Apriorit

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm an executive at IRIS Audio Technologies. We make audio-based technology. One of our algorithms is a noise cancellation/noise reduction software system. If a user is working in a place with a lot of background noise, such as a call center, they can use our software to remove all the noise in the background and leave their voice intact.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Apriorit?

We were pushing our noise cancellation software for Mac computers, but we didn't have any Windows expertise within our team. Therefore, we were seeking a partner to help us with Windows driver development to launch our software for Windows as well.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Apriorit has worked with us on Windows development. Initially, we provided them with a full briefing document to kickstart the project. As for the technology stack, the team has used .NET, C#, and C++ to build the solution.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 6–7 teammates from Apriorit, including Michael (Program Manager), Vitalii (Software Developer), and Anastasiia (Test Engineer).

How did you come to work with Apriorit?

I found them through a Google search. I was looking for a company with Windows experience and spoke to three of the ones I found. Out of those, I had the best feeling about working with Apriorit.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent around $600,000–$700,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in October 2021, and the partnership is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Apriorit's solution has enabled us to unlock our solution for Windows — without them, we wouldn't have Windows products. Currently, around 90% of our customer base uses Windows-based computers. Without access to this product for Windows, we would have a much smaller market, so we owe a lot of our business to them.

How did Apriorit perform from a project management standpoint?

We don't really work on a project basis; our work is ongoing, and Apriorit has become a part of our team. We work on a sprint-planning basis, so we give them a piece of the work, they estimate it, and they then deliver. Their estimates are generally very good and very accurate. Moreover, their team works fast.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

Apriorit's core team has been great. Michael has been handling our account, and he has been excellent. Vitalii is also fantastic; he's very responsive and highly skilled. Moreover, Anastasiia has been very good and a fantastic QA person.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Apriorit does a great job of finding the right resources to help us. Everyone has a great skill level, and they've helped us a lot. Therefore, our projects are running very well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There's nothing Apriorit could improve on. If anything, it would always be great if they were cheaper.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

We started working with Apriorit in a slightly different way than we should. We weren't communicating as regularly as needed. When you don't communicate regularly with remote resources who, in addition to that, speak a different language, it's easy to make mistakes and have miscommunication issues.

Therefore, communicate often with them and establish regular meetings to ensure everyone understands what you've said so that they can work on the project in the best way possible.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the former VP of product management at an IaaS company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Apriorit?

Apriorit provided us with software development and consulting services. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I was involved in two projects with Apriorit. One was an external-facing software product, which was used to support the company’s software platform. When downloaded on a device, this product would run a hypervisor that gave users a virtual instance of macOS on their computer. The second project focused on a custom driver for macOS that would interact with a large-scale storage platform.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Nikita (Middle macOS & Linux Software Developer)  and a part-time project manager. When we had to do things quickly or needed a bit of assistance, Apriorit would bring in two additional software developers; they didn’t work full-time during the entire project, but we worked with them for a few months. There were also two test resources. In total, we collaborated with 2–5 teammates from Apriorit. 

How did you come to work with Apriorit?

We found Apriorit through a web search. Specifically, we were looking for an organization with expertise in macOS development and kernel-level knowledge in software development. 

How much have you invested with them?

The company spent around $300,000–$500,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The company engaged them in February 2022. I left the company in August 2023, and the project was ongoing at that time. In total, I was involved in the engagement for around 18 months. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Apriorit exceeded my expectations. Their work quality was great. In fact, most of the issues we had on the products were discovered by their team. We didn’t have to ask them to redo things since they highlighted the issues themselves and worked with us to resolve them. 

In other words, they didn’t just execute on what we asked them to do; instead, they were like an active partner to us. If we weren’t clear on our direction, they’d come back to us for clarity. If they felt that what we wanted wasn’t the best for the customers or the end product, they’d highlight that and ensure we were doing the right thing. 

How did Apriorit perform from a project management standpoint?

Apriorit communicated truly well with us. For tools, we used Jira and Slack. We also had weekly calls via Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and other web collaboration tools. 

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

Nikita was great at delivering on time and producing exceptional work quality. We changed our directions a number of times, and he dealt with such changes in an admirable way. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Other consulting firms simply execute on what we asked regardless of its result. Apriorit wasn’t like that at all. Instead, they constantly helped us refine what we were asking for to make amazing products. Overall, I was quite pleased with their work. They were great to work with all the time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there weren’t any. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Apriorit partners with you. They’re not just a software development firm that does whatever you ask. They have highly talented developers, and you can engage with them to get feedback on what you’re asking them to do — they’ll help you build the best product. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work as a team leader for a competitive intelligence company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Apriorit?

We needed very specific and talented engineers in certain areas, so we hired Apriorit to help us find these engineers and work with them.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Apriorit helps us with development outsourcing services. Basically, they provide us with talented engineers to work as part of our research departments. Apriorit has a pool of multiple different engineers with different levels available at any time. When a new position opens in our company, I contact Apriorit directly.

As soon as Apriorit gets our request for a specific type of engineer, they prescreen candidates and send us well-selected CVs for our specific scope. For this particular project, we've mostly requested experienced reverse engineers in specific operating systems and with specific domain knowledge.

Additionally, Apriorit handles the entire outsourcing model. This includes managing the engineers' compensations, working conditions, and offices. They also offer onboarding and training services, but we haven't asked them to do any technical management. My company is in charge of all the technical aspects of our engagement with the engineers. Still, I know that they even offer project management, where clients interact with a manager in charge of a development team.

What is the team composition?

We've worked with a total of three reverse engineers from Apriorit. Currently, we have two reverse engineers on our team.

How did you come to work with Apriorit?

I wasn't part of the company when we started working with Apriorit, so I'm not sure how we found them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent roughly $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in January 2022, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've embedded Apriorit's engineers within our team and had them work on a key product. We've measured their goals and KPIs, and they've proved to be very talented. Each of them has worked with us on key projects successfully.

How did Apriorit perform from a project management standpoint?

Apriorit's engineers have been very responsive. We communicate via Slack and email.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

We currently have two very talented reverse engineers from Apriorit: Slava and Dennis. Both are very strong performers.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive thing about Apriorit is that the engineers they provide are very strong.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Apriorit is very expensive, as their commissions are very high.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

If you come prepared with a very specific need and a clear idea of how you want to structure the work, whether with a project manager or directly with their engineers, you'll achieve the best results.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of engineering for a cybersecurity platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Apriorit?

We needed help with software development, testing, and project management.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve used Apriorit’s services for various projects. They’ve worked on development and our cloud-based solution.

What is the team composition?

We have roughly 12 developers working at various levels and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Apriorit?

The team was acquired; I don’t know how they started.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked with them since January 2013; our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Apriorit has worked on many projects, and they’ve delivered everything on time with good quality.

How did Apriorit perform from a project management standpoint?

We don’t have a budget as such; the contractors are on a full-time basis. They communicate well on what they need and what they’re working on. We stay in touch through Jira and internal meetings.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

Their development coordination and account manager have been amazing. They take care of the projects and are self-sufficient. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The engineers’ technical abilities are excellent. They’re skillful, smart, and transparent. Moreover, they go beyond their responsibilities if necessary and let us know when something can go wrong.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there hasn’t been special feedback so far.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear on the project scope and requirements. They execute well as long as the scope is well-defined.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CBDO of a software development company.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our company is an international software development & technology consulting company that delivers tailored software solutions for different industries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Apriorit to accomplish?

• Develop a custom AI-powered chatbot
• Implement end-to-end encryption for the chatbot to protect user data
• Implement custom Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning algorithms
• Build the backend and create a database for storing user data
• Integrate a chatbot with our client’s CRM system and third-party services

SOLUTION

How did you find Apriorit?

Clutch Site

Why did you select Apriorit over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Apriorit were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We needed a trustworthy partner to enhance our in-house team with AI and data security expertise. The task was to create a custom AI-powered chatbot for our SaaS client. They wanted a chatbot that would process customer queries on the website and in messengers, providing end-users with accurate product information quickly. 

For a better user experience, our client wanted the chatbot to be able to interpret end-user questions and respond in a human-like manner. Apriorit leveraged natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) algorithms to develop the chatbot. They established a Python software environment to train the AI chatbot using our client's diverse knowledge base, comprising various file formats such as PDF, DOC, CSV, website texts, and more. 

Additionally, they employed Language Models, embeddings, and Generative Pre-trained Transformers to enhance the chatbot's capabilities. Another task for Apriorit was to build the backend and set up a database for collecting and storing user data. We needed this to let our client analyze user data from the chatbot and improve live agents’ answers. We also needed to protect the personal data that users share with the chatbot, so Apriorit developers implemented end-to-end encryption for it. 

Lastly, Apriorit worked together with our team who was responsible for the client’s CRM system. Together, we connected the smart chatbot with the CRM system so that the conversation data is transferred directly to the CRM. Now, our client can offer personalized assistance to chatbot users based on their previous interactions and purchases.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Implementing an AI chatbot allowed our client to enhance the customer self-service experience with fast and personalized responses. 
• The chatbot automated routine tasks, allowing the client’s team to focus on complex issues and boost productivity as a result. 
• Our client got data-driven insights about their userbase. 
• The chatbot improved the automation of the sales processes. 
• Our client received improved security of end-user data through end-to-end encryption.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Apriorit worked together with our in-house team as our partner. Their project manager participated in online meetings with our client. The Apriorit team was extremely reliable and consistent. They demonstrated high responsiveness, proactiveness, and attention to deadlines.

What was your primary form of communication with Apriorit?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The most impressive part about Apriorit is their ability to solve complex tasks that involve multiple components, like backend, and API management, and make them work together seamlessly. They also always kept the deadlines and maintained the high quality of their work throughout our collaboration. They asked genuinely insightful questions that helped us understand the business logic better and make the right technology choices.

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

We did not experience any problems during our partnership.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m responsible for products at a cybersecurity company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Apriorit?

We hired Apriorit to help us with the two components of our platform. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Apriorit is building new capabilities on our Windows and Mac products. Each project follows a similar path. We start off with the requirements we want to fulfill. Then, Apriorit helps us run some R&D to build new features on our platform. We’ve done multiple iterations based on the data we’ve gathered. The team applies our feedback to the requirements until we get to the place where we need to be. 

On our Windows product, Apriorit has helped us build upon our existing data protection features related to how users interact with sensitive data using the copy-paste functionality. From there, they’ve helped us understand how to create similar data control outcomes on Mac. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with six teammates from Apriorit, including the scrum master, Windows engineer, and Mac engineer. 

How did you come to work with Apriorit?

Our company has been around for years and keeps track of organizations experienced in the technologies we use. As a result, we’d been aware of Apriorit for a while before the engagement. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October 2022, and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Apriorit’s work has allowed us to focus on other key areas of our platform and helped us keep our timelines moving. Their product work is great and aligns with our expectations. We’ve been solving difficult problems, and the team often tries to anticipate our needs — that’s greatly appreciated. 

How did Apriorit perform from a project management standpoint?

We normally communicate with them through Jira and Slack. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with Apriorit’s in-depth knowledge of Windows on the kernel level and its driver-level components and APIs. The same is true for their Mac knowledge. On top of that, they’ve helped us achieve our value proposition in the Mac ecosystem. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There have been activities, tasks, and requirements that had surprises in terms of completion level that I wish we could’ve avoided. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be upfront about your project requirements and success criteria. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive for a media storage technology company. We focus on the media entertainment industry, so we develop storage and server products for postproduction companies, TV stations, movie production companies, and other companies in the media entertainment vertical.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Apriorit?

One of the challenges in our market is the very high demand for storage performance. However, storage performance in this industry isn't the same as in the classic IT industry and bursts of random access. In content streaming, the video has to be played back at a very specific bit rate so that the user can see it playing smoothly at the speed it was filmed and produced.

In our products, there’s no advantage in playing content as quickly as possible. To achieve this smooth playback, we needed to provide a very specific performance, which was a very complex challenge. Thus, we had to develop a specific driver that helped us enable this functionality on our storage platforms, so we hired Apriorit to help us out.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Apriorit has helped us develop a low-level driver and other software pieces for our storage products. Initially, we described the challenge, provided them with screen recordings, and had some online meetings to put them in context for the project. Additionally, we gave them remote access to our development environment.

In the beginning, we worked with Apriorit on a project basis with a fixed scope. Now, we have three of their developers working for us as dedicated developers on a monthly basis. These developers are working with us on a couple of projects simultaneously.

What is the team composition?

We work with a project manager, two active developers, a junior developer working on junior tasks, and a QA team. I don’t know how many people are in Apriorit’s QA department, but they verify the developers’ work.

How did you come to work with Apriorit?

We found them on Google. Throughout the vetting process, we talked to a couple of different companies and evaluated them to see which one would be the best fit for our project. Apriorit was one of the few companies with the skills and knowledge to develop file-system-related drivers on a close-to-hardware level.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around 2018, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Apriorit has done a really good job. The driver that they’ve developed for us has become a key component of our product stack. That component is just a piece of the puzzle of our entire technology stack, but it is a very important piece. Overall, we’re very satisfied with their work.

How did Apriorit perform from a project management standpoint?

Apriorit performs very well, and they’ve always delivered on budget. Moreover, they’re very straightforward, easy to communicate with, and always available — they usually respond within hours. Our relationship has grown over time, and they now work almost as if they were permanent members of our team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Apriorit’s skill set and technical understanding of our challenge are outstanding. There are a lot of software development companies out there, but most of them focus on normal user applications. If someone requires well-performing low-level software deep down in the OS, there are only a few service providers to choose from, and Apriorit is one of them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing Apriorit could improve on. On one occasion, we didn’t do enough testing on our end after Apriorit delivered something, and we found out that there were a couple of bugs later on. Thus, we had to go back and get the code readjusted. However, this issue was caused mainly because of the lack of testing on our end.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend working with Apriorit for file-system-related, close-to-hardware driver development. That’s their niche.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of products of Strivacity, a customer identity and access management company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Apriorit?

We needed someone to create sample demo websites that we can use to demonstrate how login, registration, and user management would fit into the workflow of any brand or product company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Apriorit provided us with custom web development. We started with a discovery phase to discuss some high-level wireframes to get the look and feel of a proper web page, as well as implementing authentication protocols.

Apart from that, we had requirement meetings where we talked about the scope of the project and sent them designs, which we also had to clarify. We also did estimation sessions to understand the costs of building the products and had several meetings to provide feedback on the various development iterations.

We mainly used React for the frontend framework and OpenID Connect as our primary authentication protocol.

What is the team composition?

We mainly interacted with a project manager, lead developer, and a few QA specialists.

How did you come to work with Apriorit?

Our company’s founder has been professionally acquainted with each other for about 20 years.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April–June 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They delivered the project on time and on budget and met all of the requirements we requested. Thanks to them, we can now demonstrate the login, registration, and user management flows along with a single sign-on process so overall, the partnership was a success.

How did Apriorit perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed well from a project management standpoint, and every interaction we had was done via Zoom and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were very impressed with the quality of their work, customer service, and responsiveness — they were able to make changes to the iteration quickly based on our feedback.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could improve on the reporting aspect of the project and it would’ve made the partnership more seamless if they had a portal for visibility in the progress.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

To get the most out of your engagement, I would advise you to be communicative, give as much information and feedback as needed, and be clear with your requirements.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the director of engineering for a cybersecurity startup based in California and Belfast.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Apriorit?

We were looking for extra development and QA resources.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our company produces cybersecurity platforms that large enterprise and government organizations use to analyze the intelligence specific to their system for different vulnerabilities and threats. They have been working on developing that platform along with the in-house staff.

The platform is a cloud-native extended detection and response (XDR) solution that correlates with the world’s largest global actor, technique, and indicator intelligence repository. It's aimed to deliver a one-of-a-kind extended detection and response solution that continuously detects threats and prevents attacks before they happen.

Apriorit worked on a roadmap project as part of the team with our internal developers and the QA test automation. They take on projects and code, work through the development life cycles like everyone else, and are an essential part of our team. They also host our web services on Amazon, and we also have some on-premise offerings as well.

We initially gave them some training and a statement of work. Now that they are up to speed, they pick up tasks like the rest of the team.

What is the team composition?

There are 11–12 members of their team working with us.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working in August 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work has been brilliant; they operate like full-time staff and are fantastic and easy to work with. They are also hard workers with good technical abilities. In addition, their team follows up on issues, and if there are any problems, they immediately bring them to our attention.

Overall, I couldn’t speak more highly of them; they are lovely to work with — if they don’t have enough work, they come and ask for it. All of our stuff goes through a solid QA cycle, so we haven’t seen any issues with their work. It is really solid.

How did Apriorit perform from a project management standpoint?

They operate as part of our project team and report directly to me for their work tasks and deadlines; they are integrated into our team and work alongside us. Also, they've met all the deadlines we have set.

Regarding communication, we use Slack and daily stand-up meetings to discuss what is going on.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their work ethic, communication, and technical ability are outstanding. We have a benchmark because we have tried other agencies, and it wasn’t the same experience.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think there's anything they can improve on — they're great to work with, and it has been a positive experience.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Include them and make them a part of your team.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Varjo is world leader in professional VR and XR headsets. We produce the highest quality, resolution devices for the simulations, design and research markets for the likes of fortune 500 companies and governmental organisations. I'm founder and CTO at Varjo.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Varjo had to find a high quality partner to solve the image processing and transfer challenges over optical fiber connections so that a high end pc could process the incredible resolution of our mixed reality cameras in real time with a few millisecond latency. This involved also interfacing with alpine ridge thunderbolt controller on the PCB. Later on we extended similar solution to work on USB as well as well as extended the system to work on Nvidia based AMD products.

SOLUTION

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

We spend time looking for companies with background on similar know-how and similar timezone as the work mandated close collaboration between varjo and the camera ISP vendor. Apriorit had the experience and know-how and we felt like a team from the first call on.

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

Project was done in 3 phases:

1. Windows Driver Support
2. Video camera adaptation for Varjo USB products to Linux platform on ARM
3. Low latency USB driver At each phase

Apriorit did implementation, code review, tests on per varjos request, documentations and final QA testing + bug fixing.

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

Project manager + 2 software engineers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Varjo established itself as world leader in video see through based mixed reality with the launch of XR-1. Far surpassing any expectations out there. Additionally, with the help of moving from thunderbolt to USB, the XR-3 enabled wide spread use in the commercial space of the technologies that Apriorit was intrumental in developing.

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

Apriorit is always available on slack. Clear agreement on deliverables ahead of time and weekly adjustment on the progress in addition to daily synchs with the software developers.

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

Apriorit was always able to keep schedules, quality, and cost. Almost unforseen in any subcontracting world, but doing it on the difficulty scale we had to do was simply incredible.

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

No.