Cuttlesoft

Please describe your company and your position there.

Dash Energy is a startup, developed to help small and mid-market companies buy energy more strategically & confidently. I am one of the co-founders, fulfilling roles of both Product Manager and Marketing Director.

For what projects/services did your company hire Cuttlesoft, and what were your goals?

Development of a responsive, single-page web application and RESTful API as a pilot system and proof of concept. The software facilitated the data necessary between energy brokers and energy suppliers as brokers buy and negotiate energy for their customers, businesses. The team also developed reporting capabilities to be used for post-pilot analysis.

How did you select Cuttlesoft and what were the deciding factors?

We reviewed 10 potential vendors for this project. We spent a week reaching out and interviewing each vendor. I performed research on LinkedIn and Google primarily, and then took some recommendations from people that the Dash team members knew to reduce the list.

I gave each vendor ideas about what the database relationships should look like, process diagrams, and user stories. Cuttlesoft was selected based on technology expertise, their understanding and excitement for the project, time zone, and solid references through a team member connection.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Cuttlesoft built a responsive, single-page web application and RESTful API. They provided all development, testing and maintenance for the project.

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

Project Manager, Senior Developer and Lead Developer.

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The project was a success, we were able to get real time feedback from users. Now, the pilot system Cuttlesoft built will be the foundation for our next iteration of the product as we go to market.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

I love the Cuttlesoft team and would love to work with them again. The process that they have for onboarding a customer and the day-to-day project management was stellar. I've worked with a ton of vendors - graphic designers, web designers, and other app design projects.

And, I felt like they knew exactly where I should be in this process. They communicated well, provided weekly status updates, budget, documented minutes, and clearly articulated where we were and what we needed to do next.

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

I was most impressed with their onboarding and management process. But also, I was impressed with the level of engagement from Emily Morehouse, the co-founder of Cuttlesoft, who was also a lead developer on the project. It was nice to have premiere talent like her's involved in the project.

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

Testing took longer than expected and we fell behind schedule a bit. There could have been more roadmap planning for testing.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

When I engaged with Cuttlesoft, I was the head of product at Hunt a Killer. Hunt a Killer delivers murder mystery escape room experiences in a subscription box to customers.

What challenge were you trying to address with Cuttlesoft?

We hired Cuttlesoft to build a custom e-commerce platform.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I had something in mind before we started, but after brainstorming together, my ideas for the platform changed. From start to finish, they provided custom web design and development services. We migrated our customers off of our original Shopify platform to Chargebee.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people from their team.

How did you come to work with Cuttlesoft?

We considered three other companies before deciding on Cuttlesoft. Someone at my company was previously in contact with them.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, we spent between $150,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from October 2018–December 2019.

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

They were awesome to work with. I’ve worked with half a dozen other development shops as a client and even ran some myself. Cuttlesoft’s level of communication set them apart for me. Nowadays, anyone can build a website, but excellent communication is key.

How did Cuttlesoft perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management skills were excellent. Everything was kept in Jira. Their team took great minute meeting notes with actionable action items. Cuttlesoft did a great job of project planning, which let us know what to expect. They accurately predicted when features would be finished and planned for launching newer versions.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Because of Cuttlesoft taking ownership of the project, I didn’t stress about it as much as I thought I would.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In the beginning, it wasn’t completely clear who was doing project management. It was disorganized, which their team actually brought up. I asked them how much it would be for them to manage it, and they started shaping it correctly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communicate correctly. Cuttlesoft does an excellent job of researching and finding what clients genuinely need.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Building, growing, and scaling your in-person community can be a frustrating and expensive process. Bevy is a community management and social networking platform that enables companies to build, grow and scale their in-person community groups. Bevy builds community in real life.

For what projects/services did your company hire Cuttlesoft?

We needed additional software development support to expedite a project with a client to support SAML SSO.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed additional software development support to expedite a project with a client to support SAML SSO.

How did you select this vendor?

Personal connection + vetted multiple vendors pricing structure and experience.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Support for SAML single sign on on our whitelabeled community project and contributions to an existing allauth library.

What was the team composition?

A few engineers and a project manager

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

We were able to deliver the promised project on time and bolster out single sign on protocol support.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We used Slack and email mostly to communicate, discuss issues, requirements, best practices etc.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Quality of work, willingness to shift and adapt to our changing business needs, and ultimately, they delivered exactly as promised.

Are there any areas for improvement?

These projects are difficult sometimes to guage current progress. Cuttlesoft communicated timing as they could but doubling down here and sending more frequent product updates would be helpul. I've found they are very receptive to feedback and so we've discussed this and they've improved since.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I serve as the Technology Transfer Director at a University.

For what projects/services did your company hire Cuttlesoft?

We wanted to begin building a prototype of a patented method we had to collect information and store and protect valuable pieces of university intellectual property.

What were your goals for this project?

To have a working prototype that could be marketed and built out even further with more capabilities added over time when our funding permitted it.

How did you select this vendor?

They were housed in DOMI Station which was just down the street from our campus and Cuttlesoft had a reputation for doing quality work in a reasonable time frame. Since we were all part of the Tallahassee Tech Ecosystem, I wanted to partner with my neighbors.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Cuttlesoft researched my function as a technology transfer manager and incorporated the information I collected from my inventors, the process I used to collect and store the data and the criteria I used to classify and recall it into one place that could be accese3d by many different users in an environment that was still confidential and secure for the university, tech manager, or even the inventor that had new intellectual property to disclose.

What was the team composition?

I was assigned a specialist who researched my functions, then she custom coded what I needed in the software package with my direction. She worked fabulously in an independent fashion for 95% of the time. But when she did need a deeper bit of expertise, the owners of the company stepped in and solved the challenges that were too difficult for her to handle. I believe that was only twice during the whole build and test process.

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

We got a successfully running prototype and we plan to market it to other schools as soon as we figure out how we want to handle the confidential data that is generating in running the VTTO environment.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Well, she was dedicated to my project, so it went very well. We met or talked weekly and went over the functionalities and changes to the software in real-time. New goals were set for each week and I cannot remember a time when they were not met.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The company's expertise, their attention to details and their ability to listen stood out. They processed information in order to deliver exactly what was asked for and needed were outstanding.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I just wish I had the cash in my budget to run the environment and finish building out the model w had set up in the beginning. but like everything else, I am working on it and I couldn't image any other outfit working on it for me.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the director of marketing for the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. I was the director of marketing for that nonprofit.

What challenge were you trying to address with CuttleSoft?

We’d used a bunch of third-party apps in the past, and that wasn’t working for us. We didn’t want a solution that came straight from the box. We were looking to build an app that we could continue to customize over time. The app had to be simple to use, it had to work across all platforms, and it needed to be incredibly clean. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Most of their work on the app was a custom-build, and they built it for iOS and Android. It was designed to have continuity with our CMS website. 

The app doubled as the everyday app for the nonprofit. Members can log in to view upcoming events, chapter meetings, accreditations, and learning opportunities. (To operate a restaurant, you have to be qualified by the health department, which requires ongoing training.) The app also sends push notifications, which we used to notify users of legislation related to the restaurant industry.

What is the team composition?

They had about 3 to 4 people on their team. I mainly dealt with Emily (Co-Founder & Director of Engineering, Cuttlesoft) and Frank (Director of Operations, Cuttlesoft). I met with them, outlined ideas, and asked them questions. 

How did you come to work with CuttleSoft?

I knew they were folks working in the marketing industry. I met with Frank to talk about some of our goals, and he mentioned what they do. 

I pursued them more than they came after me because I had an idea of what I wanted, and I was trying to find someone who could do it. I saw some of the projects that Frank and Emily had accomplished. 

We had 2–3 weeks of conversations before I ever brought them in to officially present what we were trying to do. They told me, “You can do 90% of that, and here’s the 10% you can’t.” That was incredibly helpful and enlightening. Up until then, I’d been told by other companies that we couldn’t do those things. 

How much have you invested with them?

We probably ended up investing around $28,000 altogether.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2016, and we had an ongoing relationship. They built the app over 2–3 months, and then we had a small retainer for the next three months to cover any issues.

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

Our app downloads increased by up to 200% or 300%. We didn’t get any negative feedback — everyone loved it. They may have wanted more out of it, but they understood this was our first iteration. It was a great first step. 

The most interaction with the app happened during big events or when important legislation was being passed. Users could use their app as the gateway into the information they needed (e.g. looking at event agendas). 

During the partnership, they came up with ideas we weren’t expecting that we really liked. When we highlighted those new features to vice presidents and management, that won them over. Their creativity, thoughtfulness, and detail-orientation showed they really cared about the organization.

Cuttlesoft had excellent customer service. They explained their tasks, how they would get accomplish them, and then they didn’t miss deadlines. At the end of the day, that was huge.

How did Cuttlesoft perform from a project management standpoint?

They were the easiest company I worked with while I was employed there. I asked questions throughout the partnership, but they also reached out independently with updates. They would say, “We’re through with wireframing, let us know if you see anything that’s off.” Then, I would take those things and filter them to people that I trust. 

If I had questions, they always answered them and provided a reason for what they were doing. In particular, they were very good about making sure features made sense on a larger level (e.g. how it would produce an ROI). 

Also, they were very upfront, transparent, and helpful. They would say, “Hey, this is a place where you can make changes, but once we go past this step, it’s going to be difficult to go back.” They’d tell us the cost and let us know if they thought something wouldn’t add value. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were really good at breaking down the information we needed in a way that I could understand it. Whenever I brought them into a meeting with my vice president, who wasn’t as technologically advanced, they broke down the information into bite-sized pieces. Since cost is very important for nonprofits, they helped him understand how we were going to recoup some of the money we were spending.

Cuttlesoft never tried to sell me on things. Instead of promising us the world and then giving a proposal that didn’t match, they explained how their work would help our organization. They set my expectations from the beginning and then exceeded them. 

They do a good job of marrying complicated technical solutions with real-world talk. Also, I never felt like they were talking down to us. Their transparency and communication are two big things that stand out.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. Their services are expensive, but I don’t fault them for that. They do such a good job of explaining why something will cost a certain amount that I never question it. They know what they’re worth, and that’s good.

If they provided examples of how other people have used revenue from their apps to offset the cost, that could be helpful.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Someone considering Cuttlesoft should sit down with the principals and talk honestly about what they’re trying to do. Cuttlesoft is really capable and extraordinarily talented. So, if you tell them your vision, they can scale it up or down appropriately. 

It would be a good idea to have a conversation with them even if you’ve already picked a vendor. Since Cuttlesoft thinks outside of the box, they might be able to bring ideas that other folks aren’t utilizing.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Product Manager for IT healthcare company that servers on a national public health platform level.

For what projects/services did your company hire Cuttlesoft?

We needed to build additional capacity while working on multiple projects in the public health informatics domain.

What were your goals for this project?

To launch and maintain public health IT services.

How did you select this vendor?

There are a number of custom development shops to choose from, but we were seeking expertise with the Python language.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The Cuttlesoft team worked diligently along side of our developers to complete projects on time and within budget. We were launching a new national public health platform and they were critical in helping us achieve this goal. We needed to develop infrastructure to support a nationwide application, as well as the application itself under tight security constraints.

What was the team composition?

The total team involved over fifteen people that ranged from account managers, business analysts, devops, security teams, testing and development. Cuttlesoft integrated with our development team seamlessly.

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

In our experience, it is very difficult to find a team that you can count on and works so well with in-house developers. We had total trust in the Cuttlesoft team, knowing that they were there for us enabled us to take on additional work which increased our revenue.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We had a professional in-house project manager who worked with the point of contact at Cuttlesoft. We found Cuttlesoft to be transparent about the status of their work as well as available.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The talent on the team is exceptional. You can tell that the work environment must be supportive. All the developers seem happy to work there and proud of their brand. I really appreciated the reliability of the team most of all.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The team works so hard that I worry that they will burn out. They were always available and it was evident that they worked on nights and weekends to get the job done and I am not sure if that is sustainable.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Beterra Health, a technology healthcare company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Cuttlesoft?

We needed help creating a new product, the ACT Improvement System. ACT is a workflow-based platform that helps healthcare organizations and systems, hospitals, and clinics track improvement plans around patient safety and quality. Users identify different goals for improving the outcomes of their organization’s healthcare services, and then track them to see if they’re successful or not.

We’d done some discovery across our client base and had completed a few initial designs, but we needed to expedite building the product out. We realized that we didn’t have the internal capacity to meet our deadline.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first phase of the project entailed getting Cuttlesoft up to speed on what Beterra Health does. Some Cuttlesoft team members flew to our office and spent a couple of days in the office so that they could really communicate key specifics, such as who we are as an organization, what business problem we were pursuing, what this product was, and what core design principles we wanted to see come through in the build of the product.

We then entered a second phase of breaking down requirements. We discussed what we wanted the new product to do, and we established an approach to completing the project that took the time constraints into consideration. Then, we began the build phase. Our teams worked together to develop the product quite rapidly. Cuttlesoft built the product out using my company’s tech stack, which included Ruby on Rails and various JavaScript frameworks, like Ember. Cuttlesoft did everything from design to software architecture.

Finally, Cuttlesoft helped bring the product to market, and then they maintained the software for about four months. As my company grew alongside this new product, Cuttlesoft also helped us onboard engineers and educate them about the software.

What is the team composition?

We had the chance to engage with a number of people from Cuttlesoft. My day-to-day point of contact was Frank (Co-Founder, CEO, Director of Operations, Cuttlesoft). We also worked with fantastically brilliant engineers.

How did you come to work with Cuttlesoft?

Some of our engineers put a call out on various forums. I believe we may have actually found Cuttlesoft on Clutch. They were among the 10–15 companies that made the first cut. As a non-technical CEO, I was looking for someone who could understand our business objectives and needs from a build perspective and also translate those into product requirements. During our initial touchpoints with various vendors, Cuttlesoft reached the top of the list because they were willing to adapt to our needs.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work together lasted from July 2018–June 2019. After 4–6 weeks of establishing objectives and requirements, the product build phase spanned August 2018–February 2019. They maintained the software until June, at which point they helped us onboard engineers and bring them up to speed on the software. In the future, we hope to build out more of the software with Cuttlesoft, so they’re definitely part of the partner set going forward.

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

Since this is a brand-new product, we’re closely monitoring its functionality. The rollout was very impressive; we experienced no major issues, bugs, or downtime. They launched the product on time and very close to the budget we’d put out six months prior. Our clients expected a complete product, and that’s what they got.

How did Cuttlesoft perform from a project management standpoint?

From the beginning, Cuttlesoft was very willing to accommodate our process and how we wanted to do things. Rather than just taking our instructions and going off to build the product, they consulted us throughout the process. This is evident in how they helped us with outside tasks, such as providing input on building our internal engineering team.

Cuttlesoft was very flexible. We had weekly technical meetings, during which we discussed any issues. The team also sent us weekly status emails to let us know what was being worked on or extra information we needed to move the process along. They gave us more detailed pieces of information, such as Gantt charts, providing us with all of the necessary information to get up to speed.

I had monthly calls with Frank to get a general sense of how the project was going in terms of budget, timeline, features, and scope. With complex projects such as this one, there are usually overlooked or unexpected components that arise, and Cuttlesoft always helped us with those.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their commitment to being a partner stood out. They were aligned around helping us make a difference in the marketplace. They delivered great code, but a lot of companies do that; where they really excelled was being a great partner. The team did a great job internalizing our use cases and user personas, which was impressive to me as a non-technical client leader.

The engineering team didn’t hesitate to questions some of the designs or workflows we initially put forth, and they provided great recommendations alongside their push back. A good part of our product came from the thoughtfulness of the Cuttlesoft team. They went beyond just shipping code to really help us achieve our business objectives.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could’ve better communicated the value upfront. We hired them because we believed the value would be there, and this proved extensively true, but we would’ve liked to hear how they were oriented toward the value and not just shopping code. In terms of the day-to-day work, they exceeded our expectations.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about what you’re trying to accomplish through whatever product you’re hiring them to develop. Trust the team at Cuttlesoft to understand your business and market, and to provide recommendations. The more we let them push back, the better off we were for it.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of an IT services firm that does predictive analytics in the real estate industry. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Cuttlesoft?

I originally hired Cuttlesoft for staff augmentation for web frontend development. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked with Katie, who is a programmer. She did a lot of JavaScript and HTML style for us. She connected into our GitHub project remotely, met with us weekly, and worked with my development team on different requirements. We gave her an outline of requirements, which wasn’t too in depth, and she filled in the gaps on her own and was able to complete the work.

We also worked with Emily [Co-Founder and CTO, Cuttlesoft], who is currently developing a mobile version of the SDK [software development kit] for our API. We’d written our SDK in JavaScript, and she is writing it for iOS and Android. She is essentially taking our iOS code and importing it to the new environment. She’s also handling all of the things that come with migrating a web SDK to a mobile SDK.

What is the team dynamic?

In addition to Katie and Emily, we’ve worked with Frank [Director of Operations, Cuttlesoft]. I’ve also worked with a couple of the project managers, but I specifically coordinate with Frank at a higher level for getting the project going, picking staff, and setting the outline of the project scope.

How did you come to work with Cuttlesoft?

I was referred to them by one of our investors.

How much have you invested in them?

We have invested around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Cuttlesoft in June or July 2017, and the work is ongoing. 

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

We’ve had a great experience. The programmers they’ve assigned to our projects have been exceptional. I have no complaints, which is pretty surprising since we have specific goals and high standards, and I have not had much success in the past with other consulting companies. We were very pleasantly surprised with Cuttlesoft.

How did Cuttlesoft perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management has been fine. We don’t ask them to handle a lot of project management; they largely are responsible for resource management. We have weekly meetings to outline the sprint, what was done and needs to be done, and any questions they might have; that part is very organized. We mostly communicate through our Slack environment.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their engineering is exceptional.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the Founder and Chief Software Architect of a weather platform. My job is to build the software we market and to lead our strategic initiatives.

What challenge were you trying to address with Cuttlesoft?

We had developed an ambitious web and social media application which was almost a full-fledged platform. We were introducing the project at a high-profile trade show which would take place in mid-January 2015. Shortly before that, I’d become interested in building a mobile app, with as tight a budget and timeframe as possible. It was to be a weather-intelligence application. We didn’t have the time to facilitate this of our own accord.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cuttlesoft had a strong competency in a mobile app framework called Ionic. It enabled us to use a single codebase and target both iOS and Android devices. I had previously had a bad experience with similar technologies so I was suspicious, but Cuttlesoft was professional and articulate in explaining why Ionic would be probably my only hope of targeting both iOS and Android in such a short amount of time.

I was responsible for building the backend. Cuttlesoft had to work with the backends and the data-procurement teams on our side, as well as with my frontend designer. I was impressed with their ability to figure this out and blend with our respective personalities. My internal design resources also worked with Cuttlesoft on wireframing and prototyping.

The app displays data and images from one of our weather-stem sites. We go to schools or universities and set up weather and agricultural monitoring equipment and cameras. Many of the cameras have streaming components, serving live video from the site. I worked with Cuttlesoft in order to figure out how to do that in a mobile-app environment.

There was the added pressure of expectation of precision and accuracy. In an evolution of the app, what could be called a version-2, we added notifications to the platform. The original web app had been set up so that users could be notified of certain weather conditions like close lightning and excessive heat, via text messages or emails to a specified end-point. We wanted to have in-app notifications, and I was able to work with Cuttlesoft to engineer that. They took ownership of the code running on the device, around incoming notifications, and I worked on the backend on dispatching them via a third-party annotator.

What is the team dynamic? 

We mostly communicated by email. I don’t know what the size of the team was, and I would never judge a company’s strength by the number of people it has. They get the job done, which is what I most care about.

How did you come to work with Cuttlesoft?

Someone whom I’d known for quite a while told me he’d worked with them, and that they did a great job. We set up a meeting and I introduced them to the high-level concepts of our platform. Cuttlesoft specified a proposal and budget and recognized that they would need to sacrifice a good deal of their Christmas holidays in order to fulfill it. They wanted to please me and my firm, helping us to have a mobile app component with the web-based software we would be introducing in January 2015.

How much have you invested with them?

The total expenditure to date has probably been in the low-6-figure range — more than $100,000, but less than $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Cuttlesoft in November 2014, and completed by the start of the trade show, in January 2015. However, we do also have ongoing work.

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

Cuttlesoft came up with an app that worked, with a little time to spare, and within the budget we discussed. They earned my respect, and I have continued to employ them as maintainers of the original mobile app.

The number of downloads and active users is in the tens of thousands — my guess is around 25,000.

How did Cuttlesoft perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve always preferred a more open-ended project management model, something along the lines of weekly check-ins during the development phase. Cuttlesoft seems to have wanted to move in the way of a more traditional project management workflow and sensed some pushback from me. They stepped back and worked in a flow which was comfortable for what I wanted: the maximum amount of information, with the minimum amount of needed touch points.

I was impressed by their willingness to not push things onto their clients and to adapt to the workflow and preferences of those clients. This adaptability is, I think, one of the most important aspects of longevity in their industry.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They get the job done, which is what it’s all about. Also important is how much money I spent, relative to my expectations. If the answers to those questions are negative, I will have a problem, but so far they’ve all been positive. My experience working with other companies has been mixed, but not with Cuttlesoft. They got the job done when they said they would, and I didn’t end up having to pay more than I expected.

Their response to issues is also impressive. Cuttlesoft made an incremental update to the program recently, which caused an issue. When the app was opening, all people were seeing was a white screen. I reached out to the principal on a Saturday, and they pushed out a new release that fixed the issue that afternoon. The way I run my business is service first, everything else second. Cuttlesoft seems to also epitomize this philosophy and mindset.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Cuttlesoft got a lot better at pitching new ways of doing things to me. They’re also more focused on the problem which needs to be solved, and on picking tools which are proven and reliable. Generally, they get the job done, have a lot of confidence, and are not afraid of stiff deadlines.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the IT Architect at The Perinatal Quality Foundation. We are a small, non-profit company based out of Washington D.C. and Oklahoma City.

What challenge were you trying to address with Cuttlesoft?

We wanted Cuttlesoft to bring us to the forefront of technology. We were once at the forefront but became used to performing the same tasks in the same way. Additionally, we hired Cuttlesoft to bring us onto the AWS [Amazon Web Services] Platform.

What was the scope of their involvement?

In terms of bringing us to the forefront, they were showing us new ways of carrying out the software development lifecycle. As I said, we're small and it brought us more into a team environment.  Before, we were an IT shop of one member.  They were showing us new tools and automation in an effort to implement the SDLC [Software Development Life Cycle].

The decision to move to AWS was already made before the partnership with Cuttlesoft. I was looking at both the Azure and AWS platforms months before we hired Cuttlesoft, in fact, I had already started the process before they were brought in to help speed the process.

We weren't changing anything in terms of our development software, back-end database or the operating systems that we were running on.  It was more of moving away from the .NET Framework and into .NET Core. It was showing us different tools, and how some organizations were operating in 2017 as opposed to 2005.

What is the team dynamic?

The CEO Frank has always been involved which has been great. In addition, there are two technical staff members that I am involved with on a daily basis.

How did you come to work with Cuttlesoft?

That was a little bit of a crooked path. We had a consultant that was working for us in a statistical nature, and she had recommended a colleague to evaluate our current environment and make the necessary changes. The colleague in term mentioned Cuttlesoft.

How much have you invested with them?

A considerable amount for a non-profit.

What is the status of this engagement?

The talks began around August 2016, and the work is ongoing.

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

We've made the switch to AWS for a series of websites and a few remain. There are no hard metrics to provide at this time.

How did Cuttlesoft perform from a project management standpoint?

We meet with Cuttlesoft on a weekly basis.  It is a very close relationship. I'm in communication with their team every day and we work together on what is needed. I've had no issues with Cuttlesoft.  They have been very responsive and their strength is clear, up front communication. It has been a pleasure working with them.

The majority of the communication is performed through Slack, with around 5% through email and 25-30% through phone calls. Usually, issues start off on Slack and then move to phone conversations or web conferencing for collaboration.

What did you find most impressive about them?

If I had to pick two words that immediately come to mind, they would be responsive and knowledgeable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I cannot think of anything at the moment. It would have been the same if I had to do it all over again.