Exoft

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

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of an organization that provides rehabilitation and medical services to patients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Exoft?

We were looking to engage with more patients on a digital scale and provide them with access to our services online, so we needed someone to provide us with web and mobile app software development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Exoft’s deliverable is to develop a base .NET app in the Azure environment that can be scalable as we grow our organization. We worked with them to create a tool that's easy for consumers to use and once that frontend design was done, we moved to develop a mobile and web version of the app.

The entire workflow of the design was extensive, so we put a project charter in place to see if there would be any modifications to apply or new ideas to integrate.

What is the team composition?

I work closely with an account manager, development lead, and graphic designer.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in November 2020. Our new CEO put the project on hold, but we’ve already launched one aspect of the app, which is an online scheduler.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had a clear quality assessment process where they implement and test the designs I submit for the app. The execution didn’t go exactly as I wanted at first but once it was all smoothed out, they delivered to my expectations about 80% of the time.

How did Exoft perform from a project management standpoint?

Our projects are documented well thanks to the implementation of an issue log, change request log, clear scheduling, and budget, so any time a task deviates from the process, we would have conversations to clear things up.

We have regular communications with their team and we mainly use email to interact.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Exoft really put the onus on communicating with me to make sure every aspect of my requirements is met.

Once we both understood each others’ processes, the results have been spectacular. Our level of partnership is on a level that I haven’t experienced before, and it motivates me to dominate the world.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t know if they could’ve done anything differently because I ended up adopting some of their processes. I believe our communication and collaboration are the reason why the project turned out strongly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would advise you to make sure you know what you’re getting into and what you’re getting into. 

Be aware that Exoft will probably end up bringing more value to the solution because when I started with them, they brought me solutions I’ve never even dreamed of.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of an inventory control and analytics company. We’re a multiple listing service that offers a secure and compliant way to broker transactions between healthcare organizations and pharmaceutical companies. 

We connect siloed systems and help mitigate loss by eliminating waste and helping balance the transfer of medications between facilities. We analyze if there’s an overage or shortage in stocks so that we can redistribute medicines. This allows consumers to find lower-priced items and keeps inventory controls tight. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Exoft?

We were using the .NET technology stack, and we needed help in software development. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our CTO heads projects, and he assigns tasks and sprints through our task boards. Exoft then builds based on our instructions. We also have a QA process, and whenever we encounter bugs, we treat those as separate line items on our tasks list. We’ve given them access to our platform, and they go in a back and forth process with us until everything is working properly.

What is the team composition?

I’m working with three technical resources, a team leader, some developers, and some contacts on the business side.

How did you come to work with Exoft?

I originally found them through Upwork. Exoft’s expertise made us decide to work with them. We were looking for a very niche skillset, and we wanted to find somebody who was an expert in Microsoft-backed technologies such as .NET and Azure. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $25,000–$50,000 so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since March 2020, and our relationship is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Exoft has provided high-quality work. They stand by their output, and they’re quick to resolve issues. I appreciate that we don’t need to hold their hands or explain the obvious to their team, unlike other outsourced vendors. 

How did Exoft perform from a project management standpoint?

Exoft is great to work with, and we’ve had an excellent relationship. They’re still delivering despite the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.

We communicate through Microsoft Teams, and we meet with them daily to review work and go over some tasks on our Microsoft DevOps board. The whole collaboration is pretty smooth.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Exoft’s ability to take abstract ideas and translate concepts into a working prototype is impressive. Notably, they can turn our UI designs into functional features. Their development expertise has been really helpful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As they bring in new talent, they can improve how they get teammates up to speed with some items before jumping into the work. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ensure you have a detailed scope and mockups, and try to visualize how you want the app to flow. Make sure the logic of your project is well documented.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the head of engineering for a cloud SaaS company that provides services for B2B sales organizations. I am responsible for software development and R&D.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Exoft?

We outsourced some of our software development to Exoft.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Exoft cooperates with both our frontend development team and backend development team. The frontend team uses Angular and JavaScript, while the backend team uses Spring framework databases, MySQL databases, and Java.

When we need more support, Exoft either brings in people from their in-house team or hires new developers. I interview every candidate before they join our teams.

What is the team composition?

We currently have five Exoft members on the backend team and two on the frontend team.

How did you come to work with Exoft?

I inherited the relationship with Exoft when I joined the company. I was not around when they were selected as our outsourcing partner, but I do participate in the recruitment process. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested a little over $200,000 at this point.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership started around December 2020. It is an ongoing engagement.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We mainly measure their ability to deliver quality software on time or in accordance with our development cycles. We have releases every 3–4 weeks, and we use that time to look at the quality of Exoft’s work in terms of how many bugs we find. 

How did Exoft perform from a project management standpoint?

We manage the project in-house, but we are transitioning to have more of the management done on Exoft’s side as well. We use GitLab for releases and Slack for our daily communications.

What did you find most impressive about them?

A good portion of the developers that they’ve put on our teams are technically strong, but I’m more impressed with how fluent our relationship is with Exoft. I don’t have to think about politics; I can freely and straightforwardly express any issues that I encounter with their developers. They’re always frank with me about their employees.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The hiring cycle is quite challenging, so I think they could be a little more helpful in that aspect. I also think that they should have better control over the quality of the deliverables seeing as I don’t have a dedicated testing team at the moment. It would be good if individual engineers improved the level of testing that they do on their own. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Clearly and frequently communicate what is critical to your company to Exoft’s management. This will allow them to adjust to your deadlines, meeting schedules, and overall management structure.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the owner of a software development company catering for a bespoke system development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed extra resources to be scaled up and down to assist my current team. Flexibility and experience are both key - as well as fair costs.

SOLUTION

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

We searched online and selected them based on price and a vdo interview where the CTO in particular impressed our own CTO.

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

There are many aspects to the projects all modular-based and involving front-end and back-end development and a flexible agile approach.

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

8 people mainly in software development roles

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The projects have been delivered on time and they have been flexible on payments as we await our own client sign-off from time to time.

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

Whenever we find any ambiguities or issues, they are always quick to respond and rectify them. We have had little to have a concern about. They are also honest about the resources they do or don't have.

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

I like the flexibility and positivity to see us be successful on the projects we are working with them on,

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

Perhaps better management of communication within their small development teams to our developers so we don't have to micromanagement too much but then we have never requested a Project Manager so that's probably our fault.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Engineering Software Lead at an international IT/Greentech company with offices in Europe and in the US.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Introducing a new product line while experiencing a substantial growth with the current product/service portfolio put us in a position where our growth became limited by the recruitment/training processes. Basically we needed a larger team very quickly to be able to serve the increasing demand.

SOLUTION

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

Exoft demonstrated numerous similar, already accomplished projects, where their skilled developers helped out clients on time and within budget. The skillset their developers provided completely matched our requirements.

One further deciding factor was the relatively small geographical distance (almost in the same time zone, which was vital for efficient communication).

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

The cooperation had two major stages:

In the first stage, a text document generator was developed based on existing specifications. The task covered the retrieval of the HTML-based templates, substitute and expand template elements by actual data, then convert the text to office document and printable formats, along with visual customization. The developers helped to improve the custom template language used in this task as well. The component deployed in this stage got deployed to production and is used on a daily basis.

The second stage covered the development of a drawing arrangement and a pathfinder tool for engineering drawings. The goal was to develop a component that based on input data provides an optimal arrangement of engineering symbols and connects them.

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

There were two people working with us on a daily basis in a software developer (coder) position.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to upscale our team without losing momentum on the new product development side, and without harming the support quality for our existing clients. The components delivered by Exoft people are deployed in production and are an integral part of our workflow by now.

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

The project management was absolutely flexible, Exoft 100% adapted to our needs both in terms of communication tools, reporting routine and timelines. We could integrate the two developers into our team in a seamless way.

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

The response time of the management and the technical preparedness of the developers were both extraordinarily good. This, together with the flexibility offered made working together with Exoft a very pleasant experience.

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

We cannot see any issues with the cooperation. This is how it is supposed to work in all the cases.