Net Solutions

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

I’ve been very impressed with Net Solutions’ quality of work. Their UX/UI team is especially good. In certain cases, we couldn’t figure out a solution for fixing something, but Net Solutions did. I have no issues with them in terms of code quality or QA process.

How did Net Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated via email and phone, but mostly via Skype voice and text. We also used JIRA to manage the project, which was the other main point of contact. Net Solutions used Basecamp on their end.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I could compare them with other people we’ve worked with, but it wouldn’t be fair, since those are Australian vendors. Net Solutions is the only Indian company I’ve used.

One thing I liked about Net Solutions was their flexibility. Our time zones are off, given that I’m based in the U.S. and they’re in India, but they were responsive. I could pretty much expect a response straight away, no matter when I sent them a message. The account manager there is good, and Net Solutions is proactive in what they do. They helped me out with a few issues in our own environment when we posted the application for testing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Being an offshore vendor, Net Solutions is good in this space, but the communication would be improved if they were local. Basecamp is not the best tool to use, as it gives very little interactivity with the client, as a forum-like system. This is why we’ve had to move most of our conversations either to Skype or JIRA. The engagement system used by Net Solutions needs to be upgraded.

Secondly, the source-control integrations they have at their end could be improved. Their approach involved Net Solutions building all the code, and checking it into their own source code repository. Every 2-or-so weeks, they would check all that code into our repository. That process needs to be improved a bit.

Do you have any tips for helping clients be more successful with a similar project?

Have your requirements be absolutely clear. This is where Net Solutions helped us out a lot, since our requirements weren’t good at all. They took a lot of initiative, and worked through all the ambiguities. For other people considering this sort of project, the better they document their requirements, the better it will be for everyone involved.

The communication becomes a problem when working with an offshore team. Unclear requirements can potentially stuff up the whole thing.

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

As a business, we’ve grown 100% each year since we started. The key metric we look at is the lifetime value of the customer, which is influenced by how successful the product is for them. That’s grown by 40% in the last year. We attribute a lot of that to product development as well as the content. Growth is driven by people spending more on our platform and staying on the platform longer. That’s linked to product satisfaction.

The feedback internally has been positive, and we have a lot of confidence in their team. We’re driving them quite hard as a supplier and make sure they deliver what we want. We try to be a good customer. We understand the limitations of the outsource model. Because of that, we get a lot out of the relationship. We’re generally very satisfied with the work they produce.

How did Net Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Slack and JIRA for communication and task management. Several members of our team have met their team periodically to invest in the relationship.

What did you find most impressive about Net Solutions?

They are the right fit for us culturally. They’re eager to deliver good products, which paves the way for business success. From my perspective, the owner runs the company extremely well. That gives us a lot of confidence in terms of investing with them going forward.

Are there any areas Net Solutions could improve?

There are always better ways to communicate. Any issues we’ve had have been because of a breakdown in communication. They’ve definitely gotten better at assessing upfront.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Net Solutions?

Understand who you’re employing and what their limitations are. Don’t try to fit them into a certain box of your expectations. There’s only so much molding you can do. Once you understand that, you can fill any gaps. I think this is important for anyone working on an outsource basis.