RabIT Solutions

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a digital and content marketing agency that founded seven years ago. We're located in the Los Angeles area. I am the president and CEO of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with RabIT Software?

We were looking for someone to develop a technology platform which we had envisioned a few years ago. We started out with a vendor who didn't meet our expectations. We searched for an alternative and identified RabIT Software as a contender.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

During the kick-off, RabIT Software's role was to review the work which had been done up until that point, assessing the technical quality of the code. Through the audit, RabIT Software came back with a list of insights and other good information. We engaged them further, with the initial step being the setup of our environment. I was fairly impressed with RabIT Software's understanding of enterprise-level development infrastructures, which includes everything from sprint planning to repository management, and automated testing in development and production environments.

We began the process of refactoring parts of the codebase, planning future development architectures, and establishing timelines and goals, getting the project underway in a structured and manageable fashion. All features have been dictated by our agency.

RabIT Software has a proficiency in database architecture design and frontend development, including AngularJS. Their CEO is a very good architect and was able to select languages and coordinate the development activities very well.

We have worked with what could be considered a lead software architect from RabIT Software's side. We've also used a quality assurance lead and two developers.

How did you come to work with RabIT Software?

We reached out to a list of vendors, both international and domestically. RabIT Software put a lot of effort into the initial assessment of our project and codebase. Oftentimes, we found that vendors can turn out to be great once we start paying them, but prior to the contractual engagement, they won't put in a lot of effort into the project. This is what stood out to me with RabIT Software. They had a level of commitment to analyzing and communicating what we had, what needed to be done, and why it mattered, even before we paid any money. As a business person with a basic level of technical expertise, I require a level of trust before selecting a vendor. I needed to see that the company put in an effort for getting our business, and RabIT Software was certainly willing and able to do that.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with RabIT Software in February 2016. The amount of work has fluctuated due to budgetary reasons, but our collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don't have customer feedback, but senior-level developers and CTOs have occasionally looked at our sprints, confirming what is referred to as "velocity" in the development world. They confirmed that the work is acceptable. We need to be reasonable with expectations when offshoring development and paying a quarter of the local cost. 

The same goes for the expectations around involvement. The challenge faced by most people when offshoring development is that they underestimate the difficulties of what the process is. They also overestimate the ability of offshore developers to think and act on their own. This is not a fault of RabIT Software or any vendor, but rather a general misunderstanding which I've had myself when I was beginning to understand development. With RabIT Software's help, I've come to understand that requirements and schematic documentation are very important.

How did RabIT Software perform from a project management standpoint?

RabIT Software does a good job in meeting my expectations. Not having an in-house project manager, this responsibility becomes mine. When I plan out what needs to be done, I also have to manage the work, but RabIT Software has done a good job of taking my ideas and features, breaking them into proper tasks and sprints and communicating with me. RabIT Software is incredibly diligent at marking off, commenting, and checking elements in it. They're committed to updating when things happen. Compared to my previous experience, RabIT Software is a night-and-day difference.

What did you find most impressive about RabIT Software?

RabIT Software is very good at communication and documentation. When we're spending money on the work, we need to know what we're getting, and RabIT Software has done a great job of ensuring that I knew what was being completed.

Are there any areas RabIT Software could improve?

Not really. Like with any development project, there were times when we underestimated or overestimated what we could complete, due to unforeseen issues, but I can't really think of anything. I've been thoroughly impressed with RabIT Software.

This is the main reason for giving a review on RabIT Software. I don't think that I've done this for any vendor in my life, not because I'm mean, but because it takes a special company for me to set aside time for a glowing review. Very few people in this world are worthy of that.

BACKGROUND

Please introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the owner of a San Francisco-based company called My Personal Language Tutor.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with RabIT software engineering?

At first, all we wanted was a daily statistical spreadsheet – a daily summary of activity from students, teachers, and finance.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I wrote a specification of what we wanted, and they wrote a Java program that ran every night and went through our database, gathering statistics and tabulating those statistics it in an Excel spreadsheet. The various tabs included things like number of students, number of teachers, number of paid and unpaid accounts, number of lessons in French, and number of lessons in German – statistics like that.

We've done a number of similar reporting projects of the same style with RabIT through the years, including changes to the Excel spreadsheet. They've also done some error diagnosis and correction. More recently, they are doing a code review of a company we are thinking of acquiring. Just today [September 2016], I gave them a video streaming project.

How did you come to work with RabIT software engineering?

We got a personal referral from a colleague of mine in Russia. Since the daily reporting project was not an emergency, we thought, "Let's try it out."

How much have you invested with RabIT software engineering?

We've spent somewhere between $6,000 and $10,000 working with them – not counting the projects we've done in the last month, which have been bigger. We've just started two new big projects with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with RabIT about four years ago. The spreadsheet project was completed in a month. We've obviously done other projects with them since then.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The statistical spreadsheet was the best thing as far as doing something new. It increased our financial collections from nonpaying customers because it highlighted accounts receivable, bad credit cards, and things like that.

How did RabIT software engineering perform from a project management standpoint?

It's difficult to say because all of our projects have been small, taking less than three or four weeks, so they didn't need much project management. We love these guys, but I can't comment on their project management because the sort of work we have been doing with them didn't require much management.

What did you find most impressive about RabIT software engineering?

Their English is excellent, which is helpful when working with an offshore agency. The programs they've done have worked. They are very versatile. They've got a wide range of skills – mobile skills, video skills, and so forth. They haven't done anything that will win them the Nobel Prize, but they've done good, solid work, which is what we wanted.

Are there any areas RabIT software engineering could improve?

No. When we got started, we needed to work out a bit of coordination but none since they've been working with us. Everything goes along quite smoothly. We give them projects. They do them. We finish them, and we pay them. They're a good, solid small software company. I've never done a large, complex project with them. That doesn't mean they couldn't do it, but I haven't done one.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My company is an online tech company that enables online shops to work with each other and bring customers to each other. We provide a distinctive technology and a network where businesses can meet with each other. It's a relatively young company, and I am one of the cofounders. I look after many things – mainly our marketing and sales.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with RabIT software engineering?

At the time, we were building our proof of concept about a specific piece of the technology. We had a plan that was sketched out by our technical lead, and we were looking for a developer that could implement it according to our instructions.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

RabIT software engineering provided programming service. They wrote code in accordance to our specifications. They provided ideas when there was an opportunity for streamlining or adding functionalities. When they needed to deviate from the initial plan, we discussed the changes before implementing them. The program was mainly in Java and PHP as programming languages.

We worked with one person from RabIT software engineering, with occasional help from another person from their team. They were not in charge of anything but the delivery of the specific pieces of the program that we asked them to deliver. They were not doing the sales or the installations directly or anything like that.

How did you come to work with RabIT software engineering?

We had a selection process that included a couple of interviews and a test. The test was a portion of the program that we had to develop. After a couple of days of development, the participants would need to submit the results of their work. We would then analyze it and select people based on that output.

How much have you invested with RabIT software engineering?

We have invested $50,000 to $200,000 with RabIT software engineering.

What is the status of this engagement?

It's been a very fruitful collaboration that has spanned at least 14 months. The project began in August 2014 and has concluded recently [in 2016]. We started with a time and materials contract, and then we moved into a monthly agreement.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had a very good working experience with RabIT software engineering. It's hard to tie their involvement, which we are satisfied with, to success metrics for the business. RabIT software engineering was part of a larger project that included delivering to clients and so on. It's hard to quantify their productivity.

How did RabIT software engineering perform from a project management standpoint?

RabIT software engineering performed very well in terms of project management. They used our tracking system and provided helpful feedback for improving tools or processes. Since we are not a huge company, we didn't have unreasonable processes.

What did you find most impressive about RabIT software engineering?

Our collaboration with RabIT software engineering was the longest time that we worked with a single contractor. They delivered what we required. We were impressed with the company's attitude, mindset, and integrity. They accommodated requests when compatible with the rest of the priorities. Also, the main person who was working with us was versatile and skilled.

Are there any areas RabIT software engineering could improve?

At one point, we needed further resources on a specialized part of the project. We discussed with RabIT software engineering whether they would be able to provide more people on more specific topics. It's one of the requests that were not fulfilled. They are also still growing, so I'm sure that that has improved by now.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

My organization is a small business. I have ideas for mobile applications and small web applications, and I reach out to contractors to develop them.

What is your position?

It's just me. I'm a single-person business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with RabIT software engineering?

I had a mobile application collectible card game that I was thinking about creating. I approached RabIT to provide the resources to get it done for me.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

My budget was pretty limited. There was only a single developer working on my project. They were responsive and well qualified as well. We got initial plans done implementation-wise, and the product is now in a holding stage. I ran out of budget, and the resource who was working on my project left the company, so we agreed that we would put the project on hold. There hasn't been any final release yet.

It was basically at a testable stage. The functionality was there, and it was working, but it wasn't ready to be used or shown to any customers. The user interface was basic. This wasn't a native application. It was a web-based application, so it was compatible with PC, Android, and iOS devices.

I envisioned a collectible card game where the players could battle each other and collect cards. Eventually, once the game kicked off, we would implement micro transactions and the ability to buy decks of cards and expand your collection to gain advantages on your opponents.

How did you come to work with RabIT software engineering?

I come from the same town where RabIT is headquartered. I know a large of number of IT [information technology] professionals, and they recommended RabIT to me.

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

It cost less than $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working on the project sometime in February 2016, and it was put on hold in May. I'm planning to restart work this fall, but it's not a certainty yet.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Not really. There weren't any other investors, so no. There hasn't been any outside feedback really.

How did RabIT software engineering perform from a project management standpoint?

We had regular calls at least on a weekly basis. I was happy with the management. There wasn't much managing to be done because the team was a single individual. Most of the time, it was enough to reach out to him and clarify any uncertainty. If there was a technical problem, RabIT would always put someone more senior on the job to help my developer.

What distinguishes RabIT software engineering from other providers?

The key reasons for choosing RabIT were that they were inexpensive and are dedicated. The owner of the company [CEO Zsolt Rabi] is dedicated to all the projects that the company has. He's always available and open for discussion. He can always give a contact point if he's not available. He makes sure that all of the projects are always moving along. Even though my project was small, I felt like I was always getting enough attention.

Is there anything RabIT software engineering could have improved or done differently?

It's a minor thing. I was aware that the resource that worked on my project was more junior. Sometimes, he'd run into pretty basic issues, but they'd always solve them internally. The advantage was that he was also a cheaper resource, so it had a cost-reduction benefit.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

My company is developing software for e-commerce and hotel booking.

What is your position?

I am the CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with RabIT software engineering?

We needed more software developers to help us develop our code base.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

We hired one guy from RabIT full time, and he helped us develop the software for our customers. We are coding in Java, PHP, HTML5, and JavaScript. We're also doing some AngularJS.

They've helped us with multiple projects. We have many customers on our code base with different demands, and they help us deliver the demands they have.

How did you come to work with RabIT software engineering?

I found them on Upwork. We had this developer travel to Norway to stay with us for a week where we worked together.

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

We pay on an hourly basis each month. We use them three weeks a month because they have some other tasks. We have spent less than $10,000 to date.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started three months ago, and they are still helping us. We are going to use them a lot in the future too. We're quite satisfied. We are most likely going to expand their role and incorporate a team of developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

No, not really. We have quite a close relationship with our customers, which is great. It's hard to quantify because our platform is quite huge, and RabIT only has access to small bits of it. It's also kind of under the hood too, the tasks they do.

How did RabIT software engineering perform from a project management standpoint?

Actually, we do the project management, so it's hard to tell. They are pretty decent. We work in Agile, so we don't have hard deadlines since they are not working on projects. We only hire hour by hour like a normal employee, so I can't say much about that area.

What distinguishes RabIT software engineering from other providers?

I would like to say that RabIT is resourceful in being able to do the tasks. I don't need to specify the task that much because they are able to think for themselves. If I tell them to do something, I can just tell them the broad idea, and they are able to work from there.

Is there anything RabIT software engineering could have improved or done differently?

I haven't thought that much about it because he is basically a normal employee. I don't have any comment on that.