Otreva

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your company?

My company is Channelape.com.

What is your position?

I’m the owner of Channelape.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenges were you attempting to address when you initiated the projects with Otreva?

Otreva built an online platform for us. It’s a multichannel e-commerce platform. What it does is it pools in our entire inventory. We have a Vitamin website, and we contracted with Otreva to build this platform for us to manage our inventory. Every day it pools in our inventory through an API, and then it uploads our inventory. From there we push out inventory to our various smart appraisers. We had a problem with doing that, and that’s when we contacted Otreva, and we decided to build an eCommerce platform, and that’s what Channelape is.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of this project in terms of components? Did it involve custom design, development, training, and support?

It included all of those things. It was a totally custom designed Web application. We built a user interface and everything.

How did you select Otreva as your solution partner?

They were recommended to us by associates that work in eCommerce. They’ve also worked on some of my Web development tasks for my site, VitaminPartners.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in monetary terms?

The entire project cost was around $200,000.

When was this project completed?

We’re in private beta right now. We just launched about two weeks ago. We have some people using it and giving us feedback. We’re hoping to launch our site early next year, perhaps in January.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics or metrics that would demonstrate the effectiveness of the work that they’ve delivered?

We’ve been using it. It’s in private beta, but I have a few websites. We’ve been using it internally without issue. It’s great to work with somebody local, somebody who knows what they’re doing. If something were to arise, we could simply call them, and they could fix it, create another function and test it. At this point, we’re trying to refine the site before we take the entire thing public.

How do you feel Otreva has performed on this project so far?

They’re performing great. Anything that we needed, they were there for. They’re very responsive. For instance, if at midnight our site experienced an unexpected series of errors that brought it down, I could call Otreva and have them begin to troubleshoot immediately. That kind of flexibility and responsiveness is key for us. Having them as our service provider is rather reassuring because I know I have additional resources to draw from when things get dicey.

In retrospect, are there any areas that you believe Otreva could have improved upon or things that you might do differently as the client before approaching this type of project?

No. I don’t think so. I’ve worked with other Web developers before. I’ve worked with local teams. I’ve worked with freelancers in other countries. I just didn’t get very far with them, which made the efforts a waste of money. Otreva is extremely helpful in every aspect, from planning and logistics to project management and task execution. That’s really the key. I wouldn’t even recommend anybody else besides Otreva. They’re a great team to work with.

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your company?

We are a technology company, but we’re specializing in platforms for managing substitute teachers in kindergarten through 12th grade public schools and private schools.

What is your position?

I’m the president & CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenges were you attempting to address when you initiated the projects with Otreva?

We were really attempting to create a functional platform with a usable design. We needed something we could really go to market with, and not have to worry about the forward facing aspects so much.

What platform were you attempting to build this interface on?

It was written on Ruby on RAILS. We had gone through a couple of different developers at that time, and the work was rather fragmented. Otreva really stepped up, and was able to inherit much of the responsibility.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the scope of the project in terms of components? Did it include custom design, development, training, and support?

Yes. They’ve put their fingerprint on every part of the design from the logic of it to making sure that the user interface was working correctly, storage, and even just setting up the DNS correctly, the secure socket layer certificate. They’ve done a fantastic job in every aspect, and everything I ask them to do, they usually have a great comprehension of what I’m trying to do afterward.

How did you select Otreva as your solution partner to replace the other developers you’ve been working with?

I had called another firm that wasn’t deep into Web development and they referred me to Otreva. I had a conversation with them. It was quite interesting because they were extremely helpful even though they were as experienced as I had hoped. I then went through two more developers before returning to Otreva. While they might have lacked the depth of expertise I was seeking, the Otreva team embraced a vigilant work ethic, and they possessed a lot of creative workarounds that I thought might be of use.

What parts of the project did you contribute to outside of the general oversight of the project?

We provided the content that Otreva then cleaned and integrated into the site. They organized and streamlined it for us on the backend, and we would review their progress each step of the way. Rarely, if ever, did they complete a functional component that wasn’t up to par.

Could you give me a sense of the size of this initiative in monetary terms?

Yes. The total cost of development was probably a little bit more than $100,000 at this point, but we anticipate that over the next five years, it would probably be in the neighborhood about $250,000.

When was this project completed?

We launched the site about a month ago. We actually don’t have our first client yet, but we’re marketing it right now.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics or metrics that would demonstrate the effectiveness of the work they’ve delivered?

What I could tell you is that there were several components that were broken and malfunctioning before Otreva got onboard. They were able to make those things function the way that they were supposed to. Throughout our testing process, their testing process, and my testing process, they were able to nail it pretty easily.

How do you feel that Otreva has performed overall on this project?

I couldn’t be happier with the way that they performed. Again, having the ability to take my concept, and then execute it has been a huge factor. I’ve had other developers that weren’t as easy to deal with in that capacity, but they’re very easy, and they’re very easygoing people to work with. On top of that, their response time is probably the thing that impresses me most. I understand that I’m not their only client. When I ask them to do something, they give me a realistic timeframe that they then adhere to. They’ve always exceeded those timeframes, too. They’ve always beaten the timeframes. They’re always ahead of schedule for me. That’s huge for me in addition to just the communication of saying, “Hey, this is what we’re doing. This is what you can expect.” They’re just spot on.

When working with Otreva, is there anything you would consider unique or special compared to other developers you’ve worked with?

All aspects of what they do. They do what they’re supposed to. For them, they’re a very good fit for me. I don’t know if that was phrased correctly. They’re a very good fit for our organization. Just because of the way that they work and their promptness, the way that they’re able to execute on our concepts, and then timeframe and communication. Some of the other developers didn’t necessarily do any of those things correctly.

In retrospect, are there any areas that you believe Otreva could improve upon or things that you would do differently as the client before initiating this type of project?

I really can’t think of anything right at this moment. I have some other ideas in mind that I would like to execute if and when the opportunity comes around. They will be top of my list to go with. The only reservation I had was when I first hired them. I woke up the next morning, and I was like, “Why did I hire a company that doesn’t know the language that my program is written in?” That has gone away. That one went away very quickly. I realized how capable they are. I really don’t have anything that I would change about them.

BACKGROUND

Can you give a brief overview of your company?

We are a federal credit union that is community chartered. We’re financial services, so we do everything a bank does.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was the main goal or objective for working with Otreva?

It was to update our website. We actually used them twice. We had them construct a student website. That was second. First, we had them update our main website.

What was your process for choosing Otreva to work with?

I looked for a local company. Of course, there was a price range. I actually interviewed three local companies. I ended up going with Otreva.

SOLUTION

Can you tell me about the scope of the project? 

Absolutely. They completely took them off of the platform that we had it on and put it on the WordPress platform so I could go ahead and make all the changes myself. That was something I couldn’t do on our old platform. I’d actually have to contact someone, and then they would make the changes in like 48 hours. It was ridiculous. So, now I can go ahead and do it all myself. We’re also looking at really update the site and also make it mobile.

How long ago was the project competed?

I think we launched it May 15, 2012.

Can you give me a general cost estimate of the project?

It was $5,000, which is unheard of.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How happy are you with the results?

It’s wonderful. It formats to iPads to iPhones, anything. It just gives a more professional and updated look, like we’re not stuck in 1997 anymore.

When working with Otreva, is there anything that you found unique or special compared to other vendors you have worked with?

I don’t think that they ever stopped working. If I sent an email, it was immediately answered within 30 seconds. So, I would say their customer service is fantastic. Also, we would set up onsite visits. Mike would come in a lot, which helped instead of just emailing someone constantly. It helped us to work through things.

Is there anything that you’d do differently a second time around or think that they can improve upon?

Probably not. I can’t really think of anything else off the top of my head. I was really pleased with how it turned out.