Soren Innovations

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior software engineer for a utilities coordinating council that ensures the reliability and security of bulk utilities system.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Soren Innovations?

We were looking for a vendor to assist us in building out our SharePoint for both our intranet site, as well as our external-facing public website. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve assisted us on a number of projects throughout our years working with them. In our most recent project we partnered with them on, which launched a little over a year ago, they helped us with our intranet redesign on SharePoint from conception to delivery. The project took a total of about 18 months. 

One of the first things we did for that project was to identify 12 key things we wanted our intranet to provide. Soren was able to bring all of that onto our SharePoint. For example, they built a corporate library where a lot of our policies, procedures, benefits information, etc. would go to make information organized and easily discoverable to end users. Our SharePoint also provides a weather forecast for our employees based on which of our offices they work at. They integrated our social media feeds to our SharePoint as well. Our industry can be a bit behind the times in regards to social media marketing, so it has been very helpful to engage our employees in that way.

Because of their expertise and experience, they were able to offer us advice, particularly during the conceptualization phase. We were able to do testing with some of our users to determine which designs were the most eye-catching and worked best for our company. They then built the site in such a way that allowed our communications department to continually update information on the site and keep our end users engaged.

What is the team composition? 

We primarily worked with a project manager. There are also a number of developers that worked on our project, but that number is a bit opaque because our project manager has facilitated our contact with them for the most part.

How did you come to work with Soren Innovations?

Our company came in contact with them through a referral from another company we were using for branding.

What is the status of this engagement?

We first engaged them back in 2013. We continue to partner with them on a variety of projects and maintenance of those projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Soren continues to win competitive bids for our projects because they truly understand our business and our business’ mission. They continue to deliver for us year after year, meeting both our cost needs and our timeline expectations. Their work has been received well by our employees, so we have confidence in their abilities. 

How did Soren Innovations perform from a project management standpoint?

Our project manager is great. He’s very responsive to our questions and concerns. In every project he’s done with us, he’ll set up an Office 365 SharePoint site where we’re able to log our minutes working together. There’s also a very detailed task tracker and a calendar that marks project milestones; they have both been extremely helpful in making sure nothing slips through the cracks.

Aside from Office 365, we often communicate via emails. We also have a standing weekly meeting to discuss the project’s progress.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are experts in their field. They have experience that helps them look beyond our immediate development agenda; they also consider how the tools they create will translate in the future and among people with different levels of technical experience. They know what has failed and what has been successful, so they’re able to give recommendations based on that experience. That definitely distinguishes them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’d love to see them have the capability in the future to take on larger projects and expand their expertise so we could engage them more often.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an operations manager at J-U-B ENGINEERS. We’re a civil engineering consulting firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Soren Innovations?

We had a poorly designed intranet and needed someone to create a system that worked better for our company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We asked Soren to start from scratch and guide us through the design and layout process. After spending a significant time interviewing us, they presented samples based on their understanding of our needs. Once we approved the designs and functionalities, they went to work developing it. This process included integrating the intranet with Active Directory. Specifically, they had to customize SharePoint to work with our modified staff directory page.

The intranet consists of several features, including a home page that facilitates communication across the entire company. A news and events section hosts information from executive-level staff, notifications of new hires, solutions to operational issues, and details of company successes. There’s also an employee spotlight feature that profiles notable teams members with a picture and a few questions. Additionally, the HR section holds our insurance information and benefits forms in one location. The site’s launched, but we occasionally engage them to develop additional functionalities. In fact, we’re bringing them in fairly soon for follow-up training of our new employees.

What is the team composition?

I don’t know the number of developers involved because Soren’s president was our sole contact.

How did you come to work with Soren Innovations?

We searched locally for companies that provided SharePoint consulting. We interviewed two firms and selected Soren.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $40,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The initial intranet development took place January­–May 2016. Our relationship with them is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our company has 17 offices across five states and a total of 350 employees. Soren delivered the efficient communication system we needed. Having information like agreement templates and proposal templates readily accessible has been integral to our continued success. The employee spotlight has received glowing feedback from staff and is an excellent way for people to get to know each other. From leadership on down, the intranet has been well received.

How did Soren Innovations perform from a project management standpoint?

Our old system was developed in-house, so we were new to hiring consultants for this type of work. We communicated via in-person meetings, as well as follow up e-mails and phone calls. They were very accessible throughout the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The other firm we interviewed were very expensive and aggressive in their sales techniques. It was just an uncomfortable experience. Conversely, the people of Soren were always personable. They took the time to understand and accommodate our needs. Then, they applied their expertise to help us better visualize our goals.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We only have one point of contact with them. If that person isn’t available and our intranet goes down, we don’t know who to call. Establishing and communicating redundancy within their organization would provide a certain degree of confidence on our end.