Openweb Solutions

Please describe your company and your position there.

CEO

For what projects/services did your company hire Openweb Solutions?

To develop a android app and a back end to work with it.

What were your goals for this project?

Responsive and functional app with amazing UI/UX and good ads to bring profit.

How did you select Openweb Solutions?

Saw amazing reocmendation and they had a very attractive price. Not to mention that they have great english, which is a rarity.

Describe the project in detail.

Development of a "tinder" like app, where users submit confessions. The app needed multiple refinment in the UI and UX, as well as ads and aditional funcitonality. The back end needed refinment in regards to the interface and speed of loading.

What was the team composition?

1 PM and 2 Developers.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

I struggle to find developers with decent English. Sorry, but that's the truths. Many claim to have "native" level of English, but in reality, it's far from it. In this case, all the developers had amazing English, making communication a breeze.

The developers shared a good amount of photos and videos, in the process. Allowing me to understand the challenges and process.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The guys were always available, even on weekends, I could not be happier with the service that I got! (and the price was vert affordable!) Super effective communication!

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The developers did serious research, in order to finding all the possible repositories, and testing all of them find the best one. I changed my mind a fair few times, and at some point I expected them to snap at me, I was wrong, the team was patient and understanding.

Just a delight to work with. The developers shared a good amount of photos and videos, in the process. Allowing me to understand the challenges and process. I had issues with the way I defined my ad providers, the team jumped in and without hesitation and helped change the settings and configuration to resolve the issue.

Total professionals!

Are there any areas for improvement?

None. Highly recommanded and will use their services again.

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I’m the founder of a FinTech startup project, which comprises a web-based portfolio and risk management solution.

What challenge were you trying to address with Openweb Solutions? 

I was initially working on the project myself with a few other colleagues, but our circumstances didn’t allow us to take on the development full time. As such, we needed competent, cost-efficient developers to build out our proprietary risk management solution.

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Openweb Solutions used our provided requirements to develop a risk management app. It’s a portfolio management solution that involves three steps: first, a user chooses stocks or assets that are suitable to their risk appetite; next, they buy the stock; finally, they manage their investments and risks.

The app features multiple tools to help users throughout the process, from choosing the appropriate stock to monitoring their assets. It can be difficult for users to keep track of each investment when they have a large portfolio of stocks, so our solution helps provide a financial overview.

Currently, we’re still working on the app and hope to launch soon. Openweb Solutions is building the app with Vue.js and PHP, using MongoDB for the database. There’s still a lot to test and fix, but Openweb Solutions has supported us throughout.

What is the team composition?  

They’ve assigned 2–3 developers and 1–2 designers on our project. The main architect is also involved when necessary. If I ever need anything, their CEO is happy to take my phone call.

How did you come to work with Openweb Solutions?

Their CEO reached out to us on Upwork. He made a good impression, had strong English skills, and was technically competent. Even though there was a considerable number of employees who could’ve approached us, it meant a lot that he was the one to contacts us and walk us through the initial steps. 

How much have you invested with them? 

We’ve spent between $20,000–$50,000 thus far and pay as we go.

What is the status of this engagement?

Their work started in August 2018 and is ongoing. We have so many ideas to implement in the future that I don’t think the project will ever be completed. However, if everything goes according to plan, we’ll launch our solution in Q2 of 2019.

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

We’re currently preparing to start beta testing in a couple of weeks, so we don’t have any hard metrics to share. But, visually, the solution fits what we had in mind. Whenever we ask them to build something, they typically realize our idea within a few iterations. 

I also appreciate that they’ve shown real dedication to the project. At times, it turned out that I had made a mistake or hadn’t given clear instructions. Instead of just executing on my commands, they really thought about the project and raised any potential concerns.

How did Openweb Solutions perform from a project management standpoint? 

Their responsiveness and communication are excellent, though they could improve their documentation.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re technically capable and really responsive. Even though they work remotely, communication is almost in real-time. 

Are there any areas they could improve? 

As I mentioned, they could document the work a bit more.
 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a co-founder of an IT software and services company. We develop web and mobile applications.

For what projects/services did your company hire Openweb Solutions?

We needed resources for staff augmentation.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to catch up on our project after we fell behind earlier due to a shortage of internal resources.

How did you select this vendor?

They were recommended by another firm.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They helped develop a solution using Angular.js, Laravel, and Electron frameworks. Their work included frontend web development and a web backend.

What was the team composition?

They provided a programmer analyst.

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

Their professionalism and speed in understanding our needs helped us recover from the initial delay, allowing us to meet our client’s needs and generate satisfaction.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We defined a series of milestones to evaluate our progress in a timely manner and we checked it periodically.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were competent and easily understood our needs.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, we’re very satisfied.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Wopio brings together companies that have free space with businesses that want to promote their products but don't have the space to bring it to the customers. I’m the connection between our team and the software developers at Openweb Solutions.

What challenge were you trying to address with Openweb Solutions?

We outsourced the development of the platform to Openweb Solutions.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, I defined what frameworks and languages they should use. They are using PHP with a Laravel framework and JavaScript using jQuery. They are using an Agile method to build the platform. What's unique about it was creating the objects or the shops. While the process is similar—like putting something up on eBay—our product is unique. The website is still in progress, but we're about 80% done now.

We have about five contact persons or so at Openweb, depending on what we are currently working on. I’m mainly speaking to three persons—a designer, one or two programmers on the frontend and backend/server-side, and their boss. I talk with the latter for invoicing and administrative stuff.

How did you come to work with Openweb Solutions?

When I had a previous project on Upwork, Openweb was one of the top three developers that I wanted to choose. I ended up choosing somebody else, which was not a good experience. I remembered talking to Openweb before. I reached out to them again and asked if they were still interested in the project.

How much have you invested with Openweb Solutions?

We had a fixed amount and a specific list that we needed to get developed. We had the price and features we wanted, and they built a milestone plan based on that. We have 10 milestones. For each step, 10% will get paid. The initial amount was €3,500 [$3,915]. During the development process, we noticed that we needed additional things. We included those and paid extra.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the contract around seven months ago.

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

It was really good to see how Openweb developed the platform. They listened to my concerns, and I could see that they were knowledgeable. I have really high standards, but they quite often met those without saying anything.

How did Openweb Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

We had some delays because we weren't clear in our expectations. They had to do some additional work as well. Generally, we are almost always on time.

What did you find most impressive about Openweb Solutions?

I don’t have much experience with outsourcing for developers, but I can see that they really have good code quality. Most of the ones I saw before didn't even have that.

Openweb’s people are really good communicators. If I sent them an email, I would get an immediate response and not have to wait a week. They answer in a day at most. Whenever I need something urgent, I get a response in minutes. They're working almost 24/7.

Are there any areas Openweb Solutions could improve?

We had a tracking tool that we didn't use that much. We mostly used Skype for communications. It’s really a small thing and not a concern. They are still growing.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a serial entrepreneur running several online web portals.

What challenge were you trying to address with Openweb Solutions?

In the UK, there are two main players in the real estate market—Rightmove and Zoopla. Both cater to real estate agents, with private individuals not being allowed to advertise directly. I am trying to create a solution that gives individual buyers and sellers more options. It will serve as a more exclusive platform overall. I wanted to develop a quality product and not just make one for the sake of having a platform. The biggest challenge was trying to find a developer who understood my requirements and who would be flexible about making adjustments if and when required.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I worked with Openweb Solutions on a real estate project that involves a platform and apps. The current version of the platform is being developed using AngularJS and MongoDB.

Openweb Solutions suggested that each and every agent on the platform should receive a notification when their listings have been viewed. This gave them the option to communicate with the viewer right away. This is great for maintaining client interest. Each private lister or agent can also review statistics of their listings on the platform.

How did you come to work with Openweb Solutions?

I was working with a developer around nine years ago. When this project came up, I reached out to him. He told me he was working for Openweb Solutions and that I should talk to them. I found this to be a very sincere approach, whereas most people would have just taken the contract themselves. I set up a meeting with Openweb Solutions’ principal and was impressed with what I heard from him. He was willing to listen and gave me some good solutions that I hadn’t thought about.

How much have you invested with Openweb Solutions?

The cost of Openweb Solutions’ has been $23,000 so far. I find this to be reasonable compared to the apps and platform being built. I’ve spent much more on smaller projects in the past, but I was willing to make pricing adjustments.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Openweb Solutions on the 5th of March, 2017. The work is still ongoing. We plan to finish it in two months.

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

With Openweb Solutions, I didn’t just get a developer; I got a full team. My expectations have been exceeded, but it’s still early to fully tell. So far, Openweb Solutions’ quality of work has been very good. They’ve exceeded my expectations so far. We still have some time to go until the product is completed. Whenever a bug was identified, it was fixed immediately. When I had an issue with the design, I was given an updated version within one hour. Openweb Solutions actually assigned a more experienced resource with whom I’ve been very pleased. They can come up with solutions based on the descriptions I give, which I find wonderful.

How did Openweb Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

I have access to a tracking portal that lets me assess the project and get daily updates. I can also look at the outstanding bug fixes and review the scope. I can also communicate directly with the project manager, coders, and designer from Openweb Solutions’ side. All deadlines have been met so far. Openweb Solutions actually delivered before the deadline on a few occasions.

What did you find most impressive about Openweb Solutions?

I’ve been impressed with their communication. The documentation is impressive and thorough. At the end of the project, I will be able to have anyone else continue the work since every feature was fully explained by Openweb Solutions. I’m only an investor, not an IT person. So, if I can understand Openweb Solutions’ documentation, then most people will also.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My company is Innovative School Tools, LLC. We build education software to help teachers increase productivity in paperwork and other workflows. I am the CEO and co-founder.

What challenge were you trying to address with Openweb Solutions?

We were trying to build a reports section of our software and merge it with the address book section. They built that out and synchronized it all, so it could all work together with our address book portion. We’re in beta at this point. We were building the product first, and he was there at the early stages of building it for us.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The software is called TeachersInTouch, and we basically help teachers stay in touch with parents, administrators, and other vested parties in schools. Our program also allows teachers to save documentation for communicating later on, for meetings and other referrals. My CTO is a computer science engineer. We outsourced the coding to Openweb Solutions and another coder. Milton from Openweb did the reports section, and the other coder did the address book. Openweb Solutions has done all the other remaining sections too. They really did 70-80% of the project.

At one time, the maximum number of developers from Openweb working on this project was about four. At first, I was working with Milton, but then I primarily worked with Sourav Mandel [phonetic].  We used AngularJS, PHP, Laravel Forge hosting, and API’s like Twilio, Stripe, and Spark. We used DigitalOcean as our server, and SparkPost for our email solution. Openweb did a lot of customization and coding themselves for the lion’s share of it.

How did you come to work with Openweb Solutions?

We found them through an online search on Elance. Their pricing was great, and we conducted a brief interview with them through Elance. We liked them and stuck with them.

How much have you invested with Openweb Solutions?

We’ve invested $4,000-5,000. We’re not done yet, so we’ll probably spend another $1,500.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started developing the project in July or August of 2016, and the work is ongoing. We are really close to pushing it out live. I’m hoping we’ll be trying to do some sales by the end of May or first of June.

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

So far, from the beta conversation and my testing, once we agree that it’s ready to go, it does not break. It’s not something that’s broken. So far, it has not appeared to break once we say it’s done. I guess that’s the result that has really stood out for me. Milton is a very strong coder. He’s growing his team to get as strong as he is, and strong in the English language as well. Now, we’re interfacing more with Sourav, and he’s actually growing another teammate on there. I think his name is Tammoy. Those things have helped. His command of English is also a good thing, to help make this work a lot better as far as results are concerned.

They are open for feedback on the process of how they can get better. They’re open to communicating more effectively. They don’t treat you like an everyday client. You feel like you’re really important. That’s another thing that made me stay with him. As far as the beta is concerned, when we say it’s working, it is actually working. Reports have been working ever since. All the different modules on our software have been pretty good.

How did Openweb Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

They generally hit the deadlines. Sometimes they’re a little off, and they’re rarely early. That’s one area that could be better. I could move a little faster. 

What did you find most impressive about Openweb Solutions?

They’re very logical. They have good linear thinking as they flesh out the things we’re designing. They present those ‘what if’ statements, forcing us to think it through more. I think they have the capacity to help a client to really think through the project. I don’t always have to tell them what I want line by line. I think they’ve grown to the point where they can take a conversation or idea and make it work. If you do give them a clickable Balsamiq and video, it works well. They’re extremely good at following exactly what you’re saying. They’re definitely willing to fix any issue their coding or developing caused. They’re committed to that. When Twilio was giving us a problem, they stayed on it and got it done. They take pride in getting it done.  

Are there any areas Openweb Solutions could improve?

We experienced time issues due to the different cultures which caused some delays in making the deadlines. They work on it and make it happen. The other area in which they could improve is in growing their developers, so they don’t just have two or three who can code at the same level as Milton. He’s growing his team, so that’s a good thing.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the lead developer of a care company that develops software for the care industry in the UK.

What challenge were you trying to address with Openweb Solutions?

We needed web development work.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We didn't have enough web developers in-house, so we looked for freelance companies and Openweb Solutions was one of the options we came upon. They worked in conjunction with the web developers on our team. They mostly helped with backend web development. They didn't deal with any frontend design. They basically worked on the functionality that we have on our system, which is built on Laravel, a PHP framework. We use a MySQL database and JavaScript, and in terms of JavaScript, we use pure JavaScript as well as jQuery and UJS.

The website Openweb Solutions worked on is an in-house system that we use to make our business more efficient. We kind of changed our paper-based system into a web-based one. We do all of our processes on this new system. We are pushing the website to other clients so that anyone in the care industry can be able to use our software as well.

How did you come to work with Openweb Solutions?

We found Openweb Solutions through a referral. We were previously working with another freelancer company, but because Openweb came with a referral, we ultimately decided we wanted to make the switch to them. We knew of their work beforehand and we thought it would be suitable for our system.

How much have you invested with Openweb Solutions?

I don't deal with the cost side of things, so I can't give you any information on how much we have spent with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

I think we’ve been working with Openweb for almost a year now, from around April or May 2016. The system was pushed live around July 2016. Openweb does some of our maintenance, and we are pushing new features on our system to help our internal processes.

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

Because of the efficiency of our system and the developers that Openweb has provided, I think our company has grown about 40%. Before the improvements, we had around 70 people on staff, and we now have 100 because we’ve made the system so much more efficient.

How did Openweb Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management has been really good. We haven't had any problems with Openweb Solutions. They assigned a project manager to our team, and when we needed their developers, they were able to provide them as soon as they could. We were in contact with Openweb Solutions’ main developer; he handled our project by himself in the beginning and then he gradually got all of the developers involved. Openweb generally meets their deadlines, and they’re really quick to respond to messages about fixes or maintenance issues.

What did you find most impressive about Openweb Solutions?

I think Openweb’s communication is really good. A lot of developers don't give full disclosure on the processes that need to be done during development work, but I found Openweb able to communicate the problems they found and even fix what we needed. If they thought that anything was missing, they would suggest it to me, and I would confirm whether or not it was. Their communication was really effective. It saved from having to ping back and forth and waste time.

Are there any areas Openweb Solutions could improve?

Not really.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Lead Project Manager

For what projects/services did your company hire Openweb Solutions?

To quickly develop a high-quality admin panel for our mobile application

What were your goals for this project?

To go to market as quickly as possible with an admin panel for our customers to self manage their events via out mobile app.

How did you select this vendor?

Openweb was recommended to us and they did not disappoint!

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Mobile and web development

What was the team composition?

The team had multiple developers and one project manager who was our main point of contact.

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

The result of the project was great! The team was highly accomodating when we went out of scope and worked over time to deliver the project.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The team managed the project professionaly and maintained a high level of work

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their commitment to the project and delivering the best possible result

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is very little to improve.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Startup company in developing SaaS product. I am the Founder

For what projects/services did your company hire Openweb Solutions?

PHP backend development services

What were your goals for this project?

Web application solution meeting specified requirements

How did you select this vendor?

Google search

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They developed as per our specifications. They were responsible for advising on the requirements, and implementing the architecture and code development.

What was the team composition?

We had a Project Manager and two PHP web developers

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

We achieved our goal. We have a working web application as per our requirements, enabling us to meet our milestones.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Slack and Jira. We created the Jira tasks and developers them up and worked on them, and move them across the streams when done. Slack was used for constant communication with the team.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Flexibility and speed of resources getting up to speed, we changed php frameworks after starting the project and they were quite flexible and quick in learning Symfony 4 framework.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not that I can think off

Please describe your company and your position there.

We offer online, self-administered EMDR Eye Movement Treatments

For what projects/services did your company hire Openweb Solutions?

To develop further my Laravel website and also to create custom software.

What were your goals for this project?

To make my product as best as possible.

How did you select this vendor?

I found them through UpWork.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Larivel website changes, coding, software development

What was the team composition?

Miltan Chaudhury Santanu Aich

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

They have done an excellent job. I am so happy I took a risk and hired them.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

n/a

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Santanu gets works done at a very quick pace. Much faster than anyone I have ever worked with.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No.