ioSTUDIOS

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am a Director at Direct Supply Solutions

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We provide the UK's most cost efficient and effective infrastructure for the distribution of stop smoking aids and medications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire ioSTUDIOS to accomplish?

• Automate the fulfillment of nicotine replacement therapy and prescription medications to end service users
• Provide automated reporting and live stock level data across multiple contracts for Service Providers

SOLUTION

How did you find ioSTUDIOS?

Referral

Why did you select ioSTUDIOS over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned
• Proven track record

How many teammates from ioSTUDIOS were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

ioStudios were able to develop our entire software platform that enabled us to integrate with our fulfilment partner and provide a comprehensive range of services to our clients. Key deliverables included:

Use management functionality

Stock management

Fulfilment System Integration

Reporting Functionality

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Reduction in delivery period for End Users

Reduction in man hours/admin time for Service Providers

Increase in Service Provider acquisition

Improved visibility of Stock Levels

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Their project management was exemplary - Plenty of regular concise updates with all items delivered on time and to specification. Reponses to queries were handled quickly and effectively. They are an outstanding partner to work with.

What was your primary form of communication with ioSTUDIOS?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their scope of expertise, collaborative approach and commitment to the best possible outcomes.

Are there any areas for improvement or something ioSTUDIOS could have done differently?

None.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Managing Partner of an environmental services company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

As a government accredited Packaging Compliance Scheme, we help UK companies assess and report their packaging returns under the Extended Producer Responsibility Packaging Regulations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire ioSTUDIOS to accomplish?

• Digitise existing offline processes onto an automated, efficient Web App solution
• Enhance data integrity, insight and security
• Create multi-branded, tenanted interface/user journeys that are easy to use
• The platform has been created in a way that can efficiently support and grow with the company
• Ability to demonstrate compliance with industry regulators, when audited
• Professionalises offering and brand to clients and customers
• Provide Senior Management with an overview of KPI level information and metrics

SOLUTION

How did you find ioSTUDIOS?

Referral

Why did you select ioSTUDIOS over others?

Previously used within our group of companies

How many teammates from ioSTUDIOS were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

To create a web based portal for us to interface with our customers who are required to effectively submit packaging tax returns.

The individual data returns then need to be amalgated into a single submission to the UK regulators.

Key deliverables include:  Making an intuitive user interface for customers, providing a platform for account managers to review data, ensure all calculations meet the regulatory requirements, provide reporting functionality, increase the speed and accuracy of processing returns and enable management of the Schemes data submission periods.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Increase in Data Quality of Return Forms

Increased efficiency when assessing and processing customers packaging data submissions

The web portal was able to successfully complete the first data submission when we went live.

Increase in scheduling and planning

Increase in Administrative User efficiency due to automated and efficient input journeys and integrations

Increase in traceability and compliance metrics

Increase in Data Quality

Reduction in Manual Admin Hours, meaning KES team can spend more focus and effort on value added work items

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The project was well structured from the outset with key phases of Discovery, Prototype, Build, Testing and Bug Fixing.  Communication was good with the use of Basecamp software, which documented the project throughout.  ioSTUDIOS is always very responsive especially when we asked for virtual meetings to discuss aspects of the design/build, to keep the project on track.

What was your primary form of communication with ioSTUDIOS?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

A rigourous introduction to how the project will be run, and the structure the project followed, gave us a clear direction of travel enabling us to plan our resources to ensure the project ran smoothly.  The project was technically challenging due to the nature of the Regulations and IO Studios did well in understanding the intricacies of what was required and coding this into the finished solution.

Are there any areas for improvement or something ioSTUDIOS could have done differently?

With any project of this nature you can never over communicate, so we would welcome unplanned calls at any stage to clarify and cross-check understanding throughout.  In addition, enhancement in the rigour of quality testing would reduce the time needed to fix bugs.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Managing Partner of Kite Packaging

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Distribution of Industrial Packaging 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire ioSTUDIOS to accomplish?

• Successfully launch a bespoke CRM solution to be used by both the Sales and Retention teams at Kite

SOLUTION

How did you find ioSTUDIOS?

Referral

Why did you select ioSTUDIOS over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from ioSTUDIOS were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

To design, develop, launch and support an customised internal CRM system that was inegrated into both our existing ERP platform and our web platform. System had to have the abaility to support mutlpile users in our sales team, procing live data on customers activity through our ecommerce website. There was a requirment to snyc data back and forth between our other systems.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Increase Sales figures

Increase Retention figures

Increase department efficiency via effective UX UI design, functionality, automation and integration.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Applied Agile development methodology with regular update meetings to key stakeholders, joint testing approach and co-ordinated reviews of the project prgression versus the brief.  

They team at IO Studios were highly competent, extemely professional, highly skilled and first class communicators. 

What was your primary form of communication with ioSTUDIOS?

• In-Person Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The depth of their knowlege. Their creative support and commuincation approch, as a result of a highly collabrative culture. They developed a best-in-class software solution for us and did exactly what they said they would do, when they said they would do it. A highly skilled, extremely proffesional and classy team of people. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something ioSTUDIOS could have done differently?

No. They tick every box.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former CTO of E2E Total Loss Claims Management. The company works in the insurance industry and manages total loss vehicles that have been written off following an accident. They process those and sometimes settle with the clients and the policyholder and salvage the vehicle.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ioSTUDIOS?

We had legacy solutions and a brand-new Microsoft Azure solution created by a third party. When I came in, that third party had been there for many years, and we felt we needed to move to new suppliers. ioSTUDIOS’ role was to upscale the existing systems, both the old and the new, to maintain and support those systems.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

ioSTUDIOS has upscaled the old system to understand and support it. The company works with top insurers, so we had high SLAs to maintain. The team has ensured that the company can maintain those SLAs. There have been times when new features or adjustments have been required, and ioSTUDIOS has done that.

Regarding the new technology, ioSTUDIOS supports and enhances what has been built. We developed a roadmap together to enhance the product subsequently. The new technology uses React and Azure Cosmos DB. ioSTUDIOS provides both 9–5 support and out-of-hours support.

What is the team composition?

We worked with about five teammates, including Joe, Tom, Charlie, and James. Among them were a UX tester, a project manager, and developers.

How did you come to work with ioSTUDIOS?

Since our incumbent partner was looking after all the infrastructure, we wanted a Microsoft Azure partner that specialized in the tool. We found a specialist within the top 1% of Microsoft Azure providers in the UK. I was using them to migrate the on-site infrastructure to Microsoft Azure, and they had been working with ioSTUDIOS successfully with other clients — that's how the connection started.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with ioSTUDIOS in the first quarter of 2023, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The company measures ioSTUDIOS' work in the old system by looking at the level of support and the speed at which ioSTUDIOS responds when issues arise. The team has consistently been above our SLAs on both fronts. 

There is also a tight approach to the way support tickets are raised. We decided to time-box the support time to investigate and clarify the cost rather than eat up all the support time for one particular task. The devil's in the details, and sometimes with tickets, the team could spend two days digging into something, and now there was no time left in the support contract for that month. Therefore, we time-boxed this process so that we could approve further investigation at additional cost for certain tickets. This system has been successful.

One of the developers from ioSTUDIOS got involved because he was one of the few people old enough to have used the type of technology in our systems. This was a great challenge, especially as there was very little documentation provided. ioSTUDIOS did a fantastic job getting their head around the technology and adding documentation to make sure it was supported. 

How did ioSTUDIOS perform from a project management standpoint?

ioSTUDIOS meets deadlines and stays on budget. The team uses Jira and Trello. ioSTUDIOS manages the team within Microsoft Azure DevOps.

The team communicates via Microsoft Teams, email, or phone calls, depending on the situation. When I was working with them, we had Microsoft Teams calls each week when ioSTUDIOS was working on development sprints. We also had a monthly IT supplier governance call to discuss the team’s performance and talk through it with the other suppliers.

What did you find most impressive about them?

ioSTUDIOS’ responsiveness to clients is impressive. The team is right in the client’s needs and comes up with suitable solutions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They need more teammates. The challenge is that when you start to scale, you lose that quality.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You need to have clear requirements. There are times when you’ve already thought through what you’re after, not necessarily how it needs to be done, but how you want to achieve it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Managing Director of Ductu

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We help schools to interact with large employers on behalf of students with disabilities, by arranging menaingful and engaging workplace activities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire ioSTUDIOS to accomplish?

• Utilise a digital first approach that enables Ductu to offer scalable, digital first, efficiently ran solution
• Enable ductu to help as many SEND students as possible, nationally

SOLUTION

How did you find ioSTUDIOS?

Online Search

Why did you select ioSTUDIOS over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from ioSTUDIOS were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Starting from scratch, IO studios have built, improved, amened and supported our software solution. We have been through several iterations, and significant business changes through that period, and IO Studios have supported us throughout. The process has been meticulous, their staff have been knowledgbale and have challenged my ideas to get to the best solution. We now have a software suite that enabled me to help 6,500 students last year to have life changing, incredible interactions with high quality employers including McDonalds, TSB and Hobbycraft. Our software enables us to mange the nuance of our process around the booking and rescheduling of activities, colllection and reminders of key documents, and collection of surveys for continual improvement. We also have intellident call lists helping my staff to target customers based on credit levels, interaction with marketing, and liklehood of purchase.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Key stages of development within our process. We have now completed several phases of development. Each has been delivered on tim and within budget. The only expection has been when my specification has altered during the development due to changes in our workflow. These changes have been integrated every time to get to a succesful resolution.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

I think project management has been the core reason for teh succcess of the project. It has been tight, controlled and collaborative. The team challenge my thoughts and have suggested some very creative ways to acheive a solution. From the wireframing, prototyping, interface design to support, the structure is the most impressive part of the work with IO Studios. I feel that they are in control at all times and genuinely understand my business, not just the coding.

What was your primary form of communication with ioSTUDIOS?

Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

As described. IO Studios are very organised and structured. Everything follows a process and they dont allow me to deviate from that process. That works very well. However this is only possible, especially with techincal staff, when they are approachable, knowledgable and engaging.

Are there any areas for improvement or something ioSTUDIOS could have done differently?

Genuinely no. Every person I deal with and every process we have gone through has been exceptional.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Digital Lead and Owner of Parkwood Leisure

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Parkwood Leisure, in collaboration with its partners manages a wide range of leisure facilities, various golf clubs, theatres and heritage facilities across England and Wales on behalf of local authorities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire ioSTUDIOS to accomplish?

• Over years of projects main goals and objectives were achieved
• Become leading provider of Leisure Facility Mangement in the UK
• Become leading provider of Health and Fitness and Swim activities in the UK
• Ensure business is positioned around key strategic missions inc. Wellness and Community

SOLUTION

How did you find ioSTUDIOS?

Referral

Why did you select ioSTUDIOS over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from ioSTUDIOS were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

IO Studios served as a key digital partner for Parkwood Leisure, delivering a comprehensive suite of solutions ranging from complex backend middleware to high-traffic, customer-facing interfaces. Their work focused on three primary areas:

• System Integration and Modernisation with their system Core, a bespoke integration platform designed to bridge theg ap betwene our legacy systems and modern, industry specific software. This platform successfuly unified our CMS, CRM and member management platform unlocking data flows, automations and functionalities not previously possible.
• Customer-Facing Web Development, Acting as our go-to partners, IO designed and built interfaces across our core business pillars, focusing on leisure services, sales optimisation, and lead generation.
• End-to-End CMS Implementation. With Magnolia CMS, they acted as strategic advisors from the discovery phase through to UX/UI design and full-stack development. This solution now serves as the digital backbone for our largest business units.

With the addition of Core, betterment of our customer facing systems and the end-to-end CMS implementation we saw multiple industry digital innovation awards driven by the work implemented with IO Studios. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The digital transformation led by IO Studios resulted in a significant and measurable uplift across Parkwood Leisure’s primary revenue streams. By removing the technical friction between our siloed systems, we saw immediate improvements in user conversion and operational efficiency.

Increases in customer satisfaction levels

Increases in core web statistics and performance indicators

Increases in business efficiency and efficacy

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

IO Studios was highly professional and consistently met key deadlines, even when navigating the complexities of our legacy system integrations and reactive changes that come with the leisure industry.

They functioned more like a partner than a vendor, becoming knowledgable and familiar with our business which helped proactively identify potential blockers before they could impact our timeline.

Their communication was excellent, they were particularly skilled at translating technical challenges into clear business decisions. Whenever our requirements shifted, they were highly responsive and adaptive, ensuring the project stayed on track and aligned with our goals.

What was your primary form of communication with ioSTUDIOS?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Unlike a typical agency, they acted as true partners, often challenging our thinking to ensure we were building the best possible solution for the long term. The knowledge and familiarity they had with how our business operated meant they were as committed to our digital transformation and sales growth as our own internal team was.

Are there any areas for improvement or something ioSTUDIOS could have done differently?

The quality of work was fantastic. If pushed, a slightly more formalised onboarding process for new project phases could have saved a few days of discovery, but their personal investment and proactivity more than made up for any minor administrative hurdles coming from our archaic industry. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a manager at The Nottingham Park Estate Limited, a private, non-profit estate management company responsible for maintaining and enhancing The Park Estate in Nottingham for the benefit of its residents and members.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ioSTUDIOS?

We needed to create a bespoke software solution to support the managment of the estate.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

iO Studios has developed a cloud-based application that provides a single, secure access point for all data required to manage the estate effectively. The solution streamlines operations, improves processes, and significantly boosts efficiency. Scope includes, to name a few: Centralised management of all data held across the estate. Integrated communication tools for seamless interaction. Third-party integrations, including accounting software. Automated rent charge calculations. Management of property details, personal information, and maintenance tasks. An owner’s portal for easy access to key information. Permit and licence management.

What is the team composition?

We work with 2–5 teammates from ioSTUDIOS.

How did you come to work with ioSTUDIOS?

ioSTUDIOS was referred to me.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with ioSTUDIOS in September 2018, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

ioSTUDIOS has delivered on time and on budget. The software has revolutionised all aspects of our business.

How did ioSTUDIOS perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate with ioSTUDIOS via email and messaging apps, online meetings, telephone and occasional in person.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’ve been impressed with ioSTUDIOS’ team. They’re good guys to work with — extremely knowledgeable, patient, and great at problem-solving.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing we can come up with.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Digital Marketing Director of Skirting World

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Skirting World is a UK-based manufacturer and retailer specialising in high-quality MDF skirting boards, architrave, wall panelling and interior mouldings, supplying made-to-order products direct to customers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire ioSTUDIOS to accomplish?

• Digitise and automate the entire operation on one bespoke solution created by ioSTUDIOS to improve efficiency and drive scalable growth

SOLUTION

How did you find ioSTUDIOS?

Online Search

Why did you select ioSTUDIOS over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location

How many teammates from ioSTUDIOS were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

To create a system which allowed us to manage most aspects of the business (order management, manufacturing, deliveries, etc.) from one place and streamline communications between employees as well as customers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Reducing significant delivery costs

Complete order management system

Streamlined manufacturing line

Improving customer satisfaction by reducing delivery led customer complaints

Improving business efficiency

Providing a vast data set to report/provide insight on in order to improve

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Timely and excellent communication. Nothing was ever too much trouble and it seems that there's always a way to do something

What was your primary form of communication with ioSTUDIOS?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

ioSTUDIOS' skill set and problem-solving approach stood out.

Are there any areas for improvement or something ioSTUDIOS could have done differently?

NA

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the partnerships director of a company that designs, administers, and manages flexible and voluntary vehicle breakdown employee benefits schemes, leveraging over 15 years of experience in this industry. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire ioSTUDIOS to accomplish?

We initially hired ioSTUDIOS for the full redesign and build of our website. In 2025, we launched another full redesign and build of our website. Additionally, ioSTUDIOS has built bespoke internal processing software and helped to achieve automation of processes.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Full solution, from design to implementation. 

Company Website (2019 and 2025 Redesigns)

In 2019, ioSTUDIOS completed a full redesign and rebuild of our website, creating a modern, responsive platform to support our core services and client onboarding.In 2025, ioSTUDIOS delivered a second complete rebuild and redesign, incorporating updated branding, improved navigation, enhanced content management capabilities, and integrated lead-generation and client-communication tools.

Main deliverables:

Requirements scoping and technical specification System architecture and database design Secure user interface for internal and admin teams Improved reporting tools Ongoing development, testing, and support

Bespoke Internal Processing Software

ioSTUDIOS has also designed and built a custom web-based system to manage our internal processing, data management, and workflow automation.The system was developed to improve accuracy, scalability, and efficiency in handling client data and scheme administration.

Main deliverables:

Requirements scoping and technical specification System architecture and database design Secure user interface for internal and admin teams Improved reporting tools Ongoing development, testing, and support

Project status

We started working with ioSTUDIOS in 2019, and our relationship is ongoing.

How did you come to work with ioSTUDIOS?

We found ioSTUDIOS through a referral. We chose them because they were close to our geographic location, had a great culture fit, and were referred to us.

What is the team composition?

We work with 2–5 teammates from ioSTUDIOS.

How do you communicate with ioSTUDIOS?

We communicate through in-person meetings, virtual meetings, and email or messaging apps.

What's the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2019, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

ioSTUDIOS has saved us 30 days' worth of administrative processing time. We've also reduced our inbound call volume by 50% in two years.

How did ioSTUDIOS perform from a project management standpoint?

ioSTUDIOS' project management is professional and in-depth. They always deliver on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

ioSTUDIOS goes beyond the call of duty.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There's nothing ioSTUDIOS could improve on.