MWDN

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Swiftic.io is an Israeli startup with two platforms. One enables small- to medium-sized businesses to build their own mobile apps. The other is a place for influencers to build a mobile app and monetize their relationship with their followers. I’m the COO and co-founder.

What challenge were you trying to address with MWDN?

We were building a second platform for our business, and needed a lot of resources to launch the product in a short time.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They supplied all the development resources to build a completely fresh platform that enables you to “drag and drop” or “plug and play” to create your own mobile app. It’s not a website, but an online tool that we sell.

MWDN built a new application creator, adding new technical features and crafting a new look and feel for the mobile content. They completed all the design and the coding using React Native, .NET, C#, Java, and a few others.

What is the team composition?

MWDN very quickly brought us two amazing developers, who worked so well that we hired another. We now have a backend developer, a frontend developer, and a developer that does both. One of our employees is head of development. I usually talk to Vitaly [CEO, MWDN], their CEO. The developers are Igor [Senior Software Engineer, MWDN], Vitaly [CEO, MWDN], and two others. We’re now asking them to add another developer.

How did you come to work with MWDN?

We looked for companies in both Israel and Ukraine and received recommendations from other companies that we work with. After describing the challenge and our personnel needs, we challenged more than six companies to hire 2-3 employees to help us. We got a very good recommendation for MWDN. They were a serious company that understood our needs.

Some of the other companies we spoke with were either too big or too small. We didn’t want to hire a company that was too large and busy for us, but we also didn’t want a company that was too small to be serious. They were exactly what we needed.

We knew we needed good developers to make it sustainable, and MWDN brought us good developers after we started considering a partnership. That was when it was clear they were the company we wanted to work with. The price was okay, and their attitude was great. Everything connected.

How much have you invested with them?

$200,000-$999,999.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

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

Three weeks ago, we launched a new product to the market. Its code is functional and reliable. We were able to reduce development costs by 50%, and we tripled the rate of the development because they hired so many dedicated developers.

How did MWDN perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Jira and Skype, and we haven’t had any communication issues. It’s a challenge because their team is not in our office. However, when compared to other outsourcing companies I have worked with, they are really good.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They found us good developers very quickly. It’s a real challenge to get good developers in less than a month, but they did it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. When I need something, they provide it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Try to think about the long term. It’s important to understand and plan for what you will need 6-10 months from now. One mistake we made was to hire one person when we should have hired the team. We should have thought ahead and known that we would grow to need four developers.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the co-founder of a software consultancy group. We work with companies and organizations to help them build web and mobile applications.

What challenge were you trying to address with MWDN?

We needed help in scaling up our operation because our in-house development capacity was maxed out. We reached out to MWDN to see if they could help.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We use their services for server development implementing Ruby on Rails, a variety of front-end technologies, and native app development for iOS and Android. They dove into the project details and figured issues out ahead of time by asking questions upfront, which is typically what the project required.

They gave us a full team: a server-side programmer, client-side programmer, QA engineer, and project manager. They also gave us access to the engineers directly, which we sometimes needed, but we mostly worked with the project manager.

How did you come to work with MWDN?

They were the first people we reached out to. We know that it is risky to go out there and hire someone. We care about the quality of work that we deliver to our clients, so we had a hard time knowing how we were going to find a provider. We had an up-close friend who is an engineer and did work with MWDN in the past, and we trusted her recommendation. It was a warm lead.

We started off small and saw that they were really on top of this stuff and delivered quality work on time. We began with one project, but we have done probably about ten so far.

How much have you invested with MWDN?

We have spent between $50,000 and $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them October 2015. We have several projects open with them, and we hired one of their engineers to work directly for us.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We are happy with the work that they do, including the quality of their product, and the code delivered. They are usually able to deliver projects on time, which is something that rarely happens in this industry if you are familiar with it. On every project that we have done with them, clients have always come back and wanted more things, making this a testament to MWDN’s success.

How did MWDN perform from a project management standpoint?

The people that we work with are experts. They really know their stuff. I have personally been working with some of their project managers and engineers for over 18 months, and they are awesome people that are fun to work with. They are great to work with on a personal level as well as on a professional level.

They can adapt to whatever communication cycle you would like to have. So, if you want to have a daily standup or if you want to check in once a week, they will do that. For us, it varies according to the preference of our clients, but they are very accessible—if they need to work on a Saturday or Sunday, they will do it. They are accountable, and they get on the side of overcommunicating, which is something that we appreciate.

What did you find most impressive about MWDN?

I like their work ethic. They try hard to get things done on time and to get to the bottom of every feature set early in the process rather than later in development, which I think is key.

Are there any areas MWDN could improve?

If there is one area they could improve in, it is QA testing. They could do a better job with that. But again, that is something I have come to accept as a normal industry standard. However, the work they give us is high-quality, but there is no avoiding having to test it.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a software developer. The system that we created is a workforce management solution for retail chains. The system is modular and it's built out of a few modules: recruiting, training, scheduling, and ongoing management, to name a few.

I am the Founder and Chief Technology Officer.

What challenge were you trying to address with MWDN?

Initially, I needed a few things developed quite quickly. I had a time constraint which I imposed on MWDN, and they managed to deliver on time. The requirements were to develop a responsive website, built with a database backend. We jointly chose to use PHP and MySQL as the backend services. These were, basically, the requirements and we did quite an elaborate specifications round and then had them implement the requirements. They did additional mobile app development, frontend development, UI/UX [user interface/user experience], etc.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did every aspect: backend, frontend, and app development.

How did you come to work with MWDN?

I got a reference from a friend that used their services previously.

How much have you invested with MWDN?

This is confidential. We had various sizes of projects, so we went from one developer up to eight developers, and then shrunk down to four developers. Basically, we had different requirements in which they expanded and decreased their manpower as we needed.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them September-November 2013 maybe. We're still working together.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We had a couple of very big successes in terms of time to market. We introduced a couple of mobile apps at the frontend of our services and we did it mutually with the MWDN team, which included Android, iOS, and hybrid. We got very good time to market and good response from the developers, which enabled us to penetrate the market very quickly.

How did MWDN perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very professional, both with management and technology. They were also enthusiastic, very responsive, and very good at communication and methodology. We had a very good interaction throughout this period of time. We did Agile software development. We use various cloud services for hosting servers, issue tracking, and progress tracking, all done through various tools and online services.

What did you find most impressive about MWDN?

They're very responsive to our requirements and very attentive.

Are there any areas MWDN could improve?

No. I think I will attribute this to any offshore company. In my view, it's a different management style compared to working with your own local team. There needs to be a bit of adjustment, mostly in the technicalities of how to introduce things and how to control the staff remotely, I would say.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a hardware company specializing in developing equipment for fleet management.

What challenge were you trying to address with MWDN?

We needed to incorporate a mobile application GUI [graphical user interface] for controlling our devices. In most cases, our devices are controlled through a remote central location, with no participation from the driver. This was the first time we developed a user application. Since we didn't have the necessary expertise inside the company, we started looking for a partner.

What was the scope of their involvement?

MWDN designed and developed our application for Android. Its purpose is to help locate a stolen vehicle. People using it can see themselves as well as the vehicle on a map, and can see the speed, direction, and many other parameters of the car, by utilizing the capabilities of our tracking devices. It's a unique app using custom protocols.

We were in contact with the team leader from MWDN. One of their developers worked on-site with us for integration elements, in order to polish the final release. Testing in Ukraine was problematic because MWDN needed access to our full infrastructure.

How did you come to work with MWDN?

We examined numerous candidates, both Israeli companies and foreign ones. A representative of MWDN found me on LinkedIn and made a proposal. It was perfect timing because I was already searching for subcontractors. At the end of the day, we came to select MWDN because of their price and professional response to our request for proposal. MWDN understood the idea behind our project.

How much have you invested with MWDN?

The total cost of MWDN's services has been between $30,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work is complete. We have only used MWDN for one app build.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

The application developed by MWDN is a major part of our system. Professionals looking for stolen vehicles are using it as their exclusive work tool, so our solution couldn't work without it.

How did MWDN perform from a project management standpoint?

Since we didn't have enough experience in developing a mobile application, we came to modify our requirements during development. This was a big problem for developers, but MWDN wasn't overwhelmed by our frequent changes. Their flexibility was one of the key factors for choosing MWDN. All the work was delivered within time and budget.

We collaborated mainly through email. There were only a couple of milestones in our project, so it was a simple collaboration.

What did you find most impressive about MWDN?

I haven't had a lot of experience in this field, but I have been involved in developing an app for a previous company. The experience there was much worse than with MWDN, in terms of flexibility, budget, and everything else.

Are there any areas MWDN could improve?

I have no complaints with MWDN. I will definitely contact them for other development projects.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company has built a tool aimed at retail websites through which consumers receive product recommendations. I am the Chief Technology Officer of the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with MWDN?

We decided to try using offshore development resources. We had used external developers in the past, but didn't have a good experience using larger companies. I wanted to find a small-to-medium developer that would allow me to manage resources directly. Instead of signing on to a black-box project, I hired fulltime resources, thus simulating an in-house team as much as possible, but with a lower cost.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have developed a very complex solution, with many backend cloud elements, for which MWDN provided resources. I have also used MWDN for developing an internal calling application for our company.

We initially had 2 developers assigned to us from MWDN, and are now using 3. We also use a fulltime QA [quality assurance] person, as well as a part-time QA person helping us with device compatibility testing.

How did you come to work with MWDN?

I looked at past offers I'd received on LinkedIn. I started talking with MWDN's production manager. Within a period of one month, I was assigned 2 developers and we started the work.

How much have you invested with MWDN?

The cost of MWDN's services has been less than half of the average prices in Israel.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with MWDN at the end of September 2015. We launched our core product one month ago. It was built using MWDN's help and is fully-functional at the moment.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Many people looking to hire outsourced companies have made the same mistake as myself, namely exporting whole projects to the company and expecting to receive the same quality level as an in-house job. In reality, working with internal developers allows you to state exactly what you want. In order to have success with an outsourced company, they must be managed as if they were in-house resources. They may save money and offer a more diverse selection of developers, but they won't save time. I don't have access to a wide selection of developers working for a reasonable price on the local market.

Another consideration is that an externalized project needs to be planned much better than an in-house one. Working with internal developers means that you can simply make general designs and send them to be worked on. If someone has a question, they can step into your office and ask it. When working with outsourced teams, interaction is harder, so everything needs to be planned well and everyone needs to know what their tasks are.

An advantage of working with an external developer is that I can use them for a variety of different projects. I've used MWDN for building a Magento website, but they could be working on a game for another client. On the opposite side, a developer working for Facebook's advertising platform for 10 years will only gather knowledge for their specific field. MWDN has wide knowledge on different technologies and have improved themselves alongside those platforms. I've seen this in action, and it has been a huge advantage to have access to people who are up-to-date on multiple skills.

How did MWDN perform from a project management standpoint?

I use Asana for project tracking and managing the code produced by MWDN. In the beginning, the process was not very clear, but we have refined it over time and settled on a workflow. Everyone knows what they have to do.

What did you find most impressive about MWDN?

From a business point of view, I've been very happy with MWDN. They provide quality people for my work. The other thing I've appreciated about MWDN is the personal approach. I plan to visit their headquarters next week, and I've come to know almost everyone in their company. I can go out socially with MWDN's team, and I feel that the people working there actually make the company what it is.

I've worked with other companies in Ukraine. They provided a good experience for the customer, but had a cold feel. After the work was done, everyone went to their corner and that was it. MWDN is completely different. I've become friends with their Chief Executive Officer, the owner, and many of the developers.

Are there any areas MWDN could improve?

MWDN should sell their services better to other clients, in order to reflect what I've said about them. Currently, from the outside, MWDN looks like a development company working for the medical field. They're a very good company, but they need to change their outside look and get more business. It may not be the best outcome for me, because I don't want another client to compete for my developers.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

SpeakingPal is a mobile service aimed at teaching English. The uniqueness of our application is that it allows users to actually have short dialogues with it and receive scores on how well the words and sentences were constructed. Words that are pronounced incorrectly are highlighted, and based on this feed-back, people can practice and improve their skills. The app also has features like a vocabulary builder.

What challenge were you trying to address with MWDN?

Initially, we offered the application for iOS and Android exclusively. We needed help in building a version for Windows Mobile.

What was the scope of their involvement?

MWDN developed the Windows Mobile version of our app. It's quite a complicated piece of software, with a client server and speech recognition engine in the backend. As a part of the application functionality, it records the user's voice, sending it to the backend. These functionalities required a lot of work, but MWDN did quite a good job in understanding what we needed to do and actually doing it. We provided assistance occasionally, but MWDN's team worked on their own for most of the time.

We didn't have a very large team. MWDN assigned between 2-3 resources to us. We interacted through a project manager for most of the time. I also communicated with some of the team members in order to explain the more detailed technical issues.

How did you come to work with MWDN?

We were approached by MWDN and other companies while we were looking for a subcontractor for our Windows Mobile work. We went through a research process, interviewing previous customers and the team members of each company. We received good recommendations for MWDN, which led us to select them. MWDN delivered on their promise.

How much have you invested with MWDN?

I don't remember the exact figure, but MWDN was an affordable choice in terms of budget, and they provided good quality.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our original project with MWDN was completed in September 2015. We maintain occasional communication with MWDN. We had a few other projects in the pipelines for them, but those didn't happen, regardless of MWDN's involvement. We will keep them in mind for the future.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We developed the Windows Mobile version of our existing application, not necessarily because we believed that the platform would be a great success, but because our client had requested this as a part of the delivery. To the best of my understanding, the app hasn't yet been launched. We received good feedback from our customer's testing team, but I have no input in terms of market results.

How did MWDN perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication with MWDN was quite smooth. We had bi-weekly Skype calls during which MWDN provided clear technical details. Their English level was also quite good. In terms of delivery, MWDN stuck to our plan. There were small issues here and there, but compared to other companies that I used to work with, MWDN was very good. The project wasn't as structured as it would have been if working with a bigger company, but MWDN stuck to our milestones and delivered mostly on time.

We didn't use any project management tools. MWDN has an informal approach, so Excel was sufficient for tracking milestones. Any questions that came up were addressed directly. We thought about including MWDN in our own management infrastructure, but we decided that it wouldn't be necessary.

What did you find most impressive about MWDN?

Finding a good-quality software development team for a low cost is no small challenge. I went through this process quite a few times and found that results can vary drastically. I could select a company that looked good on paper, but working with the specific people on their team didn't turn out so great. The team from MWDN was very good technically and communication-wise, so we had a success story. MWDN offered good project development for a reasonable price.

Are there any areas MWDN could improve?

MWDN should start using some project management and bug tracking tools in order to make the process more trackable. Other than this, we were quite happy with MWDN.