Mitigate

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the IT & Marketing Project Manager at JCDecaux Latvia, and we are the world's largest outdoor advertising company, reaching relevant audiences in over 80 countries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

In Latvia all advertisements need to be submitted to the government system every week and it takes about 4 hours for a person to copy-paste all the necessary information from our Excel sheet to the government system. The problem was that the government system didn't have any APIs to automate this, so the only solution was to create a Robotic Process Automation tool that uses Web Browser to automate this labor intensive task.

SOLUTION

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

We were previously acquainted, so the choice was easy.

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

At first Mitigate did a research phase to evaluate all the options and to come up with the proposal to use Robotic Process Automation (RPA). The new tool was built using Ruby on Rails using Chromium (Google Chrome) web browser engine for RPA. It also integrated with our SharePoint where we store all our advertisement project pictures. The solution was deployed to Amazon Web Services cloud using serverless services.

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

1 project manager and 2 software engineers worked on the project from the Mitigate side.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Using the new RPA tool, we saved 4 hours each week of manual work. During the project development phase Mitigate also helped us to figure out how to store and structure our Excel files and pictures so they can be processed by the new tool automatically.

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

We had a lot of brainstorming sessions in Microsoft Teams. The project was completed on time and within the budget.

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

Mitigate is not a mere supplier, but rather a fully entitled technology partner. They provide their support during the full project cycle - starting with the inception phase and doing the research to implementing a fully operational solution.

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

The cooperation was very successful.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Sigulda municipality Development agency director

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

MAK IT developed an app to connect Sigulda citizens with the Municipality, in order to provide a convenient communication channel between the two parties. The app also promotes local tourism and businesses, as well as allows to apply for a citizen ID card or pay for catering services for children at school.

SOLUTION

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

MAK IT had the best offer for the public procurement we announced. They grasped the requirements perfectly and presented themselves as a trustworthy partner, aiming for a long-term collaboration.

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

It was a pretty significant project for the Municipality, and several innovations were introduced with this. The project had three main stages:

1. Implementation of the base functionality, such as News timeline, Event calendar, Tourism sections, and Special offers from the local businesses;
2. Implementation of the citizen ID cards;
3. Implementation of the School catering services on the app, meaning that the parents of schoolchildren would be able to pay for the meals online.

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

We had 5 MAK IT specialists on the project:

• Project manager
• iOS developer
• Android developer
• React Native developer
• UX/UI designer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app is popular among Sigulda citizens, these days it has on average 5k users per month (Sigulda population is app. 12k).

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

MAK IT used an agile project management methodology. The team was easy to communicate with, the deadlines were met.

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

We had an overall excellent experience with MAK IT, and they still collaborate with the Municipality. MAK IT now maintain and evolves the app, and they proactively come up with new ideas on their part on a regular basis. It was great to work with a team so dedicated, friendly, and professional.

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

We are pretty satisfied with the results and cooperation.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

JSC GASO is a natural gas distribution system operator in Latvia, I am the Head of the Business Support Systems Development Department

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired MAK IT to develop the internal business process system of the gas supply service department and to create a brand new UI and UX for the GASO website and internal systems

SOLUTION

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

We chose the supplier in the public procurement. MAK IT was the best supplier by the qualification points of the procurement they showed their professionalism during the interviews and submitted the most appropriate system development plan

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

In the beginning, MAK IT business analyst interviewed our business key persons, and in close cooperation, we came to the most suitable vision of GAIS system. It was developed and regularly updated using a design prototype. System development was organised according to Agile methodology. New functionality is being delivered by iterations every two weeks. The system was developed from scratch and launched in less than 9 months, it included integrations with 3 other internal business systems.

At the moment, we have started the next stage of system development. Used technologies in the project: React JS, Ruby, Zero-API data layer, Blitz.js, PostgreSQL, Redis, Sidekiq, Github, CircleCI, Sentry.io and JIRA

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

We had 1 business analyst (Product owner), 1 project manager (Scrum Master), 3 backend developers, 1 system architect and 1 UI/UX specialist.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Automated import of client applications from 2 different systems, user-friendly UI, and better streamline of business processes has allowed us to significantly optimise time spent on application processing. From the beginning of the GAIS system launch, we have processed 7 000 + applications. This is a large increase in the number of applications processed compared to the same period a year earlier

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

This is one of our most successful IT projects in the company's history. Excellent cooperation based on Agile principles between us and MAK IT allowed us to successfully, dynamically, and in a relatively short period of time develop the most appropriate solution for business needs. Short iterations and successful communication in JIRA made it very easy to follow the development process and dynamically adjust the priorities of the business processes to be developed and specify their functionality

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

MAK IT was able to provide excellent full-service IT system development services. From business process analysis, UI and UX prototyping to server infrastructure design and system development. All employees are high-level professionals in their fields and highly motivated to achieve good results.

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

Nothing that would come to my mind. If we encountered any misunderstandings in communication or understanding of the system's functionality, it could easily be resolved during the next iteration

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a leading insurance company providing a wide range of insurance options for both corporate and private clients. I’m Head of E-commerce and digital development, in the scope of our cooperation with MAK IT I was a project lead of Mobile application development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

As our customers are becoming more and more mobile, one of our core digital services - the indemnity application process had to be improved. We were looking for a vendor to create us native iOS and Android applications, as well as develop the UX and UI.

SOLUTION

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

Our main metric was companies competence in developing mobile applications and modern, easy to understand user interfaces. We had a procurement process during which MAK IT showed their vast IT competence and perfect understanding of our business needs.

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

During the initial project phase we have created the application that allows customers to view the current information of policies, such as the contract, invoices, as well as pay bills, apply for compensation, follow the status of the application and receive notifications regarding the claim replies.

During the second phase we have implemented the Digital health card, which eliminates the need to present physical cards at our partners' locations. Currently our product is in the maintenance phase and we are constantly improving it.

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

The team was:

1. iOS engineer (also acting as project manager)
2. Android engineer
3. UI/UX engineer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In the first three months of the app's operation, 17% of customers have chosen a mobile app solution as the fastest and most convenient way to file their health insurance claim instead of applying for a WEB claim. 10k downloads so far #1 in app stores for 3 weeks

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

MAK IT has developed our product according to agile methodology. Core focus was on communication and discipline built on collaboration, teamwork and process transparency. Jira was used as a core tool, where all the statuses and sprints were planned, day to day communication happened in Slack.

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

MAK IT is much more than just a development agency. They are always thinking out of the box — orientated to build a great product that our customers would love.

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

As any relationship, our was not an exception, we definitely had ups and downs, however team was always professional in solving any challenges that occurred, so I don't see anything that could be fundamentally done differently.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am CEO of Ripo International - one of the leading Latvian companies that provides custom-made design, manufacturing and installation of sectional doors, gates, insect screens, rollershutters, sun protectors etc. Our range of products are suitable for anyone building or improving their home, office or industrial space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were looking for a software to digitize our business processes - sales management, production management, assembly planning, product development etc. Before that all of the planning was handled either by many different Excel files or systems that could not be integrated with other software. We saw an opportunity to increase efficiency of our business processes by implementing an ERP system that would allow us to plan our resources in a single IT solution.

SOLUTION

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

We were checking many ready solutions, but either those were handling only part of our business processes or in some cases we could not find a ready made solution that would fulfill our business needs. Then we found out about MAK IT, and we loved that they could understand our business needs and provide us with optimal solutions - either by developing software or just by changing our business processes where they had to be changed.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

Before the implementation phase started we conducted a feasibility study - within one month we had a lot of interviews to go through all of our processes. This was done to reassure that both sides have done the best they could to get a unified understanding of project scope and our requirements.

After the feasibility study we were absolutely confident that MAK IT team understands our needs, and we proceeded with project implementation. It was handled in an agile way - we met with the development team every two weeks to talk about progress and plan next tasks. During these iterations we marked a goal, when certain parts of the system are ready to be used and we set a GO LIVE date.

After the first modules of the system were launched we continued to add modules and features as our business has grown. Our system is a web based system and we love that we can access it from anywhere, and any device, as it can be used with mobile devices, tablets and laptops. We placed the system in cloud based infrastructure, so we should not have to worry about keeping the system up and running and up to date with all of the technology advancements.

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

There were three persons working with us - one was a business analyst/project manager - with him we had the most contact regarding project planning and specifications of our requirements. And two were software developers that were included in our bi-weekly meetings so they would have a good understanding of our business needs as well and nothing would be lost in translation.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Not all benefits can be precisely measured that easily but there are some that I could mention:

1. Sales team capacity - as we are making custom made products for our clients - it used to be hard to get necessary calculations for each project. It meant that managers were more busy with internal coordination than with sales activities. Currently all calculations are automated, and our sales team has 2-3 extra hours per person to do the actual sales activities instead of internal communication.
2. Webshop - our customers can place their orders on our website and place orders online.
3. Reduced complaint amount from customers - as processes are more streamlined and every step can be followed through the system - it means less mistakes. And less mistakes means - less costs and more satisfied customers.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We liked that it was flexible - there was no huge technical specification that was written at the beginning of the project that would be used as a “set in stone” truth of implementation scope and sequence. We had a specification, but during our 2 week cycles we could switch between modules and features that were being developed.

And if after several months we see that our processes have changed - we developed what was needed at the moment, not what was on the paper. We used project management tool JIRA, to follow all of our tasks, and planned two week sprints there to see which features will be priorities and which ones will have to wait. By using this tool we could see which tasks were done, and which ones might not go according to the plan, and could act accordingly as fast as possible if it was necessary

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

One thing that caught my attention right from the beginning was - we thought we were getting a software development company that would listen to us and create a system that we have envisioned. In reality - not only they listened, but they questioned our assumptions, went through our business processes and the project turned out to be not only a software implementation project but a business process review project as well.

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

As always we could find some other solutions afterwords but generally speaking we are satisfied.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

LMT is a telecommunications operator and market leader in Latvia, currently amongst the most efficient and innovative mobile data networks in the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our product LMT Viedtelevīzija (or Straume) is a streaming platform that allows customers to watch TV channels (Live stream, broadcast archive, and NPVR), Video On Demand (Movies, TV Series, TV Shows, Original content) content. We have contracted MAK IT to develop Smart TV application (Android TV, WebOS, Tizrn), mobile applications (iOS and Android).

SOLUTION

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

MAK IT is our reliable partner and industry leader in Smart TV and mobile application development. During initial negotiations MAK IT has shown their great competence in understanding the specifics of the project and it's technical implementation, therefore our choice was to proceed with MAK IT.

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

All platform application were developed using agile. So far we have implemented:

• Android TV application written navely in Kotlin
• Android mobile application written navely in Kotlin
• iOS mobile application written navely in Swift Currently in the works is Tizen and WebOS applications that are being written in React js.

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

• 2 iOS developers
• 3 Android TV and Android Mobile developes
• 3 WebOS/Tizen developers
• 1 Project Manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

MAK IT has provided us with a powerful foundation that allowed us to become and industry leaders as a streaming service providers.

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

Time milestones were also in accordance with the agreed budget. Project was managed in a very transparent manner. We had our greatest pleasure to work with such an experienced team. Enough of flexibility was provided to change priorities based on current market situation, that definitely was a game changer.

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

We have built tremendous understanding and trust between our companies to successfully implement described solutions and this definitely won't be the last ones.

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

No, there not.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder and CTO of RoboEatz, a company that develops a fully robotic foodservice system - an innovative solution to solve problems caused by a shortage of workforce and more demanding ingredient transparency and quality conformity standards

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

The goal of RoboEatz collaboration with MAK IT is the development of the “brain” of the robotic kitchen which ensures fully autonomous scheduling and preparation of the incoming orders. As a result we have developed an admin panel for the kitchen staff to manage the ingredients and their stock, easily create and store a countless number of various recipes. These recipes are then converted into procedures that are performed by a robotic arm to prepare the meal.

Additionally, our goal was to solve a number of scheduling problems to produce an efficient algorithm minimizing robot idle time. The solution also produces an array of different reports for the management team to overview and analyze processes. MAK IT has also developed an app for the end customers to provide a full purchase cycle of the meal: from choosing from the menu to picking it up from the parcel section of the kitchen. Several functions using AI are also being worked on at the moment.

SOLUTION

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

We chose MAK IT because of their vast IT competence, their determination to do in-depth research on business matters and their enthusiasm to explore new affairs.

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

The project is still in the active development phase, as for any innovative product new ideas and requirements arise on the go. What we have developed so far:

• Ingredient library and stock control system;
• Recipe constructor and storage;
• End-user app for ordering a meal;
• Order management and reports;
• AI solution attending stock management and facilitating the human labor necessary for stock refilling;
• An app for the above-mentioned technical staff.

Technologies used: Ruby on Rails, React Native

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

We have collaborated with quite a few MAK IT team members and the number of them involved may change according to the tasks that have to be worked on, however the team constantly working on the project includes 2-3 engineers, a UX/UI specialist and a project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The most tangible result is that we have already launched an up-and-running robotic kitchen already available to the customers. We are grateful to MAK IT who made it possible, delivering a solution on time, that allowed us to gain trust of our investors, as a result we were able to expand into the next stages of the project.

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

MAK IT practices agile development, so project management is all about communication discipline built on collaboration, teamwork and process transparency. The project management tool of their choice is Jira, where all the statuses and work-in-progress are convenient to be overviewed.

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

MAK IT's team not only consists of achievement-driven professionals, but they're also a fun bunch to work with. They are adventurous and supportive of our over-the-top ideas, always giving honest and experience-based feedback at the same time.

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

There are always things that you see you can do differently when you look at the past - but it is the responsibility of both sides and at that particular moments the choices were made mindfully.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Managing Director in Instantic Ltd and Steero Ltd - platforms that connect fuel and vignettes retailers, parking, and truck wash service providers to their clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We have hired MAK IT for developing two platforms - Instantic and Steero. Instantic is a platform for fuel and vignettes retailers and its clients, and Steero is for parking and truck wash service providers and their clients.

Our main goals were: ·

• To create a user-friendly platform both for retailers and clients. Retailers can manage prices and discounts for each client, manage each location, provide base services and products and additional services.
• Maximize fuel management efficiency.
• To create a “cardless” payment system that minimizes the possibility of fraud to a minor level for us.

SOLUTION

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

During our first meeting with MAK IT, they showed their professional attitude and passion for what they are doing, demonstrating some of their already finished projects. I felt that MAK IT would be a truly reliable IT partner for Instantic, and we have been partnering with them already for eight years since then.

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

We have been developing both platforms in agile methodology. At the beginning of our project, we did not know how big the final scope of work would be. We just approached MAK IT with new ideas for business processes, and their business analyst proposed the most suitable solution for us, which was discussed and updated.

We then agreed together of the following deliverables and implemented an array of products:

• Instantic web platform - for Partner and Clients administrators, where all the prices/discounts are managed, all transactions are shown in real time.
• Instantic mobile application for drivers.
• Instantic POS mobile application for site admins.
• Steero web platform - for Partner and clients administrators, where all the prices/discounts are managed, all transactions and bookings are shown in real time.
• Steero mobile application for drivers.
• Steero POS mobile application for site admins.

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

We had 1 business analyst, 3 backend developers, 2 mobile developers and 1 UI/UX specialist.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Clients and Partners of Instatic and Steero now can see real-time deals and be sure of secure money transactions without managing plastic fleet cards. Partners have maximized their profit by using Instantic and Steero.

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

For me and my business - MAK IT is a reliable IT partner. I will definitely approach them for digital collaboration when I have a new business idea. MAK IT is a very flexible partner who can quickly adapt to changing priorities from my side but still work very effectively and deliver on time, which I value the most.

They are accessible, easy to communicate with and take on the complete project management while suggesting its scope on our bi-weekly meetings. You come up with the idea, and MAK IT will help you make it real.

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

MAK IT always maintained personal relationships both inside the company and within their clients. In each project, MAK IT employees were very engaged, hardworking, and focused on the results.

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm Head of Business development office at Food Union Europe, that is one of the largest dairy and ice cream producing companies in Europe.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

One of the services we provide in Norway and Denmark is ice cream delivery to customer's doorsteps. Our goal of the project was to improve customer service through all digital channels and increase number of repeated purchases, and on the operations side improve delivery slot availability, trip efficiency and automate planning processes.

SOLUTION

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

We had multiple rounds of negotiations with different suppliers, amongst which MAK IT definitely wasn't the cheapest option, however their performance at proof of concept stage and overall attitude to details, investment in research phase and extensive experience convinced us.

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

First of all we had to research the current situation and form the business requirements. Then we plotted the technical solution for new route planning solution, designed UI&UX and started working on the implementation.

MAK IT offered to develop this solution in an agile style that was the most suitable for us. With many iterations we have created:

• Advanced route planning solution
• Depot administration solution
• End-client ordering web application
• Mobile application with turn-by-turn navigation for couriers

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

We had 1 business analyst, 2 backend developers, 1 mobile developer and 1 UI/UX specialist.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

By improving performance of routes we have noticeably increased ice cream sales (number of customers and avg order size), additionally saving my hours of manual planning and un-needed km driven.

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

The project was led in a very clear and transparent manner, meeting both time milestones within the agreed budget. It was a pleasure to work with such an experienced team, being there for any consultations and brainstorming sessions. Enough of flexibility was included, sometimes allowing us to change priorities based on current market situation, that definitely was a game changer.

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

MAK IT is not just a solution enabler — they are a true digital partner. This is definitely something that I am grateful for. We see even more successful projects ahead built together.

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

As any relationship it requires both parties to build a successful one. Both parties definitely made some mistakes down the line, but I don't see anything that could be done fundamentally differently.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the International project development manager of HRX group

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Logistics

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Mitigate to accomplish?

• New product IT development

SOLUTION

How did you find Mitigate?

Referral

Why did you select Mitigate over others?

They provided good value for the cost of the development, Referred to me, Company values aligned

What was the size of Mitigate’s team?

40

What was your primary form of communication with Mitigate?

In-Person Meeting, Email or Messaging App

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

Create new IT e-commerce logistic development from the beginning and regular upgrade.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Ready made working logistic IT system
• Fast and flexible reaction to problems and upgrades

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

Yes, very fast and flexible reaction, high competence and skills

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

High skills and competence in business needs and how to forward it to IT

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

Sometimes be more flexible in paperwork.