IDAP

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a London- and Vilnius-based creative team with challenging and innovative projects in our portfolio. We produce tailored digital products and solutions including mobile applications, Facebook applications, and web pages and banners. We are trusted by brands like Ferrari, Red Bull, Nokia, L'Oréal, and Maybelline offering experience and reliability. I am a project manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IDAP Group?

We had a project for which an application had to be ported from cross-platform to a native solution. We needed their experience in building native Android applications.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The list of services is impressive, including porting a Tinder-like cross-platform to a native app; building from scratch applications for three European news companies; ongoing design projects – mainly animations; and being involved in the development of an e-commerce project based in Shopify.

How did you come to work with IDAP Group?

IDAP was top rated on Elance, now Upwork. They had the most favorable client reviews.

How much have you invested with IDAP Group?

The total cost of the development and design services has already exceeded $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in the last quarter of 2014 and are an active client of IDAP.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

The success metrics vary depending on the project. For the Heyyy application, they created a truly native experience, so the app had a dramatic shift in user engagement. For the tv3.lt Android app, there was a quick turnaround and complete absence of bugs.

How did IDAP Group perform from a project management standpoint?

At IDAP, project managers ask good questions and listen carefully to the requirements. They foresee all the potential risks and nail down the problems long before they become severe.

What did you find most impressive about IDAP Group?

It would be the timely delivery of very clear promises.

Are there any areas IDAP Group could improve?

They should clone themselves.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

CCI is the fifth-largest bottler in The Coca-Cola Company system in terms of sales volume. CCI produces, distributes, and sells sparkling and still beverages from Coca-Cola across Turkey, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Tajikistan.

CCI employs more than 10,000 people and has 25 plants, offering a wide range of beverages to a consumer base of 380 million people. In addition to sparkling beverages, the product portfolio includes juices, waters, sports drinks, energy drinks, teas, and iced teas. I am an e-commerce specialist.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IDAP Group?

We were looking for a software vendor for our projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The scope of the project is confidential information. The services provided by this vendor were related to app software and backend development.

How did you come to work with IDAP Group?

Their approach was matching with our strict deadline expectations. We needed a very fast solution, and they were able to deliver it without reducing quality.

How much have you invested with IDAP Group?

This information is confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

The part they performed was completed 3 times faster than we expected. They managed to complete the project in 3 weeks while initial estimations were much longer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

 We were able to launch the application much faster than we expected.

How did IDAP Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They worked with us using Agile methodology. But, even within the framework of Agile, they were very flexible and understood our business needs very well. It is a reality that the client's needs may change and there will be many revisions coming even after some milestones are approved. But, they handled this very well without shifting the project deadline and costs.

What did you find most impressive about IDAP Group?

While working with them, we felt that they cared about the project as much as we did. This is what makes us confident in the success of the project. Also, with their experience in software development, they were able to give good advice on the UX side of the project. We received many good ideas on the visual design of the software that was implemented.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company is a music streaming app. I am the Chief Executive Officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IDAP Group?

I was looking for product developers, and they’re an agency that can provide everything that you need as a company in order to develop an app. I was trying to find really good and experienced app developers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The scope was to make a music app. It has social features among other things. It’s on iOS, to begin with. They provided a full-time developer and a project manager. Over time, we added a quality assurance specialist from IDAP to the team. I switched to using their in-house designer as opposed to my own designer that I had before. It’s a nice in-house setup and they work pretty professionally. I expanded the contract over time because I was very satisfied with the work.

How did you come to work with IDAP Group?

I went through a few agencies and even individuals that were not agencies. What I liked about IDAP Group the most was that they were very honest and professional, and they knew what they were talking about. I was talking to Alexander, who is the CTO [Chief Technology Officer], and he was very patient and explained things so as to not have unrealistic expectations, which other developers had done in the past when trying to get the contract. I like their honesty, and to this day, I’m still getting the same vibe from them. They’re very down-to-earth.

The vetting process took over a month. Unlike the other agencies, they have a model that’s kind of unique. The CTO teaches about programming, he’s a lecturer. He is very experienced and he brings in developers and trains them. As a client, you get assigned the mid-level developer, which costs a lot less than a senior developer, but he manages them, which means he’s still on top. He gets involved in the coding sometimes. You get the quality of the senior person because he’s there managing it for the price of the mid-level or junior. I really like that and it has worked very well.

How much have you invested with IDAP Group?

This is a long term contract. I spend $4,000 to $5,000 a month, and it’s been over a year now. It would be in the $50,000 to $200,000 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

It’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We’re happy with the work.

How did IDAP Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They are very professional. At first, they were using their own project management software. They invited me to it so I could manage the tasks on it. It’s all in English, which is very important. When I hired them, we were using Trello. They said they can use that too. The rules changed over time and they were always adapting to it. We switched and set up new rules for project management. Every time, they adapted and they were part of the decision-making process. They’re all about making sure that we’re happy. They still use their internal management software as well; they have the whole management part down. They’re a real company. They have people in-house that are all about making sure everything is run efficiently; it’s not just a small shop.

What did you find most impressive about IDAP Group?

Their professionalism.

Are there any areas IDAP Group could improve?

No. All around, I’m satisfied. We have a very good relationship. We’ve been doing this for a little over a year and we get along really well. I’m happy with them and they’re happy with me.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Tech River LLC is a custom software developer, web developer, and online marketing firm. The side that I’m most associated with is the custom software development. It’s pretty much all web based applications and we’ve now branched into app development as well. I am owner/partner. My official title is Director of Customer Solutions and it includes the technical management of all the products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IDAP Group?

We had a contract to develop an iPhone application and we had no in-house experience developing iPhone applications. We looked for a contractor that had that capability.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app is iOS only. We actually utilize their service in three areas. One is we had them do the UI/UX design because we didn’t have that design capability in-house in terms of the actual user interface look and feel. We had them do the frontend implementation and the actual iOS development for the app. The app itself utilizes a backend database as well, so we had them develop that capability. That’s something that we could’ve done in-house but it seemed like it would cut down on a lot of the communication hassles if they were developing that as well rather than me trying to communicate the backend API to them.

How did you come to work with IDAP Group?

We found them through Upwork. My business partner who is the president of the company was the one who did that. I didn’t locate them. I can’t really speak to the vetting process. We had a limited budget to work with so we had to consider what their rates would look like and their existing reviews on Upwork. In this particular case, we were looking for a team rather than an individual. We would’ve subbed it to an individual, but we were looking for a rapid turnaround so we didn’t want to lay that in one person’s hands.

How much have you invested with IDAP Group?

We have spent between $10,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Version one of the iOS app is complete and we’re starting version two with them now. We closed the version one contract and immediately opened up a version two contract. The version one contract was closed on Upwork last week although it was effectively done in the middle of August.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We have nothing yet. Even though it’s on the app store, it’s for association members. We’ve actually only done a soft release. In other words, it’s there if somebody looked for it but we’ve really only alerted about 100 members of a focus group. Within the last week or two, we haven’t seen any activity yet. It’s only been a week and a half. Understand that this is a contract that we’re subbing out to IDAP. In my opinion, I’m very pleased with what we came up with while working with IDAP. The association that wanted this app is happy with it as well. It’s going to be an ongoing thing. It’s probably going to be three years of development to flush it out to the level that they want.

How did IDAP Group perform from a project management standpoint?

I have never seen better.

What did you find most impressive about IDAP Group?

First of all, when we started looking for lower budget contractors, we looked overseas. Oftentimes there’s a tradeoff between what we come to expect as US developers in terms of communication versus solo contractors that are out there. The IDAP team provided a level of communication that I was really blown away by. I wish I communicated as well as they do. When I say communication, I don’t mean just English skills, which were excellent by the way. I only dealt with one person directly at IDAP even though there was a team of five or six. He had excellent English skills, and in addition, he kept me moving because he would get back to me with questions. Everything was kind of a continual flow to make sure that the project kept moving. He didn’t make assumptions and made sure I was in the loop on everything.

Are there any areas IDAP Group could improve?

I couldn’t come up with anything. It’s a limited data set right now because that project took about three months. We’ve got other projects going with them now - two other projects in addition to version two of this app. I couldn’t come up with anything yet. I know that several of the programmers rescheduled vacations around getting this app out in a timely manner. I don’t wish that on anybody but I did appreciate it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I work for Cherkasov LLC. We created a DJ application for DJs. We created an app for iPad only.

What is your position?

I am the owner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with IDAP Group?

This is my second team that I hired from India. It's a music application, and you need a good user interface.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

Many companies develop older engines, but we are using some different company that creates a music library in C++ language. A team like IDAP Group should know iOS systems and C++ integrating C++ libraries to my application.

How did you come to work with IDAP Group?

I posted the job on Elance [now Upwork]. IDAP gave me a decent price.

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

It cost $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project was completed in 2015. We worked in 2014, and then we stopped because of the budget. I found new investors, and we started again and completed it in 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

The app has been on the App Store for six months. We have 3,000 downloads [as of August 2016]. They have 2,000 subscriptions on Google Plus Twitter accounts. Young DJs are still interested. I feel like they're still coming back to the application from time to time.

How did IDAP Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very professional. It was not an easy application.

What distinguishes IDAP Group from other providers?

All their work was great. Before, I was working with some company from India, and I signed some documents with them. They said in the contract that if I decide to leave the application, they will own the project. That was no good. The IDAP Group contract was different. This is my idea, and I own it. I designed all the prototypes. The other company didn't understand C++ language in sound libraries, and they stopped. The IDAP Group was good in conversation and gave us a good contract. They separate the development and my ideas. They understand what I want.

Is there anything IDAP Group could have improved or done differently?

No – not really.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

My company is in the software development business. We develop mobile apps and web applications for German media companies.

What is your position?

I am the CEO [Chief Executive Officer].

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with IDAP Group?

We had a special project where a backend application was involved, and we needed external development support to help build the app.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

They helped us with app development.

How did you come to work with IDAP Group?

We found IDAP on Upwork. There were a lot of agencies who applied for the job, but I chose them because of their proven track record. But the most important aspect was that they had a project manager that was included in the hourly price. We started with a small project to test them out. It worked out well and we moved to bigger projects.

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

We’ve spent $50,000 over the span of our engagement.

What is the status of this engagement?

I’ve been working with IDAP for one and a half years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

On the one project where the web application backend was involved we had a problem because of the client. He didn’t specify how many users they would expect. We implemented the application and they did a very big marketing campaign, and suddenly there were over 18,000 users who utilized this backend, and the server was down or nearly down and we had a lot of performance problems. The IDAP team worked so hard - I think they went three days without sleep to solve my problem. I couldn’t find any workers in Germany who would do that. The customer was extremely happy that we solved the problem in such a short a time and over the weekend.

Also, as we were in this difficult situation and things were getting urgent, the project manager stayed calm instead of blaming the customer. They always had the solution in mind.

What distinguishes IDAP Group from other providers?

IDAP thinks outside of the box. They don’t just do what I tell them but they think about the documentation that I give them and tell us if something is wrong or not correctly specified and if there are problems. This was a strong point for me. The project manager there was always on the project. The project manager was online for nearly 24 hours. I once asked him if he was actually human or a machine. He responded every time. It was fantastic.

Is there anything IDAP Group could have improved or done differently?

If you work with offshore companies, the challenge is communication. The other challenge is that most of my clients cannot afford the cost requirements. I didn’t think we could improve anything. It went really well.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a digital agency and work to build apps for companies of all sizes with a focus on startups.

What is your position?

I'm the digital producer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with IDAP Group?

We found ourselves in a situation where we'd taken on a lot of business, and we were struggling to fulfill the development side internally. That's when we engaged with IDAP. 

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

There were three projects IDAP worked on for us. One of the projects was a video editing app. The app allowed people to upload their videos, share them with friends, edit them, and put on filters. The filter aspects required a technical skill set, and IDAP had some good expertise in that area. Another project was an app for the medical profession – helping them to share data securely. It was almost like a LinkedIn for doctors. The last project was an event management app to help the organizers reach the attendees.

How did you come to work with IDAP Group?

Hiring IDAP was prior to my time with this company, so I don't know how the partnership exactly started. I know IDAP has some strong voice and video processing skills. I think that's probably why we first engaged them to help with the video app. Their CEO [Alex Chernikov] spent the time trying to get to know us as a company and how we worked. That gave me confidence that they were going to be a good partner. I also suspect that cost was another deciding factor.

If you're working with a company from overseas, a crucial aspect is trust. For me, personally, I trust the IDAP team. They commit themselves to do a good job. We had an experience with a company in India and that didn't go so well. I don't think you can make any sweeping judgments about the quality of staff from a given country. I think you have to look at the individual company and the capabilities of the individuals in that company. IDAP delivered, and we were working under some pretty punishing deadlines. 

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

The video project would be in excess of $350,000. IDAP's part of it was probably $50,000 to $150,000. The conference project was probably smaller – less than $50,000. The medical one I would suspect around $50,000. IDAP came in at a good price for the amount of work they were doing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What distinguishes IDAP Group from other providers?

Personally, I really think it comes down to the quality of their individual developers and having an element of trust. I trust IDAP, and I think trust is one of the most fundamental things in any relationship. However, I think you have to make sure you know which developers you're going to get doing your work for your project. That will make or break you. 

Is there anything IDAP Group could have improved or done differently?

We've have a good relationship with IDAP, but you always have to be careful. Everyone should be careful with any company. You always have to make sure you get the right people. IDAP has the people, but you have to make sure you're getting the right ones.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of Boku Connect LTD. Our company is into software development

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire IDAP?

We decided to build a taxi hailing service, however for the scope and scale of the project was bigger than our team and we had to engage IDAP

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was design and development of a taxi hailing mobile application for both android and ios platform

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I contacted a couple of vendors by looking at clutch ratings and other online search. We also had preliminary discussion with each vendors, cost and methodology before deciding to go for IDAP

Describe the project in detail.

Development of Uberlike Taxi app for ride hailing

What was the team composition?

Our interaction was mostly with project manager, however about 3 engineers each where assigned to each mobile platform in addition to QA and other technical reviewers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We're currently in beta and doing testing with drivers as well as gathering market intelligence with funding for the local market

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The codebase quality and speed of delivery were impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Maybe communication - things like slack etc