Blue Copper Technologies Pvt Ltd

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder Director and the Chief Executive Officer of Nature Technologies Pvt. Ltd. a global software development company registered in India.

I am also the VP of Engineering and Operations of a US-based Software-as-a-Service Company and have been instrumental in leveraging its footprint in the North American continent and strengthening its technology offerings.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Blue Copper Technologies Pvt Ltd?

In the US fashion and style has a very impressive market. There are thousands of stylists and products available in a variety of brands. We wanted to develop a mobile app that could penetrate this untouched market.

The scope of the project was to geo-locate stylists and their respective shops on the map within a configurable radius. The app was planned in both Android and iOS with lots of other features.

Another thought was an online store where different stylists can subscribe to display their brands

What were your goals for this project?

Our main goal was to have a Geo-location based App that will bring Stylists and Consumers closer to each other. We wanted the geolocation feature to be there so that we the stylists can retain existing customers and attract new ones in a targeted manner.

SOLUTION

How did you select Blue Copper Technologies Pvt Ltd?

We found Blue Copper Technologies through the reference of an acquaintance. My team also searched online for custom software development companies that have experience in developing a location-based application by mapping our requirements with the information provided on their websites.

We shortlisted three companies and contacted each company to finalize our choice. It was a hard decision, but we selected Blue Copper Technologies based on the quality of their final proposal where we were impressed with the fact that they had experience in creating location-based app along with this they were willing to provide support post-release.

Describe the project in detail.

Once we selected Blue Copper Technologies, we had a series of meetings to discuss our goals and objectives and also make them understand the business side of the requirement.

They were responsible for Android and iOS mobile delivery along with developing API on top of an existing SQL Server database designed. Within the first couple of weeks, we received mockups and initial designs of the portal along with the workflow of the process.

After a few iterations and discussions with our team, we finalized the design and provided feedback that would increase the usability. We even provided our view on the UI/UX based on the liking of the targeted market.

They came back to us with wireframes and concepts to provide us with an additional benefit.

What was the team composition?

The team consists of 6 people. A project manager who served as the main point of contact throughout the project. Other than that we had two developers, one tester, one backend developer and one UI/UX designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This app helped us to intensify the relationship between the consumer and the stylists. Consumers can now access the products and services at any time according to their convenience from any place.

The stylist can now reach the customers in nearby proximity through their location-based apps by advertising special offers and deals.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Blue Copper team was extremely pragmatic. They effectively troubleshoot issues as they arose. The project manager that we were assigned was easy to communicate with and provided us with updates on a regular basis. We connected over the call at least once a week.

Overall, I was impressed by the timelines of the team. And, the most important thing that they stood out for was their accessibility; they were always available to solve any query that we had at any given point of time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was impressed with the ease of understanding from the first moment. Blue Copper took time to deeply understand our requirements and quickly defined each of the functions and modules needed for our application.

Their understanding and experience in application development is broad and that was fundamental in our project as a cursory approach can not only fail to solve problems but also make them much worse.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Well, as we know there is always room for improvement. We were very satisfied with their overall work every step of the way but there’s always room for improvement, but it’s always individual feedback, and they always fix it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Redhammer LLC. We provide accounting services for construction companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Copper Technologies Pvt Ltd?

We use a number of different accounting software packages, so we needed someone to help us streamline our data reporting.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

For the first project, they built a user-friendly web interface so that we could extract data more easily and import it into our database. After that, they updated the way one of our accounting programs exported to the database and set up a way for us to generate the kind of accounting reports we needed.

The database is currently for internal use only, though we’re hoping to enable it for our clients in the future, once we get a training process in place.

What is the team composition?

I worked with our project manager, but I think they had at least three or four other team members.

How did you come to work with Blue Copper Technologies?

I used to work in consulting and a former colleague referred Blue Copper to me. We’d been working with another vendor at the time, but their team was better so we moved forward with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our last project ran from April to July 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re still developing these tools, but their work has improved our efficiency and moved us closer to our goal of standardizing all of our financial reporting. Without their tool, we’d have to perform a separate process for every single system.

How did Blue Copper Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very organized and good at sticking to their project schedule. They’d send an agenda ahead of every meeting, and they were always very prompt with deliverables and correspondence via email or Skype. The only delays that came up were on our end.

One drawback we ran into was that the time difference was difficult to work around, so we didn’t have voice conferences very often.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They worked very quickly, stayed organized, and were always on top of project management.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We had to spend a lot of time explaining which data we needed and why. I don’t expect them to have the same level of expertise in accounting, of course, but the lack of familiarity meant that our staff had to do extra work researching which data was needed.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

For this kind of project, it helps to have someone on your staff who understands the technical requirements. I’m not a technical person, but we had someone else who was able to convey our company’s needs to the team at Blue Copper Technologies in a way that made sense to them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of UCA General Insurance, an insurance wholesaler that works with the broker market and sells commercial insurance to the hospitality industry (restaurants, hotels, etc.). We offer a multi-peril insurance policy within the western U.S.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Copper Technologies Pvt Ltd?

We needed a technology provider to help us with a billing module we were developing. We’d been working with a different company, but they were acquired, so we needed a new partner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Blue Copper Technologies Pvt Ltd build a billing module that allows our policyholders to make online payments. It’s currently in its second or third generation, and they now offer support and maintenance. They also work on other tasks as they become available.

What is the team composition?

We had a project manager and 3­–4 developers.

How did you come to work with Blue Copper Technologies Pvt Ltd?

A mutual friend referred them. We met with them and liked the previous projects they’d worked on, so we decided to partner together.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked on this project from April–August 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They helped us increase our visibility and customer satisfaction. A lot of clients wanted to be able to pay their policies online by credit card, and this new module allowed that. We’re now able to offer things that we couldn’t before.

How did Blue Copper Technologies Pvt Ltd perform from a project management standpoint?

They have good project management skills and communication, keeping us updated and current on any project changes. They’re overseas, but they accommodated to our schedule to optimize the partnership.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They always hit deadlines, and the quality of their work is excellent. I’ve worked with developers who promise a lot but deliver little, and that never happened with Blue Copper.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The documentation could’ve been better in the beginning, but we quickly solved that problem.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Provide as much detail as possible about your project. They probably don’t know your business, so clearly explain what you want and what the workflow looks like.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of onlinekars.com, a website that hosts events for car dealers to replace existing physical events.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Copper Technologies Pvt Ltd?

The existing software that we were leasing only supported a small fraction of our business, and we realized we needed a larger, customized platform to support our vision.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Blue Copper Technologies Pvt Ltd built an entirely new platform from the ground up. It’s a custom software platform and web application that can serve live events on behalf of automobile dealerships, such as auctions and price dropping events. Blue Copper Technologies started by developing a new UX/UI on our then-existing system. It was portable because we knew we’d be moving it to our new platform in the future, which we eventually did.

What is the team composition?

I regularly interfaced with two people and sometimes someone from the graphics team.

How did you come to work with Blue Copper Technologies Pvt Ltd?

They were a reference.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked on this project from June 2017–March 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our old system only ran standard auction events, but with this new platform we can now run any type of event. We couldn’t build a business around our old model, but the new platform has enabled us to survive. It’s efficient, and we’re able to adapt to our customers’ needs and requests. We’re obviously happy with them because we’ve continued to use them.

How did Blue Copper Technologies Pvt Ltd perform from a project management standpoint?

They deliver on time and on budget. We communicate with our contacts on a daily basis, mainly via phone and email. We also use some simple project management tools, Excel, and Smartsheet to track our punch list items and ongoing dev initiatives.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their work is high quality and cost effective.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

They’re fantastic; you should consider working with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder and president of PointWorthy, a processing company that allows members to use their loyalty points like regular money. Right now, our platform gives them the option to donate money from rewards to the charity of their choice. We eventually hope to move into e-commerce, as well.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Copper Technologies Pvt Ltd?

Our system lets donors log in, create accounts and link to their loyalty point accounts from financial institutions. It shows their balance, gives access to those points, and then executes a natural transaction. In this case, that means converting points into money that they can send to a nonprofit and use the points or cash to donate. We hired Blue Copper Technologies to develop the online application that facilitates our business process. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, we created the business requirements documents. I served as the product manager as we defined exactly what our product should be. They sent us a quote for the estimated time and materials cost based on the final project plan. After we completed all the necessary materials to start the engagement, we began development. Blue Copper Technologies managed the end-to-end build including several stages of approvals and testing. They worked with us from the concept of beta into actual production and delivery.  

Blue Copper Technologies developed the entire backend and frontend of our consumer-facing web app.  They created all the APIs to sync with users’ rewards accounts at banks or hotels. The app also connects to charity sites that show IRS-related information. Regarding technology, they used everything from Java to MySQL and Oracle. Our product includes every type of databases and API that would be commercially available.

What is the team composition? 

I mainly interacted with the project manager. One of the founders served as my point of contact for escalation. If absolutely necessary, I could also contact the 4-5 developers or QA personnel. The team included about six people at any given time, not counting the accountants I dealt with for payments.

How did you come to work with Blue Copper Technologies Pvt Ltd?

One of their founders was the CTO of a company I consulted for a long time ago. In my role there, I’d define the requirements of a product, and they would build it. We’d kept in touch ever since. When I heard they'd started Blue Copper Technologies, I called them as soon as I found an opportunity. 

I didn't have to go through an extensive vetting process aside from ensuring they had enough personnel for our needs. I was familiar with their system, their method, and the quality of their work. I had them collaborate with another team I hired from Mexico at one point. Eventually, I moved all the work back to Blue Copper Technologies. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $40,000–$80,000 for the initial development. On average, we spend an additional $30,000 annually on enhancements, support, and change requests. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the first project in 2013 and finished sometime in 2014. They've been providing support services for the past four years to update, maintain, and support that product.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since we launched our platform, the bank we partner with has processed millions of dollars in donations per year. Just this past November, a partner hotel facilitated hundreds of thousands of dollars in a matter of days during the hurricane season in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico. Our solution is already providing much-needed support for charities. It instantly scales up to handle the spikes in user volume that happen during natural disasters. The product Blue Copper Technologies delivered has been put to the test and successfully passed. It’s already making an impact. 

How did Blue Copper Technologies Pvt Ltd perform from a project management standpoint?

Blue Copper Technologies handled project management using the Agile methodology. We gave them feedback on a regular basis. They've done very well concerning responsiveness. Very few deadlines weren't met. If I were to solely judge them by my main criteria, time and budget, everything progressed almost perfectly. 

During the development process, we communicated every other day. Once the product is up and running in production, we only usually interact once a week or whenever issues arise. I provide the first level of support for troubleshooting. Besides developing and delivering the product, they offer the second and third level support. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I greatly admire the team’s dedication to Blue Copper Technologies. They’re committed to both their company and the product they're delivering. Comparable teams I've worked with before have had a high staff turnover. Knowledge gets lost in the transfer process, and there's a learning curve to overcome. 

With Blue Copper Technologies, I’ve never had to re-train developers or bring a new person up to speed. At the end of the day, our product has the benefit of providing donations to worthy causes. Everyone who worked on our project was proud not only of the deliverable, but also the impact they could have on society. They were deeply invested in their responsibilities beyond just a job. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

As always, sometimes things inevitably get lost in translation if not enough elements are documented. We had to fix a few things last minute, which is to be expected. Early on in the initial delivery, there might have been a lack of structure in some of the test case scenarios. Throughout the years, though, they've learned and improved. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As with any team, always have everything in writing including upfront approvals, deadlines, and processes that cover any unforeseen scenarios. Lay out all the steps and indicate clear goals for deliverables and what constitutes an achievement. Both parties should sign every contract, so there's no miscommunication between what was expected versus delivered. Make sure they understand the requirements. It's always better to ask the questions than just agree. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a partner at ExhibitView Solutions, LLC, where we create software to assist attorneys.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Copper Technologies Pvt Ltd?

We needed a new software development partner at a reasonable price after our previous one could no longer service us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Blue Copper works on three products for us, PDF+, TranscriptPro, and ExhibitView. PDF+ is a tool similar to Adobe Acrobat that allows attorneys to add exhibit stickers to documents, batch process documents, search and redact, and more. The other two products allow you to edit transcripts and present documents in court. PDF+ was developed entirely by Blue Copper, while they have taken over work for the firm that originally developed TranscriptPro and ExhibitView.

What is the team composition?

I mostly speak with a project manager who has a team of three to four developers supporting him.

How did you come to work with Blue Copper Technologies Pvt Ltd?

They were a referral from our previous firm after they could no longer service us. I did look at a few other companies, however Blue Copper won out due to the strength of the referral.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested between $50,000­–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working together since October 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The products Blue Copper has developed work very well and helped our clients win multimillion-dollar judgments. Blue Copper continues to deliver strong work, and our customers continue to love our products.

How did Blue Copper Technologies Pvt Ltd perform from a project management standpoint?

They have been excellent. For the most part, everything is delivered on time and within our budget.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The fact that they accept every challenge presented to them and their resourcefulness has been very impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Since they are in India, their coders do not always understand how the products are going to be used by our customers in the United States. While this does not necessarily dampen their work, a better understanding of the products would be helpful.