July Rapid

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a media company in the sports space that publishes content digitally and is a primarily digitally driven business. I’m the director of business development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with July Rapid?

We needed the ability to scale into the mobile space. We relied on them to support and provide additional resources to the business overall.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided mobile site development which included changing designs to optimize for mobile and delivering an end product that worked across all devices. This included everything from design through product release and quality assurance. They also did seasonal products along the way.

How did you come to work with July Rapid?

They were hired before I came on the team.

How much have you invested with July Rapid?

We spent more than $200,000 a year with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them almost ten years. Our relationship was finished this year when we brought all of our work in-house.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The success can be seen in the longevity of the relationship. There are a lot of things that need to be done and work according to plan. Their success or failure was based on them being able to implement what we asked, and they were able to do that on a consistent basis.

What did you find most impressive about July Rapid?

It was a general understanding of the vertical that we were in, as well as being easy to work with. Once established, that ease and experience grew which led to our long-term relationship.

Are there any areas July Rapid could improve?

I think there’s always ways to improve but I don’t have anything specific to mention.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company name is Baadl Technologies but Dekkoo is the video streaming service. I’m the co-founder of Dekkoo.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with July Rapid?

What we are trying to do is be the first aggregate premium video streaming service in India. It’s very similar to what Vevo and Hulu did - disrupt YouTube or any other non-premium video websites. That’s the same thing we’re trying to do with Indian content. We’ve acquired over 10,000 hours of content from premium players like Sony Music and most of the top Indian creators you can think of. We’ve been doing about 1,000 hours of content through them as well.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

What they’re doing is helping us build the first version of our product which is very detailed, unlike most versions. So they’re helping us build our website and iOS, phone, and tablet app as well as an Android phone and tablet app.

How did you come to work with July Rapid?

We spoke to about 15 providers. The main thing that set July Rapid apart was their experience in video. That was important to me, especially with scale. They had worked previously with Disney and the NFL, especially in the video category. Secondly, the general reviews narrowed it down to two major companies. One was July and one was Sourcebits. The thing that tipped it over for me was the fact that July was so much more responsive, especially Vivek Menon. He’s the head of sales. Not only did he help with some mockups and other stuff right from the start, but he also went a step ahead and made sure that everything that we wanted and needed to be done was incorporated very early on.

How much have you invested with July Rapid?

We have invested $200,000 plus.

What is the status of this engagement?

We reached out to July Rapid around January and we’ve been working with them since March/April [2016]. We’re still working with them. It’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The best part of what I dealt with was the fact that the design team is amazing. I think that really wowed us. The design has always been above and beyond what we expected. They have a great creative director there. He’s a great guy with an amazing design sense. If we took a feature and sent it to him, the look and feel of how it came across would always be better than what we sent across. Having worked with previous products, this is not our first rodeo. What these guys have done has been really helpful.

How did July Rapid perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re pretty responsive. They felt like an extension of our company. When we felt like picking up the phone and talking to them directly, it’s always been OK. I haven’t been billed separately for a phone call or anything of that nature. I haven’t seen excessive service contracts. The entire contract is a pretty large one, but having said that, I haven’t felt like there’s been an extra number of support calls. It’s been a very smooth, positive experience.

What did you find most impressive about July Rapid?

From a general standpoint, the two things that have impressed me are the design and the sales team. They’ve been really good. I’ve had direct information feedback taken from the chief executive officer to senior management. They’ve made the effort to come meet us whenever they’re in the city and make sure that we feel like they’re an extension of what we do.

Are there any areas July Rapid could improve?

It would be nice if they were in Bombay. We’re both in different cities, but that’s not really on them. We knew that before joining. Most of India’s IT is based out of Bangalore, and in the US it’s California. Just for speed, it would be nicer if it was faster but I don’t blame them. It’s the nature of what we’re building. We’re building a humongous product. We’re basically trying to build Hulu, so think about that.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re part of a multi-billion-dollar conglomerate based in India . We are developing a food delivery platform on the lines of Munchery.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with July Rapid?

We used July Rapid as a technology partner to bring the concept to fruition. July Rapid was involved with the conceptualizing stage, designing the product and systems, and building the whole technology.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have developed an iOS, Android, and website platform. Our case was peculiar because the concept had never been tried in India before. We intend to provide an on-demand food ordering experience for users, where the food is picked up from home chefs and delivered to the users directly. When we proposed this idea to the July team, they were very clear about how to approach the market in a quick and easy way. We wanted to go live in three months. Their turnaround response was great. They’ve been very cooperative in terms of meeting our business need from a technology perspective, even though they did not come from a food technology background.

How did you come to work with July Rapid?

We were looking for quality players in India and specifically in Mumbai or Bangalore. There were several other companies we considered. None had as deep experience with technology as July has. Their focus on design was great and they have a strong technology backing.

How much have you invested with July Rapid?

We have spent upwards of $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

It’s been almost one year now that we’ve been with them. We’ve only gone live in India. We are looking keep the engagement active with July Rapid on a monthly retainer basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are not even four months old and we’ve already had 100,000 downloads on the Android store. The iOS platform is picking up and we plan to launch the website soon.

How did July Rapid perform from a project management standpoint?

The July Rapid team is extremely cooperative and it’s been very easy to work with them. We don’t treat them as a vendor and they don’t treat us as a client. We have a very understanding relationship which has enabled us to move fast. The tech team itself is very adept at changing how they function depending on the need. The way they’ve come up with solutions is liberating for us, as to not have to worry about not having an in-house team.

What did you find most impressive about July Rapid?

July Rapid is distinct because of their team and how they built our platforms.

Are there any areas July Rapid could improve?

They could streamline their processes and be a bit more flexible. They could also improve their documentation.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a multinational agricultural corporation. We bought a startup company in 2013 that builds advisory bases for agricultural best practices, and we use them for imaging agricultural technologies.

I am the senior manager of product development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with July Rapid?

I was deeply involved in the development and product management of the advisory bases for customers on mobile devices. We were looking for market players who could help us develop and deliver the value internally for the app to offset some of our internal challenges. I came across July as one of the outstanding players in that space.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided the graphics simulation libraries for both iOS and Android. They developed the open source libraries on the latest version of the mobile platforms, tested them, and integrated them with our application. Then we took the app into production with our internal developers.

How did you come to work with July Rapid?

I had 20 or 30 metrics that I used to compare various vendors. I evaluated each vendor based on references from people who have used them before as well as an analysis of their trustworthiness, delivery of service, and diligence on small details. I was very happy to pick an agency like July Rapid. They educate their customers and really challenge them to be the number one player. I also compared vendors based on cost which was tough. But the value July provides for the cost is phenomenally high, so I had to pick them.

How much have you invested with July Rapid?

We spent around $50,000 to $200,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One of the things we set when we made the contract was to make sure they wrote out everything they were going to deliver. As the development goes on, they engage themselves to write the documentation and educate the customer regularly. They do tests regularly during the product development, and integrate them into the automation so that any bugs are captured as more code is added. Their test integration into the main app has delivered an element of quality that is more than the satisfaction levels we defined.

What did you find most impressive about July Rapid?

July Rapid really cares when it comes to their business relationships. They really dig in into the relationship and take a sincere interest. They actually brought in one or two people from India to partner in early discussions about the project before the contract was even signed. We were solving one of the hardest problems, and their innovative team spent extra time to learn everything so they could do a better job and deliver on time.

Are there any areas July Rapid could improve?

One of our challenges was finding a way to adjust to different time zones for conference calls. July’s office actually runs a little late to meet the US time zones. You can get their ear pretty much every day if you want to know how things are moving. Being in the Pacific Time zone, the communication is the hardest part of dealing with offices in India because it’s on the other side of the globe. I’m lucky that they met our time constraints.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization. What is your position?

I'm the product director. We have shopping apps including a website and iPhone and Android app. We also do direct business-to-business services for personalized shopping.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with July Rapid?

My team was looking for an iOS app development company.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

As far as scope of work, July Rapid provided just an iOS application.

How did you come to work with July Rapid?

We found July Rapid through a Google search. I talked to four or five other agencies, and I picked July based on their website and a phone conversation I had with their sales representative. July Rapid just seemed like one of the better companies to build an iPhone app with.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

I had an offer to build our app as low as $2,000 but we paid July Rapid in $20,000 range to ensure we got the quality we were looking for.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We just launched our app so it's hard to tell how it's going to do in the App Store. July Rapid met all the milestones that we were trying to achieve in terms of delivery date. Everything went well.

What distinguishes July Rapid from other providers?

July Rapid has been in business awhile and they have a good quality control system, which is one of the reasons we went with them. They had a very corporate structure and system where it was very formal. The quality standards were met and I didn't really have to worry about things getting lost or delayed.

Is there anything July Rapid could have improved or done differently?

Nothing I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization. What is your role and responsibilities?

I’m the founder and CEO of a UK based startup. The business will work to define brands. Nine.am is going to be the first mobile first social network service of enthusiasts passionate for brands. Any smartphone user will be able to download the free app and follow brands, stay up to date with insider knowledge. They’ll be able to challenge their friends about brand knowledge, and they’ll be able to share their opinions. Those opinions will be unfiltered.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with July Rapid?

I wanted a cost-effective way of getting the product on the market. Developing any kind of app requires a huge sum of money. I came up with this idea, and it seems crazy that no one has ever done this. It is unique, but it will globally change brands. You won’t just be advertising on a billboard in Mexico or the side of a bus in China. Every handheld device will be able to communicate with brands. Brands will be able to communicate directly with consumers. We’re talking billions of people.

SOLUTION

What was your process for selecting July Rapid with which to work?

We had a connection with a gentlemen who currently works at July Rapid that we knew in his previous role. July Rapid seemed to be a natural fit. They spoke my language and understood what I wanted. 

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative in dollar terms or a personnel work-hour figure? When was the work completed?

By the time the project comes to an end, it will likely be above $200,000. Phase one is complete. We’re looking at phase two now. I’d like to see the partnership flourish.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Is there anything unique or special about July Rapid that really makes them stand out compared to other business partners?

I think the unique thing is July Rapid keeps you up to date with what’s going on. They use Basecamp, but from a client’s perspective. I’m in the U.K., and they’re in San Francisco. So, we’re far apart. To have that information flow well between us is key. You want to make sure your money is used wisely. July Rapid gives me that assurance that it is being spent how it should be spent.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

I’m very much a visual person. You need visuals to get the interest. They came up with some beautiful designs and that sold it to me even more. I think they should continue to do visual work for clients. Yes, it takes longer, but it gives that client the reassurance that you’re on the same page. When I see a visual, I know they grasp what I’m looking for.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization. What is your role and responsibilities?

I’m a partner at a small mobile agency. We do a combination of mobile marketing consulting and application development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with July Rapid? Please describe the scope of their work.

We typically work with outsource development partners like July Rapid to do the actual development. We work side by side with them through the product definition and requirement gathering and development. The specific challenge was application development. We don’t have a lot of true coding expertise. We have a lot of technical people, but nobody who could really sit down and write code for an application.

SOLUTION

What was your process for selecting July Rapid with which to work?

We had worked with July Rapid's VP of business development at his previous company. We developed a great relationship with him before he moved to July Rapid. We had conversations and based on the strength of that relationship we decided that we would work with July on this first project and potentially many more.

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative in dollar terms or a personnel work-hour figure?

This is ongoing work. The completed project will fall between $50,000 and $100,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Are you satisfied with their performance?

July Rapid's performance has been very good. The caliber and quality of their development is great. They’ve been on time, on track, and on schedule with what they committed to. This was our first project with them. I know the first one is often the bumpiest. The relationship is off to a good start, and I’m optimistic that it will only get better.

Is there anything unique or special about July Rapid that really makes them stand out compared to other business partners?

What sticks out most is the quality of their development.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

A couple of things. We had anticipated a much higher rate of product discussion and interaction prior to going into sprint development. Interaction would include working through some of the more complicated details of the user experience, the more complicated details of the architecture, and the more complicated details of how the product would work. We didn’t get that. Once we got into the sprints, many of the issues we experienced could have been discussed and hopefully resolved in a pre-sprint planning session. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization. What is your role and responsibilities?

We are a mid-sized sport league and organization. I oversee television and new media.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with July Rapid?

We wanted to have a consistent scoring method and tools within our apps. We needed apps created for iPhone, iPad, and Android and relaunched all of those with July Rapid.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

July Rapid initially delivered a tailored solution to meet our mobile app development and mobile design requirements. Once the initial development and design was completed, they hosted our apps on their July MX platform. From the July MX platform, we were able to make small edits and updates to the apps ourselves.

What was your process for selecting July Rapid with which to work?

We did an RFP [request for proposal] and we felt like July Rapid was the best prepared because they had worked with other leagues in our sport, with other sports leagues in general, and also with networks that have sports apps. 

When was the work completed?

We started in 2011, and we worked three to four solid years with them. We just recently ended the contract with them solely in order to house all of our development, Web, and mobile, under one umbrella.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

They did a nice job with the apps. They looked nice, current, and they worked well. It gave us a professional look in an important area of new media. It was very fruitful for us. All the apps worked well for their intended purposes. We always had a good relationship with quality products.

Is there anything unique or special about July Rapid that really makes them stand out compared to other online marketing companies?

They take a long-term view and were able to work with us around challenges that popped up along the way. I felt like they were an extension of our company. 

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

We moved away from them to get our Web and mobile applications under one agency. We had a few issues from a metrics and numbers standpoint, trying to find certain problems that existed and trying to get important statistics from our usage during the last few months.

BACKGROUND

Please give a brief description of your company.

We are a specialty retailer.

What is your role at the company?

I am the Vice President of IT [information technology].

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was the business challenge that you were trying to address when you approached July Rapid?

We were in need of a mobile application platform that would improve our customers’ mobile experience. 

SOLUTION

Can you talk about the scope of the project?

Our initial partnership started in 2013. This is still an ongoing partnership.

What was your process for selecting July Rapid with which to work?

We used an RFP [request for proposal] process and felt that based on July Rapid's size they would best fit our needs.

Can you give a sense of the size of the project in dollar terms or personnel work hours?

I don’t have a dollar amount to share but our partnership with July Rapid is of a very significant magnitude.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the results of the project, and are there any metrics you can share?

There are no specific metrics to share but, overall, we are very satisfied with our partnership with July Rapid.

When working with them, was there anything unique or special about them compared to other companies with which you may have worked?

July Rapid is a much smaller shop than we typically work with, which allows for a more flexible and responsive partnership.

Looking back on the project, is there any area that they could improve upon or that you would do differently?

Their nimble team makes for a very responsive partnership. However, the delivery process that July Rapid utilizes could use a little more structure.