Leonine Info Solutions

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner and managing director of Travel Trails (India) Private Limited, a tour company. I have travelled extensively across the globe and gained rich experiences and exposure in the travel business for over 2 decades. We cater to tourism requirements for a clientele primarily based in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and England.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Leonine Info Solutions?

We needed to revamp our existing website. The previous one was almost a decade old and we wanted a new look. We also wanted more requests to come in from the site and to grow our presence in the modern digital world.

What were your goals for this project?

Leonine Info Solutions had developed our original website, so we asked them to perform a face-lift. They made sure that our requirements were met throughout the website.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Since Leonine had done the earlier version, they were our go-to option.  

Describe the project in detail.

They provided a work schedule in the proposal and the work was completed within the originally specified turnaround times.

What was the team composition?

I was given access to communicate with the entire project team, but Leonine designated an account manager to whom I conveyed my ideas and suggestions. Having one point of contact helped save me time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What outcomes or results can you share that demonstrate progress and/or success?

The solution created by Leonine met our expectations. They made sure that our website was redesigned using the most cost-effective methods.

They were also reliable throughout the project. There were a few bug issues, but they fixed them quickly, without help from us.

How effective was the project management?

The account manager they appointed helped me communicate my queries to their team and vice-versa which was very effective and time efficient. The schedule they made was well informed and helped me to understand the project's position.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

When you develop software, you have bugs, and it can be a problem if that happens on a weekend. If there was a critical bug report, their employees would respond and try to solve the issue, even on weekends. It’s nice to know that someone is looking at your issue as it arises; they didn't make us wait until Monday. That’s the most valuable quality we found in the Leonine team.

What tips or recommendations do you have?

We had a wonderful time and they did everything perfectly. We had open discussions with the account manager that solved any bugs. They were very professional. They’re a good web development company and we're extremely lucky to have them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

NPR Networks is an IT infrastructure service company that started in Dubai, UAE. From there, we have setup offices in India. We provide support services around networking, hardware, security, and so on. We have a 15-20-person team in the Middle East, and 5-8 employees in India. I am the Managing Partner of the Indian office.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Leonine Info Solutions?

We needed to revamp our existing website for the new website in India. The current one was eight years old, and we also needed a new hosting space. It was good in the beginning, but the ongoing support from our initial developer was not adequate. Also, our hosting had been handled by a Middle Eastern company which did not provide good support.

We had also started a manufacturing operation in China, for passive networking components, in which we needed a different website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Leonine designed and developed our new website, and handled the migration to GoDaddy hosting, which I believe is a Linux-based service. I am not technically-savvy, but I was able to convey what we wanted, and ask for changes later on.

What is the team dynamic?

We did not demand a specific number of resources, but they provided tracking for the overall number of hours, and based the final invoicing on that. We haven’t looked into the internal number of developers on their side; we only focused on deadlines.

We kept an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of all ongoing tasks. They communicated with us over email, but also called us for more urgent issues. We handled QA testing, and communicated any changes we wanted to their team.

How did you come to work with Leonine Info Solutions?

They were referred to us by our catalogue designer.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of their work has been around $6,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Leonine around June 2017, and have an ongoing relationship. The main project is almost done, but we will be looking at new work for our Middle Eastern offices.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Leonine created most of the features we required, except for some statistical components which couldn’t be fit into our budget. They had options for those, but it would have cost us more.

They have not provided any analytics, but the work has been done to our satisfaction. If we have a problem, we can call Leonine.

How did Leonine Info Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve never had to push them to complete a task. Everything was done in time through an account manager who handled all our queries. Leonine was responsive and always ready to resolve any problems we had.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We appreciated the personal contact and friendly approach. They were very flexible.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Our experience was very good, but we were not much of an expert on the website development part. Customers should document their requirements in a proper manner, in order to have a smooth project. We started small, but made a number of changes. Leonine collaborated with us, but it still led to rework. This can be avoided by having at least an 80% overview of what is needed, and by maintaining open conversations.