Convverge, Inc.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a manager at a utilities company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Convverge, Inc.?

We were a new department with a large capital expenditures portfolio, and we needed to develop a platform we could customize and update as we moved forward. Our team was looking for a system that allowed us to capture incident reporting for our projects and funnel that information to create workflows.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Convverge, Inc. provides remote IT consulting and SI services. The project has been a combination of PWA app development and leveraging our team to be in a good position to take over the product once we transition to managing it ourselves. Regarding technologies, they’ve been using Microsoft Power Platform.

In terms of functionalities, the app enables users to use a mobile divide outside the company’s firewall without breaching security protocols. It also includes workflow creation, which depends on various submissions in the form, like who those emails would go to and how someone would escalate them throughout the organization.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with three members of their team directly, including Eric (Founder), Trevor (Account Manager), and Richard (Team Lead of Software Development).

How did you come to work with Convverge, Inc.?

We cold-called them and decided to go with them because they were receptive to what we wanted to do and flexible in adapting their work to our needs.

How much money have you invested in this partnership?

So far, we’ve spent $50,000 CAD (approximately $37,300 USD) with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven't had any bugs, and our overall experience of working with them is positive — I like the partnership I have with them.

How did Convverge, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

Regarding project management, they're super communicative, stay within budget, and deliver according to our deadlines. Moreover, they're proactive and focus on giving us good value for money by helping us with whatever we need. In terms of communication, we use Microsoft Teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their flexibility is their best attribute because few companies can adapt to their client's workflows.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think there's anything they can improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust that they know what they're doing because they're a great company to work with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the custom support manager of a small software development company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Convverge, Inc.?

We needed a partner to help configure our company and team members correctly on Microsoft 365 so we could take full advantage of the full suite, including Teams and Teams Voice, and reduce the need for other external ad hoc software programs.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Convverge, Inc. is providing us with virtual Microsoft 365 migration and support.

What is the team composition?

We mainly work with a customer account representative and two Microsoft configuration experts.

How did you come to work with Convverge, Inc.?

A former coworker with another of their clients recommended Convverge, Inc. to us when we were looking for assistance with Microsoft 365.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested somewhere between $10,000–$50,000 CAD ($7,900–$39,500 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in August 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since partnering with Convverge, Inc., onboarding employees in our growing company has become a simpler task, with less need for training.

Even the few team members who were somewhat resistant to Microsoft and Teams are now using them comfortably. Team members have stated how smoothly things are working together now.

How did Convverge, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They perform well from a project management standpoint, as they’ve also worked to increase our team’s efficiency rate. Our members are more comfortable with the software and the process is more seamless.

They have a Zendesk support desk software and we typically communicate through Teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We like that they’re very friendly, easy to approach, and highly responsive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Follow-up on minor configuration requests once major migration tasks were done.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would just advise you to go for it and I have no hesitation in recommending Convverge, Inc.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the controller of LMDG Building Code Consultants. We provide life safety and fire protection services for commercial and residential buildings. I also dabble with IT, so I’m the first point of contact for Convverge, Inc.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Convverge, Inc.?

We were old school. We had a server and physical desktops. Luckily, we moved to SharePoint before COVID-19. After that, we needed to move everything to laptops gradually.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Convverge, Inc. initially helped us with our phone voicemail system. We had an obsolete Cisco system in the office, but people started working from home, o they have their personal cell phone numbers. Then, we moved to Microsoft Teams, and Convverge, Inc. helped us with that transition. They talked to Microsoft on our behalf and did all the background work needed.

What is the team composition?

I don’t not how many people are on their staff, but we’ve dealt with four people consistently, including Eric (Founder & President).

How did you come to work with Convverge, Inc.?

When we moved to SharePoint, we realized we needed a company to help us with it. We picked a different company, but they didn’t help us — we weren’t satisfied with their services. I had a colleague, and she found Convverge, Inc. to help us move our phone system and with SharePoint. However, I put it on the back burner at the time.

When we went back to searching who to pick, we then researched Convverge, Inc. again. I had the recommendation from my colleague, so I just cold-called them and talked to Eric.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $50,000 CAD (approximately $40,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

It’s been over a year; we started working together to do the Microsoft Teams project in January 2021. Then, we engaged them more on our infrastructure, and they’re still helping us with governance, security, and more.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We can’t really quantify their work, but their responsiveness and knowledge base are outstanding — that’s what draws us to them and why we still use them.

How did Convverge, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

We use an hourly retainer, so they fill us for blocks of time and send us a spreadsheet to tell us who used the hours and what they did. I review it, and they stay within the budget.  If they’ve used up the allocated hours, they ask us if we want to continue, and then we move on.

We use Jira for project management and Microsoft Teams for communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We use Convverge, Inc. for high-level cloud issues. They’re the experts, and we want their opinion.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, I can’t think of anything. Maybe I might have something in five years, but I don’t know right now.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You should know what you want to do. They can only give you advice on what you want; if you don’t know, they can’t help you with that.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a project manager with a power line contractor in California. We update the utility power grids for various utilities, so I manage tasks like replacing power poles or the cables on top of the poles or under the ground.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Convverge, Inc.?

They’ve addressed a number of challenges we’ve faced over an extended period of time. First, there was a large discrepancy in data between our company and our customer, a regional gas and electric company. Convverge built us a software solution that uses AI and optical character recognition (OCR) technology to read screenshots and compile information in a reliable and efficient way.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Beyond reading screenshots to gather data, the platform that Convverge built leverages Microsoft Power BI platforms to create dashboards that compile spreadsheets on Sharepoint. These sheets contain data from various sources, which we then check against individual equipment IDs from our client to ensure everything adds up. Everything is presented in a very digestible way.

What is the team composition?

I worked with a team of predominately three people. Alexander (Analytics Consultant) was doing a lot of the project management — interfacing between the developers and myself. I also dealt with Al (Senior Solutions Architect) on a regular basis, but he operated in a similar capacity. I dealt with Eric (Founder) as well; he has his hands in everything.

How did you come to work with Convverge, Inc.?

They were found at our corporate level based on a recommendation.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $50,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together on the platform from April until December 2020, but it’s an iterative ongoing process. We’ve made certain upgrades that we didn’t choose to do initially because our focus was on a different area, but we’re circling back now.

They’re constantly improving the platform as we ask for increased functionality.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’d give them a score of 93 out of 100. The reason it wasn’t 100% successful wasn’t due to any sort of limitations on their side, but limitations on our side based on the data we had to work with. We were handcuffed from the start.

The platform allows us to turn money over efficiently. We were inspecting thousands of electrical structures per week, so the amount of data we had to crunch was enormous. To process that data, we would have needed 10 administrators and two more project managers, costing us $250,000 just for the staffing, but the software does it instantly

In construction, cash is king – more so than other industries — so this software helps keep our cash cycle very short. We’re able to submit invoices weekly, rather than monthly.

How did Convverge, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They did project management on their end. I was too busy to get involved in the details of their tools or deadlines because we needed everything as soon as possible.

There was a project manager, as well as developers working behind them 100% of a time and people above him that made sure this got done ASAP.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They go above and beyond. Any time we felt the project wasn’t on the right track, Eric jumped in to make sure that we were aligned. He has a great ability to read the customer, read how the developers are seeing things, and manage any disconnects that may exist. I can’t speak highly enough of him and his entire team.

Convverge’s ability to make a conference call feel collaborative was very refreshing. Even if they had a specific development for discussion or an agenda, they still ran the meeting in a way that allowed for constructive discussion. Their project management resources were really good at reading the customer and knowing when to listen and when to suggest things.

Obviously, they build customized software for industries they don’t operate in, so there’s a lot they don’t’ know about any one industry. They do know when to stop talking and listen, however, and when to direct the conversation in a certain way. It made for a very collaborative experience that I don’t see on a lot of conference calls.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have anything to mention here.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The biggest struggle was with our corporate office — explaining to them how the $50,000 cost for the product was actually the most affordable way of dealing with our issue. The upfront investment pays dividends in the long run, which is why we’re making copious investments in other systems with this company.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a land surveying and asset integrity firm, and I’m the support services manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Convverge, Inc?

Our company hired their team to build an ERP for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started out by developing a database that allowed us to house all of our drop data on a web-based application. Since then, they’ve done a lot of Microsoft related product management for us, as well as other database support work to assist with a variety of our operations.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a lot of different people from their team, including coders and project managers for the work.

How did you come to work with Convverge, Inc?

Our company was looking for developers with ERP capability at the time, and they were one of the first people we came across. They seemed competent and trustworthy from our interviews with them, so we decided to move forward from there.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost of our work with them has been around $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership started around April 2015 and is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t have formal KPIs for their work, but we have internal standards that they have lived up to with all of their deliverables for us.

How did Convverge, Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done a great job of managing the project, keeping us up to date about all of their progress and checking in whenever they have questions or clarifications about what we want.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are very versatile as a team. Any issues that we send their way, we know will get taken care of almost immediately.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything I think they should do differently off the top of my head.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as clear as possible with your expectations and draft up a good architecture document, and they will complete everything you need them to.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CFO of Cronin Capital. We’re a merchant bank focused mostly on the natural resource space. Our work includes creating investments and consulting resource companies about exploration. We mostly focus on minerals, specialty metals, oil, and gas. We have a global perspective and look at investments and assets from all over the world. Our company is diagnostic in regard to the minerals we look at.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Convverge, Inc.?

We hired Convverge, Inc. to migrate our database and files from Microsoft OneDrive to SharePoint. The objective was to create a central place to have all of our files as well as manage our data in an interface that was more user-friendly. We looked at various platforms and felt SharePoint was the best one. Then we brought on Convverge, Inc. to advise and execute it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their team created a SharePoint site for us from scratch. It integrates with OneDrive, and we can access our files directly on SharePoint or through our file explorer in Microsoft. They built the whole thing, including the interface, folder structure, and hierarchy, as well as its look and layout.

After it was built, they focused on refining it as well as seeing what we liked and didn’t like. Then, they handled integration and onboarding our staff so the platform became accessible to our entire team.

Now, we’re ironing out a few kinks. That’s normal because there’ll always be a few things to sort out in regards to the platform working properly and to us refining its look and structure as we figure out exactly what we need. There’s a bit of back-and-forth correspondence still. I’m finding it’s more to do with Microsoft directly and working out some of its technical kinks.

What is the team composition?

Eric (Principal Consultant) is our main point of contact. His primary role is understanding our needs, troubleshooting our issues, and building a framework of exactly what we want. We also work with Chris (Software Developer) and Allan (Senior Frontend Developer).

How did you come to work with Convverge, Inc.?

Our CEO had a contact who put him in touch with Convverge, Inc. We also did some research on all the service providers that could do this for us. After looking at a couple, we decided to go with Convverge, Inc. based on their experience. We also wanted a company that was Canadian-based.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $10,000–$15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement started in June 2019 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Throughout the project, our team would view what Convverge, Inc. did at each phase and then provide feedback before moving on to the next stage. For the most part, this process has been working well. There’s nothing formal, and they’ve always been very responsive. Overall, it’s been a positive experience. Convverge, Inc. really catered to us to make sure we had everything we needed. They focus on the client, getting the work done, and keeping us happy.

How did Convverge, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team has done a good job of remaining on top of things. They’re fairly efficient and always communicated clearly on what they needed. There were a few instances of miscommunication at the beginning and middle parts of the process, but they were always very quick to clear it up and make sure we were all on the same page.

Our team isn’t the most technical group around; it’s not our industry. So naturally, there will be some miscommunication and we need to take the time to talk things through. Convverge, Inc. was always good at owning their accountability if something was their mistake, and if it was ours, we did the same thing. Together, we always improved communication and got on the same wavelength.  Overall, they did a good job of project management and following timelines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We like that they’re Canadian-based. Also, they respond quite quickly when we reach out to them. I’m not exactly sure of the size of their organization, but they seem pretty small, which we like. They gave us the exact attention we needed and it didn’t feel like we were dealing with a massive organization that ignored us. They’re nimble and responsive, which was very positive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Some of their billing details were a little ambiguous and unclear on what we were going to exactly pay for. There were a few calls over billing to clarify what was expected, included in the package, and then what was extra. There was a little bit of miscommunication, but we rectified it, and they were great about handling it. I’d suggest that they be more upfront in laying everything out a little bit better in the future.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’ve already recommended them to another business associate who’s looking for something similar. Be very clear about what you need and want as a business, then communicate that very clearly to the Convverge, Inc. team.

When you’re setting up the engagement, be very clear on asking what’s included and what’s extra. Spending that time, in the beginning, to lay out everything will set yourself up for a successful engagement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the general manager at a telecommunications dealer in Canada. We have ten locations in addition to an outbound sales team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Convverge, Inc.?

We needed to transition from an internal email platform to Microsoft 365 at an affordable price. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Convverge, Inc. built out our new CRM with Microsoft 365 and migrated over all of our existing data.

What is the team composition?

Eric (Principal Consultant, Converge Inc.) was our initial point of contact, and there were two other teammates providing support. We worked with three people in total.
 
How did you come to work with Convverge, Inc.?

We called Microsoft, and they provided a list of recommended resellers for Microsoft 365. Convverge, Inc. was one of them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $3,000 for their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We completed the entire project within March 2020. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It was a straightforward project — they successfully migrated our existing emails to Microsoft 365 and created a couple of back-ups. Overall, everything works pretty well.

There was a small hiccup with emailing from our POS system, but they worked with our technical team to fix the issue quickly. 

How did Convverge, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They handled the project well. Everything was organized and followed the plan that their team initially laid out. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Eric took the time to visit me in person at the start of the project. I’m pretty old-school, so that went a long way in my book. Meeting face-to-face really convinced us to partner with them for this project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I wouldn’t ask them to change anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Their records with us speaks for itself. I would recommend them based on their performance on this project. The Convverge, Inc. team was organized from start to finish — it felt like they always had everything under control and walked us through the process. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of corporate development and information services for a domestic liquified natural gas (LNG) provider.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Convverge, Inc.?

We initially hired them to develop an internal intranet using SharePoint.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed the intranet, an internal collaboration site where team members can self-serve various company resources and collaborate on documents. The intranet that Convverge, Inc. created also allows various departments to store documents and develop a workflow for their day-to-day tasks. 

The team used Microsoft technology, in particular SharePoint Online. They also deployed some of the power platform features such as Power BI and Microsoft Power Automate. Additionally, they provided a support package for any technical issues or minor adjustments that we needed to make on the design of the intranet.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with a least 4–5 individuals. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably spent $300,000–$400,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We first engaged with them in 2018, which is when we developed the scope. The actual development began in early 2019. We’ve since branched off to using Convverge, Inc. for other services, such as some of our power app development, which also connects to the intranet that they originally developed. 

The work has slowed down within the past month due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but we intend to continue some time in Q4.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We know the work has been successful through the adoption that we’re receiving internally. The fact that these tools are being used by various parts of our business is attributed to the success of the deployment and development of the technology.

The impact of their work has been positive thus far, and it has helped our business to realign some of our internal processes. It’s also given us insight into parts of our business that we didn’t have before. 

How did Convverge, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

The team was very good at responding to requests when they happened. Each project was very iterative, and there was a lot of back and forth between our teams. They adhered to their timelines. 

Any delays that happened were largely due to our team getting caught up with some of the other day-to-day tasks that we had. Convverge, Inc. was largely on track with meeting their deadlines, and they met all of the project requirements.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Convverge, Inc. exhibits acute attention to detail, and they truly love what they do – that’s what sets them apart from their competitors.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could slightly improve their reporting of project status updates in terms of spend versus budget while offering more details about the spend. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ensure that the organization has a high level of engagement with Convverge, Inc. This will make for a good product and design, and provide the team with what they need to do what they do best.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of sales and operations for an industrial supply company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Convverge, Inc.?

We hired Convverge, Inc. to develop an audit and inspection app for our service fleet. We wanted better tracking and improved maintenance records for our internal service vehicles.

This was in order to better manage maintenance schedules to extend their lives. Also, the app helped our technicians provide service to vehicles while on the road.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built the app from scratch. It primarily runs through Office 365 integration and was developed for SharePoint using Microsoft PowerApps.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Eric (President, Convverge, Inc.), who really knew his stuff and was very professional. We also worked with Chris (Software Developer, Convverge, Inc.) and another developer.

How did you come to work with Convverge, Inc.?

I found them on Google while looking for a local developer. We needed someone who could travel to the site to get a feel of what we did. We reached out to a few developers and thought that Convverge, Inc. had a very professional team. Because of this, we moved forward with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested close to $10,000 on that application.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began work in August 2019 and completed the project around November 2019. We still reach out to them for service and support occasionally. We’re also in the planning stages of building another app and will likely hire them once they submit a proposal.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After implementation, we did live testing. 14 days after the rollout, they also did another review. Both times, everything was working as intended which was fantastic. We were stringent that we had a final solution that worked, and they delivered.

How did Convverge, Inc.perform from a project management standpoint?

They did well and were easy to communicate with. They’re transparent and let us know what they were working on and when there were delays. I had almost daily updates from Chris, which made it very easy to work with him. I didn’t have to push them to have them do their best, they were adamant that we had the most proper solution.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very upfront with their limitations. They’re Microsoft experts, which made brainstorming easy throughout the project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Unfortunately, we had some issues with the initial project estimate. There wasn’t much communication on the fact that we passed our initial budget estimations. I wish they relayed to us that we met our initial project estimate, giving us the opportunity to decide if we would continue to invest further.

However, because of that they discounted the work and did a lot extra, making up for the miscommunication. That was the only issue we ran into.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have open communication channels with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the executive director of a Pipeline Industry Association with 90+ members.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Convverge, Inc.?

We had built a custom, private sharepoint site, but when our HOST self imploded we had to rebuild it and re-invite more than 700 individuals to the new site. Converge handled that plus all of the cries for help from members to get re-established because of things like the invite going to spam or members lacking the knowledge of how to log in to the new site and register.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Cost was a big factor and previous knowledge of how our site was constructed.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

1. Rebuild the previous sharepoint site.
2. REinvite all previous members
3. Work with Members who were having problems with registering and getting into the new site.
4. Provide permissions for some members to have special access to various parts of the sites, loading and editing documents on the site, etc.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

AT least two very experienced personnel (Al and Al)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It was excellent, very attentive to our needs and emergencies and our members needs were handled quite promptly.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very Effecitve.

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

We were impressed with their knowledge and ability to handle our problems.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Nope, keep up the good work Converge.