Softkit

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner and CEO of a German-based software development company. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Softkit?

We hired Softkit to assist with software development projects. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Softkit provides my company with software development services in Javascript, Agile frameworks, and Typescript. They also consult for us on designing and developing multiple projects, specifically for app architecture building. They have an excellent grasp of the React Native framework and provide great feedback on our concepts. 

For one project, Softkit developed a cross-platform mobile app for the manufacturing industry using a React Native framework. They made some design suggestions and optimizations to improve the app. On the app, users measured the width of their fingers to ensure manufactured rings were correctly sized. After our customer rolls out the app, Softkit will conduct maintenance. 

What is the team composition?

We usually work with the owner, three developers, and one designer. 

How did you come to work with Softkit?

We were looking for outsourced vendors in Eastern Europe and came across Softkit. We had a test project for each firm we contacted to compare their skills. Then, we received offers from several companies — instead of making us an offer, Softkit preemptively implemented and presented us with a solution. Also, Softkit's price point was below their competitors', and they had a good proposal.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested around €12,000 (approximately $14,000 USD) with Softkit. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Softkit began in April 2020, and it's ongoing. 

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

We're able to turn a more significant profit from customer projects because of our partnership with Softkit — outsourcing with Softkit saves me a lot of money. Also, their team is quick to present perfect solutions to the challenges we're facing. 

How did Softkit perform from a project management standpoint?

Softkit delivers on time and within budget. Generally, we use Slack and Google Meets to communicate with each other. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Softkit uses their extensive experience to present pragmatic solutions to complex, demanding, and challenging tasks. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There is nothing for Softkit to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I'd suggest customers understand the demand for Softkit services and make appropriate project accommodations. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the project manager at Bettr Coffee Co., a specialty coffee company, and am responsible for the Bettr Cloud Bar project - a subscription-based and delivery-focused service to fuel coffee addiction.

What challenge were you trying to address with Softkit?

We are looking for an experienced developer to work with us to continue enhancing an MVP responsive web app, with opportunity to work with us for the long-term on future phases of this.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially developed the web app with a Singapore developer - it allows users to customise a freshly brewed drink subscription plan based on consumption, preference, habits of purchasing coffee. There are over 40 drink options as well as a choice to deliver to preferred addresses or pick-up at our retail coffee bars at selected timing. Users also have the flexibility to make changes to their subscription plan - to change the frequency of subscription, drink selection as well as mode of receiving the drink - the smart way via our responsive web app.

We approached Softkit to help us make improvements to the MVP responsive web app and fix bugs. Now, Softkit fully understands our product and the next step is for them to continue maintenance work.

What is the team composition?

I am in direct contact with the CEO, who also serves as a developer. I also work closely with the business development manager, who helps to understand our development briefs and translate work requirements to the developer.

How did you come to work with Softkit?

We found them through Upwork. The project spec we posted had requirements for experience with react js, node.js. next.js and Stripe. UI, UX, interactivity design, HTML/CSS experience a huge plus. When we first interviewed developers, Softkit stood out because they could quickly identify the issues with our web app. Softkit was also able to understand what we were trying to achieve.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we spent around $5,000 with Softkit.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have worked with Softkit since February 2021 and is looking at starting a maintenance contract moving forward.

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

We launched our web app in March 2021 and don’t have any specific metrics yet. From the basic functionality perspective, Softkit has helped to fix bugs that would otherwise hinder users from subscribing via the web app.

How did Softkit perform from a project management standpoint?

Softkit’s project management was good. Softkit was helpful, responsive, and efficient when it came to bug fixes. Usually, we’d send over a brief with all the issues found in the app - highlighting both the current issues and ideal outcomes we were looking for. The process was streamlined and easy, especially if the brief was detailed enough for them to understand how to proceed. We mainly used Rock to correspond, and have Google Meet or Zoom calls if needed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Softkit responds quickly, and we have a high level of trust in each other. They have a very good sense of how the web app works on both the front- and backend.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Would be great if Softkit has a Stripe subject matter expert — they have some experience, but it’s not strong enough to address all the issues we’re trying to fix.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Clients need to be specific about what they want from a project but remain open to suggestions from Softkit.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CEO of a psychology technology startup based in London. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Softkit?

We were unable to find the level of skill we were looking for in the UK that was within our budget, so we were looking to outsource cost-effective software engineering support.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Softkit helped us with custom software development. They primarily used Java, MongoDB, and Vue.js. At the start of the project, we provided them with plenty of documentation, including responsive prototype designs and specification documentation. We also worked with them on some of the initial R&D. 

Although they mainly did programming work for us, the team also gave us advice on technical architecture. Eventually, we decided to hire an internal software engineer, so we ended the partnership with Softkit. The software is now live for our business customers.

What is the team composition?

We primarily interfaced directly with Alexander (Java Software Engineer), but we spoke to Vitaliy (Founder & CTO) a few times. During a specific phase of the project, we also had a project manager.

How did you come to work with Softkit?

We found them through a search engine and ended up hiring them because Alexander’s services were very well-priced for his level of expertise. It also seemed like Softkit gave a lot of support to their clients, so if we ever had an issue, we would have someone to help us resolve it.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from December 2020–September 2021.

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

Thanks to their help, we have a working product that our clients can use. The fact that my company still exists and is still growing is probably the most compelling evidence of the project’s success. 

Although we decided to end the project, it wasn’t due to any problems with Softkit. Their expertise was very beneficial, but our requirements just changed.

How did Softkit perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was great — they gave us a good level of support and communication. We mainly used Slack and Zoom to correspond and Jira and Trello for project management. We decided to manage the project ourselves because we just needed their software development expertise. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was very impressed with Softkit’s high-level technical expertise — the team had extensive knowledge of state-of-the-art technology. Alexander was a very talented engineer. In addition, the owner was a real expert in the field. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could’ve been more proactive in terms of thinking up ways to help us. We usually had to ask them for help. However, they did an excellent job overall.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to articulate your problems very clearly. Explain your problems very clearly and let them help you define the solution — they’ll give good advice because they’re experts in the field.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the project manager of OpenChannel, and we’re a SaaS company that helps B2B companies launch their marketplaces.

What challenge were you trying to address with Softkit?

Softkit is helping us in our core project which we are currently working on right now.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Softkit is helping us build a template builder that allows our customers to quickly launch a marketplace, without having someone from our end go there. We also provide customers access to codes that they can customize and upload themselves. Softkit is working with us as an external team, and they’re responsible for the development part of the template.

What is the team composition?

We’re working with Vitaliy (Co-Founder & CTO), Alex (Java Developer), Julia (Junior Frontend Developer), and Pavel (Frontend Developer).

How did you come to work with Softkit?

It was actually my boss’s decision to hire Softkit Through a selection process. When companies make it to the final stage of the selection process, we do a test. This test is then checked by our internal team in terms of quality and skill — Softkit came out on top. All of the team members are really good and they complement each other well.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably spent somewhere between $50,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2021, and our partnership is still ongoing.

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

To measure progress, we run scrum meetings and have reports in terms of velocity and what’s accomplished. We also have milestones of when we expect something to go out, or when we start having our clients use them. So far, Softkit has met all the milestones with no delays — they’ve been really good and accurate so far.

How did Softkit perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re always open to talk and discuss ideas through our daily scrum meetings. Softkit has always performed well and they’re always approachable.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Softkit is always there when you need to talk to them, and they have really good communication to discuss problems or solutions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’s hard to say because they’re integrated with our own process and we’ve improved a lot since we started working together. Right now, I don’t have anything to say that could be improved.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice would be to always be open to collaboration and integrate them into your team. I would also advise having a project manager deal with the project. Some people tend to consider contractors and leave them to do the job, but we have a different approach. We always try to bring them into our team and align them with our priorities and goals.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Distil.ai and we’re developing a CDP platform.

What challenge were you trying to address with Softkit?

I was essentially trying to find senior Java developers to help me build our platform. The customer development platform relies a lot on underlying open source big data architectures. We needed experts in Java, Apache Cassandra, Apache Spark, and Elasticsearch. We also require them to know Spring Boot and PostgreSQL for the backend development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Softkit has been involved in the project from very early on in the development and is still involved heavily on an ongoing day-to-day basis.

We scope the work in Confluence and break down the tasks onto a Kanban board in Jira to plan the current and upcoming work. Daily stand-ups using Google Meet are performed to keep all stakeholders informed, and the daily/short-term goals aligned.

As part of the ongoing development, Softkit is heavily involved in the discussions of building the architecture behind the app, including a couple of phases where we’ve had to do some technological discovery and assessment, to see which solutions are going to meet our requirements to the fullest degree.

What is the team composition?

I’ve primarily been working with Vitaliy (Co-Founder & CTO), involving 1-2 other developers from their team when required.

How did you come to work with Softkit?

I used a website called Upwork where I posted an initial contract for the work. As part of that process, I set an extensive and rigorous testing procedure to test potential candidates. Vitaliy scored incredibly high on the test and subsequent interview, and we immediately thought he was a good choice and fit.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve invested approximately £90,000 (about $127,300 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The ongoing partnership started in June 2019.

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

I couldn’t recommend Softkit highly enough. I’ve been immensely impressed with the level and amount of work they can achieve. They put the time and dedication into the project we’re working on.

How did Softkit perform from a project management standpoint?

There are only a few of us working on this project. I use the Kanban approach as opposed to 2-week sprints and it’s a very fluid management style that they have adapted to. We have stand-ups every morning to make sure our priorities are set for the day/short term and keep all stakeholders updated on progress. We use Google Meet for our internal phone/face-to-face meeting, and use Slack extensively as our primary communications channel.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What distinguishes them from the other providers is the level and quality of the work they provide.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Based on my interactions with them, I’ve got no complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d give them the same advice I give to anyone hiring external developers. Test them out to make sure they fit your needs, and if you’re on the same wavelength. From a technological and fundamental point of view, I’d have no hesitation in recommending Softkit.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO and lead software engineer at Casefair.

What challenge were you trying to address with Softkit?

We hired Softkit to help us with some of our backend development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Since the initial engagement, we’ve been using their services a bit more. We also hired them for backend development, frontend development, and some project management. They’ve done some research related to their tasks on their own, but nothing out of the ordinary for a normal developer. For the backend development, they helped us with Kotlin.

What is the team composition?

We work with Vitaly (Co-Founder). We also hired Diana (Project Manager) to help us with case creation and project management.

How did you come to work with Softkit?

It was through Upwork. I posted a job position there and did some interviews. I came across Vitaly and felt they were a good fit because we had an initial interview. Additionally, he was very familiar with the technologies we were already using. I gave him access to the code so he was able to give a review, and I really liked the review that he gave.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve invested between $20,000–$25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July 2020, and we’re still working with them.

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

I was very, very happy. I provided them with a lot of standards and best practices that we follow, and they followed everything correctly. Their team provided some recommendations as well. Overall, it went well and the work was good. Everything is stable, and they follow best practices. They provide good quality work.

How did Softkit perform from a project management standpoint?

We have one person that has been working on an hourly basis. She helps us mainly with some case creation. She puts data into the database and then has some control over the estimations of when we can deliver a case and those kinds of roadmaps for the cases, but it wasn’t the complete project itself. There isn’t really a lot of project management involved.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very dedicated and aren’t afraid to challenge certain aspects of the project that were already implemented or ideas that we already had. They provide good feedback.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s a bit of a language barrier because English isn’t their primary language but overall, it’s fine and doable. The overall engagement has gone very well and I’m very happy with the work they’ve provided.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them as much freedom as possible in the sense of giving them space to challenge the things you’re doing. Because they’re very dedicated, they’ll do the proper research around it and will have a much better result.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Managing Architect at 18F responsible for the new application development

For what projects/services did your company hire Softkit, and what were your goals?

We had an issue with stuffing projects with competent technical resources capable of understanding the "bigger picture" and working toward the end goal and not just acting as "sprint junkies". The project in question had a very tight deadline because old hardware had to be decommissioned by a specific date

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

Softkit had been recommended by the friend of mine. I had an extended conversation with Softkit's co-founder and CTO and deemed the company qualified to handle the project

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

Softkit team developed a custom CRM (Angular, Java Spring, Oracle). We used more or less standard Agile approach, but longer sprints to minimize unproductive time. This approach works well when senior people are involved

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

• Front End: 2 developers from Softkit and one from the company;
• Backend: 2 developers from Softkit;
• Data store: DBA from the company Day to day management and CICD has been handled mostly by the Softkit CTO
• Testers: 2 company employees

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

The first phase of the solution had been launched on time and within a budget.

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

Project management responsibilities had been shared between Softkit CTO and myself. With Agile being used those took very little time

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

The team has solid technical people that deliver promises.

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

no

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the technical lead at a real estate start up.

For what projects/services did your company hire Softkit, and what were your goals?

I've had the opportunity to work with a few team members from Softkit over the years on numerous projects, and what I love about their team is that they are very versatile. They have quite a wide range of skills and have knowledge of current and latest trends of technologies. They're never afraid to take on new challenges with a positive attitude and never complain.

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

We found them through a referral.

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

Some of the projects we've worked on together include web applications built in NextJS, React, Typescript for the front end. For the back end, Java based microservices in spring boot, nodejs, api's using AWS Api Gateway and Lambda. The team has also helped with some Dev Ops work, including integrating Jenkins and Codebuild for CI/CD.

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

I've worked with the lead developer and 2 other developers. All were capable of working the full-stack.

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

The lead developer helped me scale down our AWS EC2 servers and we were able to cut our monthly costs down by 25%! He also helped me tighten up our security and helped us get a AWS CIS score of over 80%. Outside of measurable outcomes, the team has proven to be a reliable asset I can count on. The lead developer also worked with me over the weekend to help us meet a very important deadline.

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

We host daily stand ups at 9:30am PST every day, and they are able to make it. We also have a weekly tech team meeting with leadership, which they are also able to attend. In terms of project management, we use Jira and slack for communication. They always provide status updates on the tickets they work on, and are very on point.

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

Not only are they hard-working and experienced, but they also have a sense of humor. We sometimes share programming memes with each other to help promote a more collaborative team culture.

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

No complaints from me.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a Real Estate company since 2016, providing solution service for our customers. I am a Recruiter in this company.

For what projects/services did your company hire Softkit?

We hired Softkit for Web Development in Java (strong back-end)

What were your goals for this project?

We needed a special quiz, that our clients can pass and receive the best solution for the new house buying.

How did you select this vendor?

We found Softkit in Upwork. We considered 3 companies, had interviews. But, only Softkit got our point. Also, we cooperated previously, so we hadn't any doubts about the quality and fast communication.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The goal of the project is to provide the best ways to buy or sell real estate. It's a free service that allows consumers to compare dozens of real property buying and selling options to define the approach that best helps them to achieve their purposes – whether it’s saving time or getting the best price.

Technologies: Data Analysis, MongoDB, Java, MVC Framework, Kotlin, AWS Lambda, Node.js, Spring Boot, Bash, Angular 2, JPA, Docker, Redis, Jenkins

What was the team composition?

Actually, we hired 2 developers and they worked within the whole project. It was ongoing-project, developers worked with mentioned technology stack.

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

Thanks to this development, our sales increased and this cooperation met all our expectations. The project got 2020 Inman Innovator Awards for inventing new ways to showcase properties and building new technologies.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Our collaboration was excellent! Every time - great experience, fast response, perfect communication skills. Softkit working according to the deadlines and customer requirements. Tools: Slack, Jira, GitHub

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Among all companies, just Softkit has the needed experience in strong back-end and clean code. Also, they have experience in a similar project.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Everything was fine, will be glad to cooperate with Softkit in the future!

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are offering IT consulting and software development for german companies.

For what projects/services did your company hire Softkit, and what were your goals?

Softkit helped us developing our backend services of our online marketplace.

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

Out of 20 IT companies in eastern europe we decided to work with Softkit and it was worth it! They delivered what they offered.

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

We worked with one full stack developer.

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

The quality of the code was really good and we like the work of softkits developers.

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

None.