A4BEE

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Head of Software Engineering for medical device company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire A4BEE, and what were your goals?

A4Bee came in providing architectural expertise in design of our new platform that would integrate our instruments to our customers to our internal scientists. We late expanded their work through partnering to deliver a one-of-a-kind solution that hadn't been built in the space before to meet a need using newer technologies that enables that need to be met in a new way (confidentiality prevents me from further elaboration).

SOLUTION

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

I have worked with this vendor previously on multiple projects with other companies. They are responsive, trusted and fair. I spoke with two other vendors that we also did business with but felt the skills and industry experience combined with technological expertise make them the best partner.

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

The scope of work was an evolving platform with multiple modules that would tie to products, customers, an eCommerce platform and other data repositories to enable a digital transformation of the company. We started with a planned architecture and delivery of that architecture. From there, we moved into the team leading working ahead on key technical elements to pass along to the software product delivery teams. We leveraged agile methodologies in a scaled manner.

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

Up to 20. They ranged from scrum masters, Jr architects, a sr. architect and InfoSec specialist. We also used a UX designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We achieved the base platform and early iterations of both of the key software deliverables. It was difficult to deliver to the aspirational timelines as the team was innovating in a new space, but delivery did happen in completion of MVP and future iterations.

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

They have their own process they run internally, but did a great job morphing it into the process we had as we continued to mature. They understand agile principals and were very engaged in transparency.

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

We were impressed with their technical expertise and the quality of the deliverables.

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

Communication is always a challenge with remote work. We worked continuously in this way to ensure they understood our need and we understood their delivery. This can always continue to be grown and improved.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Scientific Data Management Expert in PolpharmaBiologics responsible for the implementation of SDMS system for Duchnice site.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire A4BEE?

We aimed to find and deploy new solutions to endorse our scientific data repository and management practices. We needed a strong, self-reliant IT consultant team. And on top of that we needed someone who was able to deliver great quality while ensuring smooth communication

SOLUTION

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

Deciding factor was A4BEEs deep expertise in biotechnology digitization proven by their long time relationship with other major biotech companies. A4BEE also proposed a dedicated agile team of consultants to supplement the current workstream and support all activities. From that point, I was sure it was a good choice. We got along very well and found the team easy to work with.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We received strategic analyses, frameworks, and documentation to choose the best vendors and business cases. We worked together with their team of 3 life science and IT consultants. We received everything we needed, including insights for SDMS implementation business case, completely adjusted to our demands.

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

1 Life Science consultant, 1 Senior Analyst, 1 Project Manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As a result, the A4BEE team supported us reorganizing our Scientific Data Management System selection options and document User Requirements Specification for the new Scientific Data Management System (SDMS). They also provided a deep analysis of our current situations and showed a few different options for future development

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was really efficient as we based our cooperation on the agile methods, which allowed us to stay in very good contact

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

A4BEE’s advisory was constructive and comprehensive with a deep understanding of the life science industry. It was obvious that it was based on experience.

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

From my point of view, everything was all good.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CEO of an IT Services company supporting Polish and global customers in delivering digital solutions and web applications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire A4BEE?

Our company runs a Digital Transformation project for a big Polish food manufacturer. We hired 3 SMEs from A4BEE to fulfill gaps in our team working on the project.

SOLUTION

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

My company evaluated candidates from 7 companies. A4BEE was always a strong, self-reliant partner. Their candidates had stronger experience and skill set. This time, it was very important for us to work with architects and consultants with practical experience in the manufacturing and biotech industry. After validation and assessment,, my company decided to choose A4BEE.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The project was run in an agile approach. It was split into 3 main phase:

• AS IS Assessment
• Digital Transformation Roadmap definition
• Digital transformation Implementation

The A4BEE consultants led our project during the first 2 phases, and supported us during the last, but the longest phase. The quality of their work was excellent, and overall project deliverables were in high quality.

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

3 SMEs:

• IT Architect
• Manufacturing Consultant
• Strategy Consultant

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to the collaboration with A4BEE we were able to deliver the first 2 phases of the project, where they played a crucial role.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We’ve worked directly with A4BEE consultants, and they became part of our project team. This collaboration model has been checked before, and it turned out to work with A4BEE. The communication was impressive, everything worked smoothly, and everything was delivered on time. Commercial & Legal part was covered by A4BEE Board member.

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

A4BEE had very good, skilled, and experienced consultants. They have strong industry knowledge and deep technical expertise. Everything was delivered according to the project plan, timeline, and budget. Their specialists also have very good communication and soft skills.

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

From my point of view, everything was all right.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was IT Production Manager responsible for support Operations processes at a company that has manufacturing and distribution facilities in Poland.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire A4BEE?

We aim to perform security review on application and infrastructure level from IT and OT perspective. The overall goal of the project was also to prepare materials supporting enhancement of the factory business continuity and operations.

SOLUTION

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

I reached out to a number of companies that I’ve met with before. This time, it was very important for us to work with solid and experienced experts ready to conduct a security assessment. After inquiries, our company decided to choose A4BEE.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Scope of the project covered

• Review from security perspective business applications and IT infrastructure, including business IT stakeholders interview
• assessment of compliance with IEC 62443-3-3:2019 Industrial communication networks
• Network and system security
• Part 3-3: System security requirements and security levels
• Identification of key risks and challenges
• Recommendations at IT infrastructure, Organization and Application level.

The outcome of the project was critical to enhancement of the factory business continuity and operations, and to improve maturity of security controls. The A4BEE team provides us expertise in areas of cybersecurity, IT compliance, risk management and business continuity. The quality of the deliverables (reports, analysis, presentations) was very good, and overall project deliverables were in high quality.

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

Security Architect, It Architect, Senior Consultant

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Results of the assessment help us to maintain facilities, processes and systems compliance with global regulations and to meet new performance and scalability requirements.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Project was managed and led by A4BEE using agile methodology. A4BEE used different techniques to gather requirements and data (workshops, surveys, interviews), and to validate the quality of their outcomes.

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

We were impressed by their deep expertise and communication skills. Quality of deliverables was very good.

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

No recommendations for improvement

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was CTO of Codility. I was responsible for the technology and information depts at the company. The company provides the online, cloud based platform for automated, remote assessment of developers skills.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire A4BEE, and what were your goals?

Codility was going through fast growth and tremendous organization changes as we transitioned. Our enterprise customers expected that our platform and organization would meet the highest security and compliance standards. To improve our security and compliance maturity, we hired A4BEE.

SOLUTION

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

A4BEE was recommended to us by their other Customers as a professional & experience partner. I was not personally involved in a selection process.

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

Scope of the Security Assessment project covered the following stages, with the objective to develop final recommendations:

• Gathering information
• Selecting scope and applicability of security controls (SCF domains, CSF functional groups)
• Assessment of maturity level for discovered controls and their compliance with ISO27001, ISO27018, GDPR, CSF
• Analysis of coverage, maturity and impact in existing controls Impact and maturity levels were used to calculate the risk used for highlighting areas 
with immediate focus needs
• Deliver inputs to proposal of initiatives needed to close identified gaps or improve maturity level of the security controls in specific domains or functional groups (domains from SCF and functional groups from CSF - NIST Cyber Security Framework)

Assessment has been performed in the context of data processing protection, security of infrastructure, personal data processing confidentiality and security architecture excellence.

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

3 consultants: Security Architect, It Architect, Senior Consultant

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The results of the projects helped to improve platform architecture security maturity, business continuity, and services resiliency.

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

All their team members were always updated about the project status and progress, which was great. I feel they care about Codility interests.

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

The level of trust we’ve developed with them because of that consistency and performance is a huge asset to the work. They have built a partnership with us that goes beyond just the terms of a contract, and that has worked incredibly well.

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

We discussed many times what they can be doing better or differently. On top of that, they asked about feedback on a regular basis, which was impressive to see how much they care about our opinion. . The A4BEE team was always willing to learn and improve. I really don’t have anything I wish they were doing differently.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a Product Owner in a Life Science/Biotechnology company that digitizes biomarker analysis intending to advance the science of precision health. Our solutions have the potential to change the way in which healthcare is provided today by giving researchers the ability to closely examine the role of biomarkers in the continuum of health to disease.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire A4BEE, and what were your goals?

We have a need to interface our instrument with customer databases. Customers were using workarounds and time consuming manual processes, so we hiredA4Bee to develop a much simpler, secure, application interface. The goal was to provide our customers with an easily configured interface that will work between our instrument and any database they own.

SOLUTION

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

We have been working with A4BEE on multiple projects and they proved to be self-reliant partner who takes care of our expectations related to development of cloud and software solutions. This time it was very important for us to work with experienced architects and developers with digital and biotech competencies. A4BEE delivered functional POC.

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

The project is still ongoing and we’re taking Agile approach that includes developing POC (finished last year) and the final product delivered in multiple iterations - ongoing Key milestones includes:

1. Develop POC based on the specific requirements
2. Approve POC and initiate final PRD
3. Prioritize the list of features
4. Define scope of the first iteration
5. Design the architecture
6. Develop product modules
7. Integrate with our instrument and customer databases

The A4BEE team provides us with a broad area of expertise. The quality of their code is exceptional, and overall project deliverables are in high quality

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

The team consist of Lead Architect, 3 developers, Tester and Project Manager/Scrum Master

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Product significantly simplifies our customers' interaction with our devices. The POC looks great, and is currently in testing.

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

I work directly with specialists and they became part of our delivery team. The communication is outstanding, we manage to address issues and concerns very quickly and the team is very proactive.

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

They build relations based on trust, effective communication and collaboration. They also make sure we have the right skills on the project so everything works precisely from the very beginning. Their tech specialists have also a very good awareness of life science specifications. They think of ways to solve our problems that we have not yet come up with. They are very innovative and explain the concepts well to any audience.

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

From my point of view, everything was great.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the project manager. My organization brings together key technologies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire A4BEE?

We’ve hired A4BEE to implement IoT Gateway Platform in our digital innovation hub.

SOLUTION

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

For our Digital Innovation Hub for Industry 4.0. we needed an industrial system that would connect data from various devices and different processing systems. We’ve chosen A4BEE’s solution A4BEE IoT Gateway Platform when we realized that the product would gather all your data, starting from sensors through robots to the whole production.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

They delivered and implemented the A4BEE IoT Gateway Platform in our digital innovation hub. The Whole process was well planned, with visible goals. What is worth mentioning, they know exactly how to make the gateway solution secure and compliant with regulatory requirements. There was no need from our side, to put any effort into it.

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

1 x Digital Transformation Specialist 1 x Software developer 1 x AI/ML specialists 1 x AR/VR specialist 1 x Project Manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The A4BEE IoT Gateway Platform has let us acquire data from our industrial robots. It also allowed for further integration with cloud systems.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The whole implementation process was very efficient. A4BEE provided documentation and reports regularly to give us an overview of the situation. Our communication was very smooth and at the top of that A4BEE’s experts proved strong change management in the organization approach, and we were sure they would answer our demands.

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

The A4BEE team was very open-minded and critical thinkers. They understand industrial opportunities and can take advantage of them. And for sure, they know how to turn data into tangible business value.

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

No recommendations for improvement