Exoft

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a product owner at a SaaS company offering software for personal data compliance. I've been working for my company for three years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Exoft?

The decision to hire Exoft was made prior to my starting in the company. Originally, my company required IT staff augmentation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Since I joined the company, we've expanded our collaboration with Exoft. Currently, they provide us with three developers, two of whom work full-time and one of whom works part-time 20 hours a week. At one point, there were four Microsoft developers from Exoft working for us.

Because our engagement with Exoft started before my time, I wasn't involved in the initial recruitment process. However, we recently had some team changes, for which we requested Exoft find a special type of candidate with a special skill set.

To solve this challenge, Exoft has recruited someone to join their own company who now works for us as a full-time developer. Basically, they've added new team members to their department based on our requirements.

What is the team composition?

In addition to the three developers we work with, we also interact with Exoft's management, who are in charge of holiday planning and invoicing.

How much have you invested with them?

We pay an hourly rate for each developer, which depends on their profile and seniority level. Overall, we've spent between $24,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I joined my company in September 2021, while Exoft had been recently onboarded. Our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Exoft's developers have met our expectations. We've also worked with other outsourcing partners in the same period, and Exoft's resources have always delivered to high standards, so they've become our preferred partners. They've been key actors in this collaboration.

How did Exoft perform from a project management standpoint?

We haven't requested project management services from Exoft; we do that in-house. That said, whenever we look for a new candidate from them, they've understood our requirements and successfully recruited new team members, respecting the profile requirements and needed skill sets.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Exoft has good-performing developers on their team. Their resources have a high level of motivation and curiosity, so they're eager to understand our product, business challenges, and technical needs. Overall, they've been meeting our expectations and adding extra value to the project due to their high motivation and engagement,

Are there any areas they could improve?

As part of our collaboration, we have biweekly evaluations to identify areas for improvement. Exoft has responded to our feedback very well, so they've complied with every area of improvement we've identified in terms of processes and communications.

Therefore, there are no improvements that need to be made. We've caught these opportunities through the process and resolved them as we go.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Have clear communication about your needs and expectations. Additionally, understand that outsourcing talent requires expert attention, planning, and management considerations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a consulting and reliability engineer for Artificial Lift Solutions. We specialize in artificial lift solutions for the oil and gas industry, specifically electrical submersible pumps (ESP) in artificial lifts to bring the oil to the surface.

We provide complete life cycle support for operators in design operation, troubleshooting, failure analysis, and design.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Exoft?

We needed help with custom software development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve spent some time with Exoft developing software for failure analysis. The project is a program to store and compile a database of all the failure analyses we do for our customers. We’re currently doing 40–60 reports monthly between 3–5 active consultants operating in the US.

The program is just engineering and failure data associated with our failure analyses on failed equipment. I’m unfamiliar with the technologies used because my background is in chemical engineering.

What is the team composition?

We generally work with Alex (Chief Business Development Officer) and Taras (CTO) when we start a project. Once we go through what we require for the program, they give us a call, and we work with them. We’ve been fortunate enough to have a similar team in both phases; we usually have two programmers, one in the frontend and one in the backend, and a manager.

Since they’re a decent-sized organization, they pull other resources when required. For example, they get a specific person to launch the code for web services when we need to launch.

How did you come to work with Exoft?

A friend of our company’s owner referred them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $50,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them around June 2023, and our partnership is ongoing. We work with Exoft in phases, each lasting 3–4 months. We did the fifth phase last year, and the sixth phase lasted from December 2023–May 2024.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We mainly use the tool internally. As we continue to add items to the software, the usability improves for the consultants that use it daily. Overall, we’re not a big enough company to have statistics or metrics to show, but Exoft has continuously developed the software, and our consultants are pretty happy with it.

How did Exoft perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve learned that software development always involves some time and budget overruns. However, it’s been between 10%–20%, so it’s been manageable.

When we run a project, we meet 1–2 times a week to give updates or discuss it. We communicate through emails and Microsoft Teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Compared to other programmers we’ve used, Exoft is very streamlined. They usually have smaller teams to do the same amount of work. They cost more than other options, but they work efficiently and well. 

The team also responds well and is good at discussing new ideas; they always come back with solutions or options. Overall, everyone on the team is excellent; they’re very pleasant to work with. We’ve worked with other developers in Singapore, and our past experiences weren’t as good as with Exoft.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As we progress in our working relationship, we improve how we communicate with each other and manage the work. As they complete the tasks, my team has to go in and check the changes they’ve made are correct, so it’s a constant back-and-forth of development and testing as we go through those phases.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I definitely recommend giving Exoft a try. They’re far better than other programmers we’ve used in the past.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO and co-founder of Lera Health, a consumer-facing wellness and health optimization service based in the US aimed at the female market between 35 and 55. We're a very early-stage startup, so we're still building our initial go-to-market product. We plan to launch this product in September 2024.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Exoft?

We were building a consumer-facing mobile app, which had to be done to a pretty high standard of quality and UX design, so we asked Exoft for help.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Exoft provides us with two developers: a frontend web developer and a mobile app developer. Our main product will be an iOS mobile app on which the mobile app developer is working. Recently, we asked Exoft for another mobile app developer, who we'll be integrating into the team in a couple of weeks. Eventually, we'll also do an Android version.

On the other hand, the web developer is working on integrating multiple backend services, including cloud services and third-party APIs. He's also working on a database and building some internal tooling for a web app. This app will be for our own use to manage our customers' records.

What is the team composition?

We currently have two developers from Exoft working on the project.

How did you come to work with Exoft?

A former colleague recommended them to me. He had worked with Exoft for a couple of years, so when I told him that I needed developers, he recommended them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $100,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2023, and our engagement is still active. We're actually hiring more developers from Exoft.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measure Exoft's success in a number of ways. One is how quickly they can get us quality candidates, which has been very good. Obviously, we haven't onboarded a lot of developers from them, so we have a very small sample size. Still, Exoft has quickly provided us with CVs to review and set up interviews so that we can onboard developers quickly.

Our second success metric is the cost. Exoft is very cost-effective, and the quality of resources they've given us is very good. Moreover, Exoft offers a very professional service. We work directly with the developers as if they were our employees, which is very good because they work solely on our project. We don't interact much with Exoft, but they take care of everything else except the actual work of the developers.

We did use a designer for Exoft once. Although she was a little inexperienced, she did what we asked her to do.

How did Exoft perform from a project management standpoint?

Given that we manage our projects ourselves, we don't lean on Exoft for project management. We assign work directly to the developers.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

I would like to give a shout-out to Vasyl (React Developer). He has been our main developer since last year. He's young and has a couple of years of experience, but he's just fantastic. Vasyl is always willing to go the extra mile, even working on weekends without being asked. He's also fantastic to deal with, as he's the kind of person who figures out anything we ask him to do.

In all fairness, the rest of Exoft's team is also very good. For example, Alex (Chief Business Development Officer) and Olena (Account Manager) are very good to deal with, and both developers have been excellent so far.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I really like that Exoft is in Europe because it reduces the time difference. Dealing with more distant service providers can be very difficult due to the time zone difference. Moreover, Exoft is very straightforward and very quick. If we ask them a question, they give us an answer quickly, and if we ask them for a new candidate, they come back with options very quickly as well. Basically, they're on top of everything.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything Exoft could improve on; they've been very good to deal with. We did have a hiccup with the billing once because they had changed their bank. Still, that wasn't even worth complaining about.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Understand what you're getting into and be clear about your expectations. Know exactly what you want, who you're looking for, and what skills you need.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a full stack developer at a biopharmaceutical company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Exoft?

We didn’t have enough in-house resources for the size of our project, so we hired Exoft to help us. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Exoft worked with us on developing a software app for internal use. We used a hybrid model of collaboration, where our staff and their resources worked together as a single team on different parts of the app. We gave them some architectural documents, a summary of the project’s scope, and a list of the technologies that we needed.

To align the software app to the other platforms we’d developed and the expertise of our internal staff, we used JavaScript and TypeScript as key technologies. We also used the Angular framework and focused on the app’s frontend. 

What is the team composition?

We were initially in contact with their CEO, and then they assigned a scrum master to us at the start of the project. One person was in charge of frontend development, another person had a consultant role, and two others provided support to our staff, which handled the app’s backend.

How did you come to work with Exoft?

We found Exoft online and read different reviews about them. 

How much have you invested with them?

Our investment was between $20,000–$25,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement lasted from January–March 2024. We may engage with Exoft again in the future, but this part of the project is done. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Exoft’s work met our expectations and enabled us to complete the app — they did a great job of getting us there. 

How did Exoft perform from a project management standpoint?

They helped us complete the app by the deadline we set internally. Everything was also on budget, and there weren’t any unexpected costs. 

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

Their frontend developer was experienced and focused. She was easy to work with and always let us know what she was doing. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Exoft was truly focused, and they understood our requirements perfectly. The communication was fluid since they had a good idea of what they needed to do. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there weren’t any. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust Exoft’s expertise, and involve them in the design process if possible. They can provide good ideas and expertise around this. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product manager in Australia for a software provider in the childcare space. We build business management software. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Exoft?

We wanted to improve our delivery velocity, so we needed Exoft’s assistance. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Exoft served as our external development team managed by our company. We gave them work as part of our team, and they undertook the tasks. Our in-house team took on projects and did discovery sessions. Then, we sliced the projects up into smaller pieces of work. We provided all the UI/UX designs they needed, and their team handled the development. Regarding deliverables, we were building a web app, and the Exoft team built features within it. 

What is the team composition?

We started working with two people from Exoft. Then, it expanded to five until we finished the project. 

How did you come to work with Exoft?

Our CTO found them in the US; I simply managed our day-to-day engagement. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested between $100,000–$150,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our contract lasted from May 2022–January 2023. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The overall quality of Exoft’s work was great. There was a higher-than-average amount of rework needed compared to our in-house team, but that could be attributed to the fact that they were outside our time zone. We communicated once per day to sort that out. If there were unanswered questions, it wasn’t difficult for them to find the necessary information, so I didn’t see that as a downside. Overall, they accomplished work truly quickly. 

How did Exoft perform from a project management standpoint?

We didn’t work on deadlines; we’d pick a piece of work, and they delivered it in small slices of functionality. Those were delivered quickly, and the overall features were delivered over a period of weeks or months.  

We typically communicated using Zoom and did daily stand-ups that would go on for about an hour. We used Azure DevOps to manage the work. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The overall quality of Exoft’s work was much better than our previous vendors. Taras (Full Stack Developer) was excellent, and we received a high standard of work. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there weren’t any. They met our needs, and the team was highly accommodating and diligent in their work. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Involve Exoft and help them understand the work you’re asking them to do. That way, they can answer their own questions, especially if you’re working at a different timezone. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a fintech company focused on the capital markets space. I am in the CTO of the company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Exoft to migrate an existing thick-client single tenant CRM platform to a browser-based multi-tenant SAAS offering.

SOLUTION

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

We selected Exoft after a process of due diligence that involved evaluating their approach to solve our business needs; their experience and knowledge of the technology stack that was going to be used in the project; and finally their enthusiasm, proactive approach and flexibility to work with us on our requirements.

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

I believe we have answered this in point 2 above.

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

1 PM 1 Team Lead 2 Senior Backend developers 2 Middle Backend developers 2 Senior Frontend developers 2 Middle Frontend developers 1 Senior DevOps engineer 1 Senior QA expert

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Exoft were able to successfully complete Phase 1 of the Project and following that there was incremental work handed over to them as part of the Phase 2 deliverables on the project.

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

Exoft worked very well with our internal team and worked on the timelines with total transparency and regular briefing at the senior leadership level when it came to project governance.

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

Exoft is passionate about what they do. When we bring ideas to them, they strive to make the product as good as possible.

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

In the initial stage, particularly in the design UI/UX phase there could be improvements on understanding the brief; however, overall the team has been superb in their engagement and professionalism through the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and owner of an IT consulting company. We offer managed development services to small and medium-sized businesses, including mobile and web app development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Exoft?

I hired Exoft to assist us in working on developing an inventory management platform for schools and educational institutions.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Given that I specialize in managed development services, Exoft merely provides us with developers to manage the deliverables and output. We work with technologies like C#, .NET, and Xamarin.Forms. When they joined, we already had an existing product, so they’ve been helping us build additional features and segments of said product.

What is the team composition?

I work directly with Alex (Chief Business Development Officer), who acts as the project coordinator and my main point of contact. I can go to him for anything that I need, like adding or scaling down the developers. I’ve also worked directly with a couple of developers, including Roman (.NET Developer) and another person.

How did you come to work with Exoft?

We found them on Upwork and also found their website online.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2017, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Exoft’s developers are extremely talented and knowledgeable in the areas they specialize, and they take direction very well.

How did Exoft perform from a project management standpoint?

Exoft’s timeliness is remarkable. Almost all of the features we’ve planned have been developed and delivered on time. Whenever we’ve realized that a feature is taking longer than expected or there is a scope change needed, they’ve let me know about needed extra time with plenty of notice. We’ve never had any surprises because they always do their best to stick to the project schedule. We use Trello and Jira to manage the project, as well as Microsoft Teams to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The amount of knowledge and expertise that Exoft’s developers have is impressive. They know the platforms very well, and they always engage with us to help refine features to make them the best they can be, going a level deeper than just developing what we request. They’re great at giving feedback on UI/UX and functional requirements, which is very helpful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. Everything has been great, and I don’t have any constructive feedback, so I will continue working with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Work with them and trust their expertise. Exoft is a great, trustworthy, and talented team that goes above and beyond to help deliver products of great value, so you will get a better product than expected.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a CTO of an online marketplace specialized on the provision of editorial and consulting services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our company was launching a new, modern, user-friendly website, which would allow customers around the world to find and transact with professional freelancers for scientific consulting and editorial needs.

SOLUTION

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

We searched online (using Clutch) for top web developers in the US and Europe, and noticed that Lviv (Ukraine) has become one of the world’s most vibrant technology clusters. We reviewed 20+ candidates, shortlisted 2 (based on their reviews and portfolio), and ultimately decided in favor of Exoft. What made Exoft stand out is their incredibly skillful, knowledgeable, and super-friendly CTO Taras, who prepared a very detailed (and free) cost estimate and participated in multiple meetings to discuss the project.

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

We started with the “Discovery phase” to discuss the structure of the website, layout the User flows, and prepare the wireframes (in Figma). At the end of the Discovery phase, Exoft prepared a detailed “Scope of work”, dividing the web development in 4 project steps (milestones). Each milestone had clearly defined Tasks and deliverables. The key deliverable at the end of the project was the source code for the project and a well-functioning website. The main technology used was .NET.

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

Apart from the above-mentioned CTO, we have interacted with a project manager, a delivery manager (front lead), 2 web designers, 2 full stack developers, 2 front-end developers, a DevOps engineer and a tester.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The outcome of the project was a ready-to-use website with modern design and user-friendly tools (such as connected payment system, Chat, etc.), which is well-received by our Clients.

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

The project was very well managed by the project manager and the delivery manager. All tasks were clearly defined in an online project management tool (Trello) and I could always see the status of the completed tasks. We had regular meetings with both managers regarding open questions and both of them were extremely responsive and helpful.

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

Five things:

1. The team was very skilled and well-versed in state-of-the-art technologies
2. Extremely hard-working and very responsive (to give just a few examples, we had meetings and multiple interactions on weekends, late night their time, and even Christmas eve)
3. Throughout the project, I had an impression that they not only perform the assigned tasks, but are constantly and creatively thinking about how to improve our project beyond what we have asked for
4. Outstanding quality of work provided at the agreed upon deadlines
5. On a personal level, very friendly people

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

No. Instead, I would like to use this opportunity to thank once again the excellent team members involved in this project for a stellar job!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a telemedicine platform. We were looking for a company that would be able to build a full-cycle product for patients and doctors. Main idea was to give the possibility of quality healthcare globally, having only a phone and an active Internet connection. I'm CEO/ Founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

The main challenge was to create a complex platform, that should work on all systems equally video calls, chats, payments. Reliable for users worldwide.

SOLUTION

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

I've selecting form various alternatives. criteria for choice was an experienced team, which easily understood project logics; easy communications. reliability.

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

The amount of work was significant, as we had to create a vast system, which now includes mobile applications (iOS, Android), web application, admin part, API part, databases. Many other services for sending SMS, push messages, video calls, payments, document savings, etc.). So far, we have created, configured, tested the entire fundamental part of the project and went into open testing. The plans are to expand the functionality.

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

7 developers worked for project, Full Stack developers, Front-end developers, Mobile developer (Xamarin); QA; PM

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product is already live and customers are satisfied. I think it’s the best demonstration of success.

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

They were on top of the project. Generated their own ideas and provided the best solutions. They proposed new features and were very proactive. Whenever there was a problem, they were able to resolve it within 24 hours. They were very reachable and very approachable.

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

I worked with many companies, but they are one of the best. Especially, I would like to underscore their desire to create the best product for the clients. They worked with us and brought a lot of insight to the project. They ensured that we created a product that would be useful once the project was over.

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

The Exoft team is very professional, knowledgeable, and experienced; There were some minor issues in delivery times, staff shortage, due to covid19 situation within team; may be they need to hire more developers, for back up purpose, but it's my opinion