Digicorp Information Systems Pvt. Ltd.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of a SaaS platform that works with elementary and secondary schools in the US, providing data analytics online for academic progress.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digicorp Information Systems Pvt. Ltd.?

We hired them to build our product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Digicorp is our outsourced engineering team, and they built our platform from scratch. They developed the first iteration of the project, an internal site we used at one school district. Then, they created a second iteration to be sharable and enable us to sell the product to other school districts. 

Digicorp shifted the platform to be SaaS-enable and redid the backend architecture and the new frontend with users’ input. For this, I worked with the Digicorp team to do a round of user interviews. The team started the second version from scratch, building the wireframes again, and we had a complete design process, including the logo.

In the platform, users can see their goals across various online learning programs. Digicorp developed functionality to aggregate data from multiple sources and bring it to one spot. Every week, kids get a goal aligned to their program, and they can see daily progress. This data is also shared with students, teachers, administrators, and parents. Digicorp also added smart features to the platform; it gives teachers recommendations to shift their instruction. It also flags students whenever an issue comes up.

The team built in the new architecture throughout 2020 and launched at the end of that year. Since then, Digicorp has been supporting the product’s maintenance, adding new features, and working on how to scale it out and the security pieces we’d need to do that.

What is the team composition?

We have 5–6 full-time teammates, and I also work with the designers as needed. 

How did you come to work with Digicorp Information Systems Pvt. Ltd.?

We’d put out an RFP, and we interviewed a couple of teams. I’d worked with Digicorp in the past in a tough assignment, so I had a good sense of their work and their team. We ended up choosing them to build out the first iteration of the project. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2019, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The first platform Digicorp built had a high adoption rate; we initially measured success through the usage of the product. There were 10,000 students in the first district, and we had daily usage almost across the board. Upwards of 90% of our customers adopted platform usage between 1–3 times a week.

As we’ve continued to iterate on that first version and have started to share it externally, we’ve been measuring success based on adoption externally. We also have fairly aggressive targets to help scale the product’s backend. There are a number of objectives and key results (OKRs) in place to make sure Digicorp can meet the commitment and timeline of the shift from small to larger scale.

How did Digicorp Information Systems Pvt. Ltd. perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been great across the board. We use GitHub for project management and put all of our bugs in GitLab to follow the process to production. For communication, we use email and Skype.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Digicorp has been a strong partner throughout the project. When I talk to them, I don’t feel like they’re far away working in a silo. I genuinely feel like the folks we pay for are a part of my extended team, and they’re committed to our success and our growth. 

I’m not from a technical background, and the Digicorp team has done a good job of breaking down technical aspects in a way I understand so I can continue to guide the project forward. They share technical strategies and even technical limitations with me.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The area I’m struggling with is that we need more senior engineers in the team, and they don’t have the capacity at this point. This is not their fault, per se; it’s a tough market, there’s a lot of competition, and there aren’t many resources available in their city.

The other piece of that is that there’s lag due to our different time zones. As they think about growth, it would be great if they could staff according to our time zone to support customers during the day.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would say that having a very clear set of deliverables in place is important, which applies to anybody working with any vendor at this level. Digicorp is quite nimble and happy to adjust and be flexible. However, if you have a timeline and deliverables in place, it sets everyone up for success. Then, you can work with them to make sure you can meet that timeline based on your priorities.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CEO of RightSense, a company that builds a data platform and solutions for the retail industry. We’re currently focused on the US convenience store industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digicorp Information Systems Pvt. Ltd.?

We hired them for their software development services. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Digicorp provides us with software developers to help us build some of the features of our product. The product has already been in development when Digicorp came on board, and we’ve provided them with our requirements as they add more features to the product. They’re essentially strengthening the functionality of the platform. They mainly use a React-based library to develop the product’s UI/UX. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 3–4 full-time developers and a part-time project manager. We also work with their lead architect.

How did you come to work with  Digicorp Information Systems Pvt. Ltd.?

They were recommended by the previous company that was working with us. That vendor had was acquired by a bigger company, so we needed to find another vendor. That was how we started working with Digicorp. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $200,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2020, and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t have specific metrics for Digicorp since we’re mainly using them as a software developer resource. Essentially, they work well when we provide them specific requirements — they can implement them. Their resources’ skills are also reasonably good.

How did  Digicorp Information Systems Pvt. Ltd. perform from a project management standpoint?

Digicorp’s project management is good. We have daily standups where we address and try to resolve specific issues in the project. Our teams use tools like GitLab to manage the engagement. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re on par with most software developers in India. We like that they’re in the same location as our previous developers; this has made the project’s transition to them easier.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They can improve their software delivery quality. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be detail-oriented when giving Digicorp your requirements, and have more interaction with their resources. That way, you can get the best out of your engagement with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I’m a product manager at an enterprise asset repurposing business. Companies typically have about a 2-year refresh cycle with their employees before they have to replace their assets (e.g., computers, monitors, accessories). We pick up their old products for donation or resale.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digicorp Information Systems Pvt. Ltd.? 

When I first joined my role, my goal was to implement technology to streamline our client-facing communication flow through an asset pick-up app. I originally handled the coding myself but needed additional manpower to complete the project. As a result, I reached out to Digicorp Information Systems Pvt. Ltd. to augment our development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

We developed an app that allowed our clients to log in and view their assets. Using the app, they can track each asset we’ve picked up by the model, serial number, location, and date. Clients could also place online requests for pickups. This wasn’t necessarily a groundbreaking or technically innovative project, but it was still an enterprise-level app.

The real challenge was building a framework and database that would allow us to easily integrate the app with other tools. We needed to ensure that the app was compatible with SAML 2.0 and integrate it with OneLogin and other essential providers. Those components took a lot of time to implement. On the backend, we used Node.js with a MySQL database, and the frontend was built with React with Redux.

We’ve recently pilot tested the app with our clients and are now pursuing other projects with Digicorp.

What is the team composition? 

I’ve mainly worked with four resources: a dedicated full-time junior developer, a senior developer who also serves as a project manager, a product designer, and an engineering manager who has been a great asset for DevOps-related tasks and high-level architecture. The CEO also follows up with me once a month to make sure that everything is going well.

How did you come to work with Digicorp Information Systems Pvt. Ltd.?

I was initially looking for a full-time overseas resource who was familiar with Node.js and React. Digicorp stood out because they had the relevant technical skills and a strong portfolio.

How much have you invested with them? 

We’ve spent $20,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement? 

Their work started in August 2018 and is ongoing. We’ve just signed a long-term contract with them for future work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app has made client-facing communication a lot easier. Before, we would send PDFs of all the pickup details to our clients and would often receive emails about individual assets. Now, clients can track everything through the app from serial number to pick-up location/date, which has streamlined the whole process.

As for their performance, everyone is happy with Digicorp’s services. I initially provided all of the instructions to them. But, over time, they demonstrated strong technical skills and have become more involved as a team. We no longer have to worry about recruiting development resources; rather, we can rely on their expertise, which is a relief.

How did Digicorp Information Systems Pvt. Ltd. perform from a project management standpoint?

We have weekly meetings to go over our tasks, but they often contact me daily to provide updates or ask questions. Since going live, they’ve been very responsive whenever I've found any bugs. They make sure to resolve issues as soon as possible, even if it’s late at night.

What did you find most impressive about them? 

I appreciate how open they are to learning new technologies. Unlike previous firms I worked with that preferred to stick to their comfort zone, Digicorp is willing to invest their own time to learn a new tech stack that would best meet our needs.

Are there any areas they could improve? 

No, there’s nothing that I can think of. I’ve communicated small things to them, and they’ve been quick to rectify them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director at MeasureOne. We’re an analytics and technology company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digicorp Information Systems Pvt. Ltd.?

We were a small startup at the time, so we didn’t have an internal engineering team. We needed assistance from an outside vendor to develop several software products to help us serve our customers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our first project with Digicorp Information Systems Pvt. Ltd. involved enhancing an internal tool that was originally built by our team. They designed a completely new user interface and programmed a cashflow engine in the backend using .NET technology.

The second project was much bigger. Still with .NET, their team helped us build a new tool for our operations team, allowing them to collect data from PDF reports, standardize it, and enter it in databases. Prior to this solution, we’d managed that entire process in Excel, which was a bit of a challenge.

We also worked with them to build a unique solution. We wanted a technology base that our customers could use to extract data from other websites and share it with our company. Digicorp Information Systems Pvt. Ltd. created a browser extension to facilitate that process. It was a pretty innovative and complex tool, but we completed the project and got it to market quickly.

What is the team composition?

They assigned a project manager, two developers, and a QA resource.

How did you come to work with Digicorp Information Systems Pvt. Ltd.?

We’re based in the same city, so we heard about them through our local network.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost for their services was in the range of $200,000—$1,000,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January 2013–January 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Digicorp Information Systems Pvt. Ltd. worked hard to help us get our products to market quickly. Even though we lacked an internal engineering team, we were still able to show that we were a fast and driven company. Additionally, our customers used the products, which is a success in itself.

How did Digicorp Information Systems Pvt. Ltd. perform from a project management standpoint?

Their management skills were great. Our project manager was very responsive, and the developers were very flexible. Digicorp Information Systems Pvt. Ltd. was open to any communication channels, so we chose Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I really appreciated their approach to new projects or challenges. They’d conduct several meetings with staff of all levels to brainstorm and gather a variety of perspectives. I felt that this method was different from the typical service organizations, and it generated a lot of great ideas.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Because we needed to minimize our costs, we chose not to use their QA team and handle it on our own. We didn’t have enough technical experience, so we missed multiple bugs, and it negatively impacted the quality of our products. Digicorp Information Systems Pvt. Ltd. should push back on any of their client’s ridiculous requests—like ours. They should insist on a high-level of QA.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I wear many hats at our organization. We’re a nonprofit that provides education to pregnant women.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digicorp?

We've hired them for two different projects. A couple of years ago we noticed that our website was out of date. It wasn’t responsive and it was lagging behind everyone else technologically. Then last year we went to them for help in developing an app that is an educational tool that takes pregnant women from conception to delivery. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

For the website, we sent them some information on what we wanted and then they came back to us with a design. We approved it and they built it in WordPress. They were instrumental in helping us develop the app. Due to budget constraints it’s only for iOS but we’re hoping to raise the money to move forward with an Android version this year.

The app lets a woman log on and enter information: age, phone number, height, weight, blood type, allergies, medical conditions, medications, and due date. There’s a section where they can list their medical providers and schedule appointments. The app includes a meditation feature and a journal feature where the user can write about her pregnancy. One of our big initiatives is tracking the baby's movements so there is a movement counter where the user taps the screen every time the baby kicks. The woman can record the date of the baby’s birth and information such as weight and height.

What is the team composition?

For the web design we were working with two designers and for the app we worked with two developers. There were other people working on each project but these were the only people that I talked to as they served as project managers as well.

How did you come to work with Digicorp?

A friend of a friend referred them. We’d been interviewing other firms but we felt they really understood what we were looking for, where we were coming from, and what we needed.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We hired them for the website in 2016. They started the app in May 2017 and finished in September 2017. It took a little bit longer than expected because we had a lot of things going on in our organization. We're still working with them now on fixing bugs and they’re also putting the app on the website.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are in the process of launching our app, ME Preg, and the initial feedback has been extremely positive. We went back to them for the app development because we had such a great experience on the web redesign. They completed the app but we haven’t officially launched it yet because of a delay in getting insurance protection.

How did Digicorp perform from a project management standpoint?

The project managers did a great job of facilitating the communication between us and the team working on the projects. Because we’re not so technologically savvy, they relay what's going on to us in layman's terms and help us come to a decision. They were very responsive to all of our needs. We'd have to get up early to have conference calls but they were always very accommodating and easy to work with.

We communicate via Skype and also use Basecamp, which is really helpful as we’d go back and forth sending messages. Basecamp helps us keep track of everything going on with the projects and is much easier to use than having to search an email inbox for messages.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have very fresh ideas and really did their homework. Their designs for the website were on point and it was just really impressive. They listen to us and understand our needs, especially when it comes to the budget. We're a nonprofit and some of the firms we talked to came back to us with quotes of $150,000 dollars to do an app. With Digicorp, I felt that everything was fair and they really worked with us to fit our budget.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything; it's been a really good working relationship. They've even planted some seeds for projects we could take on in the future. They’re very proactive and always coming up with ideas that we might not have thought of ourselves.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

This isn’t specific to Digicorp but always come prepared with your content and documents ready before you begin any project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a social media content marketing company, and we mainly work with e-commerce brands. We offer them a widget that facilitates the use of their e-commerce tools and curates all content, all while making it shoppable on different social media networks. They can aggregate their content, tag each of their posts and product pages, and enable website viewers to browse and make purchases.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digicorp?

In March 2013, I had the idea to build a widget for collecting customer testimonials. The social aspect was absent, so I reached out to Digicorp for help.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Digicorp has been involved since the start of the company as my counterpart on the development side. They’ve made some additions to what I initially presented by navigating my ideas to come up with a strategy and overall plan.

We built an initial prototype of the platform, and then kept continuously iterating and improving it. Digicorp used CakePHP to help me design and development the platform, and also helped me maintain all DevOps operations on the server side after the product started scaling.

We came to understand our customers’ needs once we started selling and talking to them, which is what helped us to expand the platform. They wanted something like social testimonials rather than static ones. This is when we first integrated with and started curating social reviews from Facebook and Twitter.

Concurrently, Instagram started picking up, and e-commerce merchants discovered that many people were sharing products they were purchasing from certain brands by using hashtags. It would be a great idea to integrate different content using hashtags and show it on e-commerce sites, but Instagram’s photos, at the time, weren’t clickable. Even though people could like or follow a page, there wasn’t anything else we could do with it.

This was the biggest pain point we identified, because we needed to provide a link on an Instagram profile, and then direct that link to an e-commerce website which displayed the same photos. The only difference is that on the website, photos are now shoppable and tagged with product pages.

What is the team dynamic?

The founders were present during the conceptual stage, but after that, the business analyst/product manager and full-time developer became more involved. We used 2 full-time developers and a designer on an as-needed basis. We also used a DevOps team member when required.

How did you come to work with Digicorp?

I’d known about them for a long time because I went to the same university as their founders, and I’d also seen news about them. I saw the great jobs they’d done on other projects, so I reached out in order to see how they could help, and they presented some nice solutions. I liked their overall approach, so I decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

I don’t remember the total cost exactly, but I had a $15 per hour rate. We had a 2-year engagement, so I spent roughly $40,000–$50,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in March 2013. The initial build was finished in 3 months, but it was more of an evolving product that required continuous, new requirements. The bulk of the work was completed sometime in 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, we were able to group around 4,000 initial customers, and we launched the app on different e-commerce platforms like Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce, and EventBrite. We had 5-star reviews and a lot of downloads on all of them. We were also quite comfortable on the revenue side, which continued to increase.

How did Digicorp perform from a project management standpoint?

I didn’t define my requirements correctly in the beginning, but the collaboration became very nice eventually. They were able to provide timelines of execution based on my requirements and assign additional resources in order to deliver accordingly.

We used Basecamp for sharing most of the tasks, and Trac for the bugs side. I personally used Asana to interact with the team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were always trying to reach the product market, and it was beneficial to have this kind of partner. Many companies build a product, finish it, and then fail to maintain it in an ongoing relationship. Our relationship with Digicorp is a proper, continual engagement, which helps my product evolve. When I started creating my in-house team, I could work nicely in conjunction with Digicorp.

I appreciate their ownership and ability to bring a fresh perspective. Many times, I gave them requirements, but didn’t really understand how they needed to be implemented. Digicorp came up with their own suggestions and got their technical leads involved in order to explain what they were proposing. Instead of focusing on finishing features, they try to do the right thing to build the best product.

Digicorp is not a traditional outsourcing company that completes tasks and runs away, but instead, they own it like it’s their product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

When we started, they were not supporting all the latest technologies. My engagement was mainly for a CakePHP-based and LAMP stack platform, but I believe they’ve now started supporting the latest technologies.

We eventually figured out the right project management methodology, but we had some initial glitches regarding estimates. The work took a little longer, which is expected for a new product, but I would encourage them to refine their estimation and forecasting abilities.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I would definitely recommend them and advise clients to take them on as a partner. It’s important to view a developer as a partner in building an end-to-end product rather than as a prototype builder. Digicorp can be a true partner that brings a vision to reality.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder of an Android and iOS application which helps book last-minute spa appointments. It helps therapists book appointments during free times, and clients take advantage of lower prices for last-minute appointments.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digicorp?

I had an idea for the application, and figured I could contact Sanket Patel [co-founder, VP of sales], since I knew he was in the industry, to see what his thoughts were. I don’t come from a technical background, so they guided me through the whole process, and had fantastic communication.

How did you come to work with Digicorp?

I had known Sanket for a long time - he’s a distant relative. When the opportunity came about, I figured I would go to him. The prices seemed reasonable, he was engaging and knowledgeable about the area, so we went forward with the company. I felt I could trust him to provide feedback on my ideas, telling me what would and wouldn’t work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We developed both iOS and Android versions at the same time. Everything was provided by Digicorp’s team, including the wireframes. I only provided the logo. Payment processing is done through PayPal and Braintree for added security. The transactions are carried out separately directly to the therapists and our company, instead of requiring an accounting resource to reconcile payments. The app features a calendar for making bookings up to 2 days in advance. Therapists can input their availability for up to 7 days. If someone requests a massage, the request will be sent to all available therapists within a 7-mile radius, who can either accept or deny it. The client then receives a list of available therapists, including their distance away.

What is the team dynamic?

Sanket was the first point person for this project, and went over what I was looking for with me. He talked with his partners to bound the idea around with them. They helped me refine the vision and pare down some items, so both of us could understand what the end-product or initial idea would be.

We used Basecamp for communication and documents exchange. I usually interacted with a project manager, but we also had conference calls with the designer and the engineers involved in coding, in order to address questions about the look of different elements, and so on.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of their work was around $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I spent quite a bit of time figuring out what the app would look like. It took several months just to come up with a good concept for the product. Digicorp became involved a few months later, when we talked about the scope of work and the expectations for both our sides. The apps were launched six to seven months later in September and October 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Digicorp was helpful in making sure the project was realistic, and, if there was anything they wanted to suggest, they weren’t shy about it. Ultimately, this would help me in making sure the project was a viable solution. I don’t have any metrics at this time.

How did Digicorp perform from a project management standpoint?

They did a fantastic job making sure the scope of work was detailed. None of us wanted to have things up in the air, so we addressed every single detail. I was pleased with the whole process and the professionalism of the team. They had quick response times for my emails, continually filling me in and making sure I knew what was going on.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The whole process was flawless on their part, with the communication being the most important aspect. Digicorp was on-point with the back-and-forth, so everything else fell into place. I felt comfortable with the whole situation and was never out of the loop.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Looking back, I would have implemented or changed some things on my scope, but this doesn’t have anything to do with Digicorp specifically. The overall work was fantastic, and I’m pleased with the experience I’ve had. I would certainly recommend them to anyone interested in this type of service. They’re a friendly and reliable team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

iMusti is the largest supplier of online audio and video content, in both digital and physical format. We have a very large collection of audio titles. We also offer books from various publishers in India as well as the international markets across of the world.

I am the chief executive officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digicorp?

They were doing our development work: website development, front-end website design, mobile application design, and also the applications for our overall technology platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built all it from scratch, starting with the design and then coding all the front-end. We have a backend team. Digicorp had its own projects but they worked together. It was mainly web design and mobile app design for Android and iOS. I know they used HTML.

How did you come to work with Digicorp?

It was a referral from a business partner. We had a good reference. We started working together, and gradually confidence started building, so we gave them more and more work.

How much have you invested with Digicorp?

We have a budget somewhere close to $15,000 to $20,000 per month. So it runs $200,000+ per year, probably.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working with them since 2011.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

They did a good job designing our website. The designers they have are very, very good. We constantly get feedback about the work. They tend to deliver the jobs on time and communication was good. I would say overall reporting and quality was good. In some cases, there were bugs but we just moved on.

How did Digicorp perform from a project management standpoint?

They have one individual who is our focus point and he acts as a project manager as well as a business manager. Then there are two other specialists: one is an architect and the other one is the mobile app designer or engineer. There are two managers who work for him. I did not want to deal with all the team members, so we had one focal point. Then, there are two others who might be managers that people in my organization work with. One of the mobile app teams was relatively young and weak for the project, so the cost was a lot higher than I would have expected. It was mainly due to the inexperience of the team.

What did you find most impressive about Digicorp?

I personally think the website design team is very strong. They are meticulous in their approach.

Are there any areas Digicorp could improve?

I would say when we were working on the mobile app, the group was not particularly strong. Over the time period, they became a little better, but that was one of their relatively weaker spots.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for PRC Medical, LLC. Our headquarters is in Ohio. I am the Director of Product Management for the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digicorp?

I have been with the product since the product was conceived in 2009. I’ve used Digicorp as our development offshore company since then.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

At that time, we were using Microsoft Technologies, .NET, Infragistics third-party controls, SQL server, and also development on iOS. In 2009, when I selected them, they did have expertise on mobile platforms, so that was one more reason for me to work with them. At that time, iOS was not something that was very widely used, but they had good expertise. After that, we added Android technologies to the mix.

How did you come to work with Digicorp?

I had the opportunity to evaluate multiple companies offshore. The reason I decided to work with Digicorp was they were a group of younger entrepreneurs, and that was one of the criteria for me to work with a younger team rather than a team that comes with a predetermined mindset. That was my primary thing, and they had good technical expertise in new technologies that we were planning to use. Those were the primary reason for me to work with Digicorp.

How much have you invested with Digicorp?

We spend in the lower six figures every year.

What is the status of this engagement?

Since 2009 and it is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Because of our space, we require product development, not just software development. I would say our development is not project driven; it is more product driven. There is a huge difference between the two when you try to manage a project and manage a product. We have been successfully able to do this with Digicorp with our expertise combined with Digicorp’s. I would say that as far as a success story is concerned, in our field, which is electronic health records, there are close to 900 plus vendors in the market. Now, with our product, with our technology, and with our customer base and the specialties in which we work, we are ranked as the top product in the US for veins/vascular. It's all because of our marketing efforts, sales, and obviously the awesome product that we have.

How did Digicorp perform from a project management standpoint?

We use scrum for our projects, and I am personally a scrum product owner. It helps us try to follow those mechanisms or methodologies. Based on that, project management becomes a secondary tool for us. We try to manage the project from here. They do have project managers at Digicorp also; however, basically they follow the instructions given by us.

What did you find most impressive about Digicorp?

If I had to say one thing they do well, they have good development resources. That is what I can pinpoint. They are good at mentoring their people and following standards and methodologies that are mostly geared for rapid development. There is always turnover in the company, but they have the methodology that helps onboard new people. I wouldn’t say they onboard easily, but I will say that it helps us move people around and we’re able to onboard people with our product in less than three months.

That’s wonderful for a product company because it’s not that easy for a person to come and work on your product, which is established and has so many functions and features and different applications which are integrated. They have been able to so far, though. In the six or seven years we have worked with them, we have had no issues with resources. The resources which I’ve dealt with are long term. It’s not like people come and go in six months or one or two years. They have been able to retain resources for close to five years on our projects. That has been very helpful for us because whenever there is a change in a resource, it brings a lot of instability to our product. They can get good resources and retain them. That’s a good thing for an offshore company.

Are there any areas Digicorp could improve?

They do well, but obviously, there’s always room for improvement on quality. I think one thing they need is better automated testing tools.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are an IT firm, by that I mean we make software as a service applications. We also do web applications for business enterprise level and online marketing. We have a lot of clients. In a lot of our work, we have third parties help us out like Digicorp. I'm the CEO of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digicorp?

I contacted Digicorp when I was creating enterprise medical software for doctors to use for patient care and some nursing software.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I'm more on the business end - I'm not really technical, but I would say it was all web services.  I do know at the beginning it was server and cloud-based. The product can be used as a software service. I do know it was basically for any doctor. When you have a health exam done, every time you go in, from start to finish, and anything that needs to be done, goes on the computer.

When you walk in, all the questions, any lab orders that were done, and any radiology orders, etc. can all be documents and recalled. We made integrations with big medical companies like LabCorp and Quest for people who do blood work. In radiology, people could send in the information electronically, capture it, and show the data to the doctor.

How did you come to work with Digicorp?

I was introduced by a connection. I knew somebody who knew somebody.

How much have you invested with Digicorp?

On average, we spend $120,000 a year.

What is the status of this engagement?

It started in 2006, and it is ongoing. It's subsided a little, but we still use them for smaller projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

They have the work completed when they say they will. They are available. I've actually called them at 10:00 pm or 11:00 pm their time, and they answer the phone. As a business owner, there's nothing better than when a client is talking to you when you need an answer.

Our success story is the launch of our products. We have products that have launched. They're being used. From our experience, there are a lot of companies that can create the application, but they don't give you the support, or you're not able to reach them. This wasn't the case.

How did Digicorp perform from a project management standpoint?

In the beginning, it was hard, but they've sharpened up a lot. I think they've learned from their experience and feedback. Now, they know how to communicate. I would say right now they're good. They know how to manage projects and all of that. Now, they have more people who help them out, too.

Did that transformation revolved around including dedicated project managers or using new tools to communicate?

It was both new tools and the project managers they hired. When you hire the right people, it makes a difference.

What did you find most impressive about Digicorp?

I would say that it is their support. Like I said, if I call them at 11:00pm at night, they answer their phone. I know if I were to call some other vendors we use at 11:00pm at night, they're not going to answer the phone. I've got to wait until next day, and the clients don't like that.

Are there any areas Digicorp could improve?

Project manageent was a lot harder in the beginning in 2006. I wish they had hired project managers sooner. Before the project managers, they didn't understand American English as well. They have improved project management.  Now, I feel like I'm talking to someone living in the US. I would recommend them. Back then, I might have said, "I don't know."