Rave Digital

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the lead project manager for a software company that uses technology and unique selling points to assist people all over the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Rave Infosys?

One of our business associates wanted to develop a Magento e-commerce website for natural beauty products and cosmetics. We have no experience with the Magento platform, so we engaged Rave.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was end-to-end design and development with a payment gateway, integrated shopping cart, and built-in custom extensions to enhance functionality.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found them through an online search for Magento-certified developers. We interviewed a few vendors, but Rave’s professionalism and technical skills were unmatched, so we started working with them.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

We wanted to build a core website from scratch with features like product filers, product reviews, product listings in grid or list format, breadcrumbs, inventory and content management, and related products. We wanted a very clean display and interface. They incorporated several best features from reference websites we provided them.

What was the team composition?

There was one developer, one designer, and one quality analyst.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The website was highly intuitive with a clean layout and robust functionality.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The team was really good to work with. Their organized project cycle was the most streamlined approach I’ve ever seen, and I was exceptionally impressed by their start-to-finish design experience. Rather than automatically agree to customizations or suggestions, they talked through different scenarios and discussed them with me before we came to a decisions together.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The entire team was very easy to communicate with. I appreciated my three in-person visits, which were useful in allowing me to put names with faces and see how their workspace operates.. With phenomenal coding skills and a good understanding of the core technology, they are able to build custom, scalable solutions that can grow with the client.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

They are talented Magento developers who can easily create custom site features. There was nothing they couldn’t do and they delivered everything we asked for. I’ve had a good relationship with them, and we’ve done a lot of business together.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the director of IT for a company in the automotive paint body and equipment segment. We are a B2B supplier for jobbers, who offer all of our products to body shops. We supply anything needed to fix a dented car, including paint, Bondo, and sandpaper.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Rave Infosys?

When I started working for the company 3 ½ years ago, we had a proprietary B2B system. We didn't own any of the product content or programs. The system was eight years old, and no further development was being done. We wanted to move away from this limited system and start our own system from scratch.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to update our e-commerce sites and processes in order to improve business efficiency and increase our growth past the stagnation we had been experiencing the last few years.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

During our vendor-review process, Rave Infosys really stood out from the other firms we evaluated. I liked their experience and the way that they communicated with us. I felt that we were getting a partner, not just another technology vendor.

Describe the project in detail.

This was a major project, including software development and the creation of all product content like descriptions and photos for 30,000 items. Once we chose the Magento platform, Rave Infosys basically provided all of our client customizations.

In addition to design and development, Rave Infosys offered suggestions about areas we needed to change. They integrated our backend database with the Magento system. Since we’re a B2B company, each of our customers can have a different pricing tier for every product. So, a lot of integration needs to happen in order to allow live information about our different inventories across multiple warehouses. This is accomplished through live calls to our backend, which are fed into the Magento platform.

Substantial logic determines which items customers should get and when, as well as what they'll have to pay. We have 15 warehouse locations but don't stock all our products in each one. Because of this, we needed an additional layer between the shopping cart and the actual checkout, which we called the "decision page." This section allows us to determine the best way to ship a product to a customer who is expecting next-day delivery, based on product availability and customer location. The system now tells customers which items will come from the primary location and which items will ship from the next closest one. The client then can choose to place items on back order until the primary warehouse can ship them.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a project manager from Rave Infosys, and their owner was also involved. I don't know how many programmers were assigned, but I only cared about the work getting done. Rave Infosys now provides ongoing support.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

With our old site, our company's growth was nearly stagnant, sitting at around 3%. That is basically our cost-of-living, based on inflation. In our first full year using the new system developed by Rave Infosys, our growth went up to 17%. After a couple of weeks, everyone was using our site. The change may have happened more slowly because our previous page hadn’t been updated in over eight years, so our clients had to adjust their expectations.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The communication was more than adequate, and they handled every stage of the project well.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Rave Infosys is a partner, not just a vendor; I think that says it all.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Rave Infosys delivered our system on time and within budget. I can't complain.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the head of the IT department of Envisia Group, an e-commerce company. My job is to ensure all online systems are running smoothly and new projects are progressing according to plan. We invest heavily in technology to maintain our customer relationship management (CRM) platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Rave Infosys?

We wanted to build our own shopping cart system as well as a CRM platform to provide customer support.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed the ability to manage products, marketing campaigns, payment gateways, and merchant accounts. Our main goal was to provide smooth and error-free checkout for customers. The platform had to support different checkout types so that we could experiment with different styles of selling various products. In order to monitor the system and sales activities, we needed different reports from the platform. We also wanted to provide call center support, including telephone calls and emails. Lastly, we needed to track affiliate sales and commissions.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were chosen after we worked briefly with the CEO of the company, Ravi Mittal, on a smaller project. We were so impressed by his team's work on that project that we decided to hire them to build our shopping cart. Ravi's ideas and his team's technical skills helped us immensely over the course next few years.

Describe the project in detail.

Initially, we had meetings to discuss the requirements for the project. We used to meet thrice a week —Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. After Rave Infosys provided us with wireframes and mockups, we worked closely on the database architecture and his team started work on the code development.

Over the course of a year, we completed 6–7 modules, which were enough for our first launch in July 2008. Once the base system was live, Rave started working on adding and enhancing modules in the system, based on our needs. His team also kept the system up and running.

What was the team composition?

We worked with one project manager, two team leads, five developers, and one quality assurance tester.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What outcomes or results can you share that demonstrate progress and/or success?

Our initial subscription launch went smoothly and helped us generate revenue right away. We could also manage gateways and merchant accounts using the admin section, allowing us to monitor all transactions.

How effective was the project management?

Ravi was the project manager, and he ensured that all modules and features were completed on time. Delays were rare, and they let us know why they occurred.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They understood our business process and provided ideas during discovery meetings and problem-solving sessions. They were an awesome team.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm Co-founder of Kloud 9 Vapes, an online store for vaporizer products. We sell e-Cigarettes, e-Hookahs, e-Shisha Sticks & Cartomizers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what reason(s) did your company hire Rave Infosys?

We had just purchased a Salesforce License and needed help implementing it.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to maximize our use of Salesforce.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had worked with Rave previously on our Magento store and they did a great job, so we decided to use them for our Salesforce needs as well. We had a  discovery call where we discussed our company's needs and they came up with a plan of exactly we needed and a time frame.

Describe the project in detail.

We had a few things we wanted help within SalesForce. We needed help with general customization; creating views, customizing reports and fields, and setting up automated campaigns. We also needed it to integrate with our phone service,  e-mail, and e-commerce site.

What was the team composition?

We were assigned a Salesforce certified engineer to work with us, who was available on email or calls on my time zone schedule, which was important.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our internal team can now easily track our company's sales, marketing efforts, and overall progress of the company. Our entire office loves it. There is no information that goes missing and we have a clear view of our sales funnel.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was super effective. They gave us a clear deadline and worked tirelessly to meet the deadline. At the same time, they gave us updates and were available to schedule calls when needed.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are not just an IT solution company. They don't limit themselves to just what you ask them to accomplish. They really understand Salesforce and made many useful recommendations that helped us to get the most value out of this powerful tool. They brainstormed with us and came up with great ways to use Salesforce in our industry, improving our marketing efforts.

Are there any areas for improvement?

From what I saw, everything was handled very well by them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Medcare is a national DME (durable medical equipment) company which enrolls patients across the country and ships medical supplies to their homes. One of the most important aspects of the business is the data management, making sure we don’t lose data or let it drop off.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Rave Infosys?

At the time, I was a new customer of Salesforce, and I was using a third-party vendor to build it out. They were very corporate, and I don’t like dealing with corporate. I prefer to deal with a business that provides a more personal touch. I needed assistance across multiple aspects of Salesforce, but data management was the most important part. Medcare has a large call center, so we needed a system that could integrate all the different campaigns.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Rave Infosys enabled integration within a new system, building out workflow. We never had anything on paper, as we’d just done it for a long time. This required us to put it all on paper. The system was integrated with Five9, which is a call center software. Rave helped us implement dozens of workflows.

Getting the whole process on paper, and carefully vetting through it, really opened our eyes to how proper communication really goes a long way. It helped us simplify things, to say the least.

How did you come to work with Rave Infosys?

I found them on LinkedIn. I chose Rave specifically because they seemed to fit all the criteria we had at the time. When I spoke to them about Five9 and Salesforce, they just had so much experience. They even had experience in the space.

How much have you invested with Rave Infosys?

We invested $70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around May of 2015, and the project was completed about six months later.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It helped our business processes and made the workflows more efficient. We were going through a whole company revamp at the time, so it’s tough to give an accurate perception. We ended up not even moving forward with Salesforce after everything.

The quality of the work provided by Rave was great. If we had stayed on the same business course, we would have been great. We just had to go a different road.

How did Rave Infosys perform from a project management standpoint?

The communication and timelines were great. [Respondent has Monica, who was the project manager, provide the following.] They were giving us weekly updates, as well as biweekly face-to-face meetings. They set up a dashboard to update us on any changes or roadblocks.

What did you find most impressive about Rave Infosys?

It’s probably their overall knowledge on all the systems. It’s rare that you get a company that has experience with a call center environment, technology, and CRM’s. They understood our business and not just the technology that supports it.

Are there any areas Rave Infosys could improve?

No. I’ve never thought of anything they could do better.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital marketing manager for a health supplement company called Nutri-Health. We have a parent company called Wellnext, which currently has 12 or 13 different brands under its belt. We both manufacture and sell a wide variety of health supplements, vitamins, and related products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Rave Infosys?

We needed a development company that could assist us with both frontend and backend development. Our team had been basically broken apart, and we needed an expert in Magento, as we had recently migrated over to that platform. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

At first, it was maintenance and fixing bugs the previous developers had left on the site. At that time, we weren’t looking for anything major because we had just gone through a major migration from a different cart system onto Magento. We didn’t have an in-house expert to handle all the things that were needed. There were some pretty deep development needs, which Rave was able to take over and assist us with right away. Throughout the two years that we were with them, they were always able to take on any challenge we had and deliver.

We had an auto-ship system in place that worked on a totally different CRM [customer relationship management] system. One of our biggest challenges was that when we did our migration, that part was never fully completed and was not operational. Rave basically helped us to get the two systems talking. Our CRM was separate from Magento, and the majority of our orders were offline. Rave created that connection and made sure all the auto-ships were properly processing online and then feeding into the other system. They got that system up and running so we didn’t have customer service or call center-related issues. They helped us save one of the biggest parts of our business, which is our continuing or auto-ship customer base. They also helped us optimize our website for speed, navigation, and mobile-friendliness.

How did you come to work with Rave Infosys?

I was looking for Magento experts, hoping to find a local firm with whom I could meet and build a relationship. I did a search and found Rave, as well as several other companies. We interviewed three companies, and when I met with the Rave team, they came across as very knowledgeable, confident, and willing to work with us. After reviewing the various companies, I personally felt most comfortable with Rave because of the way they approached everything and the way they saw things. Our president met with them as well, and we agreed they were the best fit for our company and our needs.

How much have you invested with Rave Infosys?

We’ve invested around $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We first started working with Rave in May of 2015, and our collaboration ended in April of 2017. After they got going and we saw what they were able to deliver, we kept them onboard instead of hiring internal resources. They were basically our developers for almost two years. We recently ended our relationship with them only because we’ve moved off the Magento platform. We’ve migrated to a different company who has their own team of developers. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t tracked any statistics or metrics, as their work didn’t involve anything that needed to be measured. If I were to dig into it, I’m sure I could pull up statistics in terms of our site speed and optimization work they did. Other than that, I can’t think of anything where we tracked the work they did, as it was ongoing development work and improvements.

I would say their work had a positive impact. Anytime we saw issues with our site, whether it was site load or completes coming from customers, Rave was always very willing, able, and quick to find the problem, get a resolution, test it, and make it live. They fixed the problems and improved things on an ongoing basis. They were always on top of their game and knew what they were doing. We always saw the results that you would expect. They always got to our requests in a timely manner. Ultimately, they were always diligent with their work.

How did Rave Infosys perform from a project management standpoint?

I thought their project management was great for our needs. We were a small team, and a lot of the work fell on me. We didn’t necessarily have all the pieces in place that some companies may have in terms of reporting and project management tools. We had monthly catch-up calls, and Rave provided a monthly report of the work done. Anytime we had projects, we would open a ticket with them, and it was perfectly managed. We never had any issues. If we did have minor hiccups or things that were overlooked, they took care of it immediately.

They were always very good with project management. We used Basecamp for a little bit, then switched to Google Docs. I really liked that I could just pick up the phone and talk to one of the developers about what was going on. It would take maybe another phone call or an email to get it done, so we didn’t necessarily even need to track these things. Rave always had it all tracked with their monthly reports, and that was all we needed. It was almost like they were in the building with me, as if they were a part of the team.

What did you find most impressive about Rave Infosys?

They care. If we have a need, they take care of that need. They’re not just there to collect money from us like a lot of other development companies. When they say they’re going to do something, they do it. Other developers I’ve worked with in the past haven’t lived up to those standards. I ultimately think they’re very good at what they do, and they follow through. They care about the fact that they’re working on a business that faces our customers online, which obviously can affect our sales on a daily basis. They put in the time to care and be there for us, as if they were our employees.

Are there any areas Rave Infosys could improve?

They could be more proactive in suggesting things we could do to improve our business. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing manager for May Arts Ribbon. We’re an importer and wholesaler of high-quality ribbon for the craft industry, gift-wrapping, the floral industry, apparel use, and many other uses. We also have a small retail branch called Ribbon Resource, which is e-commerce only.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Rave Infosys?

We have a WordPress website for our wholesale and retail sides, running WooCommerce. We had a lot of issues with the way that was set up initially. We needed a lot of work done to repair some broken functionality, as well as add other functionality on top of our existing websites. We also needed a lot of design change. This is a custom-coded site on WordPress, so we needed experienced developers and designers to work side by side with us to implement the changes.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, the biggest change was on our retail side. The way the products were displayed was very confusing. It just didn’t work very well, and there was a lot of broken functionality and links. The way the products related to each other needed to be changed. We also wanted a lot of design changes. Rave Infosys also set up the ability for us to make changes ourselves to the banners or the way things are displayed.

For the wholesale side, it was the same type of issues. We had a lot of problems with people logging in and registering. We had design issues that they needed to fix, as well as functionality issues on the checkout process. They also helped us a lot with setting up our Google Analytics, our AdWords account, Facebook advertising, as well as how all that was tracked. They set up the backend for all that tracking for our online marketing. The work was mostly repairing the existing aspects of the sites. There were tons of small things.

We worked collaboratively on the design. I’m a graphic designer, so I could do Photoshop mockups showing how I wanted things to look. Rave would then go in and change the code, getting it to look exactly how I wanted.

How did you come to work with Rave Infosys?

I put out an ad on an online publication, and Rave called me. At the time of the call, I was in a moment of crisis, and my website was down. They helped me out at the moment to get my site live again. They asked me a couple of questions, told me what to look for, and fixed the problem right then and there over the phone. Obviously, that led to a longer relationship.

How much have you invested with Rave Infosys?

We’ve invested around $12,000 with Rave Infosys.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in June of 2016, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were seeing a downward trend in our online sales over the last five years, which is why we needed all this work done. We’re now at a stage where we’re no longer shrinking. We’ve evened out and stopped losing sales. We’re in the process of cutting back on expenses and consolidating our resources, to help the business even further. We haven’t grown the business exponentially since Rave Infosys came on board. They joined us when we were already in a bad situation.

The site has been much more reliable and stable since Rave worked on the updates and fixes. We ran a survey to all our users, with Survey Monkey, and we had very positive feedback about the functionality and ease of purchase on the site. Just about everything on that list was what Rave had worked on.

How did Rave Infosys perform from a project management standpoint?

Rave Infosys was fantastic. They have an internal program, but they stressed that they could use any project management tool that I wanted. My team already used Redbooth, so I set up an account for the Rave team. All I ever had to do was put in a test, or things I needed to be done, and they jumped right in, made comments on it, added files and screenshots, and worked within our existing system. I give them an A+ on that. I scheduled the deadline for a specific task, and it would be done. They also tracked their time through my software, so I could look in the backend and see exactly how much time was spent on a specific task.

What did you find most impressive about Rave Infosys?

The most important thing for me was their ability to be organized with how their time was being allocated. Also, their communication is fantastic. Rave Infosys is in my time zone, and their team was always readily available within moments anytime I had a problem.

Are there any areas Rave Infosys could improve?

Nothing comes to mind. I’m very happy with everything they’ve done for us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

VMR Products is an e-cig and e-liquid company. We build appliances and devices for e-cigs and e-liquids. Our e-commerce site is number one in our industry in terms of volume and revenue in the U.S. I do the quality assurance testing, release management, and some project management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Rave Infosys?

Our e-commerce site is international. Our U.S. sites were using Interspire to manage the e-commerce site, whereas everything in Europe was Magento. We wanted to partner with a company with expertise in Magento to build customized modules and extensions for Magento.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Magento website is fully customizable. We can manage the products on the site with tier-level offerings to our customers. In terms of pricing and managing the processes around that, taxes and fees, all that had to be managed. The site already existed, and we wanted Rave to look at how our recent upgrade was working, and customize some of the extensions. One extension, in particular, was for EET. Our site for Czechoslovakia was required by the government to have an EET code for every transaction. We had an extension customized and implemented for our business.  

We’ve since extended our contract with Rave. Whenever we need extensions, modifications, or customizations, we know we can depend on them to get it done. They’re very professional and always on time. They handle any defects. They’ve become one of our preferred third-party vendors. They’re extremely knowledgeable in Magento.

How did you come to work with Rave Infosys?

Our CTO did an analysis of firms that could provide us with the best support, and we chose Rave. They had credibility in the industry, experienced personnel, and they were flexible.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Rave in April of 2016, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our site is very demanding, and it requires a high level of speed and performance. The work done by Rave has improved the site’s performance by 20%. They’re good at what they do.

How did Rave Infosys perform from a project management standpoint?

I can call their lead person, and he’ll answer the phone. Their responsiveness is exceptional. Their ability to get things done and work within our schedule is also exceptional. They’ve been able to integrate with our software development lifecycle. We use JIRA to run an Agile shop, and they’re able to interface with that. That’s usually difficult for third-party contractors, particularly when you’re running within sprints and you have certain deliverables for each sprint. Not only are they knowledgeable of that process, but they’re able to integrate into our product tracking system, our tickets, and our defect tracking system. They also have access to our Confluence. They provide content when we need it. They help manage the tickets and add hours to the tickets in JIRA

What did you find most impressive about Rave Infosys?

I would say their accessibility, flexibility, dependability, and professionalism differentiates them. I’ve called them on a Saturday when we had a problem with the system, and they’ve been available.

Are there any areas Rave Infosys could improve?

The only opportunity for improvement, and it’s not a huge problem, is more insight into their analysis. If I tell them I need a particular extension, they’ll give me five options. I trust that these are the five best options, but I’d like more details on how they choose those options. It would be interesting to see how they come up with their solutions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the Director of Finance and IT for The Spice and Tea Exchange. We’re a nationwide franchise of retail outlets selling gourmet spices and teas. We also have an e-commerce platform. Our web footprint includes two separate websites: an e-commerce site selling directly to retail customers and a B2B portal where our franchisees place business orders. At the corporate level, we have 49 employees. Our franchise system consists of 54 stores, each of which has between five and eight employees.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Rave Infosys?

We had a previous development partner, but they weren’t very proactive. When we provided a very clear and detailed idea of what we wanted, they would deliver exactly that. They lacked that extra nuance and understanding of programming, e-commerce, and general web design to give us recommendations. We were missing that, and that is the main reason we switched to Rave.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Rave handles both websites, but our B2B site is pretty basic and doesn’t revolve around a lot of change. Most of their work has involved unwinding something was broken by the previous developer. It’s usually just troubleshooting the occasional glitch that pops up. The e-commerce was definitely our focus.

The first thing Rave did was a full audit on the code, security patches, and setup of our site. We use the Magento platform, and they were able to identify almost a dozen security patches that we needed installed. They also did a pretty comprehensive user interface update on various links and setups that were done incorrectly, which made them less stable. So, the original scope was for them to bring our site up to a secure status and fix any user interface problems.

The biggest change we’ve made so far is our shopping cart, which was behind the times. When Rave first reviewed our site, they told us our shopping cart involved too many steps. Users had to go through five pages to make a purchase. Rave redesigned that and created a single-page checkout, which has really improved our dropped cart rate right off the bat.

Rave is currently working on a project list that mostly involved triage and repair of issues, such as integration with our shipping company and integration with our enterprise resource planning. These things already existed, but they were sloppy and unreliable.

How did you come to work with Rave Infosys?

We interviewed almost a dozen potential partners. When we looked through Magento-certified developers, we found that a number of them worked for Rave. After researching more information on the web, we reached out directly to them.

How much have you invested with Rave Infosys?

We’ve invested under $10,000 to date. I suspect this project will end up in the neighborhood of $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started with them in January of 2017, and the relationship is ongoing. They’ve essentially become a permanent partner of ours. They’ll be our primary resource for general web support and development going forward.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve had a decrease in the dropped cart rate, a 70% decrease so far. Since we switched to Magento, errors would pop up that forced customer complaints or issues. They reached out to us for help through their transactions. We’ve seen that almost completely eliminated just through the work Rave has done to stabilize the UI and the processes in place on our site. We’ve probably seen a 90% drop in customer inquiries when they have trouble getting through the site.

This first project on the site security and user interface was their audition. The work Rave has delivered is great, and they meet every expectation. Rave did so well that we developed a relationship that we expect to continue into the future.

Our biggest considerations in making them a long-term partner for us are their knowledge, communication, and willingness to be proactive. We don’t have in-house expertise on Magento, but we previously had to direct every update or change to the site. Our development partner was essentially just a tool for doing the programming itself. Rave has been much more proactive. Just yesterday, without any prompting, they found a couple more user interface changes they wanted to make. They made recommendations to us and then implemented them as promised, which has made an impact.

How did Rave Infosys perform from a project management standpoint?

They log everything in detail, using Teamwork as their project management suite. All the timelines are logged to a project, and they have clear and measurable deliverable dates. They haven’t missed any deadlines yet. As they’re making progress toward the deadlines, it’s updated clearly. The communication has been fantastic. They set clear expectations, and they meet them.

What did you find most impressive about Rave Infosys?

I’ve worked with many development companies in the past. The thing that separates Rave is their ability to communicate. They’ve been very proactive and very clear on everything. At all times, I have a good feel for what they’re doing, when they’re going to finish, what the investment is going to be, and what the result will be. That seems like it should be a simple thing, but it isn’t in my experience.

Are there any areas Rave Infosys could improve?

It’s a little early still. If they had fallen flat at this point, we wouldn’t still be working with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a full-service marketing, branding, web development, and graphic design company. I am the president and CEO of the company. It started in 2004.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Rave Infosys?

We needed help with developing specific platforms.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Rave Infosys is a certified Magento developer. For one of our accounts, they had to dive in and fix problems caused by the previous developer while also migrating to a better hosting environment. Rave Infosys has also built multiuser WordPress installations for a B2G client who had a need for five websites under one hood. Rave Infosys handled the full architectural configuration and training documentation on behalf of the client, allowing them to manage their own content going forward. The unique thing about that particular project is that the client needed content to be developed once and then broadcast across five different websites in an automated process. The system was built in order to save them time internally.

Rave Infosys is in the process of rebuilding one of our Drupal websites as well. We were using two Drupal teams, but have migrated all the work to Rave Infosys. They're taking a Drupal 5 website built a long time ago, which was approaching its end of life, and upgrading it to Drupal 8, the more current version. We usually work with one project lead and one programmer from Rave Infosys' side. I haven't experienced working with more than two people at a time.

How did you come to work with Rave Infosys?

Ravi, their president, was a Vistage member, as was I, so we met through the network somehow. Many times, when taking part in such a networking group, we will reach out and see who else is working in the same space. My company partners with other groups who provide specialty work since we don't employ all of those disciplines.

How much have you invested with Rave Infosys?

Rave Infosys will usually give me a flat project rate based on the projected number of hours needed, which is the easiest approach unless we have a scalable scope. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Rave Infosys in 2013.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The B2G site we worked on was handled by Rave Infosys from start to finish, so it's one of the better examples of their work. It was a very smooth process, and we experienced very few issues after testing it through our in-house QC [quality control] team. It was a value-added project since we didn't have to utilize our internal resources for tracking things down. Rave Infosys is a full-service provider, so we don't have to bring our people in to double-check the work.

How did Rave Infosys perform from a project management standpoint?

Rave Infosys is very good at hitting deadlines. There were no projects that went on for longer than they should have. The exception was once when there was a miscommunication, so Rave Infosys didn't start a project soon enough causing us to miss our deadline. But they made up for it by overdelivering additional features at no additional charge to the client. 

What did you find most impressive about Rave Infosys?

For many other developers we've worked with, we needed to employ a full QC team, which is the main differentiator for Rave Infosys. The quality of the work itself is the number one reason we choose to use them for building new systems.

Are there any areas Rave Infosys could improve?

Scheduling is a bit tough sometimes since we're all busy and there is a difference in time zones. Communication, in general, is always a challenge in terms of conference calls and screen shares, but this is not specific to Rave Infosys. The problem exists across the board.