Cabot Technology Solutions, Inc

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a small Danish development bureau that focuses on developing value-added mobile solutions and exploiting the potential of the mobile platform by utilizing new and existing technologies.

What is your position?

I'm a partner at the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Cabot Technology Solutions?

We were developing a quiz application. In the face on the European financial crisis, we looked at alternative solutions in order to stay competitive and to stay ahead in the market. At first, we had to offer more competitive prices on our projects due to the downsizing of development projects in the Danish market. We looked through various online sourcing markets and posted a project on one of them. Cabot responded, not as first mover, but as best mover, and we saw that they were the best firm in terms of communication, understanding, insights and maintaining a balanced sales approach.  

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

We started with a concept project, testing Cabot's development skills, project management, and QA [quality assurance] on a smaller quiz app project. That went well and the projects thereafter became larger in scale.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative?

The project was in the $10,000 to $49,999 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

The initial quiz app project conveyed to us that Cabot could handle larger-scale projects, ultimately resulting today in the fact that we actually have Cabot as our primary development partner.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did Cabot Technology Solutions do from a project management standpoint?

The original project with Cabot was very successful, which gave us the confidence to extend our relationship with them for additional projects. On many occasions, they have been extremely accommodating when we have a client that wanted a last-minute change.

What distinguishes Cabot Technology Solutions from other providers?

No matter what technological challenge we face, Cabot Technology Solutions always has a resource within their grasp because of their multiple in-house skills, and because of their great support and availability. Even if the resource had to travel one or two hours to office in non-office hours, Cabot always came through. Cabot never left us hanging.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a national rehab hospital in Downey, California. We receive patients with disabilities, and we serve the county of Los Angeles and as part of that we have a big research component. We develop technologies and interventions for improving mobility for people with walking dysfunction, people in wheelchairs, people with stroke, and brain injury.

Throughout the years, we've developed the knowledge base to understand and evaluate people with walking impairment better and a lot of that knowledge base needed to be converted or made into something that can be distributed to interested parties and users easily.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I'm the director of engineering research.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Cabot Solutions?

The idea was to develop an app that embodies the knowledge base specifically in gate analysis looking at how people walk normally as well as how people walk with an abnormality and impairment. Our center has been working in that area for the last 45 to 50 years. We've taken that information and implemented it into a mobile app that can allow a student or clinician to learn the basic components of walk gate.

We partnered with the developer and this was part of a research grant that we had gotten to develop these things. The developer worked with us in implementing this app, which consists of the identification of all the faces of gate and multimedia assets that show the basic component of gate. We were able to release the app a little less than three years ago. We've worked on another version that has more content and it facilitates analysis of impaired walking in addition to normal walking. We're in the process of releasing that now.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

It was mobile app design and development and implementation and release. The mobile app is for iOS and Android.

What was your process for selecting Cabot Solutions?

I found them through Elance. I decided they're pretty good, and I stayed with them.

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative?

It was from $15,000 to $20,000.

When was the work completed?

The second phase is going to be completed in the next week or so [July 2015], but we have two more phases to add.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics on the project?

The results are less measurable.

Are you satisfied with their performance?

Very satisfied. They're very prompt. They have grown and their capacity to get quick projects done has improved dramatically since 2013. We began the engagement at that time. 

Their staff seems to be more experienced. The technology changed, and they've been able to keep up with it. They do a very good job of troubleshooting. They seem to be very responsive.

They created this document for me that describes all the work plans. That was very helpful. 

I sent them the use case document, and they turned that into a more formal document. I don't know if that's standard procedure or if that was extra. That was very thorough, and I believe is rare with offshore firms.

What differentiates Cabot Solutions from other partners?

Cabot Solution seems to go beyond coding. They take interest in the needs of the customer. Cabot seems to do their research beyond just a typical group that implements. They went beyond what I would have expected.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

We started with iOS and then we also did the Android app and it seems like two years ago it was much more straightforward for Cabot to develop the iOS applications. Now, it seems the table has turned. It seems Cabot is much more adept at doing Android.

I would have liked to be able to implement the app into a tablet, and they seemed to be restricted just because of the requirements. Back then, it took more effort to program or to build the app into different Android platforms. They were going to charge me more for that. I think technology now would allow them to accommodate more devices. The app that I worked with them on is only designed for the smartphone version. They could easily have implemented it into a tablet, which is much more popular now than two years ago. I don't have anything else specific, and that feedback is relatively minor.

Programmers come in and out and one thing that I found positive with the turnover was that there was always one person there that I can turn to. While they may have gotten new people or people have transitioned out, it was good to keep in contact with them. 

From my end, I would have worked more on getting all the assets that I needed to get to them ahead of time. There were delays in completing the app because of us. We did a fair amount of the graphical design. I think that would have contributed to the delays.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

I run two companies right now. The primary company is a fabricator of implants, crowns and bridges, so dental technology. The other organization is the software that Cabot, and I have been working on.

What is your position?

I am the owner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenge that you were trying to address with Cabot Technology Solutions?

We're developing software to automate the experience between dental professionals, dental laboratories, and implant companies. We're using a mobile device chair-side, to help for treatment planning and for case insertion as well as implant parts and services required to finish the case.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of their involvement?

The application is just for iPad right now. The issue with Android is that there are so many different screen sizes, and we needed consistency in resolution for photos and X-rays. So, after much consideration, we decided the best course of action was to develop the solution for one platform at first, and we decided on Apple iOS.

They've been primarily responsible for the functional development and testing. There was quite a large discovery process right in the beginning, in the first scope of the project, and that gave them the understanding and the depth of what we were going to do. I did use local and European artists for visual designs prior to going to the coding stage. So, they didn't have too much to do in terms of the visual design elements.

How did you come to work with Cabot Technology Solutions?

I went through a few different experiences, and not all of them were positive. I had begun with a local developer and felt like I wasn't getting a very honest dollar to product ratio. I searched out, and we interviewed several other service providers. The reason we went with Cabot was, their depth of experience in medical and dental was a huge advantage, so they were very diverse in what they knew about. Not only were they developing an app, and coding, and all those good jewels of things, but they also had a rudimentary understanding of dentistry, which helped greatly in communicating requirements and goals.

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative?

The general range was anywhere between $30,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I have had three rounds of beta testing with local practitioners in my area. We are about a week away from final release. It's been a long project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics, metrics or user feedback from this project?

I can say that once the beta testing ended, I've gotten questions almost daily from practitioners who have used it, including front office staff and dentist consultant professionals, on when they can resume using it. They've had a good experience with it. In terms of the testing, the results exceeded expectations. The app functioned in the way it was supposed to.

I'm a very cautious individual when it comes to what I'm going to release, so I took my time in doing tweaks and adjustments during the last three or four months. That's why we're not live because I keep adding more to it. In all honesty, it's hard to stop, but you have to nail down the core function that you need in order to move it the way you want to move it. We identified things that were required in order to get a better acceptance range, and that's what I was looking for.

The app has a social network built into it, and an invitation network built into it for study clubs, and other laboratories, and implant companies. I'm working with the largest implant company in the world right now, and I'm going to work with them to get my initial release and boots on the ground. Then, I imagine the app is going to start having its own legs. That's the way we built it, and that was one of the challenges of it in the very beginning – how to make it so it's self-perpetuating.

I had my own budget, I set my own milestones, and I like to think that I'm easy going. When I run into something that's going to take longer than we expected, I'm not barking or anything like that, I'm not upset about that. We've had a very flexible development schedule. That being said, it's like anything. Sometimes you get new people, and it takes a little while to catch them up and whatnot, but that was the only thing that was difficult.

Is there anything that you'd consider unique about their practice?

Like I said right in the beginning and I will reiterate, it's the depth of their understanding of not only the coding ability, but also the medical field. They have a larger understanding of multiple industries, which is an important toolkit. It means I don't have to recreate the wheel with them since they have a baseline understanding of how we operate and how we approach solutions.

In retrospect, are there areas in which you think they could improve as a service provider?

Not really. I've been very happy. There's nothing that I could say was their fault. I had delays, but it wasn't because of them. It was because we were waiting on graphics from an individual here, or waiting on visual loops from Serbia. That's not on them – that's for sure.

What advice, if any, would you give a future client of theirs?

The faster you reply the faster your project gets finished. My benefit is that my day starts when their day ends, so they have a whole day's work in front of them that they finish, and I have the entire day to respond to it. They really work quite hard, and we end up having a lot of meetings. We've had a lot of meetings closer to the end of their workdays and beginning of my workdays. The only thing I can say is, the faster that you respond to whatever questions or issues they have, or clarifications they need, you'll stay on track. Feedback is very important.

BACKGROUND

The client has a health and wellness application that allows people to take photos and track progress in dieting and fitness. I am the project manager who managed the last two projects with Cabot.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

We needed to find a partner for just the development of our iOS and Android applications. They worked on two different projects with us.

SOLUTION

We engaged with Cabot after finding them on oDesk. They were the most professional firm who responded to our proposal. I interviewed them on Skype and was very pleased with their client service and communication.

They completed a smaller project that cost more than $3,000 in 2013. We have them working on an ongoing basis on the development of our main mobile app now. That project has cost around $20,000 to date.

They provide strictly development. Other teams provide the design and other elements. The work will last for several more months if not longer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

We are very satisfied with the work delivered by Cabot. They are proficient with coding and treat clients very well. They offer much better service than most offshore companies. I have worked with several offshore firms from many nations. Cabot is the most transparent and honest of them all. They have strong project management as well.

I have no complaints but they could probably improve the communication slightly in the beginning of the project about potential challenges. Overall, I am very satisfied, so we still use them.

BACKGROUND

Could you provide a brief description of your organization?

We’re a field service management software product. We help service companies like HVAC [heating, ventilating, and air conditioning], plumbing, electrical, and medical field service. Our core competency is HVAC and electrical.

What is your position?

I’m the chief executive officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges you were attempting to address when you first approached Cabot Technology Solutions?

We needed a partner that we could work with to help us build out the entire solution that we had set out to build, but lacked the capabilities to do so. We needed an integrated development partner that had experience with desktop, mobile, and systems administration. Those three things were the driving factors for us. Our biggest challenge was to find a vendor that offered the broad array of services from front-end to backend.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

We’ve really taken advantage of all their resources, including their developers, architects, and system administrators. I’ve worked closely with their mobile and front-end developers, QA [quality assurance] testers, project managers, and even their sales and billing staff.

How did you select Cabot Technology Solutions as your partner?

We’ve used some other vendors, and we have some of our own internal developers. We also have a lot of expertise working with offshore and onshore contractors. I knew what I needed with an offshore team. When we started the project, we tried out a few companies, and it didn’t work out, because they were too one-dimensional. When I first came across Cabot through some online research, it made sense to reach out to them with our work. After discussing our project and possible approaches, I felt confident that they’d be able to deliver what we needed.

Could you provide a general cost estimate for this engagement?

We’ve spent more than $100,000 a year with them

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the quality of their performance?

I’m very involved with the entire development life cycle, and I work with their teams on a first-hand basis. The quality has been on par with our own developers. Like any other software development project, you have some ups and downs, but for the most part, they’ve delivered what we’ve wanted. When timelines are tight, they’re able to come through and get things done. Generally speaking, I’m very pleased with their responsiveness and how flexible they are. We’ve definitely encountered difficulties, but they’ve all been resolved with care.

In retrospect, are there areas in which you think they could improve as a service provider?

No, I can’t pose any real criticisms. The friction we’ve experienced with them is what I’d consider standard when engaged with an offshore development partner. We’ve provided consistent feedback regarding quality and process improvements, and they’ve been more than accommodating with us.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of AAOMS

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a member association for oral and maxillofacial surgeons. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Cabot Technology Solutions, Inc to accomplish?

• Develop an app
• Develop an orientation video

SOLUTION

How did you find Cabot Technology Solutions, Inc?

Referral

Why did you select Cabot Technology Solutions, Inc over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Cabot Technology Solutions, Inc were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We worked with Cabot to develop a application to allow our members to track important patient safety initiatives. They provided excellent support in the development of the components of the app as well as assisting with member inquiries.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Completed application prior to our annual meeting, which allowed for a demonstration and engagement with our membership during our national meeting with members of the Cabot team.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Their team members go above and beyond to ensure that our targeted goals and deliverables are met. They are timely in response, professional, and always exceeded expectations.

What was your primary form of communication with Cabot Technology Solutions, Inc?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They are very responsive and conduct business in a professional manner. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something Cabot Technology Solutions, Inc could have done differently?

None that come to mind.