INSCOPE

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of an aggregator for personal loans in the vintage space. On one side, we have publishers who submit traffic. On the other side of banks, we have financial organizations buying leases.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with INSCOPE?

We had to build a fully custom platform to run our business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

INSCOPE has worked with us on building a fully customized in-house platform. The core uses PHP and MySQL databases, and everything is on the AWS infrastructure. Also, the front is custom based with Angular and JavaScript.

The hosting is under Amazon because we have specific security requirements. Nonetheless, they do maintenance all the time, mainly on the frontend. Basically, INSCOPE creates a new site every month and maintains the existing one. 

Additionally, they optimize the forms for SEO and email and SMS marketing campaigns.

What is the team composition?

We’re primarily in contact with the project manager and the CEO. However, we have seven developers working under them.

How did you come to work with INSCOPE?

I found them on Upwork, the freelance platform.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend around $160,000 a year. So far, the total amount comes to about $480,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the engagement around 2019, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We mostly base success on whether the tasks are accomplished on time and all the tests are done and cleared. So far, we’re happy with the results. We have a live product that has worked for so long without serious issues. They’re doing things right.

How did INSCOPE perform from a project management standpoint?

They stay on budget and meet deadlines most of the time. We use ClickUp to create and track all tasks. Then, they create and assign sprints to particular timeframes.

We use Skype calls for communication. They use Slack internally for their team, but we aren't connected on Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They think analytically and come up with solutions. Also, they’re committed. If we need something on short notice, they do the work without extra expectations or asking for more money.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We initially had some language barrier problems, but it was nothing major. We also weren't happy with the QA processes they’d implemented, so they changed and evolved that until they figured it out.

Any advice for potential customers?

Try to be as descriptive and detailed as possible during the initial negotiation — things that might be obvious to you might not be so evident to them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of FreezerData. We developed a central module as hardware and software. Also, we do predictive maintenance to predict when a feature will break down. The algorithm is AI.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with INSCOPE?

We needed somebody for software development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, we described INSCOPE what we wanted, and they developed the software for us. The product is a closed SaaS platform. It’s 100% custom software and a client feature only, so it isn’t available for everybody. People have to pay for the sensor modules to receive the data. Some of the software’s features include viewing data in a traffic form, sending alarms through email, SMS, and voice, and analyzing the data on the platform.

Sometimes we provide them with wireframes, but we usually just describe what we want. Then, they develop the code for it. They also do UX/UI design, but we’ve got a designer in the Netherlands for bigger projects.

What is the team composition?

We started with one person. Now, we've got three people working for us: one software tester and two developers.

How did you come to work with INSCOPE?

I found them about 5–6 years ago while looking for a software engineer.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the engagement in January 2018, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality is perfect. The project manager knows how to translate our indications to the software developers. He helps us work through what's possible and what isn't to come up with solutions.

Moreover, the software is already out in the market and working perfectly. We’ve got about 40 clients at the moment. The feedback we get from them is that the software is straightforward, easy to understand, modern-looking, and fast.

How did INSCOPE perform from a project management standpoint?

They always meet deadlines. We work in sprints, so the deadline is every two weeks. They even work on weekends just to beat them.

We use ClickUp for sprints and tasks. Also, we communicate once every two weeks through Microsoft Teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We have somebody who understands us and knows how to translate our needs to the software developers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s none.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be clear with what you want, put it in sprints, and discuss it every two weeks to see the progress and how to meet the deadlines. Also, answer their questions.