wanted to develop a mobile application that acts as a personalized video recording tool for business users.

What was the scope of their involvement?

8allocate. provided development and design services. Their team coordinated the project independently. We had weekly calls with them to prioritize certain tasks and next steps. 8allocate. were proactive in ensuring our team was getting what we asked for, and that we were moving in the right timeframe.

The mobile application allows users to input data and record video. The videos can be sent through the app and processed, making them ready to send to customers.

What is the team composition?

We had contact with Yuriy (CTO, 8allocate.), and worked with multiple people, including a project coordinator and designer.

How did you come to work with 8allocate.?

We knew someone who worked with them previously, and they put us in touch. After reviewing other alternatives and having calls with them, we concluded that 8allocate.’s team was the perfect partner for us. Their team’s approach and capabilities convinced us. 8allocate. was the right company to build our app.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $20,000-$30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with 8allocate. between September-December 2017.

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

8allocate. delivered according to the scope we set for the project. The project’s development has been successful, but we haven’t published the app yet. We plan to use 8allocate. on further projects.

How did 8allocate. perform from a project management standpoint?

8allocate. stayed on track. We made sure that our teams had a shared understanding of the project. There were several phones calls to ensure we were going in the same direction.

During the project, their team was professional and productive, making sure we would get the best project within our budget. They created a positive pressure to get things done in time.

We had weekly calls with our project coordinator. We used Slack and Jira for communication. We discussed the project on Slack with developers. We were also building the API on our end, which required constant communication. Jira was used for tracking issues.

What did you find most impressive about them?

8allocate. adjusted well to working with our team despite being a cross-border project. Their team’s communication skills were excellent.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’re happy with how their team performed, with the quality and speed of the work.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

It is essential to have a plan for goals, budget limitations, and other features in the project. 8allocate. is quite capable of iterating with the client and determining what can be done within each circumstance. It’s easy to get feedback from them on how to improve a plan.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a developer at a trading technology company. I’m in charge of the infrastructure development in our main development center.

What challenge were you trying to address with 8allocate.?

We needed to recruit a team to monitor our trading system online.

What was the scope of their involvement?

8allocate. defined the positions, looked for candidates, and conducted feedback loops about each one.  We improved the process along the line. They helped us schedule interviews and supplied everything we needed to conduct them. Along the way, they consistently sought our feedback to improve the process and filter candidates for us better.

Most of the time we interface, 8allocate. sends us CVs of candidates according to our open positions. If we wish to proceed, they arrange and schedule an interview. We moved forward to start the hiring process in two cases and are now looking for a third candidate.

When we hired the two current team members, they supplied everything they needed to get started. They provide office space and take care of all the contractual and administrative aspects of the work.

What is the team composition? 

We hired two members for our operational team. We frequently interface with Dan (Head of Sales and Client Engagement, 8allocate.) and also have a recruitment manager.

How did you come to work with 8allocate.?

8allocate. reached out to us initially. We thought it would be interesting to try them out. The CEO made occasional visits to our office. They proved to be very beneficial to us.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since October 2017.

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

8allocate. helped us manage to outsource two team members for about half the cost of a comparable in-house resource that works in our main offices. Both of the people they found are good teammates who are eager to learn. They’re high-quality people who deliver really great results.

How did 8allocate. perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re really happy to be working with 8allocate. They respond quickly to feedback. We use phone calls, email, Skype, and Slack to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

8allocate offers great communication. They speak English well and understand that companies like us need candidates who are fluent in English. This insight is uncommon in their field.

Are there any areas they could improve?

8allocate. immediately executed on everything we thought could be improved. I have no complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Clearly define the type of employees you need for your project. Do your best to determine the hiring process as well. When you find the right candidates, quickly decide if you need them or not.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I worked for Skycoin as a consultant, managing their external development activities. They had several development centers and I was helping them with recruiting external developers.

What challenge were you trying to address with 8allocate.?

We had a problem finding experienced Golang developers within a short period. We needed to execute several development tasks, but couldn’t reach good developers, system architects, team leaders, and so on.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had 2–3 urgent development tasks that required special capacity in technical domains, along with ones in management. We were unable to hire inland, so we approached 8allocate. and asked them to allocate several technology leaders from their core development team. The specific scope was for Golang and a few frameworks that weren’t too common at that time. We finished the scope of the project successfully and released the team.

What is the team composition?

They gave us a team that included their CTO, Yuriy, recruiters, and a project success, manager who helped us figure out what the timing and how we should onboard the team. He also referred people to us, and helped us figure to determine the salaries. During the project, he focused on identifying issues, hiring, and rehiring people. The CTO worked on the technical side, understanding our technical requirements and identifying what candidates could or couldn’t do.

I also received a lot of attention from their CEO, who was focused on the project’s success because we were approaching a very interesting vertical.

How did you come to work with 8allocate.?

I was the CEO of a company with an R&D team in Ukraine, and I met some of 8allocate’s managers in that process. I continued to work with them after that.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost was $20,000–$30,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with 8allocate. in 2016. for some of my own projects. This project started last year, and the collaboration is ongoing for the crypto vertical, but not for Skycoin.

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

They did tremendous work in finding the exact profiles we were looking for and preparing them for interviews. We had several technical and motivational interviews, and the candidates were well-prepared for them. Out of five people, we hired four within two weeks. All of them outdid themselves during the project.

I got to work with a professional team for every aspect of the project, starting from identifying the client’s needs, through to the hiring process and the people we brought in. They prepared the right financial offers for the resources, hired, and onboarded them. Everything was professional, focused, and very efficient.

We were able to complete the recruitment within a period of days. The interview/hire ratio was amazing, with over 80% hires. 8allocate. did all the backend work of rejecting unsuccessful candidates.

How did 8allocate. perform from a project management standpoint?

Things will go wrong with every project. We sometimes need to rehire for a position, and their ability to help us with that process is one of the key strengths of 8allocate. and their team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve worked with more than three companies that offer co-development teams. What differentiates 8allocate. is that they think of the long-term and they become partners. They’re honest and dedicated to our success, even for small projects, so we never felt like a small, negligible client. This made a lot of difference; we felt that we could start small and grow with them. We never had to make compromises because we had a smaller team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I can think of. I know that they’ve already upgraded their offices.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Don’t be shy to ask about the focus you need. Also, work in an organized way and you’ll get a good delivery. If you’re very messy or things aren’t working well internally, the external developers will lose themselves in the project. Establish fair internal R&D platforms and project methodologies, and they will be able to deliver.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our organization builds aviation software for electronic flight bags, which allows pilots to fly with digital operational documents. The pilot can upload data and be tracked by an administrator. I’m the VP of products and services.

What challenge were you trying to address with 8allocate?

We needed a professional team to help with our Windows and server development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

8allocate helps with our ongoing software development by maintaining and updating our software on both on the server side and application side. While we have another developer for our iOS development, 8allocate’s team specializes their work on the client-side Windows platform, provides in-house support, and maintains our servers. In addition, they’re helping us conduct research on new 3D models and creating another app to house aircraft maintenance manuals.

What is the team composition?

I interface mostly with their developers. Periodically, I will speak with their managers.

How did you come to work with 8allocate?

Our previous vendor was moving towards a different direction, so we were having trouble filling some of our necessary positions. Our president found 8allocate and started a smaller-scale project with them. They were extremely successful, so we decided to hire them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We stared in July 2017, and the work is ongoing.

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

Their developers are relatively autonomous and listen carefully to our specs. They find weaknesses in our specifications that our previous developers have not found and will bring it to our attention. They provide the best possible code, and their QA is on point. I can rest easy when I hand a project over to them.

How did 8allocate perform from a project management standpoint?

I have no complaints about their project management. They’re extremely proactive and open to our feedback. We communicate with them via Skype and occasional calls. They integrate themselves into our coding standards and project management tool called Kanban.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their project managers are exceptional at finding talented developers to fill our positions. They conduct in-depth interviews and always offer five to six skilled developers. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be responsive to communication. If there’s something that needs to be addressed, stay on top of it. Be sure to understand what it is you want to accomplish.

What is the status of this engagement?

Ongoing, but projected to end.

How did your relationship with the vendor evolve?

After a significant fluctuation at 8Allocate the points of contacts we had were not as dedicated: The relationship changed to managing the status quo rather than addressing our current needs.

How did 8allocate address the challenges that arose?

Unfortunately not to our satisfaction. Instead of finding suitable personnel for our team, 8Allocate outsourced the acquisition to subcontractors who did not know our needs.

In what specific areas can they improve?

More commitment to the customer through a consistent contact person.

This review was published on July 9, 2019.

CEO, Marketing Firm

Marketing and Advertising

Germany

$50,000 to $199,999

Aug. 2018 - Ongoing

Project summary: 

Working with a Yii2 PHP framework, 8allocate helps with multiple e-commerce development projects. They give assistance on a variety of projects, from DevOps to project management, bringing in team members as needed.

Feedback summary: 

Timely and reliable, 8allocate has successfully completed various projects. Their responsive team goes above and beyond to deliver solutions tailored to fit the engagement. Their dedication and expertise have led to a successful ongoing partnership.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the managing director of a small online marketing agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 8allocate?

We were looking for a vendor to assist with e-commerce development for our various clients. We need each e-commerce platform to be reliable and perform well.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

8allocate helps our team with online business development, relying on a Yii2 PHP framework. They’ve lent a hand on a variety of other projects, including project management and DevOps where needed. We hand them a task and their team completes the rest. 

What is the team composition?

We have worked with multiple members of their team, depending on the needs of the project. We have a head of delivery, a PHP developer, and a UI/UX designer. They also have a part-time DevOps engineer. 

How did you come to work with 8allocate?

We were searching for a team from Ukraine and reached out to 8allocate specifically. They had the technologies and features we were looking for and were on our shortlist. After a productive discussion with their team, we decided 8allocate best fit our needs. 

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested between $50,000-$80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing relationship with 8allocate began in August 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Although we don’t monitor any specific metrics, 8allocate always finishes projects on time. Their work is always done correctly and faster than we expected.

How did 8allocate perform from a project management standpoint?

Their performance has always been awesome. Whenever a problem arises, we are able to address it directly to either the head of delivery or the CEO. We’re confident that any issues can be solved within a very short timeframe. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

8allocate is always willing to go the extra mile, no matter what the project is. Their CEO and head of delivery are dedicated to their clients. Even if they don’t have a solution right away, they always come back with something quickly. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think there are any areas that need improvement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re considering working with 8allocate, you will be positively surprised.

Star Ratings

Overall rating: 5

Quality: 5

Schedule: 5

Cost: 5

Willing to refer: 5

Please describe your company and your position there.

Head of Development.

Trip Sciences does for travel what Shopify has done for retail. Our mobile travel e-commerce platform, TripCatalyst, helps any brand to quickly start generating significant travel revenue streams from native mobile apps. With solutions for OTAs, regional airlines, hoteliers and even non-travel brands, the platform consists of white-labeled iOS and Android apps that are remote-controlled via a suite of SaaS digital marketing tools.

We are powering the mobile solutions of some of the leading brands in the Middle East and Latin America.

For what projects/services did your company hire 8allocate?

8allocate helped us in several areas:

• iOS application
• Search Api
• support for ready-made mobile applications (Android & IOS)
• QA

What were your goals for this project?

We were looking for a vendor to assist with development for our mobile apps and servers.

How did you select this vendor?

We received recommendations from colleagues.

What was the team composition?

mobile developers (android & ios), server side developer nodeJs, qa. Various experts were also periodically involved, as needed.

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

In general, our expectations fulfilled. One of the visual results of 8allocate development assistance, the iOS version of these two applications:  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/volala/id1444591668 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tije-travel/id1457720666

What did you find most impressive about this company?

8allocate is always willing to go the extra mile, no matter the project. Their CEO and head of delivery are dedicated to their clients. Even if they don’t have a solution right away, they always come back with something quickly. 

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, I don’t think there are any areas that need improvement.