Intertec.io

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an innovation consultancy and corporate venture builder for SMEs mainly in the engineering sector. I’m the director of technology and operations for the Munich office.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Intertec.io?

One of our customers was looking to digitize their customer relations. We relied on Intertec.io to help us build a customized portal to facilitate their interactions with clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our client was seeking a tailor-made cloud solution that could be scaled. They provided a full-service scope of development, from prototyping and designing to deployment. The solution caters to the trading and commodity market; it has various security and privacy measures in place to ensure that only the right customers can access the right materials.

The solution utilizes AWS and has a Java backend. The frontend was built using React.js. The platform is mobile-responsive, so it can accommodate various devices.

What is the team composition?

The team consisted of around 6­–8 people. I had a go-to point of contact.

How did you come to work with Intertec.io?

I’ve known the CEO for quite some time. We are both mentors at a tech accelerator at the Technical University of Munich.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement began in August of 2019, but it’s an ongoing project that’s now in post-production maintenance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of their work has been excellent. Their code is exceptionally written, and I'm very pleased with the outstanding value for money.

How did Intertec.io perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve held weekly reviews, and they always managed to meet their targets, milestones, and estimations. They were excellent at dealing with stressful situations. They were also patient and thorough in explaining concepts to a non-technical client.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were a pleasure to work with. They really felt like they were part of our team. They were always accessible — almost 24/7. When the requirements changed (and this happened frequently) they were always accommodating and open to rescheduling to make the end-customer happy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really. Managing a remote partnership isn’t ideal, but it wasn’t a major issue at all. This was one of the best experiences we’ve had in terms of delivery and transparency.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Describe your problem as thoroughly as you can. They’ll provide you with a project manager that knows the ins-and-outs of the industry that you or your third-party client are operating in.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Director of engineering in Symphony overseeing the full lifecycle of the mobile products as well as backend services which serve the client infrastructure.

Symphony is an instant messaging service aimed at financial firms, providing the security and operation level excellence the enterprise sector needs. It supports encryption, group messaging, rich content sharing and third-party plugins.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Intertec.io?

We often have to support engineering solutions which our client require which imply complex networking models, enterprise level security and performance in execution with tight schedules and precise deliveries.

These topics require high level of knowledge of both the technologies we use (in this case Mobile and Backend team augmentations) as well as complex network topologies and protocols of interaction with enterprise grade components and networks.

What were your goals for this project?

Deliver on time and with customer satisfaction a new product which would be accepted by our customers and we would have at least 3 customers which would accept and start using this product.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I started the search by "opening the flood gates" to consultancy companies because we wanted to have the best engineers we could find. We defined a set of criteria, both technical and behavioral for the augmentation team and have made the choice of people based on that.

Intertec gave us the profile we need with the least amount of interviews to reach the right people. Once the team was identified the company was very flexible with regards to the terms and conditions which on which we need to agree.

Describe the project in detail.

Backend : Our client side api infrastructure was overdue for an overhaul, and we created a team to revamp the API infrastructure which we use to communicate to the server. This part was optimizing the endpoints them selfs as well as optimizing the payload to deliver maximum info in a minimal payload

Mobile: Starting a new product supporting enterprise grade networking security mechanism, mostly focusing on service discovery as well as navigating complex enterprise networks, with security while keeping audit-ability .

What was the team composition?

We started with a Mobile engineer, mobile QA, and a backend engineer, the team was very easy to work with and we are now looking to enlarge the portfolio with this business partner.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have reached delivery ahead of schedule, on both mobile and backend fronts. Both engineers and the QA are augmentation but they were instrumental in delivering success. We have delivered both mobile platforms and our technical managers are now enabled to work towards onboarding customers while having close to zero issues on the technical front.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The members were integrated with their respective teams, and even though they were remote they were able to be as effective as full time employees. They synced with their teams as much as needed, both dailies and topic assigned meetings regarding the technologies in question.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are dedicated to customer care. Where I'd have individual syncs with the delivery manager from their end, tracking the pulse of the team and continuously working to improve our integration and cooperation.

On the personal level they had constantly been asking about their engineers performance and areas of improvement so that they can successfully guide them through their careers and keep their engineers in check as well

Are there any areas for improvement?

I really have no remarks on our working relationship, and so far they've been very flexible and accommodating so whenever I've asked to change the process or do something in a different way they've been accommodating and excelled at it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of a fitness technology company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Intertec.io?

Initially, we needed help building our MVP.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built the MVP for our fitness marketplace, which included a custom React website and the first version of our iOS/Android app. You can book the best personal trainers and fitness classes in Germany. They built our infrastructure for the trainers, and they can post classes through the platform and clients can book them. The team also integrated a payment solution.

What is the team composition?

We worked with eight people from their team.

How did you come to work with Intertec.io?

We found them through a referral from one of our employees.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2019, and work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It was nice to see that the deadlines were met, even when there were bigger hiccups. We had upfront communication and things were always resolved. They’re very reliable, and things were constantly being taken care of, which is why we continue to work together. We’re very happy with the value for money and overall communication.

How did Intertec.io perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is very well taken care of. They’re very transparent, which makes it easy to work with them. Everything is discussed upfront where we decide what will be taken care of in a two-week sprint.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We had to change a lot of our plans due to COVID-19, and the team handled that well. It showed that they’re able to do well in high-pressure situations.

Their high quality of work really impressed us. It makes the remote work very manageable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could stand to make the team more diverse. For example, it would have been nice if the UX was completely done by them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to talk with them in the beginning, so they can have a clear understanding of the details they want in their project. If you’re very clear with your needs upfront, they’ll deliver.