Netfork

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Senior Director, Technology and Business Solutions of Merlin

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The digital music licensing partner for the leading independent record labels, distributors, and rights holders around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Netfork to accomplish?

• Build serverless data pipelines optimised for speed.
• Automate our CI/CD pipelines
• Build products beautifully designed to achieve business objectives.

SOLUTION

How did you find Netfork?

Referral

Why did you select Netfork over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Netfork were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Our project has three elements, each relating to a specific part of our platform. The first part is for our internal users—meaning our people handle business processes. The second part is for our members—meaning record labels, music distributors, and other rightsholders. The third part is our data processing.

Initially, Netfork only worked on the internal part of the platform. We then formed a core team that included people from Netfork. After we saw that Netfork had the necessary quality, we included more people from their team to work on all three parts of the project focusing on UX/UI design, data engineering and DevOps.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Increased compute efficiency 
• Further cost savings
• Faster value delivery

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

The project management for the partnership was handled internally by us. This meant we defined the project scope, set deadlines, and managed the overall workflow with the support of Netforks team. The Netfork team were able to meet our deadlines, communicate well and respon to our needs as defined in the scope. 

What was your primary form of communication with Netfork?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What impressed us the most about Netfork was their ability to seamlessly integrate into our existing team and processes. This is often a challenge when working with external partners, but Netfork demonstrated a remarkable adaptability and commitment to collaboration. Furthermore, Netfork

• didn't just take orders; they actively sought to understand how our users interacted with the platform. This user-centric approach is crucial for successful product development.
• was praised for their clear and transparent communication. This openness facilitated smooth collaboration and efficient problem-solving.
• embraced our core value of transparency, eventually becoming comfortable voicing their opinions and concerns. This reflects a deep understanding of and alignment with our company culture.

Netfork went beyond simply providing development services. They became a true extension of our team, demonstrating a level of integration and commitment that is truly impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Netfork could have done differently?

None