AnyforSoft

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Druid Oy, a custom software development company.

What challenge were you trying to address with AnyforSoft?

We hired AnyforSoft to help us with our clients’ large and complex projects, specifically to provide outsourcing and consulting services.

What was the scope of their involvement?

AnyforSoft helped us with one of our customer’s projects. Our customer provided all the information, and we worked using agile methods so there wasn’t any heavy documentation upfront.

We continue to work with their consultant who is a Drupal backend developer. He’s not really responsible for any specific deliverable. Instead, he just works alongside us and he helps us with many tasks that are related to Drupal forms.

What is the team composition?

We work with Andriy (PHP Drupal Developer).

How did you come to work with AnyforSoft?

We contacted a couple of companies when we were figuring out how to start the project. In the end, AnyforSoft had a suitable candidate available for us. They had a good reputation, and we knew them from past Drupal events. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in August 2021, and the project is ongoing.

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

We’re satisfied with AnyforSoft’s work, and we’re happy with them. We plan to continue working with them even after this project.

How did AnyforSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

AnyforSoft actively manages our account, and they actively reach out to us. Since it’s a joint effort, they do daily check-ins with the whole team and they plan the development cycle in two-week sprints. We communicate via Google Meet. More importantly, they deliver what we request on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We consider ourselves to be really picky about who we want to work with. With the current situation, it isn’t always easy to find reliable talent. Despite that, their team has managed to find people that are really professional.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. The development work has gone really well. Overall, I have nothing to complain about.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Treat them as if they’re your own employees. In our case, we accepted their consultants as full team members.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of a digital web agency.

What challenge were you trying to address with AnyforSoft?

We hired AnyforSoft to develop a custom portal for one of our clients.

What was the scope of their involvement?

AnyforSoft helped us build a custom mortgage application portal for a client in Michigan. The team integrated that portal into the client’s existing marketing website, which was built on Drupal 9. We came up with the designs on our end, and AnyforSoft was essentially in charge of all the backend components.

The portal features an interactive, customizable online form that the client can use to collect information from mortgage applicants. AnyforSoft built that form and all of the conditional logic behind it. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with three people from AnyforSoft, and our main contact is the project manager. 

How did you come to work with AnyforSoft?

One of their account managers reached out to me a couple of years ago. When we finally had a need for their services, we simply contacted them directly.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested $43,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership began in October 2021, and we are now in phase two of the project. 

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

Our client’s feedback has been really good. AnyforSoft’s involvement has helped us improve the first phase of the project, giving us the confidence to move forward to phase two. They’ve exceeded our expectations in that they’ve made a lot of good recommendations for the UI/UX. 

How did AnyforSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done really well. I appreciate how they’ve set up the project and how they’ve managed the QA portion of it. One of the staff assigned to our account is a project manager, and he keeps me updated in terms of our schedule and where we’re at with the budget. 

AnyforSoft has also been flexible enough to work with our project management tool. They’ve integrated all of their tasks and feedback into that platform. We also use Slack and do virtual meetings weekly. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m impressed by AnyforSoft’s great project management skills, technical development expertise, and ability to understand a project and its scope. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We experienced some communication difficulties initially, but those have since been improved by AnyforSoft. They responded really well to our requests. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be really open with the team about what you need. Be clear about the specifications and goals of the project, and encourage them to ask questions to ensure that you’re always on the same page. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a software engineer and lecturer, responsible for online education at megu.edu. I’m the Product Owner of megu.edu.

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

We had our previous website built in WordPress. Our team had difficulties managing the website, as the previous vendor hadn't done their job correctly. It was complex to make content edits, the site often crashed and it wasn’t fully responsive.

The other issue was the outdated design. And when an educational institution has an outdated website design people think that teaching is outdated. Thus our goal was to have a stable, content editing friendly, and modern platform.

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

Their Senior Drupal Developer has been lecturing on our IT faculty and we asked him to connect us with AnyforSoft. We did like their approach and were sure of their Drupal expertise and decided to go with them.

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

We wanted to shift from WordPress so the newest Drupal 9 was chosen. At first, we went through a series of design iterations and finally got to a final version. We were able to see results every 2 weeks and tell them our needed changes, which they successfully implemented.

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

There was an account manager who helped set up the team, UI/UX designer, project manager, 2-3 developers, and QA engineer.

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

We were able to launch the project 1,5 months before the start of the pre-entry period for educational institutions, so we had time to test everything. The overall performance seems great and our goals are reached. I can’t tell the exact numbers for now as the academic season hasn’t started yet.

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

The project manager was very opened to our ideas and always tried to clearly explain all the deliverables. We used Skype for messaging, Google Meet for online calls and Email for official stuff.

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

I commend their cooperativeness and willingness to help and clearly explain all the peculiarities of the project. They were able to quickly respond to upcoming issues and reply even on holidays.

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

To be more diligent on the documentation.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of INOVIT Animated explainer video Studio

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

A client of ours for whom we have been providing video production for quite a long time wanted to develop his own custom LMS solution but had a very small development capacity. The project required both design and development.

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

We did careful online research to prepare a list of potential service providers and sent RFP to several companies we've identified as having positive reviews for similar projects. AnyforSoft was, by far, the most professional in understanding client’s needs, as well as, had extensive experience in LMS development, backed with positive references. They also were among the first vendors who sent us a detailed proposal so, after several calls we selected them as our partners.

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

AnyforSoft built everything from scratch. We had several meetings at the beginning with the entire team so they could understand the client’s ideas. Then they provided a strategic perspective to ensure that the development and design are aligned with the business objectives. The client agreed that going for a custom solution was the most reasonable strategy.

React and Node.js were chosen as the main technologies. The current platform features video capabilities, includes a certificate and role management, supports course creation, works on mobile devices, gives users the ability to download course materials, as well as, has many more minor features.

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

We started the project with an account manager, three software developers, and a web designer. However, as soon as the project requirements had been identified and started to expand, we engaged more specialists. At the busiest times, the team also included three more developers and one testing engineer.

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

The client was very pleased with the results of this engagement and this collaboration allowed them to significantly reduce costs. The quality of the development and design was great. The product is still in the pre-release stage but I can tell that the new solution is way more powerful and easier to use than the initially planned one.

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

In addition to regular emails, we used Slack, Meet and Zoom to communicate on daily basis and Jira as an administrative tool. Every mid-week we had official meetings with the client for which the team always provided agendas and previewed what we were going to talk about.

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

Extreme commitment and efficiency. The team cared a lot about the project and put a lot of time, energy, and passion into their work while being flexible and thorough. From the beginning, they did a lot of research about the client and product to deliver a truly high-quality solution.

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

I’d advise them to expand their range of services by adding digital marketing (SEO audit and optimization, analytics, etc.) since we had to turn to another third-party provider for help with these services.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Vareger Group. Our team of 50 focuses on blockchain technology.

What challenge were you trying to address with AnyforSoft?

We didn’t have enough frontend resources. As it wasn’t one of our core competencies, we decided to outsource those tasks.

What was the scope of their involvement?

AnyforSoft’s developed our web app from scratch, so there was nothing in place before their team started the development. They worked on the frontend and integrated blockchain logic based on our specifications into the app. Their team used TypeScript and React. The blockchain solution’s for the insurance industry.

What is the team composition?

At the moment, we work with one developer from AnyforSoft. There’s also an account manager on their side who manages tasks like invoicing and projecting workloads.

How did you come to work with AnyforSoft?

As this was an important project for us, we wanted to work with a team based in our time zone that spoke our language. It was also important that our partner wasn’t bigger than 80–100 people because I wanted to have good communication between us. I found AnyforSoft through a local alternative to Upwork.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent around $15,000 on their services. In 2021, we expect to spend a total of $50,000–$70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership with AnyforSoft began in January 2021.

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

AnyforSoft delivers excellent quality. Before working with us, their developer didn’t have blockchain experience but quickly learned it. He now has great knowledge of the technology and provides quality products. I’m satisfied with their developer’s work. He’s professional and doesn't waste time on unnecessary tasks.

How did AnyforSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

Their developer fully integrated into our company. We use Slack and email and have no issues with their communication. We also have a monthly meeting. Although their account manager’s process wasn’t what I expected, I’m happy with it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I have high standards for my team and vendors, and AnyforSoft has met my expectations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could improve their account management. AnyforSoft is also a bit expensive for our local market. They could be more flexible with their rates and team compositions. We expect to need more frontend engineers and given their high rates, I’m debating whether or not to use AnyforSoft.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Enterprise-level online luxury cosmetics store with own production. President/Founder at Bellame.com.

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

We started with a trial scope of work and after cycling through a few other companies, we ended u hiring AnyforSoft to take on the complex work. It was a great decision to start working with them!

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

We were connected through Drupal.org and were impressed by one of their Senior devs and diligently follow up. With the help of our CTO, we selected AnyforSoft to take on our complex project.

Then Bellame started rapidly growing and the tech team grew up as well. The quality of work, responsiveness, and technical expertise were some of the key factors that allowed us to capitalize on our growth potential. They care about our company and have really become part of our team.

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

Drupal is our core technology platform we leverage, and as a result, we don't have to rely on third-party plug-in programs that limit our customization.

In general, Bellame's system consists of many unique deliverables, but the main are: the engine for running rewards and compensations calculations for our partners with an adjustable dashboard to track their current standing, fraud protection system, shipment integration system, eCommerce for selling our products.

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

Project manager, technical lead, dev team (back-end and front-end engineers), QA engineers, system admin and designer. 9-11 people, it depends on ongoing needs.

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

A big part of our propriety platform besides our commission engine is inventory management and forecasting. This has helped us forecast demand based on the inventory that helps us time new purchase orders.

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

Project management is very agile, which is a must for our business. We have to chat with the team about our day to day communications, JIRA as a task management system, monthly reports. And sync up, live face time meetings of course.

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

People on the team - professional and service-oriented who are willing to bring value. The team truly feels Bellame is their company too and willing to do what it takes to get the job done, even on weekends.

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

We have our challenges from time to time, and it's expected when you're growing and developing fast. Still, they are very attentive to feedback and are capable to improve processes proactively as well. Technology and business changes happen, especially today, but it's how you react and solve problems that matter most.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a freelance consultant that advises various software companies on project processes, resources, and technologies. The client for that project was a finance themed digital media company with HQ in New York.

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

Staff augmentation for Drupal web development of the financial media portal. The client had an old website built in WordPress that could no longer effectively cover all business needs.

The main goal was to create an MVP version of the new version of the website from scratch as soon as possible with the help of a third-party vendor, in order to gradually implement all subsequent improvements using internal resources in the future.

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

As a result of resource and workload assessment, it was decided to use the out-staff model. We turned to several vendors at once, choosing between several Drupal development companies. AnyforSoft was among the first ones to respond and the client was extremely pleased with the results of their estimate. The key factor was the ratio of price to execution time.

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

After initial discussions and suggestions which led to some changes to the initial project, the team delivered the MVP version of the website built in Drupal 8 with implemented Thunder distribution and multiple UI elements, including a ribbon bar, menu, grid, dropdown, fully functional blog posts search, contact form and subscription service with a user account feature.

All content from the old client's website has been migrated and indexed.

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

Account manager, 1 UI designer, 3 front-end developers and 1 QA engineer who carried out end-to-end testing.

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

With the migration to Drupal 8, it’s now much easier for the client to manage typical for the media industry large scopes of content which dramatically increased their team productivity. As well as, 8th version simplified transition to the next versions of CMS in the future.

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

Basically, everyday communication took place through Slack, as well as 3 times per week were organized sync-ups through Google Hangouts. Less commonly used was email.

The Dev team and the client were in different time zones, which slightly limited the communication window, nevertheless, the Account manager was available even outside of working hours when urgent questions arose. As a tracking tool client chose Jira.

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

We were really impressed with their proactivity. At each stage, they proposed how to improve and speed up the process without losing quality, which was extremely important in the context of the unfolding economical crisis.

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

Due to the difference in time zones, there were a couple of moments when it wasn't possible to find a time convenient for both sides for communication. But against the general background, this is too insignificant to pay attention to.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Please describe your company and your position there.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.