Eureka Software

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Co-Founder of Einstein Moving Company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a moving company focusing on delivering great service on residential moves.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Eureka Software to accomplish?

• Create Custom CRM
• Create Mobile App

SOLUTION

How did you find Eureka Software?

Online Search

Why did you select Eureka Software over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit

How many teammates from Eureka Software were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We have worked with Eureka software for many years now and they have built us a custom CRM from scratch. They have also updated the CRM with tons of feature requests and system updates (we are currently on version 3.1). In addition to that, they have built out a mobile app for us to better manage our field operations

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We have a fully functioning CRM, availability and booking engine, a mobile app, and support work.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Their project management has evolved over time. We started with Jira and a project manager, had some projects managed entirely through remote meetings without a PM (during covid), and now manage projects via Monday.com. 

They have not always delivered items on time although they have always delivered top quality work and they won't sacrifice quality just to hit a deadline.Still, my only negative bit working with them is that sometimes they have been too busy with other work to truly prioritize certain projects.

What was your primary form of communication with Eureka Software?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting

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

They're super willing to get into the weeds about your business so that they can best formulate software solutions to your problems. Sometimes it seems like they know justas much about the moving business as I do. 

Additionally, I have had the pleasure of working with the same two primary developers from the very beginning of our project (which started over five years ago). This continuity from project to project I have found to be super useful. 

They have also always been flexible to work in a way that best benefits us. We preferred using Monday.com as a project management system since that is what we used internally and Eureka made it work and learned the system too so that they could collaborate on our preferred system.

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

During COVID we stopped in person meetings and our project management suffered. Since then, we have made improvements (including meeting in person sometimes) to our communication that has not made this as much of an issue. 

Sometimes it seems like we don't have the full attention (or are even prioritized highly) from our developers. That they are overworked on other projects and just kind of pick at our project in random intervals when they have time.This has caused delays on projects (including projects with a full SOW) recently.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the sales and marketing director at an IT solutions company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with {company_name}?

We needed their team’s development expertise.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In terms of the development, they’re using WordPress, Swift, and React. We provide them with all the documentation, and they implement the changes we need.

What is the team composition?

We currently have five people from their team working with us.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership ran from June 2020–May 2021.

How did you come to work with?

We found them on Clutch.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They always keep our project work and on task, which is great. I like the platforms they use to interact with our company as a company. They’re very proficient in communicating, their deadlines, and how they go about things. If they have a task, they accomplish it

How did the company perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate via email and track progress in Google Sheets. Eureka Software is a responsive and deadline-oriented team — they keep us in the loop at all times.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I think that the software they provide is excellent. They’re also very reliable. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't have a good answer to this question.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Nothing comes to mind.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the IT manager at the University Federal Credit Union.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Eureka Software?

We wanted to develop a web application in-house using the agile scrum methodology. However, we weren’t sure what front- and backend technologies or development languages to use, so we hired Eureka Software to help us get through the process.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had the entire process completely mapped out, and this is what we handed over to Eureka Software. They then provided us with an architect and several developers who all worked with our in-house development team. It was a collaborative effort.

The first web app they helped us build was for automating the consumer lending & loan application process. Through this web app, people could simply fill out and submit an application for a loan, credit card, or unsecured personal loan and get it automatically approved. 

What is the team composition?

We started off with five people, one of whom was a technical strategy, architecture, and development lead. The team also consisted of front- and backend developers, an architect, and infrastructure and DevOps specialists who helped us get to the Azure cloud environment. 

How did you come to work with Eureka Software?

We searched for local development contracting firms and came across Eureka Software. We interviewed several firms, but we really liked Eureka Software’s ideas, approach, and openness to work with us collaboratively. We decided to bring them in for the project.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent well over $1 million. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2018, and they helped us with numerous projects until December 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Fifty percent of all loan applications came through the web app. This was in the first year following its launch. Consumer lending also experienced a 21% increase in volume and a 5% decrease in staff, and that was all due to the web app handling majority of the application process. 

How did Eureka Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They did great. They were able to handle the entirety of the project while strategizing with us. Our communication was also very open and honest, and we appreciate that they were always available for us. 

Even when they weren’t working on-site, we were in touch with their team on a daily basis. We had daily stand-ups, either by phone or in person, and we also had regular meetings with developers. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

A lot of the firms we had interviewed simply wanted to do the work themselves, but Eureka Software was very collaborative. We liked that they didn’t try to oversell or build anything that was unnecessary. They just seemed to have our best interest in mind while working with us. We never felt that they were up to anything because they built an honest and open business relationship. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think they could’ve done anything better. They were fantastic, and I definitely respect and appreciate everyone from Eureka Software. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be highly collaborative with them and insist that they work alongside you instead of doing a hand-off project. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO and director of education and development at Music Theater International, a theatrical licensing company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Eureka Software?

We needed to revamp a proprietary product called RehearScore that users can use instead of working with live musicians. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Eureka Software developed a new mobile application version of our RehearScore product in MIDI. They led a short discovery period where they asked us questions about the project. We provided Eureka Software’s team with details of what we wanted from the product and what was needed in the industry. Once we resolved their clarifying questions, Eureka Software developed the first version of the product and iterated it several more times before we finalized it. Since the project wrapped, Eureka Software has offered maintenance and upgrade services. 

We’ve worked on several other projects with Eureka Software focused on our other digital products. Eureka Software built a backend distribution platform integrated into our system that sends emails to our customers whenever they purchase our digital products. The platform itself was designed to manage each digital product for our customers.

What is the team composition?

Andrew (Principal Architect) is our primary programmer, but Rodney (VP of Product Development) is my main point of contact. 

How did you come to work with Eureka Software?

We were looking for vendors to do a different project, but we found Eureka Software during our research. Although we decided we wouldn’t go through with the project, we stayed in touch with Eureka Software. So, when the RehearScore project came up, I decided to hire them. Their team was intelligent, succinct, and never pushy during our discussion. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $500,000 with Eureka Software. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Eureka Software began in December 2015, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Eureka Software has delivered awesome products that we still use today. Transforming RehearScore into a mobile app allowed us to reach a wider, more inclusive audience. The distribution platform has drastically changed the volume of work my team has to do, allowing them to focus on other priorities. 

How did Eureka Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Eureka Software has fantastic communication — they’re calm, thoughtful, and succinct. Their team always meets our deadlines. Whenever there have been deadline issues, it’s because of a shortcoming on my side. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate Eureka Software’s feedback process. They listen to our needs, digest them, and come back to us with specific questions that show they’ve spent time researching our project. I consider them a partner, not just a third-party vendor who completes tasks for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing for Eureka Software to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d tell customers to do their own research and be clear about the project goals. It’s essential to develop a thorough RFP to ensure that every question is raised and answered during discovery interviews — customers must be open and honest about their goals. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at a government contractor.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Eureka Software?

We wanted to further develop an existing platform that we had because it needed to be modernized to be brought to current standards while improving its security.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Eureka Software did infrastructure development to our internal systems and platforms. They also helped us migrate from Microsoft Azure Commercial to Microsoft Azure’s government cloud environment. They also helped us refine and identify efficiencies of our platform’s design. In terms of technologies, their team also used SQL environment.

One of the main improvements is that we now have our accounting characteristics implemented in our system. 

We have already finished the work, but they’re still helping us address loose ends.

What is the team composition?

We worked with at least five members of the team, including Kevin (Team Leader), Rodney (VP of Product Development), Brian (Software Developer), and Tim (Principal).

How did you come to work with Eureka Software?

We wanted to reevaluate developers, and after someone referred Eureka Software to us and scoping out the work with them, we felt like Eureka was the best choice for us. They were detailed in their proposal to us, their work statement, and the resources they’d utilize, so we went with them.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent around $250,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2020–December 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Due to its limitations, we had lost functionalities to manage our information and reports on our previous platform. Thanks to Eureka Software’s work, we can now run reporting, making a huge difference with the data analytics that we produce for the government. Overall, the platform they enhanced reduced our work demands by 30%, which enabled us to redirect all those workforce resources into other tasks.

How did Eureka Software perform from a project management standpoint?

The support and interaction with Eureka Software were personalized. We used to have weekly phone meetings with the same team to discuss the project. Overall, their personable approach, commitment, and staff were the right fit for our company.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The way they were reachable throughout the project was outstanding; we could always get them to respond within hours, and we had no delays on the tasks’ phases thanks to that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could assure to have a developer backup in case something goes wrong. The developer they provided was committed to the project, but our biggest question was what would happen if Tim was no longer available at some point.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be prepared with your desired scope of work; defining exactly what you want and need will make you a good customer. We gave them blueprints of everything we needed, making the process more efficient and streamlined.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We're a full-service meteorological provider. We sell software to weather-oriented businesses, radars, and data services, both international and domestic.

What is your position?

Respondent #1: I am the software department manager; I head up all the software development here.

Respondent #2: I am the vice president of marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Eureka Software?

Originally, we needed some user interface (UI) development on a Windows desktop application, but we didn't hire Eureka Software for that project. We actually hired them a few years later.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

We hired Eureka for a small amount of mobile development, but the majority of the work we engaged them with was server-side programming, data management, and dissemination. For the server-side work, we used several different languages, including Python, C++, and Lua. There might have been a smattering of others, but those were the primary ones.

How did you come to work with Eureka Software?

We spoke with a few different companies. We had a short time frame, and we originally went with Eureka because we liked the speed and quality of the mobile development work they had done in the past. That's how our relationship began. The other work, the lion's share of the work, was the server-side back-end development. We started small, and our comfort level grew with them in time, and we ended up with a multi-year relationship.

What is the status of this engagement?

The relationship with Eureka started around 2010 even though I first spoke to them around 2007. We didn't start working until late 2010.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Because this is also a software house, we use them as supplemental labor, hired guns. They were very good, they had some good staffers. The product we deployed and the system that we've built in time with them has proven very effective. We've received a lot of good feedback from customers on our product's scalability and ability to handle very large load volumes, and its overall reliability.

How did Eureka Software perform from a project management standpoint?

We managed the project through remote team augmentation. I managed them directly alongside a project manager on their side. Depending on how many of their staffers we had, we would dictate the amount of involvement the Eureka project managers had. At peak capacity, we were using probably about four developers from Eureka. The majority of the time, it was only two.

One time we thought that the developer they gave us couldn't deliver, so we requested a replacement. The guys at Eureka were responsive, and we resolved it and moved on.

We used configuration management tools to track work, and we used bug trackers to track individual issues. We used tools like GitHub, JIRA, documentation portals, and diagramming software.

There were no issues regarding unresponsiveness or issues with receiving defective work. They were always very responsive. They have some very talented developers on their staff, and that is one of the reasons I've stuck with them for so long.

We didn't have any QA [quality assurance] specialists. We did a lot of defensive programming in which we wrote unit tests for each functionality. We wrote software to test the software in an automated fashion.

What distinguishes Eureka Software from other providers?

Their stability and longevity stand out. They've been around a long time. Many of the employees that I spoke with in 2007, before the financial crisis, were still there. They've been around since the '80s or '90s, and a lot of employees that I've dealt with have been there more than 10 years. That's unusual to find from a contracting house. Eureka Software has a talented staff. They're not a body shop. They're not looking to fill seats in order to accumulate billable hours. They don't have a very large company; they seem to have kept it perfectly small, so they can keep the quality of their work up. At least that's the impression I had from speaking with some of their management.

In hindsight, are there areas in which they could improve, or things you might do differently?

I'm sure there are, but nothing really comes to mind at the moment. Everyone can improve somewhere. Our experience has always been positive.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I work for GNS Healthcare. We are a software service and product company catering to the medical industry, mostly to payers or insurance companies.

What is your position?

I am a software developer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Eureka Software?

I’ve actually worked with them twice. Once for the last company I worked for, and now with GNS. We needed to create a visual design for a Web application we have.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

The technologies Eureka used were AngularJS, HTML5, and CSS. The application was for our sales team to use, and it needed to look sexy, and it needed to make sense and really drive home what we were trying to do. The service was designed to help insurance companies figure out their return on investment, similar to an investment calculator. They put in a bunch of their information, and then we tell them how much money they can save if they use us.

How did you come to work with Eureka Software?

I’ve got a long history with Eureka. I used them at a prior company, I’ve worked with them in the past as partners, so I know the guys, and that’s why I use them. I was working for a company called Rush Trucking, and their UI [user interface] guy was just excellent, he did a nice design, and that’s why I started using them. They’re good at what they do.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

Probably about $50,000 total or maybe a little less than that.

What is the status of this engagement?

The most recent project was completed in May [2015].

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

It was warmly received, but there are no hard statistics to share. It’s driving our sales process, so we have made some deals using the application. The stakeholders liked what we came up with, and it was a success.

How did Eureka Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything was completed and delivered within the specified timeframe and within budget. At first, people kept telling me they had a hard time believing that we weren’t beyond our budget. We kept making changes and enhancements, and Eureka just kept helping. We were impressed at how much work they did within the budget.

There weren’t any issues at all with responsiveness or defective work. We manage the project online using Atlassian, so we’ve got defect tracking, and we use the Agile development method. Eureka uses all the same practices we do, so they were able to work the same way we work.

What distinguishes Eureka Software from other providers?

I’m typically using them for UI design because they’re good at it, but I understand that they are talented in other areas as well, like server-side work. I’ve never used them for that, so I can’t really attest to it. It is nice to have a shop that is multifaceted. Eureka always had enough people, there are always people on hand there to handle whatever work is needed.

We haven’t used them for server-side development projects yet. What I’m almost always doing is building out a product, which includes server-side development, but the companies I work with don’t usually hire a designer, so we haven’t gotten the chance to work with them on it. We have worked with Eureka Software on the last three opportunities and those were great successes. It’s impressive that we can ask for one of their designers, and they can work with us and create three great projects.

In hindsight, are there areas in which they could improve, or things you might do differently?

Sometimes, their progress tracking isn’t as good as I would want. I want more details, and a lot of times what I’ll get from them is just the number of hours it took. I know they keep their logs anyway, but they don’t usually give them to us.

On one project, we had to ask them to keep us in the loop. They were resistant to using Skype because they liked their own chat system. After we talked with them, they were receptive and started using Skype and meshed with our team.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

When I worked with Eureka, I was with another company called PeopleAdmin. It was a SaaS [Software as a Service] technology that delivered talent management solutions to organizations working in higher education.

What is your position?

I was the vice president of product management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Eureka Software?

We were looking to build a brand new iOS app, and we did not have a mobile development team in-house. We knew what we were trying to build but needed the technical talent to pull it off.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

They were responsible for both the functional development of the iOS app and the front-end visual design, as well as the use case development. I didn't have a team, but I had the ideas. Eureka was able to fill all the gaps between UI/UX [user interface/user experience], strategic decisions around what platform to build for, as well as which specific functionalities to include. They filled the gaps everywhere from product management, all the way through development.

How did you come to work with Eureka Software?

I got a cold email from them around the time when I was considering an outsourced option for my next project. Meeting with them solidified what type of service I was looking for. They helped me identify how to outsource, and what parts to outsource.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement was completed in June 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

The app never actually went live. They were involved in every aspect of its production, however, from the idea all the way through to a fully developed prototype. By the end, they were able to show my team how to sustain the product they created. The prototype worked extremely well and, in some ways, performed even better than we had expected it would.

How did Eureka perform from a project management standpoint?

We never had any issues with unresponsiveness, delayed pieces of work, or defective code. They managed the project and workflow very well, and always kept us updated.

What distinguishes Eureka Software from other providers?

I think the principals at Eureka are very hands-on and very experienced. They have a very broad set of knowledge and technological experience. The principals stay engaged and hands-on until they transition to a pure development team or whatever the resources are. That allows them to perform really well, with little management or oversight from the customer.

In hindsight, are there areas in which they could improve, or things you might do differently?

Nothing comes to mind.