Opinov8 Digital and Engineering Solutions

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the COO of HR Data Hub. We are an HR benchmarking and analytics business based in the UK. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Opinov8?

We needed to build a platform. Our company had the design and basic concept prepared, and we hired Opinov8 Technology Services to program the software.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We sent over a draft design that laid out our needs, goals, how the platform should look, and some potential technologies to use. Opinov8 Technology Services proposed how they planned to build our platform, a technology stack to use, timeline, and pricing.

We provided basic Excel Tableau mockups due to the nature of our site's design along with early-stage requirements for the functionality. Opinov8 Technology Services worked with us collaboratively. They provided several potential options for the backend functionality and the frontend look and feel. In terms of technology, they used Azure.  

What is the team composition? 

In total, we worked with 5-6 people from their team. 

How did you come to work with Opinov8?

A business contact recommended Opinov8 Technology Services. We took our concept to a few businesses and compared three quotes. From that fairly broad proposal, we narrowed down more intricate aspects of the project to find the best vendor. We chose them based on our initial meetings and the strength of their proposal.

How much have you invested with them?

We've probably spent about £120,000– £130,000 (approximately $156,000–$169,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We're still working on the project, which started in September 2018. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site we're building together hasn't launched yet, but Opinov8 Technology Services worked with us throughout the entire process. They allowed us to have both mockups and live dev sites.  

Feedback coming in from our clients has been strongly positive about both the concept and design. Our users have expressed that they like what we are producing, which is a mix of both our teams' combined expertise. 

How did Opinov8 perform from a project management standpoint?

Opinov8 Technology Services has managed the project very well. When I’ve made specialized requests for reporting that relate to how I run our part of the business, they’ve been very accommodating. Their standard reporting has been perfectly adequate for our needs. 

We communicate mainly over email and conference calls using technology like Google Hangouts. They send us regular progress updates and let us know about delays or if anything isn't necessarily going as planned. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Opinov8 Technology Services’ flexibility makes them stand out from the competition. As a very early-stage business, we experience frequent changes. I've worked with a lot of organizations in the past, and being accommodating enough to work with our fledgling business is an impressive strength of theirs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Potentially, Opinov8 Technology Services could provide more straightforward reports limited to once a week. Less is more, in this case. Along with access to their project management services such as Jira, they could also offer clients a simplified option that's less entrenched in the minor details. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a co-founder and COO of Hasteepay, a salary advance service. We offer a way for people to access their income before payday. Our contract is structured as an employee benefit and is a rapidly expanding, valuable sector.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Opinov8 Technology Services?

We hadn’t built anything and needed to start from stage one, which was gaining an understanding of why we were creating the software.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked with them to design the wireframes and create 2,500 user stories. We did a release every two weeks through an Agile process. We built two mobile apps, an app-in portal, a custom portal, as well as all the backend services that drives and pulls together those three business aspects. The mobile apps were native iOS and Android. They used .NET for the backend of the platform and did the design collaboratively with us.

We have a lot of API activity and endpoints within the products. They built upon a microservices architecture, a container environment to help with speed ability and scalability. The original minimum viable product (MVP) was delivered in an incredibly short period of time. This was both good and bad because you tend to have a lot of technical debt within your MVP.

We’ve developed a ton of features for the web portal and are on a 3–4-year journey.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 12 people and also brought in a couple more if we needed a certain skill set. We brought in an architect and some additional UX/UI people in the beginning, as well as ran a number of workshops around the different product areas. We have a project management office here in the U.K.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about £1 million (1.4 million USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2017 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The MVPs worked the first time we launched them in August. We had our first sign-up the same day and our usage of product the very next day. It was extremely positive and we’ve had a lot of subsequent usage as well.

The customers have been very happy. We’ve had over 1,000 users but less than 100 emails about issues. Most issues revolve around users saying they want to do something but aren’t sure how or that they lost invite codes to get the app. They’re all very low-level, basic problems.

How did Opinov8 Technology Services perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re strong and very helpful, as well as realistic about time frames. We delivered two weeks late, but I know from working in the software industry for 20 years that that’s about as good as it gets. 

They’ve done very well. We use the Atlassian tool set, Jira, HipChat, Slack, email, and Skype. We do daily standups with the team and have done well with the Agile process. We sometimes haven’t had enough UAT (user acceptance testing) due to development speed, but that’s a natural part of the delivery pace rather than accuracy.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality, staff retention, and questions they ask during challenging parts of the process are all impressive. They’ve saved us resources and time by guiding us through the journey to ensure we don’t get caught up in things. They step back and break down the scope with us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’ve already improved by getting a new office.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you see the team at least twice a month and keep high control of the scope. Engage in scope-driven conversations with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a web developer at SoftwarePatterns, an innovative software engineering company for digital transformation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Opinov8 Digital and Engineering Solutions?

We hired Opinov8 Digital and Engineering Solutions to improve our platform's performance, scalability, and overall technical stability to deliver a faster and more reliable experience to our users.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Opinov8 Digital and Engineering Solutions covered backend improvements, new feature development, architecture redesign, and cloud optimization. Their main deliverables were a more scalable platform, cleaner code, improved performance, and reliable technical support. The team redesigned major parts of our backend and delivered new features like enhanced searching, faster page loading, and updated UI components.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 2–5 teammates from Opinov8 Digital and Engineering Solutions.

How did you come to work with Opinov8 Digital and Engineering Solutions?

We found Opinov8 Digital and Engineering Solutions through an online search. We chose them because they were a great culture fit and were referred to me.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent less than $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February–October 2025.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Opinov8 Digital and Engineering Solutions delivered measurable results, including improved performance, faster load times, fewer errors, and a better overall user experience, clearly showing progress and success. 
We saw significant gains, including 40% faster load times, 30% fewer system errors, and 50% faster backend processing. These metrics clearly reflected the success of their work. The performance gains have been maintained, and we've seen increased user engagement and retention since launch.

How did Opinov8 Digital and Engineering Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

Opinov8 Digital and Engineering Solutions managed the project efficiently, delivering all work on time while keeping the team aligned and informed. We communicated via virtual meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were most impressed by their expertise, innovative mindset, and collaborative approach, which consistently exceeded our expectations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were no major issues. Perhaps slightly more frequent progress updates in the early stages could have helped, but overall, the project exceeded our expectations.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the VP Engineering of an engineering company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Software to assist Enterprise IT to manage their computing devices.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Opinov8 Technology Services to accomplish?

• QA Staff Augmentation

SOLUTION

How did you find Opinov8 Technology Services?

Referral

Why did you select Opinov8 Technology Services over others?

• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Opinov8 Technology Services were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Opinov8 was brought on to assist with building out our QA team. They supplied a QA lead and several team members to enhance our few existing QA resources. They were tasked with setting up an Agile team and processes, organizing test cases, and starting work on an automation framework.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Agile process was put in place, a collection of test case started, and an automation framework was started. In addition, the additional QA testers augmented our testing bandwidth.

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

The QA lead and the project manager were both hugely responsive and helpful. The project manager, Inna, went out of her way to help and even assisted with some tool configuration outside of the QA work simply because she had some experience in the area and knew we were struggling with some questions.

And it should be noted that our engagement started shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The team could come out of bomb shelters in the morning and join our calls. I don't think they missed a single call or deliverable despite the insane situation they were in. For those that had to move, they called in from hotels.

What was your primary form of communication with Opinov8 Technology Services?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Craig and Inna have been great to work with. It is clearly a business and they are clearly business people running their business - but it never seems like that. It seems as though we are the only customer and they are interested and invested in our success. It seems like a partnership and there has never been the hard sell like I have experienced from other outsourcing companies.

The individual team members have been very good as well and feel like just part of the team. And again, all of this with bombs literally falling around them. I think one spent part of the day taking supplies to troops and then did his QA work for us after.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Opinov8 Technology Services could have done differently?

No, I have been very happy with the services to this point.