NordWhale

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a faculty member at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). We’re a state university in California and have 5–6 medical campuses. In my role, I work with AI to make sense of big data in medicine.

What challenge were you trying to address with NordWhale?

Over the past 20 years, a whole medical industry has evolved dedicated to getting second opinions for radiology exams. If a patient does their imaging at Hospital A and isn’t satisfied with the result, they can go to Hospital B for a second opinion. Hospital A will then send the images to Hospital B to interpret the results.

To facilitate this process, we approached NordWhale to build a large-scale distributed storage platform that allowed both medical institutions and patients to access radiographic exam results, specifically for mammograms. This would be a key step in empowering patients to own their personal data, giving them options to store it locally on their hard drive and donate it for medical research. On our side, the platform would help us easily transfer data between institutions and better train our AI to catch breast cancer.

What was the scope of their involvement?

NordWhale developed the infrastructure for a blockchain-based distribution ledger that refined the transfer process for radiology exams. It’s an InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) network that integrates with our commercial partner’s image transfer software, working seamlessly between the data and medical transfer components. Because IPFSs are typically public, they created a new, private network to comply with medical privacy standards. After establishing the platform, the team built a patient-facing frontend portal from scratch to display the images. Users could then access the data in a secure environment and donate it while still retaining control over their personal information.

What is the team composition?

We had a main point of contact who liaised between our teams, but there were also other resources working in the background.

How did you come to work with NordWhale?

I was looking for a vendor with expertise in blockchain technologies, such as smart contracts and distributed ledgers. After searching online, I shortlisted NordWhale along with 2–3 vendors. They stood out because they had the most complete portfolio, including cryptocurrency and healthcare projects.

How much have you invested with them?

Our budget was $30,000–$35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Their work lasted from February–November 2018.

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

We haven’t launched the platform yet because we’re still getting paperwork approved, but we’ve received positive feedback so far. I often travel around the world to talk about our platform, and it’s always well-received.

How did NordWhale perform from a project management standpoint?

It was an excellent experience. They had a strong work ethic, communicated well, and were responsive to our needs. I appreciated that they offered insights for key decisions, solving issues that no one else knew how to approach.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Out of all the vendors we considered, NordWhale was the most detail-oriented and brought a level of sophistication that other teams lacked. During the interview process, they were the only ones with the foresight to ask about our legal plans, which I hadn’t even considered.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind. The process worked for me.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the founder of a blockchain-based file-sharing company. I'm responsible for overseeing product development and marketing.

For what projects/services did your company hire NordWhale?

We hired NordWhale to work on a file-sharing application that runs on the Ethereum blockchain.

What were your goals for this project?

The overall goal of the project was to build, rigorously test, and develop an application that runs smoothly on Windows, MacOS, and Linux.

How did you select this vendor?

We vetted several other agencies but didn't feel any other companies were experienced or qualified enough to work on our project. When we found Nordwhale and spoke with the team, it was clear they would be an excellent solution. They already had prior experience working on several other blockchain projects and knew how to approach the initial challenges that were presented to them.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The platform is a file-sharing application for Windows, MacOS, and Linux that runs on the Ethereum blockchain. Required functionality included file sharing and seeders' ability to earn cryptocurrency for using the platform. NordWhale helped us with the development, UI/UX components, blockchain aspects, testing, and more.

What was the team composition?

We have a direct project manager that we work with who helps delegate tasks. We also have several developers, a UI expert, and QA/testing personnel who have worked on the project.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Nordwhale's involvement has definitely benefited our business. They are responsive to all concerns and their ability to create rigorously tested solutions on Ethereum has greatly improved our company.

They have the talent to work through complex tasks and always do their best to find solutions without taking shortcuts or sacrificing quality. If something is technically feasible, this team can do it. They are solution-focused developers who could see the bigger picture with projects. They were able to provide any and all necessary services along the way.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We created a system together that included frequent reports and communication between project managers and developers. It was effective and allowed us to work efficiently. They are able to develop and test features for the application at a reasonable pace and provided updates every step of the way. Nordwhale's project manager is very knowledgable about technology and always responds to questions or concerns clearly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

On several occasions, they took extra steps to ensure the work they delivered was of the highest quality. I have high standards and all of the code was very clear, well-written, and neat. Nordwhale also did extremely well with all frontend design work. We could tell they cared about the project and continuously aimed to improve the quality of their designs.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing major comes to mind; they are an excellent set of developers.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the president of Brighton Properties. Dakota Heights is one of our affordable housing developments.

For what projects/services did your company hire NordWhale?

We hired NordWhale to build a web-based application to gain attention for the Dakota Heights project.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted the app to look good on all devices.

How did you select this vendor?

Another agency recommended NordWhale as a result-driven and experienced team. We previously worked with them on several projects and were satisfied with the results.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

NordWhale developed the project architecture and app development. Their team used ReactJS and Redux for the frontend, and NodeJS for the backend. They also perform manual testing.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a project manager, two developers, and a QA.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The product hasn’t launched, but we plan to use it for a massive marketing campaign. It looks great, and we are expecting equally great results.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

NordWhale’s team is easy to communicate with. Their team is organized and responsive. We use email, Jira, and Skype for communication.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

NordWhale employs talented developers. They work fast and produce an outstanding quality of work.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

NordWhale has been an excellent team.

Please describe your company and your position there.

ModulTrade is a blockchain-based global trade platform. It connects small enterprises to global trade via 4 main components: blockchain based smart contract platform, trade-related services platform, trade and reputation network, and marketplaces. I am the CEO of the ModulTrade

For what projects/services did your company hire NordWhale?

We hired the NordWhale team for our biggest project ModulTrade marketplace and we are happy with the result we’ve got.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to bring to life our idea of a blockchain-based ecosystem for easy, secure and cost-effective global trade.

How did you select this vendor?

We were in search of a team that can be trusted with our idea. From the first call, we saw NordWhale high technical expertise and understanding of what they do. So we decided to go further together.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The NordWHale team provided us with the architecture of the project, smart contracts, and all the other development parts. Using Ethereum, Solidity, ES6, Truffle, Web, Node.js, ReactJS, and Express technologies.

What was the team composition?

The team consists of the Project manager, Senior Blockchain developer, Full Stack developers, UI/UX designer and QA engineers

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Our cooperation with the NordWhale team started in 2017 and continue until now. They are developing ModulTrade marketplace from scratch. I am glad that we’ve selected this team. They are real professionals and know what they do. I highly recommend these guys.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We continue our cooperation and still, there were no problems with the project management. All the questions were solved very fast and qualitatively. This is a very easy going team

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The guys know what they do and the main thing they love what they do. They treat each project as if it were their own.

Are there any areas for improvement?

More new projects which NW team can lead will help you and the NW to get to the next level

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CEO and founder of a blockchain technology company. I'm responsible for product development and growth marketing.

For what projects/services did your company hire NordWhale?

We’d had challenges with a previous development team, so we asked NordWhale to step in and take care of our issues. We needed very serious, mission-critical blockchain development on Ethereum.

What were your goals for this project?

To have an easy-to-use, familiar checkout experience for very complicated technology. It was for an IoT (Internet of Things) blockchain token sale. 

How did you select this vendor?

I selected them because of their professional attentiveness to our project, and because they’re highly capable of creating complex technology solutions from front to back, while making them usable. They have a strong understanding of Ethereum smart contracts too.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We had to create smart contracts and integrate these with a suite of web and mobile technologies, as well as some cutting-edge identity and investor verification technologies. They did this seamlessly to provide an easy UX for people with little to no understanding of cryptocurrencies.

What was the team composition?

I worked with our project manager, their project manager, a UX designer, and a lead developer.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

After completing the project, some of the world's largest technology companies reached out to us for partnerships.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

There were available around the clock and were attentive partners. They always solved our problems and reported back to us no matter what the time, even during holidays.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their project management and their problem-solving ability impressed me. The organization and communication were also excellent. It was great that they really liked our project, so it wasn't all about the money.

Are there any areas for improvement?

As they grow, they could use more help on the UX and integrate this skill more.