BigStep Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CTO and Founder of First Fruits Media, LLC - we created a new social network platform that SocialApps.Tech (BigStep Tech) supports and helps me maintain. They also created the base mobile apps and website.

For what projects/services did your company hire BigStep Technologies Pvt. Ltd.?

We hired them to take over and support and maintain our new social network platform - which uses SocialEngine as the core and then they have nicely created mobile iOS and Android apps that integrate with it - along with their own set of great plugins.

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

I was using a previous 3rd party vendor to help support and maintain and create custom solutions - but that didn't work out and I was able to nicely transition (with BigSteps help) to them being able to support me and provide custom services. I saw they were a recommend plug-in / support partner for SocialEngine and I asked them a bunch of sales questions and was very satisfied with their response and communication. They did a great job.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We are creating an website and mobiles app using SocialEngine tools in the background. The scope of work included social media features (i.e. notifications, signup, invite-only, paid subscriptions.). BigSteps helped with the configuration and also with some custom code I needed created.

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

We had an account manager and also some leads they helped with managing the tickets and communication.

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

We are still in development so we ALL are working hard collectively to reach launch which should be this fall.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Their ticket system is great and they are very quick to respond to new tickets and keeping me in the communication loop with progress of other tickets.

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

They are very open to discussion about features they will add versus custom code I need. They were also very help in providing me the updates to the source code in my Github and keeping that in Sync. I feel if I open up a ticket the night before or early morning, I will quickly get a response on that day.

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

The only thing I might say is that I wanted to launch sooner and was blocked by some things that need to get done with subscriptions, and also some details that maybe was not thoroughly tested / QA'd before marking done. Once these missed issues with documented in a ticket - they were responded to an address. It would be nice if things were more thoroughly tested (and regression tested) before marking something complete.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Movehike is a mobile application moving and affordable rentals company. My position with the organization is CEO.

For what projects/services did your company hire BigStep Technologies Pvt. Ltd., and what were your goals?

Big Step Technologies was hired for its expert software developer knowledge, customization and strategic design. Our company requires advances in iOs and Android mobile technology, based on a set of preferences, parameters and algorithms, utilizing some artificial intelligence (AI) and certain other advanced analytics. Ultimately, the goal here was to connect our millennial members to affordable rental spaces, rental assistance waivers, room-mates to share rental expenses and affordable moving contractors.

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

Big Step Technologies were referred to us by our information technology team, along with a couple other technology experts. We selected the company after reviewing some case studies.

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

The strategy here primarily was to develop a Scope of Work (SOW) Design document, basically a blueprint layout of our groundbreaking technology. Big Step Developers worked closely with our design team to follow a strategic plan during all phases of development. We required testing in the Sandbox and Beta environments. Ultimately, the deliverables here were iOs and Android mobile apps---to level the barrier to securing affordable rentals for young adults. Connect our millennial members to rental assistance waivers, roommates, on-demand movers, and provide other supportive services necessary to maintaining their stable housing.

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

The team was composed of a group of software engineers, developers, project development consultants.

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

The project has had an enormously positive impact on our business to the extent that creativity and ingenuity evolved into higher camaraderie amongst team members. The innovation led to the design of a spin-off application / product / service. We will soon capture and measure certain analytics.

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

Project management was organized in a methodical approach, whereby a project development consultant worked closely with our team to develop the SOW design document. Much of our communications were conducted virtually through video chat technology, email, phone calls, which proved to be a much-needed convenience for our super busy execs.

Furthermore, we needed to adapt to different time-zones with Delhi and the U. S. having a 10.5 hour time difference. So, while we were at rest, Big Step Devs / Consultants were working on project customizations / configurations. We were able to review their work and advise on same while they were at rest. This created a seamless flow of things. Of course, we spent a lot of time in real-time video chats.

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

Their most impressive aspect was their ability to tap into entrepreneurial innovation and bring ideas into reality. To effectively reduce someone’s imagination into tangible practice through software design and development is beyond impressive.

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

All great companies became greater through process improvement. Therefore, an area of improvement for Big Step Technologies would be to make its Payoner payment system more user-friendly. We have needed to contact Big Step about Payoner not processing our payments for their project consulting services invoices.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the owner of BuyHawaii. I also have several intellectual properties, patents, and trademarks. 

What challenge were you trying to address with BigStep Technologies Pvt. Ltd.?

I needed a company to make modifications to my code — I'm a programmer and gave BigStep Technologies access to my development work. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

BigStep Technologies has helped create a social environment for me that runs like larger social media platforms. My company has created BuyHawaii.com, and BigStep Technologies provides technical knowledge to guide me through tricky situations in the code. Their team writes modules that exist on top of my social media platform. 

What is the team composition?

I'm currently working with one teammate from BigStep Technologies, but throughout the years, I've worked with 8–9 of their team members. 

How did you come to work with BigStep Technologies Pvt. Ltd.?

I found BigStep Technologies through an online search. 

How much have you invested with them?

I've invested around $10,000–$15,000 with BigStep Technologies. 

What is the status of this engagement?

My ongoing engagement with BigStep Technologies began around January 2003.

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

BigStep Technologies is quick to fix bugs — they ensure the site continues to look great. Everything they deliver looks great to me. 

How did BigStep Technologies Pvt. Ltd. perform from a project management standpoint?

Whenever I have a problem, I fill out the questionnaire they provide. Then, BigStep Technologies' team goes in and fixes the issues within 2–3 days. If they don't understand something, they'll follow up with me to get more clarity. Outside of that, they don't do any project management. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

BigStep Technologies has the best modules out there in regards to social engine platforms. Their team, which is located in both the US and India, is one of the best. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

BigStep Technologies is great all around — it's easy to submit tickets, and they always respond. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product manager of Bizabbo, an event management software company.

What challenge were you trying to address with BigStep Technologies Pvt. Ltd.?

We needed help in developing a simple video conferencing solution that has added features relevant to virtual events. We were looking for a partner that had experience building video solutions to help us develop a proof of concept.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided BIG STEP with a detailed RFP. They bid and got hired, and they created a project plan. They executed once everything was finalized. 

BIG STEP worked closely with our development team — we worked on the back end, and they focused on the front end. We reviewed the app’s design and code together to ensure optimal work quality. We worked with them as an extension of our development team. 

BIG STEP has already finished their part of the project, but the app’s development is ongoing.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager, a QA specialist, and two developers. 

How did you come to work with BigStep Technologies Pvt. Ltd.?

We were introduced to BIG STEP by another company we worked with. We did due diligence by talking with their customers, reviewing their code, and asking them to do a small project as a test. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement lasted from June–September 2021.  

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

BIG STEP provided good quality work. They were very flexible in dealing with our requirement changes and project development issues such as last-minute modifications, API issues, and logic changes. They were very accommodating, and they were focused on getting the project done correctly. I only have good things to say about BIG STEP.  

How did BigStep Technologies Pvt. Ltd. perform from a project management standpoint?

BIG STEP was excellent at project management. Their project manager was a seasoned and experienced professional who understood our problems. They went deep to address our issues and solve them. Additionally, they made sure that we didn’t have any language barriers. 

We had daily stand-up meetings with their team; we communicated through Slack. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

BIG STEP’s ability to absorb and accommodate changes on the fly was impressive. They came up with exceptional solutions — I can only praise their work. Their developers could understand our problems and assist us with our requests.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. BIG STEP did an excellent job. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be prepared before starting to work with them because they’ll be eager to start the project. That said, they will be accommodating if you need more time. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

Founder and CEO of  an online Lifestyle Networking community where everything a person would need from an online presence is housed on one platform.

For what projects/services did your company hire BigStep Technologies Pvt. Ltd.?

We utilise the vast knowledge and expertise offered by BigStep Technologies Pvt to help create a rhobust platform with unique functionality to facilitate the needs of our members and keep up with ever changing market trends.

What were your goals for this project?

To offer our members a platform that can be shared with others or used privately for their own benefit. A platform that is intuative as well as secure.

How did you select this vendor?

Careful consideration was given before choosing BigStep Technologies Pvt. Only after some trial work did we come to realise their potential as well as importance.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Working with BigStep Technologies Pvt. Ltd has allowed us to design and develope a custom platform tailored to the needs of many. Extensive use various program languages together with AWS servers configured for Elastic Load Balancing.

What was the team composition?

After combining multiple developers during the companies early days we soon came to understand the best and most practical way forward was to keep BigStep Technologies Pvt. Ltd as our primary developer.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Many fallbacks concerning social sites are the lack of transparancy towards privacy and security. We have developed our platform with the help of BigStep Technologies vaste knowledge to ensure transparency and security remains at the forefront.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management can as with all complex projects be somewhat overbareing, but our mutual interest has made our working relationship grow in a positive manner. Communications are good even if a little slow at times which is to be expected.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their level of customer support is second to none. While some things take time to resolve, I can rely on their team to respond in a professional manner.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Every company has room to develope and improve, I strongly believe they are always striving to move forward in a positive manner. The time difference does at times present issues but not ones that cant be overcome.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm president of a software company that does its own product development as well as providing consulting services.

For what projects/services did your company hire BigStep Technologies Pvt. Ltd.?

I was brought in to manage BigStep on an existing website they had been working on and help move the site from a VPS server to dedicated AWS instances with RDS on the database side and S3 on the storage side.

What were your goals for this project?

A seamless transition from the current solution to the new solution, with increased speed and improved development practices.

How did you select this vendor?

They had been the developers on the website for a few years and offered good synergy with the developers and website owners.

Describe the project in detail.

Existing development processes were inconsistent and undisciplined. We needed to both improve the dev procedures and create an infrastructure to support the new way of working. The new BigStep team needed to help improve the GItHub setup, use Amazone pipelines for CI/CD, and design the processes for automated deployment to the new AWS servers on every check-in.

What was the team composition?

We hired a new full-time developer at BigStep and brought on their DevOps team to manage the AWS side of things.

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

The team at BigStep responded well to our requests and requirements. They brought multiple candidates for interview and heard feedback on what we were looking for, and ended up getting us a great team in place to execute on our strategy. We ended up achieving our goals and now have a much better infrastructure and set of development procedures, backed up by our CI/CD process.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Great. They were responsive to messages and listened well to direction.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They have a strong team in place and were able to work together seamlessly at a time when COVID-19 forced them to all work from home. It spoke well of the strong relationships they had with each other internally.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Coordinating meeting times could be challenging.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Founder of an educational networking company based in Nigeria. We basically provide a platform where students and scholars can connect to share innovative ideas and promote scholarship and research.

For what projects/services did your company hire BigStep Technologies Pvt. Ltd.?

They developed the mobile apps of our platform and often carried out many custom work services on both the apps and the website, and they did that with all professionalism and excellence.

What were your goals for this project?

Since we already had the website developed, we wanted a mobile app to make usability easy for our members, and we had the opportunity of hiring one of the best tech company in the field.

How did you select this vendor?

It wasn't difficult selecting them to work on our app development. They are already at the top of app development for social software. So, we simply picked them without any hesitation.

Describe the project in detail.

Once we decided they were going to do the project, we requested for a demo, which was already available, and a quotation. After a brief negotiation, we signed and commenced the project, and everything went smoothly.

What was the team composition?

From day one, we were assigned a team of app development and a web development team. They worked together closely to ensure all our specifications are met.

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

The project started immediately after the signing of agreement. Withing three weeks to one month, we received a test apk. After a few adjustments and customization, our apps were uploaded on Play Store and Apple Store.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Workflow was highly smooth and effective. We experienced one of the best and responsive technical team and customer relations.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They had a great team of experts that was always eager to understand what client wanted and give him or her their best. They are an amazing team!

Are there any areas for improvement?

Overall, their work has always been satisfactory. Nevertheless, due to traffic of work sometime, one needs to send reminder, and once that is received, they are usually prompt in their response.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a startup incubator doing both internal projects and external projects. Businesses we incorporate or help have to have an online focus and can be both B2B or B2C.

For what projects/services did your company hire BigStep Technologies Pvt. Ltd.?

We have used BigStep Technologies since 2015 to develop websites. The markets we have developed web sites for is anging from health tech websites, to interior design website to closed communities. No matter the challenge BigStep has perfectly solved each one of them.

What were your goals for this project?

Since we are working with startup projects it has been most important to build with flexibility as the foundation. Customer demands might change and so being able to change according to these needs has been crucial to our success. BigStep has proven a valuable partner in order to accomplish this.

How did you select this vendor?

We used online directory services to find and compare vendors and considered 3 companies. We started out with small tasks for each one, and quickly saw that BigStep differentiated themselves in speed, quality of the work and easy communication.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We have used BigStep for several projects. Two of the projects that are currently live is a diabetes platform and a closed community for a Norwegian airline. BigStep has provided the underlying technical platform for both websites as well as the ongoing bug-fixing and development.

What was the team composition?

The team size has changed over time over the years depending on tasks needed to be fixed.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

We would not have been able to deliver our project to the Norwegian airline´s pilot association within the limited time and budget we had if it had not been for BigStep. Today this client is daily using their website for all communication internally and is adding new features expanding the use of the platform.

The same goes for the diabetes site. Using BigStep we have been able to create a full functioning lifestyle platform making it easier for people with diabetes to find and apply healthy lifestyle changes.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We have used BigStep´s own ticketing service for our tasks, and it has worked perfectly. Language has not been an issue and all communication has been done in English.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

BigStep is unique in how they understand our unique customer needs and develop solutions that solve them perfectly. Since these needs often change in the early phases we are operating in, it has been a important that our technology can change with these changes and this is where BigStep is different than most. We have yet to run into a problem that cannot easily be fixed as their underlying approach to development allows for flexibility.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None that I can think of now.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Costa Women, the largest women’s network in Spain.

What challenge were you trying to address with BigStep Technologies Pvt. Ltd.?

I wanted a community website for my members. My previous website became very unreliable.

What was the scope of their involvement?

My site is a social and business networking site with 9,000 members, which aims to connect women living in Spain or who are thinking of moving to Spain. Using one of their plugins, BigStep Technologies helped me build the site. 

Since we’ve been working together, we’ve updated it twice. That process has been a bit complicated because the community is quite large. We had to make sure that they would be able to host that data and organize it correctly. The team managed that process for me, and they’ve been keeping the site updated as they’ve released new modules. 

They also use their own in-house designs. 

How did you come to work with BigStep Technologies Pvt. Ltd.?

They seemed perfect for what I wanted to achieve.

How much have you invested with them?

We initially spent $800, and we pay a monthly support fee.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2016 and the work is ongoing.

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

We receive very positive comments from users. The functionality of their design and layout met my needs. BigStep Technologies is always coming up with new ideas for my business, like creating an app, which I want to do in the future.

Occasionally, when we have a new upgrade, they’re quick to respond if there are any issues. I get excellent support.

How did BigStep Technologies Pvt. Ltd. perform from a project management standpoint?

If I have a problem, they are very quick to react — I can contact their support desk and they immediately work it out. They don’t mind that I don’t speak in IT terms. They have a support platform and communicate via email as well. They work around my schedule.

What did you find most impressive about them?

BigStep Technologies has provided me fantastic support. They’re very reactive to my needs even if it’s something very simple. They also come up with new ideas.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m very satisfied with who they are and what they offer.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They have different types of designs. Make sure there’s one that fits you.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of 1source.ph. We are working to provide an ELITE social network for the people in the Philippines. I make all the decisions to creating ideas and build this new web and e-commerce project.

For what projects/services did your company hire BigStep Technologies Pvt. Ltd., and what were your goals?

Our website was created in 2018 and has become outdated. Since we don't have the in-house developers to invest in a new website, I hired the BIGSTEP team to design develop and upgrade my current site for us. I learned that BIGSTEP TECHNOLOGIES has all the right services, products, and people to do the job for me the right way.

BigStep Technologies has been a lifesaver for me with all the great advice, recommendations, and services that they have done for me so far. With BigStep Technologies and their experience team, I feel that my new website business will be finished by the end of 2021. I look forward to communicating with their team always.

How did you select BigStep Technologies Pvt. Ltd. and what were the deciding factors?

I searched online using google. I reviewed the BigStep Technologies website and saw they had all the right services that I needed and more. Very well laid out and easy to read and understand.

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

We kicked off the one-on-one meeting using Skype. I put together my ideas into a two-page report. We talked about my project ideas and concerns. BigStep was very knowledgeable of the needed services and their team helped me make it happen. BigStep Technologies upgraded my website and modules and created a staging site for me.

They always seem to have the right people to do the job right for me. I was amazed. BigStep Technologies has technology experience in a programming language ( PHP, Javascript, Shell, CSS ) Frameworks: (React.js, PHP/Laravel, Node.js, Zend Framework, and more) Also BigStep has Mobile technology experience: ANDROID, IOS, PWA, and AMP Other platforms: SoialEngine, Magento, WordPress, AWS Cloud I will be using BigStep to further grow my business needs.

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

Raghav B - Sales service specialist. Mehak Tangnoo - project supervisor Ruti- support services Abhishek- support services

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

My Project is still ongoing as of today. They were able to upgrade my website successfully. I am looking forward to working with the BigStep Technologies team and other support members with more projects in the near future.

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

I had daily email communications and Skype meetings with the project supervisor, and support service specialist. We used Skype as the main tool. It's nice and simple and I get quick answers and updates on my project.

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

They give me a quick turnaround time. I was always impressed by their kindness. They took the time to work on my projects and always communicated with me if there was a problem, to get my advice.

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

I do seem to have problems with the modules/plugins but they do fix the problem right away. In time, I feel that I will have a project that is bug-free with the help of the Bigstep technologies project team.