Opinya

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a CTO in the agriculture field. We provide a service that helps farmers and growers decide how to irrigate and when to irrigate.

What challenge were you trying to address with Opinya?

We needed extra resources to work on our backend web servers that are written in Ruby on Rails.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We used them to empower our in-house team. Our backend is divided into two—the first is a Java calculation machine that runs the algorithms, AI (artificial intelligence), and machine learning algorithms. Another side is the web server that gets the results from the Java machine and does all of the metadata management, as well as the relationship between customers, users, projects, sensors. It also manages the database, APIs, third-party providers, etc.

Opinya collaborated with the team that developed the web server, with a PostgreSQL database. They developed an API to weather services from scratch. We worked with them on a consultancy basis, where they provided architectural work. They offered to consult on how to build the database and all kinds of high-level decisions. They also had people that did the development related to Ruby on Rails, the database, and the APIs.

What is the team composition?

We had one full-time developer from Opinya working with our team. Gady (CTO & Ruby on Rails Consultant, Opinya) did architectural consulting, code review, and project management.

How did you come to work with Opinya?

One of our people knew Opinya from previous work and recommended them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend $12,000/month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2016 and the work is ongoing.

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

Initially, we did all the calculation on Ruby on Rails on the web server, before deciding that it was too heavy for the web server and made a change, architecturally and in implementation. It was a heavy workload and Opinya was part of it. They were involved with the major parts of the implementation—all the API between the Java machine and the Ruby machine, which they made.

How did Opinya perform from a project management standpoint?

Overall, they’ve had a very good impact on the architectural level and in the implementation, but not as well with development. They’re always professional. I give them an 8 out of 10.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They always come with a senior architect and a developer, who is very involved. We get the skills of the senior together with the work of a mid- to high-level developer. The senior is always involved with the architecture and the code review.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The communication and documentation could be improved, but they really do good work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

No.

Please describe your company.

We’re a technology startup founded in 2014. We are developing a platform that optimizes a whole development cycle for cloud. We’re targeting R&D [research and development] teams that develop to the cloud by automating and optimizing the development process. We offer one-click setup of environment with different services, automatic deployment, and Web ID. We basically put all of the development life cycle onto the cloud.

What is your position?

I’m the founder and CEO of the company.

Could you describe the business challenge that you were trying to address when you first approached Opinya?

I worked with Opinya when it came to completing a prototype, and they helped us move our core business to the cloud and get interest from early adopters. With the help of Opinya, we released some of our community-based products. Our site is a community site that enables you to access numerous complex examples. So, around this product, we use Opinya’s services.

Could you describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail?

I initially worked with Opinya when I was in Israel. They helped us to build the prototype. When I went to the U.S. for a business trip, their work was remote. During that three-month period, I worked with different developers from the company based on my needs. Initially, I worked with content developers, then I worked with the back-end, and I used the consulting services to review the architecture of the build. Currently, because we hired and built our own team, I intend to work with Opinya mostly as consultants. I highly appreciate the technical understanding and their expertise so, in the most complex areas, I am going to use their services. From time to time, I might use their developers as well.

How did you come to choose Opinya as your partner?

Some of the founders had worked for me personally, and one of them was recommended. They are outstanding experts in software engineering.

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

It was between $10,000 to $20,000.

Do you maintain an ongoing relationship with them?

Yes. I am consulting with them in technical areas. They’re a boutique software company, and they have a good methodology in the hiring processes, so I’m also consulting about the hiring process and human resources.

Could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the quality of their performance?

I’m an R&D manager and I have led many R&D projects for companies like HP and Mercury. Therefore, I have a good ability to estimate and evaluate R&D work, in the perspective of quality and understanding of the work that is done. From this perspective, it definitely was good work, good understanding, and a very high sense of commitment. This is something that makes this company unique. They did all tasks very fast, with good understanding, clear process. Everything was documented. It’s hard to work with external stakeholders, but my experience was very good, and I’ve recommended Opinya to other software companies.

When working with Opinya, is there anything that you would consider unique about their strategic approach or development methodology that distinguish them from other vendors?

They did all tasks very quickly and efficiently. Everything was documented with meticulous detail. Everything was transparent and organized.

What advice, if any, would you give to a future client of theirs?

I think that, because this is an extremely technical company, I would advise them to share as much information as they can. Use Opinya’s experience around the management of software projects. They’re a very flexible company, and they can adapt themselves to the customer’s needs. Don’t only bring them well-defined tasks or use them like an outsourced developer. Take advantage of their experience in managing software projects.

Could you briefly describe your organization?

We run a student-housing platform. We help students who are looking for an apartment find the place or find a flat mate [roommate]. They can book everything on our website. Landlords can upload their properties on the website and manage bookings, too.

What is your position?

I’m the founder.

What was the main objective when you first approached Opinya?

The reason I’m using them is because the developer who built our website left us when we launched the site. He wanted to learn new technology and join other developers because we were a one-man development team, and the rest was marketing. So, that’s when we went with Opinya, and we kind of went with them. They knew the product, and were generally more experienced than our architect and CTO [chief technology officer], so we’ve really benefited from collaborating with them. Going from having an in-house developer to freelancing is never a fun experience, but we have made the best of it, and they’ve been able to deliver everything that we’ve needed.

Could you describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail?

They’ve got a fantastic project manager who’s also the chief operating officer there [Ben Levi], so the task management is run extremely well. We’ve given them new features to build, which they’ve done without issue. They’ve been improving the existing code for some time now. It’s a constantly growing website, and they work with feedback to add to our existing features. They have been receiving our feedback throughout the whole process, receiving the designs from the designers, and building accordingly. They also work on any bugs that our QA [quality assurance] guys catch. We send those to them, and they fix them. Primarily, they’re working with Ruby on Rails, Java, and mobile.

How did you come to choose Opinya as your partner?

Our previous developer started working for them and we followed him there. It made the most sense.

Could you provide a general cost estimate for this engagement?

It was $2,000 to $3,000 a month.

This is an ongoing relationship, correct?

Yes.

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the quality of their performance?

First and foremost, I’m happy with them. They’re a great company. They really know what they’re doing and their very experienced. I’ve got nothing but positive things to say about them. I don’t have a statistics, but we’re happy.

When working with Opinya, is there anything that you would consider special about their approach or development methodology that distinguishes them from other vendors?

I would say that, out of all the outsource development companies I’ve worked with, they’re the most professional outfit. They have been very attentive to our needs and very flexible with us.

What advice, if any, would you give to a future client of theirs?

I really can’t think of anything. Our experience has been entirely positive. Definitely have a good idea of what you want accomplished before you begin, but I guess that goes without saying.