Ancient

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a convenience sales manager at a global tobacco company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ancient Technology?

We needed their team to build our website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided the project brief, and Ancient Technology took it from there and built our website from the ground up. Since we were keen on producing a user-friendly platform, they developed UI/UX solutions that highlighted that requirement.

What is the team composition?

I had one point of contact, but there were about six resources in charge of the development process.

How did you come to work with Ancient Technology?

One of my colleagues recommended Ancient Technology to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $180,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran from March–December 2021.

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

We just wrapped up the project, so there are no quantifiable metrics to share at this point. From our perspective, Ancient Technology was a customer-oriented partner that took our technical needs seriously and patiently. They gracefully dealt with our modification requests and delivered a product that was at par with our standards.

How did Ancient Technology perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated via email and phone calls. Ancient Technology remained responsive to our queries and mindful of our deadlines despite encountering timeline adjustments. They managed to facilitate a smooth process from start to finish.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were most impressed with customer-centric communication skills. I could go on and on about Ancient Technology’s technical skills, but what set them apart from their competitors was their commitment to preserving a transparent and collaborative relationship with us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they were an effective team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be transparent in relaying your level of technical understanding — this will help them adjust their communication methods to accommodate your needs.

Introduce your business and what you do there

I'm an engineer at a multinational banking company.

What challenges were you trying to address with Ancient Technology?

We needed to integrate two banking platforms, one based in the US and another in Spain. We also were looking for a company based in Mexico for our time zone convenience.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided them with general information and diagrams about the project, and their engineering team helped us organize and document the requirements and the development itself.

What was the team composition?

We've worked with about ten members of their team, including engineers, QAs, project managers, and technical leads.

How did you come to work with Ancient Technology?

We found them through organic research; we were looking for references about companies based in Mexico, and one of our partners in Spain referred them to us.

How much have you invested in them?

We've spent around $1 million with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2021, and it is an ongoing collaboration.

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

They've been delivering every requirement on time and do a great job. We've been able to shorten our time-to-market schedule and launch the integration even sooner than we expected. The quality of their work was outstanding as well; our team of engineers made an evaluation, and they met the expected quality standards.

How did Ancient Technology perform from a project management standpoint?

We knew that we needed to make adaptations because of the timezones. Still, they've been flexible and supportive throughout the engagement — their price is competitive for the region they work in! In terms of tools, we use Jira and Microsoft Teams as project management tools to deliver constant reports. We've also used Slack and WhatsApp to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their technical team is agile, learns very fast, has a great learning curve, and adapts quickly to the project. Also, their project managers did generate value for us by shortening delivery times; it's easier to work with them than it is with other service providers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I'd like it if the engineers were all based in the exact physical location, which could make communications even easier.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Consult with them since the beginning of the project, which worked very well for us.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of engineering at an IT services company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ancient Technology?

We were preparing to welcome new users after the height of the pandemic concluded, and we needed to upgrade the functionalities of our web applications.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Before launching the development stage, we've relayed our UI/UX design requirements to Ancient Technology's team. We've entrusted the expansion and development of core features to their team, including a single sign-on function for all our brands. Using React, AngularJS, Node.js, and Jenkins, they build and test map integrations, filters, and other newly incorporated solutions that we plan to deploy across all our web apps. Additionally, they're helping us configure our apps' AWS cloud systems.

What is the team composition?

We're working with 10 engineers from Ancient Technology.

How did you come to work with Ancient Technology?

Their CEO played an integral role in our client communication efforts, so I touched base with him to communicate our needs for this particular project. Apart from our connection, we chose Ancient Technology because of their impressive skill set and reasonable price point.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent about $400,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our ongoing engagement in February 2021.

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

I can't share specific metrics about the products because of our company's stringent policies on confidentiality — however, I can confirm that Ancient Technology meets our quality and design standards. We're planning to increase their team size next year because we're impressed with their performance.

How did Ancient Technology perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate via Slack and Zoom and organize deliverables and timelines via Jira. Ancient Technology dedicates a lot of time and effort to ensure that our needs are delivered on time and each project phase is communicated transparently to our team. We can always count on their developers to respond to our questions and work extra hours to resolve any technical issues.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Ancient Technology gets things done and communicates agreeably with us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They can consider growing their team by hiring more experienced engineers.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Be open to their young team's innovative suggestions.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and director of a machinery component commercialization company in Mexico. We sell parts worldwide, and our spare part inventory is enormous, with over 2–3 million parts.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ancient Technology?

We have a different system for each parts provider. Our project is to connect each of the main factories to one system to get real-time access to the entire parts catalog.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ancient Technology developed a web app with APIs that connected each factory to our software to control everything in just one place. The first step was getting permission from the factories to integrate their systems with our software. Then, Ancient Technology created a plan, and we put them in contact with each factory.

What is the team composition?

The group involves about 15 people. However, we only maintain contact with their owner and senior programmer.

How did you come to work with Ancient Technology?

It was a recommendation. Ancient Technology had done a development project for the largest telecommunications company in Mexico. I play golf with one of their directors, and he spoke highly of them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $850,000 on this project; it’s a fixed-price contract.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2018. The original project is already completed, but we continue to work with them for the second phase, which involves new ideas and integrations.

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

The most significant impact has been on how fast we can send out quotes. In the past, sending a quote to a client meant reaching out to each factory. It’d take 1–2 days for them to get back to us, so we’d lose clients due to this delay. Once everything was integrated into one system, we had control over the inventory, so we could see which parts were available at each factory and easily create quotations for clients.

Now, it takes us 5–6 minutes to make a quote, which has greatly benefited our sales. Also, our maximum response time is one hour, which is one of the fastest response times in the market thanks to their system.

How did Ancient Technology perform from a project management standpoint?

During development, they created a monthly report detailing what was done and what was still missing so we could reach out to the factories and ask for support. Also, we’d go over what was needed to keep the project running.

We have direct contact with their owner over the phone. We can easily and quickly get in touch with him. All documentation has been sent over email, including progress reports, timelines, and so on. We’ve also met in person to go over pending work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their versatility is impressive. For this project, we’ve worked with people from various countries. Ancient Technology can collaborate tactfully with each provider, and some of these factories can be difficult to deal with.

Whenever there was an issue with one factory, the team would do their part and try to solve the problem with their in-house programmers. They were willing to go above and beyond their responsibilities and help out the factories just to get the project ahead. Overall, they’re supportive and excellent at problem-solving even if the problems aren’t theirs to solve.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We thought we’d have about 1 million SKUs but we ended up at 3 million, so we had issues in the beginning because the volume of inventory would crash the system. We hadn’t foreseen this, so we had to set up our own servers and connect the entire system to them. Once that was up and running, everything worked fine.

However, Ancient Technology could’ve recommended the server installation from the start. It would’ve saved us a couple of months if they’d just told us to invest another $20,000 to create the infrastructure directly in our offices. They shouldn’t be afraid to recommend something that may be more costly upfront but ends up being useful and saving time in the long run.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Agree on deliverables. At the end of every month, we check in on them to ensure they deliver on what we’ve agreed on. It’s important to put a bit of pressure on them. If they don’t deliver exactly what was due for the month, then ask for a detailed report on why it wasn’t ready.

It’s always important to find any issues or delays because we can move more pieces and solve things faster as business owners. Whereas they’re just the programmers, so the same task can take them three weeks to resolve. Therefore, use pressure to find out the root of the issue and use your higher-level stance to take immediate action and find a solution.

Introduce your business and what you do there

I'm the CEO of an IT consulting company.

What challenges were you trying to address with Ancient Technology?

We had different platforms that were already well-positioned among our clients. Still, our ERP system was becoming obsolete, so we worked with them to develop a new web platform to improve its infrastructure using updated code.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ancient Technology is helping us renew our software completely; It is an ERP platform with different modules that allow our clients to control their business through a single site. The system is based in the cloud, and there is also a landing.

What was the team composition?

I had meetings with at least 20 developers, although my main point of contact is the CEO and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Ancient Technology?

We met them in a project; we provided our software to a client they were developing for, so we contacted them. They offered us their services for this project, so I searched them online, and I felt like they were a company I could trust. They're a young team, have a lot of energy and great skills in the latest technologies, which caught my eye.

How much have you invested in them?

We've spent around $500,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2019, and it is an ongoing collaboration.

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

Updating this system was essential for us. We already had many clients, but after updating the system and offering the training and integration, we increased our revenue by 300%. 

How did Ancient Technology perform from a project management standpoint?

It was good; as with every new big project, we had some setbacks and a learning curve, but we've been working well for the last year and a half once we got on track. Our communications have become fluid, and they have a clear idea of what we want to achieve with this product. Currently, we use Slack to communicate and Jira as a project management tool.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're young and have a great sense of innovation and vision; to me, that's been one of the best things we’ve seen from them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

One of the things I was not too fond of was the rotation of personnel. I don’t know if it’s a general matter in the industry or an issue from their side, but we had some changes, and I felt like it was hard to keep track and maintain good communication with the developers. Also, when the project manager was busy with daily activities, our processes tended to slow down, so they could work on that too.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You can trust them; sometimes, we have prejudices when working with young people, but you'll be surprised with how professional, skilled, and liable they are.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am an administrative manager at a company specialized in the import of beauty products.

What challenges were you trying to address Ancient Technology Group?   

We hired them to develop our website’s e-commerce interface using Amazon and Mercadolibre.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They adapted to our own systems and databases.

What is the team composition?

We worked with around 4-6 people during the project.

How did you come to work with Ancient Technology Group?   

We looked at several different companies. They were recommended by our IT manager, and in the end, we decided to work with them. 

How much have you invested in them?

We spent around $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in November 2018, and our work is ongoing.

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

It’s too soon to have measurable results, however, this development allowed us to open up to a new market. As for their work, it was excellent. Being in touch with the company’s manager allowed us to express all of our needs and adapt everything in the project to consider them.

How did Ancient Technology Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They used our in-house project management tools. We had great communication with them, and they were easily available. They were great partners.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to provide design, photography, and content creation services is great, as you don’t have to work on each part of the project with different service providers. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be nice if they were based closer to us, which could speed up some processes.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the general manager of Alcampo, a retail store.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ancient Technology Group?

We were having issues with our online stores. People were buying items online that already were sold in the physical store — the inventories weren’t synced up. It was a massive problem.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built us a new e-commerce site and an inventory management system that they integrated across the company. We also have our store on eBay, and they managed to integrate that and other third party online retailers into this system as well. They handled all the computer stuff — I know none of what systems they used.

What is the team composition?

We worked with five or six people from their team when they fixed the problem and built the software. Now it’s super easy to use, so we just talk to one person who handles any issues if they arise.

How did you come to work with Ancient Technology Group?

We have another business — a shooting tournament. One of the people who used to be on the Mexican Olympic team for shooting was our connection.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2019, and we still partner with them for ongoing maintenance, security, and maintaining the synchronization across platforms.

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

Everything’s working great. Customers have almost no issues now. We’re very happy with the platform and with them — any time we need something they make it happen.

How did Ancient Technology Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very responsible on time and deadlines. They finished the job ahead of schedule. They’re smart people.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Most people who I approached about this product told me that it was too technically complicated to connect the inventories of the online and physical stores. They were the only ones capable to do that — and they succeeded.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It works — I don’t know the technology well enough to give suggestions. They’re great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’ve recommended them to multiple people because I’m very happy with them. They’re committed and do a great job.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a milk company that sells milk to the Mexican government.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ancient Technology Group?

We had a real-time data plugin challenge in our distribution.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their team started from scratch. We started from paper and copied them to an Excel sheet, but they took the notes and made it into a real-time database.

What is the team composition?

We worked with up to six members of their team.

How did you come to work with Ancient Technology Group?

They were recommended to us by an old friend.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The work started in January 2017 and is ongoing.

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

It was very useful in optimizing processes for the company.

How did Ancient Technology Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They met all deadlines. Communication was handled through email and phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They treat their customers very well. The customer services were great for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not that I can think of.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Business Analyst and Project Manager for Bigtech (bigtech.com.mx)

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

We were receiving an incomplete project from a previous provider with poor standards, and almost no documentation. We needed to take control of the project, redesign the pipeline and add new modules

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

We wanted a provider that could potentially become a strategic partner, with similar culture and values. Being in the same city was a plus

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

They created a detailed timeline with specific steps that gave us visibility of the whole process, gave us access to their Jira, and started working up from rebuilding the architecture, setting up an automated pipeline using Jenkins, their devops set up the QA environment that was missing, and designed a Figma for the new modules. They completed 3 new modules in 4 months, and met the deadline frankly exceeding our expectations.

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

• 1 project manager
• 1 mid backend
• 1 senior backend
• 2 senior frontend
• 1 fullstack
• 1 devops
• 2 qa

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

The original version was such a mess that we were expecting major headaches through the whole process. They made it easy for us to feel confident and comfortable moving forward to meet the new project goals.

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

They were always very open about everything that was going on. As stated before, they shared their Jira, created a Slack channel with fluid communication, and sent status reports by the end of every sprint. They also created a Confluence repository for all the documentation

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

Their openness, and a relaxed communication style that helped us feel comfortable at every stage. Also a very professional and capable team.

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

We all might have jumped to the project too soon. Maybe a prepping week would've been wise. But also we were so eager to start.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the COO of a marketplace focused on connecting tech companies in the U.S. with software agencies across Latin America that have available talent.

For what projects/services did your company hire Ancient Technology?

Ancient helped us to allocate top resources (software developers) to our clients in the U.S.

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

We vetted Ancient from dozens of software agencies in the region, they have an amazing culture and the quality of their developers is what we need in our platform. They were very professional.

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

They have provided over 9 senior developers to our clients in the U.S. in multiple technologies.

Describe the recruitment process in detail.

We interview and test the candidates, in order to validate their soft and technical skills.

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

All the projects have been successful, the clients are very happy about the performance of the developers and the service provided by Ancient in the follow ups.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Ancient are experts on preparing their developers for working remotely. The on-boarding with the clients was pretty simple and effective.

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

I am impressed with how fast they present quality candidates and the follow up process.

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

All great at this moment.