INTEGRA SOURCES

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

INTEGRA SOURCES built a workable prototype that successfully met all of our key product goals. We haven’t deployed it yet, but the internal team is pleased with the device’s capabilities.

How did INTEGRA SOURCES perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re organized and keep good records of all the tasks that are done and need to be done. We met weekly over Skype and also communicate via email. INTEGRA SOURCES also implemented a project management tool to track progress.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re easy to work with, reasonably-priced, and deliver high-quality solutions. We’re highly pleased with their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re based overseas, so the hours didn’t align perfectly, but it wasn’t too bad.

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

The quality of their work is very good, especially from a technical and management point of view. INTEGRA delivers solid results, along with clear documentation and communication.

They corrected any major bugs during the process. The team proactively identifies and solves issues. When they find an problem with functionality or even something that could use improvement from a user experience perspective, they make suggestions. It’s really good to work with them.

How did INTEGRA SOURCES perform from a project management standpoint?

Occasionally, they didn’t deliver as much as expected, but in those cases, they communicated with us about them in advance.  That gave us time to solve them together.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are open to our ideas and needs. If I think of something new, I can discuss it with the team, and they will research it and give me feedback on whether or not it’s feasible.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

The most important advice I can give is to find a trustworthy company willing to work with you as a partner and to consider a long-term relationship. INTEGRA is serious about communication, organization, and documentation.

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

The most impressive thing they’ve done for us has been the rewriting of our entire library. We are currently using a platform which could not run native Python normally, but we have this ability. INTEGRA wrote a whole new firmware and installed it on the hardware. The most interesting thing is that the actual manufacturers of our robots are using a whole different approach. We’ve told them that we actually have a better solution than them, and tried to make a deal.

They’re very practical and have a lot of experience from working in different fields. We had a lot of problems connecting our robots to PCs. INTEGRA suggested that we use a wireless connection, which would be more reliable, faster and safer. It was a big jump for us, and I’m happy with the output.

How did INTEGRA SOURCES perform from a project management standpoint?

I’m not sure what their internal structure is, but they have a large and talented team, with enough manpower. They’ve worked long hours to make sure everything was done in time. We were in touch even during weekends and after working hours. I could write them at 11 PM, and still receive a reply. We have good communication, and are friendly to each other.

Although INTEGRA is a professional company, they still remember the importance of client communication, and have tried to make it enjoyable. We do our job with a smile on our face, and I’ve never had a situation of needing to contact someone on their side, and not getting through. I have nothing negative to say in this regard.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The communication and the simple fact that we can customize whatever we’re looking for. They will go out of their way to find something which fits us. Services in Taiwan are much cheaper, but there are limitations to what we can do locally. We haven’t seen this with INTEGRA—if something is more efficient, they will go for it. They’ve made research on what the best approach for our issue is, and bring back multiple options. This is the main thing which separates them from the bunch.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There is currently an embargo with Russia, which has made payments difficult. This is not INTEGRA’s fault; it’s simply a problem on our side we haven’t found a solution for. I can’t think of anything specifically relating to them.

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

We are a small startup, so we don't keep many metrics. If a solution works, we’re happy. There has been more than one occasion where, especially when we work with fairly new products and/or chip sets, that the lead documentation is insufficient. I have told the Integra engineer to do whatever it takes to solve a problem — go onto public forums or the discussion forums related to that product and post their questions to get the right answer. They have done all of that. I’ve gone to forums, and I’ve seen questions that looks remarkably like what we’ve been asking, only to later find out that our engineer posted it. I think that’s good initiative. Integra is willing to seek out solutions to problems that are not cookie cutter and are important to what we do. We have fairly important clients today for whom we would not have had a solution without the Integra engineer’s creativity.

How did Integra Sources perform from a project management standpoint?

I usually prefer to work with only one developer on a project, but there’s usually another person who fills a project management role. I don't know if that’s what they do as a matter of course, but I always ask for one developer for a certain period of time, so we can get totally immersed and get the job done. I haven't had any problems with Integra’s project management. I usually just tell the project manager to stay out of the way. I’ll say, “I need the engineer for this broad task that may take a couple of weeks.” That way, the project manager knows that, for two weeks, it’s full-time. Toward the end of that period, I might get a message from the project manager saying, “Do you think this is going to go on for another week, or are you ramping down?” and I provide some guidance. We have to shift products back and forth often, and the project manager has taken care of that fairly efficiently. Sometimes the shipment aspect of our work is frustrating, but Integra certainly is not responsible for those political boundaries.

What did you find most impressive about Integra Sources?

I can only speak for the other companies I looked at insofar as them being competitors. I looked at a couple of companies in India, and I think they just wanted to check the box and run. I also worked with another fairly specialized embedded design and programming shop in Portland, but they were extremely expensive, and I'm not sure they would have been comfortable with going out of the box. I think the larger firms tend to stick by their requirements and not stray from them too far. We sometimes don't know what the solution is going to look like, and I certainly think that flexibility is helpful.

Are there any areas Integra Sources could improve?

This isn't all Integra’s problem, but it was difficult getting packages to them in Russia. I think the shipping rules change quite frequently. There have been times when I have followed last month’s instructions only to find that the rules have changed again, and the shipment gets returned to me. That’s happened a few times, though I think we’re past that now.

As a startup, I am very happy with what I'm getting from Integra. If I were a much bigger company, I would probably be looking at a more structured firm, but I actually don't want that much structure. I want problem-solving rather than a straight engineering project.