Fortifier

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CTO at Project APO, a company that provides consulting, software development, and venture capital work in Japan and the US.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fortifier?

We're building a new product and we needed an engineering team to help us create the initial prototype. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fortifier developed the backend of a prototype within a SaaS infrastructure, including AWS cloud infrastructure. They also built some of the application features, including business card scanning, machine learning, and data analysis components. 

What is the team composition? 

For this project, I acted as the architect and project manager, so I only needed to work with a few developers from their team.

How did you come to work with Fortifier?

I'd worked with them in the past and had a great relationship with their CEO.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested between $250,000–$500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

They worked on the project from November 2017–July 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Fortifier successfully built our prototype, enabling us to present and get the concept approved. We're now in the market for funding to build it. 

How did Fortifier perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great at coordinating and meeting deadlines, which is why I keep going back to them. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They take ownership of their work and become part of your team. They're not too rigid about calculating hours spent on specific deliverables; they just go the extra mile to get them done. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could work on expanding their portfolio to include more development operations and UI development talent. In general, however, they're able to come up with creative solutions even when they lack the resources. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder and CEO of an AI company. We build software solutions for large enterprises and have relatively complex technology. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fortifier?

We needed to develop a prototype of our solution quickly and didn’t have sufficient internal engineering resources. Since then, the partnership with Fortifier has grown to include other projects and tasks, as well.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fortifier worked on both the frontend and backend of our platform, using JavaScript and Python. We provided them with wireframes and design ideas, and they implemented on those concepts, although they did little design work. The platform applies AI to knowledge worker data to understand what people are working on and then recommends relevant information resources.
Fortifier managed integrations with some Microsoft Office APIs and Microsoft Bot Framework. 

Initially, Fortifier quickly delivered a prototype, and then we collaborated to iterate on the prototype. They delivered multiple versions of an iOS app and Microsoft Teams app, and they’ve also implemented extensive features and capabilities. After that, we moved on to building a production system and have recently begun the transition to an internal engineering team.

What is the team composition? 

The team has evolved over the years, reaching 10 people at its largest. We’ve mainly worked with developers and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Fortifier?

Our CTO had worked with their founder before. They had a good relationship, so we hired them again.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent more than $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership began in March 2015, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve been essential to the growth and success of our company. We’ve conducted internal reviews of the code, and it’s always been thorough and professional. Our company wouldn’t exist without them.

How did Fortifier perform from a project management standpoint?

They have good project management for an offshore team. We mainly use Jira to track the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their engineers are loyal and committed to our project, taking pride in their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re still relatively small, so they need to continue improving their project management capabilities.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of Corlina. We provide a monitoring and management platform for industrial networks.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fortifier?

We engaged Fortifier to create a prototype of our platform.
 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our platform is a cloud-based SaaS system. It communicates with agents in Linux devices and reports back on their health and security. Users can then record those metrics and have a more thorough understanding of their devices’ security.

We prepared full design and documentation of our envisioned product in advance. Fortifier then built an MVP of the platform on AWS.

What is the team composition?

We work with a project manager and Dmitriy (CTO, Fortifier) who serves as our technical overseer. Their full-time team comprises four people; another three assist on the project as needed.

How did you come to work with Fortifier?

We needed a development team to build our product within our budget constraints as a new company. A trusted colleague—who now advises our company on a regular basis—recommended Fortifier to us. After speaking with their management team, we felt that their skills in creating cloud-based management systems matched our needs.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $100,000–$200,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2017, and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The prototype allowed us to secure business with a significant client in Japan. We were so impressed with Fortifier’s work that we’ve expanded their role. They’re now building the fourth version of our platform and managing our Linux agents. Fortifier is our primary development partner now.

How did Fortifier perform from a project management standpoint?

The team accommodated multiple time zone differences with ease. We use Jira extensively.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Fortifier has a talented team with a wide skill set and a penchant for problem-solving. They communicate fluently in English, and we’ve enjoyed our collaboration throughout the project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything significant. I hope Fortifier maintains the same quality of service and delivery as they grow.

Any advice for potential customers?

Have daily calls and regular check-ins to ensure that the team’s work aligns with your vision.