Skywinds Solutions Pvt Ltd.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of the subscription-based mobile app Clever plant.

For what projects/services did your company hire SKYWINDS Solutions Pvt Ltd., and what were your goals?

We wanted to develop a high-quality mobile app for Android and iPhone users fast and did not have the internal skills to do so. After creating an in-depth market analysis and acquiring a large number of potential leads, we needed to act fast. A high-quality mobile app enabled us to convert those leads to users and start growing our mobile app.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We searched for app developers via Twitter and Linkedin. After reviewing a big list of developers, we decided to go with SKYWINDS Solutions Pvt Ltd. Before the project, we had a couple of meetings to know each other and establish trust. The team really went out of their way to be super helpful and proactive, so the choice was obvious.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We had a series of meetings to describe and define all KPIs. We provided the team with our Figma design and our vision. And they took control of the development 100%. In less than 2 weeks, the whole front-end code was ready for both android and IOS users. In less than a month, they developed a fully functional mobile app.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked directly with an assigned project manager and CTO. Throughout the whole process, they were really helpful and proactive.

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

In less than one month, they created a fully functional mobile app from scratch.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

The communication was 100% online. We used email, google meets, and Telegram on daily basis.

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

Their high-quality work and speed were incredible. They delivered everything they promised even faster than expected.

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

No improvements from my side are needed till now.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Momentis Systems, a software company based in Montreal. The company itself has been around since the 1970s in different forms, but its current form was started in 1994. I’ve been with the company for about 22 years. 

What challenge were you trying to address with SKYWINDS Solutions Pvt Ltd.?

We hired SKYWINDS for their software development services. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have in-house developers in Montreal, but we’ve been using SKYWINDS to increase our capacity for our software development projects. On top of that, they help us achieve 24/7 turnaround times or at least finish work round the clock. Whenever our team in Montreal finishes something, they pass it over to SKYWINDS in India. They then continue the Montreal team’s work through the night. That way, we can turn things around more quickly. 

Originally, our main requirement from SKYWINDS was focused on iOS development involving Apple, Xcode, and Swift programming. We’ve extended that to include web development with Angular and .NET on the backend. Everything is hosted in Azure. To elaborate, SKYWINDS works on the B2B parts of our core ERP system, such as customer-facing applications where customers can enter or review orders and invoices. Likewise, the team also works on our native iPhone and iPad app.

They haven’t created anything from scratch for us so far since our product has been around for so long. Instead, they develop new modules and enhance existing features. While it’s not an open-source project, they can submit pull requests and our Montreal team reviews those requests. Once approved, they can bring them into the master codebase. Moreover, we usually give them all the details and specifications we need. They follow the patterns and practices we have in place, but we’re also always open to any suggestions they have. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with two resources from SKYWINDS. Both of them are our main contacts. I also have a call with SKYWINDS’ owner every two months or so. He manages the team over there and also sends the invoice. 

How did you come to work with SKYWINDS Solutions Pvt Ltd.?

We had a relationship with one of their resources for a long time even before that resource joined SKYWINDS. We loved working with him so when he decided to join SKYWINDS, our working relationship continued and expanded through SKYWINDS.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $150,000 CAD (approximately $120,000 USD). They charge based on time and materials. They send us status reports at the end of the day, indicating what they’ve done and the hours they’ve spent. In general, they put in at least 30 hours of work per week.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with SKYWINDS in January 2020, and the engagement is ongoing. 

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

Our SKYWINDS resources are intermediate to senior-level developers. Their turnaround times are terrific, and we’re impressed with how quickly the second resource has gotten up to speed with our business. He can take feedback, internalize it, and perform accordingly. 

Moreover, every time we review their work and provide feedback, they make changes exactly the way we want. The synergy of working with SKYWINDS has helped to scale our in-house team. Overall, they meet all of our expectations at the bar that we set.

How did SKYWINDS Solutions Pvt Ltd. perform from a project management standpoint?

SKYWINDS’ project management has been terrific. Nothing seems to trail and take too long to finish. When we provide them with work and ask them to finish it within a specific number of days, they do it within that timeframe. 

To communicate, we use Teams and emails. We also use Azure DevOps to message them through work items and around pull requests. If we need to hop on a call, we normally also do it with them via Teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

With SKYWINDS, we don’t have the overhead of other people getting involved other than the developers. Other larger outsourcing companies often only ask us about our requirements and then assign a project manager and development group to do the work. However, we don’t need or want that. We have our own project manager to guide the project, so we only need the development resources from them. 

Moreover, the relationship works better because the outsourced developers themselves are getting a bigger piece of the pie. Other companies subtract a percentage of our payments for a project manager that literally only watches emails go back and forth between teams. That doesn’t happen with SKYWINDS. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We will have to see how it works if we lose one our SKYWINDS resources and need to replace them. We haven’t yet had that experience with them, so we don’t know how quickly they can onboard a new resource; we don’t know their structure or turnaround time for finding the right replacement. By contrast, bigger companies can more readily assign a new resource to work on the project.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You get back what you put in, so provide plenty of guidance early on to set the right expectations. Be specific in what you need. You can’t assume that they know everything you know from a business standpoint. SKYWINDS is strong technically, but provide plenty of details in your specifications to make sure that the project is successful.