N-iX

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

Our company, Anoto, develops digital writing and software solutions. We develop both hardware and software for our customers.

What are your role and responsibilities?

I'm the senior vice president for technology and services, which means that I'm responsible for our outsourced teams and IT project management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenge that you were trying to address with N-iX?

We had too much to do in terms of project workload. We develop a lot of new things, and we maintain a lot of older, legacy products. So, we looked for a good outsourcing team that could take on mature products for maintenance. It was really about adding to our internal bandwidth so we could focus on other priorities without being worried about the quality of our service provision going down.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of their involvement in detail?

We looked for a team with developers who worked extensively with .NET. At the beginning, we gave them only mature products for maintenance but, in time, our relationship has evolved. They are now involved in new development as well as maintenance. We regularly source around 10 mid-level and senior developers from them.

How did you come to choose N-iX?

A former board member who had worked with N-iX before had recommended them to me.

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative?

I don't have those figures.

Is the relationship ongoing?

Yes. We have worked with them for several years now. I think we started the relationship back in 2009, so it's been fairly long-term. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics, metrics or user feedback that would demonstrate the quality of their performance?

We have several teams operating at once, and everything that these different teams develop is delivered for system testing before launch. We are very happy with what they deliver. They deliver very high-quality code. Of course, there are always some defects or bugs, but I wouldn't say there are any more defects with N-iX than with anybody else we've used before. 

I am very satisfied with their project management, too. We work very closely with them, and we're very happy with the cooperation we get from them and how they work in a team setting. It didn't take long to establish an effective workflow with them, which was great.

When working with N-iX, is there anything that you would consider unique about their practice?

They are very quick to respond. They adapted to our organization very quickly, and we get very good cooperation. We see them as part of our team, rather than just another vendor that we have to manage.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

We're a software company based in Boston, and we work in cyber security. Essentially, we harvest sources from the Web, Twitter feeds and places like that, and then we do heavy analysis on that data, breaking it down to more tangible pieces. Then, we present that in high-level, powerful visualizations. We use open source data to give our customers a better way of predicting and securing their business.

What is your position?

I'm the vice president of engineering.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenge that you were trying to address with N-iX?

We should actually go back to my former company because that's when I used them the most, although I do use them now in my current capacity. For now, I will refer back to 2005. My former company was also a software company, but more into what we call output and input management. N-iX worked on back-end and front-end operations, IT [information technology], everything – we sort of just expanded and made our overall R&D [research and development] capacity so much bigger by using their development resources. We delegated a lot of very technical work to them during that time.

Then, I moved over to this company, and we began working with six developers from N-iX. They did a specific part of the work that we didn't have the manpower to do, so we really leveraged them as a team augmentation partner. That project is completed, and now we have only one person from N-iX doing operations work for us.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the actual scope of work delegated to them?

The work has been primarily Java-based functional development, so they built applications on top of our framework using our APIs [application programming interfaces]. I should add that we've used specific language skills, in this case, Russian, to be able to harvest the Russian language sources, and we're still using N-iX for that. They're working with a lot of complicated, aggregated data.

How did you come to choose N-iX?

We had been outsourcing to India because we had acquired a company there but, for many different reasons, that was not working very well. When a new CEO joined us, we made the decision to terminate our relationship with our previous provider and tried out N-iX. We contacted them and set up a testing workshop to begin with, trying to make sure we had found the appropriate management. We ran the test run for about six months, and it was working very well. N-iX really became an extended arm of what we were doing. They were much more responsive than our previous partner and very well versed in Russian, which made dealing with our data a lot easier for them.

Could you provide a general cost estimate for the amount you've invested in their services?

We spend between $4,000 and $5,000 a month working with N-iX, depending on what type and the amount of development resources we use.

Is the relationship ongoing?

Yes.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics or user feedback that would demonstrate the quality of their work or the success of the engagement?

We've been using the same metrics as we do with our own team, essentially measuring the new development speed. I don't see any difference in terms of what they can produce compared to what our own team can produce. They have the same quality level and the same technical skill level, so the only real difference is cost. Then, of course, there is the additional communication issue since they're not here where we are, and their main language is not English. This inevitably leads to a dip in terms of efficiency, but it's still much better and more reliable than our previous partner.

I would say that if I had them here in Sweden, rather than Ukraine, we would get somewhat greater efficiency. That's not due to their skills or anything. That's due to the fact they're not here – they're not physically close to us. I think it's been working extremely well – much better than our prior experience. 

The project management has worked very well, too, but we took very cautious steps to make sure that we didn't have any barriers in that regard. I made sure that, on my side, I had someone who could connect with his counterpart in N-iX. They are our main source of communication, and we have contact on a daily basis. We didn't have to micro-manage, we just designed their teams so they had the same structure as ours. Having the same workflow has worked out great.

We really had no problems. We were clear with them that if they saw problems or issues with the relationship to let us know. We told them that they needed to act as if they were employed by us or hired by us, and that worked very well. We had no issues whatsoever.

When working with N-iX, is there anything that you would consider unique about their practice that distinguishes them from other vendors?

One of the unique things was actually our joint way of handling things, of making them an arm of our business. Instead of just giving them specific projects, we really made sure they could work in different ways, extending our R&D power and making them part of our own development cycle. They'd get their own projects, but they could also be part of a mixed team, just like any other resource we would have in-house.

I haven't really seen that business model before. We were part of the hiring process, we could see what we were paying and the actual salaries that their people received, and we could influence that compensation by highlighting exceptional contributions. That helped us get them involved in a much better way. That whole business model is very unique, and I haven't seen that before. It's not the traditional offshore business offering, so I would point to that one being the single important thing that stands out.

What advice, if any, would you give a future client of theirs?

Make sure to have a single point of contact at N-iX. Regardless of the size of the project, you still need that one key contact, someone who is proficient in English and also a person who is good in technical and project management skills. So, you find that sort of starting point, and that will help you a long way. Also, they really are an extension of your business, and if you treat them like that, if you're paying attention, really make sure they feel well taken care of, that gives you a really good starting point. Again, find the one with the good English skills. That key person has to be very good.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Senior Product Owner of an other industries company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Book your next holiday online

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire N-iX to accomplish?

• Extend and support our development capacities
• Reduce having to do the initial recruitment ourselves
• Development expertise

SOLUTION

How did you find N-iX?

Referral

Why did you select N-iX over others?

• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from N-iX were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Internet Booking Engine for a holiday package provider

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Great stakeholder satisfaction

Great team fit

Great expertise

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

As a product team we work more problem and impact driven. The colleagues from N-ix were very proactive and open to finding an appropriate solution. Their expertise mattered a lot in making this in a rather speedy manner.

What was your primary form of communication with N-iX?

Virtual Meeting

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

Consistently suggesting strong candidates.

Are there any areas for improvement or something N-iX could have done differently?

None that come to mind now.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Development Manager of boohoo Group

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Ecommerce Fashion and Retail

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire N-iX to accomplish?

• Fast Growth
• Guaranteed Skillset
• Value for money

SOLUTION

How did you find N-iX?

Referral

Why did you select N-iX over others?

• High ratings
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from N-iX were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Introducing new stock management systems and warehouse adapters

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Deliverables and quality of deliverables when in service.

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

Items were delivered on time. Team responded promptly and effectivley.

What was your primary form of communication with N-iX?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They have a high-quality skill set. Reliable. Thoughtful. Great culture fit.

Are there any areas for improvement or something N-iX could have done differently?

N/A

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Technologies of an automotive company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Logistics services

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire N-iX to accomplish?

• Update web application
• Create data integration

SOLUTION

How did you find N-iX?

Online Search

Why did you select N-iX over others?

• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

What was the size of N-iX’s team?

6-10 Employees

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

Modernise existing web application and add functionality.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Working end product.

What was your primary form of communication with N-iX?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their excellent project management was impressive. Super attention to detail delivering on budget and on time.

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

Attention to detail and communication.

Are there any areas for improvement or something N-iX could have done differently?

Better documentation for 1st line support.