Sombra

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of Studio Ninja. We provided a studio management software product to help photographers manage every aspect of their business, from photoshoots to invoicing to online contracts to workflows. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sombra?

We brought in Sombra to help develop our platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Sombra created a CRM solution specifically for photographers using Java. They built a sophisticated dashboard and integrated invoicing features with PayPal and Stripe. They also developed a quoting system that allows our clients to communicate with their own customers automatically.

Our team provided the designs that Sombra used to build the software. They also made a mobile application of the platform. 

What is the team composition?

We started with one developer due to our limited budget. The team grew as our business got off the ground. We now work with 11 people including a project manager, Oleh (Head of Delivery, Sombra) who has handled our account since the beginning.

How did you come to work with Sombra?

We put up an ad on Upwork and received over 100 applications. Sombra stood out from their competitors because they had experience building a similar product. We called their directors and ultimately decided to engage with them. 

How much have you invested in them?

We have spent between $250,000–$500,000. We spend around $25,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in August 2016, and the work is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Sombra perfectly implemented our designs into an attractive and user-friendly site that our users praised. The team excelled at adapting to challenges and implementing third-party software integrations. They found ways to improve the software’s architecture, increase its uptime, and reduce the risk of crashing. They also weren’t afraid to suggest changes to our scope if they knew a better way to accomplish a goal.

How did Sombra perform from a project management standpoint?

In the beginning, Sombra accommodated our limited resources at first by providing a small team and agreeing to provide work before receiving payment. When the relationship was new, and our teams were less experienced, Sombra wasn’t as accurate at scoping tasks and deadlines as they are now. Nowadays, their estimates are spot-on, give or take a few days or unexpected outside factors.

The team has excellent communication. Sombra alerts us to any mistake they make and address it immediately, even if it requires overnight work. We communicate daily over Skype. We’ve both learned to adapt to our time zone differences, but we can always reach someone if an issue arises. They regularly go above and beyond to bring success to our project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their incredible communication has always stood out. They are always responsive when things are going right or wrong. Sombra also takes responsibility for replacing any team member of theirs that isn’t performing up to standard, which removes a headache for me and allows me to focus on building my own business. They feel like a part of our team. Our relationship has run smoothly since the beginning.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, Sombra has met all of our expectations. We’re grateful to have found them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communicate your idea as clearly as possible. We have an in-house product design team, so we could provide wireframe designs and layouts as well to explain our project. A clear scope will help minimize communication errors and ensure that the outcome matches your vision. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of technology at Cloud Analytics. We provide SaaS solutions for manufacturing distributors that help them plan their inventory and customer service.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sombra?

We needed to augment our development team. We only had two developers to build our platform, and needed to focus more resources on growth.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have one large piece of software, but they’ve worked with us on multiple projects. We roll out multiple modules and tools, and they’ve done backend and frontend software development for us for the past year and a half. Some of the projects they worked on include dashboarding tools and an ETL process we rolled out and integrated with Oracle NetSuite. That allows us to pull near real-time data from that system into ours.

What is the team composition?

The team size varies, and we work with one to five people at a time.

How did you come to work with Sombra?

We found them through Upwork. We worked with another firm previously, but weren’t satisfied with the results. After a short engagement with that other firm, Sombra applied to our posting and we chose to work with them instead. They specialized in Java, JavaScript, and SQL, which is our full stack, and having a company that matched us was attractive to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May or June 2017, and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work allows us to sell more, and they’ve more than paid for themselves through the revenue growth we’ve seen since their engagement.

How did Sombra perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re great project managers. They adapted to my style, so every time I lay out high-level specs, they collaborate with us and revise things until we reach the best solution. They do all their work remotely, but they’re as engaged as we need them to be.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of their work and the personal ability of their developers is impressive. They’re easy to get along with, and we have a good working relationship with them. Their strengths definitely lie in JavaScript and Java. They provide feedback on the requirements and often propose better solutions than our original prompts. It’s a very collaborative engagement.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. Whenever I request a change, they’re very responsive.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Deploy a full team of their resources. We started with a full stack developer, but decided to branch out and employ a UI developer and backend developer. We also took advantage of their project management resources. Working with a team of specialized personnel was our best option.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the managing director of a booking agency that sells adventure activities and sightseeing tours in New Zealand and Australia to domestic and international travelers. Our online business is a one-stop shop for travelers to book all their tours.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Sombra?

In recent times, the focus in tourism has shifted to discounts and deals, so we needed to find a better way to promote these offerings to our customers.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed a robust yet simple and user-friendly website that allowed customers to navigate the deals easily. Tour operators would also use the site to manage and promote their offerings. Everything needed to work as well, if not better, on mobile devices as it did on desktop.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Local developers were prohibitively expensive, so we looked abroad. Sombra was recommended by a third party who had engaged their services before and spoke highly of their ability to deliver a quality product at a reasonable price.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

They designed and developed a brand-new online booking portal utilizing software tailored to meet our exact requirements. The project began with an initial consult, allowing us to explain and detail all the specifics of the build thoroughly. Then, they presented workflows and mock-ups to us for approval. They worked in two-week sprints with continuous review and feedback from us and expert suggestions from their experienced developers.

What was the team composition?

The team was made up of about seven full-time staff, including frontend and backend developers, bug testers, and designers. It was headed up by a project manager who made sure everything was on time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website will allow us to stand out and be relevant in an extremely competitive industry. It is due to be finalized next week after a four-month build. We’re confident that it will be delivered on time and within budget.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project was managed by the same person throughout the entire build, allowing for consistent and clear communication. We were in touch via Skype, Jira, and Google Meetings. They always answered questions and concerns immediately and effectively.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The initial point of contact was always the project manager. However, we were also able to access any of the individual team members to discuss specifics relating to the components they were working on. This made all the difference in ensuring important details were not lost in translation.

What tips or recommendations do you have?

My only recommendation would be to make sure you have a clear picture of what you are trying to achieve so you can convey that as accurately as possible to the team before starting your project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a software company. We do custom software development and programming related to phone systems, voice, fax, and emails for business customers in the telecommunications market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sombra?

We sometimes need to outsource development resources. We hired Sombra as an offshore vendor to help us build our software.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve done multiple projects with Sombra. We send the client requirements and they then set up a team to manage the project’s technical and organizational components. We use Jtwig, databases, SQL servers, JavaScript, Angular, TypeScript, and Amazon Web Service (AWS).

What is the team composition?

I talk to Viktoriia (Project Coordinator, Sombra).

How did you come to work with Sombra?

We found them on Upwork and started the partnership with a simple, small project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2017 and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Sombra is our main development partner and the relationship has been a positive experience. Their solutions have a huge impact on our clients’ business.

How did Sombra perform from a project management standpoint?

The team has marvelous timing; they are fast, flexible, and always on the budget. We communicate primarily via Skype.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their project management, speed, and communication skills are absolutely professional. They have a large number of developers that specialize in Java. They have a nice company culture as well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The developers’ communication skills could be better. However, we don’t want to hold them to the same communications standard as project managers.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go and hire them. Sombra is the perfect size—neither too big or too small. They’re personable, efficient, and attentive to smaller customers.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a manufacturer of critical messaging systems for the aged-care and health industries. I am the technical director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sombra?

We engaged with them to assist us in Javascript programming. That's how our system is primarily written.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They assisted us with the microservices of our system. When dealing with the infrastructure of the microservices, they always handled the frontend work. This included the user interface of the microservices. Sombra allocates the resources to us and then we directly manage it.

They also were able to develop an annunciator type screen through Angular. It was high definition with a lot of graphics and with rendering. The annunciator was then interfaced into the existing system.

What is the team composition?

They work as a resources role for us. We project manage them ourselves and work with our own developers and engineers. With Sombra, we talk about a project in very general terms, work out deliverables' estimated time, and then decide whether it's a single resource or multiple resources. This is where their Java team comes in and they have plenty of Javascript guys on their books.

If we need extra resources, they understand the skill set that we require and are very good at matching our needs with the right skill set. It's always just been a seamless process that we've had. It's a great relationship actually.

How did you come to work with Sombra?

I found them on Freelancer and then did a lot of independent research on their business. We had an interview with the business development manager, ran a trial with them, and since then, we’ve had an ongoing relationship.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend $2,000–$4,000 per month with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since April 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, we’ve had great traction in the market. Every project Sombra has worked on, always gets really positive feedback from the clients that are utilizing our solution.

When it comes to the user interface layer, our clients say it's a very easy product to use and operate. Across the different types of user tiers, they’re able to use the interface without any issues. I guess that in turn is a nod towards Sombra's work.

The quality of work has been second to none. We've actually had their code reviewed by third parties for comments on structure knowledge of Javascript, and it's all come back with five stars.

How did Sombra perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team has this sort of magic formula. All the guys on their teams have this really positive attitude that creates a good team environment. It’s certainly evident in a lot of our calls, which were communicated quite regularly via Skype, that they've got a really good team.

They’re are also really good at mentoring. Sometimes if there’s a technical issue, we talk aspects on how we want to tackle a problem and then come up with some ideas. Their mentoring structures are great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were really impressed with the annunciator they created. It was created on a blank page, outside the normal scope of work, and it turned out to be an amazing product for us.

Also, from a management perspective, they're very cooperative and understanding. More importantly, they’re responsive regardless of whatever the outcome may be.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Because the culture between Australia and the Ukraine is quite different, don't be ambiguous in your conversation. Be straight to the point. That takes out the nuances with language and culture, and that's all I can recommend.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the directors of a cloud-based streaming service. We specialize in taking one stream and restreaming it across multiple platforms as needed. It allows you to distribute streams in order to get around bandwidth limitations, like when you’re in a trade show or using your phone to make a broadcast in public. We also offer the ability to add custom advertising layers to your live stream content.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sombra?

They took the core code we’d built in-house and added new features and functionality to our platform so it was more up-to-date.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They initially built our scheduler, which allows customers to schedule live streams so the platform will start broadcasting automatically at a designated time while a user is producing content. Since then, they’ve continued building or enhancing existing platform components for us. They also perform bug fixes and feature request updates for us every couple of months. All of the work Sombra’s done utilizes streaming and real-time messaging protocols, which allow us to transform the content for iOS, Android, and streaming TV devices. The whole platform was built using Amazon Cloud Services.

What is the team composition?

I work directly with our project manager, who then assigns us one or two developers based on the size of each project.

How did you come to work with Sombra?

I found them on Upwork.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $50,000–$100,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

They started working for us in January 2016 and they’re still developing for us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When we develop the product, we measure capacity by overloading the system in our staging environment and fixing any errors that occur. Once that code is ready, we push it over to our production environment, and if it’s not right you’ll see the same errors reappear. Within the last year, our users haven’t had any crashes, even when there were high traffic loads. We’ve only found one issue with database capacity and it was due to us not anticipating the demand on it, but that was due to insufficient server capacity, not any error on Sombra’s part.

How did Sombra perform from a project management standpoint?

We start the week by calling the project manager to map out the scope of the upcoming week in terms of development, and at the end of the week, we do another call to assess their progress. We connect online via Skype or Google Hangouts to examine code and we’ll touch base via email throughout the week if they need any clarification. This system has worked well to help me assess how much more work is needed at any point so I can manage customer expectations regarding new feature availability.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They learn very quickly. I searched at length for developers with the right expertise and I tried two or three in the US, but it was difficult for them to accomplish the work. With Sombra, it doesn’t matter if the developer is already familiar with our projects or brand new—they’re able to assess what needs to be done and gain enough familiarity with our service that they’re comfortable suggesting additional improvements. It’s the reason I’ve kept up our partnership for so long.

I also appreciate their commitment to communication and quick response times. They’re willing to ask questions until they fully understand a project. There are sometimes language difficulties, but they’ll persist until they’re sure we’re on the same page. They always bring us code that’s exactly what we asked for, and I pay a fraction of what I would if I’d used local developers.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very open with your project requirements and be upfront about your budget so they can accommodate you. If you aren’t sure they have the expertise to work with all the technologies you need, ask. Whenever they weren’t familiar with a particular coding language, for example, they were willing to learn and work with whatever third-party developer I hired.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CTO at a drop shipping business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sombra?

We were looking for a company to develop a web solution for our marketplace workflow automation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Sombra helped us develop an e-commerce tool to automate the workflow with Amazon and eBay. We had the initial code that was designed on Java, so they used part of it, developed it further, and turned it into a working web solution. As the product evolved, we added more features, such as order and vendor management, financing, and monitoring.  

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with one full-time developer and one UI designer.

How did you come to work with them?

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent about $70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2017 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Simply put, our business model wouldn't work or wouldn't be effective without the workflow automation that Sombra developed for us.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

We were not entirely satisfied with the first developer they assigned to us, so we addressed that issue with their management. They were very cooperative and immediately gave us another developer, who's been amazing. In addition, they gave us one free month of work to make up for the inconvenience. We usually stay in touch via email and phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Everyone from their management to the design house is pleasant to work with. They're always trying to find the best solution for us. They're very invested and view our success as their own success.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Maybe their rates could be a little lower.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as clear as possible about your goals, expectations, timeline, and budget. Also, discuss what kind of support they'll provide after the development is completed.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a mid-sized medical engineering company that specializes in bio- and neurofeedback for the psychosomatic and psychophysiology field. We design products for clinical therapists and university research. I am the founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sombra?

We wanted to develop a hybrid app for our eSense devices. We had existing iOS and Android apps but wanted to simplify development. We wanted to work with a PhoneGap and Ionic technology expert.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our new eSense app that works in partnership with a hardware device. Two sensors measure skin conductance and temperature and connect to a smartphone via the microphone input.

Skin conductance relates to sweat glands in our palms, which are innervated by the autonomous nervous system and react to emotional stress and anxiety. The sensors take measurements and feed them back to the user in real time. Sombra developed the app and made changes.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with one full-time developer. Once the first hybrid was done, they introduced a new layer of management. We spoke with the manager about timing or planning, but usually interfaced with the developer.

How did you come to work with Sombra?

I posted a development job on Upwork. Sombra applied for that job and we started working with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $20,000 in the first phase of app development and about $60,000 overall.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in Autumn 2016. They delivered the hybrid app at the beginning of 2017, roughly 6 months later.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I mainly use the tools provided by Google and Apple to determine how many people are using the app. We sell around 1,000 sensors per year and have seen 1,000–1,500 app downloads. The old, native apps are still available in the app stores and are still in use, too, though Sombra didn't develop those.

How did Sombra perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Upwork tools for scheduling and work summaries. We chatted with the developer over Skype on a daily basis and use Trello Boards for to-do lists, comments, and resolving issues.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They really get into a topic. We liked our first developer but were assigned a new one partway through the process. The second developer was even better than the first. They’re great people and do excellent work. They know what to do, understand the technology, and are communicative. I get daily, detailed reports and they made unique suggestions to solve problems. They have a large team of developers, so there is always someone to answer our questions. I’m very satisfied.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I was skeptical at first when they added the management layer but it was a good addition. We switched from Upwork to Trello and have a direct contract with them. We have a better rate and no longer need to pay Upwork platform fees. We also reduced our weekly hours, which helped us stick to our budget. All these improvements were instigated by the contract manager. If we need a new feature, we ask for another developer and they provide the help we need. They’re very flexible and I have no complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a staff conference with their developers to describe your company, project, and goals. They will find the best developer and can make custom suggestions to meet your needs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Vivuso was a company dedicated to making a B2B sales platform which used social tools in order to leverage marketing for small businesses. It was user-generated, with social media posts, RSS newsfeeds, Q&A and review content for advertising purposes. I decided to close the company for business reasons.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sombra?

I needed help designing the whole project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I acted as project manager, defined the project, and worked in collaboration with Sombra. We developed the product A to Z and created a production version. I used Balsamiq and provided Sombra with wireframes of what I wanted to build. From there, we discussed the details of the project.

I didn’t define 100% of the scope from the beginning, but I had discussions with Sombra’s team. They asked smart questions and understood what I wanted to do.

The product was a Java-based web application with AngularJS or a similar framework on the frontend.

How did you come to work with Sombra?

I found them on Upwork or a similar marketplace, but worked directly, outside of the platform. In the beginning, I talked to Sergii [Miakshynov], one of their founders, and he gave me a lot of confidence. He was honest with all his answers and told me what Sombra could and couldn’t do. For example, they specialized in Java, and not in other languages. This reassured me that, if Sombra promised to deliver something, they could do it.

How much have you invested with Sombra?

The cost of Sombra’s work was around $10,000. I used a dedicated frontend developer for half the price of the other developers.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with Sombra February 2015. The project ended in September.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When building a responsive site, it’s difficult to have a good outcome on the first try, but most of the work turned out well.

How did Sombra perform from a project management standpoint?

The communication was generally good. Something I don’t like about remote work is the lack of responsiveness from the partner’s side, or having them disappear for a few days. This never happened with Sombra. We had clear communication constantly, and, anytime I had a question, I received a response. Their English skills were very good. I also had another project and would have wanted to work with Sombra, but it wasn’t possible since they’re strictly a Java team. If I ever have a Java project in the future, I will contact Sombra.

They were professional in working with our repository and implementing the Agile methodology. Sombra is not just another development company.

What did you find most impressive about Sombra?

The easiest thing for an outsourced company is to say yes to work, even if they aren’t sure what the customer wants, and give a price estimate (usually a high one). I have asked for very difficult or even impossible tasks, and Sombra’s team told me so every time. We achieved around 95% of what we wanted to do.

Are there any areas Sombra could improve?

I know that no one’s perfect, but I can’t name anything that Sombra could improve. They did the job well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a data-driven ecommerce company selling a variety of niche products in multiple marketplaces. I am the founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sombra?

We’d had a bad experience with a development company a few years back, and were looking to improve our backend operations. Our initial company didn’t do a good job, and produced a messy result.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Sombra was brought in to fix our existing issues, as well as move forward and expand our architecture for operations, reports, integrations and so on. Back then, we were building a number of databases, running scrapers and different API integrations related to our marketplaces. Sombra was tasked with taking API connections and building databases around them, improving the speed of our applications and scraping on Amazon, Sears, Walmart, and other big ecommerce platforms.

We have relationships with many vendors, and wanted to integrate each one with their own tweaks. There is a level of sophistication in each case, and we’ve had to adapt those settings to our systems. Sombra is continually working on integrating vendors’ product inventory and many other variables.

I believe that the coding is done on Java, and we have a MySQL database. We use Jenkins for task management, and GitHub for deployments.

I’m currently working with three members of Sombra’s team, each with a wide range of capabilities. Our tasks can range from uploading a new vendor, to improving trading reports, and all the way to integrating a new marketplace. Each member of Sombra’s team should be able to handle these tasks.

I work closely with Sombra’s founder as well as with their CTO in case anything’s needed, I need to add a new person to the team, or have big-picture issues to discuss. I’m also considering getting one of Sombra’s project managers to help me with scheduling, tasking and prioritizing.

How did you come to work with Sombra?

It was a straightforward process. One of my consultants posted on oDesk (now Upwork), and we interviewed Sombra, along with a few other agencies. We felt very comfortable with them and their experience. We had a trial period and solidified the relationship. We’ve been working together ever since.

How much have you invested with Sombra?

The cost of Sombra’s work has been around $125,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Sombra in June 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Every time we’ve brought in a new vendor and integrated them into our system, that vendor generated new sales. This may not be specific to Sombra’s involvement, but they are helping our company grow by improving integrations. Without our system, we wouldn’t have been able to scale. We have eight-figure yearly sales.

How did Sombra perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been very communicative. I talk to Sombra’s team on a daily basis, and they’ve been flexible with timing, adapting to our time zone. They’ve helped during emergencies, working over the weekend. We use Asana for project management, in which we create tasks for each member. We also use Skype for discussing timelines and so on. I am currently acting as project manager.

What did you find most impressive about Sombra?

They’ve been very flexible and adaptable. I’ve been able to get close to our founders and team, and they have visited us in the U.S. They’re great and loyal people, going above and beyond in order to help the client. This is something I appreciate, and it’s why we’ve been able to build such a great relationship. I trust Sombra, and never have to overthink our work.

Are there any areas Sombra could improve?

Sombra is close to university areas, so they can bring in a lot of college talent. Those resources are good, but they sometimes need a bit of work. There can be a ramp-up period for a person to become comfortable with the necessary skills for a project, or with their understanding of the requirements. It would be nicer to have more ready-to-go people, but this is asking for a lot.