Panaxeo

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of a charity organization in the UK that works with human rights defenders in conflict zones around the world. We help improve the evidentiary value of the information they’re collecting about international crimes and human rights violations.

What challenge were you trying to address with Panaxeo?

Part of our work is we provide a mobile camera app to human rights defenders, so they can use it to record videos and take photos related to human rights violations. We hired Panaxeo because we needed someone to update this tool, and ensure that it’s compliant with the requirements of new Android versions in terms of permissions.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Panaxeo helps us by updating our mobile app. They’ve also performed upgrades that were suggested by the penetration testings we’ve done, as well as ensuring that the commission requests complied with the Android guidelines for user experience. Apart from that, they’ve updated the security feature we have on the app, and implemented production monitoring in a way that would still maintain privacy for our users.

Panaxeo went through a testing phase and of course, production, where they helped us push it out to the Google Play Store. Then in the next round, we commissioned them to make changes to what we needed and consulted them on what could and couldn’t be done.

Most recently, they’ve been incorporating a new language in the app so that it can be used more broadly around the world. The way they work is whenever something comes up or we want something changed, they always have the availability to do it, so they don’t necessarily follow a system.

What is the team composition?

I communicate mostly with Adam (Co-Founder) and Igor (Co-Founder & CTO). However, they also bring in other people with different skill sets depending on our needs.

How did you come to work with Panaxeo?

They were recommended to us by one of the previous development companies that built an earlier version of the app. They were no longer taking clients because they were undergoing some restructuring, so they suggested Panaxeo to us, as well as a couple of other organizations.

We spoke with Panaxeo and we were very impressed with the review that they did for the app, the level of sophistication that they demonstrated, and the understanding of how the tool worked and what we were trying to achieve. We’ve worked together since then.

How much have you invested with them?

I believe we’ve spent around €10,000–13,000 Euros ($11,900–$15,400 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We initially engaged with them in July 2020, but we continue to go to them for new work — we’re now on our third project with them.

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

From our perspective, we found them to really understand what we were trying to achieve with the app. They were very flexible in how our use case may be different from other more common apps, and why we might have different requests or nuances to what we need to do — they listened and addressed those quickly.

How did Panaxeo perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been very timely, reliable, and responsive in terms of project management, so it’s been a pleasure working with them. They log everything on GitHub and upload the APKs for us to access. I typically communicate with them through email and Slack, but we’ve done phone calls and video meetings in the beginning.

What did you find most impressive about them?

One thing that’s impressive about Panaxeo is the level of responsiveness and attention we get from them as a client.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind because I’ve been quite pleased with their work — they’re so responsive and quick. I feel like the shortcomings are on our side because we can never stay on schedule.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to sit down with them and explain what you’re trying to achieve, who your users are, and what the sensitivities are. Make sure Panaxeo understands the context and environment in which you’re working, especially if you’re designing something that’s less traditional.

Please describe your company and your position there.

RPC is the leading provider of innovative and reliable card services to members of Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) in 10 countries of Central and Eastern Europe. I'm a R&D and UX Lead at RPC reponsible for new innovative projects and User Experience.

For what projects/services did your company hire Panaxeo?

RPC was looking for a partner with mobile development skills, more precisely expertise in mobile payment apps with the emphasis on the UX. The goal was to develop a group-wide mobile payment wallet which could be later used for a more advanced card related features.

What were your goals for this project?

To quickly offer a mobile payment wallet in as many Raiffeisen banks in the region as possible and establish a platform on top of which more advanced features could be built.

How did you select Panaxeo?

The people in Panaxeo had a reputation and proven experience in mobile apps in general, and mobile payment apps for banking. If you ever get to meet founders, sales or project managers in person or via a call, you will understand what I mean. Their core values in approaching the projects are seniority, transparency and true interest in your success.

Describe the project in detail.

RaiPay is a mobile payment app, but the NFC is just the first key element. Our goal was to introduce an app that performs fast and reliable payments and build additional valuable digital payment features on top of it. RaiPay is launched in 7 countries and more is coming. (Information valid in November 2020)

What was the team composition?

The team assigned for the project was lead by Tomas Fekiac, the Project Manager and Architect. Besides him, the Android developers and UX/UI design team lead were essential. A lot of UX prototyping was involved in product development and we could fully rely on Panaxeo expertise. For quality assurance, Igor Liska, co-founder and CTO, was overseeing the successful delivery.

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

As of November 2020, RaiPay is launched in 7 countries in CEE. RBI clients added 250k+ cards to RaiPay and make about 500k transactions monthly.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The cooperation was effortless and commitments were delivered as expected. The work has been a combination of in-person and remote collaboration. We are both based in Bratislava, but not all collaboration required meeting in person.

Also, COVID-19 came in 2020, and all cooperation seamlessly move towards remote anyway. We used Jira, Google Docs, Teams and Slack.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We had complete faith in Panaxeo capabilities to build a comfortable mobile payment app for our clients. The aim was to make it as intuitive as possible. The team`s enthusiasm and commitment to the project are contagious.

In cooperation with vendors, the trust and knowing you can rely on the other party to deliver on time and in high quality is priceless.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The RaiPay development is far from finished, there are many exciting features ahead of us and I am looking forward to working with Tomas Fekiac and his team.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty is a private, nonprofit media organization funded by a grant from the U.S. Congress through the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) as a private grantee to supplement free media in unfree societies.

With a weekly audience of 38.1 million reaching out to 23 countries in 27 languages, RFE/RL plays an important role in promoting democracy and objective news reporting worldwide.

I direct an in-house design and development team of 50 talented professionals, Pangea Digital, and we create award-winning publishing products and experiences tailored for online journalism.

Our bespoke CMS and other tools serve content in 57 languages. In addition to RFE/RL, we also support Voice of America and The Office of Cuban Broadcasting.

For what projects/services did your company hire Panaxeo, and what were your goals?

Our partnership entailed rebuilding the video broadcasting TV application for Current Time. All this with an important objective – to serve their growing audience with high-quality independent journalism in an engaging form.

In 2014, RFE/RL and Voice of America launched Current Time (“Настоящее Время”) a 24-hour Russian-language television and digital news network aimed at audiences in Russia, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and around the world.

The rising demand for HD video content and the prominence of Samsung Smart TV users in the area of interest made a modern and appealing Smart TV application a necessity to fulfill this mission. We established 4 main goals for the new Smart TV app commissioned from Panaxeo.

1. Serving engaging video content - 24/7 Live & On-demand
2. Better user retention through stability and performance
3. Insights into users’ interaction with content
4. Broadest possible audience with comprehensive TV model support

How did you select Panaxeo and what were the deciding factors?

We had been searching for a vendor that would help us to refresh our Smart TV applications. This had been quite challenging, given there are few companies that specialize in this area. We had good previous experience with people around Panaxeo so we decided to challenge them.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Panaxeo delivered a reliable and modern Tizen OS application according to our requirements. Among services provided were software analysis, technological consulting, SmartTV development, in-app analytics, JavaScript / Angular, and .NET expertise.

App highlights: SmartTV app serving engaging video content - 24/7 Live & On-demand: The application enables Current Time editors to deliver high-quality video content both through 24/7 live streaming and an on-demand library.

This way, news coverage is brought to the broad audience of Current Time in an engaging and visual fashion. Better user retention through stability and performance: Trust can only be earned if you don’t let your users down.

Tested on 10+ TV models and across a 5-year-old line-up of TV hardware the application is tweaked to maximum swiftness and reliability, offering an uninterrupted experience to the users.

Insights into users’ interaction with content: Powerful analytics help the RFE/RL team understand consumer behavior in the application. Insights gained by analytical data translates into better content from our editors.

Broadest possible audience with comprehensive TV model support: The application is carefully designed to reliably run on TV models up to 5 years old. This way, we ensured that almost anyone with a Samsung Smart TV can download and enjoy Current Time's content.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

The Panaxeo team featured developers, testers and project managers. Our technical managers communicated regularly on an operational level with the Panaxeo developers and Adam (project manager from Panaxeo).

We also had direct access to the founders on the higher management level, which helped us manage and align our mid-term tactical goals.

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The outcome has more than fulfilled our expectations. Having a modern and reliable Smart TV application enables us to reach, engage, and understand our 160k+ user base better.

Compared to the previous version of the app, the improvement was significant. Just to share some statistics demonstrating the quality of Panaxeo work: +68% app weekly usage +92% unique visitors 45+ TV models supported

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

The cooperation between our two teams has been effortless and flexible. The Panaxeo team brought measurable results, reacted quickly and flexibly. The work has been managed remotely, using tools like Jira, Confluence and Slack.

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

We value Panaxeo’s professionalism, attention to detail and high level of expertise. We wish to continue our cooperation with other projects.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Not really. They are top-shelf.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Pixel Federation, Ltd. is a Slovak social game developer and publishing company founded in 2007. The company focuses on mobile and social networking platforms. Our successful titles include Diggy's Adventures, Seaport, TrainStation and Emporea. We are among the top 20 Facebook game developing studios in the EMEA region. We are among fast-growing tech startups in Central and Eastern Europe. There are 220+ game enthusiasts working in Pixel Federation with 31.4 Mio revenue in 2019 and 100 Mio players worldwide. Read more at https://portal.pixelfederation.com/en/company As Tech Manager at Pixel Federation, my role is to manage 3 teams: 1. Infra/DevOps team – OnPremise and Cloud Infrastructure 2. PBS – Payments & Payment Gateways 3. DWH – Data Warehouse

For what projects/services did your company hire Panaxeo?

Pixel Federation partnered with Panaxeo for their rich project management experience. We wanted to improve the DevOps team efficiency. DevOps team is 8 to 10 people taking care of the company infrastructure, mainly servers all the games run on. The team dynamics are rather complex. Internal people cooperate closely with people from 2 external vendors. The challenge for Igor Liska, Panaxeo co-founder and experienced project lead, was to introduce tools & processes that would significantly increase team productivity and ease the cooperation within the team at the same time. Simply put the complex team dynamics were hampering teamwork.

What were your goals for this project?

Through continuous long-term coaching on project management tools & processes and team dynamics, we wished to build a strong foundation for team cooperation. The goal was to deliver tasks on time and in expected quality.

How did you select Panaxeo?

Having started our partnership in mid-2019, Panaxeo team had struck us with a high level of competence. We came across several projects delivered by Igor Liška, Panaxeo co-founder and experienced project lead. They have persuaded us we could definitely benefit from his expert knowledge. We did not hesitate and brought him on board.

Describe the project in detail.

DevOps team is 8 to 10 people taking care of the company infrastructure. The team dynamics are rather complex. Internal people cooperate closely with people from 2 external vendors. The complex team dynamics were hampering teamwork. Based on the initial assessment of the teamwork, we set up ● New meeting structure ● New team leader to keep close supervision on task progress ● Coaching sessions for the team leader with Igor Liska ● New, redesigned Jira tracking bringing valuable data on team performance ● Coaching sessions with the team on Jira with Igor Liska

What was the team composition?

Igor Liska, Panaxeo co-founder and experienced project lead, was our expert consultant.

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

To share a couple examples of how we improved the team performance: Before: Task tracking in Jira was providing a minimum of reliable data Now: New, redesigned Jira tracking provides valuable data on team performance. (sprint length, number of story points, team velocity) Today, we can rely on the data. - Before: Planning meeting used to be 1x week for 1-2 hours with 10 participants. Now: Today, there are only 2-3 relevant participants and the meeting lasts 20-30 minutes. Participants join the meeting well-prepared and do not leave frustrated. Sprint planning is more efficient. - Before: It was difficult to estimate delivery time for a task. Now: Valuable data over the past couple months and improved team performance build the foundation for setting up well-estimated delivery times. We are learning to deliver on time.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Igor is a senior manager. The cooperation was effortless and commitments were delivered as expected. The work has been a combination of in-person and remote collaboration. We are both based in Bratislava, but not all collaboration requires meeting in person. Also, COVID-19 came in 2020, and the whole cooperation seamlessly moved towards remote anyway. We used Jira, Google Docs, Zoom and Slack.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Panaxeo is set to be a responsive, accountable vendor consistent in quality of delivery. We sincerely recommend them as a vendor. They are truly invested in helping you achieve your goals, not just to deliver “a minimum viable product”. Our DevOps team has gone through a tremendous transformation. We improved team performance, but people enjoy working on the team more. We continue the cooperation on other projects.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is always space for improvement. At this time, the cooperation satisfies our needs. If we were able to commit more time, I can see widening the scope of the cooperation even further.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Exponea is a leading global customer experience platform providing predictive intelligence, product recommendations, personalization, email marketing, lifecycle intelligence, automation and full channel automation. With a team of 200+ professionals operating worldwide, Exponea became the fastest growing SaaS company in Europe in 2017, according to saas1000.com. Exponea is the no. 1 choice for 1000+ data-driven marketers. Fulfilling their expectations, G2Crowd rated Exponea as the Market Leader in Winter 2019. As a CPO I lead both product and engineering part of the organisation and have responsibility to run our product in stable, scalable and secure way.

For what projects/services did your company hire Panaxeo?

Exponea partnered with Panaxeo to level up the data collection SDKs for Android, iOS and React Native. Exponea’s customers get intelligent and actionable insights through our cutting-edge analytical platform. Much of this wouldn’t be possible without reliable data collection mechanisms implemented into Exponea’s mobile SDKs. These are integrated into customers’ Android, iOS and React Native applications to collect real-time data (online and offline) and enable campaign features such as dynamic in-app messages and rich push notifications.

What were your goals for this project?

Deliver data collection SDKs for Android, iOS and React Native with military-grade reliability and swiftness – all that while handling millions of data points.

How did you select Panaxeo?

While researching different vendors, Panaxeo team had struck us with a high level of competence. We have a rather large in-house development team, but we were looking for flexibility and quick delivery, and leaned towards outsourcing the project. Having started our partnership in mid-2019, Panaxeo engineers assessed, redesigned and rebuilt the data collection SDKs to enable simple, fail-proof and performant integration into any iOS, Android or React Native mobile application on the market.

Describe the project in detail.

There is a couple of features worth mentioning:

1. Dynamic in-app messaging enabling fully personalized offers. New feature dynamically displays customizable in-app messages with personalized offers. This provides Exponea’s integrators with a new tool for targeting & converting customers in real-time.

Panaxeo took special care to make the integration as simple as ABC; saving integrators valuable time and development costs. In-app messages are fully customizable and assembled from native components – they work great, and look & feel beautiful to the user.

2. Advanced SDK monitoring that integrators love As the SDKs are processing tons of data, it’s crucial to know if something fails so we can act on it. This is achieved through advanced monitoring capabilities baked into the SDKs.

The real challenge consists of providing these capabilities without interfering with any of the host application’s monitoring tools. As we believe the SDK’s monitoring should be fully “invisible” to the integrators, Panaxeo had to pull off some advanced techniques to achieve this, like building their own monitoring engine.

3. Taking stability to the next level SDKs should run flawlessly in any environment, device and host application imaginable. With every new version of the SDKs, Panaxeo engineers are introducing new ways to further act on this goal.

Most of these are beyond the usual, like careful thread isolation, future code testing or advanced error interception. They did all of this with the aim to make Exponea’s SDKs the most loved analytical integration on the market.

What was the team composition?

The team assigned to the project consisted of 4 people. Our main point of contact was Igor Liska, the project lead. Besides him, there were Juraj Dudak and 3 other developers and testers. Panaxeo people truly blend in very well with our team.

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

Our team is more than satisfied with the cooperation. Our customers appreciate the seamless integration of the SDKs and the advanced features it enabled. We run a truly data-driven product. The quality and reliability of the data determine the success of our customers, and thus ours as well.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Panaxeo team is senior and independent. The cooperation was effortless and commitments were delivered. The work has been mostly managed remotely, using tools like Jira, Google Docs, Zoom and Slack.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Panaxeo is exactly the type of partner we were looking for a long time. They are responsive, accountable and consistent in quality of delivery. The biggest benefit I see is their ability to challenge our requests in a way that the value of the solution is always maximized for us. They truly focus on helping you achieve your goals, not just to deliver what is expected. We continue the cooperation on other projects.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The more we cooperate, the smoother it gets. We understand each other well.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Tatra banka is a member of the strongest Austrian banking group RBI Group. As the first private bank in Slovakia, Tatra banka nurtures the pioneer legacy as a market leader in innovations. In 2018, the British financial magazine Euromoney awarded Tatra banka the title of "Best Slovak Bank" for the 14th year in a row. The bank was also named "Most Innovative Consumer Digital Bank" by Global Finance magazine in 2019 and "Best Bank" by Global Finance and EMEA Finance magazines in 2018. Some of the leading innovations Tatra banka introduced over the years are Contactless Visa payment card (2010), Mobile payments (2012), Voice biometrics (2013), Online banking using a smartwatch (2015) and Face biometrics (2018). As a Senior Product Manager at Payment Cards Department of Tatra banka I am responsible mainly for mobile payments – including technical expertise and responsibility for delivery of new solutions, communication with vendors and partners, internal and external customers, and also driving adoption and marketing campaigns. Over the last few years, I´ve been responsible for the implementation of MobilePay application - our own solution for proximity mobile payments and also for implementation of Apple Pay and Google Pay in Tatra banka.

For what projects/services did your company hire Panaxeo?

In 2019 Tatra banka decided to implement Google Pay and we began to look for a partner who can integrate this feature into MobilePay, an existing mobile app for our clients. Panaxeo brought mobile app expertise, premium integration skills and smooth customer experience to achieve the mission. Tatra banka is the pioneer in mobile payments in Slovakia. Back in 2012, we were the first bank to introduce mobile payments in the country. For several years now, we have served our customers with contactless payment processing via our MobilePay application. The growing prominence of standardized contactless payment procedures prompted Tatra banka to present new options for contactless payments via Google Pay as well.

What were your goals for this project?

The project goal was simple - we asked Panaxeo to deliver smooth take over from the previous vendor and flawless Google Pay integration.

How did you select this vendor?

Panaxeo is a young company, but the people there have a great reputation and proven experience. Our team has worked with them on other mobile payment and mobile banking apps in the past. When they founded Panaxeo in 2019, we were immediately keen to partner with them for our next project. The Google Pay integration is yet another milestone in our lasting and successful partnership.

Describe the project in detail.

Panaxeo delivered seamless Google Pay integration into MobilePay, an existing mobile app for Tatra banka clients available on Android.

What was the team composition?

The team assigned to the project consisted of 3 people. Our main point of contact was Joachim, the project lead and software engineer. Besides him, there were 2 other developers and testers. Panaxeo people truly blend in very well with our team. On top of the project lead, the founders Adam Okruhlica and Igor Liska usually keep up with the project for quality assurance.

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

Google Pay integration works seamlessly. The user reviews on Google Play and our socials are positive. The users are happy and our team had a pleasant experience working on the project.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The cooperation between our two teams has been effortless and flexible. Panaxeo team are professionals - they reacted quickly, go the extra mile and prefer open communication. Their seniority truly makes your life easier. The work has been mostly managed has mostly been managed remotely, using tools like Jira, Microsoft Teams and Slack.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The mobile expertise of Panaxeo has proven a valuable asset in shortening the delivery time and increasing our app’s user satisfaction score. Panaxeo team quickly navigated our environment and vendor dependencies and provided us with great insights along the way. The project benefited from their creative, calm and smart outlook. As a project owner, you cannot wish for a better, more reliable and professional partner when dealing with critical product updates. We are looking forward to further cooperation with Panaxeo.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We are lucky to have such a reliable and flexible partner, providing us with expertise and support, always keen to find the best solutions for our requests.