INTELLISOFT Corp

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Better Disputes Ltd. is a startup company, creating a platform where users and settle disputes without any lawyers involved. One party goes on the platform as an initiator and invites another party to join him on the platform. They work through the process with a mediator. They can upload files and describe their position or interest that they have. The whole process is set up with a win-win ending with a mutual gain for both people so that they can live or work together without conflict or disputes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Intellisoft?

We needed someone to develop the prototype for our platform. We wanted someone we could trust to do quality work, on-time and within budget.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We prepared by structuring the cases for use. We made a model with all these cases and our requirements for the prototype.

They did the frontend development, but not the design. We provided them a template for the that and they fixed it in. They were more focused on the backend development. We used JavaScript for the project.

How did you come to work with Intellisoft?

Our CTO recommended them to me. He used to work with developers in Ukraine and was familiar with them. We also checked with developers in Switzerland and India. We decided on Intellisoft. We made an agreement and started working together.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July 2017 until October 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re open to working with them again.

How did Intellisoft perform from a project management standpoint?

The project manager was our own CTO. We collaborated using Jira. I’m always online and through Jira I can see who is working on our case, how many hours they worked, what steps they’re on, and if there’s something ready for me to look at, test, and provide feedback on. If the developers finished a part, they’d send me an email to have me check it, make remarks, or ask questions.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their price per hour is impressive. It would be a lot more in Switzerland. The collaboration and quality of work was good.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The collaboration was great as long as it was in English. The platform wording was in English. Over time, we had to change because we decided to start with the project in Switzerland, in Germany, and other German-speaking areas. The change to German was quite difficult because, although they’re fluent in English, they don’t understand the German text. It took a lot of communication—sometimes several hours—to make small changes.

I obviously can’t expect someone in Ukraine to understand German, but I thought we’d have a program with a CMS [content management system] included, so we could make text changes. That wasn’t the case, and instead we had complicated JSON files and had to make the changes in their files. As a non-tech person, it was rather difficult for me. Overall, it worked, but for a new project, we would ask them to include a CMS and tools we can make some minor changes by ourselves

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The company is located in Brentwood, Tennessee, and has been around for 15 years. We provide collateral for some types of manufacturers, distributors, and retail businesses that have complex marketing operations with their own supply chain. We also empower dealers beyond marketing collateral to get in front of users in a marketing way. I’m the CTO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IntelliSoft Corp?

Originally, we used them to modernize some of our dealer- and manufacturer-facing tools. We wanted a good, responsive interface to allow dealers to order marketing collateral.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built a website that sits on NetSuite as well as some of our internal applications. It’s extremely customizable and integrates directly with our ERP [enterprise resource planning] system. They did a lot of discovery and helped us figure things out as we went since we were new to NetSuite. They built the website using Node.js, and we’ve done other projects where they’ve used MongoDB or .NET. They’ve also done a lot of frontend work. We give them mockups and descriptions, and they do a good job of making the web pages look like the mockups. The user interface acts the way we wanted it to even though we didn’t provide a detailed description of what we wanted. We develop projects by giving the user stories to the developers and their team is very good about implementing the story that we ask for.

How did you come to work with IntelliSoft Corp?

Mike [Tsapenko, partner and delivery director at IntelliSoft Corp] had a lot of background in executing mid-size projects. He was very communicative. The developers on his team are very self-sufficient and mature. They were exactly what we were looking for in an agency.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in November 2015, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There are thousands of marketers on our site who order marketing collateral. We’ve been able to offer completely new lines of service and expand our services to many more of our clients in a straightforward way. We have five clients on the platform now, and all of them really like it. With the smaller .NET projects, we’ve been able to offer completely new lines of business.

How did IntelliSoft Corp perform from a project management standpoint?

The way Mike manages projects is strong. His level of maturity around process and risk management is very high. Their communication was great, and they kept us updated on the progress of the project. The developers do a good job of interacting with me directly. They stay involved and keep me updated and ask great questions.

What did you find most impressive about IntelliSoft Corp?

They’ll give you what you want and not what you ask for. They’re intuitive, which comes with experience and maturity.

Are there any areas IntelliSoft Corp could improve?

They’re a good group for when your direction is set. They handle an ongoing relationship better than small changes and short projects.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Pilgrim Consulting is a software development firm that does custom software as well as technology consulting and framework, and product development. We’ve been in business for 17 years and have 120 engineers and project managers spread throughout the world. Our base of operations is in Franklin, Tennessee.

I’m one of the owners.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IntelliSoft?

They’ve been a partner of ours for 12 years. We use them for any projects that have risk involved or those that require very careful handling. They are the strongest and most self-reliant team we have worked with. They have a good talent pool and their engineers tend to be some of the most senior members of all the teams that we work with.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We needed to build a web-based app for a large logistics company for their fleet management. IntelliSoft provided project management and business analysis as well as up to 5 senior .NET engineers that were doing the backend of the application. Then, there were 3 or 4 Angular front-end engineers. They built the whole project, which took about a year, and did it perfectly. The majority of the resources we use from their team are .NET, Node.js, and Angular front-end specialists.

How did you come to work with IntelliSoft?

My partner knew Mike [Partner and Delivery Director, IntelliSoft] personally and trusted him. They built the team together and we know that when we send him something, it’s going to be handled correctly.

How much have you invested with IntelliSoft?

The total cost of the project was over $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began the project in December 2015 and it was completed in November 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The client was able to move out their old system of tracking their fleet into a live system that allows them to operate and update almost instantaneously. They’ve been able to save massive amounts of man hours and it allows management to have a clear view of what the status of their fleet is at any time. It’s estimated that the cost savings could be up to 25% of what they were previously. 

How did IntelliSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

They are managed extremely well and we never have to worry about anything. Mike is a stickler for process so everything is very transparent, which is why we always give him our largest projects. We use JIRA to manage the projects.

What did you find most impressive about IntelliSoft?

When working with outsourced teams, the challenge is always that there is a barrier of communication, and there is typically a lag in the process and lack of transparency. The biggest thing that sets IntelliSoft apart is that they’ve always been very transparent about their team, the status of the project, and their needs. From a project management and communication standpoint, they take the time to understand what needs to happen to make projects successful. They challenge the client’s assumptions to make the product better than what they wanted.

Are there any areas IntelliSoft could improve?

They are very careful about growing their team because Mike is very selective on who he hires. If we need to scale up on projects, the process can take several weeks if he can’t find the right resource.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We specialize in developing solutions for intensive care units in hospitals and operation rooms. The software gives the nurses the right information at the right time which allows them to save more lives. I’m chief executive officer of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Intellisoft?

We needed some quality programmers to outsource parts of the development to.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with a couple of programmers and scaled up as we needed to. The project has been a collaboration between our programmers in Denmark and their programmers in Kiev. They developed the front-end, backend, databases, and integrations. The solution was mainly built using Microsoft tools and protocols for integration to medical devices, which are based in hospitals and deliver data to our database. The data is then digitalized in the user interface.

How did you come to work with Intellisoft?

We heard from another company that they were good. We didn’t have much experience with outsourcing so we began with 1 programmer to see how it would go.

How much have you invested with Intellisoft?

The project cost is over $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began the relationship July 2007 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product is the backbone of our company. Today we have more than 60% of all the ICU beds in Denmark and we’re in Iceland. We’re looking to enter other countries as well. The system is very specialized but built on a generic platform so we can go into a foreign market easily. We’ve implemented it in Brazil and Germany in private hospitals.

How did Intellisoft perform from a project management standpoint?

They have good project management and reasonable prices. We have our own internal processes for communication. They always deliver on time and according to specs. They have the capacity to give feedback on the project and find solutions for any issues they foresee.

What did you find most impressive about Intellisoft?

We’ve managed to have some loyal employees that have been with us 5 to 6 years. In the outsourcing world, that’s considered a long time. We consider them part of our company.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the managing director for a European development and IT consulting firm that operates primarily out of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire INTELLISOFT Corp?

We hired them to develop an event management solution. 

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was simply to produce a functioning system.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Our previous experiences with them had been excellent.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They provided technical consulting and development services.

What was the team composition?

The team consisted of a project coordinator and a developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Not only was the project developed on time and within budget, but it was completed according to our desired scope and quality specifications. Thanks to INTELLISOFT, we gained a new, satisfied customer.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We used a Jira Kanban board for collaboration and Google Hangouts for online meetings. They spoke perfect English, so there were no language barriers.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We were most impressed with their flexibility and expertise.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There are none that I can think of.