Softwarium

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a VP of Engineering at a Security Software Company. We are leaders on the Gartner Magic Quadrant in the Privileged Access Management space. We are a global company with our primary headquarters in the US.

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

Our first project with them was to build out our client application that integrates with our flagship product and allows for tabbed management of RDP and SSH sessions. That project was very successful and we have expanded our relationship with them to cover multiple teams and multiple products.

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

We had a preexisting relationship with management.

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

They work directly with our product management and design teams in order to understand the scope and priority of the work. Then then work to implement the requirements each sprint. Technologies cover the range of C#, Angular, Go, and mobile development.

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

We have over 40 people working with us in a variety of positions. Developers, QA, DevOps, management and design.

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

We have been able to launch and maintain products developed by them that have had great market success along with positive customer feedback.

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

They have been very flexible to work and mold themselves to fit into our management and organizational format. They work as an extension of our internal teams and are treated as full teammates.

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

They have a strong management team that is able to work with us to suit our needs and changes. They have been able to hire great people to work on our teams.

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

Not really, feedback and minor adjustments are taken well and quickly so we are able to rapidly address any issues as they come up.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My company developed service scheduling software for automobile dealers, and I was the owner.

What challenge were you trying to address with Softwarium?

I had one in-house developer, but I couldn’t find quality developers to scale up the team. We engaged with Softwarium to handle all of our programming and development work.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Softwarium finished the development of our software, integrated it with dealership’s dealer management systems, and built out the features of that system. For the most part, the appointment requests received through our scheduling tool populates into dealer’s schedules to allow them to plan repairs more easily.

They also helped us satisfy an engagement with a major car manufacturer, in which the provider provided specific wireframes and they developed an app to allow customers to schedule confirmed service appointments right form their vehicle.

What is the team composition?

We started with a single developer and worked directly with him. As our company grew, we needed additional help, to the point where we now have five full-time developers including a project lead and full-time QA.

How did you come to work with Softwarium?

We hired a couple of developers in-house but never made much progress with them. I talked to a lot of different companies as I continued to look around and eventually came across Softwarium. They came very highly recommended, which was why I gave them the opportunity.

How much have you invested with them?

Over the years, we’ve spent between $4,000,000–$5,000,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around September 2006 and are continuing the partnership today.

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

I don’t have any specific metrics, but they have always done an absolutely amazing job for us. Everything we’ve ever asked them to do, they have completed quickly and to a very high standard of quality.

How did Softwarium perform from a project management standpoint?

They do an excellent job with project management. Their team uses a project management tool called Mantis to keep track of project milestones, and they are always available when we have any issues or questions. We know that anytime we have a strict deadline to get something done they will be able to meet that as well. They’ve been consistently phenomenal.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was really impressed by how quickly they grasped our business. They really dove in and came to understand what we were really trying to do, which made a huge difference in enhancing the program to where it is today.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind. They’ve always performed when we needed them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I think communication is very important. Just be sure and clear about what you’re trying to accomplish.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

At the time of the project, I was working at a company called MetaVis as the CTO working in partnership with Softwarium to develop software.

What challenge were you trying to address with Softwarium?

When the company was founded in 2008, they began working together with Softwarium immediately to develop the product.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Softwarium did three things, which consisted of software development, QA, and customer support. The software is a client-facing tool developed in Java that works with the CMS SharePoint. They built the whole product from the ground up and helped us support it as we provided it to clients in different time zones.

What is the team composition?

They were actually responsible for hiring and maintaining the team of developers, so I’m not sure how many there were specifically.

How did you come to work with Softwarium?

I worked with them in a previous role on projects with C++ and some other technologies, so I knew that they were competent developers. I communicated with the management of the company when we were first starting out and we established the partnership.

How much have you invested with them?

Since we originally started working with them, we have spent around $5,000,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

This particular engagement began in June 2008. I left the company after it was sold in 2015, but the engagement has continued and is ongoing to this day.

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

The success of the work was demonstrated by the fact that we became valuable enough to sell the company. We produced happy customers, so I considered the partnership completely successful.

How did Softwarium perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was great, and it was very easy to communicate with them. I was always up to date on deliverables and what was going on in the project at the time. They are able to handle whatever happens in the project without causing a fuss about billing or anything.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are extremely skilled and are able to add highly knowledgeable resources to a team very quickly. Not only that, but they are always accommodating and transparent, and those aren’t qualities that you often find in development partners. I really appreciated that about them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I was completely satisfied with their services. I don’t have anything that I wish they would improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just be open with them. The more specific and precise you are in explaining the need you have, the better they will be able to serve that need. Transparency always helps.