Sigma Software Group

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of Space Node AB, a startup in Stockholm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sigma Software?

We needed help with custom software development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, we hired Sigma Software Group to help us create our product, which is still in development. Additionally, they’ve helped us develop our custom advisory system platform, which is a modified CRM/operations platform for our advisors.

Sigma Software Group has done SharePoint development and other development work in Microsoft Dynamics 365. They’ve taken the whole project from idea to planning, design, and implementation. The system is an enhanced CRM that takes care of operational and sales processes; it’s a SharePoint-based document management system with a lot of daily automated tasks. We’ve also created a system to track our strategy, goals, and achievements with the help of SharePoint, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and Microsoft Planner; Sigma Software Group has helped us integrate it.

Additionally, they also support us with marketing, sales, back office, and operational support.

What is the team composition?

We work with 4–6 teammates; they add experts to the team as needed.

How did you come to work with Sigma Software Group?

It all started with a recommendation. I was trying to sell a horse I had on my farm to a man. He said he had a great development team in Ukraine, so I asked him to introduce me to them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2022, and our relationship is still ongoing. We’re delivering new releases of the customer advisory platform, so we continue making enhancements with Sigma Software Group's help.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been super satisfied with everything Sigma Software Group has done. We now go faster from lead to signed deals because the platform is more automated and simpler to use, so we’ve also increased sales. All in all, we have a good feeling about how we’re performing, which is a key achievement.

Additionally, internal employees have given good feedback about the support they get from the platform.

How did Sigma Software Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve integrated into our infrastructure for project management. We use Microsoft Teams for communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re extremely satisfied with their project management thanks to all the project lead’s work. Due to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, Sigma Software Group has worked during shellings and rocket attacks. For example, the developers set up in Kharkiv and didn’t have electricity, so they had to move to facilities like hospitals to charge their laptops and go back home to continue development. Regardless, Sigma Software Group has been more punctual than most other Swedish and international firms we’ve used in the past.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing to point out. Maybe 1–2 developers don’t speak English as well as the project lead, but it doesn’t really matter. Overall, our development results are good.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the general manager of a hardware and software company. Our company culture strategizes that we should be a network organization using consultancy firms for various things and suppliers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sigma Software Group?

We needed help with custom software development.

SOLUTION

What is the scope of their involvement?

We initially asked Sigma Software Group to fix resources in Ukraine for us. We had a proof of concept before we brought them in.

Sigma Software group has helped us with our cloud-based solution; it gathers data from our hardware, stores the data in the cloud, and analyzes it so we can present it to our customers. The solution is a .NET application based on Microsoft Azure technology with AI and IoT functionality.

When we need a few sprints, they bring in an expert to help us with our issues. Then, the person leaves the team and works for someone else.

What is the team composition?

We have three developers and a project manager in our core team. Additionally, we’ve had QA people and UX experts.

How did you come to work with Sigma Software Group?

I was friends with one of their local managers in Sweden, so I wanted to establish an agreement with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent close to $400,000 so far.

What is the status of the engagement?

We began working together in October 2021 and are still in partnership with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve recently started measuring the sprints' velocity, and they always deliver according to expectations. Overall, the process has been smooth. One of the success factors is that we have an agreement with the Swedish Sigma Software Group. We were a bit concerned about everything when the Russian Invasion of Ukraine started, so we’ve had a few phone calls with them and ironed out some issues.

How did Sigma perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management has been outstanding, especially considering the current circumstances due to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. If there are any difficulties, they’ve been great at communicating them. All in all, the team hasn’t missed any goals so far.

We use Azure DevOps for the product backlog and sprint planning. We have wiki pages here as a communication tool and Microsoft Teams for our meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

First, one of the benefits of using them is their broad range of competencies. Moreover, they’re keen to deliver up to our expectations. Sigma Software Group’s team pushes itself hard to work normally and fulfill its commitments each sprint despite the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. For example, several team members needed to relocate at one point, but they made up for that time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I can think of at the moment. Sometimes they have problems with the internet connection, but they attend meetings through their phone or go to a place where they can have good reception from the phone.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of a department called uptime systems and work for Lynk & Co International. We develop off-the-market IT solutions for the car industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sigma Software Group?

The challenge was that we needed to create a completely new warranty system. We had a manual process that we needed to replace with an automated system. We had good requirement specifications for the system, and we had surrounding systems that we needed to integrate with.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had the framework, but the system was developed from scratch. The core feature is to keep track of all warranty cases we handle for all the cars we have out in the market. The new system mainly automizes and integrates data with other systems to get the best financial follow-up.

What is the team composition?

We have one lead architect, one project manager, and 3–4 developers. Additionally, we have a test lead and a tester. The team has gone up and down between 7–9 people.

How did you come to work with Sigma Software Group?

We had a normal RFQ round for different companies, and we had discussions with Sigma Software Group in Sweden who we have a close partnership with. They introduced us to their Ukrainian team, and we thought they had a really good setup and a good team that could take on this challenge. After the RFQ, we began working with them.

How much have you invested in them?

We've spent around €500,000 (approximately $516,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked with them since January 2022. The first delivery has been deployed, but we are currently working on developing it further.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have two really experienced business owners that have worked in this area for a long time, and they have been extremely happy with the system. The system is doing everything it’s supposed to do, and has made their life a lot easier. We removed our manual process, and we measure success by the fact that we have had very few technical problems or bugs in the system.

How did Sigma Software Group perform from a project management standpoint?

We have monthly meetings where we decide things based on resource allocation, budget issues, or questions. On the project management side, we have a weekly follow-up through Microsoft Teams. We use our DevOps for project management so we have full visibility on a daily basis of all ongoing activities.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I would say that they're very structured, follow plans, and are very well organized. They don’t overpromise; we set the plan and they stick to that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

When you get structured and well-organized timelines, the backside of that is sometimes spilled into delivery, but that hasn’t been our biggest focus area in this project, and it isn’t really a big issue. Time, cost, and quality are parameters you have to work with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As always, you need to have a really good view and good specifications for what you want. They’re a really good partner to team up with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the VP of engineering at Ankorstore, a B2B marketplace where we connect independent retailers and brands to acquire stock for their stores.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sigma Software Group?

We needed help with staff augmentation. When I joined the team last year, our software development team was around 14 people, and we wanted to scale up to 150 because we had a big backlog of tasks.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Sigma Software Group helps us source software developers for back- and frontend development, DevOps, and UI/UX design. We designed the process together, to which they adapted and started the first calibration with shadowing sessions and candidate interviews conducted by people from Sigma. We've also established our expectations and goals to enable Sigma's team to hire the developers considering our expectations. In addition, they do a lot of pre-screening and share the job description.

What is the team composition?

Currently, we work with 13 members of their team, but we've worked with almost 20 of them.

How did you come to work with Sigma Software Group?

Someone referred them to us, and we chose them because they delivered the pilot project on time.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we have spent $1.4 million with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2022, and the engagement is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The feedback I'm hearing from my engineering managers, the team leads, and the engineering directors is very positive. In addition, we haven't had any problems with the Sigma developers.

How did Sigma Software Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They deliver within deadlines. In terms of project tools, we use Jira, and we gave their developers our corporate email accounts and access to the system. In addition, they're lovely people to work with and always get in touch with us to ask questions and give feedback.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their flexibility and willingness to get things done are unique, distinguishing them from other providers. Moreover, they have a great sense of ownership.

Are there areas they could improve?

I don't think there's anything they can improve on — working with them has been amazing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of a Christian technology platform. We have an app that helps people and other organizations with their spiritual fitness.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sigma Software Group?

We had an existing system that we wanted to upgrade to better technology. Essentially, we wanted to rebuild and modernize the app ecosystem. This way, we could improve the experience of our old and new users. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Since we had an existing app system, we let Sigma review our existing code and protocol. This gave them an understanding of what we had already accomplished and what we wanted to change and improve. In terms of technologies, we used Swift and Kotlin for the iOS and Android versions of the app. We used Angular with JavaScript for the frontend, while the backend was built with PHP and Node.js. The database was created using AWS and PostgreSQL. We used Kubernetes, Docker, and Jenkins for the app management tasks.

The app was designed with a robust algorithm that let users tell us about themselves. It would then determine bible verses that could help them deal with anger, frustration, worry, and similar things. Sigma built the app to accommodate multiple languages, so the app had around 15 languages. Moreover, Sigma helped us white label our app; over 500 other apps were built using our core system. Those apps were customized to meet other organizations’ needs. Sigma built a system to manage such customization. 

We’ve launched the new system and are currently in maintenance mode — the primary development work was done two and a half years ago. Sigma continues to be our main support and maintenance team. In fact, we’ve recently put together a proposal for them to upgrade some services. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with around 25 people from Sigma, most of whom are developers. They consist of front- and backend developers. Project managers, designers, and a dedicated CTO are also on the team. 

How did you come to work with Sigma Software Group?

Sigma was referred to us. They connected well with us during our review process in terms of their work quality, pricing, and everything else that went into the decision-making process. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested roughly $1.5 million. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from August 2018, and the engagement is technically ongoing. However, the MVP was launched in June 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Sigma’s quality and attention to detail relative to their price level are great. 

How did Sigma Software Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Sigma’s project management style works well. They do a good job of dealing with bugs. We mainly use Jira to manage the project. To communicate, we have meetings through Skype and have plenty of email communication. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve been truly impressed with their technical knowledge and ability to meet our demanding requirements. We’ve constantly changed the scope of work, but they’ve done a good job adjusting to what we’ve given them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We needed marketing design resources, and they had to deploy a new team member to handle this need. This wasn’t necessarily related to the main project, but it would’ve been nice to have the ability to bring somebody in only temporarily for a short-term need.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Set up communication channels on both sides early. Be open, transparent, and upfront. Once everything is set up properly, Sigma does a great job managing the project from that point on. Work well from the beginning before things get complicated. Once you’re deep into the project, you’ll always have problems if you don’t communicate well. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a financial software company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sigma Software Group?

We were looking to hire more software engineers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We essentially embedded several team members from Sigma Software Group, most notably a junior developer, to build our product from scratch through Node.js and React.

What is the team composition?

We’re mainly working with a junior developer, several software engineers, a design team, and a client engagement team.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested more than $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in January 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They do a great job of implementing our requirements and helping us achieve our goals.

How did Sigma Software Group perform from a project management standpoint?

We essentially manage the project ourselves, but their engineer is integrated well into our team. We mainly use JIRA to manage everything and communicate on Zoom and Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re very impressed with their agility in finding good resources for our needs and their ability to support us throughout our issues.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any constructive feedback.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would advise you to be upfront and mindful of what you’re looking for and what you want to achieve.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re building a mobile app for the automotive industry. I’m the tech team manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sigma Software Group?

We needed help with app development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Sigma Software Group has done a lot of things for us. They work on full app development, AI, and 3D modeling. They’ve built a mobile application with advanced search capabilities and 3D visualization. The AI can view an automotive part and find a match within our database. Also, they’ve built out a custom admin panel to access and edit the entire application.

We’ve built the app from scratch. Initially, we had some design concepts set up and some documents detailing the things we needed, but we went through every detail with them. They’ve connected us to an API extension, setting it up and doing custom configurations for our search capabilities. For now, the app is only for iOS. We’ve used React Native so it can be easily transferred to Android in the future.

What is the team composition?

We have about nine people on the team, including a project manager, several developers, a UI designer, and a graphic designer.

How did you come to work with Sigma Software Group?

We found them on Behance and used them to do the original UI screen design we used to build the app later. They did the app’s first mock-up and then went into software development and AI, so we worked with them on app development too.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began our partnership in February 2020, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app hasn’t been launched yet, but the API connection, custom search, and 3D viewing features are custom-built and one of a kind. The AI performs at a 98%–99% match accuracy. If we have bugs, they fix them promptly.

How did Sigma Software Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re doing phenomenally. We know about the budget ahead of time, and there have been many instances where they’ve been under budget. Moreover, we’re able to plan for it; the only time they went over budget was when we changed the parameters during the process. All in all, Sigma Software Group does all the project management for us. We just have a daily meeting via Teams. Also, we can email anything we need, and they handle everything else.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have everything in one house. If we need anything, they always have somebody available that specializes in that thing. They have graphic design, UI design, and every sort of development, including mobile app developers for iOS and Android.

On the other hand, the project management is excellent. Nothing falls through the cracks. We can offhandedly mention something, and they make sure to sit down and follow up. Also, we’ve given them many complex challenges, and they’ve done a great job at coming up with solutions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Maybe they could explain things more. At first, they explained right away, but they used specific terminology because they thought we were more tech-savvy. Now they know we don’t understand those big terms. Other than that, they’re pretty good. I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Figure out everything you want upfront and investigate more so you don’t build it and then decide to edit it after. Also, we noticed that having meetings frequently made things go better and faster, so don’t skimp on communication.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at a global revenue amplification company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sigma Software Group?

We wanted to increase our technical staffing, including software, QA, DevOps, and data engineers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Sigma Software Group provides us with people that get involved with our custom software development needs from scratch and on existing products and use technologies like JavaScript, SQL, AWS, and Ruby on Rails, among others.

In addition to that, they’ve also done project management support.

What is the team composition?

We’ve been working with around 12 people from their team, including project managers who support their team members who work with us.

How did you come to work with Sigma Software Group?

They were referred to us.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’re participating team members, and we treat them as such. Metrics-wise, we focus on how they maintain the pace of development and coding with acceptable bug rates and ensure they are available for us when we need them.

How did Sigma Software Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Their individual members are integrated with our team, and we haven’t had any problems. Regarding tools, we use ClickUp, email, Slack, and a chat and video conferencing platform.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re present, excited, engaged, and committed to delivering their work despite being a Ukrainian company in the middle of the Russian Invasion, which is astonishing. Besides, they care about what we’re trying to achieve and aren’t there to ensure that some lines of code get written because they try to understand what we’re looking for and take it seriously. Overall, they act like other team members, and that’s why we have an enduring relationship with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve improved over time, and they’ve enhanced their project management. We’re both growing together, and they’ve improved their understanding of the roles we’re looking for. Sometimes, the candidates they provide aren’t the best match for us, but they learn from them and improve daily.

We’ve also struggled with the different vacation calendars, but we’ve ensured good communication when they take time off. We’ve been able to address all of these things to them openly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open with the leadership team at Sigma Software Group about your needs and any problems that arise. They’re a team interested in solving problems and never take offense when we bring a possible concern; they work diligently to solve the problem.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a technology company that provides end-users with a platform that helps them maintain their homes. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sigma Software Group?

We needed a firm to help us upgrade our mobile app. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our development team collaborates with Sigma Software Group on cross-platform mobile app development. We’re currently focused on building new functionalities for the app. We have sprints and roadmaps to achieve that outline the maintenance and upgrades Sigma Software Group needs to make. 

What is the team composition?

We currently work with three developers and Alexei (Team Lead). Sometimes we also work with another team from Sigma Software Group that helps us with the website. 

How did you come to work with Sigma Software Group?

Sigma Software Group was recommended to me by a business colleague. We wanted a strategic partnership that could match our operations — we’re a startup. Any company we worked with needed to be able to grow with us and be flexible in terms of our collaboration. Sigma Software Group met our demands, and despite other companies wanting to work with us, we hired them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around 3 million Swedish kronor (approximately $300,000 USD). 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement began in August 2020. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When we work in sprints, we estimate the tasks and user stories timelines, so one measure of success is whether or not we meet deadlines. Our ROI on the time we’ve invested with them is terrific. We also measure the quality of their output. We have project reviews during pre-production testing to determine the quality, which is measured by the logic and coding involved in each deliverable. Each developer is also evaluated during those reviews.

How did Sigma Software Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Sigma Software Group has good project management. I give them a high rating every quarter — they deliver quality products on time. We use Trello to keep track of development.

What did you find most impressive about them?

 Sigma Software Group is really ambitious and always works to try and please us. They want to deliver good work, so they’re careful with their development. Also, their team is very communicative. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think their English-language skills could improve. We typically use English to communicate, but not every teammate from Sigma Software Group has the same language skill level. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d advise customers to be very specific about their deliverables, the timelines, and the type of business engagement they’re entering with Sigma Software Group. Educating developers on the business plan is important so they can see the broader picture and be incentivized to create better work. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of engineering at an advertising company. Our division is responsible for building ad technology platforms, and we’re building a new product for the firm. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sigma Software Group?

Sigma is helping us fill our development team for our new advertising platform. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We work with Sigma developers on a staff augmentation basis. Their resources use C#, .NET, SQL Server, Python, and MongoDB, among others. On the frontend, they use React.js and GraphQL. Moreover, they’re not responsible for doing design work, but they do contribute to our design tasks. 

In terms of functionality, the new platform allows our customers to manage their advertising campaigns both within our network and in the digital space. Users can manage their campaign budgets and target specific audiences through the platform.

What is the team composition?

I work with around 20 developers from Sigma, along with their project manager. 

How did you come to work with Sigma Software Group?

The hiring process happened before my time in the company. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested over $1 million CAD (approximately $780,000 USD) in the partnership.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the partnership in January 2021, and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Sigma delivers high-quality work. They do a good job of screening their resources; the people they put forward are generally well-qualified for the project. 

How did Sigma Software Group perform from a project management standpoint?

The team falls under our project management scope, so they don’t do too much management on their own — they’re essentially a member of our team. Nonetheless, they’re responsive when we give them deadlines. 

In terms of tools, we use virtual meetings via Teams. We also use the Azure Boards, which is the Azure counterpart of Jira.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Sigma is highly responsive to customers, and they’re proactive in managing our relationship. I’m always in the loop if there are any personnel changes that need to happen. Overall, our communication with them is great; they’re transparent and open. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. Our engagement has been a good experience. In fact, their Ukraine team has been able to work through the project despite the Russian Invasion. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to speak with the resources they hire. Sigma handles the screening process, but it’s good to speak with the individuals they consider to ensure they have a good personal and technical fit for your team.