Blackridge Software

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the head of online business development for a leading online retailer of pharmaceutical-grade nicotine products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Blackridge Software?

We were previously working with multiple freelancers to develop our Magento 2 site but faced several deployment issues. As a result, we contracted Blackridge Software to resolve those problems. We've since expanded their role into other developments.

What were your goals for this project?

Our primary objective was to solve the Magento 2 issues and get our site up to a satisfactory level.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We came across Blackridge Software while searching for a reliable team online.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

The initial scope of the project was just to solve issues with our site build. Within 24 hours, their head developer diagnosed the site, solved the main issues, and integrated payment gateways. Naturally, we felt confident in their abilities and allocated more work to the team. They’ve worked on everything from doing graphic design to developing an entire checkout process from scratch. Blackridge Software now manages the site and server by themselves.

What was the team composition?

Our account manager serves as our main point of contact. He’s able to quickly understand our goals and relay this information to the head developer and relevant resources. They’re then able to bring our goals to life.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We attribute our 27% month-over-month growth to Blackridge Software’s ongoing work. They’re a highly competent, skilled group of people who are responsible for our continued growth and dominance in the industry. I particularly appreciate how they’re able to understand our needs and deliver results.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Per their suggestion, we manage the project using Trello. We’d never used the tool before but found it to be an intuitive, easy-to-use system. It allows us to schedule work and see progress updates for ongoing tasks.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Because the team has an amazing understanding of Magento and PHP, they're able to implement our ideas in a cost-efficient manner and proactively make suggestions based on our requirements. They provide insights into effective ways to implement features, and I value how they strive to increase conversion rates through UX improvements.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

No, nothing comes to mind. This is the first time we’ve felt content with a development team, and we look forward to our continued relationship. They’re now an integral part of our team; it’s as though they were our own in-house developers.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CEO of a business-to-government (B2G) consulting company that specializes in the infrastructure and transport industries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Blackridge Software?

We wanted to create a custom tool to help us collect crucial road traffic data from mobile phones across the country. The application needed to be user-friendly and bug-free.

What were your goals for this project?

Making a user-friendly application that would eliminate 90% of the grunt work and give us reliable results.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We posted the job on Upwork and sifted through the responses until we were left with a few potential candidates. Blackridge Software proved to be the most well-suited vendor for us.

Describe the project in detail.

We provided Blackridge Software with a list of requirements and some wireframes. From there, their team developed the entire mobile app, including the UX/UI elements, and integrated it with our APIs. They used React Native as the platform because it supported both iOS and Android, but ultimately, we only deployed the system on Android devices. The app collects traffic data from users via their mobile phone and seamlessly transfers those numbers onto our servers. During the implementation phases, we ran into some technical issues, but Blackridge Software always did their best to accommodate our requests and needs.

What was the team composition?

Blackridge Software assigned a project manager and one developer who worked full time on our project. We mostly spoke with the project manager, but occasionally another person would join the discussion.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Blackridge Software finished the app within a short period of time. While most of the bugs have been eliminated, the app still occasionally crashes. We’re working to identify the cause, but it’s pretty complex. Despite these minor glitches, the app functions as we hoped it would. The final result of our partnership with Blackridge Software has already generated some interest from our partners, which can lead to further development opportunities.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We seamlessly communicated from the beginning to the end of the engagement. We spoke mainly through a group chat to discuss the project and provide immediate updates. Blackridge Software was accommodating and it was clear they were invested in the final product’s success.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their willingness to go the extra mile sets them apart from other vendors I’ve worked with in the past. Even though this was a fixed-price project, they still generously made changes or modifications.

Are there any areas for improvement?

If I were to work with them again, I would set up a shared repository for code that could perform continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/DC), which would eliminate the need for communication when we needed a new build.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the founder and owner of netpadrino, a digital marketing agency that also has e-commerce capabilities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Blackridge Software?

We needed someone to handle urgent, critical updates to our server and in Magento.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to fix these critical issues reliably and efficiently. Any mistake could’ve threatened our client's online presence.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They applied to an online job posting we’d place. We decided to give them a go after messaging back and forth and doing a background check.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

Before they started, they did a detailed analysis of why issues were appearing on our client's site. Having found the causes, they also looked for other potential sources and then went on to fixing the problem. They had to update our server and Magento software and create a new SSL certificate, which they did using a staging environment.

What was the team composition?

We worked with one of the agency’s dedicated Magento and server administration experts.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

All of the errors were fixed professionally, within a timely manner, which lead to our client being satisfied and not losing any revenue.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

There was direct communication between the agency's Magento expert and myself. There were no problems whatsoever because of a language barrier. The expert also dedicated time to the issue, despite it being late on a weekend.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They’re quick, efficient, and have a great attitude. They didn’t care that the error appeared on a weekend, they just went ahead and fixed it.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

I can’t think of anything that they would need to improve.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I run an e-commerce site that buys and sells nearly new kids’ clothes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blackridge Software?

We wanted to create a system that makes entering data produced by purchases and sales more efficient.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Starting from scratch, they built a minimum viable product (MVP) on Magento. They customized it, adding a bespoke section where we can create an invoice for each customer. The details of their purchases automatically create a record in the system.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a single point of contact, but there’s also a programmer working behind him.

How did you come to work with Blackridge Software?

I was referred to them by someone in the Google Campus for Moms. I considered a lot of other companies as well, but I chose Blackridge Software because of their price.

How much have you invested with them?

I spent over £10,000 pounds. ($13,589 USD)

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from June 2017 until March 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site is live, and we’re now the largest bespoke children’s marketplace in the UK. It looks like I’m about to get some investments to rebuild and improve the site as well.

How did Blackridge Software perform from a project management standpoint?

It was a big learning curve for me because I’m not from a tech background. However Blackridge worked with me to develop Loopster and overcome the challenges.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were great value and worked very hard.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be helpful if they had a live ongoing project spec with all comments and alterations on it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to keep an ongoing brief, and be as precise and specific as you can be.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I own a gaming company that focuses on blockchain, AR, and VR development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Blackridge Software?

Our Magento platform had some bugs that required expert help. We also didn’t have time to fix them.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found their credentials and previous projects on Upwork.

What was the team composition?

We worked with one person from Blackridge Software.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t seen that yet.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

I was highly impressed with Dmitry (CTO, Blackridge Software). He was highly professional and blended into my team perfectly. Dmitry came up with suggestions and questions that allowed us to finish the task smoothly and quickly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Blackridge Software has highly skilled people.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

The improvement needs to happen on our side, especially if we plan to hire expert help from outside. I would recommend that they offer cheaper rates for long-term projects.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the founder of a leading industrial wholesaler in New Zealand.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Blackridge Software?

We needed assistance in developing an MVP e-commerce platform.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a stable and efficiently built product.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were looking for an agency that had experience using Magento technologies. Blackridge Software was recommended through another website.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

We gave Blackridge Software a bare-bones version of the e-commerce site on Shopify and they rebuilt it for us on Magento. They addressed any bugs and made improvements when necessary.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new website that Blackridge Software created allowed us to relaunch an updated and improved version of our business idea.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Their team effectively managed the project with the help of online tools. Blackridge Software consistently provided updates on progress and scheduling. In addition to their time-oriented service, the team provided valuable advice to help us improve our solution.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I appreciated the team’s responsiveness. Also, they helped with issues outside the scope of the original project.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

I came across some other reviews that cite Blackridge Software’s turnaround time as an area for improvement. However, in my experience, they were always on time and never under delivered.