Metal Toad

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the VP of Digital Strategy at a Membership and Awards Media business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Metal Toad, and what were your goals?

We were looking for a vendor that could handle both web development and development operations to replace our current team. Their core responsibility was to support an older CMS platform while I had a second vendor work on a next-generation CMS. Due to their great performance on the old CMS, we offered them to take over the larger and newer technology CMS and become our long-term vendor for all web development projects.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

They were already known to our management group when I came onboard. They were being used as outside specialists specifically for the Awards Show as they do have experience working on a variety of other Award shows.

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

Project 1 consisted of:

• CMS & Operational Support
• Handling the day-to-day development on an older CMS
• Handle the day-to-day DevOps in AWS
• Help reduce my costs on a bloated infrastructure
• Side Projects related to web development

Project 2 consisted of:

• Web Development Vendor on Record
• Handling the day-to-day development on new CMS
• Handle the day-to-day DevOps in the new infrastructure
• Handling the day-to-day development of multiple multi-language domains
• Completely rebuild and/or provide resources for new technology functionality and tech stacks

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

I will not provide exact numbers of people or their titles but here are the various positions provided by Metal Toad:

• Software Engineers
• Web Developers
• Product Managers
• QA Engineers
• System Architect
• Project Managers
• Business Solutions Architect

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It was important that Metal Toad could show us that they could quickly learn a much newer technology than what they have been supporting. Without their dedication to that #1 requirement, they could not have won my business and their position as a preferred vendor could not have happened.

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

Mostly Agile/Scrum methodology, adjusted to the needs of our business. Standups, Recaps, and typical communication tools were used for communication and process.

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

As we all know hiring can be hit or miss no matter how the resume read or the interview went, so from my perspective they have done an excellent job of hiring talent and managing issues when a hire doesn't fit our needs. Their CEO and our Account Manager have also worked with us directly and in detail on our needs and helped us to set expectations. I don't have to worry about them selling us more services or things we don't need just to make a buck.

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

Many years ago and before any of the current in-house and Metal Toad staff were in place, Metal Toad had provided development resources for a time and it did not go well. I spent time discussing this with them and they were able to address the specific reason why things had gone poorly. While a variety of the issue was probably on both sides the main issue concerning Metal Toad was resolved and that conversation helped me make the decision to go with a long-term contract and chose Metal Toad as our web development vendor.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of GeniusVets, a digital marketing platform in the veterinary industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Metal Toad?

We needed someone to provide us with custom software development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We brought in Metal Toad to develop a custom platform for the US market. We started with a discovery phase where we discussed the project’s objectives, budget, and the software’s functionalities.

Once that was done, they started developing the MVP where they implemented Amazon AI and ML framework.

We’re currently still making improvements to the product.

What is the team composition?

Our main points of contact are the account executive, engineer, and founder.

How did you come to work with Metal Toad?

I came across Metal Toad through their founder.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested somewhere between $50,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in November 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product hasn’t been launched yet, but we’re happy with their work so far.

How did Metal Toad perform from a project management standpoint?

They perform well as they do a great job of adhering to our schedule, progress updates, and quality of the product.

We typically communicate through Slack and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What makes them stand out over other development shops is their ability to understand the business case and the goal they’re building towards.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they need to improve on as they’ve done a very good job so far.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I don’t have any specific advice, but I highly recommend working with Metal Toad for your software development needs.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I lead the Brand, Marketing and Communications effort for a global health and technology consulting company with 1,900 employees and over 600 clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Metal Toad, and what were your goals?

I was new to the organization and asked to re-fresh the brand within 4 months. With our website playing a critical role in the effort, we brought on Metal Toad to help us implement a facelift. Improved look/feel, intuitive navigation, and an overhaul of key pages. We wanted to achieve an overall better user experience/impression and position us as a global company.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We had a consultant develop a short-list of candidates. We were looking for a team who had Hubspot experience and a positive track record with website implementation. In addition to capability, we were also on a very tight timeline and needed quick availability of the right resources and assurances that our deadline could be met.

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

We were working closely with a creative agency who led the wireframe design of pages and related project planning. We had a kick-off meeting with both agencies to review planning, process and timing. The agency would complete wireframes, we would review and Metal Toad would build out. There we a few rounds of review; when the page was built out and after the page went live.

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

We are working with:

• A project manager
• US developer
• Brazil Developer
• Senior Engineer
• QA Engineer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After the launch of our site, we have received increased traffic and very positive feedback regarding the design and ease of use of our site. People have a better understanding of our capability as well we are a global organization.

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

We had a lot of learning when we first started across the board as all parties were new to the effort. I was new, our creative agency was new and we had never worked together with Metal Toad. We made adjustments along the way to create efficiencies. Right before launch, our creative agency was meeting with Metal Toad twice a day and with us at least once a day. We were working across different time zones so created a schedule that kept everything moving.

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

Metal Toad is a very solution oriented organization as well they pro-actively point out areas to focus on for improvement. The people are great to work with.

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

We did a de-brief after each stage of our effort and Metal Toad was quick to course correct anything that could be improved.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We develop, engineer and manufacture off-road vehicle accessories.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Metal Toad?

We wanted to develop a solution that would allow users the ability to control their winch using an app on their phone. We knew we had the ability to develop the hardware but had no experience developing a phone application.

We initially brought Metal Toad on to develop a proof of concept, which later turned into a full software development project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We knew what we were looking for in terms of software deliverables and, throughout the course of the engagement, worked with Metal Toad to develop a solution to meet those.

The team managed the software development resources and communicated with us on a regular cadence to ensure priorities were aligned. They also helped conduct user research and distilled the results.

What is the team composition?

They had two developers on staff who ended up leaving Metal Toad partway through the project. Throughout the project, we engaged with five different developers, as well as a product manager, a project manager, a UI/UX designer, and a QA engineer. Their involvement was adjusted depending on our needs.

How did you come to work with Metal Toad?

We were quoting the project to development agencies in the area. We decided on them because of their upfront enthusiasm, rich UI/UX experience, and their willingness to help scope even with no promise of business. At the time, they pitched themselves as a “digital solutions provider”.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $200,000–$999,999.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from February 2019–June 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are about to launch our initial software package next month. We were very satisfied with the work we got from Metal Toad during our first contracts. During the last contract, they became less responsive. They ultimately delivered per the contract, but not without some delays.

How did Metal Toad perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project manager is fantastic and goes above and beyond to get the job done. Their product manager is very good at finding a balance between priorities and resource availability. '

As mentioned, there was frustration due to their lack of responsiveness during the last contract. Also, perhaps it’s our unfamiliarity with the software world, but there was developer turnover throughout the course of our contracts.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What initially drove us to pick them was their enthusiasm towards and overall interest in our project. It’s clear that from a technical management standpoint, they are very sharp and know how to execute their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was employee turnover during this project. Right now, there’s not a single member on the Metal Toad team who was there when the project first kicked off. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ensure your project goals align with Metal Toad’s core competencies.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a group of thrift stores in the US, Canada, and Australia.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Metal Toad?

We needed to build our main website for our employees and customers to learn about us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Basically, Metal Toad helped us create our branded website. Their team built the platform using Drupal and AWS.

Their team manages and updates our website. Before it’s sent to production, I QA all of their work. Their team's currently working to redesign our website.

What is the team composition?

About eight people from Metal Toad have worked on this project.  

How did you come to work with Metal Toad?

We worked with a creative design agency that recommended Metal Toad.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $300,000 a year on their services, but I could be wrong.

What is the status of this engagement?

This was before my time at the company, but the partnership began around April 2014 and it's ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

To speed up our support, they reached out to another agency with more Drupal expertise. That was good.

There have been times when we deployed and products didn’t work properly. In those cases, it's all hands on deck and their team gets us running again. 

How did Metal Toad perform from a project management standpoint?

We meet weekly and review all of the open tickets, which their team tracks in JIRA. I’m informed on timelines and progress. If I send an e-mail or call, they quickly get back to me. They’re responsive and flexible, making changes based on our needs. When we almost hit the limit of our hours, they let us know and offer opportunities to extend or rollover.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re responsive. If there’s an issue, their team fixes it right away. They inform us of any issues and ask how we want to proceed. We appreciate their constant communication.

Are there any areas they could improve?

At our company, we don’t like sales-talk. Any type of sales pitch turns us off.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Provide them with documentation and know what you want upfront. If you give them detailed examples of what you like, they can make it. The project won’t be as successful if you enter into the relationship not knowing what you want.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Director of Digital Marketing for DC, managing our portfolio of websites and apps that support the DC Comics publishing business as well as all DC touchpoints across Warner Bros (movies, TV, games, consumer products).

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Metal Toad?

Metal Toad currently handles our website hosting. They previously managed our website development needs as well, but this changed once MT made the decision to discontinue their Drupal development teams (our site is built on Drupal.)

What were your goals for this project?

Website stability, uptime and efficient and timely technical support as needed.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Metal Toad was already on board when I joined DC in 2016. I was not part of the selection process and I do not believe anyone that was part of that is still with DC.

Describe the project in detail.

Website hosting and deployment flow on AWS CloudFront.

What was the team composition?

Currently, we have an acct director, engineering manager and cloud engineers. Previously, when MT was handling our development work as well, we had project managers and dev resources as well.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a very strong uptime and MT is always quick to respond to any requests.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Workflow has been very effective.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The team has always been knowledgeable and quick to resolve any problems that arise.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None that I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the General Manager of Sun City West, a 501-C(4) non-profit planned retirement community with over 29,000 residents known as the nations premier active adult golf retirement community.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Metal Toad?

Our Association was seeking some insight and improvements with information technology as it relates to streamlining our membership services operation related to monthly billings, registration procedures, guest services etc.

What were your goals for this project?

Adapting newer technology with our existing operational system to enhance both external and internal ease of service.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We developed a scope of service and solicited responses to commercial vendors in the information technology consulting services arena. The qualifications, background and references provided assisted with our selection decision.

Describe the project in detail.

Review all processes of the department, from software and documentation, to cross-training and hours of operation, including both automated and manual processes. Identify unnecessary/necessary processes and workload. The end result will be a recommendation for improvements to department organization, processes, software usage, reporting, flow-through to other departments and other areas that will improve the customer (member) and user (employee) experience. o Evaluate & Recommend: Ongoing training/Cross training currently occurring and recommended o Learn: How membership understands their processes and expected outcomes, including integrated software processes, and make training recommendations o Identify: Any system deficiencies and workarounds that are currently being utilized, and ensure IT is aware of these workarounds and the reasons behind them and the outcomes caused by them o Recommend: Organizational/assignment changes to ensure more than one person is able to perform a task so the work can continue in that person’s absence. o Change: Define and recommended Process Management for suggested changes o Evaluate: Communication patterns, both formal and informal, and make suggestions for improvement o Understand: Nuances of integrated software, and set realistic expectations of its functionality, change requests, documentation, etc.

What was the team composition?

Jonathan Mills Account Executive, Los Angeles Dave Bellous Product Manager, Los Angeles

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Learning and understanding the current processes of the subject department, and understanding how those processes affect other departments was critical when suggesting improvements in processes, training, and documentation. The streamlining allowed us to effectively reorganize the department, saving both time and financial resources which enabled us to expand our abilities without the need for additional staff.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The team blended in very well and became very familiar with the interactive nature of the entire process we were hoping to have assessed and enhanced.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The ability to communicate, listen and learn what was needed in a very short period of time. Once discovery and assessment was finalized, the ease of implementation and buy-in by staff was amazing. Their ability to communicate their findings to a governing board was done in an extremely professional manner securing the funds needed for implementation.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is always room for improvement but in this case I find it rather difficult to document much need. The summary presentation of their work was slowed and interrupted by the current Covid pandemic but otherwise, they provided excellent service.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m in charge of consumer data management at Sony Pictures Entertainment. I work with all of the various businesses in the organization. My role is to better utilize, access, and keep our consumer data within legal and privacy bounds as well as make it more useful for the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Metal Toad?

Metal Toad hosted one of our business’s data, so we didn’t have the data housed internally. Our challenge was that we didn’t have access to the data and wanted to bring it in-house for internal analysis rather than depend on external vendors. We also wanted to bring the data into a separate warehouse to grow and build upon the data for analysis purposes.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In the beginning, their team provided input on what would be the most helpful data for our purposes. They performed a simple data analysis and explained the data that would be most useful at a consumer usage level. Their team transferred the data in flat-files based on a specific layout that we worked on together.

What is the team composition?

Most recently, we worked with 2–3 people from Metal Toad. Their team included an account person and a technical person.

How did you come to work with Metal Toad?

We talked with the business inside Sony Pictures Entertainment and asked where their data was housed. They informed us that Metal Toad was managing it locally.

How much have you invested with them?

On the projects, we spent about $46,000 combined.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our most recent project started in January 2020, and we’re about to wrap it up. We also worked together on a project the year prior, beginning in November 2019 and ending in June 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their team provided what we needed. At times, there were challenges with the accuracy of the agreed-upon information. Overall, they delivered on what was promised.  

How did Metal Toad perform from a project management standpoint?

It was easy to work with them. They understood what we wanted to accomplish, which was good.

During our initial project, they responded quickly. That’s what we expected from them going into this engagement.

However, they were slow to respond at times. There would be two days that passed before we got a response from them. Other days, their team responded within 24 hours.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a proficient team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their turnaround time and response rate were slower than we would’ve liked. When we communicated with them, it would've been great to have them confirm what they heard to avoid any confusion. An SLA about expectations for responses would be great too. This way, expectations are clear upfront.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to document what’s asked of them and confirm your expectations with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and managing director of a boutique digital marketing and branding firm called Blue Collar Agency. We primarily work with clients in the verticals of CPG, consumer electronics, travel and tourism, health care, and sports and recreation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Metal Toad?

We initially partnered with Metal Toad to support a project for one of our clients. While the client had a website, they also had a new marketing director in place who planned to clean slate their entire marketing platform. The website was too corporate, and the marketing director wanted to bring more life to their brand and website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Metal Toad developed a Drupal website for our client from scratch. We created a new brand narrative, which informed their team’s development. They wrote all of the code.

Since then, we’ve worked on several more Drupal-based projects together. We handled all of the UX, design, and creative elements including source content, images, and video. Their team handled all of the frontend and backend development as well as QA. They also worked on collaborating with the host.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager, a technical director, and a development team that was behind the scenes. I would estimate that a total of 10 people worked on our first project. However, we mostly communicated with the technical lead and project manager.

How did you come to work with Metal Toad?

We’re located in the same city, Portland, and they came highly recommended, particularly for Drupal projects. We wanted to use Drupal as a CMS and zeroed in on a few shops. After a few meetings with Metal Toad, they became the obvious choice.

How much have you invested with them?

For the first project, we spent between $60,000–$80,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We found Metal Toad about September 2011, and the first engagement ran for about six months. It was a big project. We entered into maintenance mode around June 2012.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The initial project was highly successful. Our client gave the overall project an ‘A,’ and the platform won awards in Portland. We were also proud of the work.

As far as the technical side of the project, it was seamless. They tailored the platform to our client's needs.

We bring a contemporary edge to design, following UX best practices. Our designs don't follow out of the box templates or extensions.

Our approach pushed Metal Toad to create a platform that stands out in the industry. The approach can also create technical problems, but we didn’t encounter. The website was stable.

How did Metal Toad perform from a project management standpoint?

We had a weekly internal status meeting and a weekly external status meeting. Once a month, we popped into their office to work through the project. Our teams dovetailed well.

Their project manager hit his deadlines and showed up to meetings on time. He was also able to translate tech talk so that a marketing person could understand.

There wasn’t a lot of flexibility with change orders, which was expected. Whereas agencies may be more flexible, Metal Toad focuses on detailed scope descriptions and sticks to them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Metal Toad’s a high-end development team. Their team helped to think through the best approach to build a complicated CMS model. They were also able to execute on the entire project, touching frontend, backend, and data exchange to support a complex web platform.

They're like a Porsche. While they could handle it, I wouldn’t ask them to work on a WordPress development project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

To be honest, nothing comes to mind. The next time that we negotiate a scope section with them, I would want to work flexibility into our agreement to roll out without having to get into rounds of change orders.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Properly vet any biases development agencies may have towards certain languages or CMS platforms. For example, if you need Magento and a development agency suggests a different platform, question their suggestions. Pick a solution and then pick a shop that aligns with your needs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of technology for Wheel of Fortune, which is under Sony Pictures Entertainment.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Metal Toad?

About seven years ago, our company built our website from scratch, so it was a homegrown system. The platform's code was old and wasn’t as robust as I wanted it to be. We wanted to move to the latest, upgraded version of our platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Metal Toad updated our website and continues to maintain the platform. Their team upgraded the system to AWS and managed a Salesforce integration.

Our platform receives high amounts of traffic within short periods of time because we have a lot of sweepstakes and giveaways. Their team maintains the frontend application and the cloud, which they scale up during these high traffic periods.

Currently, their team’s replatforming the website to Acquia CMS. They’re helping with the data migration.

What is the team composition?

We work with 7–10 people from Metal Toad including product and project managers as well as CloudOps, QA, and development teammates. We also work with their CTO.

How did you come to work with Metal Toad?

Sony Rewards, which moved under the Sony Corporation of America, sought to replace their vendor at the time. They found Metal Toad either through a reference or procurement process.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership started around June 2016, but I started working with Metal Toad about two years ago. After the Salesforce integration, I took over the entire contract and have worked with them ever since.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They upgraded our site to AWS, which makes it much easier to scale. Their team maintains the website well, especially during the sweepstakes which are critical to the business. They also did a great job with the Salesforce integration.

How did Metal Toad perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate by Slack and have weekly phone calls or Zoom calls. Their team also uses JIRA, which I enjoy. It’s good that we can track all of their tasks in there.

In the beginning, we had a few bumps in the road. Now, I’m content with their management. They’ve been a great partner. Our projects involve many different teams, which Metal Toad navigates well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team brings new ideas and technologies to the table. It’s good that I can have those conversations with them. For example, they pitched the concept of React, which is new to us. We decided to go with their idea because it would be useful for our sweepstakes. I really liked that idea.

They’ve been a great partner. I enjoy working with them and appreciate their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They do fantastic work and try to hire great talent. However, their resources can be a hit or a miss.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would recommend Metal Toad. They’re great partners.