Light IT Global

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Senior Economist at Liga Ug - we are Ukrainian food manufacturer and distributor

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Light IT, and what were your goals?

We had an inquiry for creating a system for collaborating with our partners - outlets and at the same time the system should automate some of our routine processes and reduce manual labor

SOLUTION

How did you select Light IT and what were the deciding factors?

We requested for several IT companies in our city - the key factor was that the development company should be located in the same area. Light IT approach stood them out of others, in addition they had experience in working with retailers so we believed they are not only good technical performers but they also know the industry well They helped us to gather the requirements, advised to slightly modify the functionality according to conducted business analysis and shaped our idea to tangible form

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

They helped us to deliver 3 web and 2 mobile apps within 16 months. They used PHP and React for web and React Native for mobile. Main steps were - business analysis, designing/prototyping, estimation, development, launch

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

3 managers - sales manager, project manager and business analyst 1 designer 1 CTO, 2 web developers, 1 mobile developer, 1 QA engineer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We had a demand for the highest level of data protection but got no clue how to implement this and Light IT provided us several options, one of which was even better than we initially imagined. Being on the business side, we didn’t know what technologies to choose so Light IT kindly consulted us on this part and chose a suitable approach.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

We had a project manager as a point of contact and got regular updates on the progress so the whole process was very transparent for us. As a result, the product was delivered within the terms and estimate provided at the beginning of our collaboration so we are more than very happy with the outcome We used Jira, Slack, Zoom

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

They had a professional and diligent approach to requests and changes we have made during our collaboration. Transparent and understandable process, highly skilled developers.

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

No, the product was delivered within the terms and estimate provided at the beginning of our collaboration so we are more than very happy with the outcome

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Director, Global Digital Operations for a major pharmaceutical company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Light IT?

Staff augmentation with skilled Python developers.

What were your goals for this project?

Reduce total cost of ownership for operating various digital marketing platforms by improving and implementing process automation where possible.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Market research

Describe the project in detail.

Working with LightIT has been a pleasure. They are providing our company with talented Python developer in a staff-augmentation model. This has allowed us to build close relationships to the developers which have resulted in a very high performing team.

The team has been highly reliable and producing great quality which is of utmost importance in the pharmaceutical industry. The products we are building together with LightIT are focused on process automation and DevOps tooling for various digital marketing platforms.

What was the team composition?

3-5 Python developers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've been able to x3 the amount of automation on one of our digital marketing platforms, resulting in significant cost avoidance of manual support work.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Through the staff augmentation model the workflow between our teams have been seamless.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their dedication and quality stood out to us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing significant

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO at a tech startup in Chicago. Our company uses Lean and Agile methodologies for product development. We deeply integrate marketing and customer feedback into the product development process.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Light IT?

Initially, our company had a MVP. At the time, we had a small inhouse developer. So, after demonstrating the proof of concept, we decided to hire LightIT to build iOS and Android mobile apps that are scalable to a large number of users.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to release the beta version of our mobile app. Specifically, the product must be usable and user-friendly for our customers. Furthermore, the product must be maintainable and updatable for the future development.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Our company searched online on outsourcing websites for companies in Eastern European countries. We reached out and interviewed different outsourcing candidates. We picked the one who values in partnership building. Our company believe that long-term success depends on mutual understandings and ability to cooperate and adapt in the rapidly changing world.

Describe the project in detail.

Our company shared business requirements and legacy source code to LightIT. After LightIT investigates, we defined different milestones and versions of products. This helped us make incremental improvement over time in the Lean and Agile methodologies. The product went through many iteration of planning, development, testing and learning.

What was the team composition?

In the beginning, we only had backend and frontend developers. Later, we added QA and product manager. Most recently we had 1 backend dev, 2 iOS developers, 1 Android, 1 QA and 1 PM.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We valued user feedback. So we continuously tested the alpha version of the product with our target users. We received positive feedback on product usability and user-friendliness. Please note that at the time of giving this review, this product was not fully released to the public yet.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

In the beginning, the communications was challenging due to the remote working environments between our company and LightIT. When project manager was assigned to the team, it initially slowed our product development. However, in the long-run PM helped clarify understanding between teams. We scheduled two meetings per week to talk over the phone. We communicated frequently on Slack. We also had tools to document business requirements, plan and estimate, and track progress and bugs, etc.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

LightIT has nice employees with humility. This is a foundation for building trust, which allows us to continuously improve together and adapt to changing environments. From the beginning, I had seen significant improvements on communications, problem solving skills and decision making process.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Building a high quality product within budget is always challenging. The team has demonstrated its ability to build a high quality product. However, we have a lot of rooms for improvement to control schedule and budget. We discussed many initiatives for Built-In Quality, and eventually testing would be everyone's job at every stage of the development.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm Mamadou Djigo, Senegal Country Director and Head of QA. At EDACY we believe that the creation of new markets will be enabled by upgrading the skills required for tomorrow's occupations.

Leveraging technology, we offer millions of young people in Africa the opportunity to up skill themselves to lead the continent toward a thriving global economy, turning to future trades and services, and creating new jobs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Light IT?

We are working in our V3 of our eLearning platform and we needed to have the best platform that handle million of users.

What were your goals for this project?

Having a robust, maintanable and with the standard quality that can support million of users with the latest technonologies.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

The were recommended to us.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They handle the main part of the backend and also the frontend. They propose and did a big refactoring to use the latest frameworks.They also doing the functional tests.

What was the team composition?

Light IT provided use 1 backend developer , 1 frontend develoepr and one functional tester. They were integrated in our team of product (12 people) with a Product Manager, CTO, Devops...

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our last customer appreciate a lot the quality of the software and also now we are able to handle million of users, something we could do before. The way they use the latest framework give us more quality and reliability in the software and helped us to develop more business partnership.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project management was handled by our resources but they were involved in it. It was very successful and the process was very clear.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The engagement and availability impressed us. Also their focus on quality.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Perfect

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a custom software development & digital marketing company. I am a project manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Light IT?

To build the web-based control panel for the hardware which previously had only desktop-based version of that software for one of our customers, as well as adding some additional features which are specific for SaaS solutions.

What were your goals for this project?

To effectively build the solution which implements all the required functionality, with using some innovation approach at the same time.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

It was a great previous experience in working with on on other projects so as long as chosen technology was the same we made that choice.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Designed, developed an launched the new application, on both back-end, web-based part and desktop-based part including some research on the innovative approach in implementation. Figured out with the exiting technology, hardware-specific stuff and built a great solution.

What was the team composition?

1 developer which fully covered all three application parts: web, desktop and back-end.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The built solution is elegant and could fully replace the old-fashioned desktop tool going forward.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

It was being managed on our side

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were flexible and innovative developers in regard to the project challenges.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing to recall.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We design, develop and publish digital applications. I am co-owner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Light IT?

We hired Light IT for the design and actual development of some of our mobile apps.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was (is) to turn rough ideas into a format that will take the entire development a big step further. The UX designs will help convince investors, will serve as a basis for development estimates, and will guide us through essential decision making.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

After a first rough selection, we have contacted some potential partners. Light IT seemed to fulfill our needs without overlapping our own skills

What was the team composition?

Mostly a designer and a project manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Not yet.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was surprisingly effective, especially the communication that pleased us. It was to the point, speedy and useful.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We doubted whether the distance and difference in cultures could be problematic. It's true that there were some misunderstandings and different perceptions of the project's goals and characteristics. But in general Light IT proved to be flexible and very professional. They were able to understand our feedback and adapt their work.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Sure, there always are, but so far nothing worth mentioning.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I’m the founder of a machine learning technology startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Light-it?

We needed help developing a web-based platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Light-it developed our web platform using Python, React.js, and then standard web technologies such as CSS and Tesseract. They will provide ongoing support moving forward.

What is the team composition? 

We work with four members of their team. 

How did you come to work with Light-it? 

We selected Light-it because of their prior experience in the space. They're also really good at communicating, which is so important with offshore development.

How much have you invested with them? 

We’ve spent $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement? 

Work began in February 2019 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven't put the product fully into production yet, but Light-it is very efficient in their efforts. They’re capable of understanding complex business scenarios and incorporating the solution into their work. 

How did Light-it perform from a project management standpoint?

Light-it really excels at project management. We do daily calls and they're extremely transparent. I get a breakdown of all their hours by step, by developer, and by day. I know what's happening with every item, as well as what the cost is going to be. They're good project managers and they're technically strong, which is why they're so easy to deal with. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re fairly inexpensive but they have a sizable resource pool. If I need assistance with Angular or Python or frontend design, they’ll have someone we can use within a few days. I've worked with probably a dozen offshore vendors in the past, and Light-it is the best. 

Are there any areas they could improve? 

Everyone can improve but I can't think of anything specific.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder and CEO of a contract development firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Light IT?

I needed to find an external contractor that could help develop our software for a reasonable price. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Light IT provides development support for both the frontend and backend of our web-based platform, mostly using Python, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. They've assisted with the buildout of the entire infrastructure, fixing bugs as needed, and providing a robust methodology for creating new features in the process. 

What is the team composition? 

I work with a project manager and 3–4 developers.

How did you come to work with Light IT?

I found them on Upwork and gave their team a few small projects to work on that they were both quick and efficient to complete. 

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested about $200,000 thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working together since 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The tools that Light IT is helping us build are generating new streams of revenue and being used by our customers every day. They've helped come up with many solutions for ways to build out the platform efficiently. It's also performing very well, so we're happy with their work overall. 

How did Light IT perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very fast and efficient with their time. I generally speak with their team every day through either Slack or Skype. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Light IT's developers provide high-quality work. They're also very hardworking, flexible, communicative, and reasonably priced compared to others in Europe or the U.S. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think so. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I'd just recommend speaking with their team to make sure they understand the scope of work and give them a smaller project to work on to see if they're a good fit. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a tech-heavy effortless menswear marketplace.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Light IT?

We hired them to take over the broken backend development code on my site and rebuild it using Django and Python.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to have a fully functioning backend code linked to my frontend code so that we could launch the website.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I did a very thorough analysis of several vendors, and Light IT won on many factors. Denis (Business Development Manager, Light IT) was my sales point of contact. He was very cooperative and honest, which set the whole partnership on a good foundation.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Denis helped find a good backend developer for my project. The developer knows Python and Django very well. He was able to take a broken code (code that another developer had left), understand it, refactor it, and put it in great shape. 

What was the team composition?

There was one backend developer. Over time, the developer took on all of my web development needs, including frontend development.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This project has allowed me to launch an amazing website. I’ve been able to continue raising money and grow my business. Now, the backend code is very advanced, clean, and scalable. I didn't believe that they would be able to clean up the mess I had when I first approached them, but they did so very successfully. 

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Their workflow was very smooth. We used Trello, Slack, and Bitbucket

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Transparency and communication are key for outsourcing—they master those! The developer who was assigned was very skilled, communicative, cooperative, and best of all, honest. Everything was performed with integrity and respect for deadlines. They were also excellent at planning. In the end, I became very good friends with both Denis and the superstar backend developer assigned to my project. I will definitely look to continue using their services. 

Are there any areas for improvement?

Light IT could keep growing their team to have more developers available for companies that are expanding.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder and CEO of Spare Hand Students

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

seevices marketplace connecting local home owners with local college students to help with odd jobs. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Light IT Global to accomplish?

• Create our app from scratch

SOLUTION

How did you find Light IT Global?

Online Search

Why did you select Light IT Global over others?

Good value for cost

How many teammates from Light IT Global were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

• Business analyst to help build our business model
• Pre launch
• All the way to completion
• Delivering finished product to iOS and Google play stores

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Quality
• On time delivery
• Ease to work with

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

• Very responsive
• They felt like part of the family
• They are passionate
• They are always available

What was your primary form of communication with Light IT Global?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

This was our first experience developing an app. My son and I worked on this together; the team locked arms with us and was as passionate about it as we were.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Light IT Global could have done differently?

No