SKALAR

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was in charge of the IT and organization development of an insurance company.

What challenge were you trying to address with SKALAR?

We were implementing a CRM [customer relationship management] and ERP [enterprise resource planning] system. When I came to the company, there were two CRM systems in place, as well as other ERP and accounting solutions. We planned to integrate those with each other and deploy a new CRM which integrated with our ERP, telephone system, and other services outside of the company.

What was the scope of their involvement?

SKALAR implemented our Bitrix24 backend and frontend system that handles pricing for automotive and other types of insurance.

What is the team dynamic?

I worked as the project manager from the insurance company side, and was in charge of the work. They assigned a contractor from their side who acted as project manager and business analyst. Several programmers and testers were included in the team.

How did you come to work with SKALAR?

The company that implemented our ERP recommended them to us. That group had worked with SKALAR previously, and referred them as a choice for the CRM part of the project. They worked together on very strong integrations between the ERP and CRM.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost was between $70,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them around two years ago. The project was completed in about a year, and the system is currently in use.

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

I don’t have exact figures, but the main benefits from this project are in terms of the quality and quantity of tasks which we are now able to perform due to the system. We’re able to communicate with clients and process leads at the same time. We’ve increased our productivity threefold, and all client information (calls, SMSs, notes, meetings) is now stored in one place. This has helped us collect and analyze information about client states more easily.

How did SKALAR perform from a project management standpoint?

The communication was generally well done, but we did experience some issues. The business people from our company were not very clear on what they wanted to receive from the system, so we’ve had to change some interface functionalities. This was because of organizational issues within our own company, so it’s not reflective of SKALAR’s work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re not a very big or structured company with rigid development processes, but they are client-oriented, so they try to understand what their clients want. They put effort forth to provide beneficial results, and because they understand the business side of IT implementations more, they’re able to propose better solutions and business-process schemes.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.