Opengenica

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was leading a team that was working on IoT initiative within a major mobile phone producer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Opengenica?

We hired Opengenica to help us with the Admin Dashboard UI/UX implementation and SDK development for our proprietary IoT Platform.

What were your goals for this project?

• Create Admin Dashboard for managing proprietary IoT Platform
• Create SDKs in several languages to allow app developers integrating with the platform
• Create sample applications using SDKs to showcase integration scenarios and capabilities

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Opengenica applied through RFQ and then worked with us through the RFP process. They won the RFP by proving that they could be a reliable, dependable partner. They had an excellent track record and bleeding-edge technology expertise.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We had the following project requirements:

• Implement AngularJS-based Admin Dashboard integrating with Node.js mid-tier using RESTful APIs
• Implement SDKs on the mid-tier level for the following languages:
  • JavaScript
  • Python
  • Ruby
  • Java
  • .NET
• Create sample web applications utilizing SDKs

What was the team composition?

Our team included 2 frontend engineers, 4 backend and mid-tier engineers, and 1 PM.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Opengenica saved us the time on this project and allowed our team to deliver the complete solution before the deadline. Currently, the BlackBerry IoT Platform is one of the top solutions in the world for Equipment Tracking.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We used Slack internally, and we had people from Opengenica joining our channels. We synced our tasks through Pivotal Tracker. Opengenica used their internal tracking tools that we had no access to, but they synced up their work with PT. Overall, we liked how it all worked.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were very responsive, fast, and they produced very high-quality code that was covered well by E2E and unit tests.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We should’ve created better synchronization processes at the beginning that would’ve saved us some time. Opengenica was able to correct and improve quickly, and for the rest of the project, we didn’t have any issues.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a Sr. Software Development Manager at Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services. CFMWS is an organization supplying services and benefits to Canadian Forces members and their families.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Opengenica?

To redesign and rebuild CF Appreciation and SISIP Financial portals.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to expand our reach and introduce a better, more modern approach to CFMWS online services.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We have a formal multi-stage selection process in place. It involves collecting RFPs from vendors, face-to-face presentations, cost analysis, etc. Opengenica went through this process and was selected as a preferred vendor.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Both CF Appreciation and SISIP Financial projects were built using the same design and development principles and technologies:

• AngularJS
• Kentico CMS
• Microsoft .NET
• Microsoft Azure

The frontend part integrated with Kentico CMS through a custom .NET adapter.

What was the team composition?

We worked with Opengenica’s account exec most of the time. They also had a PM, 3 software developers and a QA specialist. On our end, we had a Product Manager, a backend engineer, and a QA resource.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We launched an upgraded version of the CF Appreciation portal along with the mobile app in September 2017. We launched the SISIP Financial portal on September 2018.

Since the launch, we saw a 50% increase in users, and a more than 75% increase in time spent using the app. Also, the project owner was very happy with the updated look & feel.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The workflow was efficient. CFMWS had hosted JIRA, and we synchronized with Opengenica’s JIRA automatically. We also used Google Drive for storing project documentation. Opengenica’s account executive was very responsive.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Opengenica delivered on time and on budget—something we haven’t seen happening often. They also offered complimentary support for several months which we had to seldom use.

Are there any areas for improvement?

N/A

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a CTO and co-founder of 3DPonics. I've been running this company for three years. We design CAD models of 3D printed components for creating custom on-demand hydroponics systems - ranging from small home-based installations to larger farms.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Opengenica?

To build a system to manage hydroponics installations, assembled from the 3D components. That included watering, water quality control, temperature control, and many other things.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a SaaS system that would create a new revenue stream for our company and bring new buyers for our 3D printed models and components.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Another company highly recommended them. We also researched online and called for references. We liked the iterative approach, and "lightweight" Scrum processes Opengenica recommended for our project.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The project had several major components: Arduino-based sensors and actuators Arduino-based controlling software written in Python Backend for collecting information and providing C&C using RESTful APIs and AWS DynamoDB for storage AWS Data Pipelines for data processing and aggregation Dashboard backend built with Django and Aurora DB Frontend built with React.js

What was the team composition?

The team included an account executive, a project manager, four software developers, and one QA engineer. We were working mostly with the PM, with occasional help from the AE.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We successfully launched the beta version in February 2018, and then dropped "beta" status in May.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We used JIRA for PM, Slack for synchronization, Google Drive for documents, and we had regularly scheduled status update calls. It worked pretty well, and Opengenica's people were very responsive.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

It's how they were able to build a complex system like this one end-to-end, without having to pull any additional / 3rd-party resources. It's the expertise and experience they brought to the table, making it possible to architect and eventually to build what we wanted (and - most importantly - needed!)

Are there any areas for improvement?

It's hard to tell. They were always super-proactive in collecting the feedback at all stages of the project and were quick to correct the processes if something was working less than perfect.