Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, ReactNative experts
At Bit Zesty, our skilled team of developers, user experience designers and project managers are here to help with your digital products.
We will get to know you, your users and your code and will work closely with you to support your day to day operations and to help you grow.
With us as part of your team, you’ll have the peace of mind that you’ve got the right people when you need them.
WHAT WE DO
- Support and maintenance
- New feature development
- Development team augmentation
TECHNOLOGIES WE SUPPORT
- Ruby on Rails
- JavaScript
- React Native
- React + Vue.js
- Python
- Elixir
We have an extensive list of clients from various sectors, including the UK Government, Healthcare Providers, Charities, and Enterprises.
If you would like our help to develop your digital product or service, get in touch with Matt, Technical Director at Bit Zesty, via our website - www.bitzesty.com

headquarters
Focus
Portfolio
Oxford Medical Simulation, Trussell Trust (UK Foodbanks), Queen's Awards for Enterprise, HMRC

The Queen's Awards for Enterprise
CHALLENGE
The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy wanted to improve the online application process for Queen's Awards for Enterprise.
SOLUTION
Through in-depth research, we rebuilt the service. The improvements met stringent government standards and made it easier for thousands of organisations to apply for the awards.

Founders Pledge
CHALLENGE
Founders Pledge were working with a contractor to develop a new website, but the project was at risk of failing due to the lack of technical expertise.
SOLUTION
We came on board to rescue the project. Not only have we built a website that will scale with the organisation, but we also developed digital services that moved key transactions online.

SXT - Reducing the spread of STIs
CHALLENGE
Reduce the transmission of STIs by increasing the number of patients who notify their partners that they need to get tested.
SOLUTION
Working closely with doctors and other health professionals, we developed a new digital service for SXT. The platform lets patients discreetly notify their partners about a potential infection, and helps clinics to meet their KPIs.

Supporting Enterprise Nation
CHALLENGE
Enterprise Nation were looking for a digital agency to rescue an existing web development project and improve the user experience for its members.
SOLUTION
We conducted a code audit and made significant technical fixes to the site. Most importantly, we carried out thorough user research and made vital user experience improvements, delivering a website that better meets their business and member needs.

Oxford Medical Simulation (OMS)
CHALLENGE
Oxford Medical Simulation (OMS) wanted to provide their virtual reality simulation users with feedback so that they can improve their clinical skills.
SOLUTION
We created a web application and API that seamlessly integrates with the OMS virtual reality software. It allows users to see their scores and identify areas for improvement.

Supporting TrussellTrust Foodbanks
PROVIDING EMERGENCY FOOD TO TWO MILLION PEOPLE A YEAR
The Trussell Trust is a charity that coordinates the UK’s only nationwide network of foodbanks. In 2022 over two million people used Trussell Trust foodbanks.
Trussell Trust has more than 400 foodbanks and partners with over 28,000 care agencies, such as social services, job centres and schools.
Traditionally agencies would refer people to Trussell Trust by giving them a paper voucher, which can be exchanged at a foodbank for three days’ worth of food. Agencies would write a client's details on the voucher and this would later be manually entered into Trussell Trust’s system by a foodbank volunteer.
Trussell Trust wanted to enhance data on their clients in order to gather more detailed statistics and to support its campaigning activities as well as it’s More Than Food programme. Bit Zesty development team was already looking after Trussell Trust’s existing web application and we had a good working relationship with the charity, so they approached us for help.

HMRC Trade Tariff
Making HMRC’s import/export tool 3x faster and 10x cheaper to maintain
CHALLENGE
In 2012 HMRC needed to rebuild its vital Trade Tariff system to meet government digital standards and improve usability.
SOLUTION
In three months, we rebuilt the complex tool to help users easily find the information they need. We continued to support it, and it now delivers over 2,300,000 page views a month, meeting the government's digital standards.

Swiftkey Personalisation API
SwiftKey is a sophisticated keyboard app for mobile devices that was recently acquired by Microsoft for $250 million USD. It learns the style and content of each user’s writing so it can predict the next word or phrase they want to type.
The keyboard becomes more effective over time as it learns more about the user’s writing. It was here the SwiftKey team saw an opportunity for innovation. If they could analyse user’s existing text from other services as soon as they use the app, it could start making effective, personalised predictions immediately.
Although SwiftKey has a large in-house mobile development team, they felt our experience with API integration made us the right people to develop this product.

Mobile apps for long term health conditions
We developed a suite of mobile and web applications of real-life stories and advice about living with long-term health conditions to provide hope and support and boost people’s confidence in living life to the fullest.
We used React and ReactNative to deliver the project quickly on iOS, Android and the web.
Reviews
the project
Software Development for Heathcare Recruitment Agency
"They understand the pulse of the customer and do not hesitate to make recommendations."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I am an NHS doctor and NHS England's Clinical Entrepreneur and UCLPartners Innovation Fellow. I am the founder of a healthcare recruitment agency. We connect NHS Hospitals with doctors and nurses from overseas.
For what projects/services did your company hire Bit Zesty, and what were your goals?
NHS is under severe strain because of significant staff shortages. Brexit, Covid, Ageing population, and lack of Govt strategy have compounded the issue. We are a small team of doctors who started the idea of a digital recruitment platform for qualified professionals from overseas to the NHS. However, we are doctors and never built any software tools.
We sought bit Zesty help for this project. Bit Zesty team drew the plan and delivered the product to our specification in the right amount of time for the right cost. They gave the copyrights to us. They did everything by plan and to our expectations at a reasonable cost. They helped us with the initial website as well and logo selection.
How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?
I happened to meet the founder of Bit Zesty at an Entrepreneurs event and got impressed by his knowledge of the field. He was passionate and seemed like someone I could trust. Luckily, it worked out well as the Bit Zesty team delivered what we expected.
Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.
- We had a raw idea.
- Discussed this with Matt at Bit Zesty.
- Did a storyboard and initial plan layout.
- They delivered the product (platform) on ruby on rails in 6 months' time.
- We asked for the IP rights to be held by us and they agreed.
- Bit Zesty team continued to support the platform for any further needs of the platform.
- We continued to use their service for any enhancements in the platform functionality. 8. We intend to use their service for a similar platform built for nurses as well in the future.
How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?
Around 4 to 5. But, one or two at any given point in time.
Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?
The idea of the platform is to decrease the time taken to recruit an overseas staff from 4 months (average) to 6 weeks. Bit Zesty team built the product to our specifications and we continued to enhance it based on our feedback.
Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.
Timing - perfect. Always responsive. Tools - Trello
What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?
Personalised. Smart and quick. They understand the pulse of the customer and do not hesitate to make recommendations which I think are essential ( for someone like us who has no prior knowledge).
Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?
They are good. I do not think we could have done it differently.
the project
Site Maintenance for Human Rights Charity
"They didn't hesitate to challenge our thinking, deconstruct ideas, and propose solutions we may have overlooked."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I'm the Senior Digital Officer at a London-based charity. We advocate for better corporate respect for human rights.
For what projects/services did your company hire Bit Zesty, and what were your goals?
The existing support arrangement for one of the project websites we run had expired. We don't have any in-house IT or Dev capabilities, so we were looking for a reputable firm to take on the maintenance and support for the site, as well as complete a feature development sprint.
How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?
We carried out a Request for Information process, during which we sought details from 5 different vendors on their development process, past experience and pricing. We held a number of follow-up meetings, and selected BitZesty based on their competitive pricing and flexible approach to support options.
Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.
We had an onboarding meeting in which we set out our expectations for the relationship and priority areas of work. Trello was used to manage this work through the development process, with an initial focus on remedying some long-standing bugs.
The sprint work was more involved, and we held several scoping and design sessions where we collaboratively defined EPICs and user stories for the sprint, along with the associated blocks of technical work.
How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?
BitZesty were always keen to bring the relevant team members to the table. Our Project Manager served as the main point of contact, but over the course of our work with them we also engaged the CTO, Designers and multiple full stack developers as appropriate.
Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?
Working with BitZesty led to a marked improvement in our bug remediation process - issues which had gone unfixed for years were now being looked at. The sprint work delivered a very complex new piece of search functionality which enabled us to interrogate the data on the website in new ways, supporting our data analysis and report writing.
Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.
We had regular meetings with the project team, outside of which we kept in regular contact via email and Trello.
What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?
BitZesty really took the time to understand our needs and propose ways of working that fit with our organisation. They didn't hesitate to challenge our thinking, deconstruct ideas, and propose solutions we may have overlooked.
Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?
The complexity of what we sought to achieve in our sprint work did result in an agreed overrun on the sprint - BitZesty were great in bringing in extra skills when needed to overcome the challenges we were facing, at no extra cost to us, in order to get us to launch.
the project
App Development for Health & Safety Software Company
"For any urgent issues we were able to contact them quickly."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
Director/CTO Occupational Health and Safety Management software as a service provider for chemical and property industries
For what projects/services did your company hire Bit Zesty, and what were your goals?
Upgrade/rewrite of 2 existing applications, add new functionality and provide support for the existing applications until decommissioned.
How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?
Their agile approach to development made a big difference as we had many changing requirements from our customers which needed a flexible team to work with. Other vendors were less flexible in their approach.
Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.
Rewrite of 2 ruby on rails applications. Initially take over support of legacy applications and then create a development plan for upgrades to include new requirements as well as report generation, rest api and mobile application. Technologies used: Ruby on Rails Ruby, Python, Javascript, Java Couchdb Postgresql Elasticsearch SOLR DocX4J Linux/Freebsd Docker Vmware AWS
How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?
We worked closely with Biz Zesty for over 10 years and dealt with project managers and developers including regular catchups with their CTO and CEO.
Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?
Both legacy applications were fully supported during their rewriting and decommissioning even though Bit Zesty had not been the initial developers. We had made on boarding commitments to a number of customers by a certain date and Bit Zesty allowed us to deliver on our promises.
Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.
Email, slack, trello, assana, telephone calls, meetings. For any urgent issues we were able to contact them quickly.
What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?
Ability to quickly change focus in order to tackle any urgent issues or change of priority. Managment/CEO/CTO took time to understand our company and goals.
Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?
They could have pushed back more against our internal company thoughts on hosting. For example Bit Zesty encouraged us to use AWS rather than Vmware machines be we disagreed. As time has passed we now realise we should have followed their advice.
Bit Zesty has successfully built a functional tool as specified, and their work has significantly streamlined the client’s recruitment process. Their prompt and responsive approach and use of Trello foster an effective partnership. They are personable, innovative, and collaborative.