ManekTech

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a software and consulting company.

What challenge were you trying to address with ManekTech?

We needed to refactor our software’s mobile applications.

What was the scope of their involvement?
Their team refactors our preexisting iOS and Android apps. Our products include apps and cloud packs that are asset and maintenance management software. The features are very technical functions related to asset and maintenance management. ManekTech refactors the apps so they hold all the core features needed for a solution like that.

What is the team composition?
There are two developers, one project manager, and one customer relations person.

How did you come to work with ManekTech?
I found them after doing some online research and decided to try them.

How much have you invested with them?
We’ve invested about $10,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?
Our ongoing partnership began in November 2019.
 

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

I’m satisfied and happy. Their work is good, and there’s nothing wrong with the quality. The apps' coding and performance are great. ManekTech has always achieved the goals we set. Naturally, there will always be a few bugs due to regression issues from outdated libraries, we can’t really blame it on ManekTech.

How did ManekTech perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve been mostly satisfied. We use Jira and Slack for project management. The only problems are related to communication. Their developers aren’t proactive about problem-solving on their own.

Therefore, my team has to rely heavily on the project manager to make decisions. This extra step in communication leads to a slower process. If the developers would carry more responsibility in making choices, I think the communication issues would be solved.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They go above and beyond the minimal requirements to report other issues we should look at — issues that aren’t apart of the actual project scope. They’re great at being aware of possible future problems. That’s always a positive sign about a developer’s skill.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could improve their communication skills. From my point of view, I’m straightforward in giving explanations and instructions. I think I’m being very clear, but they still ask many questions and need additional clarification.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You need to provide detailed plans and guidelines for what you want. If you don’t, there may be misunderstandings or the process will be slow. Don’t expect them to solve issues for you without explanations. In order to have an effective collaboration, communication needs to be very clear.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a media portal that writes daily news about decentralized technologies like the blockchain and its first application area, known as cryptocurrencies. We are already Austria's largest portal on this topic.

For what projects/services did your company hire ManekTech?

We hired ManekTech because we had two bugs on our Wesite that we wanted to fix. We also needed 2 extensions. The extensions are the AMP function and the possibility to show ads on our site. These 2 tasks had to be solved with plugins.

What were your goals for this project?

The main goal was to fix the bugs quickly so that we could continue working well.

One of them was a bug that broke the megamenu during a theme update. The second bug was that when there were longer posts with a table of contents, the save function didn't work because there was a conflict with a table of contents plugin.

Therefore, we could not save the contributions we wrote. We also wanted the AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) feature to deliver our content faster and the ability to advertise on our website.

How did you select this vendor?

We already had an agency with which we were unfortunately very dissatisfied. They have done their job completely, but unfortunately they have not kept the promised time window.

Therefore we searched online for a new agency and found Clutch.co. Here we wrote to many agencies and asked them if they could do our job and how much they wanted.

ManekTech was one of the most expensive offers, but the reviews were good and the contact person wrote on a high quality level, which is why we chose ManekTech in the end.

Describe the project in detail.

2 bugs need to fix: Theme Update Bug - After a theme update our megamenu became display errors. We wanted to fix this errors. Save Problem - Longer article with a table of contents could not be saved when creating.

The bug cost us a lot of time and we wanted to fix it. ---- 2 Extensions: AMP function - We needed this function to load our website into mobile faster. Ad Function - We wanted to display ads on our website. This should be realized with a plugin.

What was the team composition?

• Account Manager – Who will take care about initial involvement as well as invoices
• Project Manager – Who will be involved in discussion with you and will make sure about deliverables.
• Developer – Who will be main person which will take care of changes and fixes.
• Designer – Who will be involved whenever there will be any work related to design, CSS, html etc.
• Quality Analyst – Who will take care about quality.

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

Unfortunately not, since the job was not completed. We hoped that with AMP our traffic would increase because our main traffic comes from the mobile view and AMP would of course reach more people if Google would accept it.

But Google doesn't accept our AMP, although it was agreed at the beginning of the job that ManekTech would do the validation in the Google Search Console (Webmaster Tools).

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very good at first. The account manager who went through the job with us via email answered my questions excellently. After we started the job, the account manager didn't write us any more, because we now wrote with the project manager via Skype.

The team was always polite and kept us up to date. But towards the end of the job, after we paid, they slowed down and stopped answering our last message in Skype.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Her internet presence was very good. I felt in good hands with experts. They seemed very trustworthy.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Yes, there are some points that need to be done better.

1. It would be nice if you keep to the agreed time window. When we started the job it was said that they need 12 - 15 working days. But the job is still open after more than 3 months. We are also no longer interested in completing this job and are leaving this job with a loss of 800 USD.
2. There were some ambiguities during the email traffic that both sides misunderstood. When we wanted the AMP function, we thought that all pages and contributions that can be implemented in AMP would also be implemented. ManekTech probably saw it differently. But after a short back and forth ManekTech said that they do it the way we understood it. We thought it was very professional and we should keep it that way.
3. Check or cancel your Quality Assistant. He either didn't exist or didn't do his job right. We were told that the " Save" bug had been fixed. But this bug still exists and is not fixed. But we couldn't say ManekTech because we've been waiting months for them to finish AMP for Google to accept our AMP pages. 4. Not to write us because of the next job, although you didn't even finish the last one. We found that very rude and insulting.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Mileke Limited, an IT company. We provide IT services to small and medium-sized enterprises.

What challenge were you trying to address with ManekTech?

I was looking for better personalized services for clients who are looking to build mobile apps and websites.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I help clients determine their requirements, and I provide that information to ManekTech. Then, ManekTech does the development. They help me with e-commerce web development and mobile development for iOS, Android, and sometimes hybrid. Most of the work we’ve done has been from scratch. Sometimes we do some cloning. We mimic what the competition is doing and put our own touch on it. They use Java, C#, JavaScript, and Python. 

What is the team composition?

I work with the project manager. ManekTech selects the team. I don’t know how many people work on a project. I’ve spoken to the lead developer and some people on their business side. 

How did you come to work with ManekTech?

In my former job, I met one of ManekTech’s people on LinkedIn. They proposed that they could help me with my IT development and give me a better deal than the companies I was working with. They offered personal service that suited my offering to my clients. I continued using their services when I transitioned to my current position. I have confidence in them since I used them previously. Everything is built on trust.

How much have you invested with them?

Static websites are under $10,000. Mobile apps are under $10,000. A mobile app and website cost slightly above $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2017 and the work is ongoing.

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

I’ve not had any questions on the quality of their work or the timelines. Sometimes, we’ve gone over time for reasons we can’t control. Everything else is good. 

How did ManekTech perform from a project management standpoint?

They send us a full framework of how they want to develop it, give me a quote, and I approve it. If I want them to do a logo for me or content for the website and I don’t like the price, I sometimes outsource the development to another company. I’ve sent them quotes and they’ve worked with them as well. They’re flexible.

We work in an agile methodology most of the time. I can see what they’re building from stage to stage. We can see and test until the product is finished. After the product is finished, we keep testing it. We tested the last product we did for three months to check for errors. Whenever cloning is done, we make sure the site is cleaned.

We use Skype to communicate most of the time. We also use email and sometimes phone calls. They respond immediately. If I want something done and I send a message to them, everything is done within an hour.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The pricing is good. The project manager’s response time is almost immediately within a maximum of five minutes. They’re well-rounded.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything that they need to improve. 

We‘ve gone back and forth over what is in scope and what is not. I left out some details when I gave them requirements, and they wanted me to pay for something that they had done out of scope. We ended up compromising which was okay for both of us.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a proper agreement in place first. Their payment approach is 40% at first, another 40% when they reach the next stage, and then 20% when the project is fully completed. I advise anyone who wants to work with them to make sure you have everything written down and signed, and any jurisdiction of any legal challenge they have should be specified from day one. You never know if you will encounter legal issues just because a team has nice people.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a vacation TV company.

What challenge were you trying to address with ManekTech?

We needed someone to develop our mobile app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed an iOS and Android application where users can watch 360-degree videos of different locations on the islands. You can even send digital postcards to friends back home that include a picture of yourself and a message. ManekTech is continually updating the app.

What is the team composition?

We were in contact with a salesperson.

How did you come to work with ManekTech?

They developed our previous app, so we knew they could build this one.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $6,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since October 2018.

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

The app is ready for launch.

How did ManekTech perform from a project management standpoint?

They were quick with everything and responded within the hour. They were also constantly available on email and Skype.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The best part about working with them is their responsiveness. They’re also very knowledgeable about app development.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could be more detailed in their questioning.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you work with them, you’ll get good results.  

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of a company that builds software for the commercial real estate sector.

What challenge were you trying to address with ManekTech?

We engaged ManekTech to build a website with custom functionality.

What was the scope of their involvement?

ManekTech designed and developed our website from scratch based on feedback and examples of other sites we shared with their team, using Javascript, PHP, and WordPress plugins. They created some custom code and plugins as needed.

They've also built multiple websites for other groups I'm affiliated with. In one instance, they created a thorough how-to document to help a client work around their WordPress admin tool.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three to four people, including a project manager.

How did you come to work with ManekTech?

Someone on my IT team recommended them to me. After meeting with them, I felt they'd be a good fit and be able to meet the standards of quality we were looking for.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $8,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2017 and just wrapped up our most recent project in June 2018.

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

ManekTech provides very high quality web development services. I continue to go back to them for project after project and recommend them to others for that reason.

How did ManekTech perform from a project management standpoint?

They provided updates as frequently as we requested and were great about catering to our needs overall.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They make sure their clients are thoroughly satisfied, often going above and beyond what is required of them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It's helpful to walk in the shoes of the end user to help guide the way you develop or change the final product. ManekTech is pretty good at providing feedback, but, just as with any other vendor, I think there's always room for improvement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be thorough and provide as much information as possible to help their team develop additional ideas and recommendations for you.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of a venture capital focused company. We build small companies using our own software programs and offer services to entrepreneurs and startups.

What challenge were you trying to address with Manektech?

We have wanted to build a platform that enables those who want to start their own businesses the opportunity to ask questions to other professionals, such as lawyers, programmers and accountants. This application is planned to be available to colleges, universities and the general population and has needed payment integration for certain upgraded services.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They have been using PHP code to build the web-based platform completely from scratch. This was one of our company’s first projects, and I myself am not very familiar with the design and programming process. I explained my ideas to them via Skype and they came back to me with designs; after some adjustments, they executed improvements.

What is the team composition?

I worked with a business manager, a project manager and some programmers, all of whom I could reach directly.

How did you come to work with Manektech?

I was approached by one of their business managers; while I usually do not consider unfamiliar emails, their respectful and professional approach made me feel comfortable enough to start a conversation with them and, ultimately, choose to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

I have invested around $12,000 total.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in March of 2017; since then, we have also begun a few other projects with Manektech. The professional relationship is ongoing.

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

While the platform has yet to launch, we are satisfied that our expectations have been met thus far.

How did Manektech perform from a project management standpoint?

They were really well structured. Despite a 12-hour time difference, communication via Skype and email has been smooth. I know exactly who to contact for questions that I have.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They offer 24/7 communication services; I most appreciate their thorough and expedited response times.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They are not perfect, but I’m not sure if there is anything I would change regarding the project management or the product.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I admired that they were both hands on and not too pushy. I would advise potential customers to make sure they put in a good amount of effort.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are one of the largest providers of quality control services for the motion picture television industry. I am the chief technology officer.

What challenge were you trying to address with ManekTech?

I generally engage with them for frontend development tasks and WordPress space development tasks.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve already worked with them three or four times in the past. For this project, they did all the frontend work for our website. We had the initial mockups transitioned into a dynamic WordPress site. Across our various projects, the technologies they used ranged from PHP, HTML, CSS, Javascript, and JQuery work. 

What is the team composition?

I’ve known one of the founders for a long time and I generally work with them directly.

How did you come to work with ManekTech?

I’ve used them for a number of projects both here and prior to me joining this company. So I've had a fairly long relationship with them. They are generally my go to team for certain types of projects. I knew that they could do this project efficiently and at a good price point, therefore, I wanted to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested less than $10,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

This particular engagement went from June 2016 – December 2017.

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

I can’t really quantify that but for the type of work that I employ them to do, they've been excellent. I've never had a complaint.

How did ManekTech perform from a project management standpoint?

They've been reasonably solid. The only reason I hesitate is because most of these projects are relatively simple in scope. The amount of project management involved is minimal. I work with my designers and we come up with some design that they need to transform into code. So there's not that much project management to be done. But the little we've had has been solid. They always meet deadlines and they're always around to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They deliver really high quality work at a very reasonable price point. That's a rare combination.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You definitely want to have somebody local who has an understanding of the technology that you're sourcing to the vendor. They should be able to ascertain whether or not the quality of work is up to par and where it should be.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of operations for a digital agency. We primarily do e-commerce web development by working with Shopify.

What challenge were you trying to address with ManekTech?

Our in-house development team was working over capacity, so we needed to outsource several development projects to ensure timely deliveries.

What was the scope of their involvement?

ManekTech has completed two projects for us and is currently finalizing two more. The completed projects include a Shopify build and WordPress development, respectively. The projects nearing completion are both WordPress builds. One of the WordPress developments is a particularly complex database project. It involves an interface that enables the user to create a business profile and then add product listings. Users can amend their listings and also review other business profiles on the platform.

What is the team composition?

We’ve only interacted with their owner and an assigned project manager. They coordinate with the developers separate from us.

How did you come to work with ManekTech?

We received a marketing email from them. Once we started actively seeking a vendor, we researched ManekTech and were impressed with what we found. They could handle our work capacity and had positive reviews.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $6,000–$8,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2017 and the engagement is ongoing.

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

We don’t track any definitive metrics that could demonstrate the quality of their deliverables. However, we’ve generally been impressed with their work and look forward to using them again.

How did ManekTech perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve appreciated ManekTech’s management skills from the start of the engagement. They communicate well, send regular updates, efficiently define scope, and produce work within designated timelines. The last couple of projects have presented more significant challenges, but they’ve still performed adequately. They initially used Jira as a project management tool, but have since switched to Wrike. We also frequently meet with their project manager via Skype.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Having one person to interact with throughout each project has been great. The daily/weekly updates have been beneficial.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their turnaround speed in the testing and QA stage of development could be improved.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As with any international team, there’s a bit of a language barrier and a time zone difference that takes some effort to work around. Provide them with a clear and concise initial project briefing to ensure a quick start and an on-time delivery.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My company is called Dynamic Networking Solutions. We’re an IT provider for companies with 20-30 users/employees.

What challenge were you trying to address with ManekTech?

We were looking for an outside partner to manage web services for our clients. We used to oversee web design and development in-house, but it became too time consuming.

What was the scope of their involvement?

ManekTech has taken over on all web services that we manage for our clients, which include hosting, design, development, and support. I work with my clients to get a full understanding of what they’re looking to accomplish and liaise with the ManekTech team, who then goes on to build the site to the client’s specifications. Sometimes the requirements are very specific, and sometimes I’m able to give them creative freedom in building the site. In all circumstances, it’s worked out very well. The technologies they implement are largely dependent on the specific project. They’ve done database-driven sites and more aesthetically focused sites alike, and they consistently manage to exceed my expectations around planning out the design and implementing the appropriate features. They work proactively and brainstorm relevant features without breaking the budget. They also make small changes/updates to several sites on a regular basis.

A recent project involved a client that was creating a site that facilitates apartment searches. It has an interactive map and a variety of search filters like location, price, and layout. ManekTech makes real-time adjustments when apartments go on and off the market.

What is the team composition?

I have about four different project managers that I work with regularly. I occasionally get questions from their team members, and there are about six-to-eight that I recall working with.

How did you come to work with ManekTech?

I don’t recall exactly how we got together, but I remember being a bit apprehensive about working with an offshore firm. They initially set up a FaceTime call to tour their office and meet their staff face-to-face, which quickly put me at ease. They’ve been a great partner ever since.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $6,000-$8,000 across several projects.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2017, and the engagement is ongoing. There a few sites that require weekly changes.

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

Clients have been happy with the end products across the board. Their prices are very reasonable and I can trust them to do every job right the first time.

How did ManekTech perform from a project management standpoint?

Their oversight has been more effective than almost any vendor I’ve ever dealt with. They reach out daily, and they’re always upfront and transparent around potential delays. We primarily communicate via email and Skype.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re always eager to go above and beyond the requirements that I provide. They work quickly and efficiently to create sites that exceed expectations. Their communication, work ethic, and commitment to the projects they take on set them apart from other vendors.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It took a while for them to put me at ease in working with an offshore firm in such an overarching long-term capacity, but I’m glad I decided to work with them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the co-founders of a product design consultancy. We develop a wide range of products from physical, manufactured goods and consumer electronics to digital products and software.

What challenge were you trying to address with ManekTech?

When we’re helping clients facilitate web and app development, we’re always looking for ways to keep quality up but still offer them reduced cost options.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve done three projects with them. Two were pretty straightforward informational websites, but the third was a mobile app that was a little more complicated. The websites were built on WordPress and the app was done in native iOS, with a PHP database. They used a simple web form to administrate the database so we didn’t have to go in there and edit it line by line at all.

What is the team composition?

For the website projects, we worked with just one developer, but we had a team of three or four people working on the app. We had project managers too, but we often talked with the lead developer.

How did you come to work with ManekTech?

We were vetting overseas development houses and their communication was really good, so we thought we’d give them a try. After we had a very good experiencethe first time around, we continued to engage them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $30,000 in total, with $20,000 going into the app.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from 2013 until 2017.

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

In all of our projects, we’ve had very little need for follow-up. It’s almost inevitable that – when you’re creating software – you’ll find some bugs after a few years that you didn’t catch during the QA process, but we’ve had very little of that with them.

How did ManekTech perform from a project management standpoint?

We mostly communicated by email and phone because none of our schedules were complicated enough to warrant more intensive project management tools. Their communication skills are really good and they’ve met their deadlines. They’re very easy to work with and are receptive to critical feedback of their work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Whenever you’re working with overseas development shops, the communication issue is so critical. Often, you don’t hear back for two days, and when you do, the answer is incomplete or confusing. There’s been none of that with ManekTech. They respond quickly and seem to always understand what we’re asking. Their project managers are always really good and on top of everything.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’s always hard to trust someone to do something that you’ve never seen them do before, so it’s important for them to communicate their latest work and share their experience.

Any advice for potential customers?

It’s probably true about any overseas vendor, that you need to be really direct, and they’re no exception. It’s not about pleasantries or mincing words. It’s about saying very clearly what you want out of the engagement, what the criteria of a successful outcome is, and making sure that they understand what your budget and time constraints are.