#ExpectMore from your software development partner
CSHARK - Custom Software Development | Product Design | IT outsourcing
We are flesh and blood and a bit of humor in a technology world. What we love the most is working on software projects with passionate people who like to get things done, as we do. Believing in transparent communication, we provide bad news early (and good news even earlier!).
ABOUT CSHARK
We are a software development and product design company founded in 2014, and operating in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Singapore, and Poland.
Simply put, we develop web and mobile apps from scratch to launch, and we advise companies to find the right technology solutions and build digital products people love.
We have been recognized for dynamic growth by:
The Financial Times (FT 1000 Europe's Fastest-Growing Companies 2020, 2021, 2022),
Forbes (Forbes Diamonds 2021).
TECHNOLOGY & PROJECTS
Business problems first, then we choose the most suitable tech solution. Our leading, reliable and universal technology is .NET and .NET Core, but we also develop in Golang, Java, JavaScript, TypeScript, AngularJS, ReactJS, and mobile languages for Android and iOS.
We have grown up on FinTech projects like an Irish unicorn Fenergo. Still, now, with over 300 people onboard, we are delivering projects for various industries related to biotech, music, energy, and IoT sectors.
cshark.com/net-development-company/
cshark.com/projects/
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, MVP DEVELOPMENT & IT OUTSOURCING
Casually we work in two different ways:
if you are at the beginning of the product development process, have just an idea on a napkin, and you need guidance through the whole product design and software development process, we'll take you to our MVP development track: cshark.com/mvp-development/
if you already have a team, and you need to expand it with additional developers, we'll take you to our IT outsourcing track, in which we put our experienced people at your disposal.
Ready to consult your project?

headquarters
other locations
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Herrendamm 45Lübeck 23556Germany
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36 Jesmond Avenue NorthBridge of Don AB22 8WDUnited Kingdom
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160 Robinson Road, #06-01 SBF CenterSingapore 068914Singapore
Focus
Portfolio
Fenergo (Fintech), REGENHU (Biotech), VecCtor (Digital infrastructure for Industry 4.0), HTP J-1 Visa Programs, Nudge (Oil & Energy), Meta Bytes (Technology), Pixel Guru (IT), Omega Lambda (Science Solutions), Mindset Innovation, Inc. (Consumer Electronics)

Software for global banks and institutions
Fenergo is an Irish FinTech unicorn, the leading provider of Client Lifecycle Management and Regulatory Compliance Management for 32 of the top 50 financial institutions globally e.g., BNP Paribas, Santander, Bank of China, Credit Suisse, Rabobank, and more.
THE CHALLENGE AND THE GOAL
Our close partnership started in 2015 with 23 people on CSHARK’s side, working on software development for banks for Fenergo, which employed 55 at the time. We jointly thrived to FinTech unicorn, which is Fenergo, and one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe by the Financial Times report, which is CSHARK.
As we have been working side by side for almost 8 years, our main challenge is immutable - to support Fenergo in implementing innovative solutions.
THE SOLUTION
CSHARK engineers have been working in the following areas: Research & Development, Anti-Money Laundering, Client Lifecycle Management, Client Risk Rating, Regulatory Onboarding, Tax Compliance, Risk Assessment.
Simply put, developed solutions help financial institutions efficiently manage the regulatory onboarding and client data management processes. They ensure compliance with multiple regulatory frameworks and support data collection and accessibility across the institution.
CASE STUDY
Read more: https://bit.ly/Fenergo_Case_Study

Software for tissue engineering
REGENHU is a MedTech company that creates advanced bioprinting hardware & software solutions in Tissue Engineering, Regenerative Medicine, and Drug Discovery.
REGENHU’s bioprinting management software, SHAPER, allows users to design, compose and sequence objects for 3D printing
THE CHALLENGE AND THE GOAL
During development, we encountered several significant issues in SHAPER:
- it consumed a lot of system memory,
- most of the code of 2D and 3D printing modules were duplicated, and common mechanisms were at that point difficult to extract,
- the fixes were time-consuming; implementing changes was taking much longer than necessary,
- there were multiple bugs in the application code.
The code duplicates were very similar but not identical. As a result, we needed to fix errors twice, because of the two separate components of the SHAPER application. This resulted in a significant maintenance cost.
THE SOLUTION
In the case of SHAPER, our analysis showed that refactoring would be the best option. We consolidated several REGENHU’s applications into one tool and we added new features.
The entire development process involved transitioning from the initial proof-of-concept to prototype and then from prototype to the actual product. Simply put:
1. The application developed into a new architecture, and modern quality standards.
2. System memory use was cut by 90%, which helped eliminate the need to use a swap file located on the hard drive, making the application run faster, smoother, and without jittering.
3. The time required to generate various design shapes is now linear - it takes the same amount of time regardless of the complexity of projects and the number of its elements.
4. It makes greater use of the processor, contributing to better use of computer resources.
CASE STUDY
Read more: https://bit.ly/regenhu-casestudy-clutch

Industrial assets monitoring platform
VecCtor allows for monitoring the client’s industrial assets. The platform is used to track drivers, passengers, vehicles, and cargo.
THE CHALLENGE AND THE GOAL
VecCtor’s challenges were manifold, and CSHARK decided to help to overcome them all:
- We took away a financial risk by investing in VecCtor. The company could concentrate on product development and sales with a financial cushion.
- We provided end-to-end software development support to create the platform and offered IT mentoring and assistance.
Our team included ten talents: a tech lead, a product owner, back-end and front-end developers, a DevOps, and a UX designer. They were divided into two teams to utilize Scrum’s scalability and increase the autonomy and flexibility of our developers.
THE SOLUTION
Telematics used in VecCtor’s platform help companies gain knowledge about the fleet and people.
VecCtor’s system allows for:
- planning team member's tasks and monitor the execution,
- notifying employees about developments and roadblocks,
- improving the flow of internal documentation,
- increasing employees’ effectiveness.
Thanks to combining all these features, all logistic processes (deliveries, material exploitation, construction projects, tool repairs, etc.) can be easily cataloged, tracked, and measured.
- planning team member's tasks and monitor the execution,
- notifying employees about developments and roadblocks,
- improving the flow of internal documentation,
- increasing employees’ effectiveness.
CASE STUDY
Read the project description https://bit.ly/VecCtor

Web application development for U.S. Visa Programs
HTP J-1 Visa Programs - Web Application Development for U.S. Visa Programs
HTP J-1 is a leading U.S. provider of international Visa programs that helps elevate the skills of interns, trainees, and employers from all over the world. The application collects various data about visa program participants, like a place of staying, insurance, workplace, and assists with necessary materials before and after arrival to the U.S.
THE CHALLENGE AND THE GOAL
The system users complained about the poor performance, application presentation layer, lack of email delivery, and several other issues, so HTP J-1 needed to fix and maintain their web application.
CSHARK’s developers' most significant challenge was working on a legacy code left by two different software development companies. The quality of the code left much to be desired, and the application was unstable. The system required fixes and code optimization.
THE SOLUTION
We fixed the prioritized bugs and improved the code, making the application more functional and reliable. Our dedicated team of specialists now focuses on maintaining a stable version of the system and adding new features as required.
CASE STUDY
Read the project description http://bit.ly/HTPJ-1_Visa-Programs_Case-Study

The energy industry’s recruitment platform
Nudge is a marketplace that simplifies introducing freelance contractors to companies.
A contractor can create a profile and present their skills, expertise, availability, and rates. On the other hand, companies enter the community of experts that allows finding the right skillset at the right time.
THE CHALLENGE AND THE GOAL
We went from the CEO’s idea about creating a grand recruitment platform for the Energy sector to an MVP that simply works. With great tradition and a slow-but-steady development’s pace of the industry, digitalizing a previously long and tiresome hiring process was an ambitious task.
THE SOLUTION
As a result of research and product design workshops, we created a prototype and conducted user validation interviews. In Nudge’s case, we created an MVP as a scalable monolithic app based on .NET Core and React.
In the MVP development process took part decision-makers and industry experts from the client side, and the CSHARK team: product designers, analysts, architects, software developers, and branding experts.
CASE STUDY
Read the project description https://bit.ly/nudge-case-study

Photo enhancement tool for car dealerships
Pixel Guru is a photo enhancement tool for car dealerships that helps increase sales by taking great pictures of cars using custom frames.
THE CHALLENGE AND THE GOAL
Our goal was to improve the inefficient and cost-consuming process of editing vehicle images. The challenge was to automate the entire process and create an ML-based photo enhancement tool.
THE SOLUTION
We automated the process using machine learning to discover the client's preferences. The photo editing process is automatic and runs in the background, shortening the photo editing process to a few seconds without generating additional costs.
CASE STUDY
Read the project description https://bit.ly/pixel-guru-projects

Desktop app development and cloud infrastructure
The company offers neurotechnology devices & services that help people rise above distraction. ENO’s goal is to help users improve their focus, develop positive work habits, and unlock their true potential.
ENOPHONE is a product designed to help achieve the highest level of focus and leverage neurotech to prioritize productivity. The ecosystem consists of hardware (a pair of headphones equipped with EEG sensors) and software (an app that continually communicates with the headset to inform users about their current deep work session).
THE CHALLENGE AND THE GOAL
We supported the development of the ENOPHONE product through the ENOWORK application. The goal was to build a desktop application and cloud infrastructure to manage the product.
We were responsible for creating new subpages, like the Session Page, that had to seamlessly integrate with the already existing product design. Those views had to be functional and ergonomic yet not distract the user’s attention. One of our primary goals was to introduce a new cognitive layer where users will learn detailed information about the metrics and how to read them.
One of the additional challenges was the fact that we worked on improving the software while continuing to support the live product in a maintenance mode.
THE SOLUTION
Before we wrote a single line of code, we conducted research and organized comprehensive workshops to gather insights about the current state of the project and plans for the future.
We interviewed Eno’s early adopters who had been supporting it from the start. This helped us to discover their needs, pain points, and expectations. We created a user journey map and product roadmap, which were later transformed into wireframes and high-fidelity design with new and improved metrics.
CASE STUDY
Read more: https://bit.ly/Eno-Behance-Case-Study
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Ethical music licensing platform development
The Unsigned Library is a new, ethical music licensing platform connecting independent musicians with seekers of the perfect soundtrack for their brand creations.
This project is all about innovation and creativeness, supported by an ethical approach – built for musicians by musicians.
THE CHALLENGE AND THE GOAL
The client came to us with the idea of a music platform for musicians and music seekers. Music is to be searched using an algorithm based on elements like mood, style, emotion, and genre. The platform aims to connect niche musicians with music agencies, to sell soundtracks.
What distinguishes this solution from other music platforms on the market is that it protects the copyrights of musicians. It also educates inexperienced music makers on how to act on the market as well as helps them present music, sell it, and find new project orders.
THE SOLUTION
We have gone from zero to the market. We started with product discovery workshops, which were critical for developing the product vision, objectives, and business goals. We conducted interviews with music experts to better understand their needs, and to provide appropriate functionalities in the product.
The product design and product branding was a large part of this project – we managed to translate users’ pains into meaningful solutions.
In the end, we developed an MVP, which can be tested on the market and further scaled up to a fully functional product.
The process summary:
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Discovery workshops
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Value proposition
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Design sprint
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Validation interviews with users
CASE STUDY
Read more: https://bit.ly/Unsigned-Library-Behance

Petromex (Energy & Natural Resources), Mobile appl
The main activity of Petromex is the wholesale and retail sale of fuels and heating diesel oils.
THE CHALLENGE AND THE GOAL
We faced the challenge of designing and implementing a custom application. The main goal of the application was to notify customers about the approximate delivery time.
Our goal was also to focus on creating a B2B platform supporting the sales and customer service process.
THE SOLUTION
We created a delivery tracking system for petrol station owners which specifies the time the order will appear at the pickup point. It gives the ability to conduct business in a more organized way. Minimization of the needed communication with drivers and clients is an additional advantage.
The delivery routes and delivery times are automatically generated while establishing orders in the ERP. The drivers receive a list of drop-off points, and each client is informed about the time of delivery.

Visual system improving workflow and supporting le
Kanri Soft is a business software manufacturer that allows companies to follow the lean management concepts – from assembly line workers to managers making strategic decisions.
Their digital administration system combines many data acquisition, processing, and visualization tools and can be hosted on-premises or in the cloud, depending on the client’s requirements.
THE CHALLENGE AND THE GOAL
We had to learn a lot about the day-to-day work of manufacturing companies, and listen to the needs of each person involved in the production, from machine operators to CEOs, to understand their points of view. Flexibility played a big part in this project as we were working at the forefront of industry digitalization and automation of lean processes.
THE SOLUTION
We started the product development from workshops with the client to immerse ourselves in the industry and deeply research the functional requirements, and come up with a detailed backlog and wireframes. We put ourselves in the end user's shoes and came up with the most accurate designs and functions.
The process summary:
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Discovery workshops
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Product innovation
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Product strategy
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UX design
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Product development
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Branding
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Development
CASE STUDY
Read more: https://bit.ly/Kanri-Case-Study

Peer-to-peer application development
Peernet is a native Windows 11 application allowing speedy sharing and downloading of files. The app establishes a trusted connection through a decentralized peer-to-peer network owned and operated by its users. Peernet is completely open, inclusive, and free to use.
THE CHALLENGE AND THE GOAL
The main goal of Peernet app is to enable quick sharing and downloading of files uploaded by system users. Designing and building intuitive screens was key. We also aimed to highlight the popularity of particular files, present the peer-to-peer approach and display the location of users.
THE SOLUTION
We handled the product development from beginning to end. We started with product discovery workshops during which, together with the client, we came up with a suitable strategy and functional development of the product.
We created a LoFi and a ready-for-development Hi-Fi prototype that was later implemented.
The process summary:
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Product discovery workshops
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Product strategy - Roadmap, MVP
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UX design - Information architecture & Low fidelity wireframes
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UI design - High fidelity design & Design system
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Development - Go-to-market product
CASE STUDY
Read more: https://bit.ly/Peernet-Behance
Reviews
the project
Mobile Application Development for Software Tool Developer
“This has been our most successful partnership with a third-party vendor to date.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the COO of Woodpecker.
What challenge were you trying to address with CSHARK?
We hired CSHARK to develop a solution for a mobile application that supports part of our web app.
What was the scope of their involvement?
CSHARK is developing a mobile app from scratch that corresponds to the web version and provides our users with additional feature options. We’re currently on the third iteration of the app. Most of the web app’s features are centered on automating cold email campaigns. CSHARK has extended those features in the mobile version to include cold call campaigns to improve our users’ outreach.
What is the team composition?
We worked with two teammates from CSHARK, including an engineer and a project manager.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve invested $10,000–$15,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
Our engagement began in February 2021, and it’s ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We’re very pleased with CSHARK’s performance so far. This is the first time my company is building a mobile app, and CSHARK has been very supportive throughout the project. Their team has guided us through the development of the solution and the app publication.
How did CSHARK perform from a project management standpoint?
We typically communicate with CSHARK through Slack, although we do exchange emails. CSHARK always delivers projects on time.
What did you find most impressive about them?
This has been our most successful partnership with a third-party vendor to date. We’re really happy with CSHARK.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I have nothing for CSHARK to improve.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
I’d advise customers to hire CSHARK if they want to have an entire project handled externally. CSHARK’s team is very independent.
the project
Dev Staff Augmentation for Cybersecurity Development Company
“CSHARK cares — they’re an impressive organization.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the CTO of a cybersecurity development company that is the product arm of a federal consultancy. We focus on software development and try to facilitate our customers’ journey through cloud-native infrastructure while being mindful of modern security practices.
What challenge were you trying to address with CSHARK?
I had been tasked with finding a set of developers to build out an open-source core engine.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Although CSHARK strength is .NET development, they put together a team of software developers that work with Golang and are familiar with Kubernetes, the cloud-native ecosystem that offers the Cloud-Native Computing Foundation (CNCF).
Most of the work that we’re doing is built in Go, but they also make use of Kubernetes and perform integrations with various standard open-source platforms and tools. Essentially, I designed the core platform, and they’re now implementing it.
What is the team composition?
We’re currently working with four backend developers from CSHARK, and they act as a virtual extension of our team. They also provide us with a project manager who assists us with Scrum.
How did you come to work with CSHARK?
I did some research and found a list of various software houses around the world. In that list, I came across CSHARK and contacted them. I’m pretty happy with our journey so far.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent around $300,000–$350,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in August 2020 with just one developer. The second developer joined in September 2020, and the other two joined in November 2020. We’re still working together.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
CSHARK is very professional, and we’re very satisfied with their work. One of our milestones was a core open-source piece of software, and it is available now. They did a phenomenal job.
How did CSHARK perform from a project management standpoint?
CSHARK performs very well, and they have delivered on every milestone on time or even before the deadline. They have great availability and transparent communication. Additionally, they always look for ways to support their customers and ensure their satisfaction.
We work on standard Agile two-week sprints, and they provide us with reports whenever we need them. Everything works great.
What did you find most impressive about them?
CSHARK cares — they’re an impressive organization. Their developers care about building relationships with the customer, and they do a really good job. I’ve worked with various vendors in different consulting companies, and I’m impressed with what CSHARK is doing.
Are there any areas they could improve?
It would be great if CSHARK could build up their bench strength or have a more streamlined way of bringing in new candidates. The only problem that we’ve come across is staffing shortages. Part of the challenge is that we’re looking for amazing Golang developers, but everyone is trying to hire them, and there aren’t many candidates out there.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Put in the necessary work on planning out what you need to get done; it will save you a lot of time and get you the desired results faster.
the project
Custom Platform Dev. for Energy Freelancer Platform
"They brought good ideas to the table from the start."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the founder and CEO of Nudge, an energy freelancer platform.
What challenge were you trying to address with CSHARK?
We were successful getting access to an accelerator program in the UK and obtained funding and support from a number of energy industry professionals, mentors, and industry experts through that process. Our engagement with CSHARK started before that, but we asked them to build the freelancer platform.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They developed our MVP platform and created the connection service. They built both from scratch. We gave them a little guidance on ideas, but not much technical guidance. We were also successful in getting access to AWS after the credits to host our platform. That was the only request we made for the tech stack. What they used to build the platform was all up to them.
The platform is for three users: freelancers, companies, and us as the intermediary. The main feature for the freelancers was the ability to create profiles. The key feature for the companies was the ability to create contracts. We have an admin dashboard that connects us to the individuals with those contracts. In addition to that, we created a process that invites individuals to one-way interviews once a match is made.
Also, they enabled all notifications, making sure information was sent to the relevant party at the appropriate point in time. Once the interview was taken, there was the ability for the companies to select their preferred candidate and provide 360-style feedback. Once a company found a preferred candidate, they’d onboard them. There was information exchanged and thereafter, individuals can create timesheets and use a digital wallet for payments. They developed the product and these features from start to finish.
It’s a web application using AWS for hosting. They used C# and React on the frontend. The project is complete. We still continue to work with them but it’s for add-ons.
What is the team composition?
My main point of contact was Peter (Business Development Manager). We had a consistent team, including a frontend developer and a backend developer. There were also some DevOps and some UI/UX designers as required.
How did you come to work with CSHARK?
I was contacted by their sales agent through LinkedIn. We went with them because they were so engaging. They really spent time trying to understand what it was we were trying to achieve. We mapped out the work to do, and they spent a lot of time and effort trying to understand that. They were very clear and transparent.
Other companies we engaged with said they could build the product for us but that they’d decide what tech stack to use. CSHARK, on the other hand, was open to using AWS because that’s what we wanted. We wanted to support our project and contribute, and they were open to that. They also entertained our target price.
How much have you invested with them?
We spent $50,000–$200,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We worked together from August 2020–January 2021.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Not all the user stories were delivered, but additional stories were added over time. It was a bit of a moving target, but we still managed to deliver the project on budget. The reason it wasn’t delivered on time was more to do with third-party integrations that were above and beyond the control of CSHARK. The project was a great success. I’m delighted.
How did CSHARK perform from a project management standpoint?
There was complete transparency through a Jira board that we shared. We used Slack and Zoom to communicate otherwise. We did stand-ups once every few days. We had demonstrations every Monday. Everything was tracked on Jira. We also used AWS and GitHub to manage the development.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They have a desire to complete quality projects. There was complete transparency throughout the partnership. They brought good ideas to the table from the start.
Are there any areas they could improve?
There’s not much I’d suggest they could improve. Every project has corrections and improvements, but it’s difficult to pick one out in this instance.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
I’ve recommended some friends and fellow startups to CSHARK.
the project
.NET Development for Legal Technology Co
“Their team is knowledgeable, friendly, transparent, and responsive.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the CRO and founder of Focis. Our product helps law firms share data with their clients.
What challenge were you trying to address with CSHARK?
We need assistance to scale our product, make it more secure, and conduct user testing. We don’t have enough resources to deal with that ourselves, so we brought on CSHARK.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Our product helps law firms to update their clients when they’re working on different files. The law firm can share documents and data with the client, while the platform notifies clients when the firm has hit key stages. They can also collaborate by sending messages to one another through our platform.
So far, CSHARK has helped with project planning and has used .NET to develop a web-based product with various APIs.
They’ve also made recommendations as to how we can continue to improve the product, such as adding a security layer.
What is the team composition?
We had an account manager, project manager, and a .NET developer.
How did you come to work with CSHARK?
We initially got in touch with them through LinkedIn. We met with them and held an initial discovery session to go over what we were looking for and what they could provide. Then we had a detailed follow-up meeting with their technical team. After that, we had a one-month trial period to see how well they handled some of our tasks. That went well, so we’ve continued our engagement.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent £27,000 (approximately $37,000 USD).
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in October 2020 and the project is ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We’ve released the product to one of our clients, and they’ve provided really good feedback. CHSHARK has been exceptionally helpful during the architecting phase and has provided great ideas.
How did CSHARK perform from a project management standpoint?
Their team is knowledgeable, friendly, transparent, and responsive. They communicate well; we have bi-weekly calls and use Slack regularly.
I am very impressed by their project management. They adopted an agile methodology and used Jira to manage in sprints. As a result, they delivered faster than anticipated, which really pleased our clients.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Most importantly, they’ve taken ownership of the project, are quick to address concerns, and have proactively addressed any issues. That’s why we’ve been so successful. They’ve structured the project so we stay on track to meet our goals.
Are there any areas they could improve?
We need to be better at specifying our requirements.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
New clients should be open to their methodology. If they are open to CSHARK’s recommendations, they will get more out of the partnership.
the project
Dev & Architecture Augmentation for Swedish Tech Company
“They always deliver on their promises.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m a co-founder and the CTO of Meta Bytes, a Swedish tech company. We become companies’ strategic partner for planning, development, and delivery.
We’ve been around for about four-and-a-half years. We have many international clients, and we’re getting more traction in Sweden with smaller production companies.
What challenge were you trying to address with CSHARK?
We’ve been using them to augment our development and architecture teams. In some cases, we’ve had to scale our team significantly and on short notice, so it was more convenient to partner with CSHARK and find the needed resources in a quick manner.
What was the scope of their involvement?
My company and our clients act as the product owners, and we work in an agile sprint-based manner with CSHARK’s development team.
We develop a lot of cloud-based microservices, so aside from the tech stack itself, there’s a lot of architecture work involved. Most microservices are on AWS, but it depends on the client’s needs. We develop various solutions in Golang, including relational and document databases.
We do CI/CD/CD (continuous integration, continuous delivery, and continuous deployment) work in a DevOps fashion. We give the developers as much access as they need to deliver on the stories they’re working on. We use various technologies related to the DevOps lifecycle.
What is the team composition?
We have different account managers from CSHARK who help us find the correct resources. They’re brilliant at finding the right teammates for what we need, both in terms of tech stack and experience, but also in terms of fitting in with our team.
We work with their account managers to nail out the requirements for the team member we need, and they go do their thing. They’re usually quick in coming back with relevant candidates. We then have a short interview and onboard the new person.
How did you come to work with CSHARK?
We Googled around and found them. CSHARK had a very professional website. We sent them an email and had a call after that. We realized that they were very professional, so we onboarded a developer from them.
How much have you invested with them?
The total cost so far is in the region of $500,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working with CSHARK in October 2019, and it’s ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We’ve worked and are working with other partners, and CSHARK has been one of our most positive experiences. They’re very good at coming up with relevant people with the correct skills. Working with CSHARK has allowed us to scale up and deliver quicker in response to client demand.
All of our teammates are very pleased with working with CSHARK. They’re very professional and skilled. They offer a good mix of competency and professionalism with regard to how they deliver. They also balance doing everything in a gold-standard way and actually delivering. Many developers and architects can become set on doing things perfectly, but that’s not applicable in all scenarios. There has to be a middle ground in how we deliver while still delivering quality, and we’ve seen that with CSHARK.
How did CSHARK perform from a project management standpoint?
They’re very good with project management. Their developers manage expectations very well. The resources we have are very experienced. They come up with timelines and stick to them. Depending on the requirements, it can be hard to come up with timelines, but we’ve had a very good experience with this overall.
What did you find most impressive about them?
The quality of the team members is very high, and they find them in a rapid manner. CSHARK has found 3–5 very relevant candidates within just a couple of weeks. They’re usually very experienced and have worked on similar projects, so onboarding them is much easier than in other scenarios.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I haven’t found anything negative that I’d like them to be better at. CSHARK has become better-prepared to meet our demands. The challenge is that they have to bring in people who are ready to work with us. This didn’t need much improvement before, and it’s nice to see that they’re improving in all of the areas we’re giving them feedback in.
Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?
Having clear requirements can speed up the process. One of the errors I initially made was asking CSHARK if they had available resources, without providing specifics on the project and how long it would be. Had I better specified, I think the process would’ve been quicker. This goes for all projects.
the project
Development Services for Software/Hardware Provider
"The company is able to meet the requirements without much input from our side, and require very little management."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I am the Chief Technology Officer at Mindset Innovation, Inc. We develop a hardware/software platform that leverages brain date from a wearable to deliver productivity and mental health benefits.
For what projects/services did your company hire CSHARK, and what were your goals?
We hired CShark to support in the development of our Desktop application and cloud infrastructure. Our goal was to complete the development of our first official version of the application on Windows and MacOS.
How did you select CSHARK and what were the deciding factors?
We were introduced by CShark through other clients.
Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.
After our initial meetings, we opened up two separate projects with them: - Bluetooth API with our wearable - CI/CD - Cloud infrastructure Afterwards, we integrated their team with ours to help support the infrastructure development and feature development.
How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?
A project manager was our point of contact for project related affairs. We also had two backend/dev-ops/cloud developers with whom we do weekly meetings. An additional two backend/cloud developers are involved as well, but do not directly interface with our company. Total of 5 people from CShark are involved at this time with our project.
Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?
The team has achieved work of great quality, with some robust Bluetooth functions, fully functional CI/CD and cloud infrastructure. The new bluetooth API has allowed us to greatly improve the user experience by ensuring our device data streaming works seamlessly on all platforms.
The implementation of CI/CD has saved our internal team countless hours of manually packaging the application, resulting in increased productivity on our side. The quality of the work is evidenced by the fact that we now continue working with them and scaling their efforts as needed.
Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.
Initially, we interfaced with their project manager more closely as we setup the project scope. Their manager will typically join the weekly meeting, but will not participate in the technical conversations.
We interface directly with their developers within our company's Microsoft Teams channels, and use Monday.com and Gitlab to collaborate on development. We normally set weekly goals together, and follow-up as necessary in the week to try and remove and obstacles for them.
Generally, unless for planning or brainstorm, we only ever meet once a week. They are very easy to manage and do not require a lot of effort on our side. They are all well disciplined and hard working.
While the level of communications is not as high as with an internal development team, it is appropriate for the type of relationship we are having at the moment. The team at CShark is very competent and typically do not require much input from our side to complete their project.
What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?
The company is able to meet the requirements without much input from our side, and require very little management. They are able to scale the # of hours very easily by adding more developers on their side, as necessary. We do not need to manage most of the resources on their side.
Their team is also providing solutions and suggestions outside of the scope of their work to help us improve the product beyond the requirements we provide them. This all happens organically without us asking.
Because of their multi-disciplinary expertise, they are able to pin-point possible areas of concerns we did not anticipate, and suggest corrective measures or improvements as necessary. Their level of interest and professionalism makes them the ideal candidate for long-term business relationship, and it is made obvious through their actions.
Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?
The biggest hurdle to offloading development efforts to contractors is about communication. At the beginning, the amount of communication was too low, and we had to learn how to properly manage their team to get the most out of them, while ensuring we meet our requirements.
This involved internal adjustments on our side and the use of different tools. In addition, it would be good to have better visibility into the hours spent. As far as I know, they do a great job at tracking their time, but it would be preferable to get more frequent updates -- as it would allow us to ensure we are spending all the resources allocated, and moving at the fastest pace possible.
Because we do not work as intimately together, it is not always clear whether the amount of work allocated is sufficient to meet our # of work hours/month target. In the cases where not enough work is dispatched, it will result in a month with much less hours billed, and therefore slower development.
the project
Mobile App Development for Diesel Retailer
"Communication went smoothly."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
The main activity of Petromex is wholesale and retail sale of fuels and heating diesel oils. We have been operating on the fuel market for nearly 30 years. We buy fuels on domestic markets only from reliable suppliers.
The offer is supplemented by the sale of fuel tanks and used oil tanks, tank service services, purchase of used oil.
As the co-owner of the company and the person responsible for the sales and marketing department, I am looking for solutions that will allow us to stand out from the competition.
For what projects/services did your company hire CSHARK?
Our cooperation included designing and implementing an application for notifying customers about the approximate delivery time and creating a B2B platform supporting the sales and customer service process.
What were your goals for this project?
The primary goal of the project was to modernize and automatize crucial parts of company-client communication and speed up processes which help clients keep track of their orders.
We were able to substantially limit the amount of direct communication with our clients and enable our administrative staff to concentrate on other tasks. Moreover, we gave our delivery personnel the tools to inform clients about the status of their shipment.
How did you select CSHARK?
Cshark has been recommended to us by an IT service company cooperating with us. The predictor to start cooperation with a new service provider is not only the knowledge and portfolio of a given company, but also the ability to build relationships and efficient communication.
The team with whom we had the pleasure to work showed a high level of professional and interpersonal competences. This is how trust is created, the most valuable value for us.
Describe the project in detail.
The Petromex app is a delivery tracking system for petrol station owners, which enables our clients to know, ahead of time, the precise time their order will appear at their doorstep. It serves two purposed.
On one hand it gives our clients the ability to conduct their business in a more organized way, on the other, from the administrative perspective, it helps substantially minimize the needed communication with both drivers and clients.
The delivery routes and delivery times are automatically generated while establishing orders in our ERP. The drivers receive a list of drop-off points and each client is informed about the time of delivery.
What was the team composition?
1 x Back End Developer - .NET CORE + MySQL 1 x Front End Developer with React JS, Redux, Styled components, react-hook-form, material-ui 1 x DevOps 1 x UX/UI designer
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
Currently, we are still testing and improving some functionalities. However, interest among customers can be noticed, which gives us the belief that further development of the customer panel will be beneficial for both parties.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
Communication went smoothly. We managed to find a common language and understanding for the work of both parties, which in the course of creating the application certainly allowed us to avoid possible misunderstandings.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
A particularly important advantage of the project team is openness and a matter-of-fact approach to the subject.
The experience of team members allowed us to systematize individual elements of the project, set priorities, thanks to which we were able to quickly build the basis of the application and implement it in the company, and over time to introduce new solutions improving its functionality.
We also value commitment and individual approach.
Are there any areas for improvement?
When designing the application, together with the CSHARK team, we tried to think ahead, so that the implementation of new functionalities did not require extensive rebuilding, but adding new modules.
Over time, we will try to implement new solutions that will extend communication with customers, process automation and data exchange.
the project
Software Development for Tissue Engineering Company
"The most impressive thing about CSHARK is their ability to react quickly and efficiently."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
We provide a solution for Tissue Engineering researchers throughout the world. The solution consists of a high-end 3D bio-printer capable of handling a wide range of biomaterials and BioInks, consumables and a software solution for designing the desired print. I am the Software Architect in charge of the software solution at our company.
For what projects/services did your company hire CSHARK?
The world of bioprinting is in constant evolution and we must always stay ahead of the curve to provide our partners the best software solution they can have. In order to be able to offer the best quality, we needed to increase our internal software development team and were looking to extend it with experts in C# .NET development who could join and integrate a team. In addition, the swiss market lacked the resource we needed so we were looking for nearshore companies which could provide such experts.
What were your goals for this project?
Since we were looking for people integrating in the existing team, one of the key goal was the flexibility and ability to work in an Agile methodology. The other goals were a deep knowledge in C# .NET and the ability of not just coding, but also developing new concepts and thinking outside of the box.
How did you select this vendor?
One of our collaborator had a previous very positive experience with a development team lead by a CSHARK employee. We also had contact with a few other similar companies. We did multiple calls and discussions with each of the companies, but CSHARK came out of the top for their reactivity and impressive track record. A one-month introductory project sealed the deal, as the developers of CSHARK showed expert knowledge in C# .NET, Software Development and were a pleasure to work with.
Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.
By integrating the software development team, the developers from CSHARK quickly entered the workflow of 2 weeks sprint with self-organization between developers and product owner. The on-going project consists of back-end and front-end implementation of a wide-range of topics (such as graphical interface, SQL database, algorithmic generation or modelling engine), over a series of 2-weeks sprints which are themselves part of 2 months milestone dedicated to a specific topic.
What was the team composition?
The project team is composed of 3 well-rounded developers (2 from CSHARK and one internal) and a software architect with a dual project manager/developer role. The team is self-organized, with a product owner ensuring that the project is going in the correct direction. In addition to the core project team, multiple others are involved for Q&A and user testing.
Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?
The knowledge brought by CSHARK boosted the development rate and quality to an extremely high-level. The code quality increased drastically by reaching an 80% code coverage in just a few months of work, while the amount of feature implemented more than than doubled since the arrival of the CSHARK development team. Throughout the different internal reviews that we often have, an unanimous feeling of wonder at the development has been expressed.
How was project management arranged and how effective was it?
Project management is done on the principle of self-organization, meaning that the developers and software architect sit together to decide which tasks to attribute to who. The tasks are derived from the list of features defined by the product owner. Since the start of the project, the collaboration resulted in deadlines being always met. The communication and collaboration was done effortlessly through Microsoft Teams and Gitlab as the repository and CI/CD.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
The most impressive thing about CSHARK is their ability to react quickly and efficiently. When requirements changed, the developers were quick to adapt and implement the changes, and the managers were also quick to propose solutions to project management challenges.
Are there any areas for improvement?
In term of improvement on CSHARK sides, there is practically none. They always have been helpful and reactive when minor issues happened. On our side, it showcased the importance of starting with a short one-month period evaluation to feel both the skills but also the personal fit of both sides.
the project
Custom Software Dev for Educational Exchange/Visa Program
"CSHARK has strong, detailed operating processes for managing the project."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
HTP J-1 Visa Programs places exchange visitors from all over the world in internships, training programs and teaching opportunities in the US. We carefully screen exchange visitors, interview them, review documents and make sure they meet all regulatory requirements. We help them prepare for their stay in the US, and provide ongoing support while they’re here.
What challenge were you trying to address with CSHARK?
Since there isn't an off-the-shelf software application that meets our needs, we wanted to build that system from the ground up and that’s why we hired CSHARK.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They use C# to develop the software. There are four main user groups that use the application: our team members, the exchange visitors, host organizations and agents.
The application has a number of modules that store information about the exchange visitors, one has all the information about the host organizations, one is for agents, and one is for reporting daily information about the status of all of our applications and a number of other reports. The final module is the admin module that allows us to do administrative functions behind the scenes. The application also has various user dashboards as well as a number of registration wizards for the various user groups.
What is the team composition?
My main point of contact is a project manager who oversees a team of developers.
How did you come to work with CSHARK?
I wasn't happy with the company I was previously working with, so I started searching for other nearshoring software developers. I read a lot about quality developers in Poland, so I researched developers in Poland. CSHARK was a company that consistently ranked high in various review sites. I reached out to the CEO and from there the conversation started. I considered two other companies as well during my vetting process but opted for CSHARK.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent about $60,000 so far.
What is the status of this engagement?
We began working together in November 2019 and the relationship is currently ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Extremely pleasant to work with, all the way from initial contact with CEO, through business development and onboarding. Excellent transition and knowledge transfer process from the previous developer. CSHARK has strong, detailed operating processes for managing the project. This includes a heavy focus on QA. Our strong project manager ensures that the project stays on track. The developers are detailed, knowledgeable and think three steps ahead. The impact of the engagement is the accelerated progress of project.
How did CSHARK perform from a project management standpoint?
They've been excellent. We have biweekly refinement meetings where we discuss items in the backlog and prioritize them. The devs want to ensure that they completely understand a backlog issue before addressing it. During biweekly delivery meetings, they demo the previous sprints before releasing them to a staging environment for testing.
What did you find most impressive about them?
The quality of the processes that they have in place and the internal controls to make sure the project stays on track.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, there’s nothing at this time.
the project
Software Engineering for FinTech Company
"CSHARK developers are flexible enough to jump from one project to the other."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
Fenergo is a global provider of suite of technologies that transform how financial institutions manage digital client journey from initial onboarding, to regulatory compliance and data management, to ongoing lifecycle KYC reviews and refreshes.
Fenergo works for Tier 1 and 2 financial institutions across Corporate & Institutional Banking, Commercial, Business & Retail Banking, Private Banking and Asset Management. As Chief Technology Officer for Fenergo, Niall has responsibility for technical strategy, design and architecture.
For what projects/services did your company hire CSHARK?
CSHARK provides us with software engineering services across various technologies, helping us to deliver market-leading software solutions for financial services firms all over the world.
What were your goals for this project?
The aim is to build, develop and maintain Fenergo’s software solutions. We cooperate with CSHARK continuously; we ran more than 50 projects in the last 5 years. Our cooperation is ongoing.
The goal of each project is to assure that software co-developed with CSHARK meets the standards of compliance law and our clients – banks and financial institutions, can smoothly run their business activities.
How did you select this vendor?
Deep domain knowledge and technical expertise, compared with communication skills and project management, convinced us. We have been continuously working with CSHARK for the past 5 years, and I believe it to be the best recommendation.
Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.
CSHARK engineers work on platform design and development, product customization, product delivery and integration with Fenergo’s Project Managers and technical staff, the end-client system, and customer support.
Created solutions help financial institutions to efficiently manage the regulatory onboarding and client data management processes. Solutions ensure compliance with multiple regulatory frameworks, supports the data collection and accessibility across the institution.
Examples of Fenergo systems that we work on include: Anti-Money Laundering, Know Your Customer, Client Risk Rating, Client Life Cycle Management, Regulatory Onboarding, Tax Compliance, Risk Assessment.
What was the team composition?
For each project CSHARK supports us with an team of 5-10 software developers working based on Agile principles.
Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?
Due to the large number of projects it’s safe to say that CSHARK has played and will play a significant role in working with Fenergo. CSHARK supports us technologically and software-wise and is a stable, ongoing partner.
How was project management arranged and how effective was it?
Each time we talk with CSHARK about our software challenges and needs of different clients. Many of the projects are for different banks and financial institutions, so the scope varies. CSHARK developers are flexible enough to jump from one project to the other.
Cooperation is smooth and effective, CSHARK knows how to handle different technical requirements and advanced market demands. Additionally CSHARK developers are free to work on site in the remote localisations like Singapore, Sydney or Toronto.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
The ability to adapt and run multiple projects with growing scope of complexity and market demand. FinTech and RegTech industry is very demanding and the pressure to deliver quality software for Tier 1 and Tier 2 global banks and financial institutions is constant.
CSHARK understands our challenges and the industry, therefore can provide reliable software solutions in a highly competitive timeframe.
Are there any areas for improvement?
No, cooperation with CSHARK is a very positive experience.
This is the client’s first foray into mobile app development, and have been pleased with how supportive CSHARK has been throughout the development and publication processes. The client is very pleased with the work so far. CSHARK’s team always delivers on time and communicates via Slack and email.