Darwoft

Please describe your company and your position there.

SnowShoe is the leading provider of proprietary location mapping technology used by Fortune 500 firms to verify presence, authenticate location and validate transactions. SnowShoe's technology has served up over 25 million authentication events worldwide. I am the CEO of SnowShoe.

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

SnowShoe hired Darwoft to deliver a complete end-to-end online and mobile app system which included a mobile web app, iOS app, and Android app. The system also included a full cloud based SaaS service that would power this multi-tenant and multi-site consumer-facing application. Our goal was deliver this application to thousands of eager consumers and hundreds of businesses in our target market in North America for a Summer 2021 pilot program.

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

Darwoft had the security, gamification, and mobile app expertise we were seeking, and proved themselves to be stellar at project planning, project management, and project execution. Darwoft was priced right, with absolutely stellar developers.

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

1. Darwoft led an initial round of discovery meetings, UX design meetings and user focused use case writing sessions. These were highly productive and included senior user experience designers from the Darwoft team.
2. After the flow of the application experience was fully codified, Darwoft assigned a team that included the original UX designer, as well as a project manager and senior technical lead, to design the architecture and underpinning platform that would support the application flow and designated user experience.
3. Darwoft and SnowShoe worked closely together, using daily standups, regular project checkins and status reports to track the work throughout the course of the project as the app went through initial builds, alpha release, beta release and production release.
4. Regular updates, bug findings from our team and user-driven changes were easily accommodated by the Darwoft team, and the project was delivered on track and on schedule for use by thousands of users and hundreds of retail locations.

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

A project manager led the team and served as Scrum Master. An experienced UX lead was also part of the project, as well as a technical lead and a full team of software engineers and additional testing personnel.

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

Our initial release of the mobile app was launched to much acclaim and immediate downloads by many users. The app was the centerpiece of a summer-long festival and ongoing loyalty program in the downtown retail district. We've achieved all our KPIs and program goals from this application, and I can't thank the Darwoft team enough.

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

Fantastic communication. Very clear and structure dialogue, along with really strong ability to understand user needs and to accommodate changes in the roadmap as we adjusted to user requests and findings in the field.

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

Darwoft has a very strong project management culture, a clear understanding of how to be agile (which includes their codified scrum practice), and they also have an absolutely wonderful development team with serious chops in full-stack development.

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

Documentation of everything would have been nice, but as we didn't include this in the initial scope of the project, that was not part of our project plan.

Introduce your business and what you do there

I am the CEO of a ballistic software company.

What challenges were you trying to address with Darwoft?

We were looking to bring our platform into the mobile environment.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed a mobile app both for Android and iOS.

What is the team composition?

There were four people involved in the project.

How did you come to work with Darwoft?

We were looking to find a solid agency for this development, and we didn’t want to work with an independent developer. When we started searching, Darwoft came up as a reference and we contacted them. Their proposal was good in terms of budget and delivery times so we decided to start our collaboration with them.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent around 1,3000,000 Argentine pesos (approximately $16,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started during the last week of March 2020 and finished in October 2020.

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

We were very satisfied with their work. They were very professional and attentive to our needs, in addition to being flexible. Things got complicated because of the pandemic, and they were able to adapt completely to every setback we encountered. They made the project work.

How did Darwoft perform from a project management standpoint?

We used a project management tool at the beginning. It worked well, but we were in contact daily so, in the end, we decided to keep up the dynamic of daily personal contact and do the scheduling ourselves. The project ended up lasting longer than we expected but they were able to adapt very well to any unexpected changes that came up.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were very professional and flexible and were able to understand our needs clearly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I couldn’t say anything in particular.

Introduce your business and what you do there

I am an IT manager at a university.

What challenges were you trying to address with Darwoft?

We hired Darwoft to help us with a services platform for teachers and students.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us with developing a prototype that could allow us to test a set of options we were planning to include on the site. They worked on the design and functional HTMLs, which were incorporated into an Angular frontend.

What is the team composition?

We work with a project manager and a designer.

How did you come to work with  Darwoft?

They were referred to us. We contacted Darwoft along with other companies. In the end, we felt they had understood and translated our needs best. 

How much have you invested in them?

We've spent approximately $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted about one year and a half.

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

We haven’t implemented the system yet so it is still early to measure results. However, we had a test with a group of students and teachers, and the results has been excellent. The end-users have been very happy and eager to use the platform. 

How did  Darwoft perform from a project management standpoint?

They have been very open to discuss different ideas — which has been important for us in these early stages because we weren’t completely clear on the project’s specifics. After that, they were very strict in the execution of the project. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The design was very well-accomplished. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think they have any areas they could improve.

Introduce your business and what you do there 

I am a partner at a telecommunications software firm.

What challenges were you trying to address with Darwoft? 

We needed development support. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve worked with us to develop a web platform. Their team is also creating an API for facial recognition, among other things. 

What is the team composition?

There are about six people in total working on the project. 

How did you come to work with Darwoft?

We met them while we were both working with Drupal and we had a couple of joint projects. So when this project came up, I thought about them and decided to start our collaboration again. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started with this project in March 2020 and it’s ongoing. 

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

The results have been very good. We’ve made a great team working together. With their support, we’ve managed to meet all of our requirements on time. 

How did Darwoft perform from a project management standpoint?

They meet all of our deadlines and we have very fluid communication. We use Google Meets and Slack to communicate and they use agile methodologies for project management. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication skills are great and they have good expertise. 

Are there any areas they could improve? 

I honestly can’t think of anything to improve.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO at Topic Flower, a social media listening platform.

What challenges were you trying to address with Darwoft?

We have our own development team but we needed to accelerate the development of some projects, among them the development of our platform and the AI engine that the company uses to detect the most commented topics on social media.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our platform was a bit outdated, as we had been using it for the last year. We were looking to change to more modern technologies and ended up using Azure and Angular among others.

What is the team composition?

It changed over time, but we're working with a team of 5 people at the moment.

How did you come to work with Darwoft?

Finding a company to work with was a challenge for us. We were working on all of our technology projects internally. It was important for our new partner to develop a product and get involved in the project, instead of simply following requirements.

We interviewed between 4 and 5 companies, and Darwoft seemed like our best choice. Being located in the same city, they showed that they were able to adapt to our needs and to the way we work.

How much have you invested in them?

About $10,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2019. The engagement is ongoing.

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

We are very happy with their work and learned how to work together while building a solid team. Our experience was positive. They were always willing to search out the best solutions for our project.

We've already implemented the new platform in which we changed design, back-end, performance, etc. That has had an impact on our sales and client satisfaction. We expect that to grow even more once we launch the AI.

How did Darwoft perform from a project management standpoint?

If a client contacted us for a problem, they were available to solve it right away. That made us feel calm and safe with their work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They showed significant commitment, sometimes working overtime to solve issues. We saw them more as partners than service providers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The rotation of personnel could be improved, but that is something that happens in every tech company.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CTO of Accelone, a custom software development company. We’re very specialized in industries such as healthcare, insurance, finance, and fintech, as well as a few more. We are more of a boutique company and we are very focused on quality.

What challenge were you trying to address with Darwoft?

The main requirement that we had was with one of our primary customers, a SaaS platform for online services. We had a team there but we are not a Drupal shop, so we needed a partner with Drupal capabilities.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The main challenge was the timing and the level of seniority. We only work with very senior resources and this customer required that as well. Darwoft provided that to us in a few days. 

They have a mix of technologies that they use because they have some newer platforms as well as other platforms that are starting to develop right now or are in the second phase. They have Drupal, Angular in the very latest versions, they also have a bit of Java and I think they even have some Node.js too.

What is the team composition?

We are working with one person, an engineer who has been assigned to this project for the last four to six months. 

How did you come to work with Darwoft?

When we started Accelone about six years ago, one of their co-founders also started Darwoft almost at the same time. One of our very first opportunities with Accelone was again in Drupal. We were not going into the Drupal direction at all or even PHP in general, as we are more oriented to JavaScript and other stacks. I met one of the co-founders and directors of the company through LinkedIn I believe, and we became kind of friends.

Darwoft is one of the main Drupal authorities in Argentina, so when we had the need for this project, I immediately contacted them. In one week we had a Drupal engineer ready to work with our customer.

How much have you invested in them?

So far, we have spent around $34,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

For this particular project, we’ve been working with them for about six months. We already renewed the contract with them for three more months, but it will be more of a long-term relationship. The customer is renewing our contract for six more months.

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

Darwoft provided super fast and super high-quality personnel for this customer. The results are remarkable. The feedback we’re getting from our customer is the best for José (Full Stack Developer). 

The good quality of the work that José and Darwoft’s team as whole provided allowed us to open the door for more projects within that same account.

It was also really important for us because it positioned us much better with that customer and after that, we basically duplicated the whole team we have there. It was a very strategic move.

How did Darwoft perform from a project management standpoint?

If there have been times where José has needed time off for holidays or was sick, they always let us know and have communicated with us very fluently. They have a specific person for different aspects of the relationship, and they are super responsive. When we need something, they answer almost immediately. The communication is great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are kind of a reference in the country in Drupal technology. I think they are very, very strong in Drupal.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Actually no. We have had no issues at all, only the opposite.

Introduce your business and what you do there

I am an IT Security & Compliance Manager at Quilmes, a beer company based in Argentina. 

What challenges were you trying to address with Darwoft?

I was formerly in charge of managing supplier-related projects. We decided to create a web portal that would allow suppliers to access our internal apps. Ideally, it would centralize all of our management systems so that our suppliers could organize their objectives and to-dos most efficiently. We relied on Darwoft to create this for us.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Darwoft utilized Angular to create the supplier portal. We weren’t familiar with Angular, so their tech expertise served as a huge asset. 

What is the team composition? 

We worked with 3–4 people. We had a technical leader, a functional leader, and a couple of developers. 

How did you come to work with Darwoft?

We had a company event — similar to a Hackathon — to which we invited various companies. Darwoft had attended, and our marketing team recommended them to us when we started looking for a partner. It helped that they seemingly had a comparable company culture to ours. Their rates were budget-friendly, as well. 

How much have you invested in them? 

We’ve spent somewhere between $100,000–$200,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2017, and the partnership is ongoing.

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

Darwoft delivered a sophisticated platform that had a great impact on our work. User surveys indicated that our communications improved by 10%, thanks to this new solution. We’ve also received feedback about how the portal saves our users a lot of time.

How did Darwoft perform from a project management standpoint?

They adhered to an agile methodology and worked in development sprints. We saw very good results with the structures we had in place. The communication between our tech team and management was seamless, so we had a very positive experience on this front.

What did you find most impressive about them?

While some of our partners have trouble adopting our agile methods, Darwoft experienced no issues here. Their culture resonated with us, since we have a similar internal work ethic of diligence and flexibility. Finally, they’re great at solving problems.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CTO at a US-based startup for online divorce services.

What challenges were you trying to address with Darwoft?

I hired them for development and rapid prototyping.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed a demo for a fundraising platform for our startup. They used React.

What is the team composition?

I worked with an architect, a developer, and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Darwoft?

Darwoft is a very well known company that has grown a lot and they’re referred often in the startup scene. Also, I had collaborated with their CEO in different projects in previous positions. 

How much have you invested in them?

We invested around $15,000–$20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

This last project started in April 2019 and finished in June of that year.

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

I am always delighted with their work. We use this demo often, it is key for our fundraising activities. It is completely solid and has no bugs. We never had the need to fix anything, it works just perfectly.

How did Darwoft perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication is just excellent. We used Slack and had constant interactions with them. We also use Trello as our ticketing system. Everything worked perfectly and they met every deadline. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of their work and their ability to meet all expectations were most impressive. Also, the cost-benefit balance is great.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were growing a lot and at some point so they had a small lack of personnel but they were able to solve that two years ago.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Darwoft has the expertise and seniority to understand your business and provide value very fast. Get profit off that.

Introduce your business and what you do there

I am the CTO at a digital wallet startup based in Argentina.

What challenges were you trying to address Darwoft?

We needed to add a developer to our team to take charge of managing the backend of our platform and mobile app. Darwoft was used for staff augmentation services.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team used Google Cloud and Javascript to manage our backend system and mobile app.

What is the team composition?

We're currently working with one developer, but we had three resources augmenting our team at times.

How did you come to work with Darwoft?

In a past role, our team used staff augmentation services quite frequently. From that experience, Darwoft always provided the best results, resources, and problem management. That's why I contacted them when this project came up. 

How much have you invested in them?

We spent between $3,500–$4,000 USD each month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from  August–April 2019.

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

They really helped us deal with a very heavy workload, coming up to speed more quickly than we expected. The process and product always worked as desired with them on the team. When one of their team members left the company, they found a replacement quickly. It was a very good experience, and I'd definitely work with them in the future.

How did Darwoft perform from a project management standpoint?

As they worked in-house, I was in charge of project management myself. However, one of their developers was helping us with Scrum methodology. They proposed some very interesting metrics, and we ended up using a template provided by them.
 

What did you find most impressive about them?

When I first contacted them they were very quick at understanding our needs and the technical requirements of the project. Their understanding of our processes allowed us to place them on the right team right away.

Are there any areas they could improve?

One of the resources left midway through the project, which made us lose some time. It was solved quickly, but it was an issue at the time.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the head of an IT development department at a tourism agency.

What challenges were you trying to address Darwoft Inc?

About 5 years ago the company used to outsource all IT projects, but after I joined, our goal was to develop the company’s core system. So we hired them to provide us with developers for this project. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had people working with Devops, architects, back end and front end developers, among others.

What is the team composition?

So far we have worked with 7 people.

How did you come to work with Darwoft Inc?

Some time ago I received an email from a technology cluster from Cordoba, they were announcing an event in Buenos Aires presenting all of these companies. They were there so we met up and when this project came up we decided to work with them. 

How much have you invested in them?

We spent an average of a million and a half Argentine pesos (approximately $22,200 USD) per month. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them about 2 years ago and are continuing to partner together.

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

When we hired them I was looking for a greater quality of development and with them, I found developers with great skills, great readiness, very dedicated and savvy. Their company always makes sure their resources feel comfortable working in the projects they are assigned to. We see the results of that all the time in terms of efficiency, quality, and skills.

How did Darwoft Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

They work in our offices so we communicate directly with them, we use Microsoft team, Azure DevOps, and a Scrum methodology. I also meet up with the project manager once a month for any updates and feedback.

What did you find most impressive about them?

As a company, I would highlight how they have always met time and how they treat their resources. As for the developers, their skills and willingness to carry on with the projects are truly exceptional. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I couldn’t say anything.