Reality Premedia Services

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of Tranquility Lifestyle Solutions. We provide technical monitoring services for seniors in marketplaces around several countries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Reality Premedia Services?

We wanted to have a software development house that we could use for some complex projects. We were looking to create fully integrated UX/UI mobile applications for several different products. It was crucial that they could deliver them on time and according to our set budgets and guidelines.

We had to ensure that all the products were seamless and easy to use for all user groups while being extremely robust from a data processing management and security perspective.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Reality helps us with IT consulting services. We initially did some extensive research on each other. Also, we had a clear and concise scope of work, which we used as a vehicle to deliver all of the projects and various change orders.

They’ve worked closely with us around the alpha and beta releases, and we continue to give them tasks for additional development.

What is the team composition?

There are about 20 people overall. Their head of software development is our project lead, and he strategically manages their resources. We have some software engineers, a couple of hardware engineers, and people helping with general issues.

How did you come to work with Reality Premedia Services?

We met them through a business acquaintance that had worked with Reality before. He gave a strong account of their capabilities and the way they ran their business. We connected with them a couple of years ago and set our relationship on that basis.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2019. Initially, we had an end date, but we’ve gone into a strategic partnership due to the great experience we’ve had with Reality.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their leadership is solid and their prices are transparent. When we have a problem, there’s a good level of maturity on both sides, so we can solve the problems.

Overall, they’re very forthright with coming to us when there are issues, which we respect and have asked for. The lead developer has been strategically important to production. He’s intimately involved, building a strong level of trust between our organizations.

How did Reality Premedia Services perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re excellent. We haven’t had anything negative in the whole project. They respond almost immediately regardless of the time zone differences between us. When we have issues or challenges, we solve them professionally. Reality is a very competent company, and we have a cohesive and productive relationship.

We usually communicate through Zoom or phone. In the beginning, the project lead came to New Jersey, but then it got shot down because of COVID-19.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very ethical.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could coordinate better with some of their junior employees.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just focus on the statement of work and develop the relationship.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of Smartgolfer, a remote AR golf coaching startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Reality Premedia Services?

We needed help with AR development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Reality Premedia Services provides AR development services. Their goal is to help us use AR to enable coaches in delivering and revolutionizing golf training and coaching remotely. Since the golf’s ball is very small, it has made the development process a very challenging task. Additionally, they’re working on making our iOS and Android platform simple and user-friendly. 

Their work involves image processing and video processing and there’s a little bit of AI involved with those. As part of that, they’ve experimented and developed a prototype using a standard AI procedure for video analysis. Since we weren’t satisfied with that, they’ve dedicated another team to develop an AI model that runs off Microsoft background. With the platform’s complexity, we’ve done most of the processing on the cloud. 

We’re now on the testing stage, and we’ll finally have an app that can marry the AR capabilities that we need as well as integrate that with video processing. We also have a lot of activity on the backend since it’s database-driven along with the task of user registrations and customer support. Furthermore, they have a team that understands our product and can manage supporting it.

The first challenge we have right now is to get an early release of the product so we can conduct user testing. We expect that we’ll accomplish that within 1–2 months of development. Once we’re ready for the first release, we’ll do another round of development work. 

Then, once we have a product and have gathered user feedback, we’ll hire Reality Premedia Services for regular maintenance and upgrades. In a couple of years, we’ll also have periods where we’ll make sure that they can meet our requirements as we develop newer versions in the future.

What is the team composition?

We directly communicate with their senior developer and project manager. They also have a couple of developers on different fronts and one particular developer focuses on the iOS platform. We also have another team that’s working on AI because we’re deploying some of their AI technologies. Overall, they have two groups of people — one working on the AI side and one working on the application side.

How did you come to work with Reality Premedia Services?

I knew about Reality Premedia Service for many years. Their managing director had been closely associated with me for the last 45 years. They were very helpful with a lot of projects that I had with another company, and I worked closely with them on a lot of cutting edge apps.

As an example, we developed solutions for the Olympics. We also developed web-based and mobile apps for the Soccer Ball Cup in 2014, which was one of the biggest success stories we had. We were able to cover news, video, live data, live scores, and 3D models of the soccer games. At that time, we had 3.5 trillion bytes of data transfer, and the server died on one particular game because it was overwhelming. 

However, we were able to leverage Reality Premedia Services’ experience. Their familiarity with the sports allowed us to effectively handle real-time data. Integration was a critical issue for us, so they helped us handle media objects and data. On top of that, they helped us correlate that with real data, image data, and video data. Overall, Reality Premedia Services was a good fit for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $10,000–$49,999.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing relationship began in January 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their pricing is superb, and they’re very easy to work with. They’re also understanding, supportive, and flexible. The team does a good job of working on stages and ensuring that all parts of the project are okay before we jump to the next. Overall, they have a very sensible approach, and we’re very happy with them.

In the future, we’re going to measure their contributions based on the number of user registrations we’ll receive once the product will be released worldwide. Part of that goal is based on the fact that we’re a subscription app.

Coaches will also have the opportunity to get subscribers on their end. For the initial launch, we’ll offer the free version of our app so that we can test and market our product. After that, we need around 100,000 end users before we start charging.

How did Reality Premedia Services perform from a project management standpoint?

The team’s approach is good because they’ve divided their work into bits and pieces that are manageable. We usually try to have weekly sprints and have a meeting where we give our feedback and discuss what has been achieved.

We also discuss overall goals with them so that they’re aware of the long-term issues of our project. So far, they’ve come back with good suggestions and ideas before we dive into each project stage. On top of that, they’ve managed deadlines very well.

Reality Premedia Services also has good communication skills. Moreover, they’re very honest and straightforward. Above all, we’re hooked up on a good network where access is great, making it easy to share files. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Reality Premedia Services is very professional; they ensure that everything is documented and understood by both parties. We’ve worked with other offshore teams and it has been a nightmare. There’s a trust factor that’s really critical in this business, especially when working with an offshore team. More importantly, they're persevering, and they have a positive attitude.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I keep telling them to learn how to play golf. Other than that, we have no issues on the development side. They’re experienced and organized. On top of that, they’re systematic in their delivery and have a good team of people.

The biggest challenge we have is making sure that we’re on the same page. The biggest handicap with sports is that the developers have no clue of golf. Thankfully, we’ve established a policy with them — whenever they want to conduct any testing efforts, we do it for them immediately. We get the code from them, and then we test it. After that, we let them know if there are any issues. After all, there’s no point taking a risk on an unknown.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Share your goals and expectations as early as possible with Reality Premedia Services. On top of that, make sure you maintain a good relationship with them. Have a clear script or storyboard because if they have a good description of the project, they respond really well. More importantly, put more effort into the initial stages of the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the sole owner of 4SmartMinds, a division of Next Level Publishing, which operates in the preprint industry. Our services include preparing glossy magazines for the printing process. 

Our activity at Next Level Publishing heavily involves image treatment and the production of e-books. Image treatment includes removing the background from an image in order to use the subject somewhere else. That may entail removing clouds from the sky, adjusting colors, and so on. Later on, we've added 3D production services with 4SmartMind such as image treatment and creation as well as VR programming.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Reality Premedia Services?

We were looking for an outsourcing partner. We wanted to offer German quality at affordable prices to our clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their work includes image treatment, VR programming, and more. The team also deals with complex work such as recreating 3D objects based on drawings. Reality Premedia receives all of the instructions as input files, and they send back the corrected files to us. The last project they’ve completed is wine bottles. 

Then, the most complex project they’ve finished is an AR app for Microsoft HoloLens that has one hour of content. After that, our company has won a public tender in Germany from the minister of education. As such, after the app’s first version, we’ve conducted multiple phases of testing which has taken more than a year to finish. They’ve also completed all our web pages.

I’ve visited their office many times while they’re completing the AR app because it has been a complex and creative process. I’ve also sat down with their designer and 3D developer and had meetings with their team. My personal presence has been necessary because there have been a multitude of colors, shapes, and didactical sequences involved in the project. Doing such work would’ve been complicated if discussed through the telephone.

What is the team composition?

We have more or less than 10 people working on our AR project, and they all have different expertise. Reality Premedia has also a special team that deals with image treatment projects. Their supervisor delegates the jobs according to the pipelines.

How did you come to work with Reality Premedia Services?

I traveled through Asia for about four months, looking for the right partner. I visited around 30 companies in India. I also went to different locations such as Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

Then, Reality Premedia had a booth at a Frankfurt book fair and they showcased their e-book services. I visited them while in India, and they were outstanding than all the other companies I saw. Despite being a remote company, we were surprised that they had a five-star IT business park that would fit perfectly in Silicon Valley. Above all, they had a top-class environment with IBM as their neighbor.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost over the last 3–4 years is $200,000–$300,000. We’ll probably spend $200,000 more for the remainder of our collaboration.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Reality Premedia around January 2011, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They continuously deliver perfect quality because they have a good QA system in place. That’s amazing because we mainly work with German clients and 99% of the time things aren’t good enough for them. Serving German clients without any problems is a gold medal in itself. 

Reality Premedia can do VR with the same sophistication and creativity as the AR work they've done for us. On top of that, the personal involvement and daily presence of their owner from morning until evening have positively impacted the engagement. Looking for the right partner in India might’ve been complicated, but we’re happy that we’ve found a reliable company like Reality Premedia.

How did Reality Premedia Services perform from a project management standpoint?

They have a very good management team that ensures their services are always top-notch. More importantly, they’re willing to work round the clock if they have to. I’ve known them for almost a decade, and I’ve been to their location in India around 30 times, staying there around 10–14 days. We also appreciate their timeliness; if they set a date, they’ll deliver by the agreed time. That’s also the reason why multinational companies have been working with them for 15–20 years.

Reality Premedia is also good at following our instructions — they always know what to do and our communication is basic. They typically complete our projects within a day or two, and they’re open to hearing feedback about what we like and don’t like. More importantly, they always have a point of contact we can email and call multiple times a day.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Reality Premedia’s package has been impressive because it shows the quality of their work and their adherence to deadlines. Their business environment is also good, and it’s at par with the level at Silicon Valley. As such, we’ve developed a good relationship with their owner over the years. That’s why we’re happy to have seen them double the number of their staff, to 300 people or more.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t know any areas they can improve. Their staff has been working in the IT industry for more than 50 years. Their owner is close to 70, but he started young in the IT world. In addition, their COO is very organized and analytical. On top of that, they have many young programmers, and their head of technology is an absolutely outstanding person.

Overall, Reality Premedia is very professional, and they’ve perfected their workflows. They’ve automated many processes using their own software. For example, e-book production is done 80% via software they’ve developed.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Give Reality Premedia a chance to work on their first project. Find out just how good they are as a company. Know that they have a lot of professionals who can handle all types of software requirements. They’re intelligent and have a knack for developing software from scratch. 

In addition, they have good people who can offer services such as e-book conversions, image treatment, and indexing newspapers. They’re a company that works for many companies around the world, and they’re reliable because they always train to get better. As a result, it’s a no-brainer to hire them, whether it’s software development, multimedia, or web development projects.