Brainvire

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product and marketing manager of an e-commerce company called LINKYO Corp. Since 2002, we’ve specialized in printing supplies and blank media for the duplication market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainvire Infotech?

We were looking to outsource our digital marketing to them for one of our websites­—SuperMediaStore.com. We also needed resources to support our Shopify Plus platform; if we encountered any issues or wanted to make any changes, they would provide technical assistance.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Brainvire Infotech provides full-service digital marketing services to drive traffic to our site. They’re responsible for all of our Google AdWords and Bing Ads search engine marketing (SEM). They also manage our YouTube advertising and help create posts for social media.

Recently, we’ve terminated our contract with CJ Affiliate and have started using another program called LinkConnector. Brainvire Infotech tracks all of our campaigns, ensuring that we’re capturing information properly.

As for our Shopify Plus platform, a previous vendor designed and coded the platform, connecting it with GoDataFeed. Brainvire Infotech reviewed the feed’s setup and made sure that it distributed directly to all search engines. Currently, they continue to help us maintain the platform.

What is the team composition?

I primarily work with the core digital marketer and his supervisor, whom I contact for higher-level items. On the development side, I interface with their president and another person.

How did you come to work with Brainvire Infotech?

They approached us initially, but a couple of our friends had also used them. After talking to their references, we looked at their profile and decided to test them over a three-month probation period. We were happy with their results, so we outsourced all of our digital marketing to them.

How much have you invested with them?

Excluding advertising costs, we spend between $2,500–$3,000 per month on their services, which amounts to $24,000–$30,000 per year.

What is the status of this engagement?

Their work began in August 2017 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since outsourcing our digital marketing, we’ve been happy with their work. We’re currently satisfied with our AdWords standing, so they’ve shifted their focus to Bing. Later, they’ll work on social media.

How did Brainvire Infotech perform from a project management standpoint?

We have no complaints so far. Every week, they provide a report about what they’ve done and the subsequent results. They also provide a full schedule for the upcoming 3 months, which aids in transparency.

Furthermore, they're able to manage their time well. When we first engaged them, we established the number of hours we wanted them to spend on our site, and they've consistently stayed within that number. As for communication, they always let us know in advance if something’s wrong. We primarily talk through Skype and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate their willingness to get the job done right. In the beginning, we had a few hiccups with our feed; the previous vendor didn’t set it up correctly, so we couldn’t reliably track our information. Brainvire Infotech gave us a time frame to fix the setup, communicated with us, and delivered as promised.

Are there any areas they could improve?

While they’re able to fix any of our issues, there could be some improvements on the development side. They sometimes tend to rush the task a little bit, which can lead to results that are different to what we expected. It may benefit them to spend more time learning about our needs. In terms of marketing, I have no complaints.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

As with all outsourced work, make sure that you can measure their performance before diving into the project. If the vendor proposes spending money for a marketing channel, it’s best to ask what the expectations are. I’ve noticed that, if we don’t ask, they sometimes leave out those details.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the owner of Vitabai. We're a wholesale, retail, and online company that sells organic products and supplements from manufacturers and suppliers in the U.S. We're an e-commerce company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainvire Infotech Inc?

We needed Magento and e-commerce development for our company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The site was built on Magento. The order functionality needs to be in the system as we store our products in our warehouse, and we need to access those goods to ship them out to the customer. We needed enterprise resource planning (ERP) and warehouse management systems (WMS) for our website. We spoke a lot with the Brainvire team about how we purchase and receive our product from the manufacturer, as well as how we ship the product to our customers.

What is the team composition?

We've been in contact with three people from their team including Chintan (CEO, Brainvire Infotech Inc), who often visits our company. We're also in touch with Bhavesh (Head E-Commerce & Mobile Application, Brainvire Infotech Inc) who is the head of the project, and we also have a project manager.

How did you come to work with Brainvire Infotech Inc?

We wanted to cooperate with a development company that would support our goals and what we are trying to do with our website. They needed to be able to fully understand what our business is. Brainvire is really good in this regard. They try to understand us, they support us and want us to be successful in our field.

How much have you invested in them?

We've invested $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2017 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

So far, so good. The most important thing when developing a website is the communication with the development company. If there are any issues or bugs, they take care of it.

How did Brainvire Infotech Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management has been really good. During the process, they've visited us more than 10 times and stayed for two to three weeks at a time, which is something I really appreciate. We communicate via Skype, on a daily basis and very well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive thing about them is how they care about their customers. They want us to be successful. This is our first website, and they try to develop everything according to how we need it and try hard to understand what our business is about.

Are there any areas they could improve?

After developing the website and making it live, it's good when they take care of any bugs or any issues. They answer us quickly, but even quicker would be better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you want to be successful in developing a website, I really recommend them. They're awesome and do a good job. They understand what the customer’s needs are. They're very receptive to feedback and really try to understand their customers' mind.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a web developer at Costex. We sell replacement parts for heavy equipment such as Caterpillar.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainvire Infotech Inc?

We’re trying to reach a broader audience online. We want to make it as easy as possible for the end user to find their part and have it delivered to their door by taking the fewest steps possible.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Brainvire helped us through the whole process. We met with them and presented everything that we needed. It’s an online catalog, which was developed using Magento, and will eventually be a complete e-commerce website. Customers can browse for parts, send quote requests, and create an account. It’s an online store specific to our industry. Users can send in their shopping cart for a quote; we receive that internally and a sales rep gets in contact with the customer. We’re starting off with the online catalog to see the response from our users. We plan to continue to build up the site.

We divided the project into two stages, with the first being the online catalog which we just launched. We will be starting the second phase shortly which will be the full e-commerce website with the shopping cart functionality.

What is the team composition?

I met with the CEO a few times. I have also been in contact with their head of e-commerce and mobile apps and their PHP/mobile team manager. We had a project manager, project lead, and a group of developers.

How did you come to work with Brainvire Infotech Inc?

They came highly recommended to us.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2018 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had an amazing experience with Brainvire. They’re exceedingly experienced in the e-commerce and digital marketing business. The first stage which just launched is good so far. We haven’t found any issues, and everything has been working great. It was thoroughly tested before it went live. We showed it to a few customers as well as internally within the company and received great feedback. Everyone loves the look of it as well as the functionality.

How did Brainvire Infotech Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

The communication was great, and so far, everything has been awesome. We are definitely going to keep doing business with them.

I have worked with third-party companies before, and Brainvire is exceptionally detail-oriented and organized when it comes to the documentation and following the right steps to get to the end point. My direct contact and I either talk by phone or meet through Skype on a daily basis. They are available to answer any questions or issues I have. We check in weekly to make sure everything is going according to plan. I don’t have any complaints and would give them the highest rating.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Prior to working with Brainvire, we worked with a different company that specializes in Magento as well. The experience was completely different. There is no comparison to Brainvire’s communication, knowledge, and experience. You can tell right away that they know what they are doing. Anytime we had a question or issue, they had the right answer and gave us options for a solution. It definitely showed their expertise. They have the ability to tackle an issue from different angles which is something you get from experience. They are a great company to work with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Start working with them as soon as you get in touch with them. It’ll save time and money.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the President of Del Condominium Rentals. We’re a rental management company that handles over 2,000 units on the behalf of the homeowners.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainvire?

We have a lot of software that we deal with, so we needed to engage someone to handle tasks including database and email optimization, development, and CRM issues. All this was done with the goal of increasing our productivity and efficiency.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They primarily work with PHP and LAMP stacks, as well as with Amazon Web Services (AWS). They’ve tackled multiple software development projects, like mobile applications and email integrations, and have created dashboards. They’ve also optimized our current structures.

What is the team composition?

We work with at least six or seven individuals, as well as several key project managers.

How did you come to work with Brainvire?

We got connected with them through Upwork. They started with a very small project that then developed into a larger scope.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $65,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since September 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Right now, I would say that we're at about 75% efficiency, which is, in large part, thanks to the software work they’ve done. Our target is 85% though, so even though we're on the way to reach that mark this year, there’s still a large project that needs to be completed.

How did Brainvire perform from a project management standpoint?

When they have issues they communicate well, usually over Skype. Timing is not an issue, even though you would think it would be, with different time zones in North America. 

They work well with my team as well. They have a structure in place that deals well with troubleshooting when difficulties or challenges arise. I worked with several companies prior to them, and I find them to be quite well structured.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The thing that's very clear is that they're highly knowledgeable technically, and that they know current trends and where they’re going. They’re not focused on how much they can get out of an engagement. They want to know how they can support us and build us up to be better. That approach is very much appreciated. A company could be great, but if you don't have the right staff, it doesn't work. They’ve got good people, and I'm quite happy to see that many team members have stayed with them for a long time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I wish I could see them in person while discussing some of these projects, but communication-wise, Skype is great.

Any advice for potential customers?

If the business owners can't understand how a technology can help them and their business, it's very important to communicate that. They need to know what aspects are important to them, and what timelines they're looking at. I think that if that’s communicated, technology providers can provide solutions that will work. It’s also very important to understand what each company’s budget is.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am an electrical engineer and product manager for a utility company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainvire Infotech?

We contracted with them to develop a web app for one of our services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The project was to create a web app featuring electrical simulation and business processes. We had an idea, and we provided some designs, but they helped us define what we had in terms of wireframes and other business processes. Their business analysts did a good job of helping us define the scope. We chose the MEAN stack (MongoDB, Express.js, AngularJS, and Node.js), which we thought would be the best option for our current requirements and the kind of web app we were trying to design.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a database specialist, a business analyst, two developers, two designers, and QA resources from their team. I communicated with the BA and the developers.

How did you come to work with Brainvire Infotech?

We studied Clutch ratings and compiled a list of possible vendors. We sent an RFP to all of them, and Brainvire’s offer was the best. They also had favorable ratings on Clutch, which made us confident in their abilities.

How much have you invested with them?

Our budget is above $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Brainvire in October 2017. The development is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The first phase of our development is almost done, but we’ve assigned them more work. We are pleased with the progress we have made thus far.

How did Brainvire Infotech perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate through emails, phone calls, and Skype, and they are responsive to all our needs. There have been some small issues, but this is normal for software development.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their project management and development quality are particularly notable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their QA could be better. We appreciate their work, and I am unsure if it is a QA or communication issue, but we’ve had minor problems in this area.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

It is best to have a narrowed scope so that they can assist you more effectively.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a senior software product and project manager, handling our company's food-delivery portal. I'm responsible for defining the product, developing its functionalities and features, and getting them released to the market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainvire Infotech?

We had a challenge finding software developers. We were looking for a local company that could provide us with resources.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They hired some resources for us that are providing software development alongside our in-house team. Our daily collaboration involves assigning tasks to their team members, completing them, and rolling them out to the web portal.

We're using PHP and AngularJS to develop a food portal that will feature recipes and television episodes of our cooking show. Users can search for recipes, browse the top recipes of the day, and save them to their accounts.

What is the team composition?

We work with one of their account managers. I've also interacted with Chintan (President and CEO, Brainvire Infotech).

How did you come to work with Brainvire Infotech?

We did a Google search, shortlisted 3–4 companies, and interacted with each of them. We chose Brainvire based on that analysis.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of their work has been $7,000 - $7,500 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in November 2017. The collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The successes include meeting timelines and delivering functionalities to the market. We delivered on time nearly 70% of the time.

The quality they’ve provided is very good. I would rate them a 7/10 for the quality of resources provided to us and a 9/10 for the reliability of those resources.

How did Brainvire Infotech perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management has been handled by me. I provide tasks to their team and they come up with timelines. We've been flexible in terms of maintaining those timelines, considering various other factors and the fact that they're engaged in various other activities too. 60–70% of the time, they meet their deadlines.

They work in the same office of our team so I interact with them on a daily basis. We're using various in-house tools for task tracking. We have internal meetings on a daily basis in order to explain tasks and provide feedback.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I've appreciated the quality of resources they’ve provided and the helpful nature of their management. They follow up with us on a regular basis, asking for feedback on their resources which distinguishes them from other vendors.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They can work to strengthen their relationship with their onsite employees by engaging more with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a partner at a marketing agency. I coordinate product design, development, and implementation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Brainvire Infotech Inc?

We hired Brainvire for their web development services.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to develop sites where we can collect email opt-ins and take users through an offer pathway that spans several pages.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

A colleague referred them to us.

Describe the project in detail.

For our sites, we do all the UX and UI design in-house. After the design is completed, I create the specs for it and give it to Brainvire to implement.

What was the team composition?

We have one developer from Brainvire that I communicate with directly.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

On of the redesigned marketing site experienced a 28% increase in email opt-ins.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I work on the design and the flow, and I send the specs to Brainvire when it's ready to be developed. We work in different time zones, but communication was largely effective. Simple tasks can sometimes take longer because of the time difference, but the developers usually responded in sufficient time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The speed and quality of their work are noteworthy.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The time difference can cause communication issues, but that’s unavoidable because we did not hire locally.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the COO of Matrix Protection. We provide extended warranty plans for electronics, appliances, and automobiles.

SOLUTION

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainvire?

We asked Brainvire to build two e-commerce sites so that we could sell our warranty plans online.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What was the scope of their involvement?

We're a relatively new company, so the project evolved from building two websites to servicing all of our company’s e-commerce needs. The websites that they built on Magneto allows customers to seamlessly compare our plans and purchase our products. They also developed mobile apps, which has all of the features on our website, plus a convenient scanner that makes registering products and storing receipts an easy process. We also have a service where you get a free personal assistant with every plan you purchase, so they implemented APIs that pull the info and push it to our personal assistant provider.

Currently, they assist with our marketing efforts. They send out relevant email blasts to our existing customers, they create ads and concepts for our social media campaigns, and they manage our Google AdWords.  

What is the team composition?

We have two contacts for site maintenance and two other contacts for digital marketing.

How much have you invested with them?

Since the project’s inception, we have spent nearly $150,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have worked with Brainvire for two and a half years.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a partner at an executive consulting business; we help clients recruit talent. I focus on the technology, finance, and HR fields.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainvire?

We needed new features for our 15-year-old recruitment software.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They redeveloped the platform and included Microsoft Excel features to access our candidate database files. Each Excel document includes 50 fields, for which we need flexibility with editing, multiple comma-separated values (CSV), and error and duplicate identification.

Currently, the team’s working on our mobile application’s 80 APIs. Brainvire has also built several smaller features. They’ve collaborated on the frontend with another vendor.

What is the team composition?

The team includes a product manager, project manager, and developers. We interact with developers daily and the whole team every 10 days.

How did you come to work with Brainvire?

A past client referred them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent approximately 2,500,000 INR ($38,500 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

Work started in October 2017 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The mobile app deliveries were on-time. Only 5% of the APIs required changes; the rest were perfectly functional.

How did Brainvire perform from a project management standpoint?

They needed two months to pick up the existing software. The team’s efficiency increased as they became increasingly familiar.

They send daily email updates and weekly reports. The latter tracks hours spent for each feature set. We use Trello.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The senior manager was accessible. He articulated our vision to the developers to help them understand our technical challenges.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their UI designs need more interactive and appealing graphics.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Provide detailed descriptions for the scope and wireframes. They leveraged our specificity to work efficiently and write clean codes.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a quantitative analyst for One River Asset Management. We manage capital and construct hedge-funds for large institutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainvire Infotech Inc?

We needed a development firm to build and manage our client-facing website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Brainvire built our website and client dashboard using PHP. Its primary purpose is to allow clients to log-in and view their portfolio and risk metrics summarized from the previous day. We use a trade capture and booking system to feed positions into RiskMetrics. RiskMetrics then computes and produces data points that we store in our database. Our website pulls information from the database and presents it to our clients each day. This a turnkey process that takes place every 24 hours.

In 2015, we engaged Brainvire to add a significant feature to the site. They created an environment where clients could perform “what if” analysis on their portfolio. For example, clients can enter increased interest rates to see how that would affect their portfolio. Since that project concluded, they’ve mostly added small features and provide ongoing support.

What is the team composition?

I worked with a lead developer on the 2015 project. Other than that, we have a part-time consultant who manages our backend architecture and solely interacts with Brainvire on our behalf.

How did you come to work with Brainvire Infotech Inc?

Our consultant was our only web developer at the time and suggested we hire Brainvire to complete the scope of work.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $100,000 and $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2013. Our last project with them wrapped up about midway through 2016. They currently support the website through daily maintenance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We evaluate success by their ability to complete projects accurately and promptly. They’ve hit all the milestones we’ve set for them.

How did Brainvire Infotech Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

The lead developer I worked with was reliably available despite the significant time zone difference. He’d often work late so we could communicate what’s been accomplished and what tasks need to be addressed the following day.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re availability and responsiveness were generally very good.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Occasionally, the language barrier can create communication issues. This occurred more when I worked directly with the lead developer. I’d often have to provide screenshots or diagrams illustrating exactly what I wanted to be done. The project would’ve been easier if communication was never an issue.

Additionally, the agreement we have in place requires them to bill us a minimum amount of hours. Without any major developments, we’re getting charged for them to make sure the site is up and running. It’s a great price when we have projects underway, but the cost seems excessive when we don’t require much work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be explicit and thorough when going over project details. Language could be a potential barrier, so be prepared to spell things out to avoid confusion.