Bitnoise

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CTO of a small eduTech startup. We create a software to support teachers with supporting students who do need support.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

To bring our software to the next level in terms of design and modern best practices

SOLUTION

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

We found Bitnoise through a referral and were impressed by their flexibility and professionalism. All contact has been quickly established, the profiles of the offered developers and designers were a good match for our needs.

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

The main focus is designing and developing a portal for teachers to login and buy licenses for our main product. Another big part of the developers' work includes improving the existing application by restructuring components. The development is entirly in React/NextJS/TypeScript and the expertise brought in by the bitnoise developers is very high.

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

Our Bitnoise team consists of 2 frontend developers (one of them senior) and one designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Through their experitse they improve our existing software every day and all newly created features are build solidly with state-of-the-art best-practices.

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

We have a fixed communication partner on their side who regularly talked to their team members and checked with us if everything is going as planned. They joined our communication tools, so we can communicate seamlessly.

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

Their flexibility with which they meet our changing requirements on the management side impressed me. Also the eagerness of the senior developer to share his knowledge and give regular insights into architectural decisions.

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a partner at Huskøbet where we have developed a digital platform to ensure better conditions for private consumers wanting to buy or develop real etstate. We combine relevant content and counseling in insurance, finance, construction and law.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We have an ongoing project where Bitnoise is helping us with DevOps and general maintenance.

SOLUTION

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

We werer in the market looking for a partner and Bitoise had the skillset and a fair price.

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

We started off with a kick-off meeting and have a status meeting every week so we always are on point and proactive in understandig the next step, the specific task and technology at hand.

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

We have been working with 4-5 persons so far - but have the primary contact with our main developer which is very useful in our project since we prefer the directly contact and sparing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since we have outsourced our DevOps our IT architect is able to concentrate on strategy and optimizing our business.

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

We have an online status meeting weekly which ensures that all sides are aligned on the project and that we are able to be proactive and ensure that we meet our goals.

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

That Bitnoise is flexible with their hours. We have direct contact with the developers which ensures a smooth process.

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

So far we have been very impressed with Bitnoise on all levels.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of Kugu Home. We develop services and products for the real estate industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bitnoise?

We hired Bitnoise to develop our mobile application for tenants.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our internal team handled the designs for the user interface and app. We provided the visuals to Bitnoise and the developed it using React Native. The app is compatible with both iOS and Android devices. Their developers built it to control features within homes, including lights and heating. They also integrated a tool to show energy consumption. The project has been completed, but Bitnoise currently helps with minor optimizations and product updates.  

What is the team composition?

They provided one developer and a project manager. The main developer changed once during the project.

How did you come to work with Bitnoise?

We interviewed several companies that had expertise with React Native development. We liked how Bitnoise explained their approach and they gave us a straightforward plan. We were drawn to their competitive pricing and professional demeanor.

What is the status of this engagement?

The main development occurred between August–October 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Bitnoise made the project go smoothly—they provided quick iterations to complete the app on time. The engagement was beneficial to producing the quality work.

How did Bitnoise perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team worked within our GitLab environment and we communicated using Slack. They provided weekly reports on their progress and any roadblocks. Our interactions were effective and they executed the project well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their adaptability and open communication style made them a strong team to work with. We valued their ability to handle problems and provide helpful feedback.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would have been helpful to receive more budget updates from Bitnoise because we could have made more informed decisions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of engineering for a company that specializes in digital marketing training. We’re based in London and have offices in the U.S., Singapore, and Australia.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bitnoise?

We wanted to expand our team quickly and not have to deal with a long hiring process.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provide staff augmentation, so they’re not working on a specific product. We’re technology agnostic with our projects, which means that every solution is designed to meet a specific need correlated to specific business requirements. Bitnoise uses several technologies such as PHP, JavaScript, Amazon Web Services, etc.

What is the team composition?

There are four people on their team, but we’re planning on adding more people.

How did you come to work with Bitnoise?

I had worked with them for many years at various companies. I knew that they had the skills to help execute and deliver on our modernization effort.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2018 and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We see them as an extension of our team and I’m extremely satisfied with what they’ve delivered so far.

How did Bitnoise perform from a project management standpoint?

We mostly use Jira and Kanban for keeping track of timelines. They meet all deadlines. We also have design sessions where they create design documents for us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their founders are very approachable and available to respond to any needs or requirement changes on our end. They make the experience smooth and quickly adapt to any changes to our business priorities.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was one engineer that I had to tell to be proactive and reach out.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of a London-based software house that specializes in custom PHP solutions, including our in-house CMS.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bitnoise?

Our team size scales up and down based on the number of current projects. We have several long-term clients who have ongoing needs that we cater to. We had an influx of projects due in a short period of time, so the most optimal solution was to partner with a reliable software development team. We wanted to establish a long-term relationship with someone who could work with the same technologies, exhibit the same quality, and work towards the same goals.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

There was a larger proof of concept (POC) PHP-based platform built on E2 for one of our clients that included the content and our own CMS, which we introduced Bitnoise to. They have a team member who specializes in E2, so they were comfortable working with it.

We also had to make small and large updates to some of the existing websites we’d worked on in the past. We introduced them to the projects and gave them the requirements on behalf of the client. Once they delivered, we did our own QA and handed it over to said client. We try to maintain our PHP solutions. LAMP stack is something we specialize in and all of our clients are aware of that. Bitnoise delivers some of the backends for us that meet our standards.

What is the team composition?

There’s a team of experts who are all very professional.

How did you come to work with Bitnoise?

There’s a team of experts who are all very professional. It’s not easy to find a vendor who can deliver according to the standards we hold ourselves to. We first gave them a small task to observe at their coding capabilities. We were happy with the QA results on that, so we were sure we’d get along fine. We wanted to become one big team if possible. We haven’t had to look any further since we found Bitnoise.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between £10,000–£15,000 ($13,770–$20,655 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2016. The relationship is ongoing because we still have projects in the pipeline.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They are very insightful. They ask in-depth questions about projects and like to know the objectives and priorities. They deliver quality work through a seamless process. We are also very open to them when they have something they want to upgrade or suggest. There are areas they’ll add something to if we’re okay with it, which is very nice. We value that greatly.

How did Bitnoise perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re fine with any platform I want to use. We use Jira, but they also have their own internal tool, Phabricator, which I’m happy to use. They’ve added me as a user so I can add comments and write in tickets myself. We use Skype, email, phone, and make in-person visits. We’ve had no issues with communication and have met all the established deadlines. We’re really happy.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have weekly meetings and keep us informed. They have very dedicated resources. There have been some things which have required longer working hours, but they’ve worked it out themselves. They address issues promptly—either the same day or over the weekend—because they know that the matters are urgent. It’s really nice that they value their work as much as we do. They’ve done their best to deliver accordingly.

We have a unique relationship with them. If there’s something we need help with, I know I can contact Bitnoise and they’ll figure it out. They’re also open to different styles of collaboration.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They should hire more people. It’s sometimes tricky to schedule anything with them since they’re so busy. I’ve had some urgent projects that they haven’t been able to fit in. However, this isn’t their fault. Overall, I have nothing to complain about.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our organization focuses on radically disrupting and transitioning traditional, large brands in companies from a legacy of top-down management and old school IT development model into a more modern, digital innovator. Our clients are very traditional brands like Bank of America, JP Morgan, Comcast, Time Warner, and Delta Airlines. These types of companies are experiencing enormous disruption right now by digital native companies. They recognize that they’re going to have to reinvent themselves as organizations to develop the capability to innovate and move at the speed of agility that these companies represent. That’s the type of work our company does. We have a very provocative and unusual way to help companies make that transition much more quickly than traditional approaches. We’re also publishing books based on our experiments and research on applying social and evolutionary science techniques to organizational change. We have a book coming out next year. It will provide leaders of big companies with new insights into how to make change happen in large organizational systems, using approaches they have never heard of before. We are a white glove, boutique company. We typically work with 3–4 major corporations at any given time. I’m the CEO and founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bitnoise?

Thousands of companies desperately need our help. We needed a way to take our ideas and codify our techniques, approaches, and frameworks of the way that we engage organizations in this journey. We wanted a set of software tools that could amplify and assist in some way so that we don’t have to be everywhere working with thousands of companies.

We’ve developed a concept and design, and we’re in the early stages of building our first software project that will be released next year. It will be synergistic with some of the consulting work we’re doing. It’s not clear if it’s a standalone product that can be consumed without having a relationship with our company, or if it’s going to be blended in some way. It’s not just putting a credit card down, signing up for a fast product, and you go on your way. It’s a white glove experience where we’re onboarding you to a new way of facilitating collaboration in your company in a social, innovation-driven way, but it comes with a lot of high touch support and transition. That part is not so clear.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bitnoise is our partner helping us to build this MVP that we’re going to launch next year. It was really important to us that we work with a partner that had not just the technical skills that are relevant to very modern development stats and frameworks, but they also had the right mindset. Anytime you’re building an MVP product, by definition, you don’t know what the marketplace validation acceptance is going to look like until customers start interacting with the product.

The kind of software products that we are building is fundamentally one that involves person-to-person and person-to-community communication. Having a technology stack that’s built on the most advanced capabilities around real time updates and real time visibility for the interactions between people in a large ecosystem was very important to us. We needed to make sure if 100,000 worldwide employees are using a provoking piece of software, those 10s of 100s of valued interactions are visible to others. We need a very specific kind of technology stack to enable that. We believe strongly in the React ecosystem and in the thought leadership and contribution. Facebook is an aid to the React community. We’re very comfortable having made the decision that all of our frontend product development work is going to leverage React.

React was also important because we’re building a product where there’s not an established category. What we’re doing is very experimental in the sense that it’s not like we’re building a CRM system and there’s a 1,000 we can benchmark ourselves against. We’re pioneering a space for which there is no standard, and there is no dominant existing player. While our ideas aren’t experimental, the concept that someone would buy a product that codifies our ideas is. We don’t know how compelling it will be using this at scale across the companies. We needed a technology stack that would allow developers to elaborate, modify, and change features very quickly. React was valuable to us in that sense.

We came to Bitnoise with a suggestion to use React. We use a modern cloud-scale database like MongoDB, and what was interesting is they did their own research. We didn’t ask them to do this. One of the reasons why we like working with Bitnoise is they’re very mindful that we’re trying to build a successful commercial product. Once they learned about our vision and our core product feature set and the kinds of users and interactions that would occur, they came back to us with keen insight. They said we didn’t only need real time frontend capability and React makes sense, but that our backend also has special requirements. They strongly recommended that they use a backend that isn’t Mongo, but is built on Mongo-like capabilities. It’s called ArangoDB, which is a very hyperscale cloud database backend. What makes it unique is that it can accommodate both traditional, relational data storage and relationships, but it also natively supports object and network base relationships; meaning many-to-many. Many-to-many data relationships are very complicated to do unless you’re using an object database. In a social network like Facebook or a social network inside of a large company, you have many-to-many relationships. If you’re not using an object database, it’s very complex, if not difficult. Bitnoise knew we needed a backend that would support us natively so they could focus on rapid feature development and not get mired in the complexities of building at a backend infrastructure. That was a positive that they brought to us in terms of insight and recommendations that has become part of the core stack that we’re using to build the product.

What is the team composition?

There were 2.5 resources. When you have highly-skilled developers and modern web product developers and you give them the freedom to work with the very best tools, it’s extraordinary how much they can build and how fast.

How did you come to work with Bitnoise?

I wrote a project brief and put it out on one of the freelance websites looking for a partner. They responded along with 100 other companies. Bitnoise’s pitch was, “Looks like you’re trying to bootstrap a product into the marketplace. Our company is a modest, boutique, high-end product development organization that likes to partner with startups. We think we have some of the best people, and we’d like to talk to you.” That’s how I was introduced.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December of last year and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The prototype that they built so far is a very polished, modern web experience. It’s impressive enough that it is suitable for customer demos, of which we have done a few.

Because we work in a very web-centric way, literally every couple of days, they’re pushing new features or changes to that prototype. We’re experts in Agile product development. For us, it’s a natural way to iterate and provide feedback and not wait for long cycles before we see them push new capabilities into the product. The cycle time on changes happens very quickly. Being able to interact with the working prototype is very fast. That’s been very effective for us.

How did Bitnoise perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re an Agile thought leader company. We work with backlogs and daily huddles. We have dedicated Slack communications. We have GitHub linked up to Slack in order to know when people are doing builds. We use Pivotal Tracker for backlog management and stories. We use Sketch to iterate through wireframes and designs. The most important and impactful collaboration tools we use are our daily stand-ups and Slack. If there’s a new design or a wireframe, it’s a link in Slack to a wireframe on Sketch. If it’s a daily standup, we might look at that in real time or we may go to the working prototype. We’ll walk through it and observe the new feature behavior and have a conversation about it. For us, that’s how you build products.

What did you find most impressive about them?

As a startup self-funding the product development, one of our goals was to find not the least expensive development partner, but one we could afford that was very high quality. That’s what Bitnoise is for us. It’s difficult to find that combination. They’re affordable and very high quality. Anybody with unlimited money can find brilliant people. Anybody can find lots of people at low cost, but they don’t get high-level skill and experience. Bitnoise is that perfect blend of reasonable pricing and really good people.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m sure there are areas for improvement, but because we’ve not been able to push them fast enough and strain them, we’ve not been able to see where improvement is needed.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re culturally tuned in to deeply understanding the motivation for the product. They’re highly collaborative.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and designer of The Awesome Agency. We’re a design studio.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bitnoise?

Our in-house developers left. We tried a few developers, but they didn’t have the knowledge. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve done various web projects with them. The first project was an in-house web platform for small to medium businesses that would like a website. Instead of us creating a new website each time, we would have our own website builder. It was an off-the-shelf system ready for a small to medium businesses. It was quite a big project.

The next project was helping build websites for various different clients ranging from small businesses to government and councils. They used Laveral, Symfony, PHP, and CSS. 

What is the team composition? 

There were 1–4 people on the team.

How did you come to work with Bitnoise?

They contacted us through a general email and looked professional. We did our due diligence. We contacted their references and then started off with our own in-house project, as opposed to letting them do a client’s project. That way, if it went wrong, it wouldn’t let another client down. They turned out to be superb and our relationship 4 years down the line.

How much have you invested with them?

£10,000 [$13,320]. We are meeting with another client soon, which could bring the total £25,000 [$33,300].

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2013 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They do professional development work. They're very knowledgeable and I feel in safe hands. There are a lot of developers, who bring a lot of expertise and knowledge together as a collaborative company. Our main benefit is that we can provide our clients with web development that we know will be modern and will work. 

How did Bitnoise perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Trello, Skype, and email. We communicate on a regular basis. There are no issues with communication and deadlines are met. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their knowledge of functionality was impressive. For example, if our clients think they want X, Y, and Z, Bitnoise won’t just do that if they think something can be done better. They’ll use their expertise and knowledge of development and technologies and put that forward. I like their input. They go into depth with the functionality and how it’s going to work. 

I’m going over to their company in a few days with a client to go through a quite large project. We had initial talks over Skype, but we need to further understand the project together as designers and developers and clients. They’re like an extension of our company rather than being someone outside doing development. They’re a crucial part of the company and part of the team and are really nice people too.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’ve had no issues. It’d be cool if they were based in the same office.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My business is called Diffusion Digital. We are a web production studio based in London, and we design and develop websites across a range of industries, including education, finance, property, and a lot of e-commerce in the fashion retail sector. I'm the managing director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bitnoise?

We wanted to make a recruitment platform that connects fashion brands with creative freelancers. The complexity is in building a system that allows brands and freelancers to register, create, and build profiles. They can build profiles as they gain more experience or win more projects. Brands could post projects on the platform, and freelancers could find relevant projects and apply for them. There's a lot of communication throughout the project between both parties until it's completed. There's a lot of processes involved, and it's a big technical and user experience challenge.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The main build of the site was a custom-built platform that they put together. Bitnoise used WordPress for the CMS.

What is the team dynamic?

I had direct interaction with 2 main developers, as well as a project manager. There were also people on their team helping in the background.

How did you come to work with Bitnoise?

I worked for another company that had used them previously for a platform based on the same logic, so I reached out to them.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent £10,000–£15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with them since April 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The founder has been really happy with the results. At the moment, it's in its feature phase. They're testing the platform with a select number of freelancers and brands. It's a work in progress, but the main site is there, it's public, and anyone could go into it. They haven't done a full marketing campaign around it yet because it's still in the early stages. The client has passed on good feedback that he's received.

How did Bitnoise perform from a project management standpoint?

It was all very good. Bitnoise is based in Poland, and we're in the UK, so communication is the most important factor. We made that very clear at the start, and we made sure that there were processes in place to effectively manage the project. They adapted their processes to meet those needs. We had a good relationship.

Bitnoise is responsive, and they let us know if they've seen our email or request. They tell us that they're looking into it and give us a time frame. It's very helpful to know that someone has seen it at the other end. We've used chat systems like Skype and Slack, and they had a task management system in place called Fabricator which we adapted our processes to use and used throughout. On the whole, I'm very happy with the communication and project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The platform was quite a complex build. The initial function document that we gave them was quite different from the final document because the client came in with extra features or requirements that he hadn't considered at the start. It could've been frustrating from their point of view to have to backtrack, amend, and rebuild these new requests that came throughout the project. I was impressed with their patience and attitude about that happening because it was an oversight from the client. They continued working on it and were happy to take on the additional requests, even though sometimes it meant that some work had to be redone. Working in that regard was easy. On the whole, their quality of work was really good.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and creative director of Digital Product Studio. We research, design, and build apps, games, and platforms.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bitnoise?

I needed a team to help with my startups.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I’ve been working with them since 2011 on over 20 projects by now. These projects range from chat apps to collaboration platforms and games. The most recent startup they’re helping with is hookooekoo.co.

We've worked with many developers on their team and the typical stack we use is Node.js and React, but we've also used Angular, MooTools, PHP, and much more.

How did you come to work with Bitnoise?

We went through many companies back in 2011 and eventually stayed with them because they proved to be the most reliable. They've been very good ever since.

How much have you invested with them?

We've done micro-projects for $500 and big client work for over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in 2011 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Most of our projects are still running. Some even reached $10,000,000 valuation.

How did Bitnoise perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very friendly and quick to respond.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're very professional but extremely friendly and approachable—a rare combination.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They tend to underestimate the amount of time a project will take so we always add 15% to the timeline.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the managing director of Roll Studio, a UK-based digital company that develops websites, mobile apps, and a number of digital products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bitnoise?

We were moving from the Italian culture to the UK environment, which was very different in terms of structure, thinking, and expectations. Bitnoise worked on our Mix the City project, a web app which allows users to create their videos using their own music combined with fun clips and publish them on YouTube.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bitnoise helped us build the frontend of our Mix the City app using AngularJS. We’ve since translated everything to ReactJS.

What is the team dynamic? 

There were two developers assigned to the project.

How did you come to work with Bitnoise?

We came across them after one of their members contacted us by email, offering their services. We visited Bitnoise’s website and saw that they were working with someone we knew. We contacted that party, and they recommended the company, saying that they were valuable, good developers, and so on. We tried working with Bitnoise and found they were very good.

How much have you invested with them?

Their daily rate was £350 [$470]. We’ve worked on several projects with Bitnoise, so I can’t provide a total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Bitnoise in 2014. In total, we’ve worked together for seven months across the last two years.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our clients were always happy with the quality they delivered. They are good, reliable developers, and I would recommend them.

How did Bitnoise perform from a project management standpoint?

We managed their team, so Bitnoise became a part of our internal team, just working remotely. We tracked the time spent on projects and received reports whenever we asked for them (usually on a weekly basis), in order to double-check the time-tracker. The communication was good. We worked through Slack, Skype, and Trello. We used multiple tools for managing deadlines, milestones, and bugs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think so. Bitnoise followed our specifications and executed what we asked them to do.