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We are Rare!

5.0
9 reviews

Bastion Rare was established in 2018 by Bastion Collective, following a merger & acquisition of two leading Southern California based digital agency's.

Bastion Collective is Australia's largest independent marketing & communications group. With offices in the U.S., Australia, and China, Bastion Collective consists of more than 300 people.

 

Bastion Rare is the Digital Brain Trust of Bastion Collective where the planning and implementation of enterprise level creative, development, and digital marketing work is executed.

A global leader in providing Web and mobile application platform design & development services, the team at Bastion Rare helps forward thinking organizations and entrepreneurs translate complex business challenges into innovative digital solutions. Additionally, Bastion Rare provides strategic thinking and execution of local and national digital marketing initiatives, including search engine optimization (SEO), PPC management (SEM), and local SEO.

Bastion Rare has experience delivering solutions across a wide-range of industries, including consumer goods & services, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing & distribution, retail & e-commerce, entertainment, education, real estate, and training & marketing.

With expertise in most major Web and mobile technologies, including iOS, Android, and other mobile platforms, the Rare team offers expertise in creating user interfaces and experiences that people love and share!

Bastion Rare consists of business analysts, technology architects, project managers, user interface & experience (UI/UX) designers, engineers, quality assurance & testing specialists, and marketing experts, providing customers with innovative solutions tailored to their specific needs.

READ MORE...
 
$10,000+
 
$50 - $99 / hr
 
10 - 49
 Founded
2018
Show all +
Irvine, CA
headquarters
  • 3333 Michelson Drive
    Irvine, CA 92612
    United States
    949-600-5122

Portfolio

Key clients: 

Toyota, Guess?, Snapchat, Total Warehouse, Covidien, Siemens, Planet Beauty, Carrier, US Storage Centers, Tamiya America, UCSF, MarketingProfs, HCL, Raymond Corporation, Greyhound, Arnette, Pirouline, K1 Speed, Arnette, Oracle, Hoonigan, Wet Seal, AQUAhydrate, Lather, Salesforce, Cobra, Medtronic, Q-See, Boston University

Psychological Well-Being Monitor App Image

Psychological Well-Being Monitor App

Bastion Rare designed this application to provide therapists /clinicians with a mobile platform to monitor patient well-being. The screen shown above displays the view a user would see when attempting to check in and enter progress report information.

Mobile Mortgage Calculator App Image

Mobile Mortgage Calculator App

This mortgage calculator application developed by Bastion Rare provides current and future home owners 4 easy-to-use calculators to effortlessly crunch numbers with a simple and clean interface. The application also provides real-time mortgage rates from leading banks.

World's First Mobile Photo Zoom Game Image

World's First Mobile Photo Zoom Game

Bastion Rare developed the world's first photo zoom game allowing users to take a photo of something interesting, zoom into the photo, and define a word that best describes the picture. Users of the app share pictures and try to guess each others picture.

Custom Web-based CRM Platform Image

Custom Web-based CRM Platform

Bastion Rare designed and developed a leading CRM platform, with integrated customer billing, and product management modules. The screen depicted above displays the primary dashboard for a system user.

Award-winning Image Correction App Image

Award-winning Image Correction App

Currently in use by 400,000+ paying users worldwide, this application was designed by Bastion Rare to provide users with advanced photo manipulation and correction tools.

Social Blogging / Community Application Image

Social Blogging / Community Application

Designed for one of the fastest growing network marketing group in the United States, the application displayed above is used on a daily basis by over 300K users to publish blog messages via text, image, audio, and video. The application also provides easy access to educational products and provides a community where members can share information and communicate amongst each other.

Local Movie Deals Application Image

Local Movie Deals Application

This application was created to provide moviegoers with discounted movie ticket offers and concession deals from local movie theaters. The screen shown above displays the view a user would see when searching for deals at local theaters.

Custom Project Management Platform Image

Custom Project Management Platform

Bastion Rare created a Web-based project management platform to be used for managing complex software projects. The screen shown above displays the view a user would see when managing their tasks and viewing stakeholders on a project.

Social Photo Sharing App Image

Social Photo Sharing App

Bastion Rare created this application to provide people with a new and innovative way to share and experience photos with family and friends. The screen shown displays a view of a photo album cover that the user can create before sending to friends.

Movement Tracking Apple Watch App Image

Movement Tracking Apple Watch App

This app was created to manage and track user movement from Apple Watch and notify the user of defined activities that should be accomplished after a set interval. The screen shown depicts the timer and instructions to set and start the timer.

Leading Web-based Self Storage Auction Platform Image

Leading Web-based Self Storage Auction Platform

Founded by some of the members of A&E's hit TV series Storage Wars, the team at Bastion Rare was hired to create a leading auction management platform for the Self Storage industry. The company has become the dominant Web-based auction management leader in the Self Storage industry. The screen depicted above shows the dashboard.

Social Nutrition App Image

Social Nutrition App

This app was created to track the number of grams of protein, carbohydrates, and fats consumed by users on any given day. The application also includes exercises, products, and meal plans settled in a social environment that encourages accountability. The screen shown displays the basic dashboard view for users to view their macro intake, with a newsfeed shown below.

Custom Network (Direct) Marketing Platform Image

Custom Network (Direct) Marketing Platform

Bastion Rare was commissioned by a leading network marketing company to design and develop their primary network marketing platform for marketers to manage products, company data, downline, and consume information. The platform was highly engaging with social media content and multimedia (video, photos, audio).

Social Good Community Application Image

Social Good Community Application

Launched by Bastion Rare, this application allows users to engage in a global movement and community to shift the course of humanity for good. Participants are required to perform actions that impact the world around them while engaging in a gamified social experience.

Concierge Application (Four Seasons) Image

Concierge Application (Four Seasons)

Bastion Rare designed this application for the Four Seasons Residences with the aim at becoming a mobile destination exclusive for residents of the Four Seasons looking to discover local and exclusive attractions, dining options, events, and more.

Web-based Financial Services (SEC) Filing Platform Image

Web-based Financial Services (SEC) Filing Platform

Developed by the team at Bastion Rare, this platform is a leading SEC filing system, enabling publicly traded companies, and legal representatives to file SEC requird documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The shown screenshot above depicts the platform dashboard.

Reviews

5.0
9 reviews
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Database Development for Financial Services Firm

"Bastion Rare is a great team to work with because they're very responsive to the needs that we have."

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5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
4.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$200,000 to $999,999
Project summary: 

Bastion Rare developed a web application to allow users to file Securities and Exchange Commission forms through the cloud. They also contributed business expertise to the project.

The Reviewer
 
1-10 Employees
 
San Diego, California
Dan Rumsey
President, SEC Connect
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

Bastion Rare applied their entrepreneurial spirit to ensuring maximum user satisfaction, resulting in increased online engagement overall. Helpful in all regards, they behaved more like a partner than a vendor.

A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the president and founder of SEC Connect, a full-service filing agent for public companies required to file documents and periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Bastion Rare?

We were trying to make the process of filing SEC documents more efficient for our clients and put the process in the cloud and, as a result of both of those objectives, reduce the cost to our clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We brought on Bastion Rare to build our own online application that allows our public company clients to file certain forms directly, typically the most frequently filed forms with the SEC.

How did you come to work with Bastion Rare?

We interviewed numerous developers and database developers in the process of selecting Bastion Rare. We selected them because it was the most entrepreneurial firm. Their objectives and their insights into what it is that we're trying to develop aligned perfectly with our own. I think they got what it is that we were trying to achieve. The fact that they have a very entrepreneurial approach to our business and were willing to work with us to achieve our objectives and they understood what those objectives were resulted in us selecting them.

How much have you invested with them?

The was a $200,000-plus project.

What is the status of this engagement?

This project is completed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There's not one particular thing. I think the application has been very stable and has worked exactly as we designed it to work, and it's being used by hundreds of clients and without issues.

When there are issues that come up, Bastion Rare is quick to address them and to assist us in resolving them to our satisfaction and to our clients' satisfaction, so this has resulted in lots of our clients taking their business online. It's been very much a success from that perspective.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Bastion Rare is a great team to work with because they're very responsive to the needs that we have and to the issues that we have. We were treated very much like a partner as opposed to a client. They were very responsive to any issues that came up, given the fact that we were an early stage company they worked with us to ensure that, not only we're successful but the product was successful so that was very helpful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Bastion Rare has certainly grown since we engaged with them, and I think their capabilities are much greater than when we were working with them. Their biggest challenge is just managing their growth, but they've done a terrific job and there's not really anything that I could go back on and say I wish we would have done that differently with them.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 4.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

Wearable Application for Startup Company

"They are open to any changes you want to do. They want to build something that works for the client." 

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5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$10,000 to $49,999
 
2005 - Ongoing
Project summary: 

Bastion Rare developed a movement-tracking app for the AppleWatch. Bastion Rare has been a quality development partner for a full decade and has previously provided e-commerce and marketing websites.

The Reviewer
 
1-10 Employees
 
Los Angeles, CA
Co-owner, Wearable App Startup Company
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

Bastion Rare distinguished themselves as a provider interested in long-term partnership. They valued collaboration and meeting client expectations, whatever those might be. Their deliverables were always excellent. The only downside was that they could be overly busy. 

A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm one of the owners of a startup company. Our application is a movement-tracking app that is designed to help users be more productive with their new mobile devices.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bastion Rare?

We engaged with them to develop our mobile application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bastion Rare was responsible for developing our application from start to finish.

How did you come to work with Bastion Rare?

We have previous experience working with them. We've collaborated with them on other projects and other companies for almost 10 years now. They've done some websites and e-commerce platforms for us in the past. 

How much have you invested with them?

The first phase will be under $50,000

What is the status of this engagement?

It's ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're more like a true partner. Other companies are only interested in delivering what's on the contract and they want to get it done so they can move onto the next thing. Bastion Rare considers you a partner for the long term. They are open to any changes you want to do. They want to build something that works for the client. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They're very busy right now. I know they're expanding their mobile team. Right now, we need to fight for the slot. They have other projects, too.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
    They've always kept my schedule. If they can't they will tell you in advance. One time, they had the whole teamwork the whole weekend to be sure it happened.
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
    They have developers in India. The cost is usually competitive, especially compared to who we used before who was purely U.S. based.
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
    Their quality has always been their strong point. They'll always make sure it's what the client wants.
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer
    I recommend them all the time.

Fitness Tracking Wearable Application Development

"Bastian Rare has been the easiest to work with. They’ve been the easiest piece of the project."

See More

5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$200,000 to $999,999
Project summary: 

Bastian Rare developed a nutrition-tracking app focused on creating customized meal plans based on serving sizes. Key features included a massive food database and macronutrient calculations.

The Reviewer
 
1-10 Employees
 
Los Angeles, CA
Charles Leonard
CEO and President, Fitness Application Startup
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

Bastian Rare served as a true partner, providing far more than just coding. They were highly responsive and easy to work with, providing business advice, mobile strategy, and personal attention from start to finish.

A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My company is a nutrition and fitness mobile app. I’m the CEO and president.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bastian Rare?

We wanted to create a nutrition and fitness app that had many features you don’t currently find in many of the fitness apps on the market now.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

There are many other apps that are calorie trackers they total calories, proteins, or carbs. We wanted to create an app for people who have no nutrition and fitness knowledge or even those who do have it but have a hard time knowing what serving sizes and what meals to choose from. We want to be able to provide users enough information so that they achieve the correct macronutrient numbers each day.

Our app catalogs food so users can select from a wide variety of foods to create an ideal meal to meet their needs. Once the food is selected, our app identifies the serving size the user can have in order to achieve the user’s overall macronutrient goals for the day.

How did you come to work with Bastian Rare?

I interviewed four other app development firms. Some of the other firms didn’t seem to understand the concept I was going for so it was hard instill any confidence in them. When I interviewed Bastian Rare, any question I asked, they were able to answer and even more importantly help me to understand the complexity of the development. Bastian Rare also recommended things that helped shift my project in a better direction regarding my mobile strategy. 

How much have you invested with them?

This partnership has been extensive and has cost more than $200,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What did you find most impressive about them?

With this project, I’m dealing with business partners in many areas, not just on the development front. Bastian Rare is the most important part and they've been the easiest to work with. When I email them, it’s practically like I sent them a text because they always respond within minutes. It’s like I’m their only client. I’m really happy to be working with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If anything has gotten delayed, it’s because they’re waiting for me. They’re on top of everything.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

Web & Mobile App Development for Leading Digital Agency

"Their quality is superior to anything else we have experienced in our industry."

See More

5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$200,000 to $999,999
 
2009 - Ongoing
Project summary: 

Bastion Rare augments the development capacity for various client projects. Technologies used include Python, Ruby, and Java, and they develop applications for iOS, Android, and BlackBerry.

The Reviewer
 
11-50 Employees
 
Los Angeles Metro Area
CEO, Digital Agency
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

The client has remained with Bastion Rare for over five years because of their seamless business relationship and the consistent delivery high-qualityity work.

The client submitted this review online.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of a digital agency based in Southern California with a large customer base, including corporations like Chevron, Home Depot, IKEA, Hyundai, Jaguar, and Medtronic.

We have been in business for more than 15 years, which is a long time in this industry. We provide our clients with custom digital solutions, including creative services, development, and marketing. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bastion Rare?

As we have a large customer base with various needs, we engaged Bastion Rare on many occasions for staff augmentation and to work alongside our management and delivery team.

Bastion Rare has worked on many projects with our company ranging from a custom web e-commerce solution for a leading beauty product manufacturer to mobile solutions for a global healthcare organization. Our customers demand the best in quality and innovation from our organization as most of them have a spot on the Fortune 1000 list.

Since we are a digital agency offering similar services as Bastion Rare, our challenge was to come up with an engagement model between our two firms to support our clients in a seamless way while making sure the client account was serviced through our company and led by our brand.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bastion Rare has worked on iOS, Android, and BlackBerry applications for us. They have also supported projects at our company with the following technologies: Python, Ruby, Perl, Java, PHP5, C++, and UI technologies [like] HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript.

How did you come to work with Bastion Rare?

We were initially connected to Bastion Rare through one of their previous clients. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We've continued working with them for more than five years due to the easy and seamless relationship, not to mention their quality is superior to anything else we have experienced in our industry, especially for an offshore company.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Bastion Rare provides a solid testing environment, which is evident in their final code delivery of code. This is important for us since we are held to a very high standard of excellence by our clients. Since I'm very knowledgeable about the digital service industry, I can nitpick quite a bit. However, overall, I am very impressed and satisfied with the service Bastion Rare provides.

How did XYZ Company perform from a project management standpoint?

We have been through a lot together, good times and bad times, mostly due to unreasonable clients on our end. Bastion Rare has always been available at a moment's notice to listen and advise when needed. They are very responsive, which is key. We can contact them even on weekends and late at night and will usually get a response within the hour.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Bastion Rare was very easy to work with. Their team of project managers and engineers have even taken on our company email addresses and branding in some cases to provide a type of white-labeled offering for us to give a more seamless experience to our customers.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

Custom Search Engine Platform (Big Data Application)

"They have been very easy to work with, from the perspective of a growing startup organization."

See More

5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$200,000 to $999,999
 
2012 - Ongoing
Project summary: 

Bastion Rare developed a comprehensive search platform that combines inventories for pricing, availability, and datasheets from over 850 suppliers. It's optimized to support over a billion data records.

The Reviewer
 
2-10 Employees
 
Los Angeles Metro Area
CEO, Component Search International
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

The client has been very pleased with the software's performance and Bastion Rare's responsiveness to their needs as a startup company. They continue using an agile working methodology to assist the client with site updates and changes.

The client submitted this review online.

BACKGROUND

The client is a leading provider in the component sourcing market committed to becoming the industry standard for the procurement of components. With millions of components in our vendors' inventories and more than 300 million parts in our component database, the client is a one-stop shop for everything from procuring to researching parts. The client prides itself on offering the most user-friendly website in the industry, complete with the most advanced tools for engineers, managers, and procurement professionals alike. I'm the CEO of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

The client was established to provide the combined inventories, such as for pricing, availability, and datasheets for manufacturer part numbers, from 850-plus component suppliers and distributors worldwide, so users can locate part information easily and quickly. We saw a need to assist part researchers while saving them time and money by implementing a platform that people can locate parts from one place, and compare prices from different suppliers in one view to get the best pricing available.

Through our platform, users can also gain access to basic part information and datasheets to more than 430 million parts. The platform combines the main features from other basic sites, in order to provide you the most comprehensive part search platform in the industry.

SOLUTION

The platform was architected using a variety of technologies and libraries. Among the technologies are Apache Lucene, Apache Solr, MySQL, and MongoDB. It also included HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, PHP, and a few other supporting frameworks. The entire platform is custom developed and optimized to support a database consisting of more than 1 billion data records including high availability requirements and supporting metadata amounting to many terabytes of data.

Bastion Rare has significant expertise in the architecture and performance tuning of Big Data applications. This expertise has helped us develop the company to this day in becoming a world-class, reliable, and easy-to-use source for part search data. Bastion Rare was referred to our company by a previous Bastion Rare client that had a good experience working with Bastion Rare in the past.

The scope of work that Bastion Rare covered entailed system architecture, software engineering, and performance optimization of Big Data systems. The project with Bastion Rare started over two years ago and has continued ongoing to this day. The software is performing well, and we are constantly making updates and changes based on customer feedback. In this respect, we have adopted an agile working methodology in working with Bastion Rare on our platform, and this has worked very well for our team. We have a full in-house team of engineers that work with Bastion Rare's engineers on daily tasks. Our current model of engagement with them is based on a fixed monthly cost for full-time engineering assistance. This model allows us to contract or expand as needed on a month-to-month basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

We are a growing startup with ongoing development needs, and Bastion Rare has accommodated our company in many ways, even providing extensions on payment due dates. They have been very easy to work with, from the perspective of a growing startup organization.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

iPhone Mortgage Calculator Application

"As a result of great service, we have continued working with Bastion Rare to this day." 

See More

5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$50,000 to $199,999
 
2009 - Ongoing
Project summary: 

Bastion Rare assisted the client with a market opportunity assessment and development of an iPhone mobile application. They have been partnering with the client for over 5 years on various projects.

The Reviewer
 
11-50 Employees
 
San Diego Metro Area
CEO, Activus Corp.
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

The client has been pleased with the app's performance, and Bastion Rare has resolved any issues quickly and efficiently. Bastion Rare​ ​​​​​​is commended for their responsiveness and customer service.

The client submitted this review online.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are in the real estate industry focusing on home loans for new homebuyers and existing homeowners looking to refinance an existing loan. I'm the CEO of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bastion Rare?

We were looking for a way to continue engagement with existing customers and find ways to acquire new customers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We engaged Bastion Rare to collaborate in our assessment of market opportunities in the real estate industry and come up with ways to sustain our customer relationships. One of the opportunities we identified was to develop a mobile application for customers to perform mortgage calculations easily.

As most of our customers are iPhone users, we decided to start with building an iOS application. Within the application, we also provide real-time interest rates, which are managed by our company. The management of interest rates and other areas in the application additionally required the build-out of a web-based admin system for our team to log in and control.

The scope was to deliver customers with mortgage calculations in an iPhone app with speed, reliability, and simplicity. The requirement was to design a simple interface and straightforward layout, allowing users to manage mortgage finances quickly and easily. Users should also be able to see real-time mortgage rates from the leading banks to help make the calculations accurate.

The application features included a refinance calculator, which calculates mortgage payments based on different rates to see if refinancing is right for the customer; purchase calculator, which allows user to find out how much is needed to save for a dream home; term calculator, which allows users to pay a little more each month and calculate how much faster they can pay off a home loan; interest rate calculator, which calculates what a rate would have to be in order to get the savings a customer desires; and today's rates, which allows user to see current rates from the leading banks around the country.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working with Bastion Rare for more than five years now, and this was not the first project we worked on together. The scope of this project included strategy, research, design, development, deployment, and maintenance. Bastion Rare handled all areas. The project duration was three to four months.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The software has performed well, but there have been a few bugs here and there. However, Bastion Rare resolved everything as it was encountered.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Bastion Rare has never left us hanging and is very responsive, which is why our company has worked with them for more than five years. As a result of great service, we have continued working with them to this day.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

If someone else is looking to build a mortgage calculator application, we would recommend starting with a strategy surrounding the "whys" to do so. We recommend them strongly to others.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

Social Blogging Platform for Web and Mobile

"Bastion Rare... has since provided much more value through constant insights into making our platform better and more user-friendly."

See More

5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$200,000 to $999,999
 
2012 - Ongoing
Project summary: 

Bastion Rare created a custom content publishing platform that supports more than 1 million accounts and multiple languages. They continue to provide additional services, such as web development and more.

The Reviewer
 
1001-5000 Employees
 
Atlanta Metro Area
Former CTO, Network Marketing Firm
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

The product was delivered on time, within budget, and met all expectations. Bastion Rare uses an agile working methodology that allows the client to change with the industry. They also offer a variety of services for improvement and updates.

The client submitted this review online.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a high-performance leader in the network marketing industry, providing marketing, business, and life training content and materials through live events and our Web platform to individuals and organizations Worldwide.

I was the CTO of the company during our initial engagement with Bastion Rare.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bastion Rare?

Our web platform was based on the WordPress system in the beginning and experienced high growth, catapulting us to becoming a Top 100 Alexa Web destination. The purpose of our initial engagement with Bastion Rare was to develop a custom content publishing platform, to replace the stressed WordPress platform.

Our goal was to make it easier for our users to publish content while being more effective marketers in our organization.

The new platform needed to be developed to support an average of 400,000 users logging into the platform per day, with the total number of actual member accounts in the database being more than one million.

Of the 400,000 daily users, 25 percent will likely spend one and a half hours per day on the site, watching video primarily. These users will likely not spend more than one and a half hours on the site consistently, but they will be coming and going back and forth throughout a 24-hour period, thus spending a total of around one and a half hours in a day engaging with site content.

Also, 75 percent will likely spend 10 minutes per day on the site, viewing and publishing blog content in the news feed primarily. These users will likely not spend 10 minutes on the site, but they will be coming and going back and forth throughout a 24-hour period, thus spending a total of around 10 minutes in a day engaging with site functionality.

The platform also needed to support multiple languages and be integrated into a robust CDN [content delivery network] service.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The tools and technologies used to develop the final solution consisted of PHP5, HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, jQuery, MySQL, MongoDB, Linux, and Git.

How did you come to work with Bastion Rare?

They were selected to work on our project due to a positive referral from one of their previous clients. Our engagement with Bastion Rare is still ongoing to this day and we have engaged them for a number of different services including Web development, mobile development, creative services, UI/UX design, technology strategy, NoSQL, big data architecture, information architecture, application programming, project management, and staff augmentation.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Bastion Rare in 2012 and we are still engaged to this day in ongoing services, primarily software engineering, for our organization.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The application was delivered on time, on budget, and in accordance with our expectations. We have since embraced an agile working methodology with Bastion Rare to change with our industry in a more fluid manner.

Bastion Rare covered the agreed upon scope and has since provided much more value through constant insights into making our platform better and more user-friendly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a unique model that enables high-growth companies to embrace a full suite of services from one source, while still maintaining sight of a strategy that needs to be executed from beginning to end.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

Movie Deals Mobile Application for iOS and Android

"I definitely selected the right partner with Bastion Rare."

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5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$200,000 to $999,999
 
Mar. 2014 - Ongoing
Project summary: 

Bastion Rare built a mobile app on open source technology and was responsible for UI, UX, design, deployment, and maintenance. The cloud-based app operates with web, iOS, and Android platforms.

The Reviewer
 
51-200 Employees
 
New York Metro Area
CEO, Movie Ticket Seller
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

The client is extremely satisfied with the work delivered by Bastion Rare. They completed the project on time and within budget, satisfied all requirements, and has since implemented several UX updates and improvements.

The client submitted this review online.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company was established to provide moviegoers with discounted movie ticket offers and concession deals from local movie theaters and large theater chains. We provide a cloud-based solution for movie theaters to help them fill their empty seats through flash sales tactics that notify customers in realtime of movie theater specials.

We launched our beta cloud platform and iOS consumer application in September of 2014, and we’re expanding rapidly with the Android application on the way.

Our target market is North America, but we are also looking to expand into Latin America. I am the CEO of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bastion Rare?

We needed to find a quality app developer.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bastion Rare architected and developed the entire platform on custom developed open source technology and programming languages.

All mobile applications were custom developed on native iOS in Objective C and Android on Java. The Web platform was built using PHP5 and the Zend Framework.

The complete scope of the engagement was to perform strategy, UI, UX, visual design, development, deployment, and maintenance of the entire platform. Bastion Rare's team even joined me on meetings with movie theater executives to pitch the platform.

ow did you come to work with Bastion Rare?

We found out about Bastion Rare through a previous client they had worked with. They stood apart due to their responsiveness and attention to detail, not just to the project needs, but also toward innovation and thinking with my company not just like an outsourced chop shop. They have worked with us all along as if they were partners or owners in the company.

What is the status of this engagement?

The entire project was handled by Bastion Rare and we started our engagement in March of 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The software performed amazingly well and Bastion Rare made several updates and changes as they saw fit, to make the user experience better. I definitely selected the right partner with Bastion Rare. They delivered on time and on budget with everything they proposed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't have anything negative to say about Bastion Rare.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

Custom ERP / Workflow Management Platform

"Bastion Rare successfully developed and launched our wholesale ordering platform and other key supporting applications."

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5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$200,000 to $999,999
Project summary: 

Bastion Rare developed a product catalog website, a wholesale ordering platform, and an administration web portal. They used MySQL, HPH, and Ruby on Rails.

The Reviewer
 
1001-5000 Employees
 
Los Angeles Metro Area
GM, Worldwide Headwear Company
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

The client has been exceptionally pleased with the products. They have transitioned 50% of online sales orders in one year, reduced sales overhead, and reached a positive ROI in the first quarter after the launch.

The client submitted this review online.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We have been the leading worldwide manufacturer of quality headwear for more than 50 years, and the largest headwear wholesale supplier to embroiderers, screen printers, marketing specialty distributors, and other resellers in the United States. I am the general manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bastion Rare?

We engaged with them to develop custom software applications to increase operational efficiency and reduce overhead between our three primary distribution centers located in California, Texas, and Georgia.

 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We partnered with Bastion Rare to develop the company’s proprietary wholesale ordering platform. The Internet-based customer ordering system for the largest cap distributor in North America also needed to be re-architected to increase customer satisfaction, bolster online sales, and drive resale customers via phone and the Internet.

The custom user-facing systems established and developed by Bastion Rare to satisfy specific order processing and fulfillment initiatives consisted of product catalog website, which is a corporate website for resellers to create wholesale accounts, view product details, and get other information; wholesale ordering platform, which is a protected system for resellers to manage account options, process new orders, check shipping status, verify product stock and arrival, view open and closed orders, and process returns; and administration Web portal, which is a content management, product management, customer management system, database management, and management of other key wholesale ordering platform functions.

The technologies used included MySQL, PHP, and Ruby on Rails.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Bastion Rare successfully developed and launched our wholesale ordering platform and other key supporting applications. The custom platform has allowed our company to continue developing systems that fit our unique manufacturing and distribution needs, which had previously been difficult to improve due to third-party software constraints and limitations.

Today, we process millions of dollars in sales per month through the proprietary platform and continue to innovate and grow with Bastion Rare as our technology services provider.

We also accomplished the following through the help of Bastion Rare: transitioned 50% of sales orders to the web within one year; dramatically reduced sales overhead; and achieved a positive ROI on the technology investment within the first quarter of deployment.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer