NthDimenzion Solutions

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

The company does research and development for sport and media.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I am the founder. I am primarily on the tech side and do some consulting. I work on sponsorship, as well as management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with NthDimenzion Solutions?

We wanted to create an as-yet unavailable product for the management of event logistics.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

There was some support involved in NthDimenzion’s work, but a lot of the work was taking the initial brief and developing the architecture, working with us to refine the scope and design of the product. Then they helped us find the most efficient way of making that available for a service platform. Essentially, they worked to develop the user interface, although that was a more minor aspect. The main aspects were usability, architecture, and coding the final product.

What was your process for selecting NthDimenzion Solutions to work with?

I’ve known their founder [Ramprasad Nagaraja] for some time through some previous work, and I had done some work with him through my previous employer. We have been impressed with him personally and, when he set up his own company, I decided to use him for other projects. He’s a very capable guy.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

The project is still in the beta phase, and we haven’t rolled it out as a project yet. A team of three people worked a day a week for two or three months. We didn’t develop the project in a structured way in the sense that we set an amount of hours or work. It was more like a joint venture between us. We brought some things to the table, and NthDimenzion did as well.

When was the latest milestone completed for that work?

We are pending a use model now, and I’ve been busy with other projects. I’m waiting for the right opportunity to deploy, and I think it will be a valuable tool once we get to the point where we have a use model. Selling something new is a hard road, so we’re looking for an internal use case to begin with. Once we have used it internally, that will be the anchor that will help us take it to the market.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How have they performed?

NthDimenzion is unusual and qualified in a number of areas that may be available from other companies. However, the qualities that stand out with them are their ability to understand a brief and to work with you in a manner that is more iterative. Once we’ve done that, the level of interactive makes me comfortable enough that they could deploy some of their staff internationally to build the connection between an offshore team and a domestic team.

For an offshore company, they are very easy to work with, and they can easily fit in as part of the team. There is a very good level of communication, and you feel as if you’re on top of what’s going on. There is agility and flexibility, not only on the coding side, but also in the workflow. The workflow side is equally impressive as the actual coding, and I think they stand out there as well as with the communication and collaboration aspects of developing a project.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

They’re nice guys. That’s important as well. They’re easy to get along with, and they understand what you’re saying. That is important in creating synergy in the conversation. When you get off the phone, you feel comfortable that it will get done by them with you in mind. They have a personal touch.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

I don’t think they purport to be good UI [user interface] people. I think their less strong side is the UI side, and I wasn’t expecting them to do that. If I were to make a suggestion about adding skills to complement their great work they do already, having some collaboration or internal resource for UI and its design would be beneficial to them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your firm.

We are one of the largest companies in India. We are approximately a $3 billion revenue company. We address global markets in 49 countries. We are involved in many industries including manufacturing, telecom, and healthcare, among others. Predominantly, we are consulting, implementation, integration, and support partners to leading technology players in this market.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I head the consulting and enterprise solutions, a business division of corporation. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for the work with NthDimenzion Solutions? 

They are our partners for some various niche type of support work. These projects are usually around performance tuning, Web application development, and especially mobile Web application development. We also sometimes take their service offerings or solutions to the market.  

SOLUTION

Can you please describe their work in more detail?

No. We have not done anything on big data analytics as of now, but they are looking at these new service offerings. But, they support us in mobility apps development.

What was your process for selecting them with which to work?

Our process of selecting them to work with was asking them to do a proof of concept and checking all quality and their process knowledge, domain knowledge, and technical expertise. Based on those factors, out of several vendors, we have selected them.

Could you give us a sense of the size of their work with a general cost range?

I would not have that data right away, honestly. Also, that is confidential.

When was their last project completed?

I think last quarter, we did a large program in which they were one part of that program as a subcontract piece of work. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics you can share about the success of the work?

All the work has been able to go live. We have been able to get revenue out of this program, and we have satisfied customers. 

How has NthDimenzion Solutions performed overall?

They have a good understanding of the technology. They’re very process oriented, especially agile, and other more modern methodologies. After they define the problem, their ability to estimate is good. Their confidence is good because most of the projects we give them are challenging.

Is anything else unique or special about them that makes them stand out compared to some other vendors?

I think the main things are quality, their responsiveness, understanding of technology and the architecture, and ability to come out with various options. It’s their strength. Their strength is their ability to meet commitments to both customers and us.

Looking back on the work, is there anything that you think they could improve upon or something you might do differently?

I would like them to think big. They have to focus on certain articles because, today, specialization is the name of the game. They are mostly aligning with the current trends in the market with respect to mobility and cloud computing. But, still, they are playing in the mid-lower market end of IT [information technology] services. If they can scale up and get that volume with a larger employee base, then it will give us more confidence especially with respect to risk mitigation and their ability to deliver large programs.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

We have a manufacturing factory that makes kitchen countertops, which are made of marble. We have Hadoop for managing the process, which is a big data type of project.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I am the director in charge of operations. I am one of the owners of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Nth Dimenzion Solutions?

The primary goal was managing the manufacturing processes that control the stages of optimizing the manufacturing process. We found it very difficult to keep track of the schedule because it is almost always a short period. Once we get a confirmation, we have to complete it within 15 to 20 days. The type of work is a finishing job, an interior project, so by the time we get our project confirmed, it is almost the launch date for the showrooms. We have a specific date to complete a project, and we found it difficult to handle multiple projects at the same time.

Initially, we wanted to keep track of all the projects that were going on at once. We had to track all the stages and material list stages for manufacturing plans. We needed to control the data. The overall goal was efficiency, improvements, and completing the projects on time.

We did not have the right IT resources within our company to explain these issues to the team and to solve these problems. I am not an IT person, but I am one of the owners of the company. I was not able to monitor that team for a long while, and I was handling multiple aspects of the company. I was not able to spend time with them. There was no other staff in the company who had an IT background.

The process went well. We took our time, but it was completed within schedule.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

Initially, we did it remotely. NthDimenzion Solutions was supporting remotely from India. We are located in Dubai. They supported us very well remotely. Occasionally, we send our people to be trained at their location, which went fine.

What was your process for selecting NthDimenzion Solutions to work with for this engagement?

Initially, we were working with an accounting software package called Tally. We checked out other software in Dubai: Focus, CS9, plus a few mid-level solutions. To be frank, we didn’t go for those packages for two reasons. First, it was too costly for us. Second, we could not afford it if we implemented those platforms, we would need to have dedicated people working with us who could support us in-house. We were not ready to invest that much, which was one reason why we didn’t go for the bigger software packages.

Among the smaller software packages, we found that they are more flexible and put the customer first. The customization costs of Focus was too high for us. Secondly, the people who communicated with us didn’t seem to understand the requirements properly, which we tried to explain to them. When we tried to explain the requirements to them, they were actually conceiving the concepts, but I didn’t feel as if they understood our process properly. Focus has a lot of support in Dubai, but they didn’t understand our requirements.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

It took almost three months to complete. They provided software training for almost a week at their location. The approximate cost was close to $85,000 to $95,000.

When was the latest milestone completed for that work?

It was completed in mid-2012. We started this operation in mid-2011, and began this project about eight months after that.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

I don’t have the figures offhand. We are a small company with about 85 people working for us, including about 10 or 12 workers in the office. NthDimenzion optimized almost every part of the process. Initially, we found it a bit challenging to train our staff to work with the new software. They were already familiar with Tally, which is a basic software package that is very popular in India. It was a challenge migrating them to the new software. The platform and user experience with the new software was very difficult, and that took a bit of time to get them used to it.

After that, they helped us in scheduling the work, and we were able to know that a particular work would not be completed on time. Before, only when the schedule was set, and we wanted to deliver it, we found that it wasn't completed; it would take another two or three days. That was an embarrassing situation because we had to face hard words from the customers. It was better to be able to talk to the customer before the deadline had passed, so we can prepare the client. That was the practical advantage of the software. Otherwise, it worked smoothly also. The most important factor was the workflow and us getting a clear picture of whether we could meet the client's deadline or not.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

NthDimenzion understood the business requirements the best. We have a very specific process. Rather than us having to adapt to their software process, in this case, we had the process, and they developed the solution and brought it to our offices. That was the most important factor. Also, they were always available for technical support.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

I’m not sure about this, but initially, they could have come up with a better discussion or a better process for us to operate than we were already using. We expect software companies to come up with a solution and a better process. They were completely trained in our process.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

We are an Indian company in the healthcare sector. We offer services for new and old hospital projects. We help hospitals. That is our main forte. Apart from that, we are also offer other hospital services, such as oral healthcare. One of the products we use for our work was created by NthDimenzion. They are helping us develop the software for the platform.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I am the founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with NthDimenzion Solutions?

The company is composed of almost all doctors, and we don’t have a technical person in the company. We needed to have all of this expertise come from an outside partner.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

Since we operate an online portal for medical students, we rely on NthDimenzion for their continued support services. They are in Phase 1 software development, and down the line, they will help us in further development, apart from offering support services. They are our technology partners.

We wanted an in-house person, and they can train us as well. That is not defined right now, but as the business grows, we will be training as well.

What was your process for selecting NthDimenzion Solutions to work with?

In India, a reference counts heavily. They seem to be gaining influence and exposure in the healthcare industry. Those were the two main factors that we looked into. They have a very good, strong team. They were a good match for us. I think it will be complete by March of 2014.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

They have been working with us since about September of 2013. By the end of February, we expect to complete this project cycle. We had some enhancements, which they were supposed to complete in four months. But, there were delays that no one planned on occurring. So, that took an extra two months, which is fair enough for our site. The total project cycle is for six months, and they had their own six people dedicated to our project. The cost was around $60,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

We don’t have that kind of documentation. They are maintaining all of the records. The project has not gone live, which we expect to happen in March once we bring all the content into the portal. That is when we plan to launch. We are still collecting the content. That will take some time, and that is why it is delayed. Once we take it to market, we can get that information about the project.

Can you assess their performance?

With respect to the timeline, NthDimenzion is fairly fast and keeps up with the work. The documentation is accurate and is well maintained. They will share any changes or updates with us on a regular basis. All those documents are being shared through the common servers. Timeline-wise, they will give a demo to decide whether to pay for certain enhancements. These are the requirements, and we will have discussions during the demo itself. There will be time to think about it and make any required changes. We will look into that and provide feedback at that time.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

When I discuss NthDimenzion with others on the team, they highlight how good the team is, because of the way they talk to us and how well they consider our viewpoints. They communicate very well. I don’t have any other experiences with similar companies.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

I may not be the right person to answer this question, I have limited knowledge of IT.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

I work with Bajaj Auto. We are an auto manufacturer. We focus on two- and three-wheelers, and we export parts. We sell large motorcycle parts and we also develop engines to export to Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. We have our own R&D.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I am the manager of R&D.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with NthDimenzion Solutions?

We have been working with NthDimenzion for two years and have done multiple projects with them. We have a large IT setup for the R&D, and we use the PLN application. However, there are some applications that are more technology intensive, which is a large platform and more custom work. That’s when we engage in an issue.

I have multiple products. The first major engagement we did created a test data management system. The challenge was that as part of new product development, we do multiple tests during the development stage of the product. Most of the data is used to design the system. Also, there was no way to collate and run most of the tests that have been done completely, and do comparisons of the tests over a period of time.

Which technologies were used?

Most of them were on the .NET platform from the Web-based platform. For the tablet-based and [mobile-based], we had an application where the tablet had to be working in an environment that changed. We went for an [IP systems-compliant] tablet. That was Android-based. We had to integrate the application with the tablet and Android. Most of the data capture on the tablet was using the Android app, which was used to do the data capture.

We also interfaced in the GPRS and used Microsoft [Bing Maps] to get more information to map them. We used Microsoft and Bing. We also used in certain applications other types of management and used SharePoint. It was Android based technology for tablets. These are the technologies that we used.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

I engaged NthDimenzion for that program because it was not just creating a Web-based navigation platform, but it also involved mobility whereby new business dealers could capture data on the go as they’re measuring. They basically interfaced the system for using tablets. We interfaced the issue creation with image capture as it happens, so we interfaced the image capture on the camera of the tablet to get them to synchronize. The application has an online/offline feature to let it sync up.

The basic business goal was to aid the business unit in capturing data and report it to manager, create the capability to compare and analyze test data during a period of time, and see what progress we're making. This is one of the large engagements that we’ve been working on.

The next phase is the integration of another system during the phase with GPRS to know exactly where they are and what test groups they’re following. If they’re not responding, we'll work on that as a Phase 2.

We also have a project that is for other management systems that basically measures the efficiency of how R&D users use the resources and what they’re doing. We just went online with that. There are multiple engagements that are basically niche applications that are very specific to our core business needs and to improve our efficiency.

What was your process for selecting NthDimenzion Solutions to work with?

We were looking for someone who had a very fine understanding of what our needs were. We evaluated a couple of suppliers and wanted a smaller supplier. One of the challenges of going with a large supplier is skill and their understanding of technology. We were looking for smaller companies, which were focused more on the technology. That’s how we came across NthDimenzion, and we had some references on them.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

I'd like to keep it confidential. We’ve been engaged with them for almost two years now. On an average, we have about three to four people working full time at any time for our engagements.

When do you think all the work will be completed?

We are going live with the project. We are done with Phase 1. We're going to Phase 2 to extend it. The product is now going live. Typically, the life cycle of a product is between three to five months, and we keep going on and keep adding to it. Using the current scheme, it will probably taper down by March of 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How has NthDimenzion Solutions performed so far?

I think their understanding of the requirements is pretty good. NthDimenzion Solutions is very sharp with reporting, and their methodology is strong. They kick off rapidly and, as the requirement continue to be added, they keep up and are very good. I work in a remote business, so we don't get much of their team on site. We have to use software for remote planning sessions.

From a management perspective, being a smaller team that is technology focused with significant experience in [websites]. I think the understanding is very good for us to keep working together.

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

I don’t have them at this time. Cost wise, we have no issues, no change requests or things like that, and we have had any surprises. With respect to time, we have been working through multiple time plans, and it could be a week here or there. With respect to quality, in the [projects] that have gone live, we have not had had any major bugs or issues. Most of it has been on time, except for minor functionalities here and there. Those are minor issues, probably something that was not planned by us.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

One thing is the final process. We basically are pleased from our side that the requirements to make sure the interpretation of what we say is clear. They could improve their process to understand customer requests better. Sometimes, they need to go back and make sure the customer is satisfied, but this is a minor issue and the only improvement I can find.