Mediacurrent

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a project manager for an online resource for high-school students to find colleges and scholarships.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Duo Consulting?

We hired Duo Consulting to help us move part of our website to a Drupal CMS and rebuild the platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They rebuilt our entire frontend from scratch. Our platform was originally a custom-built Java application, and they moved it to a Drupal CMS. For the designs, we hired an outside team and provided the materials to Duo Consulting to utilize.

What is the team composition?

They provide a team of around 10 people, including a project manager who serves as our main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Duo Consulting?

We searched online for Chicago-based firms with experience in Drupal and picked them for the project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $500,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since February 2018 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t have any quantitative metrics, but they’ve fully met our expectations. All of our deadlines have been adhered to and they’re helping us achieve our goal.

How did Duo Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve kept on top of every part of the development and maintain a solid pace for the project. We have phone calls multiple times a week and communicate daily using Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their organization skills and high-quality team make them stand out from other vendors. We value that they provide a team of senior developers because it makes them easy to work with. We couldn’t be happier with the work they do for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing they could be doing better for us.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I highly recommend working with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of digital marketing and marketing technology at a pet insurance and InsurTech company. Customers use our website to learn, compare, and purchase our pet insurance product, and they use our mobile application to manage the life of their pet.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Duo Consulting, Inc.?

We had a beautifully-designed website, but hadn’t given significant thought to scalability, SEO, or site administration. And with regard to support and development, it blurred the line between an e-commerce and marketing site. Our team hired a third-party SEO agency, but also required an experienced development partner. As the latter, Duo Consulting needed to tweak the admin side and leverage expertise around hosting and the customer experience to maximize site performance.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team created Flex pages for our Drupal site by developing customized components, giving us the ability to place the components (tiles) on a newly created page. While the Drupal site already existed, pages were highly customized and virtually inaccessible by the admin. So, the team restored admin control to a CMS. Recently, we relaunched the site with a new home page, new page design, and a new brand. During this process, Duo Consulting, Inc. worked with our SEO vendor to ensure that development complemented keyword optimization efforts.

What is the team composition?

We interact with a main point of contact, about three developers, as well as UI/UX resources for specific tasks.

How did you come to work with Duo Consulting, Inc.?

When I came onboard, the company had recently ended its relationship with the original development team. We used an overseas contractor for specific tasks but needed a consulting firm for long-term site and hosting management. After reviewing options, we narrowed the search to two local companies, which included Duo Consulting, Inc. We selected them due to their development experience and capacity to provide white-glove hosting. In addition to development support, we hired the team as a hosting partner to interact directly with the hosting company. 

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we've spent between $50,000–$200,000.

 What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in November 2016 and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Duo Consulting, Inc. not only demonstrated expertise with the Flex pages but also implemented them on time and budget.

As a customer experience-focused company, site performance is paramount. Analytics showed that customers used the site in different ways—initiating quotes from their desktop and ultimately purchasing policies from their mobile device. That insight enabled us to make changes to both the website and purchase process. To continue to optimize the site, we worked with the Duo team to improve site performance. The project is currently in progress, and we have already seen improvement from their work.

How did Duo Consulting, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

We enjoy working with their expert and responsive team. They resolve issues in a timely manner, which keeps the partnership dynamic.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are not afraid to push back when they don’t agree with our vision. While we are receptive to their expertise, we occasionally want to push our vision forward. In those instances, the team identifies solutions that allow us to stay true to our brand while maintaining optimal site performance.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m pleased with the work they’ve performed to help us scale our website.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Hire Duo Consulting, Inc. because their range of expertise is unmatched. It’s easy to find a development company that specializes in one aspect, but this team has a versatile skill set and excels at site performance. However, they aren’t necessarily a design agency; customers seeking design only may want to hire another company that specializes. Also, they’re very responsive to trouble tickets, but I recommend initiating a support contract for ongoing services.

BACKGROUND

Could you describe your organization?

Our organization is called Freeborn & Peters, which is a law firm based in Chicago with a very broad range of capabilities, mostly on the civil side.

What is your position?

I’m the chief marketing officer. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges you were attempting to address when you initiated the relationship with Duo Consulting?

We had a very old and inflexible website based on an obsolete content management system. We were looking for a new system that was going to be easier for us to maintain, allow a broader range of media types, and have a more sophisticated look and feel to it. 

SOLUTION

Could you describe the rationale behind your selection of Drupal compared to its competitor products?

There were two main reasons behind the decision. One, it’s an open source solution, but I had a great deal of confidence it was a very well-supported system. I didn’t think we’d be losing anything in terms of relevant capabilities. Secondly, because it was open source rather than proprietary, we knew we could get support from numerous places in the event that our relationship with Duo Consulting didn’t work out. 

Could you describe the scope of this project? 

They took a rough design and applied a theme to it. Much of the design work, at least cosmetically or aesthetically, was done by someone else. They built the backend functionality from scratch and implemented the entire website from that point forward. There was considerable data prep work involved and information architecture, too. They were also responsible for testing the system and making slight adjustments to our performance standards. They continue to provide ongoing support. 

How did you select Duo Consulting as your solution partner for this endeavor? 

It was a combination of two things. We had distributed our RFP [request for proposal] to several potential vendors that we felt could implement our solution and rebuild our website. Duo was one of these potential vendors. We were familiar with Duo because they had worked with us in the past on unrelated projects. We knew they had experience working with clients in the legal industry, and that was a significant factor in our decision to give them our work. Outside of that, we were confident that they had the expertise to take us through the deployment process in an effective and professional manner. 

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

The implementation cost approximately $100,000. 

When was your new website launched?

It went live in March of 2013. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or anecdotal feedback that would demonstrate the effectiveness of the work they’ve delivered?

We’ve seen an eightfold increase in the number of businesses and prospects visiting our site. In addition, we now have the ability to track and monitor the progress and effectiveness of our digital marketing campaigns. This has allowed us to streamline and simplify our marketing initiatives. 

When working with Duo Consulting, is there anything you would consider special or unique about their approach or methodology that distinguishes them from other vendors you’ve worked with in the past?

I was incredibly impressed with their project management approach as well as the strength and leadership of the project managers. Their leadership was extremely diligent and well organized. They remained calm under pressure and offered a number of keen insights throughout the process. The firm responsible for the visual design wasn’t nearly as effective or responsive as Duo Consulting, but the Duo project managers were able to corral them and keep them on track, which was fantastic. 

In retrospect, are there areas you think that they could improve upon, or are there things you’d do differently as the client before initiating a project with Duo Consulting?

I’d give them more responsibility than I had because I think they did a much better job than the other firm we were working with. Working with vendors in the IT space can be hit or miss, and this project really highlighted the fact that some firms have a very holistic approach, and some simply don’t. 

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your organization?

I work for a leading business and financial news provider. We have a global presence and have more than 10,000 employees worldwide. 

What is your position?

I’m a social media program manager. I’m responsible for managing our proprietary online community.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges you were attempting to address when you initiated the relationship with Duo Consulting?

We wanted to build our own proprietary community around business financial news and information. It would enable us to have closer contact and engagement with some of our clients. We wanted to use the power of our brand to establish a safe platform for business professionals to have deeper conversations around their topics of interest.

SOLUTION

What was the rationale behind selecting Drupal compared to its competitor solutions?

There were several platforms that were evaluated, including Lithium and Jive. The decision was a combination of Drupal being an open source platform, and also the size and stature of the community that contributes to it. We have the ability to select from a wide range of custom modules that are either core modules or contributed modules. Selecting Drupal would allow us to meet our business goals and technical requirements without the need to spend all of our time developing custom functionality.

How did you select Duo Consulting as your solution partner for this endeavor?

It was actually through a reference from a consultant that we were working with. This particular consultant helped our executive team evaluate different platforms. When Drupal was selected as the preferred solution, he then suggested several leading agencies to work with. Duo being one of them. Once we interfaced with Duo, we realized that they would be a great fit. We were very impressed with their capabilities.

Could you describe the scope of this project? For instance, did it involve custom visual design, backend development, systems integration, training, or support?

We really gave them responsibility for everything. They designed and developed the platform under our supervision, but they were the ones in the trenches. They collected and prepared all of our backend data before migrating it to the Drupal platform. They organized and architected the backend, and integrated it with several of our third-party services and systems. They conducted all of the UI/UX and A/B testing before our soft launch, and then customized some of our social integration functionality. There was also some considerable training involved in order to get our staff up to speed and comfortable with administrating the backend of the site. We have a retainer with them for ongoing support and one-off modifications.

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

Last year, we spent almost $450,000. We expect to spend roughly the same amount this year with Duo.

When was the site launched?

The first launch that I worked on occurred in April of last year [2013]. The version that we’re working on now is version 3, and we plan to launch it in the summer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the effectiveness of the work they’ve delivered?

I can’t share any site metrics with you because we prefer not to make them publicly available.

When working with Duo Consulting, is there anything you would consider unique or special about their approach, methodology or services that distinguishes them from other vendors you’ve worked with?

They’ve been a fantastic partner. I have a dedicated account manager who I speak with daily and sometimes several times a day. Other vendors we’ve worked with haven’t been so accessible. They’re excellent at sitting down with you and strategizing the project down to the tiniest details. They’re extremely proficient thought partners in that respect. I find that they’re really easy to work with, too.

Do you remain confident that the Drupal content management system will continue to meet your business needs into the foreseeable future?

Yes. We spend a lot of time ensuring that the solution we went with would be the correct choice. A lot of due diligence was put into the decision-making process. Thus far, we’ve been very pleased with the system.

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your organization?

I work for an international CPA Firm. Domestically, we have 52 offices and about 3,500 to 4,000 employees. The group I represent inside the firm is the Alliance Program. That’s what our relationship with Duo was for: To develop a portal that we offer for our Alliance organization members.

What is your position?

I’m a director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges you were attempting to address when you initiated the relationship with Duo Consulting?

Internally, we had a SharePoint portal that we used for our Alliance members to convey information to them. Unfortunately, it was inside our firewall, which made it very difficult for us to do a lot of things, and the SharePoint site was not user friendly. We reviewed a number of different development tools and platforms to move our portal to. The Drupal platform was the one that came out, the highest-rated solution of all the ones we looked at.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of the project?

Duo was involved throughout the entire process. We approached them with our conceptual design and their team reviewed it for viability. Once we agreed on the scope and the deployment strategy, they began their work. They handled the custom design work under our direct supervision, and then built the site from the ground up. A lot of what we needed was included in the core modules, which was relatively simple to implement. They also created some custom functionality for us and stress tested our system before the site went live. We still use them for ongoing support and case-by-case modifications and enhancements.

What was the rationale behind selecting the Drupal compared to its competitor solutions?

We had a fairly extensive list of requirements that needed to be fulfilled. Some of our selection criteria were the availability of custom modules, the overall cost of the solution itself, maintaining the product, and the acceptance in the market.

How did you select Duo Consulting as your solution partner?

We developed the requirements and submitted them to seven or eight Drupal developers across the country. We invited the people that produced research and had sponsored DrupalCon, because we wanted a partner that was invested heavily in the Drupal community, and had a deep expertise with the platform. We submitted the proposals to all of them and interviewed the top three candidates that we felt met the requirements. Duo Consulting seemed to be the best fit throughout the process.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative?

The initial cost was between $250,000 and $350,000. We’ve done a lot of work since then. We’re in the process of updating the UI [universal interface] now and upgrading to Drupal 7, so we’re probably going to spend another couple of hundred thousand dollars in the near future.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or anecdotal feedback that would demonstrate the effectiveness of the work they’ve delivered?

It’s difficult to give you specifics. The problem is, on the SharePoint side, we really didn’t track usage statistics. We knew the number of logins but, overall, it was a completely redesigned process. One of our goals was to eliminate email communications as the primary source of conveying information to our Alliance members. The portal was designed to be much more intuitive and user centric. We have a lot of content, but you could select the content that you were interested in following, if you will. To that end, it was very successful. We now have upward of 11,500 participants in the portal. Our previous site probably had closer to 3,000, and the statistics now show there’s a lot more activity on the portal than we ever had before.  

When working with Duo Consulting, is there anything you would consider special or unique about their approach, methodology or services that distinguishes them from other vendors you’ve worked with?

Their process is extremely thorough. They take a very methodical approach to design and development. Each stage is approached with extreme care and attention to detail, and their documentation practices are quite fantastic.

In retrospect, are there areas you think they could improve upon as a service provider, or are there things you’d do differently as the client before initiating this type of project with them?

I honestly can’t think of anything. It was a very successful engagement. It was certainly what we had hoped for and probably more.

Do you remain confident that the Drupal CMS will continue to meet your business needs into the foreseeable future?

That was one of our key decisions in looking at historically where Drupal had been, when we looked at where 7 was at that time and where 8 is now. We knew that each consecutive version would bring enhanced functionality, but that the previous versions could also be sustained for quite some time even after a new release. That was important for us because this was a very large investment, and we expect to get a lot out of the system.