AscentCore

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the engineering manager for a two-sided marketplace in the pet services space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AscentCore?

Our company aimed to expand globally and required engineering assistance in Europe. However, recruiting full-time employees posed a challenge. Therefore, we decided that collaborating with an outsourcing vendor in Europe would be an ideal approach for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Our company has partnered with AscentCore for software development and staff augmentation services. We have an in-house development team. AscentCore has an office on-site, but they also work remotely.

It started with our CTO and AscentCore's CEO discussing a potential partnership. The option to build a team in Romania and acquire the team for a secondary office was also on the table. We decided not to go that route but wanted to build a team to augment our existing one. 

Our initial project involved using Django to enable international relations and ensure our platform supports multiple languages. Currently, we primarily use Django and JavaScript. 

I onboarded a few folks from AscentCore onto my team. I was pre-screening and interviewing the candidates they were about to hire. We went through the same onboarding procedure for a full-time staff member. The onboarding process involves various procedures, including code reviews. Things went smoothly, and we didn't have to change much from our normal onboarding processes. 

What is the team composition?

Initially, our team consisted of five members. However, as of now, we have expanded our workforce to include 15 engineers, one technical manager, and one delivery manager.

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

I want to highlight Raluca (Technical Manager).

How did you come to work with AscentCore?

We were referred to AscentCore through our network and ultimately selected them because of their expertise in the same technology stack that we utilize. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement with AscentCore began in January 2018, and it is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

AscentCore surpassed our expectations with their initial project, so we have continued collaborating with them. Our projects reach the market faster due to the provision of turnkey employees, saving us time that would otherwise be spent on hiring.

We evaluate the engineering team's performance using the same criteria as our in-house engineers. In case anyone fails to meet performance expectations, we address the matter through discussion. While we don't have a traditional reporting structure, we still provide feedback and address performance concerns similarly.

How did v perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management is a shared responsibility between the engineering and product managers. The engineers are fully integrated into all other teams. There is one independent team that AscentCore manages. For that team, it is probably Raluca, with whoever is the product manager on our side. They consistently deliver work on time and keep up with the rest of the company. 

Our team manages projects using Jira, holds standup meetings, and communicates through Google Meet. We also share documents via Google Docs and use Confluence for technical documentation. For real-time communication, we rely on Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The support they provide us is always exceptional and goes beyond our expectations. During our afternoon, I notice that some of their technical leads are active on Slack, despite being in a different time zone that's 10 hours ahead. They are checking on things and ensuring everything is running smoothly. I highly appreciate their level of commitment.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Initially, there was some tension, but we overcame it and worked together. We noticed various inefficiencies and worked with their leadership to find solutions. There isn't anything to complain about at this point. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend openly communicating and setting clear expectations, but these are standard business practices. Depending on the client's location, one of the challenges that may arise is a difference in time zone and working around potential inefficiencies in that process, such as turnaround time on code reviews and things like that. Discussing those things and creating strategies to mitigate the risks beforehand would be helpful. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of a logistics solutions company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AscentCore?

We needed to expand our engineering capacity. We engaged with AscentCore to provide engineering talent and resources.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AscentCore fundamentally provided software development services. Their tasks included code development as well as project management. Additionally, they managed the interaction between our internal product team and AscentCore. There were some elements of design, but they mostly took care of the backend software. 

To get started, we identified a couple of areas where AscentCore could help us accelerate our development. On an ongoing basis, we implemented a standard product development process. We provided the requirements and specifications from our product team in the form of user stories or strategy documents. AscentCore engaged with those documents to then develop the software.

The software is proprietary to our company and more like a freight execution system. The features are linked to the execution of freight in the US. This typically involves steps such as booking a load, executing the load, tracking the load, and other things.

What is the team composition?

There was a team of 3–4 people. Our main point of contact was Catalin (Managing Partner). At a lower level, there was ongoing contact with their technical staff and CTO with the VP of engineering on our side.

How did you come to work with AscentCore?

They came highly recommended.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent around $35,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from April 2022–March 2023.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The feedback from our internal engineering team was positive. Our team was happy with the level of service that AscentCore provided.

Our focus was on quality and delivery time. Throughout the assignment, both metrics were good; they delivered on time and within budget.

Despite the fact that there are occasionally defects or bugs associated with this complex technology, I'm not aware of any interruptions in production linked to the work AscentCore did.

How did AscentCore perform from a project management standpoint?

I communicated with the general manager. I wasn’t involved in the more technical details around the tools and progress on a day-to-day basis. We used Jira for project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

AscentCore's desire to get a deep understanding of our needs and create a setup that would meet them impressed me. In general, they demonstrated interest and availability to add value across multiple levels. Aside from providing developers, they also enlisted more senior resources to assist us with architecture and product development.

AscentCore’s willingness to shape a solution that would fit the needs of a client but also adds value in a creative way was impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In general, we were happy. There weren’t any pain points. We discontinued the relationship because we no longer needed additional capacity. The engagement would have continued had we required a similar level of capacity.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be receptive to exploring or evaluating all the opportunities to create value together beyond the baseline team extension. A key capability of AscentCore's team is their ability to think strategically about things like product architectures or product options. Consider those options, because they are a sophisticated team extension provider. They will not only provide developers; they can also provide thought leadership and product strategy advice.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former director of engineering for a reliability management platform. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AscentCore?

We had aggressive timelines that we needed to meet but realized we couldn’t hit them without assistance. We hired AscentCore for staff augmentation services. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AscentCore collaborated closely with our principal engineers to determine our approach and assisted with technical design. AscentCore put together a team of individuals for us and onboarded them like we would any other employee. 

AscentCore participated in our sprint process as an independent team and worked with us on various projects; this included low-level work on Linux machines and Java backend services that coordinated our clients across customer installations. AscentCore also worked on the frontend React web application that spoke to the backend via APIs. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with a five-person team with one manager and four engineers. The four engineers had skills that complemented each other and worked as a cross-functional team. Later on, we also brought in a QA individual.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2021; I left the company in June 2022, so I’m not entirely sure what the engagement status is. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We saw a reduction in spending because AscentCore cost 30% less than working with a US company for the same quality. We were also able to complete more with AscentCore’s help because we were a small team, and AscentCore doubled the number of people we had. Their assistance made a big impact on our ability to ship features.  

How did AscentCore perform from a project management standpoint?

They had great leadership on their end that went beyond just writing the code. The team worked remotely in an Agile process, and we aligned on the pieces of work that needed to be the same. We worked together to figure out user stories, but they managed everything after that. 

They were communicative throughout the engagement and would present their progress at the end of sprints. The budget was never an issue and was easy to manage. We primarily used Jira and Slack for communication and project management. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They had a very impressive network of talented people and were able to put together a team very quickly for us. The engineers they brought in were smart and easy to communicate with. The team was available when we needed them and very independent. Overall, we were impressed with the quality of people AscentCore brought in.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

Any time we had issues, AscentCore resolved them quickly. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Treat them like a part of your team and with the same respect you give to everyone you work with. They’re good at what they do, so just create a place where they can thrive like any other person on your team. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the VP of Engineering of Loadsmart

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Loadsmart is a technology company that provides an online logistics platform to streamline and optimize the shipping process for businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Development features for our real-time tracking solution
• Development features for our drayage business product

SOLUTION

How did you find AscentCore?

Referral

Why did you select AscentCore over others?

• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

What was the size of AscentCore’s team?

2-5 Employees

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

1. Implementation of features for our real-time tracking service, such as integration with 3rd party providers, geofencing, design of API endpoints, etc.
2. Implementation of feature for our Drayage offering and everything that touches the process of shipping Full Container Loads.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Feature Releases

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

Very responsive despite the fact that we were working from very different timezones. They had one manager being the central point of contact that would make sure everything would be delivered on time and with the quality that our team expects.

What was your primary form of communication with AscentCore?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

We were impressed with their ability to jump into the problem and come up with creative solutions.

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

They were absolutely amazing. Each one of their team members that worked with us. During the entire project, our team felt like they were part of our team. Everyone worked very well together.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of product development for a radio station. I handle our third-party software contractors and help our technical leaders by liaising between contractors and our internal team. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AscentCore?

We were looking for quality resources and low-cost centers of excellence. Our team also wanted to diversify our third-party contractor portfolio to achieve geographical diversification. These were the key reasons we hired AscentCore. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, we gave AscentCore small contained projects to get a feel of their capabilities and personnel. That first engagement lasted for about six months. We turned that into a one-year engagement in which we put them directly on some of our business initiatives, including software development and validation. 

At present, we’re expanding the engagement again and entering into another one-year agreement. We’re using more resources and building them up to help us in other parts of our business.

For specific projects, AscentCore works on a product that we offer to our original equipment manufacturers and the general automotive ecosystem. For context, our business delivers hardware and software to OEMs. 

As we move forward and gain more experience with them, we’re planning to involve them in direct development. Moreover, AscentCore resources are also starting to work on the iOS and Android sides of our business, where we offer our services through mobile apps. 

What is the team composition?

We work with a team of 10 people right now, and they’re mainly doing software development. They have senior software developers. A delivery manager oversees everything that they’re doing, while a couple of resources do the documentation for our customers; they’re software developers that also do technical writing. 

How did you come to work with AscentCore?

A local contact of mine introduced me to AscentCore. He understood our business and needs, and he happened to be affiliated with AscentCore. That was the start of our engagement. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our agreement started in May 2020, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

AscentCore has made our team more efficient through the tools they've created for product development and delivery. They’ve also moved into our mainline development activities, and we’ve decided to give them more responsibilities. All of these are indications that their performance is what we need it to be to expand our business with them. 

How did AscentCore perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been great at project management. Their delivery lead does a great job in terms of ensuring we’re communicating effectively. Multiple team meetings occur, although it’s not possible for us to meet face-to-face yet because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

However, we’re hoping that they’ll have the opportunity to travel to the US in 2022 and meet us in person alongside our engineers. This will help them further advance their knowledge and understanding of our business; it will accelerate their ability to contribute to our business at a high level. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

AscentCore has great communication skills. On top of that, they have access to a pool of talent that’s in line with our business needs; they bring good talent for us. Overall, they’re performing well, and the team is attentive to our feedback and needs. They adjust accordingly, and all of these are evidenced by the fact that we want to grow our business together. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. They’ve been doing a  great job at establishing themselves and building our relationship. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

When you’re working with an international third-party developer, establish good lines of communication not only around the business but also on your technical needs. Beyond that, you should build a long-term relationship with the vendor. 

In our case, we have a unique proprietary technology, and it takes some time to build institutional knowledge about it. As a result, we’ve built a long-term relationship with AscentCore. To do that, we communicate well and discuss things that aren’t going properly — we discuss issues and course-correct.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a Director of Engineering at an online two-sided marketplace. We connect service providers with people in need of their services via web and native mobile applications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

As a strategic bet, our company wanted to expand from the USA into Europe. To do so, our code base needed to be internationalized and localized. We hired AscentCore to provide engineers familiar with our tech stack who could perform this additional work while most of our established engineering team remained focused on the pre-existing software and roadmap.

SOLUTION

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

We sought out vendors having both experience in our tech stack and favorable recommendations from our professional network. We chose AscentCore for their combination of positive referral, availability of experienced software engineers, and competitive pricing.

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

We needed to internationalize and localize a large and mature Python and Javascript code base Early sprints focused on solving key technical / design challenges, e.g. how to manage string translations or multiple currencies. The long middle of the project was a methodical scrub through every file, tagging strings for translation and adding localization hooks / wrappers. The final phase of the project was a focused push to find and fix bugs throughtout the project before our scheduled launch date.

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

Our pilot internationalization project team consisted of 5 engineers, with one in a tech lead role. With the success of this project, we've expanded the on-going enagement to several teams including engineering managers and engineers across backend (Python), frontend (React), and mobile (Swift, Kotlin, React Native) code bases.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We successfully expanded our service from the USA into Europe, launching on schedule with no major technical issues across 7 different European countries and languages.

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

We worked in an agile / scrum process using a CI/CD pipeline, with code shipping behind feature flags throughout the project. We used Jira for ticketing work and planning / executing sprints, and Slack for virtual standups and ongoing communication.

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

They are competent, dedicated professionals who are invested in building a high-quality product and a mutually beneficial long-term partnership.

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

When the quality or quantity of output from an engineer did not meet our expectations, they worked with us to coach the engineer. Either performance improved, or they rotated in another developer.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief product officer of a local news media startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AscentCore?

We were trying to establish a brand presence by building our first website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AscentCore redesigned and redeveloped a website for our business using WordPress, PHP, and JavaScript. They applied their expertise to take product requirements and designs to translate them into a live working platform. Their team also helped us find our hosting provider.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three members of their team, including a technical project manager that was our main point of contact, a backend developer, and a frontend developer.

How did you come to work with AscentCore?

I worked with them on a previous project. I decided to partner up with them again because they did an outstanding job.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from December 2021–January 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project process was very smooth, and we didn’t have any problems, which is unusual in software development. They also delivered a high-quality product within the established deadline. Additionally, they handled all of our requirements and unexpected issues gracefully and professionally, even if they were late at night.

How did AscentCore perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent with project management; we had clear communication and our meetings were always on time and well-structured. Also, the flow between my team and theirs was seamless. In terms of tools, we used Google Meets, Slack, and emails.

What did you find most impressive about them? 

Their organization and smooth communication were outstanding features of their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on — they were the perfect partner. 

Any advice for potential customers?

Take your time to communicate your requirements upfront and respond to their questions quickly — the more information you can give them about your project, the better service they can provide.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a cybersecurity firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AscentCore?

We needed help with quality programming at an offshore price.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AscentCore helped us with QA, DevOps, front-and backend programming, overall strategy, and design architecture. They were involved in everything that goes into developing our SaaS products.

What is the team composition?

We currently work with a dozen or so members of their team. They offer quality programmers that can work on the complete stack. I work with their owners personally.

How did you come to work with AscentCore?

They were recommended to me.

What is the status of this engagement?

Most recently, we started working together in January 2015 and wrapped up in December 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’re easy to deal with. Something always comes up; when you have a good partner, you’re able to work through issues for everyone’s betterment. AscentCore is a good partner for us. They’re conscientious, and they do such a good job that I considered them a part of my organization. They’re always on the cutting edge of the best technologies to use. They helped us make releases on time and on budget.

How did AscentCore perform from a project management standpoint?

They did great with project management. They’ve been around for a long time, and they know what they’re doing. The team knew how to get around any bumps in the road we encountered.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They helped us make releases on time and on budget. Over the years and various projects, they’ve delivered consistently.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Treat them like they’re your employees. Have them visit your office or visit theirs; cultural understanding is important to foster a collaborative team environment.  

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of a media corporation. We’re a digital media company and we’re relatively known. I’m responsible for building out all our digital platforms and distribution systems to get our company’s content to all interested parties. Moreover, I contribute to diversifying our revenue streams, creating new platforms, and helping build new business ventures.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AscentCore?

Traditional print advertising is not as strong as it was before, and programmatic advertising is sucked up by aggregators like Google, Facebook, and other providers. In order to transform ourselves and move into the future, we needed to find new revenue streams. In fact, we had an opportunity to work in lead generation in the educational space. We chose AscentCore to help build a new platform that could create a level of innovation and technology for our current ranking business. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our website had very bad technology — it was old and poorly developed. The answer to that was to create an API-based engine where we could create new rankings. We also wanted to make the entire setup blazingly fast and designed for SEO. Our goal was to build an MVP within four months. 

The team is building a product that can be used for any ranking with any data set. It’s designed with search at its heart in order to capture traffic that can be turned into leads. As a result, AscentCore provides three primary capabilities: architectural consulting services around software development, software development, and QA in the specific automation of our platform.

What is the team composition?

We work with 6–7 people from AscentCore.

How did you come to work with AscentCore?

I knew their founder for over a decade, and I was his customer and peer. When we had to launch this new product, my old vendor had gotten slightly complacent. Following that, I had to bid our project to a number of service providers and AscentCore was one of them. 

Rather than deciding for myself, I listened to the input of my entire product and technology group to pick the partner that they were most energized with. In the end, AscentCore won the bid because of their vision’s strength and the interaction that we had with them during the bidding process.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $200,000–$1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in December 2020, and we continue to collaborate. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

During post-launch, we’ve seen traffic grow consistently day over day. We track search performance on various keywords and over the first month of our operations, we’ve seen significant growth in our rankings for all keywords. Overall, they’ve been quite successful. 

How did AscentCore perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate via Slack daily. Then, we typically meet three times a week. We also have ad hoc meetings to clarify details of the project whenever necessary, and we use Jira to collaborate for software development.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’ve been attracted by their CTO’s technological prowess and vision. That has made us confident that we’re going to accomplish the goals we set out to do — and they’ve exceeded our expectations with this. They understand our operations as a startup, and they move fast because of that. 

We also appreciate their flexible working style while we’re working on things as we move along. Other providers usually need a lot of documentation, and they require their clients to tell them explicitly what to do. However, AscentCore’s engineering team can implement successful builds despite not having clear project outlines. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Originally, they relied heavily on point-to-point communication, so they interacted specifically with individuals — that was successful. However, it created blind spots because not everybody knew everything that was going on. Since then, they’ve changed their style to a broadcast type of communications. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be upfront about what you’re trying to accomplish and how you like to communicate. With any third-party software development provider, that’s key to success. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former CFO of a sales training company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AscentCore?

We were creating a prototype of an application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AscentCore worked on the internal coding of algorithms to interpret data and create predictive analytics off of it. They also created some reports so they could see how everything worked.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact was Cornel (CTO), but 1–2 people helped him.

How did you come to work with AscentCore?

I had worked with them before.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent somewhere between $10,000–$20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from November 2019–March 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We didn’t necessarily have any success metrics since they built a prototype. However, they helped us prove that our idea was feasible and that we could make an application out of it. It all came out better than we expected.

How did AscentCore perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed well and kept us apprised of issues and concerns. Also, they delivered on time and within the budget.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Cornel took a very high-level concept and delivered a technical solution. Throughout the process, they added to our ideas and made them better.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think so.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The general advice that I’d give to anyone entering into an outsourced software development project would be to provide as much information upfront as possible. Also, give the team a clear idea of what you want to achieve.