smartSense Consulting Solutions

Please describe your company and your position there.

Ziptrrip is an end to end corporate travel solution which includes booking engine, policy design, expense management and reports & dashboard. I am the part of the founding team.

For what projects/services did your company hire smartSense Solutions?

We have hired Smartsense for developing web & app for end to end corporate travel portal

What were your goals for this project?

To bring in new age technology in corporate travel which is $30 Bn industry today in India driven by local travel agents

How did you select this vendor?

Basis their past work done for their clients and the reviews. Also, we have seen and met the team which gave us more confidence.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

- Developing the product document - Wire framing of the product - UI & UX of the product - Backend analysis of the product - API integration and development

What was the team composition?

- Project head - UI-UX design team - Development team - QA team

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

- So far we have on-boarded 5 big corporate and they said Yes to use the platform considering the ease of usage and backend system developed by Smartsense - Product will help corporate to save 30% of their corporate travel cost & enhance productivity by 15%

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

It was designed quite well and Smartsense was able to deliver the milestones basis the initial sign off dates

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The team's involvement at every level of development was impressive.  Infact, smartsense also helped us to take quite a few business calls basis their past experience

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of an electric scooter rental platform.

What challenge were you trying to address with smartSense Solutions?

I needed a company to develop our Android application and ended up hiring smartSense Solutions for the job.

What was the scope of their involvement?

smartSense Solutions developed our Android app from scratch. On the backend, we were also looking to develop an IoT device, and they also helped on that front. The IoT device has geolocating and the remote-control features of the scooter. We had some documentation and wireframes, but most of the heavy lifting and development was done by smartSense Solutions. Whenever we need some releases or future updates, we engage them on an on-demand basis.

What is the team composition?

There are three developers, including a Node.js specialist, a Java expert, and an Android developer. They have a managed service from an IoT standpoint and I don’t know how many people they were using for the backend development.

How did you come to work with smartSense Solutions?

We were specifically looking for people who could help us with Node.js and other Java services. smartSense Solutions had a good set of developers, so we did a small test project with them and continued from there.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve $30,000-$40,000 on this project so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2018, and the collaboration is ongoing.

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

The product is live now and working thanks to smartSense Solutions’ work.

How did smartSense Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

smartSense Solutions is very professional, follows all requirements, and helps to define roadmaps. We use Jira for project management but they have their own tools as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

smartSense Solutions never felt like an outsourced team to us. They took ownership of their work and we didn’t have to chase them much on timelines. They were very proactive in their approach.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are times that certain decisions need to be made if you know that there’s something that you’d want in the future. smartSense Solutions’ approach is more holistic in the sense that they like to solve everything at once. They could work with their customers more on that.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d recommend them to anyone. They have a good set of developers, project managers, and professionals overall.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the co-founder and managing director of BlockTrust. We’re a digital asset platform based in Abu Dhabi that focuses on the Middle East and South East Asia.

For what projects/services did your company hire smartSense Solutions?

We approached them to develop a test platform for our blockchain solution in addition to designing and co-developing security blueprints.

What were your goals for this project?

Our objective was to have a working and effective demo tool; to understand and perfect our security solution for our cold storage system; and to evaluate smartSense as a long-term development partner.

How did you select this vendor?

We were introduced to them through our network of relationships.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

smartSense designed and built a test platform for our blockchain solution, handling the frontend, backend, and testing. They then developed a wallet infrastructure that could access a variety of public blockchains and established security blueprints. Finally, they assessed and selected the available security encryption hardware from manufacturers.

What was the team composition?

Their CEO led a team of front- and backend specialists as well as blockchain and wallet infrastructure specialists.

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

A key factor for us was to evaluate smartSense as a long-term trusted development partner. We have come to appreciate smartSense’s relationship-driven and customer-centric focus. Their team has depth and breadth.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We co-managed the project with regular milestones, pre-agreed steps, and conference calls.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I appreciated their customer-centric attitude.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Since we’re based in the UAE, communication can be difficult due to poor-quality VoIP services. smartSense should invest in managing this hurdle.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a mobile taxi dispatch platform that allows companies to assign jobs to drivers easily. 

What challenge were you trying to address with smartSense Solutions?

We were looking for a software developer.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They first sat down with me and put together a business plan. I told them how I wanted to build our software and they focused on meeting my criteria. They were with me from step one until completion, making sure the servers were running and choosing the technology that was best-suited for me.

They developed the backend system, the website, and the Android and iOS apps. I have GPS location on the platform, which they were able to provide within a short span of time. There's a database for customers’ details and a portal for our partners, which can be accessed easily from both PCs and mobile devices. They also set up a contact form on the website, which links directly to my email.

What is the team composition?

I worked with 4–5 of their members.

How did you come to work with smartSenseSolutions?

I posted an ad on a freelance website, and they reached out to me over Skype. I chose them because of their pricing and their timeline estimate. Most of the other profiles I looked at didn’t match the criteria I wanted. smartSense was easy to understand, and they were helpful with everything­—they made it easy for me.

How much have you invested with them?

I spent around $30,000 on their work.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in mid-2016. I have a couple more projects and updates on which I want to work with smartSense. They also keep my website running, making sure that any updates or issues are resolved.

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

They took care of any issues or bugs straight away. In terms of the quality of response, they were good with timing. At the moment, I have one customer and they’re really happy with how the software works, how fast it is, and how smooth it is; there’s no lag.

How did smartSense Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

There was a small language barrier, but we got through it. There weren’t very many issues. We were working from different time zones, but they always made sure to accommodate my schedule. If I had any issues with the system, they made sure that one of the developers addressed it straight away.

Most of our communication is done via Skype and WhatsApp, and they give me weekly updates. I will hopefully be flying out to meet them soon, and we will work on more projects within the upcoming years.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate their timescales for delivering projects as well as their pricing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’re very good.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Make sure to sit down with them and explain as much as possible about the project. Once this is done, they'll provide a business plan, which they're very good at.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and chief technology officer of an enterprise cyber-security company. We create cyber-security products using next-generation technologies such as blockchain.

What challenge were you trying to address with smartSense Solutions?

Our product protects the enterprise from cyber attacks. It makes the enterprise-critical servers invisible with a blockchain controller that authorizes access for specific users and devices. We manage the blockchain controller via the management counsel. While building our product, we needed help to develop the frontend and middleware after completing the backend.

What was the scope of their involvement?

smartSense Solutions developed the middleware in Node.js and our content in Angular.js. The team also designed the product’s web-based UI and implemented it to interact with the middleware on its Node.js platform. After spending the time to understand the blockchain technology as solidity language, they developed the cost management system and integrated it with the frontend and middleware.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with two blockchain developers and the founder.

How did you come to work with smartSense Solutions?

We found them on Upwork after contacting three different web development companies with little blockchain experience. smartSense Solutions had worked in the blockchain, and also had good expertise with Angular and Node.js. We did some reviews with the team and they clearly understood my requirements. We then decided to partner because they had clearly demonstrated their implementation capabilities.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2018 and the project is ongoing.

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

They produced quality code using standard conventions. The team also delivered the exact outcome we expected before the hard deadline.

How did smartSense Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

We divided the project into milestones and further broke those into phases.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They provided good feedback to make the product more user-friendly. The team’s excellent work and passion make them the perfect partner.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our organization is Trimtab Innovation Pvt Ltd. NDAX [National Digital Asset Exchange] is one of the flagship products developed under Trimtab Innovation. It is supposed to be an exchange platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies. I'm the brainchild of this organization.

What challenges were you trying to address with smartSense Solutions?

Right now, we're facing challenges like what technology to deploy, what the perfect cloud solution is, and what the architecture should be. There are so many solutions available out there. When we are thinking about developing the frontend, we need to choose between React, Node, Angular, and HTML. On the backend, we also have various other options, such as the Java or Node libraries. We used smartSense for the development tasks and they helped us understand what we needed.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us develop the whole solution from scratch. The APIs, server, and security certification were developed by them. They helped us understand that Node.js is the perfect solution for the backend. They had a UI [user interface] designer with them. We developed UI on our end and made adjustments using their inputs. They helped us make the user experience much better. They also helped us make the flow of the UI more fluid and revamped it so it was compatible with the development.

The technology they used is Angular 4, which is supposed to be the latest in the market. They have been using the best technology and are updated.

What is the team dynamic?

We have utilized the service of all of the company based out of London, though they also have an office in Poland.

Initially, my point of contact was Ronak Thacker [Blockchain Manager, smartSense Solutions]. As soon as he understood the development, he assigned me Nirav Majethiya [Blockchain Manager, smartSense Solutions] who had a team of people working for us. He was my point of contact.

How did you come to work with smartSense Solutions?

I connected with a lot of blockchain developers in the community. I'm one of the earliest adopters of Bitcoin adoption in India. We engaged someone for a freelance project, who then connected me to these people. That's how I got introduced and connected with smartSense Technology.

So far, I have been really satisfied. You cannot know whether they are the best or not until you meet more people out there. I have been trying to reach out to more people to verify whether the solutions they provided are in the best class.

How much have you invested with them?

I've been billed $23,000, but we've only paid $19,000 so far. The rest will be done in around a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started three months ago and we're currently undergoing testing, so the project is almost finished.

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

As a startup, we're always concerned about cost. KPIs [key performance indicators] are tricky when you are going into new spaces. The first KPI that we initially came up with is the UI, which they delivered well. We presumed that the quality in terms of coding is also good.

Now that the product is in the testing phase and QA [quality assurance] phase, as soon as the report is there, we’ll be assured that the quality is good. Meanwhile, I went through various standards of coding myself, looking at the minimum criteria coders should follow and have found it to be good.

As a customer, we rely on the uptime and the break of functionality. If the functionality works seamlessly for months and months, then it's good enough. There haven't been any problems in this area. We also rely on the load time. Their build is very small, around 1.1 MB, which helps load the website very quickly and easily.

How did smartSense Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

I told them what to do and they did it seamlessly. In terms of project initiation, reporting, and integration of tools, they used all the Agile methodologies with us. We used Github to track the progress and the weakest developers. All the work was compartmentalized and broken into different activities. We created issues on Github when changes were required. If a discussion was needed, I would call them personally.

They were late for around a week, but I was also responsible considering the requirements should have been clearer from our side. They were on time because the delivery is not just on one party, it's always on both parties. They were responsive to our communication.

We understand the technology, but we are not very technical. They were very kind and patient enough to help us understand the technologies, what works, and what doesn't. They added more value to the project than just development. A lot of people can do a development task if you outsource it, but they're empowered with the technical information and the consultancy part of the technology side.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Most impressive was their consultancy and patience.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They need a larger team. They did well, but maybe they may need to go further ahead with the team expansion. They allotted five people to us. If they had allotted more, we might have done work much quicker.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Most people take developers for granted because they think they do not understand the business side of it. This team is more experienced in terms of what to develop and how. They have worked with different clients across the world.

Second is the scope for improvement. They have a grasp of the better technologies and they have really good command of the blockchain. Hopefully, with their knowledge, any business client can make their product better.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the co-founder of Breadcrumbs, a startup based in India aiming to provide a travel planning and tracking solution. Our goal is to yield overall travel management, from beginning to end.

What challenge were you trying to address with smartSense Solutions?

I wanted to create a travel-based application, and needed someone to develop it for me. Our target market consists of travel enthusiasts who are having trouble managing their itinerary and other required factors.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They designed and developed our Android application from scratch. The backend is built using Node.js and MongoDB, and had a project length of 6 months. I only guided smartSense with my ideas, and everything they delivered was of good quality and on time. They also helped launch the app in the app store.

The user can create travel plans and share them with their party. Once they start their trip, we can suggest all the management facilities, and people in their party can track where they are.

What is the team dynamic?

I started with a project manager originally, but after I built the app with them, I started communicating directly with the developers because it was easier to guide them.

How did you come to work with smartSense Solutions?

My friend conducts seminars for startups, and he was very satisfied with smartSense’s services. I went directly to them.

How much have you invested with them?

I spent between $10,000-$50,000.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2017, and the project was completed in July 2017.

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

They are not involved in my marketing strategy, and most of the feedback I’ve received has been about the idea of the app. People like smartSense’s work and the fact that the app isn’t crashing.

They are awesome in every step of the development process, from design to testing. They provide a lot of suggestions, and take initiative to improvise on our original concept. The best part is that they believe in customer satisfaction and product quality.

How did smartSense Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was fine. Sometimes, I was slow and they were fast. They have a dedicated project manager who was managing the project very well, and I liked having them assigned to me. They use JIRA, so we could actively see their work on there. We communicated mostly through Skype and Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were very enthusiastic, and most of the time, they suggested things to me. I’m not focused on frontend development, so they also helped me a lot with designing the screens. They gave me ideas concerning the UI and UX as well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They need to carry on the way they have been, and not lose the qualities I’ve mentioned.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the co-founder and CEO of an educational tech startup called CAREERKHOJJ. Our main product is a platform called My Class Campus which allows students, parents, and teachers to connect.

For what projects/services did your company hire smartSense Solutions?

We were looking for dedicated resources to develop our product. At the time, we were at a startup phase, so we needed the team to be dynamic and perform quickly under pressure.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to create a common platform where students and teachers alike could interact and learn together in a dynamic way.

How did you select this vendor?

Initially, we sought developers within our personal circles. Some of my friends knew several of their current team members, so we considered them. Ultimately, their positive attitude and drive to prove themselves won us over.

Describe the project in detail.

They developed the platform based on our functionality requirements. Educational institutes can use My Class Campus to manage lessons, create and administer live tests, distribute scores, and share files. The team also built social networking features such as chat boxes, notice boards, and forums. A calendar module helps students and teachers keep track of their schedules. Currently, they continue to provide ongoing support and maintenance.

Can you share any statistics or metrics that speak to the quality of their work and impact of the engagement?

We’ve been working together for over a year, now, and I’ve only grown to appreciate them more and more.

How did smartSense Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

They always update us on the project status. Moreover, if we need to rush a deadline or add more features to meet client expectations, they’re willing to work on weekends.

What impresses you about smartSense Solutions?

They’ve only recently entered this industry but perform well. Their attitude toward their work attracts their customers.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the co-founder of a startup that collates salary information anonymously.

What challenge were you trying to address with smartSense?

They were hired to build a mobile app for both iOS and Android and some backend development to go along with it. It’s a crowdsource, transparency, salary look-up application.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They were called in after the first vendor I used proved to be less than effective. smartSense took over the development on two platforms with an existing project. They provided software development services in Objective-C on the iOS side and Java on the Android side. The design was provided to them as well as most of the backend development. Their job was primarily on the client side.

They only did development and quality assurance (QA). We had a fulltime resource on each side, and I believe we had a QA resource as well. It's a map-based app resembling Zillow. Instead of having housing and pricing data, it’s got people and data associated with their salaries, background, and experience.  

How did you come to work with smartSense?

I work with a large number of offshore firms on an ongoing basis. I’ve been doing it for about 15 years. They reached out to me, and I liked their business development person. I decided to see if they wanted to look at this project, as I needed a vendor at that moment. I gave them a little trial, and I liked the quality of the code they produced. I’m a software developer myself, so I can gauge the quality pretty easily. I liked what they were doing, and it was a reasonable price, so I gave them a shot.

How much have you invested with smartSense?

I’ve invested in the $30,000 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November of 2015, and we were engaged for five to six months.

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

The quality of the work was certainly acceptable, especially at their price point. When you’re dealing with offshore developers, especially from India, it’s a bit of a crapshoot and the quality is generally not at the highest level. In exchange for that, you get really reasonable rates. They were at a positive place in that reflection of rate and quality. They did well in that respect, so the bang for the buck was pretty solid.

They did the majority of the work on the application, so whatever the users thought was obviously attributed to them at least in part. They were hired to build a project, and they did a fairly good job.

How did smartSense perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re pretty high-touch, and they do a reasonable amount of QA. They communicate well, considering they’re in India. Their communication skills are pretty good. Their business development and project management staff had a very solid grasp of the English language, which obviously helps. They had a decent sense of American culture. As a relatively small, Indian outsource shop, they’re pretty good.

The project management tools were set up on our end. We use a combination of email and Skype for communication, and JIRA and Bitbucket for bug-tracking, issue-tracking, and source control.

What did you find most impressive about smartSense?

I think the customer service and project management aspects were their best features.

Are there any areas smartSense could improve?

No. I got what I wanted at a good price.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a diet consultant and the owner of the company, which is based in Kenya.

What challenge were you trying to address with smartSense?  

I was looking for a trustworthy development team for my website because I wanted to get more clients for my business. It was very difficult to find a vendor who could understand my needs and offer cost-effective solutions. I also needed someone who could take my instructions without bothering me much.

What was the scope of their involvement?  

I worked with 2 people from smartSense. They developed the site using WordPress. They also created a custom BMI calculator for my platform. It allows users to check their BMI score and see what services would help them achieve an ideal score. smartSense integrated a payment gateway on the website so that customers could pay online. smartSense also did additional minor yet critical improvements for me. These made them stand out.

How did you come to work with smartSense?

I got the referral from my sister, who really liked their work. Even though I was looking for someone from Nairobi, I decided to chat with them. I was glad that I contacted them. They charged much less than their competitors.

How much have you invested with smartSense?

I paid $6,000 for the website.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted for two months, from March 17 to May 17. The website is complete. However, we haven’t made it public yet because I still need to write the content for my website. smartSense will update the content as soon as I am done.

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

The process went very smoothly, and the results were excellent. smartSense handled everything with care. I loved the way they managed the development. While they did send updates on a regular basis, they never bothered me about the project. All my colleagues and friends are impressed with their work. For example, the BMI calculator is a great feature.

How did smartSense perform from a project management standpoint?

They used Agile methodologies for project management. Everything was handled in a professional way, and they always followed the plan. If they noticed a glitch, it was solved promptly. That meant the development was on track all the time. smartSense is also highly responsive. Their team members are all good communicators.

What did you find most impressive about smartSense?

I was impressed by the way they take everything as their responsibility. When I missed something, they would remind me of it. smartSense is also open to changes. The team works hand in hand with the client. I think they are the best in what they do.