CSI Media

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director at Nexus Security, a security company.

What challenge were you trying to address with CSI Media?

We needed help building a bespoke operating platform and an Android and iOS app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

CSI Media developed a program database that monitors the movement of our client’s security officers. It records GPS location, takes photographs, and provides various data in real-time. The app also has push notification and email capabilities. 

They’ve also built an Android and iOS app and a custom Umbraco website from scratch. They’ve handled all aspects of development, including UI/UX design. 

The app is now live, and they’re currently working on enhancements to our platform.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 8–10 resources during the engagement’s peak, including a senior technical director and Craig (Creative Lead Designer).  

How did you come to work with CSI Media?

We found them through Clutch. We were looking for a company that was local to us and had in-house developers in one roof.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about £800,000 (approximately $1 million USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve started working together in July 2018, and it’s ongoing. 

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

The quality of CSI Media’s work is very high. We also appreciate that they’ve given us excellent advice since we’re not technical people. They come across as a very trustworthy business, and the success of our partnership has made us trust them.

In addition, we’ve never encountered downtimes ever since our system launched over a year ago. Despite our busy system, we’ve had a 100% uptime. What they’ve produced has been a great value for our money.

How did CSI Media perform from a project management standpoint?

CSI Media meets their deadlines, and the only ones they’ve missed have been due to our fault. Craig is very good at project management — he’s become almost a part of our business and knows our company inside and out. We use Jira to collaborate. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We appreciate that we can speak with CSI Media’s owner. We’re also impressed that they’ve taken the time to learn about our business, which made a massive difference to the end product. They understand our company, so they can provide suitable suggestions to improve the app.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. We’ve been very impressed with CSI Media’s work, and we won’t be looking to move anywhere else.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Share everything that you can. The more you tell them, the more involved they can be in your business. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder of an organization called Active Sports Group. We are a children’s activity provider, and we work with children from 18 months to 11 years of age.

What challenge were you trying to address with CSI Media?

We approached CSI Media to see if they could help build a piece of software that would improve our delivery to young people in terms of the consistency and quality of the lessons. We wanted to create a piece of software that would enable all of the coaches to have easy-to-follow lesson plans as well, so it’s quite a complex piece of software we’re developing.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We wanted to have a piece of software developed that incorporated everything from the delivery side of the lessons, feedback, and progression for the children, as well as an area where all the bookings and everything can be administrated. That is what is essentially being done, so now we have a really large piece of software that has all this different functionality that gives an amazing and professional service to our users.

From the first introduction to CSI, we came with a base idea of what we wanted the software to look like, which they instantly digested. The project really grew before it began because they could really see what we wanted it to do. The director knew the type of thing we were looking for because of his experience with his own children. They are always making suggestions and giving us alternatives to consider through every stage of the development.

It is mobile and desktop friendly and built using Umbraco, and the plan for future development is to wrap the system into an app.

What is the team composition?

We worked with one of the directors of the company and an account manager, so it has been a really consistent approach from all the people we’ve been working with. We have also worked with a lead graphic designer who does all the screen designs and three other developers. Additionally, there is a finance and office manager who helps with invoicing and bills management.

How did you come to work with CSI Media?

It was through a recommendation that I found out that they had created some really good software and projects in the past for people — we had a look at the work that they had done before we committed, and we were really impressed. It was their creativity and vision for the project that made us choose to go ahead with them. We had the confidence that they shared that same vision and value for what we were trying to do.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent around £75,000 (approximately $100,400 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in March 2020, and it’s still ongoing. We have launched the software and are now doing another phase of development with more functionalities and further enhancements.

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

We’re still going through a soft launch phase of the software so in essence, the software is going to be a standalone business. Our current plan is that there will be a sports subscription-based piece of software that schools, coaches, and sports clubs can use to improve their delivery.

Moreover, we’ve been using the software across our franchise network in the active sports group, and they’re going to be using it to run their business — which is going really well at the moment, and we have 15 franchises that are currently using the software to help their business.

There have only been small bugs as you would expect, but the process to rectify those has been very quick. They constantly go through all the levels of testing as well before deploying anything live, so we make sure we’re really happy with it before it’s deployed again.

How did CSI Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They've done really well and every step of the project has been really well communicated. We're using Jira as a project management system, so it has been really easy to get updates and reports on changes, as well as feedback on new screens, designs, and other things they're working on.

We typically communicate through face-to-face meetings, video calls, and emails.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve worked with other companies before, and CSI Media’s level of customer service has been outstanding. They aren’t there just to take your money; they want to invest in the idea and the development themselves which is really refreshing. They really are a passionate team, and you can get that right away when you meet them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t know to be honest, because we’re happy with what they’ve done so far. Even with the pandemic being a difficult time for everybody, we’ve certainly not felt that there is anything that they could’ve done better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would advise them to be honest and don’t be afraid to tell them what they want to achieve. I think they’re really receptive to lots of ideas and creativity so just let the discussions flow and let them give you their ideas — you’ll be surprised where it will take you and your business.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a marketing and communications specialist at an environmental compliance firm.

What challenge were you trying to address with CSI Media?

Our in-house developer left, so we had to look for an agency to help us. We worked with an agency for about a year, but that didn’t work out. That led us to try and find a replacement for them, which is why we brought on CSI Media.

What was the scope of their involvement?

CSI Media looks after our main public website as well as our secure members’ website. The members’ website is the crux of our business because members have to submit data which then goes to the government for approval. 

To keep the website running, they do bug fixes and general maintenance. They’ve also recently begun to do some development work to improve the website.

What is the team composition?

We work with Gemma (Office Manager) who serves as our account manager, and there’s also one developer who handles all of our work. There are other teammates who work on our project too, but those are our two main points of contact.

How did you come to work with CSI Media?

We met with 3–4 different companies because we were paranoid about finding the right person after working with a bad agency. 

We found CSI Media through a Google search and looking at recommended agencies, and they stood out because of their recommendations from some of their clients. The only thing we were nervous about was that they were the cheapest.

How much have you invested with them?

We have a monthly retainer, and we spend £800 per month (approximately $1,000 USD). We also sometimes spend about £500 (approximately $630 USD) extra on additional tickets.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in November or December 2019, and it’s ongoing.

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

Our website is incredibly technical and bespoke in the way it was developed, which has always caused problems in the past. However, CSI Media’s developer has always been able to get in and get the work done.

He has gained a lot of respect within our company because he’s just as good as the in-house developer we had, which we never thought we’d get again. He consistently delivers what we ask. I completely trust him.

How did CSI Media perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is good. Gemma is on top of it, and she’s always nudging us to do the work. Their communication is great. If there’s ever a question, they come back with an answer quickly, which is always reassuring. 

We communicate via emails, and they also have an online ticket portal which is where we do most of the back and forth. Our previous agency would never let us talk to the developer. But with CSI Media, we can always talk to the lead developer if needed, which saves time. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team is incredibly efficient, confident, and knowledgeable. Even though we’re paying much less than we did with our previous company, we’re getting twice as much service. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could have more people like their lead developer because he’s so good. That’s a good problem to have.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Discuss everything very thoroughly with them and take nothing for granted. The team is very good at being gentle with us. We often give them a brief with half the details missing, and they always come back to us to flesh it out, which didn’t happen with our previous firm. CSI Media is great at guiding their clients, so you’ll be in great hands.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the head of marketing at a large car dealership.

What challenge were you trying to address with CSI Media?

We were looking to make updates to our website but didn’t have the expertise in-house.

What was the scope of their involvement?

CSI Media developed our Umbraco CMS. Their team was responsible for designing the site and providing back-end updates. They changed a lot of functionality on our platform and integrated a few third-party applications. The integrations for our freemium plan needed to be in places before our sales started in January. 

What is the team composition?

We worked mainly with four members of the CSI Media team: a lead developer, an account manager, a senior development lead, and a junior development lead.

How did you come to work with CSI Media?

My predecessor had already started speaking to them and had the contract ready to go. 

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested about £140,000–£150,000 (approximately $181,000–$194,000 USD). 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement with CSI Media began in September 2018.

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

I’m pleased with the level of work. CSI Media is committed. If there’s ever an issue, their team is on it as quickly as possible. For example, our website went down on a Saturday afternoon and the team jumped straight in and spent the whole weekend getting the site back online. They also fixed the issue during the week to ensure it wouldn’t happen again.

How did CSI Media perform from a project management standpoint?

We began with daily calls that then tapered off to weekly and then bi-weekly. We set four or five milestones at the beginning and they gave us dates for when they would hit each one. CSI Media media sent over a project goal sheet that we use to track their progress. They’ve hit every milestone so far. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

CSI Media pays attention to the details of the project. They also have incredible customer service. Their team is great to work with because they listen to your wishes and come back with a solution. I would definitely recommend working with CSI Media. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, everything was great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve and articulate that well.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of programmes at Family Holiday Association, a UK-based national charity that helps struggling families get breaks and days out. This can involve day trips, short breaks, or holidays.

What challenge were you trying to address with CSI Media?

We hired CSI Media to build an online platform that would manage our service.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team at CSI Media build the website and database behind it, using Umbraco. The platform manages the delivery of our service by registering professionals like social workers, teachers, and health visitors onto the system. It also allows those professionals to apply families for breaks and days out. Afterward, we can collect feedback through the system, as well. It’s essentially an all-in-one solution for our operations.

What is the team composition?

Directly, I worked with six people. Some people worked behind the scenes that I didn’t have contact with.

How did you come to work with CSI Media?

We requested proposals, approaching several developers. CSI Media was the best in terms of responding to that tender document.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with CSI Media began in early 2017.

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

In terms of the success of work, we’re more efficient as an organization. We’re able to work a lot quicker through helping more families and working with more partners.

How did CSI Media perform from a project management standpoint?

From a project management standpoint, they’ve performed well. Their team understood the brief very well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

On a day-to-day basis, they’re an excellent bunch to work with. Our personal relationships with CSI Media’s team are great.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was some tension in regards to testing. We should’ve tested the platform more thoroughly before going live. That’s probably as much of an issue with us as an organization rather than them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice to other organizations would be to talk to them. They understand what you need, so spend a lot of time discussing what you need. In terms of the proposal & tender process, I felt that CSI Media was the only company that understood me. Also, make sure that your site is going live when it’s right. Don’t rush. But again, that’s probably more of our fault than theirs.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing manager of InfoTrack. We’re in the legal tech industry and our platform provides integrated searching services for businesses, professionals, and individuals.

What challenge were you trying to address with CSI Media?

Our website is a .NET platform and our previous agency no longer supported that technology. We hired CSI Media to rebuild our website and maintain it.

What was the scope of their involvement?

To start the engagement, CSI Media ran a health check on our existing site and created a plan for updating the platform. They upgraded our Umbraco CMS backend by implementing the designs we provided. Their team is currently working with us to launch the site.

What is the team composition?

They’ve assigned a dedicated account manager, who leads their support team. There is also a lead developer who has other teammates and HTML specialists in the department.  

How did you come to work with CSI Media?

Where we’re located, finding agencies that specialize in .NET is difficult. We searched for firms online and felt that CSI was the best fit for many reasons. Their price and past awards stood out to us. Plus, we liked that they could work on a retainer and smoothly transition with us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around £7,000 (approximately $9,000) on the website development and a monthly retainer fee of £1,000 (approximately $1,300).

What is the status of this engagement?

We began the project in October 2018 and the work is ongoing.

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

We haven’t launched the site yet, so we don’t have any metrics. However, we’re confident in the work CSI Media has done and the site will be live soon. We’re very pleased with the work so far.

How did CSI Media perform from a project management standpoint?

Having a main point of contact makes the process run efficiently. They answer my questions quickly and take care of our issues as soon as we express them. They’re easy to get a hold of.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their speed and responsiveness make them valuable to us. They keep the project on track and push stages along if it’s needed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be useful if they could provide a list of requirements to with regards to go-live in advance so the process doesn’t get slowed down later on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Clearly express your expectations from the beginning of the project and reiterate it as you move along. This is important to do with agencies that are working on several tasks, and it will help ensure your deadline is reached.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work as a web manager for a travel agent and tour operator.

What challenge were you trying to address with CSI Media?

We run several websites that use different types of technology. A large portion of our in-house development team left over a short period of time, so we needed to outsource the work to an agency.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provide support for our existing websites. Three or four of our main sites have a high volume of traffic and are quite complex. Each one links to different systems and technology, so their main objective is to keep those sites running and to develop new features and functionality. If ever a website goes down, they solve any immediate or urgent problems to keep us online.

They maintain our Umbraco CMSs and make recommendations on design and usability. When we work with them on a new site, we sometimes provide wireframes ahead of time, but often work together. We have weekly discussions and make changes as a team as we approach each launch.

What is the team composition?

We work with between 10–15 people, sometimes more. We don’t have a main point of contact, but interact with all the members of their senior team. There are a few people who work behind the scenes, and one of their directors makes some of the staffing decisions.

How did you come to work with CSI Media?

We first worked with them on a limited basis for a small project. We got on well with them then, so they were only one of a few we contacted when we started to outsource projects.

What is the status of this engagement?

I believe we started working together around November 2015. It’s an ongoing relationship.

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

Only a few of the people from our business come into contact with them, but we’re all very happy with the service they provide. They’re trustworthy and reliable, and we can call on them out of hours on weekends or evenings. They’ve never let us down and we’re grateful for their efforts.

How did CSI Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They do very well. We’ve had a couple significant projects, including a full-scale server move which could have affected several areas within our business. They managed it seamlessly, and we couldn’t have done it without their help.

We use Jira as our main ticketing system, but also have regular updates with them over the phone or in meetings. We do some screen sharing and use a few design tools like Adobe or InVision.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They understand our business and objectives, and they work proactively. They’re completely trustworthy, and their suggestions for new products and technology are always in our best interest. This feels like much more than just a financial relationship.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything they should change; they give us everything we want or expect from them. If we ever want something changed, they always cater to us and adapt to our needs. They’re very amenable.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

We recommend them frequently to colleagues who need developers. Chat with them and see if they’re a good fit for your business. They’ve done very well for us.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the IT manager of Abbey Group. We’re a collection of travel companies, and we focus on inbound travel into Ireland and the UK.

What challenge were you trying to address with CSI Media?

We needed to replace and refresh our B2B website. It's our portal that we use for selling to agents, so we needed it updated to engage our customers searching for accommodations, planning visits, and making payments.

What was the scope of their involvement?

CSI Media used our old platform and new ideas as references when designing the site, and came up with their own wireframes and designs. Their team also created an Umbraco content management system for us, which they had to integrate into our site. From there, they created a mid-tier application to work between our platform and the CMS. The system was built to take commands, accept bookings, and other functions. They are still working with us to develop new features on the site.

What is the team composition?

We primarily work with the technical team leader and project leader who liaise between the rest of the team for us. They also provide a sales manager when necessary.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between £20,000 ($26,000) and £30,000 ($39,000) on the development, and we pay them a retainer in the same price range.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in March 2014, and the project is ongoing.

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

We’ve seen an increase in site traffic, which is good for our business. Our users are pleased with the visual approach we’ve taken with the pages. Additionally, we’ve received positive feedback on the searching tool and services the site provides, so the UX features are strong.

How did CSI Media perform from a project management standpoint?

Initially, we had regular meetings to figure out the scope and to ensure we were on track with the budget and timeline. We primarily speak over the phone and through email, but we occasionally meet in person.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a robust, smooth approach to implementing the services we need. Though their team has the technical skills necessary, they are willing to incorporate our feedback into their work. It is a collaborative effort because both sides had different areas of expertise, and we each contribute. Also, they are always willing to dedicate their resources to solve issues immediately. Even though we had sensitive, tight timelines, they were able to accomplish everything we wanted into a short period.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the marketing manager of a carpet manufacturer.

What challenge were you trying to address with CSI Media?

We had an old website that wasn’t responsive on multiple platforms and devices. We wanted to improve our brand visibility and decided to rebuild the site from scratch.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We wanted more carpet samples to inspire our customers. We provided a detailed brief and some mock-ups and they came up with creative concepts based on our needs. They designed and developed the new site in Umbraco. They worked with our brand guidelines and completed everything within the scope.

What is the team composition?

We worked with about seven or eight members of their team.

How did you come to work with CSI Media?

I joined the company after we engaged them. They previously built our B2B portal and we decided to keep working with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent over $200,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We first engaged them in late 2013 or early 2014 for our B2B platform. The new site launched in July 2018 but there is still work to be done on it.

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

We had an overwhelmingly positive response to the new look of the site and to the user interface.

How did CSI Media perform from a project management standpoint?

We got the job done, but it took much longer than we hoped. Most of our communication was by phone, email, Basecamp, and in face-to-face meetings.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They need more resources and their project management can definitely improve. Those were key challenges in our interaction with them.

This review was updated on March 20, 2019, by the client. The original star ratings were: Overall – 3.5, Schedule – 2, Cost – 4, NPS – 3.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing manager of a carpet company.

What challenge were you trying to address with CSI Media?

A previous project had run late. We needed to improve project management and account management to ensure smoother transitions between website development and maintenance stages.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially worked with CSI Media to develop a trade portal. In 2017, the team started design work on our new consumer website, which we launched in July 2018.

CSI is now our sole web development, management, and hosting partner. We moved from a project-based partnership to a monthly retainer with an initial 12-month contract. This arrangement allows us to have regular meetings and updates, as well as post jobs to be administered, managed, and prioritized.  

What is the team composition?

The team includes an account and project manager as well as a project lead.

How much have you invested with them?

Across B2B and B2C, we have spent more than £500,000 ($658,362 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2014 and the partnership is ongoing.

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

We now have more achievable timescales and an excellent CMS with daily task postings and requests.  The team hosts any website changes via a user acceptance testing (UAT) site before deploying the updates. Testing is thorough.

How did CSI Media perform from a project management standpoint?

The monthly retainer works much better for us and is all-around more efficient.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team is friendly, easy to work with, and has a good understanding of our business requirements.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be sure to have a maintenance or a retained contractual agreement in place. Be clear and realistic with timescales and project timelines. Have regular meetings as required—either weekly conference calls or monthly face-to-face interactions.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are an independent online travel agent and I am the marketing manager for the company. I manage all the lead generation across multiple channels; mainly online through PPC, SEO, email marketing, content marketing, and maintaining the website.

What challenge were you trying to address with CSI Media?

We wanted a new mobile-responsive website because the one that we had previously was very outdated. It didn't allow us any flexibility to update authors or be proactive, and we just weren't able to post new content very quickly. It wasn't adhering to the best practices with Google, so we hired them originally for a complete website rebuild.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They came up with a brand new design and a bespoke CMS using Umbraco. (I had only used WordPress sites before, but they recommended Umbraco for the new site.) We had mock-ups and told them the functionality we would need the site to have. They did everything; the whole site was custom-made.

Admittedly, we've struggled with the SEO side of things since we've migrated to the new site. We don’t use CSI Media for SEO, but we have seen a drop in rankings because the structure of our old site had so many more pages. Right now we’re focusing on the site’s existing design and making it mobile-first, in addition to small improvements and optimizations.

What is the team composition?

I've been in direct contact with at least five people. I have spoken to a member of their design team and the tech lead, and I worked regularly two or more of their account managers.

How did you come to work with CSI Media?

I believe they designed our original site, so we got them on board because we already had a good working relationship.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested at least £10,000 ($14,128.30 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We launched in June 2017, but the collaborative process has been going on since around January 2015. We don't have a monthly retainer with them, but we do have a support system whereby we can log a ticket and they’ll charge us hourly to make updates and improvements.

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

Now that we've migrated to the new site, we've streamlined a lot of our content. With the old site's structure, you had to have lots of linking pages to get to a page, and we have fewer pages with the new site. That's had an impact, but other than that, our conversion rate has increased roughly 60%.

How did CSI Media perform from a project management standpoint?

I can't fault the account support; they are really friendly and the team member I contacted the most was helpful and always enthusiastic.

We communicated entirely on the phone and through emails. Before the website went live, we went to their offices to meet the crew for more formal training on how to use the CMS. We only met in person the one time, though.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I recently went to them with a spec for a new mobile-first design and they made a design for tablet and desktop. I was happy with the designs that came back; they incorporated my considerations, but still took initiative without me saying explicitly what I wanted. The result was a good design solution.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I know that they have a lot of clients, but time-management seems to hinder them. When we log a ticket with them regarding site maintenance or small improvements, it can take some time to get it scheduled.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It would be nice if we could have more face-to-face contact with them. It would be ideal if we could set up more regular meetings or more opportunities to go to their office since it's always better to explain things in person.