Modelit

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I worked for a large technology company. I'm a Salesforce program manager. We use the Salesforce CRM to manage relationships with our customers.

What challenge were you trying to address with Modelit?

We needed to customize the CRM beyond the typical configuration. We needed a deeply technical team to help us.

What was the scope of their involvement?

This is an ongoing project. Our software is used daily by our business users, and we get a variety of requests that need to be customized. Based on the requests we receive, we either handle the needs internally or we hand them off to Modelit. They act as an external DevOps team and step in whenever requests go beyond our internal capabilities.

A recent request we received required changes to Salesforce that would impact an old API. Without their help, that old integration would break. They make changes to implementations and create opportunities within Salesforce. That includes custom payment and amortization schedules that aren't built into the software.

What is the team composition?

I work directly with the owner and one other team member. We're currently just working with those two individuals, but we will eventually add a third person.

How did you come to work with Modelit?

They are a registered Salesforce consultant, so we found them through the official register of providers. I also know their owner. I worked for Salesforce in a previous position, and we worked together while I was there. When this project came up, I remembered my previous experience and reached out to them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have them on a one-year contract. We started working together in January 2019, and this current contract runs through December 2019.

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

Since they're doing a lot of custom development and programming, they make sure all the code they create is backed up in a code repository. If we ever have to roll something back, we can check back into that library. They also have an additional quality assurance team that checks all their code.

How did Modelit perform from a project management standpoint?

They are very organized, and they really understand the process of custom software development. Our projects are usually quite large, and we need to break them down into smaller tasks. We use their project management tool, and whenever we have a need, they tell us how many hours each task will take. I really enjoy their organization and transparency.

They are in a similar time zone to the US, so we have no trouble meeting three times a week. We have access to a Slack channel, and we can also email them if we need.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I have an option to hire locally, but Modelit is much more cost-effective. They are just as good as an internal resource, and they really help us meet our project margins.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They're technical people, and I'm fortunate to have an external team to help with these customizations. It would be challenging for someone who didn't have the technical knowledge I have, so it might be helpful if they had a business manager for other clients that don't understand the jargon.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you don't have someone who understands the technical language, ask them for a liaison to help you. They also work well in longer projects.