Altkom Software

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was Project Manager responsible for eBanking/Mobile Banking migration during BNP Paribas S.A. and Sygma Bank merger. I worked for BNP Paribas S.A.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Altkom Software & Consulting, and what were your goals?

We had to migrate 1,5mn clients accounts from Sygma Bank S.A. to BNP Paribas S.A. ebanking system. Instead of migration huge amount of data we had chosen to develop easy onboarding solution within BNP Paribas Bank target eBanking system.

SOLUTION

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

We decided to give this task to Altkom Software&Consulting due to their expirience with Camunda BPM, previous expirience with other process mapping/integration within the Bank and relatively short time-to-market agreed.

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

First together with the vendor we had to analyse which clients data from migrated Bank we can use for secure authentication and further onboarding. Then we had to order data from Core-Banking system, extend services on Enterprise Service Bus and ask Altkom to use services, map them on Camunda, develope UI based on BNP look&feel.

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

There were 3 persons - 1 lead and 2 developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

By implementing this solution we avoided huge time&cost of 1.5mn eBanking clients migration. The rate of eBanking usage in Sygma Bank was low and we were not sure if such a migration is worth of it. Instead fast&user friendly onboarding solution proofed that it was good choice. Only less that 100k users onboarded to the BNP Paribas Bank so we avoided 1,4mn users data migration. Same time conversion of customers who decided to onboard compering to those who started showed high conversion rate which is evidence of user friendly and flowless onboarding process developed by Altkom on Camunda.

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

The project management was great, open discussion, proactive and give us ideas how to make the process more effective. They were flexible and gave us much support during final conversion D-day.

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

Compering to "big" vendors they were way more flexible and open for changes but same time setting the limits just to avoid project unecessary risks and scope. I had the impression that we are partners and I am not a claimant or agreement executor.

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

To be honest no complaints at all.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Marketing Manager at The Fryderyk Chopin Institute. Its mission is to promote, protect, investigate and popularize the heritage of Fryderyk Chopin. The Institute, established in 2001 by the decision of the Polish Parliament and remaining under the direct control of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, has taken care of Chopin’s heritage, continuing the tradition originating yet at the end of the 19th century.

The multidimensional and differentiated activity of the Institute is the answer to the work and life of the composer – rich, ambiguous, being a challenge and task for the next generations of listeners, performers and scientists, fascinated by this music and figure.

Every five years, we organise the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition – one of the oldest and most important piano competitions in the world (its history reaches 1927), opening the concert stages of all continents to its winners.

For dozens of years, among laureates of the Competitions, there have been the greatest pianists of the 20th and 21st centuries, creating the history of contemporary piano playing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Altkom Software & Consulting?

The 18th Chopin Piano Competition was held on October 2-23 2021, it is one of the oldest and most important piano competitions, which attracts millions of viewers from all over the world. During that period, our website is under heavy traffic.

Moreover, we launched a new mobile app, plus decided to stream the event in 4K. Every day during the competition, we had around 27 thousand requests per minute from the mobile app alone! The peak was during the finale: we had over 48 million HTTPS requests in a 3-hour timeframe. In the past, our infrastructure did not scale properly.

That led to the short unavailability of services during the peaks. We wanted to fix that issue, that's why we started our cooperation with Altkom.

SOLUTION

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

We were looking for a company with extensive AWS knowledge. The AWS representatives recommended Altkom as an experienced partner. Altkoms' technical and sales team were very professional and immediately gained our trust. After just a single meeting we knew it is the right choice.

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

The whole project consisted of two main phases. The project started with AWS stress tests to verify the current performance of the environment and the speed of adapting to changes in load parameters, an AWS Well-Architected Framework audit and a Cloud Cost audit.

Then, Altkom implemented required architectural and AWS environment changes, which ensured business continuity, while minimizing the infrastructural costs. The second phase was 24/7 monitoring and active support of Altkoms' DevOps team during the Chopin Competition. They ensured that everything worked properly.

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

Altkom provided a DevOps team that was maintaining our infrastructure 24/7. During the periods when we expected increased traffic, the team was supplemented by 1-2 additional Senior DevOps specialists or AWS Architects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We did not have any issues with services availability, our website and mobile app were fully responsive during the whole Piano Competition. Additionally, we did not bear any unnecessary, additional costs. The project was an absolute success.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Altkom designated a single specialist as the main point of contact, who was very responsive and could answer all of our questions. We received all responses on time and had no communication issues whatsoever.

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

Their knowledge and customer-centric approach were stunning. We have worked with other IT companies and I must admit, that working with Altkom was a particularly positive experience.

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

Everything was spot-on.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am CTO at STATSCORE company. STATSCORE collects sports data and provide sports statistics and live match information to sports organizations, leagues, media outlets, broadcasters, and betting operators.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Altkom Software & Consulting?

STATSCORE chose Amazon Web Services as a foundation for their platform. Since its start the company grew rapidly to reach hundreds of customers using their platform in a real time. This led us to a decision to review the original architecture and configuration of the Amazon Web Services to maximize systems performance while keeping costs and security under tight control.

SOLUTION

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

Their sales team reached out to us and proposed support with AWS infrastructure, especially regarding cost optimization and security audit. We decided to meet with them and discuss our challenges. They convinced us with their professional approach and impressive knowledge in the subject area.

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

Altkom Software & Consulting performed for us the Amazon Web Services review and analysis covering:

• cloud services architecture
• cloud security configuration and practices
• performance optimization
• governance automation
• cost optimization and management

The Amazon Web Services that were reviewed and analyzed covered:

• Elastic Kubernetes Services (EKS)
• Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)
• Relational Database Service (RDS)
• Elasticache Services
• Elasticsearch Services
• Cloudfront Content Delivery
• Web Application Firewall (WAF)

All findings and recommendations were provided in a summary report and clearly explained during workshop. Each advice was accompanied by proposed next steps, taking into consideration our organization and constraints.

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

Altkom provided dedicated team composed of a Team Leader, Cloud Architect and DevOps specialist.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

By implementing the proposed changes, within 1 month, we managed to reduce our AWS spending by 39%. After 6 months, the costs were reduced by 55%.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We are very pleased with work the ASC’ developers done. They deliver on time, everything was clear from the beginning. We communicated mainly through on-line meetings and e-mails.

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

We appreciated their flexible and open-minded approach, resulting in maximized advantages for the agreed audit effort. The delivered results greatly exceeded our initial expectations.

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

No, we were fully satisfied.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

OpenAdvice is an IT Service provider for Service Monitoring and Reporting in Germany and Europe. I'm working since a beginning as a Sales Director at OpenAdvice.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Altkom Software & Consulting?

Support in a development project for creating a WEbGUI for an existing Service Inventory to finalize the project in time until the end of 2019.

What were your goals for this project?

- creating a WEbGUI for an existing Service Inventory. - WebGUI must fulfil all requirements and functionalities from the FatCient - finalize the project in time until the end of 2019

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We know the Vendor from a reference.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

the developer was onsite at the beginning and worked then remotely for us. It went well, because of the daily stand up meetings. The tasks he got were well described and he could show us his progress in the daily stand up meetings.

What was the team composition?

one resource from the vendor. One developer resource from our company and a project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

the project had to fulfil in time and budget.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project management was done by us and the two developers were well self-organized. We worked with Trello for progress tracking and task organisation. We worked with teams platform to communicate and share the results. This went really well and was efficient.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their flexibility was impressive and they had a good responsive salesperson.

Are there any areas for improvement?

the language of the developers, they should speak English or/and Germany fluently.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Chief Information Officer at an insurance company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Altkom Software & Consulting?

Automation of manual processes for outgoing correspondence. Setup and deployment of workflow platform. Integration with third party services: print order, email, sms, archiving, templating, produce documents.

What were your goals for this project?

We as a community are gradually making the change to a fully digital and paperless world. Awareness of it allowed us to launch a new project with Altkom, which involved the introduction of a reusable process for outgoing documents. The main goal was to move away from traditional printouts in favor of electronic communication.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We needed a reliable partner and open solution. There were many vendors and concepts. We decided that Altkom Software & Consulting approach fits the best our needs. We took into account prior references, proven track of record, compliance with our IT standards.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The project began in form one week sprint. Daily meetings allowed to react to difficulties and addressed them immediately. The results were presented every week on product show. Improvements were made during each sprint until final version has been delivered.

What was the team composition?

The project team had less than 10 people (based on the resources of both sides) but certain individuals came and went depending on needed skills. The project was conducted on the basis of agile methodology. Three roles were defined: Product Owner, Srum Master and Developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The solution was implemented on time. As a result, we have reduced operating costs associated with printing and enveloping. We have increased efficiency by introducing a fully automatic process that does not require human intervention. The new process is environmentally friendly and speeds up communication with our customers.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

From the very beginning, we assumed that we need a quarter to deliver a solution. All deadlines have been met in line with our expectations. The key to success were people, their responsiveness, understanding and their commitment to achieve a clearly defined goal. The teamwork tools used, such as JIRA, Confluence and Bitbucket, have improved communication between team members.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Altkom Software & Consulting exhibits ability to work in an interdisciplinary team, ability to adapt the message to the interlocutor and they have great technical and communication skills.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Weekly sprints are very demanding for both parties. In the case of public holidays, work slows down.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the general manager at the Polish Medicine Verification Organization—the Polish unit of the European Medicines Verification System. We’ve been managing and developing the system since its introduction last year.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Altkom Software & Consulting?

We had to decide between two IT suppliers that The European Medicines Verification Organization recommended to support the Polish and other EU/EEA markets while developing the European Medicines Verification System pursuant to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/161. Our organization needed IT consulting as well as QA to guide the process.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Altkom Software & Consulting supported technical management and development efforts for our organization. Their team directed our core IT vendor selection process, developing criteria for evaluation and guiding supplier assessment. They also implemented IT solutions and software QA measures.

First, Altkom Software & Consulting designed our RFP, which was approved by our team and board members. They answered follow-up questions from potential suppliers concerning the RFP. Their team helped create the criteria for selection including financials and quality of service, which they benchmarked with delegated regulations. They participated in negotiations to help discuss the technical aspects of the project.

After assessing proposals from candidates, Altkom Software & Consulting prepared suggestions. Their team presented their recommendation to the board, which supported their conclusion. We’re currently coordinating the system’s validation period with Altkom Software & Consulting—a follow-up service they provide.

To support the pilot phase, their team developed external and internal solutions. As part of the European Medicines Verification System, Altkom Software & Consulting built an application for end-users in the Polish market. They integrated the platform with the system’s API to perform user acceptance testing within our target audiences’ business processes.

Altkom Software & Consulting developed another application that allows us to update our end-user portfolio. Under European legislation only authorized users can access the System, the app allows us to verify that a user is active in the public repository because the European Medicines Verification System was developed to be accessed only by authorized users, such as pharmaceutical wholesalers, community pharmacies and hospitals. They continue to provide support when needed.

What is the team composition?

Altkom Software & Consulting was flexible in terms of resources. Initially, we worked with 1–3 teammates, which grew to 2–5 based on project needs. We collaborated with a project manager, QA and IT managers as well as multiple programmers. Also, an IT architect from Altkom Software & Consulting reviewed our selected IT vendor’s development concept.

How did you come to work with Altkom Software & Consulting?

We were looking for the best IT consultant to guide our organization’s decision on an IT supplier for our medicine verification system. We had several discussion rounds with 5–6 potential vendors including Altkom Software & Consulting. After presenting their concept, we decided they were the best fit given their innovative approach towards project implementation and their prior references. We liked that their team was out of the box minded as it’s helpful during any agile projects and innovative product development.

What is the status of this engagement?

We collaborated between August 2017–June 2019. Currently, we are prolonging our joint effort and asked Altkom Software & Consulting to develop for us Robotic Process Automation solution.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Selected for the first phase, Altkom Software & Consulting completed the project before the deadline. Their team assisted the supervision of our IT supplier, helping to deliver the system we’d purchased according to regulations. We’re happy to have collaborated with them to achieve this important step.

Our main task was to keep up with other organizations since we joined the European Medicines Verification System project late. By working with Altkom Software & Consulting, we’ve become leaders. When we started, people were betting that we would never succeed in connecting to the larger system. Now, we’re setting the tone of the project with the largest number of active users. Due to Altkom Software & Consulting's professional services, we’ve been able to transform challenges into opportunities.

How did Altkom Software & Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve had a lot of changes over the course of the project as the system’s implementation across Europe was following an agile methodology. Their team aligned their approach to management based on project needs. Altkom Software & Consulting was responsive and flexible in terms of team composition, readiness, and technical concepts. We never experienced any miscommunication or mismanagement. Overall, we were satisfied.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Even though they’re a local company, they provide competitive services. They’re not only highly regarded in Poland, but also outside our borders because of the capacities they developed as our IT consultants.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind at the moment. In terms of the quality of services, I’m satisfied.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They offer innovation and out of the box thinking at a very reasonable price.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a pricing manager at BP with the responsibility for introducing and embedding pricing tools into the business. I always look for the best ways of pricing through adopting current methodologies, approaches, and practices by using the latest technologies. The use of tools enables pricing practices such as authority to negotiate, delegation of authority, and pricing corridors.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Altkom Software & Consulting?

Sales need to be able to ensure the deal they are offering is right for the business. A pricing tool which includes the authority to negotiate enables this to happen. The delegation of authority provides the right level in the organization for the approval. These are the two of the most important factors to ensure compliance is followed and adhered to. Altkom task was to build a pricing tool, which incorporated all of the key requirements in addition to being user-friendly.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Altkom Software & Consulting were hired to build such a pricing tool. I took over the project management during the second phase of development and have been the owner since. The Altkom Software & Consulting partnership works because we present the problem, and through effective communication, they provide the solution. We’re now on the sixth version of the tool, many enhancements have been incorporated to improve functionality and user-friendliness. Constant feedback from users creates opportunities for updates and improvements, for which Altkom provides their expertise in finding the best solution.

What is the team composition?

The two contacts I have frequently interacted with are Pawel (Branch Coordinator, Altkom Software & Consulting), one of the developers, and Michal (System Architect, Altkom Software & Consulting). I have also used Maciej (Project Manager, Altkom Software & Consulting) for any escalations related to urgent requests.

How did you come to work with Altkom Software & Consulting?

The original project manager was situated in Poland, and Altkom was already a BP provider of IT services.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $50,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Altkom Software & Consulting started in September 2012 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I have just offered them a new contract for a new pricing tool because of the level of professionalism and work completed. Altkom Software Consulting does an excellent job with the task and problems presented. They’ve always over-deliver and never overpromise, their work is frequently delivered well before there set deadlines. Their work is of an extremely high standard in terms of design, management, and execution.

For several years I have been working with Altkom, and I have no complaints only praise. We have a structured way of doing things, which involves trackers and performance indicators. It’s hard to quantify and qualify, but all I can say is that this team delivers.

How did Altkom Software & Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is superb. I’ve worked with many providers during my time at BP, and Altkom is excellent in terms of understanding, providing solutions, the expertise offered, all in a timely fashion. An instant response is provided when I require guidance or assistance. We use Skype, and screen share, although I have visited their offices on the odd occasion, all of which builds an excellent working relationship.

What did you find most impressive about them?

By far, they’re more professional than other developers I’ve worked with. From a system architect and development standpoint, their communication is outstanding. They make sure that they understand the demand or request before tackling it. In the past, I’ve worked with teams that wouldn’t deliver what I asked for. Altkom Software & Consulting is excellent at understanding requirements. They come back with a solution, run it by our team, and then deliver. Communication is the backbone behind creating relationships.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have to be honest. There’s nothing. I could say that their team could deliver work quicker, but they can’t. Altkom Software & Consulting delivers time and time again. Even when they’re busy, I’ll speak to the manager, and they will free up time for me. It’s a two-way working relationship.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear and upfront from the beginning. When I came in, I wanted to make sure there was a process surrounding what we were doing. It’s good to keep the lines of communication open so that they understand the requirements and can follow your direction. If you lay everything out, there’s no reason why the company will do anything else but deliver.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CIO for AXA’s Poland branch. We specialize in property & casualty business insurance with a focus on vehicle insurance.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Altkom Software & Consulting?

We were going through an M&A, so our challenge was to integrate and unify all products, processes, and apps used across various sales & service channels. Altkom Software & Consulting was contracted to help us consolidate web applications.

What were your goals for this project?

Altkom Software & Consulting needed to support the web apps that needed to be migrated and rewritten to fit the unified tech and functionality standard of our business.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

With a quick onboarding process, we needed a reliable partner. Altkom Software & Consulting was selected because of their track record with our other offices and other insurance companies.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Altkom Software & Consulting supported web applications that were on the exit path, along with designing and developing in target phases based on our architecture and business requirements. They were the lead for maintenance and evolution activities.

What was the team composition?

The project team had five people. There were various developers and a support team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Support & maintenance activities worked well. It was delivered for the expected releases, and any issues or bugs were solved. Due to internal problems, the priorities of the apps changed and had to be realigned.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They weren’t responsible for project management but presented accurate estimation capabilities that allowed for efficient planning and delivery.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Altkom Software & Consulting exhibits great technical and communication skills. Their team was able to integrate with ours seamlessly. Their management support was responsive throughout the project. We shared feedback openly. Altkom Software & Consulting is a reliable company that customers can trust.

Are there any areas for improvement?

This was mainly on our side, but better prioritization would’ve helped with the delivery.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Nadine Goetschalckx: I’m the director of the third-party administration department of AXA Partners, overseeing hospitalization insurances for AXA Belgium. We handle insurance for 3,500 employers.

Respondent 2: I’m responsible for the business enabling team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Altkom?

R2: We’ve worked with them on the development of our new backend system, which was based on an existing platform. We then needed the development of two frontends, one for employers and one for the insured.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

NG: The application allows us to create contracts and calculate the feasibility of claims. Employers can use the portal to manage the insurance of their employees, and the insured can send claims.

R2: In the application, there is information for users about their coverage and the premiums they have to pay. We gave Altkom some instructions and designs for the layouts of the portals, which had to conform to our company’s guidelines.

What is the team composition?

NG: We worked with 5–7 people, including a project manager from their team. There was a lot of turnover, which sometimes made things difficult as the knowledge wasn’t always transferred.

How did you come to work with Altkom?

NG: We’d had a good collaboration with Altkom in the past, so we continued with them.

How much have you invested with them?

NG: The total was around €7 million (approximately $7.8 million USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

NG: We worked with Altkom between 2010–2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

R2: We had some performance issues related to how Altkom setup the portal.

NG: It’s difficult to provide metrics because we’ve made changes in 2018 and 2019 to become more user-friendly, but we’ve had a good return on satisfaction with the portal. Usage has increased in 2018 after we took some action on communication. We’ve also changed the look and functionalities of the portal for the insured.

How did Altkom perform from a project management standpoint?

NG: It was dependent on the people used to make business requirements. Altkom had some really good people involved, but they were not always available, especially toward the end of the project. However, we have to acknowledge that they assigned some very competent people, and it was a pleasure to work with them. With that said, none of them are still there. We worked in agile mode, in collaboration with Altkom, so there were no mockups.

R2: We communicated through phone, email, GoToMeeting, and Skype.

What did you find most impressive about them?

NG: It was good to work with Altkom because they already knew our business, having developed the old business application we had in place.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

NG: We would’ve preferred to have more attention during the collaboration, in order to improve the user experience and interfaces. The application did everything we were asking for, but it really wasn’t user-friendly. It was very complicated and required good knowledge of how to use it.

R2: The UI is actually based on a model we set up in the application, which is why it’s so difficult to use.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

NG: No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m responsible for the IT and back-office operations of a financial institution, including development, choosing providers, setting up RFIs and RFPs, and following best practices. Our core activity is developing a platform for selling insurance.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Altkom?

In Poland, if we want to sell life and normal insurance, we need to create two separate companies. That meant in 2011 we created a new one from scratch, so we were looking for a software provider to create our insurance platform and integrate it within all branches of the main company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed the front- and backend of our insurance web platform, including the back-office application and claims module. The technologies used are Java, Angular, Oracle 12, and some JavaScript frameworks. The central part was the integration with the core banking system, namely the web services, the policy management, and the algorithm and premium calculation parts. Payments and premium collections are easy to make, but changes in policy require algorithms for risk calculation.

What is the team composition?

We worked with around 25 people from Altkom at the time, including developers, system analysts, a scrum master, and Selenium automation testers. The product owner was based on our site.

How did you come to work with Altkom?

They’d worked with us on small tasks, and we were happy with their work, so we offered them the contract for the platform. We did send out an RFP, but we chose Altkom based on their previous involvement with us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $10 million on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Altkom around June 2013, and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We ran a code and methodology audit with an outside company for around nine months.

How did Altkom perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re okay, but they’re a technology company primarily. They can provide good developers, but we changed the project manager three times in one year. I know there are companies in Poland that manage the work better.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re pretty open, and they have a good level of knowledge about the technology, with the ability to hire good people. They also have some internal labs with new technologies, which we appreciate.

The other two or three companies we’ve hired in the last years were complete failures. In contrast, with Altkom, we could easily discuss issues, and they were really transparent. They’re an honest and trustworthy partner with an excellent team on board.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The project management is one area, as well as the marketing—they are entirely unable to sell their product. They’re good, but they’re running out of salespeople. We’ve invested around $10 million in them, which is a lot of money, and they sometimes didn’t even send us Christmas postcards or didn’t invite us to lunch. It’s not obligatory, but it’s part of team building and a company’s culture. They’re not able to speak to business people, which is a disadvantage they probably know about.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

They’re really good at running projects that require sophisticated algorithms, calculations, and payment processing.