Savas Labs

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the cofounder and CTO of Killer Aces Media. We run one of the top personal finance sites in the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Savas Labs?

Our company has been working with their team for over a decade for all of our IT consulting and assistance that we need. Our most recent project was the overhaul of our entire server system.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We were seeing a lot of outages across our system and wanted to get our uptime to 99.95%. They overhauled our server system to do that, instituting technologies like Varnish and Long Train, and eventually achieved over the 99.95% uptime goal that we had set.

Since then, we have kept them on retainer for 5-10 hours a month to monitor the servers and provide upgrades or updates as they need to happen. All of that has been on top of the work they do maintaining our Drupal website, helping us to upgrade that as needed and occasionally implementing custom modules as well.

What was the team composition?

For the server overhaul project, I mainly worked with three people at Savas, including a main project manager who came from an engineering background. The main guy doing the work was one of the senior engineers, and occasionally one of their directors would consult on various components.

How did you come to work with Savas Labs?

We talked to them about this project, received a few RFPs from their team and several others, but decided to hire Savas Labs for the work in the end.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, the project cost around $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

This latest big project ran from February 2017–May 2018, but we have continued working with them on a retainer basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of their work is really great. I trust their team completely, which is one of the most critical contributors to our success. They do highly in-depth research both on the technology itself and to understand our business needs so that they can deliver the most comprehensive proposals possible.

How did Savas Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

One of their biggest strengths is the communication either from the directors or from the engineers directly. They give incredibly honest feedback on the context of why certain things are good decisions based on the cost of the solution versus the severity of the business problem.

Their project manager is always on top of our weekly calls and provides really thorough updates on our progress and plans for the upcoming week. They have given me the ability to log in and monitor the results myself as well, which I really appreciate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I think their culture really starts from the top. Chris really cares about the clients he works with and is very passionate, and that attitude spreads down to the rest of his company. They really care about providing a quality product to their customer rather than just serving as a factory production line.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Because I do have such a relationship of trust built up with them, I keep asking them to provide more services, and I sometimes wish they had a broader offering in that regard. But everything they do, they do extremely well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be honest with them about your needs. They are on the expensive side for providers, but you get quality for that price, and they are more than willing to work with you to adjust the work order to make sure that it fits your budget. The more open you are about what you’re struggling with, the better they will be able to help you find a solution for that.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the technology director at Omega Institute. We’re a holistic learning center.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address Savas Labs?

We’re brought them on to build a new Drupal 9 website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re helping us transfer from Drupal 7 to Drupal 9, ensuring everything is up to speed. They’re working with us on architecture, UX, and web design. We want to launch more robust online learning, so web development is essential. In the near future, they’ll also be helping us with improvements to our e-commerce platform. 

 We’re a multi-faceted organization, but they’re helping us make the best choices for our site and the institute as a whole

What is the team composition?

We have 6–8 people working on the project including a project manager, UX designer, front- and backend developer, and a designer. There are also internal resources from my side that are working with them. 

How did you come to work with Savas Labs?

My web consultant attended a Drupal conference and connected with them there. Their mission aligned well with our values, so we had a lot of respect and understanding of one another. Their time feels like part of my team. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested well over $1 million dollars. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our first big project with them around July 2017. Our work is ongoing, and they’ve worked with us on several web projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’re really clear and are willing to be in a negotiation about what’s possible. Their team manages their hours and scope so that we can stay within budget. It feels like a partnership, rather than just a client-vendor relationship. They want to understand us. 

When we’ve had times where things didn’t go as planned, they were always willing to help us fix issues with long term solutions. 

How did Savas Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve had several project managers with them. Both were really on top of it. Originally, we used Redmine, but they’ve since switched over to Teamwork. The communication is clear and constant. They provide a lot of detail and documentation, so it’s easy to revisit information if necessary. 

We have a weekly check-in meeting to go over hours, budget, and plans for the week. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Savas Labs has been the best experience I’ve had with any web design company. They’re truly about being a partner in how one plans their technology. They’re willing to do research to help us see things with a fresh perspective by providing us with options. Their team values being part of our strategy. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Initially, there were a few problems with project management. However, as our relationship has grown, those issues have dissipated. They’re growing as a company and are learning how to navigate it all, and they’re very self-aware. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

Be willing to be in a relationship with them. This means being communicative and letting them know what you need. The best way to be successful is through transparency.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of two co-founders at a company that creates business simulations that serve as digital learning experiences for assessing and training talent. Our background is in corporate training and executive education. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Savas Labs?

We keep a lean development team but needed to scale up.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided web development support, with the ability to do full-stack engineering. Our project required integration with a large enterprise, so they dealt with serious backend work and DevOps engineering. We relied most heavily on their database, backend, and DevOps resources.  

What is the team composition?

We first worked with the CEO who then put us in touch with a project manager. In total, we’ve worked with five people. Our project manager helps us source the right talent for their team.  

How did you come to work with Savas Labs?

I was at a coding boot camp even while looking for someone to work at my company full-time. The best candidate that we met that day ended up taking a job with their company. Because of that connection, I thought their team would be a great resource for accessing additional talent. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $15,000–$25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our project lasted from August–Dember 2019. However, we’re in-touch and looking for new ways to work together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their team was very experienced with enterprise backend development and integration. That familiarity with the technology ensured that we were working with a safe pair of hands.  

How did Savas Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

I was impressed with the professionalism in which they managed their team and communications. We communicated through Slack and Jira. They adapted well to our communication systems. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They worked professionally and displayed a depth of knowledge that was essential to our project’s success.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As they grow and scale, they should be able to help people with even larger projects. I saw no downsides to working with them. In fact, we’ll work with them in the future when needed.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Budget time to communicate with the project manager. It’s important for you to have a parallel commitment to the project management aspects of this project.  

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) is an independent, bipartisan, nonprofit organization that develops strong, pragmatic, and principled national security and defense policies. I am the Communications Specialist at CNAS, responsible for the Center's digital engagement and congressional relations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Savas Labs?

The Center was hoping to make several design improvements to its main website, cnas.org.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals for this project were to execute several design improvements efficiently and effectively, without disrupting site performance or compromising design continuity.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We selected Savas Labs for this project after an extensive review process of comparable firms, which also involved an exploratory demonstration with Savas Labs.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The project involved: (1) Identifying necessary immediate-term design improvements, (2) working with Savas Labs to develop feasible solutions, (3) reviewing and adjusting the solutions produced by Savas Labs on our stage server, and (4) monitoring the deployment of these approved solutions to our main site experience.

What was the team composition?

The team behind this project consisted of several developers and UX experts from Savas Labs, as well as the CNAS communications team and Creative Director.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The CNAS communications team received positive feedback from colleagues within the Center, as well as key external stakeholders, about the design changes, especially with regard to the new table of contents navigation feature that Savas Labs designed.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Savas Labs performed well when it came to managing this project, offering clear guidelines and deadlines for the Center’s review and consolidating steams of information to streamline the Center’s approval processes.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Savas Labs seamlessly translated our existing site design into the added improvements.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Savas Labs used Teamwork to facilitate conversations with the Center regarding review and approval of proposed changes. As the Center does not frequently use Teamwork to collaborate, this required Center personnel to adjust their typical communications workflows.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the executive director of the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice at Duke University. It’s a nonprofit organization focused on history, arts, education, and social mobilization. We’re a part of Pauli Murray Projects, so I’m very involved in both.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Savas Labs?

I’ve taught classes at Duke under these programs, and one of the assignments required us to create an online map that could become a public resource. We wanted to display all different kinds of local activism using Google Map, but it crashed. Because of this, we hired Savas Labs to build a proprietary site for us to transfer our entire map. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built a Drupal site for us after recommending it as most suitable for our goals. We gave them some content, like map markers, so they could create a few samples. It was important for us to be able to upload audio, photos, map locations, and other files that were all accessible on tablets, computers, and phones, so they built those features in for us. 

From there, we were able to upload the information from my students and curated it for the map. I’m able to handle all of the content updates on the site. 

What is the team composition?

Three people were on the team, including Chris (CEO & Founder), a cartographer, and a project coordinator who would take my feedback back to the team. 

How did you come to work with Savas Labs?

I knew the cartographer previously and he also worked at Savas Labs, so that’s why we decided to use them for the project. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April 2015 – May 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The goals that we set in the beginning were all exceeded. We laid out our expectations for usability, visual attractiveness, and accessibility on different devices. They met every one of our goals in each area. It’s a very pretty site and it works well. We have anecdotal responses from people who’ve used it in other classrooms. 

How did Savas Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

The timelines were dependent on me, but they did a good job with it. They made sure I had a point of contact and everything was synthesized through them, which was really useful. We would have face-to-face meetings to discuss what’s working, what our goals are, and what we should try. 

I’d never worked on a project completely from scratch like this, so they laid out a design and production process that made sense and was easy to follow. We wanted to know what the steps were and have feedback loops in place, and they were great to work with in this way. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their creativity and ability to truly listen to what I wanted were most impressive. Since my idea hadn’t been done before and didn’t have an existing template, they really listened to all of my information and goals. They did everything they could to deliver it. 

They were also able to work well with me even though I didn’t necessarily understand the backend of the website or all of the coding language. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We ran into an issue when we needed to change the server and we have limitations because of our university affiliation. However, that wasn’t their fault, it was outside of their control and they were able to adapt. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior web manager at a global health and development nonprofit. I work on two clinical trials housed in the organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Savas Labs?

We hired Savas Labs to help us rebuild the website for one of our clinical trial research networks.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with gathering user feedback from our stakeholders. They gave feedback on how they use the website, as well as how network members and our site staff use it. Savas Labs took that information and used it in their discovery phase, where they came up with a design plan. The team determined the navigation and layout of the site, focusing on ease-of-use. They also selected a color scheme as well as fonts before developing the site, which has a Drupal CMS. Savas Labs also ensured the platform would be mobile-friendly.

What is the team composition?

We’ve communicated directly with a total of about four of five people. However, they’re supported by a larger team on the backend. 

How did you come to work with Savas Labs?

We were doing research on local web development companies. I’d posted on a forum for companies in the area, specifically looking for experience with the Drupal CMS. Chris (CEO) responded to the post, so I got in touch with him. We were very impressed with their customer service from the outset; plus, they were excited about the project. Savas Labs’ offices were nearby to ours as well. The biggest reason we partnered with them, though, was their knowledge of our specific database and how it integrates with the Drupal CMS.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $200,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of their work is quite good. We just kicked off a new project this week, and we’re really excited to see where it leads. In terms of our website, it functions the way we need it to and it looks great. 

One of the things we’re most pleased about is Savas Labs’ growth over the years. Even though we’re still satisfied with the original work they did for us, it’s also great to see how far they’ve come. 

How did Savas Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team is very communicative and quick to respond. They’re always willing to work with us and carry out our requests. They’ve used a few project management tools, both of which have been really user-friendly and easy to use.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their overall attitude and demeanor really stands out. Every person I’ve interacted with has been friendly, positive, easy to talk to, and easy to work with. They’re not caught up in big, corporate practices. They’re a team of good people who are great at what they do.

Are there any areas they could improve?

At first, there was a little bit of underestimation regarding how much work our database connection required. There was a little bit of a learning curve, but Savas Labs’ came out the other side to the point where they now understand it really well. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very transparent, and get as much information as you can about any technology that might be involved. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the web product manager at MIT Press, a scholarly publishing organization that’s affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We publish books and journals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Savas Labs?

We hired them to support our internal team with web development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They augmented our inhouse technical resources by adding new functionalities to our Drupal sites. They’ve also done some work integrating our internal databases to these websites.

While they’ve mostly assisted in further developing existing platforms, they’ve supported us in other capacities as we’ve grown. Savas Labs helped us to launch a new product called CogNet, a customized community and publishing platform.

What is the team composition?

My original and primary point of contact was Chris (Founder). Over time, we’ve worked with other programmers from their team.

How did you come to work with Savas Labs?

We put out an ad looking for Drupal developers, and Chris responded. The price was right, and he came off as a great communicator.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent somewhere between $200,000–$300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership began in the spring of 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve worked with them for a number of years, and we’ve been extremely pleased with their work. They’ve always been there for us, which we’re very grateful for. There have been times, in the face of financial challenges where we needed to pivot and shift the scope mid-project. They were willing to accommodate those changes.

Their work has always been high-quality. They’ve been able to handle a wide variety of projects and handle all kinds of problems. They’re often working with uncommon or niche third-party systems that are part of our publishing business, but they always manage to figure out how to deliver for us. They’re versatile and great to work with.

How did Savas Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

We didn’t have a project manager until the last couple of years, but it’s been a positive adjustment. We still get to directly interface with developers in addition to having a primary point of contact. We feel that we have the benefit of organized project management while being able to have direct communication with those handling our product. We use Jira with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve been a critical resource for us in ensuring the quality, function, and stability of our systems. Especially in particularly demanding projects like retiring legacy sites, it’s been a great relief to have their support. They’ve learned our business—the publishing industry is a quirky one—and they’re nimble. They’re willing to negotiate in ways that other vendors can’t or won’t do. All of these things have made for a long-lasting and mutually-satisfying relationship.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’re happy with their project management process, which they implemented relatively recently. It’s an area that they’ll keep honing as they grow.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Duke Cancer Institute is a National Cancer institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. It is home to more than 300 researches and physicians.

It includes clinical and research partnerships in India, China, Singapore and across the United States. It receives more than $300 million annually in cancer research funding from various sources. I am manager of Applications, Web and Database Development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Savas Labs?

Development of Drupal 8 websites for https://DukeCancerInstitute.org and https://ProstateUrologicCenter.DukeCancerInstitute.org

What were your goals for this project?

Ability to use new features of Drupal 8 and provide ease of use for editors.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Savas Labs has proven experience with projects at Duke. They were easy to work with and we reached out to 3 other vendors for proposals.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Savas Team provided exemplary service in all stages of website design, development and delivery. They had always kept us up-to-date in the weekly project status calls and their transparent management process is commendable.

They went above and beyond to accommodate user’s out of scope requests. Their training and QA process made it easy for us to support our users and documentation was very useful and helpful

What was the team composition?

Savas team had a project manager and about 4-5 developers working on the project. DCI IS team has 2 developers working on the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Drupal 8 architecture helped us to manage blog pages and new articles and information on website and also help with automation of GIT repository and new content types.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We had weekly calls with SAVAS Team to review the requirements and progress. Their team was transparent about the issues and they provided solutions to the obstacles they faced with the requirements

What did you find most impressive about this company?

SAVAS went above and beyond in completing the project on budget and time. They had not billed us for the additional hours they had to spend on the project. They provided support after delivering the project. Their quality of work is great and appreciative of their transparency.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can't think of any areas of improvement as it was a wonderful experience working with the great team

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I'm with Perinatal Quality Collaborative of North Carolina (PQCNC). We run quality improvement projects in the state of North Carolina for all the delivery hospitals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Savas Labs?

We were developing a website for recognition, establishing a place where people can view our current projects. Integrated but separate, we needed a database where data could be collected, reports could be run, and people could see other quality improvement projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Savas Labs created a database using Drupal CMS. They integrated a reporting module so that we can have reports along with Drupal. The website is also on Drupal but without the SQL database on the backend. I maintain that database, but it also has an outward-facing part that allows every hospital to have an account and enter in their own data. The hospitals can then go in and run reports on their data. 

Each time we set up another initiative, we go to Savas Labs with a scope of work. We let them know what it should look like, what we'll need for data collection, and what the reports should do. They turn it around and give that back to me.

What is the team composition? 

Altogether we’ve worked seven people. On a day-to-day basis, we work with a project manager and a principal.

How did you come to work with Savas Labs? 

I don't really remember. I think it was a combination of online search and asking around. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $100,000–$250,000.

What is the status of this engagement? 

We started working in 2016, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Each initiative is a success story because it provides the tools for the delivery hospitals to look at the work they're doing and improve quality. On a personal level, they've been really easy to work with. They’re always willing to sit down and talk through everything we're doing and offer a custom solution for us. More importantly for us as a non-profit, they’re well within our price range. 

How did Savas Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They're great at meeting deadlines, even when some of our deadlines are fairly aggressive. They’re also super quick to respond when we've had occasional problems. The problem is usually on my end more; for example, putting the data in the wrong place. Savas Labs will respond immediately to switch that data, which is a little bit out of scope. That’s been super helpful. We communicate via phone, email, and Redmine. They’d prefer I use Redmine more than email, but they're accommodating.

Savas Labs is particularly good about looking into the future and recommending solutions before I need them. I don’t have to tell them that I'm worried something is going to happen in the future. They’ll come to me and describe what things are going look like as we move forward and other elements we might want to consider. That helps keep us ahead of the timeline. 

What did you find most impressive about them? 

Their team is quite high-touch. They’re also good at translation, taking the technical concepts and putting them in layman's terms. That’s helpful because I have some familiarity with what they're doing but not a lot. 

Are there any areas they could improve? 

No. When I think about our interaction, there's never a point when I wished they had some other capability or did things differently. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Start early but don't come with a completely fleshed out scope of work. You may think you know everything you need about your project, but be willing to engage in a dialogue. You'll end up with a better product if you're open to asking them for advice on your project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder and CEO of Jute, Inc.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We make Jute Threads, an app for all your stuff.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Savas Labs to accomplish?

• Re-organize our Figma
• Design a notifications feed

SOLUTION

How did you find Savas Labs?

Referral

Why did you select Savas Labs over others?

• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Savas Labs were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Savas did the initial design of Jute Threads. Then they designed an activity feed and re-organized our Figma design project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We were very happy with Savas' people, workflow and designs.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Great project management. Professional, organized, thorough, on schedule. They literally didn't miss anything.

What was your primary form of communication with Savas Labs?

Virtual Meeting

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

Savas Labs' team was professional. Very knowledgeable and experienced, they make informed decisions and produce elevated design.

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

Savas is in the top end of our price range, so while we're in start-up/non-revenue phase, we need to use them more sparsely than we'd like.