SayOne Technologies

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

SayOne Technologies brings in huge value with the mobile app they built for us. They have a strong foundation and a technical native Android development team, which complements our team. SayOne also has saved us a lot of money by better integrating the Android Wi-Fi and mobile capabilities. Whenever the mobile app connects the server, it looks for the Wi-Fi, and if it gets disconnected, it can connect to the Wi-Fi automatically. That way, we are able to use the mobile app even in low Wi-Fi areas.

How did SayOne Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

Five people worked on the mobile app, and we had contact with the designers and the technical lead. We actually have four teams working on the project: a design team, a marketing team, our development team, and their development team. Most of our communication goes through instant messaging systems because all of the teams are in different locations.

Are there any areas SayOne Technologies could improve?

They could come up with more project management tools because now we are handling everything in a nonstandard way. It would help to handle budgeting and procurement tracking. They took it positively when I made the same suggestion to them. I think they might be coming up with some online tools.

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

SayOne Technologies has a good, talented team which works hard, and they've always been willing to dedicate resources to us. If we don't have enough people for getting a job done, SayOne Technologies will assign 2-3 additional developers in order to make sure that we hit a timeline.

In the first 3 years, we profiled 25,000 people through our platform, but this was mainly a function of marketing and distribution, and may not speak directly to SayOne Technologies' technical prowess.

How did SayOne Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

SayOne Technologies has been very organized in terms of project management, using different tools in order to wireframe approvals and make sure that we gather project requirements. We have weekly calls, making sure that we're on the same page, and SayOne Technologies has remained committed to getting the work done in a timely manner. I've usually had to use separate design and development teams in the past, but SayOne Technologies has in-house resources for both.

What did you find most impressive about SayOne Technologies?

We've been very pleased overall. I've worked with other developers in the past and found that asking them to create a cool, clean product didn't always translate. SayOne Technologies has been good at understanding requirements and putting together a finished product which didn't need a lot of revising.

Are there any areas SayOne Technologies could improve?

The time distance is my only complaint. I've spent a few late nights working with SayOne Technologies' developers in India. If they could start sleeping during the day, it would be great.

There will always be technical issues surrounding communication, and it can be difficult to understand accents, but this is the norm for working overseas and I don't find it to be a downfall of SayOne Technologies.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with SayOne Technologies?

Clients should set their expectations and be flexible. Projects always change, even in terms of timelines and pricing. One thing that I've liked about SayOne Technologies is their ability to be flexible, revising proposals and timelines, but the same mindset is required on both sides.

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

The work has been great. SayOne Technologies accomplished something, which was very tricky: allowing customers to walk around the store physically and have their own cash register in their cellphones. When shopping online with us, people access the direct inventory of particular locations. The majority of retail businesses have warehouses through which they fill requests. Our method is closer to ordering a pizza. It was a tricky situation, but SayOne Technologies built a solution that worked. They're very straightforward in fixing bugs and issues. It's always clear how a situation will be remedied or what workaround will be found for it.

Cost-wise, it has also worked well for us to have an on-call person that we can contact when something isn't working or when we want to add something new.

How did SayOne Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

Like everything, there will be hiccups in our relationship, but I've found these issues to be quite reasonable. Any delays were due to the large scope of work. In the regular course of business, SayOne Technologies is good at estimating when they can finish a certain item.

What distinguishes SayOne Technologies from other providers?

I've come to know how long a particular item will take, and I have the advantage that they're flexible in terms of priority changes that I request. If, for example, they'd been working on a five-day project and something else broke and needed fixing immediately, SayOne Technologies would stop the other work right away. We are in the front lines, dealing with customers, so I appreciate that their team is able to shift priorities as needed. They're extremely flexible from a project management standpoint and that's really important to our unique business environment. 

Is there anything SayOne Technologies could have improved or done differently?

I would like to have a phone number for daytime emergencies. There were urgent situations in which we had to wait until 9 p.m. before addressing a matter. It wouldn't be something that we'd abuse, but it would be important to have.

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the quality of their performance?

We have a different kind of process. It’s not standard where we just get the scope and they develop and deliver, and then the job is done. I deliberately made the decision that we’re not building this business on one goal. We’re basically building individual components that can be put together and become a bigger unit. With that perspective, I think the biggest measurement is that everything works and everything scales, and that’s good news. If something doesn’t work, I can reach those guys throughout the day, and we can troubleshoot. I’ve never had an issue with poor quality in any of their deliverables, which is great.

When working with SayOne Technologies, is there anything that you would consider unique about their strategic approach or development methodology that distinguish them from other vendors?

I’ve tried several different developers before, and it’s very common for an offer developer to want a specific scope to work on, then they deliver to those specifications. With SayOne, we’ve created almost an in-house environment, where we work together on various components or prototypes. If they run into a roadblock, they have no problem letting me know that they don’t know how to do something. That’s very unusual, though, and it takes considerable courage. In my book, that’s worth the money. In today’s world, technologies change so fast, and we need to figure out how to work with them. They are open, and they have good communication in this area. These guys can execute. They can probably build anything.

In retrospect, are there areas in which you think they could improve as a service provider?

In general, regardless of the developer, there’s a lack of translation and communication. With SayOne or anyone you work with, if you can’t manage the project yourself, it can usually end up badly. I always wish these developers had it in them to stay on point for the duration of an engagement, but that doesn’t seem to be how many of them operate.  

What advice, if any, would you give a future client before approaching SayOne Technologies with a new project?

Outside of what I mentioned before about project management, I would say that if you have an open mind, you can basically do anything with these guys. They’re very competent and professional.