NCoreSoft

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director at an IT consulting and development company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with NCoreSoft?

We are building a software-as-a-service platform for startup companies to manage their business model and plan. We needed a programmer to assist in developing the framework.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Because of how large the project is, I worked with two different companies to complete it. NCoreSoft was involved in building the actual software. I showed Shalin Jirawla [Founder and CEO, NCoreSoft] examples of similar sites to give him an understanding of my requirements. He then spent two or three days building a prototype. From there, we worked continuously and closely to develop that. 

We built our framework using Microsoft’s Service Fabric as a microservice platform. Shalin focused primarily on integrating KPI analytics and business planning tools, such QuickBooks and Xero. He worked on live dashboards, developing a solution that would allow users to drag all of their finances to the dashboard and monitor them there. He also worked on the customer relationship management part of our platform. 

What is the team dynamic? 

I only worked with Shalin. If he was busy building a new feature, I might not speak to him for two to three days to allow him to complete his deliverable, but generally, we spoke daily. 

How did you come to work with NCoreSoft?

I found them on UpWork. Before deciding on them, I went through around 46 companies, but they were all horrible. NCoreSoft distinguished themselves because they were able to work with microservices that most people didn’t have experience with.

How much have you invested with them?

$11 an hour, which amounted to a total of $40,000 for the entirety of our partnership.

What is the status of this engagement?

I worked with Shalin for 18 months. Though the project isn't complete, all of his work for it is, though might contact him soon to do a few smaller projects for me. I also have more projects coming up in the new year, so I’ll be re-engaging him for those.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Shalin would methodically test everything he intended to deliver to me, so if there were any defects, he would find them before I would. He never delivered anything that was full of bugs.

How did NCoreSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve dealt with many companies that would require you to explain what you expect multiple times, which would drag the process out longer than necessary. Shilan never required me to explain my needs more than once, and he worked quickly to implement any changes I wanted to make within the software. I threw a lot of challenges his way and he adapted quickly.

He also built software in a very timely manner. For example, he built the first version of the platform’s document within two weeks. He built the first version CRM in about five days. In most cases, he could produce something functional within 24 hours. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Shalin operates NCoreSoft with more of an entrepreneurial mindset than other companies. When I asked him to develop a CRM system with certain features, he recommended additional features that would contribute to a better user experience. His design skills extended beyond the basics — he knows how to implement modern design in innovative ways. 

He’s also a very good communicator and is always willing to engage on the phone when necessary.

Are there any areas they could improve?

My only suggestion for improvement would be one for all developers: be willing to learn new technology. Many are unwilling to learn unless you pay them, but Shalin is very self-driven and always willing to learn.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’ve lost two major projects with stakeholders in the past because of inadequate developers. Even with a great company like NCoreSoft, you need to remain very hands-on to ensure they’re producing quality work on schedule.

Another piece of advice I’d offer is to not be intimidated if your background isn’t in tech. Shalin will work well with you regardless of your tech knowledge.