Ascendix Technologies

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm responsible for the IT project management at flibco.com. We are specialized in airport transportation and provide a personalized transportation service allowing our customers to reach the main European airport.

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

The flibco.com front- and backend systems have been developed almost 10 years ago using Ruby On Rails in a monolithic approach. The company wanted to transition from in-house development to external.

The first smaller project that we kicked off together with Ascendix was an application for the bus drivers of flibco.com partners that allows the driver to onboard passengers, check passenger lists, and sell tickets.

After this project was completed successfully we decided to continue working with them. Since then Ascendix became our main partner for all development-related initiatives.

Later on, Ascendix helped us to migrate the complete existing system (including front- and backend) to a completely new infrastructure using new technologies and a microservice-architecture approach.

Also, Ascendix developed for us a completely new innovative on-demand transport service called flibco.com door2gate which helps to reduce the carbon footprint while being significantly cheaper than Taxis.

How did you select Ascendix Technologies and what were the deciding factors?

One of our employees worked at Ascendix at the beginning of his professional career and initiated the contact.

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

Before we kick off a new project we discuss the project idea together with a project manager and solution architect. Based on the project Ascendix might decide to add other people from their side if needed.

Based on this first kick-off meeting a list of requirements is created. These requirements get redefined in separate calls and interview sessions.

Once everything is clarified an effort estimation is provided and if we decide to continue with the initiative the regular SCRUM routine takes place with its sprint plannings, iterations and review meetings.

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

Currently, we're working on several initiatives with Ascendix. For each one, we have the main contact person which is usually a project manager on their side.

In total the different teams on Ascendix sides that work on our projects contain around 40 people including project manager, business analysts, solution architects, developers, DevOps engineers, UX/UI designer, ...

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

Our mobile applications are much more stable, more intuitive to use, and enable our operators to sell even when they are offline thanks to technologies like FireDB.

Thanks to improvements on our website the jump off rate during the booking process could be decreased by over 30% and the sign up rate for our commercial newsletter increased by 280%.

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

We have weekly touchpoints to discuss on what work-item the team worked, what was achieved and if there were any extra ordinary situations. During the week there are several BA calls with businayy analysts on both sides.

In general, we can get as much feedback and interaction as we want. Ascendix is very open there. It just turned out that for me as a project manager weekly is totally sufficient.

For direct communication we use Microsoft Teams and E-Mail. Also we have Azure VSTS and Atlassian Confluence in place to keep track of all work items and the sprints.

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

The openness and work attitude is astonishing at first. Before we have worked mostly with local companies in western Europe and their rates are much higher while quality is less and/or their work attitude is way worse.

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

So far nothing to mention here.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Menlo Group Commercial Real Estate is a full-service commercial real estate brokerage that services the industrial, retail, child care and general, medical and dental office markets in the metropolitan Phoenix area. I serve as the company's CTO and led this project.

For what projects/services did your company hire Ascendix Technologies?

To help set up and launch the Ascendix CRM, including transitioning over all the data from our prior CRM, Pipedrive, and training our staff.

What were your goals for this project?

• To find a CRM which would help speed up our transaction process by at least 50%
• Establish a single source of truth/data which flows to all connected applications
• Automate workflows and business processes
• Streamline the document generation, requests, eSignature transaction process
• Provide process visibility to clients
• Provide customized reporting capabilities (i.e. Listing Report)
• Offer strong mobile accessibility
• Offer future lead generation integrations
• Provide marketing integrations

How did you select Ascendix Technologies?

We conducted a "sprint RFI" with 5 related vendors so we could quickly identify the best vendor to move forward with and our leadership team was involved in making the final selection.

A few vendors offered their own OEM Salesforce solution, but in the end it was Ascendix experience and strong in-house developers that would support us during and post-launch that was the deciding factor.

Describe the project in detail.

Scope:

• Vendor will work with CTO to fully setup environment to client specifications before go live.
• Vendor will import and provide any data transformation required from existing CRM into new CRM. -Vendor will provide training to company staff before launch.
• Vendor will provide post-launch support. Timeline
• Conduct RFI (1 week) -Demos, evaluations, and follow up questions (1-2 weeks)
• Vendor selection, request proposal(s) (1 week)
• Planning and data organization (4 weeks) -Development and test environment (8-12 weeks)
• Go Live

What was the team composition?

We were assigned an excellent project manager named Chris, who we worked with for the duration of the project. She brought in a few additional resources as needed along the way, as long as a dedicated data import specialist.

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

We had no major issues at launch time and the transition was as smooth as a CRM launch can go. While any sort of change can be difficult on the users, our advisors have quickly acclimated and have each learned their preferred way of using Ascendix / Salesforce.

In addition to the automation gains we've made, the biggest (and unexpected) gains have been in the way we organize our commercial real estate data. It makes sorting through current and past transactions much easier and is opening opportunities to do things we've never done before.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was excellent and we were in constant communication, with weekly touch base meetings. The software itself is largely production ready which made things much easier.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They truly focus more effort on improving their product and supporting current customers than just selling and marketing which is rare these days. Too many companies just try and make the sale and then pass you along down the chain with often some missed expectations.

That never happened with Ascendix and they worked with us every step of the way until all our objectives were completed which is why the launch (and the 4 months since) have been so successful for us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

While it worked OK without it, maybe a PM tool to outline where we are at in the timeline and exchange documents. For our needs, this was never an issue, but some clients might like it.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a Los Angeles-based real estate capital advisory firm, helping our clients structure their capital for their commercial real estate assets. We provide advisory services for debt and equity.

As the VP, I work for some of our managing directors in addition to being a field manager, client manager. I also support our technology implementation team.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ascendix Technologies?

We’ve been around for quite a few years, so our database is one of the most important things to us. That’s why we hired Asecendix Technologies to set up a new database solution within a tight timeframe.

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Ascendix Technologies developed a custom database solution for us that would serve as a project management tool. First, their team built out the base-level functionality to ensure that we could use the new system. They then worked to transfer over 15,000 legacy contacts to the new system.

Since then, we’ve done monthly iterations to improve the database, ranging from customizing the interface to cleaning up the data in a quick, concise manner.

What is the team composition? 

Working with Melissa (Application Developer & Consultant) has been key to hitting our deliverables. She’s willing to jump on the phone at any time to explain aspects of our system. What’s more, she’s so knowledgeable about our project that I don’t feel the need to interact much with other members of the team much.

How did you come to work with Ascendix Technologies?

After evaluating 30–40 groups, we felt that Ascendix Technologies offered the best combination of money for the work, high-quality database services, and project management services.

What is the status of this engagement?

Their work started in November 2019 and is ongoing. The first four months were particularly intensive, but they’ve since transitioned into more of a maintenance and improvement role. Our database system is always expanding and evolving, so we’ll continue working with them.

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

Currently, we’re tracking 52–53 out of 55 employees on the system, which indicates a high user implementation rate. Over 90% of our employees are using the system at least once a week, whereas our previous database only had a 20% user activity rate.

How did Ascendix Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

One of the biggest joys of working with Ascendix Technologies has been having a rep who responds almost immediately in a clear and concise way. Not only that, but Marissa is able to interpret our communication in a way that makes sense for her team.

We used to engage them multiple times a week during the initial implementation work but have slowed down to once every two weeks. Our primary lines of contact are phone and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Like I’ve said, Marissa is fantastic. She’s willing to jump on phone calls and will rearrange her schedule to make our system as fast as possible. 

Getting into the system itself, it’s clear that they spend a significant amount of time developing our database. They understand our business and know how to drill into it, which is why they’ve designed the solution to be easy to customize and adapt.

Are there any areas they could improve?

This is less about them and more on our side. They’ve done such a great job of interacting with the system that we’ve relied on them as a clutch. We haven’t spent enough time becoming true administrators to our own system. In that sense, it would be helpful if they could wean us off to make us more self-sufficient.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re contracting Ascendix Technologies, you need to have dedicated individuals who can work with them consistently during implementation and customization. I don’t think our engagement would’ve been as successful if we didn’t have a core internal group dedicating time to the project.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am an analyst at Black Bear Capital Partners a commercial real estate structured debt & equity advisory. My responsibilities include underwriting debt and equity and maintaining the firms database & CRM infrastructure.

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

Ascendix was hired to upgrade a preexisting CRM platform with their new Capital Markets upgrade. The challenge was to have the ability to store information on the criteria of various capital sources using fields that could then be indexed or queried to facilitate procurement of capital for our debt/equity projects.

How did you select Ascendix Technologies and what were the deciding factors?

The Capital Markets upgrade gave us the ability to store information on the criteria of various capital sources using fields that could then be indexed or queried to facilitate the procurement of capital for our debt/equity projects. 

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

Ascendix made changes to the Salesforce-based platform creating a new Capital Source record. Within the record, multiple fields were created to store important information and relate to existing records such as accounts and contact for ease of use.

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

Two individuals worked on this project - Marissa Mills and Chris Peterson. Chris Peterson assisted in managing the project, consulting, negotiating pricing, and solving problems that came up during development. Marissa Mills acted as the project manager and consulted with us to develop a plan. Marissa then executed that plan making the upgrades and adjustments to the system.

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

Our users are still becoming acquainted with the platform so i have nothing measurable to share yet. However, qualitatively the upgrade has absolutely met our expectations in organizing our capital source information in a dynamic way that is collaborative and accessible to everyone

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of marketing at Stiles Corporation, a full-service real estate developer. We specialize in both commercial and residential properties.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ascendix Technologies?

The divisions within our company were unknowingly pursuing the same prospects because we didn’t have a central platform to share client files. As such, a new CRM system was integral to our business development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We already had a basic CRM system but needed Ascendix Technologies to make the platform more user-friendly. Their team followed our specifications, streamlined the Microsoft Dynamic CRM, redeveloped existing features, and integrated new developments. The renovated CRM allows users to store client data and share the files with other departments. Although development has concluded, Ascendix Technologies remains an active advisor on new developments.

What is the team composition?

The company’s president and CEO was our main point of contact, but we also interacted with the assigned project lead.

How did you come to work with Ascendix Technologies?

We included them in the bidding process to build our first CRM system but decided to hire one of their cheaper competitors. After realizing our mistake, we reached out to Asencdix Technologies to retool the complicated system.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our relationship with Ascendix Technologies spans several years, but they’ve been our partner since 2016 from a contract perspective.

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

The previous CRM was difficult to navigate and impossible to adopt, but the new system has proven to be an essential operating tool. The shared client files have maximized business opportunities and enriched our lead generation techniques. Our progress wouldn’t be attainable without Ascendix Technologies’ continued support.

How did Ascendix Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

Their approach to both execution and communication surpassed our expectations. Most vendors that we work with require some degree of micromanagement, but Ascendix Technologies managed the entire project independently. Whether they were sending follow-up questions via email or calling us to clarify directions, they were careful to avoid miscommunication. Even now, they’re respectful of our time and plan meetings around our schedule. Ascendix Technologies is undoubtedly the most trustworthy company that I’ve ever worked with.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a solution for every problem we send their way, which can be credited to their extensive CRM knowledge. They’re also very familiar with our industry, so they can tailor the system to accommodate our unique business needs. We never worry about changes to their staff because they have an excellent track record of curating a diversely talented team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The work that they produced for us is outstanding, and they deserve nothing less than praise.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ascendix Technologies doesn’t have the lowest rates on the market, but their expertly designed work is more cost-effective in the long-run.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the lead for the Indiana office for Colliers International, a real estate services company. We provide brokerage and property management construction services to businesses that want to move to, buy, or sell a building. We help with anything in the commercial real estate arena.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ascendix Technologies?

We had an old CRM platform that we wanted to replace with something savvier and technically up to date.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ascendix Technologies migrated our business from our old CRM to Microsoft Dynamics, customizing it for both our industry and our specific workflow at the time. They perform regular updates on the platform every 2–3 years and execute any technical improvements that Microsoft pushes through.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with the same team for the past 10 years, including leadership representatives, a project manager, 2–3 developers for updating, and 2–3 for maintenance.

How did you come to work with Ascendix Technologies?

We searched online for companies that worked with Microsoft Dynamics with a background in real estate. We found Ascendix Technologies and liked what they’d done for their other clients, so we interviewed them. They were skilled, responsive to our pitch, and willing to customize the platform to our needs, so we hired them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been partners since 2007.

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

The platform gives us tremendous recruiting abilities because it’s customized to our workflow and is incredibly appealing to brokers. The system is unlike any other; it keeps track of deals, communications, and knowledge specifically tailored to the real estate industry, putting our brokers ahead of the competition.

Beyond recruiting, the platform makes us much more efficient and effective. Our process is more streamlined because of Ascendix Technologies.

How did Ascendix Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re detailed and precise in establishing project expectations and the scope of work. They’ve guided us through the project, making sure all deadlines were met from both sides. We’ve never had any issues with their project management.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, none come to mind.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Do as much work internally as possible and make sure to have an in-house person who can lead the partnership.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of technology solutions for Transwestern. We’re a commercial real estate firm providing management, leasing, and consulting services for our clients.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ascendix Technologies?

We were having some trouble with our CRM in the commercial real estate market and were looking for a company with that expertise.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped set up, configure, and now support our CRM. They’ve helped us build a more user-friendly interface so that we’re cognizant of who our users are and how they best interact with the CRM.

Additionally, they helped us move to an updated version—which was a huge conversion—and increase adoption across our brokers on the platform. We leveraged their expertise on best practices and how to best communicate the change with our users.

What is the team composition?

Our main points of contact were the project manager and technical architect. We spoke with them on an almost daily basis. They have a development team backing them, and we would occasionally interact with Ascendix’s president.

How did you come to work with Ascendix Technologies?

I’m not sure how Transwestern initially found Ascendix, but they were selected because they offered us a developed solution. They had started building a commercial real estate overlay for Microsoft Dynamics. When we first started working together, we needed that commercial real estate expertise and solution. Over time, they have become a true business partner and helped us enhance our solutions to meet our business needs.

What is the status of this engagement?

Ascendix began working with Transwestern before I was hired, but I believe it was in 2012, and we are ongoing partners.

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

They test everything before handing it to us, so everything we receive has minimal errors. The quality is always great. They act as a real business partner and take the time to work with us, understand what we need, and give feedback on what they think is the best approach. They walk with us through the entire project.

How did Ascendix Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate over the phone, email, or online meetings—whatever is best for the situation. They’re very accessible. We talk with the project manager on a weekly basis at least, sometimes closer to daily. They’re always quick to deliver.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have very open and honest communication and are always willing to go the extra mile to get our product to the next level. They do more than just the work they’re assigned; they look out for our best interests and care about us as a company.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s always something a company can do better, but there’s nothing I can pinpoint as negative. Sometimes I wish they could be on-site with us at all times, but that’s obviously not cost effective for either of us.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Always be open with them as to what you’re trying to achieve and your team's strengths and weaknesses. Ascendix will adapt to whoever they’re working with.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm an executive for a global commercial real estate company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ascendix Technologies?

Our initial challenge involved poor CRM adoption. We needed help integrating our real estate information into our system, so we could track properties, leases, sales, and other opportunities.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ascendix integrated our Microsoft CRM into one of their products initially, but we also now use several of their products for many of our locations around the world. They provide services from three different teams: support, concierge, and operations. If we ever want to do additional work, they'll help us scope it out and provide a plan for implementation.

What is the team composition?

We work with three separate teams that are each supported by a lead manager. Their operations team and concierge teams handle a lot of support for us, while the data team provides developers and data team members. They also handle any communication needed to Microsoft regarding questions about integrating their tools into our CRM. I work with up to five developers, depending on the size of the project, as well as a QA analyst and engineer.

How did you come to work with Ascendix Technologies?

I believe my predecessor met them through a conference. She had been looking for a real estate embedded CRM solution for a while and wanted to work with Ascendix because they had the tools to accomplish the task.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with them for about eight years and counting.

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

The quality of work they provide is second to none. They've provided CRM solutions that no one else has been able to. Their efforts have helped both our sales force and the dynamics of our practice. The technologies they've employed have significantly simplified our CRM usage. Many of our locations require customizations that Ascendix has been able to provide solutions for not available in our native CRM. Their work has driven our adoption, which has increased by about six times what it was before we started working with them.

How did Ascendix Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very organized and responsive. We're somewhat of a difficult client, consisting of multiple regions with varying requirements and we're constantly moving things around at the last second, but they do a great job of juggling and prioritizing the workload. I work closely with them if they ever have any questions and we meet regularly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're true consultants, meaning they don't just do as they're told without providing feedback and input where they feel it would be helpful. They actually think through the process and are knowledgeable about commercial real estate. Not many consulting firms can offer that kind of expertise and industry knowledge.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I just wish their team was a little bigger, so I'd have more resources to pull from for last-minute requests.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open to their suggestions and trust their knowledge and expertise in CRM and even in commercial real estate—it's top-notch.

Please describe your company and your position there.

mployee is a Salesforce ISV partner that delivers Salesforce solutions to staffing companies. I'm the company founder and Head of Product.

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

We needed immediate help with developing a major functionality for our core Salesforce solution. It was necessary to deliver a well-tested solution in the short term.

How did you select Ascendix Technologies and what were the deciding factors?

I’d heard positive feedback about this Ascendix before contacting the company. I knew from people who worked with Ascendix that they are providing high-quality resources for a reasonable price.

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

They developed a custom application within Salesforce managed package using Apex, Flows, and metadata configuration. The team was working with the git repository, task management was in JIRA. The developers were flexible and proactive with clarifying requirements and suggesting implementation options. Their QA engineer tested everything thoroughly asking questions if something was unclear.

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

There were 3 people including Team Lead, Salesforce Developer, and QA Engineer.

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

Despite the urgency and multiple challenges, the team was able to understand the current solution and adjust it in time and within the planned budget.

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

As a project supervisor, I was very satisfied by communication with the team, they were replying rapidly, stand-ups, and other meetings were well-structured and effective. We used Slack, JIRA, and Google Hangouts as communication tools.

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

Proactivity, readiness to help, and customer-oriented approach

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

It is hard to find any gaps after a 2-month collaboration. I would say they should move towards creating their own set of Salesforce custom components and libraries, to reuse them for future projects as a toolset for custom development.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Brillium is a software application and services provider that helps organizations answer vital questions by distilling people’s knowledge, opinions and beliefs into meaningful and actionable information.

By helping organizations understand what people know, think, feel and believe, we help them answer pivotal questions, develop better plans, and create strategically better outcomes.

Brillium offers a broad range of standard and customized services that are seamlessly matched with customer goals and are powered by the Brillium assessment platform. Brillium services are delivered with the same commitment and focus that you would expect from even your best employees.

The Brillium software platform is utilized across a range of organizational areas such as learning and training, survey research, human resources, leadership, corporate strategy, marketing and content licensing and delivery.

Brillium Specialties: assessment, certification programs, exams, surveys, education-centric marketing, content licensing and delivery. My role with Brillium is the Chief Technology Officer

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

To help us upgrade and modernize our security model in our platform. We have also advance our relationship with them to provide on-going development support for previous version of the platform.

How did you select Ascendix Technologies and what were the deciding factors?

We interviewed several companies and narrowed the selection based on the alignments with our needs in the area of skills, cost and reputation. Ascendix meet all those criteria but was finally selected because of the similar company culture.

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

Do to competitive nature of this work, I am unable to detail out the specifics.

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

8-10 over time

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

The project is not completed yet but we are tracking to schedule. Although the complete requirements were not flushed out, the team has been flexible and providing recommendations/suggestions on design and user experience.

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

The project manager is a seasoned and experience project manager. She is process centric, detail oriented, and excellent communicator. She has a very zen effect to keep everyone confident and in the loop of the project deliverables and risk and the means to mitigate risks.

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

Their commitment of the team to deliver a quality product and confidence in providing suggestions is outstanding. Our culture is very similar to the point we feel like one organization meeting the needs of our customers.

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

None at the moment.