RealAnts Private Limited

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a Marketing Agency and have a lot of own Projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire RealAnts Private Limited?

RealAnts developed for us Smartphone APPs and a whole backend-System for our customers.

What were your goals for this project?

To create a userfriendly interface for our own project which can be used by a lot of customers.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

RealAnts is very frinedly and all time available. The Quality of their work is also amazing.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We offer a system for customers where they can subscribe and create their own Monitor-Adverts for stores. They have a huge template selection choice and can easily modify these templates to their needs, animate texts and images and show them on TV Sets in their stores. It is written in php.

What was the team composition?

RealAnts as main programmer and me a subervisor together with our inhouse-team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We started from scratch and the result is just amazing. We just started marketing and have a very great resonance already.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We worked with Trello for project goals and planning, which was very effective. RealAnts understood always exactly what I requested and realized it in time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The GREAT communication nearly 24/7 and the fast thinking into my needs.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No. There is nothing to improve.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the directors at Optimal Solutions. We’re a visual signage business based out of Singapore currently trading in the US and UK.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with RealAnts Private Limited?

We use Android TV for our digital signage. We wanted an application to gather information and streamline installation, reducing the time needed for the process by 75%. We needed help building the platform as well as a backend monitoring server.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we provided their team with a detailed scoping document. In about three or four sessions, we reviewed any action items until there was a clear, mutual understanding of the project.

Then, RealAnts Private Limited developed the application for our Android TV hardware. While we provided examples based on a similar product, their team had the freedom to create as they desired. Our team also discussed functional requirements, which RealAnts Private Limited made happen.

After finishing the app, their team completed the administrative panel. The platform functions as a monitoring server, receiving data collected by the app in real-time. They integrated tools to allow our team to access multiple reports and different sets of data.

We have an online development project that RealAnts Private Limited continues to support. Their team also provides ongoing platform maintenance.

What is the team composition?

I communicated with a project manager but didn’t have contact with any other teammates.

How did you come to work with RealAnts Private Limited?

We found RealAnts Private Limited on Upwork. Our team had a four-vendor shortlist, but we appreciated their previous experience working with signage and Android boxes. We spent two weeks outlining the project’s requirements. Once we both understood and agreed to the requirements, we turned the project to live on Upwork.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent less than €5,000 (approximately $5,500 USD) on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began the collaboration in April 2019, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since starting to use the app, we’ve experienced minimal translation errors and loss of paperwork. Now, installation time is a fraction of what it used to be because of the product RealAnts Private Limited delivered.

How did RealAnts Private Limited perform from a project management standpoint?

We haven’t followed any particular project management style, but development could best be labeled as agile methodology. Our team set clear milestones and performed reviews in the first week of the project. At first, we held about three meetings a week when RealAnts Private Limited provided updates. Once we became more comfortable with the partnership, we started having weekly check-ins.

What did you find most impressive about them?

RealAnts Private Limited built trust by delivering on everything they said. Their team asks questions when they’re uncertain, but also aren’t afraid to offer an alternative idea if we suggest something that doesn’t follow best practices. It’s uncommon to find a partner with the courage to provide feedback.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give more details than is thought to be needed. Make clear the need for advice; let RedAnts Private Limited help.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Artifact Solutions Private Limited. We focus on service-based solutions. Specifically, we develop websites and Java- and Google-Services-based web applications for startups in India. We’ve worked with 15 startups so far. We get a hold of a solution, customize it, and deliver it to clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with RealAnts?

We were developing a website for a startup that had to display data from a Google Maps API to provide directions to users. The site was focused on the policies of the Indian government—an initiative for making India clean. We engaged RealAnts for their knowledge and expertise on mobile and web, as they related to Google Maps.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The website FindToilets.com was a simple solution for travelers looking for toilets when they couldn’t ask another person. The systems is made up of a mobile application and a web interface, either of which can be used to find the nearest toilet from a list of usable ones within a 200–500–meter area. The system also provides directions.

RealAnts developed the mobile application as well as the website. They also provided layout sketches based on our idea and worked on the presentation we took to the government. This was to help our startup receive the necessary approvals from the government. We restricted the mobile app to Android and setup a free server on AWS because of the cost of development.

What is the team composition?

They provided a three-person team, along with one team leader/project manager, who was the single point of contact for us. We gave him our requirements, and he delivered the result to us.

How did you come to work with RealAnts?

We reached out to five providers, RealAnts being one of them. We engaged them because of their previous projects and knowledge regarding Google APIs.

How much have you invested with them?

The project cost was around $5,200.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with RealAnts in June 2018, and the project ended in November or December of that year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was a success, but the government itself wasn’t ready to share the necessary data for the whole of India. RealAnts has come up with some open data, though. I’d rate the project 8/10. We were quite successful with our affiliation, and the project was widely accepted at the time. A lot of people downloaded and used our platform.

How did RealAnts perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was done in scrum. We used Slack for coordination, the project was hosted on GitHub, and we also used Bugzilla. We used a paid GitHub account in order to keep the project private.

We only had a 5%–7% delay rate, so the project was successful. Additionally, the delays only happened during the later stages of the project when we had to refine some elements. The timeline was managed to within one and a half weeks.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re good at what they do.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They should work more toward value for money. Whenever there are changes, they should accurately calculate the timelines and inform the client, which can help us understand those changes. They should maintain good communication with the client. RealAnts’ timelines and quality are both good, though.