Stigasoft

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for Datawatch; specifically, the Panopticon product line within Datawatch. Datawatch provides visual data monitoring and analysis software tools to speed up business processes, reduce operational and investment risks, and detect anomalies (including fraud). The main development is done in Sweden. We have our corporate headquarters in Boston, and then we have the offshore Stigasoft team in Delhi.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Stigasoft?

The main problem we were trying to overcome with them was scaling the team quickly because it was difficult to hire people in Stockholm.

Stigasoft provides development & testing services for Datawatch’s data visualization tools which are based on two major software development platforms: Microsoft .NET and Java.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When we started out, the main focus was on the Microsoft platform. As our customers’ preferences in servers have changed over the years, so has the platform focus. It has shifted from .NET to sort of a hybrid .NET and Java mix.

They provide support and a lot of customer contact for the development team. There are always issues with customers having trouble reaching their data or issues that have been difficult to replicate in-house. The development team at Stigasoft has been a great help in addressing that and working with our clients.

We sell mainly to large financial organizations, and the tools connect to many forms of streaming. Many of the banks have proprietary systems or other third-party complex event processing systems and databases, and they want to be able to understand the data that is there. We connect all of these systems, vet the data, and then do analytics and visualizations. Our focus is on helping to identify anomalies and understand fast-moving data to help our customers make better decisions.

What is the team dynamic?

They started out just with a small presence, with one QA person and one developer. From then, it has grown to a QA team and a dev team. We have four developers, three QA people, and one support person all working out of Delhi. We’ve had 8 people for the last 4 years, and we have ramped up the QA team in 2013.

How did you come to work with Stigasoft?

We found them by chance. Panopticon’s previous CEO, before the Datawatch acquisition, was actually an old acquaintance of the Stigasoft CEO. That’s how we came to know Stigasoft. We tried it, and it worked out.

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent around $900,000 with them over the course of our relationship.

What is the status of this engagement?

We had been working for a long time with Stigasoft, even before Panopticon was acquired by Datawatch, since around the spring of 2010. The relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s really difficult to put a number on it since they produce a piece of a larger piece of software. I value Stigasoft’s low turnover rate within the team. You lose a lot of knowledge and have to spend time training people when that happens.

The work has been absolutely satisfactory. We’re talking about pretty small teams, still, but there are key people within the Stigasoft team that it would be really hard to lose. They have provided some key elements to the software we’re providing. They have been extremely loyal and reliable over the years, and have built a lot of knowledge, especially around third-party data connectivity. We have accumulated a lot of value in that respect.

How did Stigasoft perform from a project management standpoint?

We had other failed offshore attempts prior to the setup we now have. When we started out, we knew that communication is key to making it work. We included their team in our daily stand-up meetings. It was just one big virtual team in both Stockholm and Delhi. Later on, as it grew, we had to implement a different process.

Now, since we have two geographically separate teams, the Stockholm team runs one Scrum in the morning, the Stigasoft team runs one, and then I do a meeting with the dev lead and QA lead from Stigasoft every morning to check up. Every morning there is interaction, but when there is cross-team work, there is a lot of Skype communication going on all of the time.

Once a month, there is a time for planning activities for the next couple of weeks or the upcoming release. We also have weekly or bi-weekly feature review meetings. There is lots of interaction and I think that’s really important to making remote teams work well.

Our team lead is excellent and I rely on him to run the day-to-day team. I don’t want to have to micromanage the developers, and I couldn’t because it would be too far away. They have been very responsive, and the collaboration has been working really well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The excellent attrition rate is one key factor. Another is our ease of communication with everyone on the team. They have a good level of both written and verbal communication skills, so that’s also extremely important for teams to work over geographic distance.

They have a high technical skill, and they have, over time, accumulated a lot of product knowledge. They’re also very self-sufficient. You can leave them with tasks, and you know that they will get done. They work as a good, independent unit that you can rely on.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The one thing we have been debating is the overhead costs due to the setup of the infrastructure and additional costs that start to add up. This high cost can make them slightly less competitive. Sometimes, when you evaluate our finances, you find it’s not as cheap as you might think to outsource or offshore to India. However, for what they produce, we are very happy.

Do you have any advice for potential future customers of Stigasoft?

Communication is important. Also, I have been traveling to see the team once or twice a year which is really helpful. This helps us not only engage with the team, but it also helps the team get much deeper insight into the product they are building, and it builds loyalty. I feel that has resonated well and really boosted efficiency.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the COO at a telecom operator in Sweden called WiFog Holding AB. I am in charge of development and management of a variety of areas.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Stigasoft?

Following turnover of our CTO and CMO, we needed to replace two development partners that had been building the website and mobile app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Stigasoft spearheaded the website migration from WordPress to Django, with a Python backend, iOS and Android development, and various APIs. They also assisted in strategizing for cost, security, and performance.

What is the team dynamic?

My closest contact was Manish [Chief Solution Architect, Stigasoft], and the team size peaked at 8 to 10 people, including another technical lead and a cast of developers.

How did you come to work with Stigasoft?

Our CEO knew theirs and suggested them as a replacement possibility. Manish and a colleague traveled to Sweden from India to meet, and Stigasoft took on a proof-of-concept project picking up from the previous partners’ responsibilities. Their success in that project, dedication to smooth long-distance communication, and high-quality workflow inspired our confidence to move forward with them.

How much have you invested with them?

Since 2015, we have invested around 7,200,000 Swedish Krona (approximately $859,000 USD) with Stigasoft on development and maintenance work. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement began in June 2015, and after a proof of concept, they took the reigns from our previous partners in August. We have worked together ever since.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since our team is small, I would prefer to work with developers in Sweden, but we continue this relationship because Stigasoft's work has met our needs perfectly. They are very transparent and are always striving to improve, which has certainly contributed to their success.

How did Stigasoft perform from a project management standpoint?

Without excellent project management, the long-distance partnership would not have worked. Their continued engagement has made them a part of our team. They are extremely responsive and flexible, even communicating at 11:00 p.m. Swedish time, when it is 4:00 a.m. in India. The distance is not ideal, but with Skype and Slack we have managed well, and Manish once traveled to Sweden for one month to build the relationship.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their engagement and dedication are extremely impressive. They have really become part of our company.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be nice if we could have direct communication with their developers. That might be a cultural difference. India, similar to the US, has a somewhat hierarchical structure, whereas in Sweden communication tends to be more open.

Advice for potential customers?

Don't treat them as outsourcing, but rather make them feel like a part of the company. This goes for all partnerships, not just Stigasoft. Integration and broad understanding will yield the best results.