Aston Technologies

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital lead of Minnesota Public Radio News, an over 50 years radio legacy and current digital multimedia organization headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota. We have bureaus all across the state, and we’re part of the American Public Media Group, which produces regional and national public media programs.

What challenge were you trying to address with Aston Technologies?

People in Minnesota really love the weather, but it changes a lot, so we initially wanted to extend our service and provide our audience with a weather notification on our outdoor application. Since then, we’ve worked with Aston on a few different development projects.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Aston helped us create a push notification for our weather-based outdoor app. We initially walked together through our requirements, and they presented solutions back to us. From there, we continued to refine the process.

They also did an overhaul of our news app and helped us switching some of our apps’ data feeds. Additionally, they’ve updated some of our other apps, such as our classical music, AAA, and alternative music services.

Aston also developed an Alexa weather app for us, where users can get weather forecasts directly from our broadcasters, who are the face of our organization.

They’ve been very attentive to our needs throughout our engagement, and they’ve helped us identify different solutions. They also work with my team on workflow issues and help us solve concerns.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with three primary contacts from Aston. However, a larger group of people initially helped us understand the full scope of the project and the breadth of their services. Bipin (Director of Software Development) has been very communicative and on top of everything.

How did you come to work with Aston Technologies?

We originally wanted to send our weather notification via SMS, but due to the scale and scope of it, the project got very expensive. Thus, we were looking for an alternative, and we researched local technology companies.

Although they didn’t advertise themselves as a Minnesota homegrown company, we came across Aston and felt comfortable thinking that we would be able to have in-person meetings with them. The fact that they were a minority-owned and -operated business was also attractive to us because we wanted to engage in the public interest and support all communities.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around August 2017, and our engagement is ongoing.

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

Thanks to Aston’s work within our apps, we’ve seen a significant increase in our web metrics and audience loyalty. They’ve helped us develop a stronger fan base of people who want to be connected with what’s going on in Minnesota.

Our weather push notifications have been very successful, and we’ve received positive feedback from our members and new audience. Additionally, we’ve had a positive experience with all of Aston’s developers. Bipin has offered us a very strong presence, and he has been very helpful during our engagement.

How did Aston Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

Aston is responsive, and they always meet the deadlines. We mainly use Slack when we’re working on projects to get regular updates as needed. We also communicate via email and Zoom calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Aston is very creative in their solutions. Additionally, they’re very responsive in listening to our problems and challenges, and they keep them in mind as they iterate and come up with other creative solutions.

Aston is also very willing to work with our budget. They understand that we don’t have the same budget as a big corporation, so they don’t try to push the most expensive solution. Additionally, if we’re price-sensitive on a particular project, they give us a range.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They’ve been very attentive and responsive, and we’re happy with their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The better you can articulate your problems and challenges; the better Aston can do. Help them contextualize your project as broadly and specifically as possible.