Computan

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of digital marketing at a mobile managed services provider for large enterprises.

What challenge were you trying to address with Computan?

As digital marketing director, I wear many hats. One of them is managing our website, but also our marketing automation system, which is HubSpot. I brought Computan on board to help specifically with our HubSpot development needs. We're a very small marketing team, so we didn't have the ability to hire a development team.

For our customer holiday messaging, our team wanted to do something a little bigger this year. Because of COVID-19, we couldn't send out gift baskets or anything like that, but we still wanted to do something personalized.

We decided to send everybody a holiday video message. Originally, we were just going to do some Zoom recordings, but we wanted it to be a little bit more special. 2020 was a hard year for everybody, and we value our customers, so we wanted to thank our customers for sticking with us throughout everything.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We work with them on a project by project basis when I need development support. They’ve worked on creating landing pages or emails, as well as other development tasks such as video production, multimedia, and form building. They serve as our development team without being part of our organization. 

For this specific project, we went through brainstorming with the team. They shared some prerecorded animated options that were available through some other websites. We then picked one that was really nice and fun, and Computan was able to customize it with our logo and messaging. 

We then did Zoom recordings with our teams. Computan took each of the generic videos with the holiday message, and they took the Zoom recordings and created 20 separate videos that we were able to send out to our clients. 

They helped us with cutting and editing. I’ve also worked with them on design, development, and editing. All of the publishing comes from my team, so Computan is really are our development arm.

What is the team composition?

I generally work with 2–3 different people on their team, depending on my request. Sajeel (VP Operations) is my account rep.

How did you come to work with Computan?

I found them a few years ago at a HubSpot inbound conference, and they were one of the vendors there. I met Sajeel, and Computan explained what they did. I wasn’t working at my current organization at the time.

I was playing with the idea of hiring a full-time developer, but marketing isn’t the most exciting place to be for a developer. When I spoke with Computan, I realized that what they offered was what I needed — a development agency to help with our various development needs.

I gave them a try when I worked at my former organization, and they were good. When I began working at my current organization, I brought them on board.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $85,000. We have them on retainer. 

What is the status of this engagement?

I began working with them in January 2018, and we’re still working with them.

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

Because we work on a project by project basis, we don’t have metrics. If they complete the work on time and without bugs, we consider it a success. 

How did Computan perform from a project management standpoint?

Computan performs well. They meet their deadlines, and we don’t have any issues there. We communicate via email. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their variability of work is impressive. As a very small marketing team, sometimes you really can't hire a videographer, an editor, a developer, a coder, or a marketing automation specialist. Computan has a lot of people on staff with various skills. 

They're an extension of our team, and they ebb and flow with us as our projects go up and down. With COVID-19, we had to reduce our hours with them, and they were fine with that. I like their flexibility.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could put some more project management tools in place so that we can see where things are. I'm fine with email, but that's always an area they can improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

In order to be successful, when you put a request in, make sure that you explain in detail what you're looking for. They’re developers, not designers, so you really need to include adequate directions in your requests. 

That's why I work well with them. I have the exact idea in mind, and I just need somebody to build it because I don't have those skills. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a coconut oil skincare brand for babies and toddlers. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Computan?

We’re a D2C brand selling through our website, so we were looking for someone who could enhance our website and make ongoing upgrades.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They handle any needs I have with my Shopify site, after taking it over from a prior development team. Based on the season or upcoming sales, they provide an update to the site to showcase our latest offerings.

We have a designer who handles the wireframing process before handing the work off to them for implementation. After executing, we go through a few rounds of feedback and iteration. For instance, in the holiday season, they implement Black Friday sale messaging, sliders, and new headers. 

Aside from seasonal website changes, they’re staffed on general website optimization efforts. That includes developing custom landing pages to drive conversions. Additionally, they’ve implemented code needed for various Shopify apps and plug-ins.

What is the team composition?

There’s one project manager who coordinates the team. Additionally, there are a few developers off-shore. 

How did you come to work with Computan?

I found them through a marketing agency that I work with. They were referred to me, so I didn’t have to do too many reference checks. However, everyone I spoke with had a positive experience working with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $3,000–$4,000.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since around June 2020.  

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

The quality of their work is very strong and communication is seamless. They’re true developers, no designers. I make sure that their development work matches the design that’s been provided to them.

We’ve been happy with their knowledge of Shopify, and it doesn’t take them too long to find solutions. They’ve done a great job problem-solving until they’ve found the right answer.  

How did Computan perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a weekly meeting and use Freedcamp for requests for deliverables. I was able to input tasks with deadlines and priorities for their developers. We interacted through that platform throughout any given week. They posted links to their work, and I would respond with comments. 

From there, we would use our touch-base meetings to align on upcoming deliverables to stay completely aligned. They took feedback well and were willing to work on projects as long as it takes to find the right solution. Sometimes there are some project delays, but we’ve been very happy on the whole. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re great at understanding priorities and what’s necessary to move a project forward on schedule. If there’s a bottleneck, they’ll push for the information they need. They also take ownership of their work throughout the project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I spend more time than I want running QA on their work from a design standpoint. There could be more of a QA check on their side for the look and feel as well as coding standards. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about deliverables. They’re an efficient team, so not giving direct information upfront may cause delays on your end.  

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a B2B HubSpot partner.

What challenge were you trying to address with Computan?

We needed a service provider to support our tech needs.

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Computan acts as our advanced tech team, assigning a hybrid of members who can solve issues together rather than having a single developer. That might be for projects like deep integrations or working with e-commerce platforms — they’re just really well-versed.

What is the team composition? 

The team fluctuates depending on the volume or nature of what we’re doing. In general, it tends to be about four people, including a project manager, developers, and a manager who oversees the group.

Sajeel (VP of Operations) is a great human. He actually cares about the outcome of what his team produces and is interested in how that affects his clients’ businesses. He’s been a strong partner throughout the relationship and really gets involved when he has to.

How did you come to work with Computan?

We were referred to them by a peer. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked with them since November 2018.

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

There’s always a lot of moving parts in development, so things will often arise out of the blue. Computan has been great at trying to solve for the best solution possible, finding options that are in the best interest of the client to make sure things stay on track. So far, there hasn’t been a platform that they haven’t been able to tackle. 

How did Computan perform from a project management standpoint?

Computan’s team is full of nice people. Everyone is always friendly, helpful, and patient. We communicate through calls and messages.

What did you find most impressive about them?

As a partner, they’re much more relationship-driven. That’s very unlike the development shops I’ve worked with in the past where we just felt like a number or project to them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have any complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Aside from having consistent meetings with them, make sure you treat Computan like a partner rather than a task-doer. The alignment will be a lot better that way.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and president of Ability SEO, an inbound marketing and growth strategy agency.

What challenge were you trying to address with Computan?

We needed help with our advanced development work. I and a teammate of mine had been doing WordPress and HubSpot work for a number of years, but we didn’t know as much as a developer does. There were things that either took too much time or were beyond our pay grade.

What was the scope of their involvement?

When stuff breaks, Computan fixes it. They work on SEO speed and do HubSpot maintenance. 

What is the team composition?

I interact with Sajeel (VP Operations).

How did you come to work with Computan?

I met one of their teammates at an inbound marketing conference, and they were very generous. They offered to work for free for three hours, and if we liked them, we would hire. I was impressed with their authenticity and generosity, but I didn’t take them up on the offer.

I later had a problem that I couldn’t get myself out of and reached out to them, and we began the engagement. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent just about $700 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

I reached out to them for the first time about 3 years ago, but we began working with them in September 2020. Our engagement is ongoing.

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

We developed a website for a real estate agent, but it was slow. I used a speed test that showed that it had a very slow speed of about three out of 100 compared to 28 or 30 out of 100 for the competition. They worked on that and increased the speed up to 35.

How did Computan perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate via email and Asana. Working through Asana has been effective. When I email Sajeel, I consistently get an email back from him within ten minutes, which is very impressive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’ve worked with other providers before, but they didn’t know their stuff as well as Computan does. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’re a small client for them, and I feel like if I don’t follow up with them every few days, I don’t get an update as quickly as I would like to. Their follow-up could be a little bit stronger. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Use a project management tool like Asana. If you have any questions or concerns, reach out to Sajeel, and you’ll have a great experience. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work with a digital marketing firm. We work primarily with companies to capture leads and convert them into sales.

What challenge were you trying to address with Computan?

We hired them to develop websites.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They took the designs that we developed internally and then either through a theme or through a wireframe, completely coded that Web site.

They would be utilizing anywhere from WordPress and Magento. Also, they are utilizing and updating us from HubSpot templates that we have as well.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with project managers and the management staff. I believe they had a team of developers and hardware system consultants working with them.

How did you come to work with Computan?

We went to a HubSpot conference in Boston and met them there and began to have a dialog. when we were smaller and needed some consistent technology partners to code for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2017 and we still work with them on a project-by-project basis.

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

We’ve been very pleased with all of their outputs. We check it using Moz and Google Analytics to make sure that we’re capturing data the way that we need to.

How did Computan perform from a project management standpoint?

They consistently deliver within 5–10 days of the project's estimated completion date. Sometimes it’s a little early or a little late, but overall they deliver about on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve utilized other providers in the past, but they were all offshore and we didn’t have a US-based presence. So I always got up at 4 am to get work done. Working with Computan, I really appreciate that now I can work on my time and my schedule. They do whatever they can to fit my schedule despite working from all over the world.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Better communication on what they’re billing for. We had a general sense of what we’re being billed for, but for maintenance for some items, I don’t get as much detail as I would like.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Continue to stay engaged with their project management ream. Do express your desires to them and keep them up to date so they understand what you’re trying to accomplish during the project.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of US marketing at Sigfox, an IoT networking company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Computan?

When I came on board, our company had an outdated website that wasn’t functional. It wasn’t visible and didn’t have visitors. One of my assignments was to create a usable and interactive website that would drive leads to our sales team.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I shared my ideas with them, and then their team came back with a quick mockup. My boss and I were blown away, so we went with it. While Computan stuck with WordPress, they completely redesigned the website and added functionalities. We have an interactive library of our devices on the platform. Their team completed phase one, but we retain them to further build out the site. In phase two, they’ll add e-commerce capabilities.

What is the team composition?

I had initial conversations with Sajeel (VP Operations) and then mostly communicated with Mohammed (Web Developer). He worked with a web developer and asked that I always copy web support.

How did you come to work with Computan?

I searched online for cost-effective web development agencies that could quickly complete the project. In their reviews on Clutch, clients said that Computan was a partner, which I liked because our team’s small. I needed to work with an agency that would work as an extension of us.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started talking with them in January 2020 but was still under contract with another web developer. We didn’t start the project until March 2020, and our partnership's ongoing.

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

We’ve had a lot of traffic come through the website. I recently sent an email blast to our customers and sales representatives. Everyone loves the site, saying its significantly better than any platform we’ve had.

Our corporate office also loves the site and wants to redesign theirs to be like ours. We have another operator in Canada that wants to hire Computan based on their work for us. Before, we didn’t want anyone to see our site. Now, I’m able to pursue many more projects and link back to our website.

How did Computan perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team’s excellent. They made changes quickly in real-time. I needed to show measurable results. COVID-19 happened soon after we started the project, so the website became everything. Their team ramped up quickly and continued to release features. They’re so flexible.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team was a partner and essentially became part of our team. They brought in a tool that allowed my whole team of engineers to give feedback. We just went to town on it, which made the whole project move faster. Unlike our previous partner, our team can talk with Computan directly. They listen to us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’re all over the moon happy. We couldn’t be happier.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know what you want and know what you need. Even when I thought I did, I really didn’t. Computan helped steer us in a great direction. They’re a great partner to have.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of marketing at Riverlogic, an advanced analytics enterprise software company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Computan?

We wanted to move our website from WordPress to HubSpot.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Computan implemented our designs. They put together various modules that we would need based on HubSpot’s structure. They took our design and turned it into actual easy-to-edit, global and local modules on HubSpot. 

The team moved 60 pages from WordPress to HubSpot, making it easy for someone like me who doesn’t know front- or backend coding to easily modify any part of the website or even create new pages. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager and another teammate who oversaw everything and would occasionally respond if there was a delay with the project manager.

How did you come to work with Computan?

I met them at a HubSpot conference in Septemeber 2019 because they’re a HubSpot partner. They were appealing because their development work was relatively inexpensive.

What is the status of this engagement?

This project lasted from January–May 2020. If our side had been a little better, the team could’ve implemented it in three months or less. 

The project could’ve gone a lot faster, but we were still working on some of the actual design modifications while they were implementing, so we sometimes had to change the design part of the way through. Their working on another project for me now.

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

Their work has allowed me to very quickly modify content on pages. It’s also a lot easier for me to do A/B testing, test copy, and create new pages. The ease of use that I have now without the website needing complex code is great. Performance-wise, the speed of the website has also improved.

How did Computan perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was great. Computan had us proofing every step of the way, and they communicated very clearly. We had regular calls. The cost was extremely affordable for the quality, speed, and size of the project. 

Initially, our project was structured, but because I had some issues with our designers, some of the times were delayed, which was on us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Computan’s knowledge of HubSpot was exceptional. They were able to cleanly develop on HubSpot in a way that allowed us to go in without knowing any code and create and modify website pages. The way they set things up was impressive.

Additionally, they were a really nice team that focused on customer satisfaction. Even when we had a lot of back and forth because of delays on our end, the team was always willing to help and never charged us more. They wanted to get us the best website that we could have. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

My only thing, and this isn’t a big deal, is that they could’ve used project management software. They put a lot of elements in spreadsheets which was a little confusing.

Project management software makes the development process easy, so they could give their clients the option to use spreadsheets or project management tools. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as organized and as clear with your expectations as you can in the beginning. A lot of things seem to be implied from the client-side, but most times they’re not. You can save time by getting specific and setting clear expectations.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My organization is a marketing agency. I own the agency with my husband, and I oversee all of our digital and content work. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Computan?

As we were developing websites for our clients, we increasingly needed developer skills that we didn’t have in-house. We’re also located in an area that has a bit of a weaker development talent pool.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Computan essentially serves as our in-house developers. Whenever we’re working on a web project and run into something development-related – whether it’s as small as changing a font we’re having an issue with or as big as creating an entire website built off of an illustrator design – they handle it.

We have an ongoing monthly retainer. As things come up throughout the month, we just email them directly and ask for help, and they put a team on it.

What is the team composition?

They have one centralized support email, and whoever is available picks up the task and then handles it through completion. I know they have developers all over the world.

They also have people that are more specialized in particular platforms, such as HubSpot, WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. In the rare cases where we’re working on a platform that isn’t HubSpot, they have people that are specifically skilled in that platform, and they put them on the job to help. 

How did you come to work with Computan?

We’re a HubSpot partner agency, so we’re familiar with that whole network of relationships. The timing of our search for development support coincided with our becoming a HubSpot partner agency, so we were looking at solutions that were more HubSpot-focused. Computan had a booth at Inbound, and they have a great relationship with HubSpot.

How much have you invested with them?

We’re on a 40-hour retainer for $1,200 a month. That’s obviously less expensive than hiring someone in-house.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work together began in the spring of 2018. At the time we brought them on, we only had one project, but we’ve continued the relationship for more than two years because they’ve become such an invaluable resource to us.

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

Partnering with Computan has really given us confidence in our abilities and services in the digital space. Before working with Computan, we were obviously able to execute projects, but working with them has given us a new level of confidence in knowing that we can deliver to clients exactly what we want to, and that we're not going to be hampered by any lack of development knowledge on our side. 

Over the years, we've thrown so many different kinds of things at them, and there's never been a situation where they said they couldn't do it. They always come through. We’ve had different urgent situations, such as a site going down, and they have always jumped right in and solved the problem. They really act like they're part of our company and that they want us to succeed as well. We have been able to continue to grow our client base, especially in the digital space, because of that.

How did Computan perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s great. They’re very communicative. My team sets the pace, so at times when we’re working on more intensive projects, we set up weekly calls to check in on the status of various things they’re working on. When it’s slower, we don’t talk until we have something we need them to work on. They’re just very responsive to our needs. They’re super flexible to fit into our workflow.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their desire to help us succeed sets them apart. I feel like they really care about doing the job for us, and they understand the client-side pressure. That’s reflected in the fact that they've never said ‘no’ or ‘I don’t know’; instead, they say that they’re on it and will look into it, and they get it done every time. Their level of caring and dedication is great. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

From a project management standpoint, some more communication within their own team could be helpful. I sometimes get the feeling that they’re not all talking to each other. For instance, if one person working on a project isn’t available, we’ll have to wait for them to come back on shift. Other times, two different people will pick up a project and not realize that someone else started it. There could be a little more internal communication, but that’s not something that has had a negative effect on us; it’s just something I’ve noticed.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be really clear about what you want. We’ve been most successful on projects when we’ve provided really specific examples and mockups, such as diagrams down to the half-inch of where we want something placed. That has made the communication easier, because in some cases, there is a language barrier.

Anytime I felt the communication was weak, I’d ask to have a call, and that solved it. The more clarity and communication that you can provide to them, the more you’ll get back.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a marketing agency based in Florida. We focus on healthcare, technology, and real-estate verticals. We have our own internal development and web design team. We specialize in HubSpot, so all of the websites that we do are on the HubSpot CMS.

What challenge were you trying to address with Computan?

Initially, we needed help to complete complex development work. We didn’t want to hire a full-time staff member if we only needed them on occasion.

What was the scope of their involvement?

As our partnership grew, Computan became part of every single one of our projects and serve as a resource for our team. Whenever we have any questions, or anything technical with the development side of things when things aren’t working, they’re there to answer them. They also help with more complicated projects when we need.

What is the team composition?

We work with 2–3 people from their team.

How did you come to work with Computan?

We found them through HubSpot because they’re a HubSpot partner. They were at INBOUND one year and we met and started talking about working together. We tested them with a certain number of hours and over time the projects got bigger and bigger.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2017, and our work is ongoing.

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

With their help, we can definitely create better websites. Our team is supported in their efforts and don’t have to waste time trying to figure out something complicated. They help create more value for our customers and at the end of the day doing bigger, better projects translates into more sales. Overall, they’ve helped our agency grow over the years.

How did Computan perform from a project management standpoint?

We use email and monday.com for project management. Now, they’re part of our project management tool and we communicate directly in the tool, which streamlines everything.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a team around the world so they can do things overnight if need be, and they’re very responsive. The team is great at communication and are always open to implementing new technology we suggest. They’re open to getting better over time, which we appreciate.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In the past, communication was an issue, but they’ve since improved significantly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to have a point person on your team to manage the relationship.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a digital marketing firm guiding businesses to reach their ideal clients, and generate leads and revenue through inbound strategy and tactics. I am the Creative Projects Manager.

For what projects/services did your company hire Computan?

We have worked with them on new website builds, website updates, website templates, and technical fixes.

What were your goals for this project?

Deliver a new website design with updated editing capabilities.

How did you select this vendor?

We met them at HubSpot Inbound conference and knew their work with other clients.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They developed our provided website design on the HubSpot platform. They also made updates to the website's technical capabilities, working on a custom API for an integration, and troubleshooting when updates were needed.

What was the team composition?

We had an account manager who provided estimates and introduced us to the team of developers who worked on the project. The team was responsive and worked collaboratively to offer options.

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

The final website was launched with increased functionality and ease of use for our client.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We had an account manager who provided estimates and introduced us to the team of developers who worked on the project. The team was responsive and worked collaboratively to offer options.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The development team was very responsive and worked closely with our agency team to discuss timelines and find solutions.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We had some glitches in the QA process, requiring more of our agency team. But this was discussed with the Computan team and additional standards were put in place to prevent this.