Greg Solutions

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director & owner of Derm Resource Group. We build online stores in a SaaS model.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Greg Solutions?

Part of our role working with Greg Solutions was from a DevOps capacity. We were migrating our old platform from an unsophisticated environment to AWS.

Previously, we worked with three or four different services, and it seemed like with each one that there was something incomplete. Initially, we got with someone that was fairly low-level to migrate us onto AWS. But a lot of the autoscaling and from the Aurora database that we thought we interesting, were out of this person’s scope.

We found another organization that overcomplicated the environment. They use a lot of features that didn’t work with an e-commerce platform. We eventually found a US company to do the hosting. While the solution worked better, it was extremely expensive because of how it was configured.

All along the way, we’d been in consultation with Greg Solutions.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have a tech team, and we do have some modest DevOps capabilities that are very routine. We relied on Greg Solutions for their expertise with DevOps architecture. It was a collaborative effort.

What is the team composition?

We were working with the principals of the company.

How did you come to work with Greg Solutions?

They actually co-reside in the same technology complex that our developers in Ukraine reside in. We were fortunate that a relationship had already been established. Their technology, language capabilities, and work seemed to be rock solid.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend between $5,000–$10,000 each month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them either in July or August of last year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We finally received a solution with an interesting architecture that used virtualization and state of the art technology. It got us to the cost point that we wanted to and the control we wanted. It even got us to solve problems that arose in our business. After working with three different vendors, we found a more sophisticated architecture that was in line with a long term plan.

We’ve continued to work with them as a permanent resource for advice. Greg Solutions has always been competent and professional. They came on the cutting edge of technology with AWS. They provided the right solution for performance and cost.

There are some months where we have a lot more projects or moving a lot of things or have new opportunities. It’s great to have their knowledge base to tap into. That’s a benefit to working with a firm instead of hiring internal teammates. They bring the best for customer engagements and are aware of the latest technologies. Their expertise is helpful because we receive a lot of information on how to do things right.

One of the clear ways to measure their impact is the financial benefit. When they set up our new environment, it was a lot smarter. We reduced our infrastructure costs significantly. We went from $20,000 a month to $3,000. They’ve measurably proven their value. Greg Solutions is also easy to work with, and their performance is excellent.

How did Greg Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

Our company has people based all over the world, so it’s a virtual world. If we need to do a meeting, we put a calendar event up. We use project management tools like Jira and software tools like Confluence for collaboration.

Since it’s been a year, we’ve built a trusting relationship with their team. It’s great because a lot of times, when there’s the first interaction with a vendor, the client doesn’t know their quality of work or if there are any issues. Sometimes those things need to be weened out. I’ve never had a problem with Greg Solutions. They’re on target and deliver work within the scope and time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I like that they’re concentrated in describing what they want to do in options. At one point, we were determining whether to use Google Cloud or AWS. They gave us the cost-benefit, which they understand as a business serving hundreds of customers.

Their team is also able to provide the right technical expertise with the cost-benefit. With a previous vendor, we had issues with the architecture and its autoscaling. It caused us to lose money each month. We were losing money from customers as well, and we didn’t have a new solution.

Once customers can find a vendor skilled in technology, performance, and cost parameters, it’s the right combination. Sometimes people understand the technology, but not the cost, which is not good.

Greg Solutions is one of those firms that understand all components. They’re professional, and I see no future where I wouldn’t be working with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I couldn’t go back and critique anything. If something comes up, it gets fixed. They understand what’s going on in the architecture they designed.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

When they come in, advise and listen to the suggestions that they have so you can understand your options. Try and develop things in advance by intended cost parameters. Try things in a measurable, predictable way so that you can ensure that whatever you’re proving actually works.

We made that with Greg Solutions but didn’t with the past vendors. Greg Solutions is great at laying out their builds. If it seems like it will work, they’ll scale it out. If you don’t set up an environment like AWS up right, it could just burn money like nobody’s business. Greg Solutions definitely listen to their clients, and they deliver it in the right way.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

eSign Genie is a leading digital signature software company. Position: CEO

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Greg Solutions?

Greg Solutions developed and deployed AWS Cloud HSM and helped build the integration in a record time.

What were your goals for this project?

Goal was to develop, deployed AWS Cloud HSM and integrate with eSign Genie in a compressed time frame.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Selected based on the expertise. Looking at the profile and details of the work Greg Solution had done in the past, I knew they can deliver a complex project like this.

Describe the project in detail.

Migrate from installed on-premise HSM to AWS Cloud HSM. Project was complex in nature due to the nature of the integration required along with the deployment.

What was the team composition?

Greg Solutions: 1 Technical Experts and another Technical PM Our end: Application Java Development Lead and AWS Systems Lead

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Project was complex due to AWS Cloud HSM special configuration, Certificate Authority and our application integration requirements. The whole project was completed within 3 weeks with no issues after go-live. Greg solution uncovered challenges in the first two weeks and worked day and night to resolve issues and keep the time-sensitive project on track. Great experience. Full project was delivered in 3 weeks. We retained Greg Solutions for support but didn't need as they did a tremendous work during implementation. Additionally, their documentation is solid.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Great synergy. Project was described to Greg Solutions. Requirements were well articulated back to us to ensure that they understood exactly what was needed. Daily communication over Skype helped sort access issues etc. Development, testing, deployment, documentation and support, all has been amazing.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Deep technology experience and delivering in tight timeline. We are ready to do lot more work with Greg Solutions.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of a local platform providing white label solutions to clients ranging from government to tech.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Greg Solutions?

We were looking for somebody who could help us build out the different processes involved in our platform on our cloud infrastructure.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their work started with evaluating our cloud platform and from there expanded to setting up all of the internal services we developed. They also helped to support all of our shared services like issue tracking, ticketing systems, JIRA and Confluence and our other monitoring and backup solutions.

What was the team composition?

From there side, there were three people involved in the project, including one long-term main support person and a few individuals who helped out on particular areas of the platform.

How did you come to work with Greg Solutions?

I had worked with them to build my first company, which I sold a few years ago. After that, they built this company and it was an easy decision for me to work with them again because the first collaboration had been a great experience.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost of their services over the years has been about $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

They started supporting us exactly a year and a half ago and are continuing to partner with us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One of the main reasons I brought them on in the first place was that we had used a similar setup at the last company, so I knew they would be able to deliver what I was looking for. They really leveraged the knowledge we had gained in the previous experience and executed perfectly, solving all of the problems we ran into in the process without just about a single problem.

How did Greg Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team worked very independently, which really freed us to focus on the core of our business as we were growing which was a huge help. Irrespective of the timing or size of the issue or challenge we faced at any given time, they worked day and night to get a solution in place as quickly as possible.

We use a combined board with all of our infrastructure monitoring, which they have access to in order to assign tasks and manage their work. They are pretty much fully integrated into our community, so it has been very easy to stay on top of everything.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team constantly on top of the latest technologies and approaches, which helps us to take advantage of those techniques in turn. They view their jobs more as a passion than a profession, and that attitude sets them clearly apart from vendors taking a more cookie-cutter approach to the same kinds of jobs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The two founders and their core team are extremely strong in their capabilities, but I think there could be some room for improvement in maintaining that quality as they continue to grow and bring on new development talent.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They have built up a very efficient and effective approach to their projects, so unless you need something extremely unique built, my advice would be to follow their process for all of your work. They are the experts in the field and know what works and what doesn’t, so in all likelihood, it will be better to trust their recommendations than to try to chart your own course.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the Co-CEO of Virtido.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Greg Solutions?

We are a software company and every now and then we need external additional resources to cover peaks and some lacking areas in our in-house skillset.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their DevOps engineers mostly work for us on Azure or AWS which are the two main platforms we work with them on. Sometimes they work directly with our clients as well, but it is always as a part of the team or project, and never standalone.

What is the team composition?

We work with two or three people from their team. I have two contacts there and some junior developers.

How did you come to work with Greg Solutions?

They used to be our own employees and then they started their own company, so I knew them quite well. We agreed to continue a sort of collaboration with each other even if they started their own company.

How much have you invested in them?

We have spent between $20,000–$50,000 USD.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2019, and it is on and off at the moment. We have a smaller project that they are working with us on. It depends on the project volume.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They work quite independently which is something I really appreciate about them.

How did Greg Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management depends on the project. Sometimes they handle it themselves, and other times they are integrated into our own project management. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They consistently do excellent work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think they could be a bit more client-focused. They need to be flexible in how they work and what they propose as a solution. Sometimes they only propose their own solution whilst the client is expecting more options to pick from. Client centricity is a big thing. They are continuing to better in this regard.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They are good guys. No one should play games with them. They don’t need to be handled specifically and I would recommend having open and transparent conversations with them and trying to define milestones so that they know what you want delivered.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the managing director of Brain Bean Apps.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Greg Solutions?

They provided DevOps services to maintain our cloud infrastructure.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had all the processes and requirements in place, but we needed them to implement and execute. They acted like a spare hand to us, making additional enhancements to the product outside of what we initially required. That created an added value from them. Their vast experience is complex technologies like AWS, Google Cloud platform, CI/CD infrastructure, and Kubernetes technology was all utilized in our collaboration. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with up to three people at any given time.

How did you come to work with Greg Solutions?

We were looking for a partner. They had the required experience, which was the decision-maker in choosing them. It was challenging to find a vendor that had all the experience that we needed.

How much have you invested in them?

Our monthly bill averaged around $2,000–$4,000 per month. It was approximately $20,000–$30,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started with negotiations with them in the summer of 2019, and it ended in early 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, we were satisfied with the work. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been working with them for so long.

How did Greg Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

They used our corporate Jira.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their willingness to go the extra mile was most impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes, we lacked their immediate attention. This was understandable, though, because they're working with other clients as well. In general, the experience was above average and that is what we were looking for.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Explain your reasoning behind your requirements. That way, they'll have a better understanding of how they can help outside of your initial expectations