Algoworks

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and operator of Scutella & Sons, LLC. My business isn’t directly related to what they made for me. It was an idea that I came up with, namely a booking app for service providers.

What challenge were you trying to address with Algoworks?

I brought them on to create an app. The app was initially geared toward a specific business provider, but I thought that it would be more feasible if any type of service provider could use it.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Algoworks designed and developed the booking app for iOS and Android. They worked based on my ideas and pretty much did it all. It was just for grooming services initially, but it has a broader range now. It’s basically a platform for any kind of independent service provider.

What is the team composition?

I worked with one of their members during the initial estimate, and I had another point of contact after that. I communicated with a couple of other people on the team.

How did you come to work with Algoworks?

I searched for app developers, and Algoworks had good reviews. They gave me a fair price, and I thought that they’d be a good company to work with.  

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $22,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Algoworks in June or July 2020, and we finished up in December 2020.

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

Algoworks did an amazing job of bringing my ideas to life. The only questionable part was extending their service time after the app was done. 

I know that they have maintenance contracts, but my lawyer pointed out that once the app was completed, I would need them to maintain its functionalities. I feel that offering six months of service would be warranted when someone spends that type of money. Everything else was amazing.

How did Algoworks perform from a project management standpoint?

They were good with all the deadlines. We communicated through email, we had Zoom meetings once a week, and we talked on the phone sometimes. We also used Basecamp as a collaborative tool.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their creativity was impressive. Having an idea is one thing, but bringing it to life is another. Algoworks built the app as I wanted in terms of design and functionality. They did a good job of putting my words on paper and making it work.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

The after-service was the only thing that stood out to me. Because I was new to this, they were going to put me with a marketing agency. Having some kind of in-house marketing could be something for Algoworks to think about, strictly for the apps they develop.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Having a game plan in mind will make it easier for everybody. I went into this on a whim, so I made a lot of changes over the course of it.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We specialize in the transportation of primarily refrigerated commodities across the United States. We also own a vegetable farm and technology startup that facilitates transactions between buyers and sellers. I was briefly CTO here but now am back into serving the company as an independent contractor.

What challenge were you trying to address with Algoworks?

We needed to find development resources with a wide range of skills and bring them in-house to supplement the internal team. We were looking for teams with skills ranging from coding to solutions architecture to requirements gathering.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve largely used their services for Salesforce custom development, and they’ve touched a few other applications that interact with Salesforce in some way. Most notably, they built out an integration between our two Salesforce organizations: logistics and vegetable farm.

There’s a lot of organic lead information that can be shared between orders based on transactions that happen in one of the two businesses. For example, we may be shipping orders to an organization. That information will be shared with our vegetable farm business as well, letting the team know that this could be pursued as an active lead. If we had been delivering an order of carrots, for instance, our vegetable farm may pitch them on carrot sales. 

To create this, their team met with me to understand the requirements, mapped our solution design, and implemented the solution. They also made some recommendations on how to accomplish our goal based on their knowledge of the Salesforce platform. Then, they worked through deployment, training, and documentation. They contributed to just about every aspect of the project.   

What is the team composition?

One of their senior developers played a role in just about all of our interactions, whether it was development or scoping requirements. We also worked with an account manager, who was responsible for project management.   

How did you come to work with Algoworks?

We found them through Google searches for reliable, well-rated companies with offshore development teams. They came up in initial searches along with some other companies. We did scoping calls and received estimates from each team.

Their team aligned best with what we were looking for, offering the most flexibility surrounding the pace of projects, competitive pricing, and knowledge on the Salesforce platform. We felt comfortable moving forward with them.  

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $15,000–$20,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since around February 2020 and will be increasing their responsibilities moving forward.

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

ROI was a general metric we’d use to evaluate their work, but there are so many independent factors affecting ROI in any of our projects. We’ve also looked at the ease of communication and execution of projects.

We didn’t have time to hold their hands and make sure they were doing a good job. They were very self-sufficient with requirements and could turn around high-quality work to free up our resources for other tasks. Their work had few errors and deployments went smoothly.   

How did Algoworks perform from a project management standpoint?

The dynamic of our relationship is built off a flexible model. Our deadlines were generally pretty flexible, but they certainly met our expectations when it came to deadline management and delivering quality within the desired timeframe. We used Google Documents to spin up shared documents as needed. Our teams communicated over email, ad hoc calls, and a weekly standing call. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their flexibility, ability to wear many hats, and willingness to follow best practices all stood out. They have a deep bench of resources available for us to pull knowledge from. That allowed them to accomplish and accommodate a very large scope. It was like having a full team of developers with only a part-time contract engagement. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was some miscommunication between what would be included in the scope. We were able to address this for the most part using SOWs. I’d recommend continuing to work at managing expectations with clients.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Quantum CRM Solutions, LLC.

What challenge were you trying to address with Algoworks?

I’ve been working with them in several capacities for several years now. For this particular project, we hired them to develop a custom component for a Salesforce community implementation to help display clients' cases.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Algoworks created a component for Salesforce that would better display and filter client support tickets. The tool provides filtering functionality and more efficient ticket sorting. They wrote the component in Aura, a Java-based programming language that’s proprietary to Salesforce. The backend server side is written in Apex.

What is the team composition?

I interface with a team of two, but there are also other teammates behind the scenes. 

How did you come to work with Algoworks?

Prior to Algoworks, we worked with other hybrid vendors, but the quality of the work just wasn’t there. Algoworks is great at understanding our requirements and delivering a quality solution. 

How much have you invested with them?

This particular project cost $4,500.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working on this project in Q1 2020, and we have another project with them lined up. It’s an ongoing relationship on an as-needed basis.

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

Algoworks is great at taking the business and technical requirements and making sure that they use best practices and coding to come up with a solution and see the project to completion. The component was part of a larger project to rebrand and retool our customer process.

The initial beta feedback that we’ve received from the clients has been really good. The tool is much faster than the legacy in-house solution we were using, looks nice, and is easier to manage. 

How did Algoworks perform from a project management standpoint?

Most of the time, we don’t have to spend too much time worrying about project management because the team does it well and gets things back to us quickly.

The only thing that slows them down is the time that it takes us to test and provide feedback. Algoworks is good at getting work done and pushing it back to use for feedback and testing. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I like the relationship we have with them. Algoworks is more than just a software partner; we have a personal and business relationship. Additionally, their coding is high-quality and so are their team members. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not that I can think of. They’ve been a good vendor.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’ll save you a lot of time and effort if you’re internally aligned first on the business processes and requirements so that you don’t have to go back and change things. As I mentioned, Algoworks delivers quickly, so if the target is continually moving from an internal standpoint, the team will have to make a lot more changes. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Applicable Data, a Marketing Cloud consulting company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Algoworks?

I needed help with Salesforce Marketing Cloud integration.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Algoworks is integrating third-party platforms into Salesforce CRM and/or Marketing Cloud for us.

What is the team composition?

I work with 7–8 teammates, including technical program managers, developers, and directors.

How did you come to work with Algoworks?

Another partner in this community recommended them to me. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in September 2018, and our engagement is ongoing.

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

Their work has been completed on time and the integrations have been done correctly.

How did Algoworks perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re transparent, and they deliver. The communication has always been good, except for one instance, but that’s an outlier.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m working with the same people on the same projects, so we’ve developed a rapport, which has been valuable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not that I can think of. The only thing would be that they’re in India and we’re in California, so if we could make it work on my hours, that would be great, but I’m nitpicking.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have a project manager to fully work with them. Someone needs to be available to get back to Algoworks in a timely manner.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of RideApp LLC. We have a mobile application that connects people traveling to the same destination at the same time on the same days.

What challenge were you trying to address with Algoworks?

I needed developers to translate my thoughts into a product.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Algoworks designed and developed our mobile app for Android and iOS. Their team wrote the code and built the software. They’re currently fixing bugs. Eventually, I’d like them to develop our website.

What is the team composition?

I collaborated with probably 3–4 different people but their team’s much larger.

How did you come to work with Algoworks?

I found them via the internet. Algoworks was a top-rated company.

How much have you invested with them?

I invested about $20,000 in their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked on this project between November 2019–April 2020.

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

The quality of their work was better than I expected. Algoworks built the app well.

How did Algoworks perform from a project management standpoint?

Algoworks met the deadlines that we set. We mainly communicated via Skype and Basecamp. Their team was generally communicative.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was most impressed by their ability to go above and beyond. Their team made my ideas a little better.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they were a solid team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice isn’t specific to Algoworks. Know exactly how you want to run the project from A–Z. I missed aspects of the project, and Algoworks guided me through the process.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of My Job Angel, a job search app. It’s meant to make it 50% faster and easier for the job hunter.

What challenge were you trying to address with Algoworks?

I needed someone to develop an iOS app and provide web consulting for when we transform the mobile app into a web app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re developing our iOS app and consulting with us on a future web app we plan to do. When we’re doing our WordPress website and need additional development, they’ll be able to bring WordPress experts to help write plugins and other special code to amplify the power of WordPress. They will help with future apps as well.

My background is in software development. I’m familiar with the process and I carried that into my relationship with Algoworks. We create user stories that are very detailed and specific. They’re able to review them with me and translate them into actual coded functionality.

What is the team composition?

I work with Manish (Project Delivery Manager) and two other people.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $10,000-$25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2019 and the work is ongoing.

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

The metric of success is how well the team understands and interprets the user stories and delivers code that reflects those user stories in a reliable way. They deliver the right functionality the first time at a very high accuracy level. They’re also very flexible and eager to make any changes that we want, as many times as we need to make sure it reflects what we envisioned.

They’re a very professional team that’s dedicated to delivering code that meets the client’s expectations. They have the ability to pull experts from different areas as needed, which is a big advantage we’ve used several times.

How did Algoworks perform from a project management standpoint?

They deliver on time and on budget, in addition to being very honest and trustworthy. They’re also very reachable and responsive. Sometimes, I give them a change overnight and when I wake up, the code is changed already. That’s very rare.

They use project management software very well, meaning they adhere to the way the software works. This is important because, when you are coordinating remotely, it’s not always possible to say everything that you mean to do in just the call. You need to have another direct way of coordinating the development. If you use a tool and everybody uses it the way it’s meant to be used, then we can work together very well. The Algoworks’ team adheres to the software and they review it carefully. It’s easy to collaborate with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re devoted to making their customers happy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are a few minor issues. Sometimes the developers may be tied up with other projects and you get a little lag in some areas. If you’re not using them very much, they’re going to rightfully redeploy the resources to another project. If you suddenly need them, however, it may be a day or two before they can redeploy resources to help you. If you don’t want any lag and you have enough work for them, the right thing to do is to have them on retainer so they’re always ready for you.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Plan ahead. If you’re going to have periods of lull, plan to have a week or so of reactivation. Tell them what you need but don’t expect them to be immediately available because they’ll be working on other projects for other customers.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of product development at Total ABA, a Salesforce SaaS that serves therapists and clinics.

What challenge were you trying to address with Algoworks?

We’re a very small company. Before we reached out to Algoworks, 80% of our products were written by one developer. We started experiencing rapid growth and needed to get features out, quickly. As we brought on more projects, we needed a scalable development team that could provide however many resources we needed.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Algoworks has taken on everything between small and major projects. In one instance, they created our entire payroll system and integrated it into our main product. They assisted in its architecture and deployment. I typically provide the specifications and general architecture before handing it over to them for development.

What is the team composition?

I’m currently working with two developers. I can reach out to their management team at any point if I need additional resources.

How did you come to work with Algoworks?

We had a previous offshore developer that wasn’t quite fitting our needs; they weren’t as scalable or flexible as we wanted. While I can’t recall exactly how we met, I remember that the initial presentation they gave us was very professional and thorough.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent somewhere around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement began in March 2019 and is ongoing.

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

While I don’t have metrics off the top of my head, I can honestly say that they’ve always delivered on time. Our release cycles have sped up tremendously since they came on with us. We’re doing a release every couple of months now, as opposed to semi-annually, which was the case with our previous developer.

How did Algoworks perform from a project management standpoint?

We utilize Jira, and they maintain great communication. We have scrum meetings twice a week.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I don’t need to provide them with an extensive briefing or a drawn-out architecture before they’re able to think of a solution. I’ve worked with previous companies who struggled with nailing the specs, but with Algoworks, I can expect that they’ll follow the specifications perfectly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m a big fan of feedback, and while our meetings are bi-weekly, I could appreciate touching base maybe on a daily basis.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to provide positive feedback, especially to the developers’ superiors, so that they’re looped in about all of their significant contributions. That way, you can make sure they get the recognition they need.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of a dental and orthodontic solution firm.

What challenge were you trying to address with Algoworks?

I wanted to make an app to simplify the process of taking orthodontic photos, like dental photos, with a specific resolution and quality of pictures. I had a specific idea on the resolution and how the pictures should be taken, and a template that would work, and how it should be automated. I hired Algoworks to develop the app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app is comprised of a template and an overlay. Users can take photos and final processing of the photos are automated. Their database, flow, and security are excellent, particularly since they have to follow health information laws.

They developed separately for iOS and Android. We use Stripe for payments, Twilio for ATP, and  AWS for encryption.

What is the team composition?

There were about 8 people in total, and I was often in touch with Manish (Project delivery Manager) who was great and ultimately delivered on the project and beyond. There were individuals in charge of iOS code and Android code.  

When we initially started, there was another person focused on the flow, design, and colors in the app.  Vignesh (Senior Software Engineer), regularly explained back- and frontend flow and concepts to me so that I understand what's going on; he also made sure things worked.

How did you come to work with Algoworks?

I found them reading the reviews on Clutch.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent about $22,000. They stuck to the original estimate.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from July 2019–February 2020.

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

It’s on the App Store and Google Play. Their deliverables are great. I know how to take dental photos, and it’s very nuanced, so I wanted very specific features, and they were able to execute my vision.

They tried very hard to stick to the payment estimate. I’ve consulted with other companies, and no one else promised to stick to their estimate. I was really impressed by them.

How did Algoworks perform from a project management standpoint?

Obviously, I would meet with them together, but I worked with them individually for specific tasks. They would share their screen to figure out the details.

We used a project management software that helped us share work, and I could respond directly through the platform. We often talked over Skype to make sure everything was right. They were very flexible when it came to communication and would listen to what I had to say.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They showed integrity, they delivered, and when things got hard, they figured out a way to make it happen. They made an effort to ensure I got the resolution that I wanted. I also felt like I could trust the group, and that their biggest strength.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As it pertains to US customers: stay up to date on US's evolving laws on data security, particularly health information and privacy regulations.  This way US customers know Algoworks is thinking ahead and has their back.

They go out of their way to deliver what the customer wants, but they should assume that the customer doesn’t understand the nuances of technology like they do.  When applicable, maybe once project specifications have been defined, have a brainstorm session with customers about "why" and "how" some things can be simplified.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As an American, study the laws specific to your project and how you want to set up the app, send it to the app store, and collect payment.  Start with the end in mind.  Simplify the project as much as you can.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the lead of software development for a sales enablement platform.

What challenge were you trying to address with Algoworks?

We offer a couple of products to the market. One was built by us back in 2015, and it was primarily a marketing and sales collaboration tool. As we grew, we were looking for a digital transformation. 

We decided to build a CRM product for the distribution sales reps. We wanted it to be built on Salesforce since we have an OEM partnership with them. We needed an expert consulting and development partner to work with us on building our product.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Before we started, we had all the documents, wireframes, and designs. The only part that wasn’t completed was the Salesforce side of it. We took care of the design, and Algoworks took it from there as far as development, testing, and delivery. 

We continue to use them to maintain the product. It started out as one initial project that lasted six months but, after that, it transformed into many other projects with varying levels of engagement. 

What is the team composition?

Currently, we have about six people working with us. We’ve worked with an architect, a project manager, a tester, two mobile developers, and two Salesforce developers. At times we’ve utilized their designers because we needed some help. Other times, we’ve reduced the capacity. 

How did you come to work with Algoworks?

We were given a few references. We had an initial engagement with Algoworks that lasted about a month. They had a pretty good team of mobile developers and Salesforce experts which is exactly what we were looking for. They are one of the certified Salesforce development consultancies. We also had a few good references from other startups and other companies.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent $170,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2018, and the engagement is ongoing.

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

Our customer feedback has been good. I give them the highest marks for the work they’ve done because it’s been excellent. We consider them strategic partners too.

How did Algoworks perform from a project management standpoint?

We handle the project management, and we use Jira to communicate. Algoworks is very professional in terms of maintaining and giving us regular updates.

What did you find most impressive about them?

One thing that differentiates Algoworks from the various development companies I’ve worked with is the variety of experience that they have. Some people do just mobile development or just Salesforce. 

Algoworks offers a full stack of engineers and a variety of experts in Salesforce, mobile development, web development, and ASP.net, among others. We can rely on them to pull more resources as needed, which we like. The team also has very good designers and testers. They offer the full package.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We haven’t faced any great delays but one thing that they could improve on is vetting out and fully analyzing the project a little better. Other than that, I give them top marks. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re looking to build a product and you have a pretty good idea of what you want, I recommend working with Algoworks. Have very good documentation and be ready with all your ideas, and they will make your vision a reality.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a fintech startup working in the mortgage space. We are bringing a new and affordable way for people to buy a home.

What challenge were you trying to address with Algoworks?

We are a digital-led business, so we needed a case management and origination management system to handle all the applications. We have a tech team in-house but they are not Salesforce developers.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We outsourced the whole development of this platform to Algoworks, and they did it from scratch. The team configured our setup within Salesforce and integrated it to both our website on the frontend and all of our data services on the backend.

What is the team composition?

The developer who was managing the project has now left, but there was one teammate we coordinated with. In the earlier stages, we worked with at least 3–4 people, and later on, we had a team of 2–3 individuals.

How did you come to work with Algoworks?

We looked at a couple of options. The initial contact was through a referral who was a friend of a friend. We felt that Algoworks had a reasonably good setup and would at least be able to deliver something.

How much have you invested in them?

This project cost about £25,000 (approximately $32,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from April 2019–April 2020.

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

We haven’t really been able to begin using the system because of everything that is going on. It’s built, but we don’t have concrete data on how much our end users prefer it yet. 

From our perspective, we are happy with it. The design of the platform itself is much more feature-heavy than what we had before.

How did Algoworks perform from a project management standpoint?

We set up a project management software and we use Azure DevOps internally. Algoworks was quite flexible in terms of adopting the tools that we wanted to use. 

I’m not sure if in their normal engagements they use their own tools, but because the rest of our platform was on Azure DevOps, it made sense to use it as a repository and as our issue and backlog tool to manage the whole project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are a relatively large organization so even though it was quite a long project, we didn’t want to end up in a situation where things would change on our partner’s side halfway through. So if people left, there was enough debt in the team that they could keep it moving at a decent pace.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Overall, one area where we would’ve preferred to see a bit more development and progress was on the documentation side, both in the code but also just writing specifications of what was built.

We also would’ve liked a comprehensive README so that as our team changes and future people come to maintain it, everyone knows what is going on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Generally, try and really get down to the basics of what the requirements are as early as possible, and try to get a working version. Otherwise, you can end up spending months on nice-to-have features. 

I wouldn’t say our domain is massively complicated, but we are a financial services business taking loan applications, so it is relatively standard, but there is nuance in everything. We still had to give all the insight into what the Salesforce site should be doing. 

The client has to enter the engagement with a really clear idea of exactly what is needed. I don’t think you can go in with a high-level version of what you are looking to achieve and expect at least the best version of what they can design.