AnyforSoft

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Management Assistant at a bio-tech company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our website were out-dated and we need to have it updated to match the new corporate identity. Since we don't have the expertise in house, we need to hired an external company to perform the service. Our goal is to increase site visitors and raise corporate publicity and reputation.

SOLUTION

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

We were recommended via a contact to Anyforsoft as a Drupal specialised website developer. We checked other websites designed by Anyforsoft and were persuaded that they are able to fulfil our needs.

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

We had a kick-off meeting with our desired website pages and content and style. Anyforsoft developed a demo environment and we reviewed the design. After that we started to fill the content, where we had some feedback and experienced some problems.

After several rounds of feedback and update, the website was completed and good for running. The project ended with the website online and a warranty period of 30 days.

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

The project manager was the main contact person through the project phase. The business development manager was in touch when initiating and ending the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had daily communication with the project manager and the main communication tool was email. They were able to communicate the leading time clearly and keep the timeline as planned.

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

Anyforsoft created a mock website while developing, so that our website was still able to run during the development phase, while working on the new update in the background.

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

It would be better to have structured communication and regular project meetings.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Managing Director of a digital agency and we work with a variety of SME & charity clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We had 3 projects that had a similar build architecture and we wanted to find an experienced and reliable supplier to assist us in delivering these. It was very important that the quality of the build was high as we would ultimately be maintaining it for the long-term, with good communication and meeting deadlines.

SOLUTION

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

I have been quite active in attending various Drupal community events and would always enjoy my interactions with the team members. I always met with friendly people that I could share some fun conversations with.

These relationships became friendships and the feeling of trust was embedded within that. They were always helpful and I was looking forward to working with them for over a year, then finally the right project came along. The main deciding factor was their availability, responsiveness to communication, and professionalism. As the expertise we required with PatternLab & Layout Builder was relatively new and niche and AnyforSoft had previous experience with them, it was a really good fit.

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

After an initial kick-off meeting, for the first week, we had daily standups and then decided they were no longer needed as communication on JIRA & Slack was enough. For design components, we broke down deliverables into different phases including:

1. designs converted to Pattern Lab
2. sitebuild and backend development
3. theme integration
4. technologies used included Drupal 8 (Symfony & Twig) & PatternLab (HTML, Twig, CSS & JS).

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

Our main contact was with our account manager who also assisted a little with project management and scheduling time of the developers. We worked with two frontend developers who worked on Pattern Lab. We also worked with one full stack developer who did some backend work & theme integration.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have learned about a few new contrib modules and some ways to improve the architecture of our projects. At times of higher pressure and workload, I was impressed with how flexible the team was to accommodate our requests.

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

We were all happy to work in a light touch, ad-hoc basis. When either I or one of the developers would reach wanting to clarify something, we would schedule a voice call or screen share when convenient for all.

Many times this was immediate or very close to, which is great when project priorities and needs change. Their communication style has been friendly, helpful, but also they're never afraid to speak their mind when they believe there is a better way to do things which I always appreciate. Tools we used for project management & communication were JIRA, Confluence, Slack, Google Docs & Zoom/Google Meets.

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

They provide great communication and are flexible to different ways of solving your problems as if they were theirs. And understanding our joint success helps all of us gain more business from my clients by doing everything possible to please them.

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

No, I just wish they'd made it easier for me to remember them sooner so we could have worked together sooner as I've worked with some less reliable suppliers in the past.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a BizDev Manager at Rolique. We are a web and mobile development agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AnyforSoft?

We were in need to partner with the service company that could help us quickly extend the team with PHP specialists (Drupal, Symfony) for three projects. AnyforSoft agreed to help us with this.

What were your goals for this project?

One of the projects was a SaaS platform for the cleaning business and the goal of the project was to complete an admin part. The goal of the other two projects was to provide continuous support and maintenance of the existing projects.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We worked with a part of their PHP team when they were owned by another company. After they joined AnyforSoft we wanted to continue cooperation with this team and started negotiation process with AnyforSoft. They were open to establish a partnership with us as well as retain the previous team setup at our projects. We were impressed with their loyalty!

Describe the project in detail.

The first project - support and maintenance of the series of Drupal projects (long-term). The second project was a SaaS platform for the cleaning services. We needed to finalize an admin panel built with Symfony (short-term) The third project was also about the support and maintenance of the ski services platform built with PHP (short-term).

What was the team composition?

The team setup was changing depending on the projects' needs and phases. They provided us with three engineers for the two short-term projects and two engineers for a long-term project. There was also a QA involved in the process occasionally and a Project Manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were very responsive and pro-active during the negotiation process. It helped us quickly and smoothly expand our team with the resources and start working on the projects. They are diligent and flexible, ready to go the extra mile for effective cooperation. We are happy with their performance, management, and communication level.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

There was a Project Manager who was responsible for the communication, reporting, process, risk and delivery management. We communicated regularly in Slack with their Project Manager and were always aware of what's going on in the projects. All issues were timely communicated and resolved, and all the work processes were simple and clear.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We are really impressed with their dedication and loyalty. They are proactive and we can always rely on their commitments. All team members are skilled and do their job well, and we appreciate it a lot.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I don't think so. We're super happy with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Stage Entertainment operates within the music business. We perform musicals often in our own venues within Europe and the US. On our websites, we inspire customers to go to a show and sell the tickets. I’m responsible for the development of all country websites.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AnyforSoft?

Our company had been locally organized, meaning that all different countries —Spain, Germany, France, and the Netherlands— handled development locally. Every country developed its own website using its own provider, CMS, analytics implementation, etc.

It was my project to migrate everything to a central platform. The agency that made this happen is AnyforSoft.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AnyForSoft was our development party on the project. I played the role of the head of product, while AnyForSoft provided a proxy product owner/project manager on their side.

AnyforSoft made sure on their side that all business requests for new features designed by our agency in the Netherlands were developed in the correct way. They also provided all support for the website, making sure all sites are performing correctly.

AnyforSoft also handled stakeholder management. They had to manage questions and requests from different countries, as well as deliver support on how to set up and use the new CMS.

What is the team composition?

I was always in contact with the project manager/proxy product owner on their side, and he was responsible for making sure that all new requests were being developed. They had a team of frontend developers, backend developers, and testers.

There was a total of 9 fulltime people on their side. We had an account manager, a project manager, an architect, testers, frontend developers, and backend developers.

How did you come to work with AnyforSoft?

My predecessor met AnyforSoft at a Drupal conference. I took over the collaboration from him.

How much have you invested with them?

We started small, and we added more resources over the course of the project. The exact amount is confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with AnyforSoft in November 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The impact of the new CMS has been huge. In the past, all countries had different CMSs and tooling, which cost a lot of money. Each component had to be made five times for each country.

Now, we can use e.g. the same header everywhere, and we can also reuse different components. We no longer have to develop a new website each time when we have a new show.

There is more harmony and efficiency, and we have higher-quality components than before. This also allows us to work better together across the company. In the past, we were more locally organized, and we’re working more together now, on a global level.

How did AnyforSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

They did a great job on that part! It was a very difficult project that involved the migration of seven websites to one platform, each one with different needs and coming from different cultures and different local plannings that were constantly changing.

The project manager on AnyforSoft’s side did an amazing job in communication, constantly balancing between the wishes of the business customer and the needs of the development team. He communicated well with the stakeholders about all the changes being done and about the process, and he gave the demo's every sprint to all stakeholders. It went very smoothly overall.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re willing to learn, and they work extremely hard. They’re ambitious and loyal, and they want to make an impact for the customer as well as the business. They’re really service-oriented, and they have a drive to go far. They’re open to feedback, and they try to adjust and become better.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As an agency, AnyforSoft became better and better during the project. We worked in an agile way, with constant sprints and support. They had to learn to work in this way, and it’s something that was pushed by me. They didn’t really have a choice, but they embraced this way of working and thinking.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

There are different kinds of agencies with different expertise. AnyforSoft is really good in Drupal development at its core. I have no experience with their designers, so I cannot say something about the quality of that.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

projektmagazin is german speaking leading specialist portal on the subject of project management. The web-based portal has been appearing since the year 2000.

Visitor traffic and number of subscribers: over 100,000 visitors (IP addresses) and a total of 24.000 subscribers (as of October 2019). Our target group: project managers, project leaders and C-level executives. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AnyforSoft?

We hired AnyforSoft in September 2018 during our running project about the relaunch of our website from Drupal 6 to Drupal 8 because our existing german Drupal agency declared bankruptcy.

What were your goals for this project?

• complete migration of existing content of webseite Drupal 6 to Drupal 8.
• new development of the whole website based on our user stories

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I met them in September 2018 at the Drupal Con in Darmstadt, because we planned in the beginning of 2018 to do togother this project. But they did stop the cooperation because the leading developer left the company. But then we met in September and they told me they have now the appropiate staff and they can take over the project.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

• Backend and frontend development based on our user stories and based on our new Layout in InVision.
• Complete Migration of existing website from Drupal 6 to Drupal 8.
• Access System for our subscribers with different roles.
• Interface from Billwerk with shop to new Drupal 8 Page.
• Severall special requirements form editorial team for NL-production and articel production based on Drupal theme Thunder.
• Integration of Google Dashboard also possible for Ad Customers

What was the team composition?

AsF: 1 Projectmanager, 2 Backend Developer, 1 Frontend Developer, 1 Quality temporary: 2 tech leads from former agency

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The impact of this project in tremendous for us. because we are an online portal for projectmanagers and the website is our business model. we had an high pressure to switch from Drupal 6 to Drupal 8, because there had been no security-updates for Drupal 6 since october 2015. And we have 24.000 subscribers on the site.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The whole project was done in SCRUM. we had a daily meetings via Google hangout with the projectmanager from AfS, the developers and two person from us, our product owner and assistant. the collaboration worked pretty good. It took around 4-6 weeks until the team was into the subject.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

AfS had a pretty fast underdstanding of our business and our processes. and were willing to take over a running project. Their staff has very good communication skills and drupal know how. It's a pleasure to work with them. They give you the feeling that they really care about you and your project.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Sometimes the processes aren't propperly. But we always told them right away and they try to find very fast solutions for this. And they are always willing for improvements

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I own a Drupal agency that provides web services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AnyforSoft?

We needed Drupal partners to increase our capacity.

What were your goals for this project?

Since our project utilized Drupal 8 and had complicated elements, including API development, hiring experienced developers with management skills was crucial.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

AnyforSoft reached out and offered their development services. They shared the details of their experience and suggested a trial period so we could verify the quality of their services. After the trial period, we were more than satisfied and started a full partnership.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Dedicated AnyforSoft developers are deeply involved in our process. One of our main shared projects is an intranet for a large company, based on Drupal 8. To create this product, we used AnyforSoft's back- and frontend resources.

What was the team composition?

We work mainly with developers, who are not only skilled in Drupal but also capable of managing their activities and taking responsibility for the final results.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

AnyforSoft doesn't just do routine work; they also create reasonable solutions and plan in advance.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We manage the projects. We mostly communicate on Slack, and the developers always react quickly to our requests and questions.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their transparency and Drupal knowledge are worth noting. They're also open to feedback from both us and the client. They place individual tasks in the context of the whole project and the client's requests.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, our collaboration is extremely positive.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CTO of Dropsolid and am responsible for technical mentorship, and product and technical partnerships with other companies. Organizations rely on Dropsolid and its open digital experience platform with Drupal at its core. Together, we create effortless digital user experiences that increase customer lifetime value.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AnyforSoft?

We hired them to augment our team with remote talent for a fixed price web project.

What were your goals for this project?

Our main goal was to be able to deliver a project with our quality standards, using an overseas company that’s willing to adhere to our strict specifications.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I found them at a conference called Drupal Europe. The speed in which they produced a proposal was a critical deciding factor. Their price to value ratio was also impressive.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The projects we’ve done together are confidential but they required an outsourced team of senior profiles in the Drupal technology ecosystem.

What was the team composition?

The team we have is 60% local and 40% remote. AnyforSoft came with profiles that are fit for these teams so that they can act as one. In total, they’ve assigned two developers 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 was initially not delivered on time as we had agreed in the beginning, but we did finish the project in the end. AnyforSoft went the extra mile to make sure we could keep our promises to our clients. Outsourcing talent has a major impact on our profitability. It comes with its challenges, but overall, it does work and allows us to stay competitive in the market.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Initially, we weren’t getting the level of service we expected but they changed things up and got things under control. This is as much a learning experience for AnyforSoft as it is for us.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The level of commitment towards their clients is remarkable.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They can improve their internal training programs, making sure to keep their staffs’ skills fresh. Dropsolid is very demanding when it comes to communication, so this is something they need to focus on as well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the COO of  Door 3. We're a software development company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AnyforSoft?

We needed a vendor to help us with Drupal development. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We gave AnyforSoft our business requirements and the wireframes and they developed our Drupal software from scratch. After that, we collaborated with them on QA.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a team of 3–4 people, including a project manager.

How did you come to work with AnyforSoft?

I got an email solicitation from them, and I met with them in New York. They seemed to be real experts in Drupal, so we gave them a chance.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in May 2018, and the project was completed in December 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We received excellent feedback from our clients. We had some tricky deliverables, but we managed to turn the profit on them.

How did AnyforSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

We used email and Google Sheets to keep track of the project and they were very easy to work with. The process was very straightforward, so we haven't had any issues.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're very truthful and great communicators. They went above and beyond to meet our needs and they even helped us with some unique DevOps for our client.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we were happy with everything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Having clear requirements is very important for the project's success.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We develop websites mainly in Wordpress. The graphic design will be done and delivered to our frontend developers and they will translate it to the web.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AnyforSoft?

We engaged AnyForSoft to program a custom solution that would help us solve our business challenge.

What were your goals for this project?

Our requirements specified that AnyForSoft’s code needed to be readable so our in-house developers can reuse it.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

One of our business partners had a long-term working relationship with AnyforSoft. Hiring them was an easy choice to make. They’re a reliable partner.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

AnyForSoft developed a custom checkout cart for our site’s e-commerce functionality. They programmed versatile code that our internal engineers will be able to use for other purposes in the future. Whenever there was a bug in the software, they fixed it very fast. They didn’t have any problems delivering on our requirements.

What was the team composition?

Yana (Key Account Manager, AnyForSoft) was our primary point of contact. We also worked with one programmer from AnyForSoft.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our company has received numerous offers from the system AnyForSoft delivered. I am a very satisfied customer.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We kept in close personal contact. AnyForSoft made sure our project was clear for everyone involved.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was pleased with the quality of service AnyForSoft provided. Their pricing structure is also impressive.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

There are none that I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the technical director of an agency that provides digital services for small and medium-sized businesses in Australia.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AnyforSoft?

While we do employ local developers, the cost can be prohibitive. There’s also a lack of qualified people for our specific technical needs. We build most of our websites in Drupal and we've got limited options here in Australia. We needed to find outsourced Drupal experts that were relatively affordable in price.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AnyforSoft has helped us develop five or six websites. They've also built three sites completely by themselves. The sites they’ve worked on range from smaller brochure websites built on Drupal, to larger e-commerce sites built on Drupal Commerce. The e-commerce sites feature more advanced backend systems.

What is the team composition?

It’s varied over the course of the engagement, but we've used both an account manager and a project manager. We’ve transitioned to using a dedicated project lead to interpret requirements and deliver what we need. We also work directly with one developer.

How did you come to work with AnyforSoft?

We regularly get firms pitching us to consider them as an outsource supplier. AnyforSoft stood out because of their expertise in Drupal. We decided to try them out on a few projects, and they really delivered for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $35,000 AUD (approximately $25,800 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

Work began in December 2017 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We're really happy with AnyforSoft. They deliver work in a timely manner, and they're very thorough. Their experience and capabilities are that of a senior person we could hire in Australia. We spend less time on project management and solving problems because of their competence. Working with them allows us to spend less of our man hours on each project, which is the best possible result.

How did AnyforSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team is really good. When we give a requirement to our main project lead, he'll come back with a detailed spec usually in a day. The amount of time depends on the size of the requirement, but he always gets back to us quickly. So far they've been spot on in terms of estimating when they're going to deliver the work.

Their communication is excellent. We communicate mostly via Slack, and we also do video chats. They’re happy to use our project management system, Acello. Working together has gotten even better once we switched over to this project manager. We really like working with him, and being able to deal with the developers directly as needed.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication is excellent and they're always available. Their technical skills in Drupal are particularly noteworthy. They really know their stuff. We've had some real technical challenges that stumped us internally. They've managed to come up with an answer every time, which is a big plus for us. We can take a big problem to them and be confident that they'll come up with a solution.

Any advice for potential customers?

If you need help on a Drupal project, they’re a reliable team. They communicate very well in English, which isn’t always the case with outsourced companies. We've found them to be excellent. I would definitely recommend them.