Sphere Partners

Please describe your company and your position there.

Deputy CEO of global engineering company that builds and supports electric grid stations

For what projects/services did your company hire Sphere Partners?

The complexities of our business processes required significant customizations to NetSuite ERP. platform. The challenge for the business was not just to be responsive and agile, but to ensure that we could scale, at pace, without disproportionately adding to the no producing side of the business. We needed a system which would manage all aspects of our business, a system that would facilitate a flow of data from A, to B, to Z and gave our management team visibility of critical information to make informed strategic decisions.

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

We selected Sphere Partners team, a certified NetSuite partner to assist us with upgrade to NetSuite, customizations and integrations. After interviewing several Netsuite partners, we decided to go with Sphere Partners because of it's breadth of Netsuite knowledge and transparent communication practices.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Sphere's team experience in our industry was very important, as well as their passion for our business. The team was clearly invested in the success of our company beyond the system implementation. They didn't just deliver what we asked for, they listened to what were looking to achieve and then advised us the best way to go about that, both for the immediate and longer term.

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

We had a dedicated client partner, project manager and 3 implementation consultants

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Better and more efficient reporting
• Complete company-wide visibility
• Seamless anywhere access to Netsuite for our remote workforce
• Expansive administrative functions and control
• Increased efficiency and automation

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Sphere Partners team is very easy to communicate with, very responsive and they hit their timelines. If we had a problem and it is not their expertise, they will find the right person to get the problem solved.

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

Sphere team led us through the ERP upgrade process, from the initial system evaluation through go-live. Their team's dedication to our organization's success was apparent throughout the entire project. I would recommend Sphere to anyone looking for a Netsuite implementation partner.

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

Sphere had smooth delivery and good quality account management

Please describe your company and your position there.

CTO of a data analytics startup.

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

We didn't have the capacity to implement AWS backend from scratch for one of our major projects and looked for highly skilled developers to outsource the project.

How did you select Sphere Partners and what were the deciding factors?

I'm familiar with Sphere for some time now and personally familiar with Sphere management, so it was an easy choice for me. The main consideration was first of all trust, second quality and speed with the right compromise between the two.

Price was also important, but it was not the main criteria for us. Sphere's engineers demonstrated high level from the initial discussions of the project so I felt we are in good hands.

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

AWS Serverless backend

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

We had one architect/pm, one developer, and one QA engineer

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

During the project, I added more requirements as they were discovered. At all times I had clear visibility of the process, time spent, and time left. So the project was delivered on schedule with no unpleasant surprises according to our requirements.

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

We had daily 0.5-1 hour meetings with the PM and the developer. Communication was done over slack and zoom. We could use Jira but I really didn't need it as everything was reported and explained all the time and I knew where we stand all the time.

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

Their high level of expertise and attention to detail was amazing. We probably could get better price in other place, but delivery on time and with high quality saves lots of money for debugging later... So it was well worth it.

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

To clarify: I'm a very happy client, but not project without some minor mistakes and in this case we also had minor setback where intermediate version had some unexpected bugs which slipped under everyone's radar. But they fixed them immediately treating it with super high priority and super short response time... So that's another important property of high standards dev team.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the General Manager of 1623 Studios, a community media center based in Gloucester, MA. 1623 Studios serves the Cape Ann community with media services through its social media platforms and three cable TV stations, while providing access to local municipal meetings and updates.

For what projects/services did your company hire Sphere Partners?

1623 Studios has a small team, yet we work on complex projects across the organization. Once we went all remote in March 2020, the team needed a cloud-based project management and communication program to help us keep projects moving forward while maintaining efficient and effective communication.

We also needed a CRM that would grow with us. Through research, we identified monday.com and HubSpot as the programs we needed. Yet, making room for the training and implementation work was a bit daunting. Luckily, monday.com has approved partners to help new users.

I interviewed three companies in my search for assistance, but only one really stood out: Sphere Partners. Sphere knew exactly what we needed to do to get started. Working with Sphere's consultant assigned to our project, I was able to quickly learn the platform, understand how to design boards, and set up the entire system, which included integrations with HubSpot and Constant Contact.

What were your goals for this project?

The goals were simple at first: get monday.com and HubSpot active and connected. We identified the reduction in email communication as a goal, as well as tracking and logging communication related to ongoing projects.

Monday.com is a great tool to do this. The more the team uses monday as its main communication tool, the more informed the team is.

How did you select Sphere Partners?

Sphere Partners stood out among the other monday.com approved partners that I interviewed. We already knew we wanted to use monday.com and HubSpot, so the search was to find the best match. The deciding factor? Sphere Partners uses monday.com and HubSpot internally.

Describe the project in detail.

I was the lead for the project both for the research and selection of the tools and in identifying and hiring the vendor. Sphere was brought on to help us maximize the use of monday.com and design the boards for us.

The goal was transparency of projects across the organization as well as simplifying communications related to projects. Sphere's board designs and recommended workflows set us up for success once the boards were active and ready to use.

What was the team composition?

My team consisted of our technical director and the production manager. As head of operations, I was the team lead. We worked with one Sphere consultant who served as the board designer for monday.com and helped us with getting the HubSpot CRM and marketing hub up and running. When we hit a snag on something, she would consult internally and get back to me.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We just launched monday.com internally and we have 100 percent usage so far. Every team member is trained and is using the boards to update projects and communicating.

As we get better at using the monday.com tools, I think we will increase productivity across the organization. So far, with our team all remote, monday.com is a best-case scenario that improved our overall output.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The Sphere project manager/consultant was swift in setting up our boards which excelerated both jumping into monday and learning how to use the system. We utilized monday as a communication tool to identify questions and issues.

We also set up regular meetings on Zoom to utilize screen sharing for learning and training.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Sphere Partners came across as colleagues from the beginning of our working relationship. Everyone I spoke with was personable and friendly and understood the challenges of a small business.

I think this is vitally important for small groups like ours that need powerful tools but perhaps do not have the time to invest in learning it all. Sphere easily met our expectations and have been a joy to work with.

Are there any areas for improvement?

One improvement, which I think organizations should discuss with a vendor like this one, is to ask for help in determining a realistic timeframe for the project. My initial forecasts for completion were way off and having direction in this area would have been helpful to set realistic expectations for my team.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CFO at an e-commerce wall decor company. We manufacture and sell products such as canvas prints through our website and partner sites.

What challenge were you trying to address with Sphere Software?

We wanted to customize our NetSuite system. We work with artists all over the world, and we wanted to have a CRM system that made it easier to keep track of royalty payments.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed a product that allows us to view our relationships with different artists and accurately report to them the royalties that they’ve earned. We can also view the different contracts and other data. 

What is the team composition?

Katya (Director of Operations) was our main point of contact. She liaised with the development team. 

How did you come to work with Sphere Software?

I met the owner of the company through my network at a conference. When the need for this project arose, I reached out to Sphere Software first. We looked at another company as well, but Sphere Software easily understood our business model. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around $35,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2020, and they completed their work in February of the same year. 

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

The quality of work was good. There were a few things that we had to tinker with after the project was completed, but the changes we made were minimal. They delivered within the scope that we expected. I have everything I need to report information appropriately to the artists we work with. 

They were attentive and took the time to understand our business first.

How did Sphere Software perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated primarily through Zoom. Internally, they have project management software that helps them stay on track. They provided updates at least weekly, sometimes more frequently. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were a strategic resource that helped us tailor the tool to our needs. Katya was a dedicated project manager, and I felt that she was dedicated to our partnership. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

At the moment, I can’t think of something that I could fairly criticize them for. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

Be upfront about your business model and how the project fits into the greater needs of your business. Don’t be stingy with information or how the project will impact your business longterm.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a third-generation privately-owned US-based manufacturer of high-performance superabrasive lapping, grinding, honing, and polishing products and related machinery and accessories.

For what projects/services did your company hire Sphere Software?

We hired Sphere to work on several projects to help us automate various manual processes, including the development of a compliance management system.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal of the project was to define, design, and implement custom cloud-based systems for managing some of our processes and compliance system.

How did you select this vendor?

We did the initial research and identified seven potential partners and decided to proceed with the Sphere.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Sphere provided business analysis and requirements gathering, infrasTtructure architecture and design, security compliance, software development, and quality assurance.

What was the team composition?

The team consisted of a project manager, architect, two developers, QA engineer, and part-time designer.

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

It allowed us to save the significant costs of manual work and manual processes from the automation provided, as well as saved us thousands of labor hours.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Engis defined the project objectives and Sphere managed the project using agile and scrum methodology in addition to providing us regular updates through Jira.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Sphere was a key partner on a strategic level and on the implementation side. They provided important strategic recommendations and were able to execute to the fullest potential.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Sphere was great! I don't have any suggestions on how to improve the team.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a company that specializes in late payments and digital debt collection. We help clients collect late payments, invoice financing, and manage their online marketplaces. We’re hoping to offer a white label collection.

What challenge were you trying to address with Sphere Software?

As part of our process, I hired Sphere Software to advise our team and provide a full-stack development for our MVP.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The project began with a consultation and they helped me create the proper wireframes. Once that was finalized, we used Python and Node.js for development. We created automated emails that could be sent at different times. The database will reflect information that has been uploaded to the cloud through a CSV file. We also created a text messaging system and integrated a third-party provider for VoIP.

Right now, we’re working on a feature that would enable the automated emails to include different logos for our white labeling efforts. We've tried a few iterations of the wireframes and are trying to determine what would work best.

What is the team composition?

We had a business analyst, a data scientist, and two backend engineers working on our project.

How did you come to work with Sphere Software?

A friend of mine worked with them before and referred them to me. I did some research and noticed that they had an office both in the US and Eastern Europe. When we met, they quickly understood the scope of the project and what they needed to do to meet our project goals.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $280,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in January 2019 and the project is ongoing.

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

The project hasn’t been launched yet, but I recently tested the automated email flow. We’ve managed to solve about half the problem, and the second half is a work in progress. We faced a few challenges because the text message system needed to go through a US server, but Sphere Software was able to resolve it quickly. We're currently testing different wireframes that would support the logos for the white labeling aspect of our business. 

How did Sphere Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re professional, organized, receptive, and articulate. They’ve investigated the product and asked questions so they know exactly what we want to build. They took their time to propose how to take the project forward and walked me through the process using a slide show. We have a scheduled call every two weeks on Zoom and share screens.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their first impression is outstandingly professional.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be nice to have a system or mobile management tool that would help us track their progress.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Definitely go ahead and contact them.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the managing director of a growing marketing agency

For what projects/services did your company hire Sphere Software?

We wanted to make the migration from Quickbooks to Netsuite.

What were your goals for this project?

We were tired of fighting quickbooks to do what we wanted so we decided to move to Netsuite. Our goal with NetSuite's cloud solution was to lower cost, streamline key business processes, boost productivity and be more competitive. We also wanted one unified platform instead of CRM, accounting, etc.

How did you select this vendor?

We had a pre-existing relationship with Sphere - we trusted them to make this process painless.

Describe the project in detail.

We struggled with limitations in reporting, audit trails, and customization. We needed automation, financial consolidation across two business units and better visibility to make informed data-driven decisions. We also wanted better visibility via dashboards and wanted better reporting on real-time data and drill down to understand what’s going on across the business.

What was the team composition?

We were assigned a project manager, a senior netsuite consultant, and two developers.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The project was completed on schedule and on budget. It went fast and we were able to cut over to the new system almost immediately (with a little fine-tuning)

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Project collaboration was facilitated via Jira scrum boards. The workflow was efficient.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Schedules and deadlines were met - near constant communication kept everyone up to date on all milestones.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Everything can always be done faster but I think in this case, they did everything according to mutual plan and schedule

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a marketing agency that mainly does B2B lead generation for technical companies.

What challenge were you trying to address with Sphere Software?

We were considering acquiring another agency with a number of technology assets, and we wanted a partner who could conduct our technical due diligence and ensure we were getting what we wanted.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a general understanding of the technology owned by the company we were acquiring, but Sphere Software came on as the technical brain to establish the credibility of our management team. They conducted research to determine how the products were built and what it would cost to maintain and grow them. They provided estimations on what it would take to integrate the products with our own technology and even evaluated the quality of the existing code. They collected as much information as possible, including through customer interviews and an audit of the other agency’s books.

Their code review was comprehensive and thorough, evaluating the code of multiple applications and in various languages, such as Ruby on Rails and Elixir. Their valuation also probed the database and a number of web agents, ensuring that what we were buying from the company would be able to do what they said it could.

What is the team composition?

We worked with numerous individuals, including a technical lead and experts in frontend development, databases, mobile apps, UI, and Jira. We also hired a few business analysts.

How did you come to work with Sphere Software?

I’d heard about them before and knew some of their previous work. When we started this project, we had a conversation, and they seemed like a good fit, so I hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $65,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from February–June 2019.

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

Based on the due diligence they performed, they found that the other agency’s valuation expectations were far too high. They pulled together a number of red flags, which we’ve been able to reference in our negotiations with the other company. As of now, it looks like Sphere Software will end up saving us about $750,000 when the revised acquisition is finalized.

How did Sphere Software perform from a project management standpoint?

We had no issues with their project management; they were always spot on. We used Jira, Slack, and Confluence to communicate and manage the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They listened to what we needed and proactively took charge of the project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of any ways they could’ve improved.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

If possible, hire someone on your end to be solely dedicated to interfacing with Sphere Software. We didn’t have a position like that, so I often delayed their progress because I had my daily responsibilities as well.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of a financial services company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Sphere Software?

I hired Sphere Software to help with custom software development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They created the backend and frontend for a consumer finance app based on wireframes we provided. Within the platform, they built the tool for calculating interest and regulation languages. Our customers can now use and apply for services within the app.

What is the team composition?

They provided a project manager and 1–2 developers.

How did you come to work with Sphere Software?

When I was working at my previous company, I had worked with Sphere Software. When this project came up, I knew I wanted their expertise so I contacted them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July 2015–January 2016.

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

We’re still using the platform they helped us build. Since then, we’ve generated a significant amount of revenue and have grown our company. Sphere Software has definitely contributed to our success.

How did Sphere Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They managed the project very well. Their team worked with us every step of the way. Our primary forms of communication were phone and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their deep understanding of the financial industry was impressive and unique. We valued that they had relevant information when working on the backend.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Although they still completed the project quickly, they anticipated it taking 4–5 months but it took 5–6 instead.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Partner with Sphere Software and allow them to help with project management. If you collaborate on the work, you’ll avoid any miscommunications.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the director of IT for a financial services company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Sphere Software?

The company was a division of a title lender with a brick and mortar presence. They wanted to launch an online division and brought us in to build the web platform from scratch. We needed to augment our development staff with Ruby on Rails resources. Since the language was in demand at the time, we needed an affordable vendor that could scale staff as needed.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Sphere Software provided full-stack Ruby on Rails development for the web platform and accompanying mobile sites. Some of their resources worked on site in our Chicago office.

My involvement ended when our parent company, which was based in Georgia, relocated the project to their headquarters. None of our team wanted to move to Georgia.

What is the team composition?

The 4–6-person team mainly comprised developers and a few designers.

How did you come to work with Sphere Software?

The parent company recruited our team from another firm that had partnered with Sphere Software. Since we had a good working relationship, we decided to use them for this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them from 2011–2014.

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

Sphere Software provided quality engineers and moved quickly. That efficient service benefitted our parent company, which supported the project with no incoming revenue from the platform. Importantly, the team got the solution up and running to demonstrate the potential ROI. We could not have achieved these positive results in the specified timeline without their help.

How did Sphere Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They became a true part of our team after onboarding. We didn’t treat them any differently than in-house employees. Our team included Sphere Software in every architecture and design planning meeting.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Sphere Software was flexible, readily working on a variety of tasks and processes both remotely and in person. Unlike other offshore developers that rely on smart junior developers, the team leveraged senior-level engineers. That investment in resources contributed to the project’s success.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Occasionally, they needed additional resources for certain tasks and scaling the team took extra time. But that’s not a complaint as we went through the same process on our side. They had a deep pool of qualified developers to select from, which was advantageous for the nature of our collaboration.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Plan ahead as much as possible. Realizing that the engagement requires more resources than expected can be one of the biggest pain points for any development project. It’s wiser to pay more for senior engineers because they maximize value. When staffing the team, ensure that every developer comprehends the business goals and challenges thoroughly. That level of understanding can make a good developer a great developer.