AlgoRepublic

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Managing Director of Zero Eight Firearm Compliance. We offer compliance services to the private security industry

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

We needed a bespoke software product to help our clients manage their firearm compliance needs. The product needed to be scalable as we plan to add modules as the business grows.

How did you select AlgoRepublic and what were the deciding factors?

I was referred to AlgoRepublic. I was considering quotations from 3 other software development companies and settled for AlgoRepublic. As we are not familiar with the software development environment we needed someone that could guide us through the process.

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

“Defiance through Compliance” is our motto at Zero Eight because we strongly believe that compliance with the Firearms Control Act strengthens our position as individual and business firearm owners. Zero Eight offers a cloud based solution which allows the relevant responsible persons within a Security Company to have information relating to Firearm and Firearm Training Compliance at their fingertips.

Our solution will send reminders and alerts relating to the expiry of PSIRA registrations, firearm licences, training proficiencies and competencies ensuring that your Security Company and Armed Response Officers remain compliant. When your Armed Response Officer books a firearm the system uses a process flow to check all compliance and will not print the permit if any compliance elements are not in place.

We also offer all Security Industry registers in Electronic format. These registers are signed using an encrypted workflow which protects the company and Armed Response Officers from fraudulent entries and eliminating the paper trail.

The most powerful aspect of our solution are the reports available to Security Company owners and Responsible Persons. Reports on Firearm and Ammunition stock, Firearm Use, Armed Response Officer Shifts, Armed Response Officer booking times, Incidents, Proficiencies and Competency, as well as reports on any anomalies such as excessive firearm use or Armed Response

Officers that continuously book firearms back late/early. Technologies Used: ASP.NET MVC Core 3.1 with MSSQL Server 2017.

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

3 developers worked on my project. 2 senior developers and a director who had oversight.

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

We were able to launch the product on time as AlgoRepublic completed the Beta version within the promised timeline. Within the first 3 months we were able to secure business with a few clients. This allowed us to make necessary changes that could streamline the product and make it more efficient.

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

The project management style was excellent. They communicated with us during every step of development and ensured that their deadlines were met. We communicated via Trello, Whatsapp, and Zoom.

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

We had direct access to a decision-maker at all times which ensured that the process was never delayed. Their business ethics and morals are extremely high which placed my mind at ease. I knew that there would never be any nasty surprises as experienced with other service providers.

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

Nothing comes to mind on this project. The entire process went as planned and promised.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CTO at 46 labs, a U.S. based enterprise that sells voiceover IP infrastructures as well as hosted and PBX solutions to dial-up networks. I was promoted from director of technology a month ago.  As a complete hosting solution for voice-over IP telephone, we provide the rating, routing, and billing solutions and have our own data center in Dallas, TX. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Algorepublic?

46 Labs don't have a call team, so Algorepublic is just one of many vendors we contract worldwide. They focus on our "Peeredge" solution which includes feature add-ons. This is a web-based GUI where customers can log in and set preferences for routing, rates, and infrastructure expertise. Previously, we'd had to manually create PDF invoices so that our customers could do monthly or weekly billing.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Overall, 80% of our product is based on Algorepublic’s design, including the reporting tier for our GUI portion. Programmed entirely in Ruby on Rails, this solution is for the GUI portion facilitates our invoicing and prepaid functionality. 

Our backend analytics system crunches the numbers. Algorepublic's primary responsibility was to pull those numbers out of a database to create the PDFs then write up a prepay functionality. Customers have a predated amount, and after they consume it by passing the traffic and creating a bill. This function switches them off.  They do our live analytics and reporting using a database called Cassandra. 

Just this month, we contracted them to take everything they've built on Ruby on Rails and move from an MVP to an API-based framework. Everything on the backend is API based. This lets us offer that functionality to all our other customers and make our system open. 

What is the team composition? 

My primary contact is the CEO of their company. 

How did you come to work with Algorepublic?

Both of our teams are based in Lahore. We found and vetted them through our reference system. 

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested $40,000 or $50,000 over the course of this timeframe. 

What is the status of this engagement?
We've been working with them for more than a year and a half so far. We just contracted them to work on the API, which they’ve started already. 

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

One of the proofs I can give is that 46 Labs is a GIT account, although our repositories are all private. Algorepublic's entire team has access to our system. 

The type of work Algorepublic does is all based on our user feedback. When they request new features for reporting or analytics searches, we task Algorepublic with building those new features we need at the time.

Algorepublic is not involved with our business model outside backend work. Their job is to maintain and develop the new features that we request. I'm entirely happy with their work. 

How did Algorepublic perform from a project management standpoint?

I oversee all their work. I tell them what’s already in our database and what they need to build, put a UI front on, and indicate what information to show our customers. Their founder and the project manager I interface with are both great people. 

We use Slack for communication and Basecamp for project tasking. It's easy to tell Algorepublic correctly what work I want to be done. I trust they’ll deliver it the end of the day.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Whenever you task Algorepublic with specific work, they complete it in a professional and timely manner. They generally adhere to the code timelines, as well. The skilled team has much experience working with that new technology and management.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Regarding code review, they should open the code side of the commitment they should open proper PR requests and commit it right. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I'd tell potential clients to go for it. This team is skilled and professional. They have extensive software development experience and really know what they're doing.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the owner of a company that I founded with the plan to create a mobile app meant to solve the issue of 25 systems in our region.

What challenge were you trying to address with Algorepublic?

We approached the team to support the end-to-end development process for our company's new mobile app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Algorepublic developed our mobile app for both Android and iOS, along with a related web portal. They connected the two systems through a server database. After we provided the team with a thorough scope, they handled our entire project. I requested a few changes to the app after it was complete, and they quickly implemented those tweaks.

They adhered to one of our most requirements, which was to build the app natively. Based on this instruction, they applied the specific programming language of each platform to the respective app version. Algorepublic's developers programmed the iOS app using Swift and the Android version using Java. For our website, they completed the build stage using Ruby on Rails.

What is the team composition?

I'm not sure about the exact team size, but I know they assigned a good number of project developers to our engagement. Algorepublic's business developer was my primary contact and acted as our project manager.

How did you come to work with Algorepublic?

After finding Algorepublic's website, I looked through their portfolio to get a better sense of their work. I found the projects they'd done for past clients to be interesting and engaging, so I decided to hire them.

How much have you invested with them?

The entire project cost $300,000. We made regular payments after completing each milestone.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Algorepublic mid-2016. Our entire project took a year and a half to complete. We just finished this engagement three months ago.

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

This was the first time my company developed a mobile app, and the product is entirely live and operational. We're more than happy with the app Algorepublic delivered. It's easy to check the quality of the work online.

When I first decided to outsource this project, it was hard to get good advice. I'm really pleased we found Algorepublic; they've done an excellent job for our company. I'm happy to have worked with them.

How did Algorepublic perform from a project management standpoint?

I was personally in touch with the lead resource Algorepublic assigned to our project. He did a great job managing their developers. They met all our requirements and milestones on time. In addition to their project management tools, we contacted the team via Skype and email.

I mostly appreciated their timely delivery. The team kept everything in line with the timeline, even despite some internal delays from my company's side. Working with us every step of the way even though these delays, they submitted all their work on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Aside from the excellent quality of their work, I most valued Algorepublic's time management and communication skills. Since we're based in different countries, there was a time zone difference between our teams. Despite this obstacle, Algorepublic always made it convenient to correspond. They explained tech concepts in a style that was always easy to grasp. Thanks to their training, I understood everything that was going on with the app.

Are there any areas they could improve?

From my perspective, Algorepublic continuously strives to improve. I'm not sure what I could mention at the moment. The most important things to me are communication, time management, and support. All of these were perfect. I suggest they focus more on delivering the same quality at the same pace.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Algorepublic has created great products including a variety of large and complex programs, for companies from all over the world. I highly recommend them to any client. Most freelance vendors can develop a mobile app or website; finding the right one is the key. Choosing Algorepublic will give future clients a considerable advantage over their competitors. Anyone who partners with them can trust that they'll deliver strong work and manage time effectively.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Founder, CEO says about company: Furnishia is a multisided E-Commerce based market place

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

For all our Technology solutions, we trust Algo Republic's team. About Algo Republic: Seasoned Professionals Core Competence: Leadership and execution of Industry's best practices Customer Services: Excellent

How did you select AlgoRepublic and what were the deciding factors?

Core factors in hiring Algo Republc:

• Competency of the team
• Size of the company
• Industry's knowledge
• Executed projects
• Customer Services

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

Initial Meeting Drafting the core Idea and concept and writing its technical details Discussion about project flow chart Discussion about Timelines Test Run Execution of the project

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

CTO was involved himself (leadership role) Back end developer UI/UX designer Front End Developer SEO Expert

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

Overall customer experience of our digital product was good

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

Timelines were being matched communication and reply was prompt

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

Their CTO and their leadership style and aptitude towards problem-solving is impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None