# STX Next STX Next Reviews (101), Pricing, Services & Verified Ratings - Premier Verified - 4.7 out of 5 average review rating - 8 connections joined STX Next's Network [Visit Website](https://stxnext.com/?utm_source=clutch&utm_medium=referral) [Get a Custom Proposal](https://clutch.co/profile/stx-next) **AI and Data Solutions built on Python heritage** **STX Next is Europe’s largest Python-focused digital engineering partner, specializing in Data, AI, and Cloud solutions that help organizations unlock business value from their data.** With delivery centers in Poland and Mexico, we combine deep technical expertise with a flexible nearshore model trusted by clients across **Industrials, Financial Services, Technology, Energy & Utilities, and Healthcare**. Our teams design and build **modern data platforms** (Snowflake, Databricks, Apache Iceberg), **AI-powered applications** and **agents**, and **cost-optimized cloud architectures** on AWS and Azure—always grounded in pragmatic delivery and measurable ROI. For nearly 20 years, our strong **Python heritage** has been the foundation for our growth, enabling us to bridge software engineering with data science and AI innovation. As an **ISO-certified AWS partner,** we maintain rigorous data security and compliance standards while helping clients scale through automation, intelligent workflows, and AI readiness. At STX Next, we build technology that works in practice, not just in theory—turning complex systems into simple, scalable, and impactful solutions. Get in touch with us today! ## Company Information - Minimum project size: $50,000+ - Hourly rate: $50 - $99 - Number of employees: 250 - 999 - 5 Locations: - Poznań, Poland (Headquarters) - London, England - Mérida, Mexico - Spring, TX - Eschborn, Germany - Founded in 2005 - 4 languages: English, Spanish, German, Polish - 2 timezones: Central European Time (CET), Central Standard Time (CST) ## Services, Focus Areas, Industries, and Clients ### Service Lines - 60% AI Development - 25% Web Development - 15% Generative AI ### Focus Areas - Programming & Scripting: - 80% Python - 20% C# - Application Platforms: - 70% Amazon Application Development Framework - 30% Azure Platform - Frameworks and CMS: - 70% Django - 30% .NET - CMS Focus: - 70% Wagtail CMS - 30% Microsoft SharePoint - AI Technologies & Models: - 50% Anthropic - 50% Open AI GPT-3 - Generative AI Focus: - 45% AI Code Generation - 40% AI Text Generation - 15% AI Speech Generation - AI Expertise: - 40% Natural Language Processing - 30% Machine Learning - 10% AI Recommendation Systems - 10% Chatbots & Conversational AI - 10% Computer Vision ### Industries - 10% Medical - 20% Manufacturing - 15% Energy & natural resources - 10% Insurance - 15% Advertising & marketing - 30% Financial services ### Clients - 5% Small Business (<$10M) - 60% Midmarket ($10M - $1B) - 35% Enterprise (>$1B) ## Pricing Snapshot Average rating for cost based on this provider's reviews: 4.4 out of 5 **What Clients Have Said** *(This summary is based on verified Clutch reviews.)*: STX Next offers competitive pricing and good value for cost, with project costs ranging from $15,000 to over $750,000. Clients appreciate their flexibility and responsiveness, though some mention higher costs compared to others. Overall, they are seen as a reliable partner for development needs. **Most Common Project Size**: $50,000 to $199,999 based on 61 reviews *(Pricing information for this provider is based on reviews where the project size was available.)* ### Pricing by Service - Custom Software Development: $200,000 to $999,999 based on 34 reviews - Web Development: $50,000 to $199,999 based on 20 reviews - IT Staff Augmentation: $1,000,000 to $9,999,999 based on 7 reviews - DevOps Managed Services: $50,000 to $199,999 based on 3 reviews - UX/UI Design: $10,000 to $49,000 based on 3 reviews - AI Development: $50,000 to $199,999 based on 2 reviews - Mobile App Development: $50,000 to $199,999 based on 2 reviews - CRM Consulting and SI: $50,000 to $199,999 based on 1 review - Business Consulting: $10,000 to $49,000 based on 1 review - Market Research: Less than $10,000 based on 1 review - Application Management & Support: $50,000 to $199,999 based on 1 review - Other Design: Less than $10,000 based on 1 review - Application Testing: $1,000,000 to $9,999,999 based on 1 review - API Development: $50,000 to $199,999 based on 1 review - Branding: Less than $10,000 based on 1 review - Architectural Design: Confidential based on 1 review - Computer Engineering: Confidential based on 1 review - E-Commerce Development: Confidential based on 1 review - Engineering: Confidential based on 1 review - IoT Development: Confidential based on 1 review ## Reviews Clutch investigates each reviewer's identity and work history. Every review goes through a rigorous, human-led verification process to confirm the reviewer's identity, and reviews that we verify are visibly marked as 'Verified' so you can trust that they come from a real client. [Learn More](https://help.clutch.co/en/knowledge/how-clutch-verifies-reviews) ### STX Next Review Insights Overall Review Rating: 4.7 - Quality: 4.7 - Schedule: 4.5 - Cost: 4.4 - Willing to Refer: 4.8 ### Top Mentions - High-quality work (33 mentions) - Communicative (22 mentions) - Flexible (19 mentions) - Great project management (17 mentions) - Timely (17 mentions) - Proactive (16 mentions) - Collaborative (13 mentions) - Team players (11 mentions) - Transparent (9 mentions) - Professional (8 mentions) - Easy to work with (6 mentions) - Experienced (6 mentions) - Exceptional performance (5 mentions) - Great team (5 mentions) - Unique expertise (5 mentions) - Well-organized projects (5 mentions) - Detail-oriented (4 mentions) - Exceptional results (4 mentions) - Honest (4 mentions) - Knowledgeable (4 mentions) ### Review Highlights **Emphasis on Testing and QA** STX Next places a strong emphasis on testing and quality assurance, which contributes to the high quality of their deliverables. Clients value this focus on ensuring reliable and stable products. **Client-Centric Approach** STX Next is praised for its client-centric approach, taking the time to understand client needs and tailoring their services accordingly. This approach fosters strong client relationships. **Pricing Considerations** STX Next's pricing is sometimes seen as higher compared to other vendors, but clients often find the cost justified by the quality of service and deliverables they receive. **Strong Technical Expertise** The technical expertise of STX Next's developers is highly regarded, particularly in areas like Python and Django. Their ability to handle complex technical challenges is frequently highlighted. **Cultural and Time Zone Differences** Cultural differences and time zone challenges were noted by some clients, although most found ways to manage these effectively through regular communication and flexible scheduling. **High-Quality Deliverables** The quality of work delivered by STX Next is consistently high, with clients reporting satisfaction with the final products. Their deliverables are often described as bug-free and well-tested. **Successful Long-Term Partnerships** Many clients have maintained long-term partnerships with STX Next, citing their reliability, quality of service, and ability to deliver on complex projects as key reasons for ongoing collaboration. **Flexibility and Adaptability** The ability of STX Next to adapt to client needs and project changes is a recurring positive theme. Their flexibility in scaling teams and adjusting project plans is appreciated. **Strong Client Communication** STX Next maintains open and effective communication with clients, ensuring transparency and alignment throughout the project lifecycle. Regular updates and responsiveness to inquiries are noted strengths. **Ability to Scale Teams Quickly** Clients value STX Next's ability to scale development teams rapidly, providing flexibility and responsiveness to changing project needs. This capability is crucial for clients facing fluctuating demands. ### STX Next Reviews #### Python Development for Investment Management Firm (Featured Review) **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: $1,000,000 to $9,999,999 - Project length: June 2019 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next used Python to develop an interactive frontend for a data discovery application. Additionally, they provided a team of engineers to build tooling for discretionary hedge fund portfolio managers. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 4.5 - Schedule: 4.0 - Cost: 4.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** COO, Alpha Technology, Man Group - Industry: Financial services - Client size: 1,001-5,000 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Jun 30, 2020 **Feedback Summary**: STX Next provided excellent work, resulting in an ongoing partnership. The team took the time to get to know their partners and project requirements. They can be described as disciplined and experienced. "“They’re very inquisitive engineers, plugged in designers, and want to know your business in a genuine way.” " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the COO of the front office technology team of an investment management firm. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? The demand for Python developers in cities like London, Boston, and New York is fairly intense. We’re very much a Python shop and we invest a lot of time in our recruiting process and hiring standards. It was becoming increasingly more difficult to find good talent in those geographic hubs and so we wanted to expand our talent pool. We were looking for a firm with a track record of expertise. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? We’ve undertaken two main approaches with them.  We started with a standalone project where we wished to enhance data discovery via a rich and interactive frontend. It was a relatively packaged up type process. Alongside STX Next, we gathered requirements from end-users, and STX Next provisioned a team that worked alongside our in-house data engineering team to build that out. A month later, we kicked off a team augmentation approach also. During this project, STX Next provided engineers to augment our existing engineering team, which was aligned to our discretionary hedge fund building out tooling for the portfolio. The STX Next engineers became part of that team’s daily workflow, their prioritization process, and engage directly with their end-users. What is the team composition? They brought a team of engineers with a mix of front- and backend. They had a product owner on their side, which was really key to the success. They came to London and we did design sessions in-person. The product owner really built up a very good understanding of our business, as did all of the engineers. They handled the project management for the standalone project. In the team augmentation set up, they provided the engineers, and we provided the project and product management. How did you come to work with STX Next? We knew them from a few years back when we used them to build out a performance attribution tool which is still in use to this day. We were aware that they positioned themselves as Python specialists, and it felt there would be natural synergy in partnering up with them. How much have you invested with them? We spent about $1 million. What is the status of this engagement? We started working together in June 2019, and the work is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? We’re happy with the results on the standalone project approach as well as the team augmentation. From the very start of the data catalog piece they built for us, they were thinking about how to track adoption metrics for this tool when it gets released into the world. We have a set of metrics for that particular tool that we can see the uptake in our user base. I can only characterize it as a success. We started with one standalone project, one small team augmentation, and we have since added some of their resources in the DevOps space with ongoing maintenance. The fact that we’re adding more building blocks into this STX Next ecosystem tells you about our conviction to work with them. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? They do product management in addition to project management. They have a well-honed, agile delivery process. The other element that really complements that is they are incredibly strong in design.  They have a very capable design team of in-house designers. That’s a great leverage effect for any firm that doesn’t have that in-house expertise, to be able to draw upon that and get that rich design layer built into your products. It creates a very nice UX on an end-to-end basis. They really want to get to know your company. They’re very disciplined. We wanted to spend that first year learning how to best interact with them. Now we’re in a place where we can plan for potentially more work. What did you find most impressive about them? I spent a lot of time speaking with other firms in the analysis phase of this initiative. STX Next had built a really nice culture, one that we felt would be compatible with ours. They’re very inquisitive engineers, plugged in designers, and want to know your business in a genuine way. Are there any areas they could improve? When we first started working with them, I don’t think the finance industry was their biggest vertical. There has been a learning curve of domain knowledge. The nature of their firm is they will provide their services pretty much across industries. Do you have any advice for potential customers? Do a proof of concept. Pick a project and make it something not too scary and not too close to your core intellectual property. Embrace the STX Next way of doing things as a starting point. The process can be adapted to suit your team’s working style but get a sense of how they would approach it so that you can map the differences and similarities. They will come to your office to carry out rich design and requirement gathering sessions with your end-users. It is critical that you spend that initial few weeks answering all the questions that they ask and prompting them to ask you 10 more questions. The more time you spend with them upfront, really getting them to understand your business domain knowledge, the better the work they will deliver. --- #### Data Management System Development for Technology Company **The Project** - Services: API Development, Application Management & Support, DevOps Managed Services - Project size: $50,000 to $199,999 - Project length: Nov. 2025 - Feb. 2026 **Project Summary**: STX Next developed a data management system for a technology company. The team set up a BI tool, migrated data, developed a self-hosted data warehouse, and created an ingestion pipeline. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 4.5 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Data Systems Admin, Technology Company - Industry: Information technology - Client size: 11-50 Employees - Review Type: Online Review - Verified **The Review** — Feb 3, 2026 **Feedback Summary**: STX Next successfully completed the project in phases, meeting expectations. The team demonstrated flexibility and adaptability, realigning their approach to meet changing timelines and collaborating effectively to make sound decisions. Their communication and project management were excellent. ""The collaboration and communication were the best."" **BACKGROUND** Please describe your company and position.I am the Data Systems Admin of a technology companyDescribe what your company does in a single sentence.We are an tech company who make an open source web product that puts privacy and anonymity first. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What specific goals or objectives did you hire STX Next to accomplish?Set up a Business Intellegence softwareMigrate data from old sale record sourceDevelope a self-hosted Data WarehouseDevelope an ingestion pipeline **SOLUTION** How did you find STX Next?ReferralWhy did you select STX Next over others?Great culture fitReferred to meCompany values alignedHow many teammates from STX Next were assigned to this project?6-10 EmployeesDescribe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.We needed to move our existing business records from relying on vendor supplied data, and create our own data management system to own and control our own data. This involved connecting and bulk exporting historical data from a CRM, Finance platform, Payment Processor, and ticketing platform. The project also required creating an ingestion pipeline for continuous updates. We merged these seperate sources into normalized data in the warehouse and connected it to a BI tool.  **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?The team met each phase of the goal incrementally, from establishing our API connections, building IAC code in our repository, contanerizing and processing data, transforming the data into typed tables, building a medallion layer architecture for data warehousing, and QA and validating the results before setting up a BI tool. Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?STX-Next delivered on our needs and met changing timelines very well. We had several logistical challenges during production and the team did a good job of realigning, staying focused, and working with us on prioritizing and making effective decisions through the life cycle of the project. What was your primary form of communication with STX Next?Virtual MeetingEmail or Messaging AppWhat did you find most impressive or unique about this company?The collaboration and communication were the best. The team and production managers were very good at meeting our needs and our preferences, and working together so that I could be in daily meetings and we could do internal reviews of their work without delaying production. Are there any areas for improvement or something STX Next could have done differently?Work documenntation was good and organized on the front end, but developer notes and allocation of work in retrospect needed to be caught up. This was a minor adjustment and was quickly and affectly addressed by the product manger and supervisors. It was a matter of lost focus and not malicious, and was addressed seriously and timely.  --- #### Custom Product Design & Development for Software Company **The Project** - Services: Application Testing, UX/UI Design, Web Development - Project size: $1,000,000 to $9,999,999 - Project length: Jan. 2023 - Dec. 2024 **Project Summary**: STX Next provided end-to-end development services for a software company's custom product. The team managed UI/UX design, front- and backend development, QA testing, and DevOps tasks. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Head of Product, Software Company - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 51-200 Employees - Review Type: Online Review - Verified **The Review** — Dec 17, 2024 **Feedback Summary**: STX Next delivered a functional, scalable, and user-friendly product, resulting in high user adoption rates and positive feedback. The team delivered high-quality work and paid attention to detail. STX Next delivered milestones on time and used a clear Scrum framework, responding quickly to needs. ""Their attention to detail and commitment to delivering a polished product stood out throughout the project."" **BACKGROUND** Please describe your company and position. I am the Head of Product of a software company.Describe what your company does in a single sentence.Helping companies achieve success with AI **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What specific goals or objectives did you hire STX Next to accomplish?Develop a large B2B software product **SOLUTION** How did you find STX Next?Online SearchWhy did you select STX Next over others?Good value for costReferred to meHow many teammates from STX Next were assigned to this project?Up to 13Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.The company successfully completed the end-to-end development of a large-scale product from scratch, covering all stages of the software development lifecycle. This included UI/UX design, cloud and software architecture, and the development of both frontend and backend components. The project also involved quality assurance (QA), DevOps for deployment and system monitoring, and Scrum-based project management led by a dedicated Product Manager.The product focused on Portfolio Management and Compliance Management in the area of AI, the product itself contained AI compoentens as well.Key Deliverables:Product Design: Intuitive UI/UX design tailored for a great user experienceTechnical Architecture: Scalable and secure cloud and software architectureDevelopment: Full implementation of frontend and backend systemsQuality Assurance: Thorough testing to ensure functionality and performanceDevOps Implementation: Automated deployment pipelines and system monitoringScrum Framework: Agile processes managed by a Product Manager for iterative deliveryThe company delivered a robust, scalable, and user-friendly product that met all business objectives. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?The project delivered a fully functional, scalable, and user-friendly product on time and within scope. User adoption rates and positive feedback confirmed the product’s value and success.Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?Their project management was very well organized, using a clear Scrum framework. They delivered all key milestones and project items on time. The team was quick to respond to our needs, listened to feedback, and solved any issues right away. Communication was open and smooth, making it easy to work together. Overall, they did a great job and delivered more than we expected.What was your primary form of communication with STX Next?Virtual MeetingWhat did you find most impressive or unique about this company?What impressed most was the high quality of their delivery. Their attention to detail and commitment to delivering a polished product stood out throughout the project.Are there any areas for improvement or something STX Next could have done differently?One small area for improvement could be providing documentation earlier in the project. While they delivered excellent documentation later when time allowed, having it sooner might have been even more helpful. --- #### Staff Aug, Web App & AI Development for Real Estate Tech Co **The Project** - Services: AI Development, IT Staff Augmentation, Web Development - Project size: $1,000,000 to $9,999,999 - Project length: Feb. 2023 - Nov. 2024 **Project Summary**: A real estate technology company hired STX Next to develop their MVP. The team built a scalable production web app, provided the client's team with strong DevOps, and created generative AI solutions. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** CTO, Real Estate Technology Company - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 1-10 Employees - Review Type: Online Review - Verified **The Review** — Nov 8, 2024 **Feedback Summary**: Thanks to STX Next efforts, the client onboarded over 20 teams to the app. The team was responsive, proactively solved issues, and assisted the client in scaling their staff to move into production. STX Next's cost-for-value ratio, strong client advocacy, and collaborative approach were remarkable. ""STX Next has been a great partner in helping us reach our goals."" **BACKGROUND** Please describe your company and position.I am the CTO of a real estate technology company Describe what your company does in a single sentence.We provide sales enablement through technology in the real estate industry.  **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What specific goals or objectives did you hire STX Next to accomplish?Build an MVPBuild a scalable production applicationEnable the team with strong devopsGenerative AI solutions **SOLUTION** How did you find STX Next?Clutch SiteWhy did you select STX Next over others?High ratingsGood value for costHow many teammates from STX Next were assigned to this project?6-10 EmployeesDescribe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.We brought STX on originally to build an MVP in the real estate technology space with two engineers, primarily front-end focused. The MVP was a web application that integrates with CRMs. After successfully completing that, we moved into beta and added full stack engineers, before moving into a preparing for production/scale and adding AI engineers to our team. STX was tasked with delivering several AI features, integrations with CRMs, as well as providing scrum master services, DevOps, design, and providing production support.  **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?We've onboarded > 20 teams to the application. Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?STXNext has been a great partner in helping us reach our goals. Most people there care deeply about their customers. Judith has been with us the entire time and she stays engaged in the project, looks around corners to make STXNext is meeting our needs, and has been a great advocate for us. STXNext has been responsive to any issues we've had, solving problems and helping us level-up our team as we moved into production. What was your primary form of communication with STX Next?Virtual MeetingWhat did you find most impressive or unique about this company?Great cost/value, strong engineers, strong advocates for their clients. Solid EU and Latam presence. Are there any areas for improvement or something STX Next could have done differently?STXNext could do a bit better documenting meeting notes, action items, agendas etc... I've had to push them a couple times to be more organized with that stuff, but they've been responsive and its a great team.  --- #### Software Dev Services for Facility Mgmt Software Provider **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development, DevOps Managed Services, Mobile App Development - Project size: Confidential - Project length: June 2023 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next provides software development services for a facility management software provider. The team supports the continuous development of the client's software application and offers support and maintenance. **Review Rating**: 4.0 - Quality: 4.0 - Schedule: 3.5 - Cost: 4.0 - Willing to Refer: 4.0 **The Reviewer** Product Owner & VP of Software Development, Esoft Planner - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 1-10 Employees - Review Type: Online Review - Verified **The Review** — Aug 21, 2024 **Feedback Summary**: After six months of working with STX Next, the client has grown their development capabilities as the team has become quicker and more efficient. STX Next is flexible and diligent. STX Next allocates most of the resources and time assets properly and has constant communication with the client.  ""I'm impressed by STX Next's willingness to be flexible."" **BACKGROUND** Please describe your company and position.I am the Product Owner/ VP of Software Development of Esoft PlannerDescribe what your company does in a single sentence.Facility management software **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What specific goals or objectives did you hire STX Next to accomplish?Provide an efficient development team to allow for the continuous development and management of our software application **SOLUTION** How did you find STX Next?Online SearchWhy did you select STX Next over others?Pricing fit our budgetHow many teammates from STX Next were assigned to this project?2-5 EmployeesDescribe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.Continuous development of our software application and the support and maintenance.we expect development that provides consistent value to our product and its users to allow us to grow.we ask that their time is spent in specific areas. 60% be spent on new development sprint goal. 10% testing, 10% meetings, 10%bugs/fixes, 10% on our CRM tool.  **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?When pulling time sheets we see most sprints allocate the time/resources properly after my analysis. we have grown overtime with the capability of development as the team has become faster and more efficient after the first 6 months of working with them.Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?At first no. But after about 6 months of working with them we got better communication and have developed better processes as we work as a continuous partnerWhat was your primary form of communication with STX Next?Virtual MeetingEmail or Messaging AppWhat did you find most impressive or unique about this company?I'm impressed by STX Next's willingness to be flexible. We are a demanding client with a tight budget that forces the team to be diligent and be in constant communication with. Are there any areas for improvement or something STX Next could have done differently?The onboarding process for us was a bit of a nightmare for the first 3 months where nothing really got done or was communicated not properly  --- #### Mobile App Dev for Cloud Services Company **The Project** - Services: Mobile App Development - Project size: Confidential - Project length: Jan. 2022 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next provides mobile app development for a cloud services company. The team has updated the app using React Native and TypeScript, performed QAs, and documented the code. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Project Manager, CloudCompli - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 1-10 Employees - Review Type: Online Review - Verified **The Review** — Jan 17, 2024 **Feedback Summary**: Thanks to STX Next's work, the client has experienced improved app performance, reduced runtime errors, and increased user engagement. They are responsive to the client and maintain a strong commitment to deadlines. Their collaborative approach and proactivity have been hallmarks of their work. ""STX Next displayed exemplary project management throughout our collaboration."" **BACKGROUND** Please describe your company and position.I am the Project Manager of CloudCompliDescribe what your company does in a single sentence.Our company offers a comprehensive cloud-based stormwater management platform, integrating digital inspections, issue tracking, analytics, and weather monitoring to enhance program efficiency and provide valuable insights. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What specific goals or objectives did you hire STX Next to accomplish?Continuously enhance and maintain our mobile application.Advance and refine our BMP Map Builder Product.Advance and refine our BMP Map Builder Product. **SOLUTION** How did you find STX Next?ReferralWhy did you select STX Next over others?Pricing fit our budgetGreat culture fitGood value for costReferred to meCompany values alignedHow many teammates from STX Next were assigned to this project?1 EmployeeDescribe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.Upgrading to the Latest React Native Version: Deliverable: An updated app running on the latest React Native framework, ensuring improved performance and access to new features. Integration of TypeScript: Deliverable: Enhanced code reliability and maintainability with TypeScript implementation, leading to fewer runtime errors and more robust app functionality. Implementation of Redux for State Management: Deliverable: A more efficient and predictable state management system within the app, resulting in smoother user experience and easier code maintenance. Optimization of Existing Libraries: Deliverable: Updated and optimized libraries that are fully compatible with the new framework and programming enhancements, contributing to overall app performance and stability. Continuous Addition of New Features: Deliverable: Regularly updated app functionalities and features, ensuring the app remains competitive and meets evolving user needs. Quality Assurance and Testing: Deliverable: A thoroughly tested app with each upgrade and new feature addition, ensuring high quality and reliability. Documentation: Deliverable: Comprehensive documentation including technical details of upgrades, feature guides, and user manuals. Ongoing Support and Maintenance: Deliverable: Continuous technical support and maintenance services to address any issues or bugs, ensuring smooth app operation. Compliance and Security: Deliverable: Assurance that all upgrades and features adhere to relevant industry standards and security protocols. Communication and Reporting: Deliverable: Regular updates and reports to stakeholders about the progress, challenges, and changes in the project. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?Improved App Performance Post-Upgrade: We observed significant improvements in the overall performance of our mobile app following the upgrade. This was evident through enhanced load times, increased responsiveness, and a notable decrease in crash rates, which collectively contributed to a smoother UX. Reduction in Runtime Errors and Bugs: Post integration of TypeScript and optimizing our libraries, we saw a substantial reduction in runtime errors and bugs. The number of reported issues decreased markedly, indicating an improvement in code quality and stability, which has been instrumental in enhancing app reliability. Increased User Engagement: Following the implementation of new features and upgrades, we witnessed a notable increase in user engagement. This was reflected in metrics such as higher daily active users, extended session durations, and improved user retention rates. Additionally, user feedback and ratings on app stores became more positive, further confirming the success of our enhancement efforts.Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?STX Next displayed exemplary project management throughout our collaboration. They consistently delivered all items on schedule, demonstrating a high level of efficiency and commitment. Their team was notably responsive to our needs, ensuring that all project aspects were aligned with our requirements. Moreover, they maintained a strong adherence to deadlines, which greatly contributed to the smooth execution and timely completion of our projects. Their professional approach in managing timelines and responsiveness was a key factor in the successful delivery of our objectives.What was your primary form of communication with STX Next?Virtual MeetingWhat did you find most impressive or unique about this company?What stood out most about STX was their exceptional commitment to client satisfaction and their collaborative approach. They worked closely with us at every step, ensuring that all our needs were met and going above and beyond to keep us happy. Their company culture resonated deeply with ours, creating a harmonious and productive working relationship. Additionally, their ongoing support and proactive check-ins to ensure everything is running smoothly have been particularly noteworthy. This level of personalized attention and care in fostering a positive client experience is what makes STX truly unique and impressive.Are there any areas for improvement or something STX Next could have done differently?None --- #### Web & Mobile App Dev for Veterinarian Platform Provider **The Project** - Services: API Development, Mobile App Development, Web Development - Project size: Confidential - Project length: July 2020 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next provides web and mobile development services for a veterinarian platform provider. STX Next has rebuilt the client's web and native apps and provides recommendations for the system architecture. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Director, VetMedux - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 51-200 Employees - Review Type: Online Review - Verified **The Review** — Oct 9, 2023 **Feedback Summary**: STX Next has successfully relaunched the client's web and native applications. The team has also launched a premium-tier product and a user-feedback-driven redesign. STX Next showcases impressive communication skills via Slack and works under Scrum methodology, using Jira for project management. ""Our STX Next team cares about our product as if it were their own."" **BACKGROUND** Please describe your company and position.I am a Director at VetMeduxDescribe what your company does in a single sentence.We provide trusted education and time-saving tools to support veterinarians and their teams as they navigate the complexities of modern practice. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What specific goals or objectives did you hire STX Next to accomplish?Web developmentDiscovery workshopNative app development **SOLUTION** How did you find STX Next?ReferralWhy did you select STX Next over others?Great culture fitGood value for costCompany values alignedHow many teammates from STX Next were assigned to this project?6-10 EmployeesDescribe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.Initially the project began with a discovery workshop. We came away with eight deliverables, helping us leverage the expertise of the STX Next team across multiple areas of our business. We came away with requirements, a roadmap, recommendations on the system architecture, concept design, and a prototype. The STX Next team also gave us an estimate for team composition needed to develop the platform. After we agreed on the initial scope, we dove into development. We rebuilt our previous product from scratch (web and native apps), then moved on to adding an additional tier to the paid subscription. We originally planned on this being a limited project, but we quickly realized that the skills and professionalism of the STX Next team made an ongoing relationship desirable. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?Successful relaunch of our web and native applications. Successful launch of a premium tier product. Successful launch of a user-feedback-driven redesign. Functional API development to allow integrations within our industry. Ongoing work to greatly expand and improve integration opportunities.Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?We used the scrum methodology for our project. We mainly use slack and jira to communicate. The team was open to using software that our company uses vs requiring us to use new software. Overall, we have been thoroughly impressed with their communication skills. Originally I was somewhat concerned about working with a team in a completely different time zone, but we have overcome those challenges. The team is always responsive and open to hearing our thoughts and concerns.What was your primary form of communication with STX Next?Virtual MeetingEmail or Messaging AppWhat did you find most impressive or unique about this company?I have been impressed with their ability to think outside the box and come up with new, unique solutions to problems that we have. They have taken the time to truly understand our product, audience, and needs in order to provide us with the best possible solutions. In addition, they have a wide range of specialities on their team, which allows us to pull in additional individuals while we tackle specific tasks. This was extremely helpful as we were building our search engine. We were able to work with a search expert that guided us through the process, gave us recommendations, and was open to hearing our feedback as well. Our STX Next team cares about our product as if it were their own and is always striving to create the best possible product.Are there any areas for improvement or something STX Next could have done differently?We encountered some challenges around expanding our product offerings with our existing team. The STX Next team worked closely with us to solve this issue by setting up a second team to run two parallel projects. --- #### Mobile App Backend Dev for Audio Content Generation Company **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: Confidential - Project length: Feb. - Sep. 2023 **Project Summary**: An audio content generation company hired STX Next to build a mobile app's backend. The team worked on features such as content delivery, filtering, and user management. They were also involved in PR reviews.  **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** CTO, Audio Content Generation Company - Industry: Consumer products & services - Client size: 1-10 Employees - Review Type: Online Review - Verified **The Review** — Sep 19, 2023 **Feedback Summary**: Thanks to STX Next, the client's app became functional. The team was great to work with; they facilitated Jira sprints over the course of six months and did a great job scoping the project. Moreover, they delivered tasks on time and assigned an amazing developer to accommodate their requirements.  ""We're very satisfied."" **BACKGROUND** Please describe your company and position.I am the CTO of a consumer products & services companyDescribe what your company does in a single sentence.Automatically generate audio versions of news articles and monetize via audio advertising. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What specific goals or objectives did you hire STX Next to accomplish?Build out back end for mobile app to consolidate our contentHave an additional developer to participate in PR reviews, etc. **SOLUTION** How did you find STX Next?Online SearchWhy did you select STX Next over others?High ratingsGreat culture fitGood value for costHow many teammates from STX Next were assigned to this project?1 EmployeeDescribe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.Backend for mobile appContent delivering and filteringUser management **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?The app is working! We had a great experience working up through versions, and feature/product outcomes are the most important ones.Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?We worked together for ~6 months, in intervals of two-week Jira sprints. We did a good job scoping, and the items were delivered on time.What was your primary form of communication with STX Next?Virtual MeetingWhat did you find most impressive or unique about this company?Our STX Next developer was amazing. She was incredibly capable across various facets we needed, and if she was ever outside of her comfort zone, it seemed the STX Platform was there to support her -- she was able to ask other STX developers or experts about topics she was working on for us.Are there any areas for improvement or something STX Next could have done differently?We're very satisfied. They maybe could have helped with onboarding/kick-off, but I think that was just something that we (from the customer's side) were naive about. Learning opportunities all around -- STX was absolutely great. --- #### Web Development for Financial Advisory Company **The Project** - Project size: Confidential - Project length: June 2022 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next has developed a web platform for a financial advisory company using Python and Vue.js. The platform allows the client’s users to leave a review and has a fee reconciliation function too. **Review Rating**: 4.5 - Quality: 4.5 - Schedule: 3.0 - Cost: 3.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** CTO, Financial Advisory Company - Industry: Financial services - Client size: 11-50 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Mar 31, 2023 **Feedback Summary**: STX Next has met the client’s expectations and developed a functional platform the users like. STX Next shows great development expertise and understands the client’s requirements. STX Next is proactive and responsive to the client’s requests. STX Next has frequent meetings with the client. "“STX Next is impeccably good when it comes to communication.”" **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the CTO at a financial advisory company. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We needed help from a development company to update our web platform to better manage our advisory process and make our business more efficient. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? We had a previous web platform that didn’t fit our company’s needs anymore. STX Next has developed a new web platform from scratch using Python and Vue.js. Our platform allows our clients to leave a review and has a reconciliation fee functionality as well. At some point, we considered hiring STX Next for design services, but we didn’t need them in the end. What is the team composition? We work with six teammates from STX Next, including four developers, one product owner, and one QA tester. How did you come to work with STX Next? I found STX Next online. I chose STX Next because they seemed professional and had the skill set that we required.  How much have you invested with them? We’ve invested £300,000 (approximately $376,000 USD) with STX Next. What is the status of this engagement? We started working with STX Next in June 2022, and our partnership is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?  STX Next has met my expectations, and I’m pleased with the platform they’ve developed. Our users have recently started using the platform and are very happy. STX Next has shown great expertise and put the work into trying to understand what we want to achieve. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? STX Next is impeccably good when it comes to communication. They’re responsive to my requests and very proactive. I have frequent meetings with STX Next’s service delivery manager, who always takes and implements our feedback. What did you find most impressive about them? I’m most impressed with STX Next’s professionalism. STX Next’s staff is excellent, and their development team works diligently to develop the platform according to our requirements. Are there any areas they could improve? The project has taken longer than expected. I hoped to have something delivered in 5-6 months, which turned into eight months. During this time, we had to continue paying for the additional time because our fee wasn’t flat. However, we’ve discussed this situation, and what STX Next has developed so far is excellent. Do you have any advice for potential customers? I encourage customers to work with STX Next because they manage client relationships well. --- #### Custom Software Development for Heating Supplier **The Project** - Project size: Confidential - Project length: June 2019 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next provides custom software development support for a heating supplier. They're tasked with helping manage and improve the client's metering and billing platform. **Review Rating**: 4.5 - Quality: 4.5 - Schedule: 4.5 - Cost: 4.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Digital Product Owner, Heating Supplier - Industry: Energy & natural resources - Client size: 51-200 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Feb 8, 2023 **Feedback Summary**: STX Next leverages their development expertise to ensure the successful delivery of sprints. The agile team maintains a structured and clear communication cadence and quickly implements feedback, ensuring a seamless workflow. Their top-notch work ethic and support make them stand out. "“We’re impressed with STX Next’s fantastic work ethic and support.”" **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I work at a district heating supplier. We supply heat, hot water, and cooling to thousands of customers in the UK. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We needed a company that could help with our metering and billing platform. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? STX Next provides software development support for our metering and billing platform. They’re responsible for helping us manage and improve the platform. What is the team composition? We've worked with four developers, one tester, one DevOps, and one product owner/Scrum Master. What is the status of this engagement? We started working together in June 2019, and the engagement is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? Our main measure of success is whether the sprints are planned, tested, and delivered successfully. This has resulted in smooth delivery and ongoing improvements. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? STX Next has performed well in terms of project management. We run an agile project delivery, and every two weeks, they do new work for us. We have a very structured relationship — we have regular presentations and sprint planning and delivery meetings. They have the agility and flexibility to quickly make changes within what we’re delivering.  What did you find most impressive about them? We’re impressed with STX Next’s fantastic work ethic and support. They’ve helped us get over inevitable hurdles that we’ve faced during software delivery. Are there any areas they could improve? Tailored products for individual customers would be an extra product offering that I'm sure would be well received. Do you have any advice for potential customers? Putting a structure in place for the delivery is crucial to deliver successful change. It ensures the whole team know what's planned yet gives them the freedom to deliver their best. --- #### Engineering Staff Augmentation for FinTech Company **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development, IT Staff Augmentation - Project size: $50,000 to $199,999 - Project length: Aug. 2022 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next provides Python and Angular engineers to augment the team of a fintech company. These resources are knowledgeable in AWS, and they work within the client’s team to develop a banking platform. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 4.0 - Willing to Refer: 4.5 **The Reviewer** Executive, Boopos - Industry: Financial services - Client size: 11-50 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Jan 16, 2023 **Feedback Summary**: Thanks to STX Next, the client’s development work is now easier. The resources have integrated seamlessly into the team, following the internal processes, and they communicate via Slack. They’re also very transparent and fast-working, and the quality of their work is great. "“From day one, STX Next has made things really easy for me.”" **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m an executive at Boopos, a fintech company and private bank. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We needed to augment our team with engineers familiar with data warehouses, including AWS, as well as with Python and Angular development expertise. Thus, we sought staff augmentation service providers to help us out. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? STX Next provides us with staff augmentation services — they specifically provide us with Python and Angular engineers knowledgeable in AWS. These resources are embedded in our team, and they continuously work with us to help us develop an internal platform for banking purposes. Our internal resources are senior-level engineers, so STX Next provides us with mid-level engineers. Initially, STX Next offered to develop the job descriptions for the resources we needed, but we wrote our own ones instead. Then, they ran the candidate search process internally. Once they found the right candidates for us, they trained them internally before incorporating them into our team. What is the team composition? I work with STX Next’s head of machine learning and the engineers that they’ve hired for us. How did you come to work with STX Next? We found them on Clutch and chose them because they were very transparent regarding expectations. They were the only ones able to provide realistic timelines, and they found the kind of candidates we wanted. How much have you invested with them? We’ve spent around $170,000. What is the status of this engagement? We started working together in August 2022, and our engagement is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? From day one, STX Next has made things really easy for me. Their engineers have been able to work with our internal engineers without any issues. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? STX Next’s engineers work under our project management guidance. Initially, we communicated via email and video conference calls; now, we communicate via Slack. What did you find most impressive about them? STX Next is really transparent. Moreover, they have great engineers who work really fast. Thanks to the quality of their work, we don’t have a lot of iteration, which facilitates the fast pace. Are there any areas they could improve? Initially, we had some back and forth with STX Next’s legal department to set up our contract agreement. That process took longer than expected because they weren’t flexible regarding their legal framework. Other than that, I have no constructive feedback for them. Do you have any advice for potential customers? Ensure they understand the project, what you want, and how you work. Additionally, ensure you understand that the engagement will be under their rules. --- #### Custom Software Development for FinTech Company **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: $200,000 to $999,999 - Project length: Nov. 2021 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: A fintech company has hired STX Next to develop a nonprofit donation tool. They’ve used Python, React, and AWS and offer DevOps, QA, and architecture-related services. Currently, they’re building new features. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 4.5 - Schedule: 4.0 - Cost: 4.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** CTO, B Generous - Industry: Financial services - Client size: 11-50 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Jan 12, 2023 **Feedback Summary**: The product is high-quality and stable, enabling the client to succeed during their first peak season. Moreover, STX Next’s short timeline for delivery stands out, given the task’s complexity. They’re good at project management using Atlassian tools and provide excellent resources and flexibility. "“I appreciate the flexibility with which they roll teammates on and off the project.”" **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the CTO of a donate-now-pay-later service provider for nonprofits. We help our clients raise money and increase the average donation value. Meanwhile, we allow donors to receive the full tax benefit of their donation immediately and fulfill the financial obligation over three, six, or nine months. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We needed to find an affordable way to develop the product, which is a first of its kind from inception. In late 2021, we had a good idea of what we needed to build and proceeded with the implementation phase with STX Next.  **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? STX Next has developed our platform. Initially, they provided a 2–3 week process that allowed us to identify requirements, high-level services, and high-level architecture. Once that phase was completed, they rolled into the implementation phase with a separate team.  The team has used a Python technology stack, React on the frontend, and AWS for hosting. Development took close to seven months, from the first line of code to the deployment. Our product is a button a nonprofit can integrate into their website. The button launches hosted experience as a lightbox on that site or a dedicated tab. Although the tool is designed to be mobile-ready, it’s not a mobile application.  Currently, STX Next is building additional features. They also provide DevOps, QA, and architectural capabilities for us. In terms of DevOps, they assist us with releases and changes to our production, staging, and development environments.  What is the team composition? We have an architecture teammate and several DevOps resources. I also work with their software development managers and a local representative for STX Next in the US, who helps with team augmentation and resolving issues.  How did you come to work with STX Next? I knew the founder from a previous relationship when I worked with another company —  we were the first US company to work with STX Next. We watched them grow from a 60–70-person team to a 100-person team and then to the company they are today.  I was the architect of that project and inherited the relationship with STX Next. Back then, we worked with three third-party development shops. Within a year of my joining the company, we reduced that to an exclusive relationship with STX Next because they provided the best services and quality.  When I came to my current company, we went through an evaluation process and considered offshore providers in various countries. Ultimately, we found that STX Next still had competitive prices, even though they were a bit more expensive than they used to be.  The quality they offered and the fact that I had access to the teammates I had previously worked with gave me the confidence that they could execute our complex project. I didn’t want to risk working with unknown people, so I chose to bet on  STX Next because I knew they could provide quality resources.  How much have you invested with them? We’ve spent north of $750,000.  What is the status of this engagement? We started working with them in November 2021, began the build phase in 2022, and launched the product in August 2022. Our engagement with STX Next is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?  The product’s quality is good; we’re integrated with a number of third parties, and our part is the most stable of all the technological components of our solution. We monitor traffic on our website, and the results have met our expectations.  Moreover, STX Next’s timeline for delivery has been good, considering the breadth of services and the complexity of the product, including the number of third-party integrations we require. Since our launch in August 2022, we’ve made it through our first peak donation season around the holidays.  How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? Since our project involves a custom build, our scope changes regularly. Therefore, rating STX Next’s timeliness is challenging and depends on who we ask.  We use the Agile methodology, so we have sprint planning exercises, sprint retrospectives, and standard activities related to this way of working. As for tools, we use the Atlassian suite for project management, including Bitbucket, Jira, and Confluence. For communication, we use Slack extensively as our core tool. We also have daily stand-up calls and sometimes multiple calls a day. I meet with the software development managers every week. What did you find most impressive about them? The resources STX Next provides are high-quality. I appreciate the flexibility with which they roll teammates on and off the project. One of our concerns is not wanting to bring on teammates we won’t engage with for a long period of time. The folks STX Next has brought into the team have stayed on the project for a reasonable time.  Historically, STX Next has a bench where, as folks roll off a project, they can grow their skill set. As a result, when the same teammates come back to our project or hop onto another project, they’ve benefitted from additional training and can now provide a higher value for the dollar.  Are there any areas they could improve? The only issue we’ve had is turnover on both sides. In the last couple of years, there’s been a spike in need in the engineering market, and STX Next has had some challenges with employee retention. However, this issue hasn’t impacted our team too much because I’ve worked with these folks for a very long period, and they enjoy being on the project.  Do you have any advice for potential customers? I advise understanding your needs. If you have a brand new project, take advantage of the offer to work with STX Next’s architecture team to come up with an early sketch of the solution.  I also recommend using their DevOps support; that’s been very good for us in managing the complexities of hosting environments. The rest will depend on the particulars of your project; we get quality resources from STX Next, who are proficient in the technologies we use, so we’re satisfied with what we’ve gotten.  --- #### SaaS Web App Dev for Software Company **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development, Web Development - Project size: $50,000 to $199,999 - Project length: Jan. 2022 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next helps develop a SaaS web application for a supply chain software company. They supplement Python and Node.js experts who are responsible for creating the app's major features. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 3.5 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** VP of Engineering, Mercado Labs - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 11-50 Employees - Review Type: Online Review - Verified **The Review** — Jan 5, 2023 **Feedback Summary**: The company has successfully completed the project on time, thanks to STX Next's flexibility and active involvement in planning. They deliver more features and story points per sprint than other international contractors. Their full understanding of the task makes them stand out. ""STX Next is very flexible and adaptive to our own project management."" **BACKGROUND** Please describe your company and your position there. I am VP of Engineering for a SaaS Supply Chain Software Company. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** For what projects/services did your company hire STX Next, and what were your goals? We hired STX Next to help develop our world-class SaaS Web Application that helps companies manage their imports for the supply chain. Our goal was to get the system to track end-to-end the Purchase Order through the Shipment Confirmation and Tracking Events of international imports. We hoped STX Next would bring their expertise in Python and Node.JS development to develop features faster. **SOLUTION** How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors? We chose STX Next because they are the number one contracting firm for Python. Recently, they have expanded into JS and Typescript, and our project uses both. They also have people skilled in both Angular and React, and we needed both. In short, we chose STX Next because they have the skills we needed, and a reputation for being the best. They also work as members of our Scrum team, and that is very helpful in organizing. Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used. STX Next works either with a scope or as Scrum team members. Rather than a scope of work, we used STX Next to supplement our own team and join our Scrum. They have been responsible for developing major features and continue to do so as team members. We use Jira to organize, and the team also uses Docker, Node, Typescript, Angular, React, MS SQL, Postgres, and Python. How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions? STX Next scales up and down with us as we shrink and grow our teams. We have used more than 7 STX team members at once to supplement various Scrum teams. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables? In general, we have seen incredible success with STX Next. Their developers deliver more story points per sprint than other international contractors. They also get direclty involved in architecture and planning. Our project was completed on time and with more features than was required, due in a large part to STX Next. Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness. STX Next is very flexible and adaptive to our own project management. They used our Jira and Slack and are fully integrated into our teams communcations. What did you find most impressive or unique about this company? What is most unique about STX Next is their committment to Scrum and agile. Instead of just doing a project, they understand that every 2 weeks is a mini-project, and are committed to succeeding every sprint. That means: They sometimes work extra hours if the sprint is at risk. They often help other team-mates to succeed in their tasks also. They try to fully understand that work task to do it right the first time. They are committed to testing and quality. Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently? STX Next is a bit more expensive than some other firms, but on a story-point by story-point basis it works out to be cheaper, because STX Next gets more done. --- #### Custom Software Development For Cryptocurrency Exchange Co **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development, IT Staff Augmentation, Web Development - Project size: $1,000,000 to $9,999,999 - Project length: May 2022 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next provides front- and backend developers and DevOps resources for a cryptocurrency exchange company. The team has built an exchange website using Python and JavaScript and a back office using Vue.js. **Review Rating**: 4.0 - Quality: 3.5 - Schedule: 4.0 - Cost: 3.5 - Willing to Refer: 3.5 **The Reviewer** Executive, Cryptocurrency Exchange Company - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 11-50 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Jan 5, 2023 **Feedback Summary**: STX Next has been able to provide good resources who work fast and garner good feedback from the client’s internal team. The team handles task management well through ClickUp and communicates through Slack. Their standout teammates provide excellent problem-solving support. "“They’re willing to work overtime to help solve problems.”" **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I'm an executive at a cryptocurrency exchange company. In my role, I'm responsible for the company's development, infrastructure, and security. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We were developing our cryptocurrency exchange platform and hired developers from STX Next for front- and backend development and DevOps. When I joined the company, the product already existed and had a lot of code and people working on it, but the documentation wasn’t comprehensive. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? STX Next provides us with developers who work on our platform's front- and backend and DevOps resources responsible for infrastructure. First, STX Next dove into our product and got help from colleagues to understand it. They've helped develop our cryptocurrency exchange, which has a backend in Python. We use an API on the backend, and STX Next has also built this API and adds new functionality when needed.  For the frontend, they've helped redesign the exchange website, using JavaScript for development. We have a separate back office function for customer support and compliance with Know Your Customer standards, where we can check the users' transactions. STX Next has built this back office using Vue.js. Meanwhile, our mobile app was developed by another company, so they don't participate in mobile development.  As for DevOps, STX Next helps us with infrastructure, deployment of new services, security, and ensuring there aren't any incidents. If we have issues, they help us fix them.  What is the team composition? In the beginning, we worked with 7–10 teammates from STX Next. We're mostly in contact with team leads, though we also speak directly with the developers when we need specific information.  How did you come to work with STX Next? Our partnership with STX Next started before I joined the company.  How much have you invested with them? We initially paid them around $100,000 monthly, slowly decreasing to about $30,000–$40,000 monthly. Overall, we've spent over $1 million with STX Next.  What is the status of this engagement? I started working with them in May 2022, when I joined the company, though the partnership began sometime in 2021. Although our relationship is ongoing, we're about to finish the engagement due to internal reasons. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?  We don't have any KPIs and rely on STX Next's speed to complete tasks as a metric. Since I also work as a developer, I can estimate how much time tasks can take. We also measure their success based on feedback from our internal team. Although we're ending our engagement with them, it's not because of STX Next's work but for internal reasons.  How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? We use ClickUp for project management. Within the platform, we organize each team's backlog and two-week sprints and can see the teams' velocity. Initially, we used Microsoft Teams for communication, and we've since switched to Slack. What did you find most impressive about them? I appreciate that some STX Next developers have helped us a lot. They do a great job when we have issues or urgent tasks; they're willing to work overtime to help solve problems.  Are there any areas they could improve? We've worked with many teammates from STX Next, some of whom have been better than others. I appreciate proactivity, and some developers were too relaxed and weren't trying to perform unless we pushed them. Therefore, I had to analyze each team and replace some teammates.  However, I wouldn't say these issues were completely on STX Next since everything was organized before I joined the company, so the teams may not have had proper guidance. Moreover, some developers perform very well and are proactive.  Do you have any advice for potential customers? STX Next is a good company. To get the best results, ensure you choose the right teammates for the job and monitor them. I'd advise having a developer from your side provide feedback about STX Next's performance. --- #### Staff Augmentation for Behavioral Health Platform **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development, IT Staff Augmentation - Project size: $200,000 to $999,999 - Project length: June 2021 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next provides staff augmentation services for a behavioral health platform. They work on the existing product using Python, helping increase the development speed and growing the technical infrastructure. **Review Rating**: 4.5 - Quality: 4.5 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 4.5 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** CTO, NeuroFlow - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 51-200 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Aug 24, 2022 **Feedback Summary**: Internal stakeholders are pretty satisfied with STX Next’s performance and service. They’ve built several features that allow the client to grow their customer base, and they excel in their expertise in Python. They communicate effectively and use Jira and Asana for project management. "“They’re very familiar with cloud deployment models and the challenges of scaling up.”" **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the CTO at NeuroFlow, a behavioral health platform for clinicians and people working on behavioral health issues. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We were going through a period of rapid growth with a customer base. We wanted to find a partner that could help us increase our development speed and grow our technical infrastructure. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? STX Next has helped us think through some of the business outcomes we’re trying to accomplish to navigate the right mix of technology and align them. They’ve jumped into our existing product and extended some capabilities within our code base. The team has worked on the clinical workflow, patient management, and patient engagement capabilities. We primarily use Python, and their expertise with PostgreSQL database and AWS is also helpful. What is the team composition? We’ve worked with 4–7 people, primarily senior software engineers. How did you come to work with STX Next? Someone referred them. We talked to several partners we were vetting and eventually decided on STX Next due to their expertise in Python. Also, they were familiar with the business stage we were at. How much have you invested with them? We’ve spent more than $500,000. What is the status of this engagement? We started working with them in June 2021, and our relationship is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? First, our most significant success indicator is feature completion. They’ve built several features that help us grow our customer base. Also, their velocity is measurable in terms of completed stories. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? Jira and Asana are our two main tools. For communication, they’ve integrated into our company’s Slack infrastructure. We also have regular Zoom meetings and monthly governance meetings with the project’s leadership.  What did you find most impressive about them? They have a deep capacity in everything related to Python, which is helpful because it’s our stack. Also, they’re very familiar with cloud deployment models and the challenges of scaling up. They’re pretty good at understanding what growth might look like and which technical priorities we should work on to meet the need for scalability. Are there any areas they could improve? No, we’re satisfied with our partnership. Do you have any advice for potential customers? Be clear on your objectives and share them so they can work based on the outcomes you care about and apply the right technology. --- #### Mobile App Development for Dating & Matchmaking App **The Project** - Services: Mobile App Development - Project size: $50,000 to $199,999 - Project length: May 2021 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next has redeveloped a dating app from an existing unfunctional product. Their work has included React Native and Node.js development, focusing on fixing issues and adding new functionality to the app. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Co-Founder, Trueflutter App - Industry: Media - Client size: 1-10 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Apr 5, 2022 **Feedback Summary**: The client's product is far better than before STX Next’s involvement, leading it to improved Google Play rates and a 99% crash-free rate on Google Analytics. The team is very experienced and transparent, and they act as part of the internal team, showing genuine interest in the project’s success. "“They’re very involved in the project, and they love our business.”" **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the co-founder of Trueflutter App, a dating and matchmaking app. It’s designed specifically for people of African heritage. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We had built the first version of our mobile dating app with the help of another company, but we were unsatisfied with their services. As our frontend was built on React Native and our backend on Node.js, we needed a company knowledgeable about those technologies so that they could come in and fix what we already had. Additionally, we wanted them to build out the new features and functionalities we wanted on the platform. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? STX Next has taken over what the other company had done, rewriting almost the entire code. From the beginning, they assessed the entire app and planned how to get it to where we wanted it to be. Since then, they’ve been developing it further, module by module and page by page, improving all of its major functionalities. The only aspect they haven’t rewritten is the algorithm in our backend. What is the team composition? We initially worked with a senior backend engineer, a junior backend engineer, and a frontend React Native engineer. We also interacted with a technology leader who wasn’t working full-time on the project. Additionally, we engaged with two people focused on machine learning for about two weeks. We currently have a dedicated team member who spends a certain number of hours per month working on our account. We scaled STX Next’s team down because we’re not actively developing features at the moment. How did you come to work with STX Next? We searched for a company specializing in React Native and Node.js, and we found STX Next on Clutch. How much have you invested with them? We’ve spent around $130,000–$150,000. What is the status of this engagement? We started working together in May 2021, and our engagement is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? Thanks to STX Next’s work, what we now have is very different from what they inherited from the former team, which is why we’ve been working with them non-stop since they joined. Mobile apps have a crash-free user rate on Google Analytics, which tells how stable the platform is. When STX Next joined, the crash-free user rate on the app was 89%–90%. Now, our rate is 99%, which means that our app is very steady. Additionally, our average review rate on Google Play was about 3.1 stars, but our current rate is about 4.2 stars. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? STX Next´s project management is excellent; they’re phenomenally good and offer a lot of transparency. The project leader is very experienced, and he brings all of his experience to the team. We have weekly standup meetings to align on our weekly objectives, and we plan everything out at the beginning of every month. So far, STX Next has always stayed on task. Additionally, they’re very organized. We communicate via Slack, where we have multiple channels to discuss different subjects. We also use email and have Google Meet calls. What did you find most impressive about them? From the beginning, I knew that STX Next would offer a very different approach from everyone else. They initially asked me to share the vision of what we were trying to accomplish as a startup, which was very unusual for me to be asked that. When I explained the vision, the level of excitement that their entire team had was evident. Since that meeting, STX Next has been acting as part of my company, showing great enthusiasm to make my vision a reality. One time, we had an issue with the database. Although one of their technical people was on vacation, he saw the Slack notification and fixed the problem in 20–30 minutes. At some point, they even gave us marketing advice, showing that they really cared about the success of the project. Overall, they’re very involved in the project, and they love our business. Are there any areas they could improve? We had an issue, but it was more my fault than theirs. When we onboarded a couple of resources into the project to fix some specific problems, there were some financial implications that I didn’t fully grasp, and they thought that I had understood them. When I saw my invoice at the end of that month, I was a little bit startled. However, they explained again how the billing for the additional resource worked. After that, they immediately created a Google spreadsheet to ease these kinds of conversations. Whenever we have new projects now, they put them in the sheet, including the estimated work hours required and what kind of bill to expect at the end of the month. The moment they started doing that, the problem got solved. Do you have any advice for potential customers? Work with STX Next. If you can tell them what your long-term plans are, they’ll be able to plan out the resourcing for you much better. --- #### Staff Augmentation for Cloud Consulting Company **The Project** - Services: CRM Consulting and SI, IT Staff Augmentation - Project size: $50,000 to $199,999 - Project length: Apr. 2021 - Jan. 2022 **Project Summary**: A cloud consulting company worked with STX Next to migrate a customer’s cloud environment from AWS to another managed service provider. The team also helped automate the migrated environment later on. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 4.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Cloud Engineer Team Leader, Cloud Consulting Company - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 501-1,000 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Feb 15, 2022 **Feedback Summary**: STX Next quickly ramped up the client’s internal teams and successfully addressed a challenging migration project. They self-managed, provided technically expert resources on very short notice, and effectively adapted to the client’s tools and application stacks. ""Even though we’re already experts in the field, we were still surprised by how much we were able to learn from them."" **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. We are a European consulting company in the managed cloud services space. I lead the operations, specifically in our German, Austrian, and Swiss markets. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We were in need of consulting services from a cloud specialist. We also needed this specialist to be available on very short notice. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? STX Next helped us out on two main projects. The first involved our customer’s transition from AWS to our cloud environment. We were in a situation where the scope of the project was much bigger than we anticipated due to the size of that customer’s IT environment. STX Next helped us quickly ramp up to address that problem. Because of how skillfully they handled that first project, we decided to extend their contract and partner with them again, this time on the automation of that customer’s successfully transitioned cloud environment. What is the team composition? There were a total of five engineers from STX Next who worked with us. My main contact was the person who managed those consultants.  How did you come to work with STX Next? I’m unaware of the selection process since the person who sought them out no longer works with us. I am aware, however, that we were looking for someone who was near our time zone. How much have you invested with them? We invested around €100,000 (approximately $114,000 USD). What is the status of this engagement? Our engagement ran from April 2021–January 2022. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? I can’t provide any quantitative metrics, but qualitatively, the consultants from STX Next received really good feedback from our managers. The quality of their work and the timeliness of their delivery were on point.  How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? Their project management was also very good. Any issue that they encountered they resolved before it could reach me. They also managed their stand-in engineers well so that they could immediately fill in for someone who was not available. I did not have to worry about this at all as it was fully taken care of. It was all very ideal. We met on a weekly basis, and they used whatever tools or application stacks were being used in the project they were embedded in.  What did you find most impressive about them? STX Next was very productive and technically expert. Even though we’re already experts in the field, we were still surprised by how much we were able to learn from them. They have a really impressive workforce.  Are there any areas they could improve? No, I can’t think of anything.  Do you have any advice for potential customers? If you are looking for consultants with strong technical skills and the capability to deliver on time, I highly recommend working with STX Next. It is worth noting, too, that they’re better suited to technical projects than heavily corporate environments.  --- #### Staff Augmentation for Data Analytics Company **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: $1,000,000 to $9,999,999 - Project length: Jan. 2015 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: A data analytics company hired STX Next for staff augmentation efforts. They provide software development tasks on Python, help with API integrations, and do DevOps work, among other projects. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Executive, Data Analytics Company - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 1,001-5,000 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Feb 14, 2022 **Feedback Summary**: Thanks to STX Next's diverse skillsets and overall knowledge, the client increased their development velocity by at least four times. They also lead a communicative process with constant meetings and reports to meet expectations. The team also praises their outstanding customer service level. ""Their level of customer service is outstanding, and they go above and beyond with us."" **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m an executive at a data analytics company. We help insurance companies and hedge funds mitigate their risk and investment, so we have public data we pull to our processes. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We needed help with software development for our business. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? STX Next helps us develop and maintain our products through a roadmap that we work towards — they provide an additional workforce to our team to work in all of the backend functionalities for these products using Python. We currently work on various projects; they’re also expanding our API to include other products and providing DevOps resources. What is the team composition? They’ve provided around ten members of their team, including Judith (Business Manager), who is my main point of contact.  How did you come to work with STX Next? A member of our team used them for a previous project and decided to work with them on this task.  How much have you invested in them? We invest around $42,000 a month with them. What is the status of this engagement? We started working together in January 2015, and the engagement is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? They’ve been able to develop more than our in-house team exponentially — our development velocity has increased by at least four times. Also, they have broad and diverse skills, making it easy to work with them and rearrange the team dynamics to ensure that every project is staffed appropriately. In addition, they provide extensive risk assessments to our infrastructure — they’ve saved us a few times, and their contribution has been invaluable. How did STX Nextperform from a project management standpoint? Their project management has been great; we haven’t had any issues with deadlines and budgets. Also, communication has been fantastic, and I appreciate that. We have daily stand-up meetings, and they provide monthly reports on the things they’re addressing. What did you find most impressive about them? Their leadership team cares a lot about us — their level of customer service is outstanding, and they go above and beyond with us. Also, they’re very proactive and work with us to solve problems. Are there any areas they could improve? I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on. Do you have any advice for potential customers? I recommend working with them! Also, do as much forethought and project planning before bringing them in — getting ahead of any documentation in advance would be beneficial. --- #### Custom Software Development for Cryptocurrency Exchange **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: $200,000 to $999,999 - Project length: Oct. 2017 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next has been continuously developing a cryptocurrency exchange's custom software. They develop their frontend and backend platforms with Azure and Microsoft.  **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 3.5 - Willing to Refer: 4.5 **The Reviewer** CEO, Cryptocurrency Exchange - Industry: Financial services - Client size: 11-50 Employees - Review Type: Online Review - Verified **The Review** — Feb 3, 2022 **Feedback Summary**: STX Next supported the internal team with implementing important new features that enabled a rapid scaling of their business. They have also been a dedicated, available team that is highly responsive. They have also been flexible with finding additional developers whenever necessary.  ""Their developers were provided as a dedicated team, so they are always available and responsive."" **BACKGROUND** Please describe your company and your position there. Blocktrade is a compliant European cryptocurrency exchange. Founder of Blocktrade, currently in the advisory role **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** For what projects/services did your company hire STX Next, and what were your goals? STX has supported the project since the start with providing a dedicated team that worked closely with our internal team of developers on developing the product and adding new features. The main goal was to be flexible with the development resources which is something that STX Next seamlessly provides. **SOLUTION** How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors? We explored available vendors and the professionalism convinced us to go with STX Next. Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used. Initial setup of the project, project kick-off, project management, software development both on backend and frontend, and other support to our internal team of developers. How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions? From 5 - 10, depending on our needs, mostly backend developers, but also frontend, project management and lately also devops. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables? STX Next helped with the launch of the product itself, and supported the internal dev team with implementing important new features that enabled a rapid scaling of the business. Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness. They are flexible, we used Microsoft Team, Azure DevOps boards, at one point also Jira with Confluence. Their developers were provided as a dedicated team, so they are always available and responsive. What did you find most impressive or unique about this company? Flexibility and speed of finding additional developers for us. Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently? Potentially pricing, but there is way more demand for developers compared to the supply. --- #### Product Design Workshops for Environmental Consultancy **The Project** - Services: Business Consulting, Custom Software Development - Project size: $10,000 to $49,999 - Project length: Feb. - Mar. 2021 **Project Summary**: STX Next ran a series of product design workshops for an environmental consultancy. They provided a new set of eyes through the pathway from design to development and deployment. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Product Owner, Environmental Consultancy - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 201-500 Employees - Review Type: Online Review - Verified **The Review** — Feb 3, 2022 **Feedback Summary**: STX Next's insight enabled the company to become more proactive with developing their initiatives. They were diligent, punctual, prepared, and clear with their communication. Overall, they were a pleasure to work with. In fact, the client looked forward to a long-term partnership with their team. ""Everybody we've collaborated with at STX Next was a pleasure to work with."" **BACKGROUND** Please describe your company and your position there. I am a product manager for a global consulting business helping businesses achieve ESG compliance **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** For what projects/services did your company hire STX Next, and what were your goals? STX Next was contracted to run a series of product design workshops, with a view to both providing a fresh set of eyes, but also a pathway from design through development to deployment **SOLUTION** How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors? We found them following an extended procurement process, including Python/JS expertise, range of services, review of testimonials and technical interviews Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used. The engagement consistent of a series of 2 hour workshops taking us through the product design process, including activities such as event storming, ICE matrix prioritisation etc. Outputs included summary of workshop activities, with roadmap and estimates for developing MVP of proposed solution How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions? 1 product Manager, 2 solutions architects, 2 product designers, some engagement with head of product and vp of engineering **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables? The insight and guidance provided enabled our company to get behind the wider software development initiative and resulted in a long-term development partnership with STX Next Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness. Diligent, punctual, prepared, clear communications, great English What did you find most impressive or unique about this company? Everybody we've collaborated with at STX Next was a pleasure to work with. They're dilligent, dedicated, proactive, creative, good humoured, analytical, great problem solvers, and great learners. Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently? None --- #### Development Services for Fintech Company **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development, Mobile App Development, Web Development - Project size: Confidential - Project length: Apr. 2020 - Oct. 2021 **Project Summary**: STX Next collaborated with a fintech company, helping them with the development of various blockchain-based mobile and web applications. Key technologies used were JavaScript, React, React Native, and more. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 4.5 - Cost: 4.5 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Head of IT, Fintech Company - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 201-500 Employees - Review Type: Online Review - Verified **The Review** — Oct 29, 2021 **Feedback Summary**: With STX Next's help, the client managed to start and complete projects in a timely manner. By communicating frequently and managing tasks efficiently, the team was able to establish a smooth process, which helped ensure a seamless customer experience. They were transparent and professional as well. ""They were always helpful and full of commitment."" **BACKGROUND** Please describe your company and your position there. Head of IT Department **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** For what projects/services did your company hire STX Next, and what were your goals? I have hired STX Next in a team extension model. We worked together co-creating QA and Development Teams while developing web and mobile applications. **SOLUTION** How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors? I found them as a one of the biggest software houses in Europe in my company technological stack. While discussing project's scope they were well prepared, looking in to possible risks and multiple ways to mitigate them. Their team was professional and talkative. It was no brainer to choose them from the group of 3 other companies. Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used. We have developed several products together that involved JavaScript, React, React Native, Blockchain and other cutting technologies. They were always helpful and full of commitment. How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions? There were 4 to 8 people involved in development teams on the following positions: React.js Developer React Native Developer QA Specialist DevOps **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables? Thanks to STX Next help I could kick off project in a matter of days. The development process was transparent and professional. Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness. We used Trello and Jira for WIP monitoring and planning, and Slack, and email for communication. Professional and easy-going people were key ingredients of our success. What did you find most impressive or unique about this company? One word: Ownership. Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently? Not really --- #### Staff Augmentation for Government Software Development Co **The Project** - Services: IT Staff Augmentation - Project size: $1,000,000 to $9,999,999 - Project length: Aug. 2018 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next has provided staff augmentation services for a government software development company. Since 2018, they’ve worked with the client’s team on Python development and some design work. **Review Rating**: 4.0 - Quality: 4.0 - Schedule: 4.0 - Cost: 3.5 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Senior Director, Government Software Development Co - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 501-1,000 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Oct 11, 2021 **Feedback Summary**: End customers have praised STX Next’s quality work and given great feedback about it. The team follows the client’s project management, and they meet once a week using Teams. Overall, they stand out for their knowledge and expertise in Python. Customers can expect a good service. ""Their software development process is good, and they deliver high-quality code."" **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the director of engineering of the organization. We create software for federal, state, and local governments in the UK and the US. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We used STX Next to get development resources. We needed developers to work on new projects and re-implement parts of the product in Python. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? Currently, STX Next is helping us with two product lines and working on new components and reporting solutions. Also, they’re working with our team on an application that does short-term rental monitoring in the US, like Airbnb. Overall, they just act as additional resources for our projects. However, there have been projects where our product team gives them requirements, and they go over them and build the solution for us. The team predominantly does development and testing, but they’ve done a bit of design work. The product owner helps to define the requirements. What is the team composition? At the moment, we work with about 15 people. It goes up and down based on the project. We have a product owner, who is like a product manager. Also, there’s a SCRUM master, many Python developers, and a few QA testers. How did you come to work with STX Next? The engagement started before we acquired the company. We kept them because we were happy with their work. STX Next had good quality, and they were reliable and professional. How much have you invested with them? In the first year, we spent about £150,000–£160,000 (approximately $204,000–$217,000 USD) per month. Since the latter half of 2020, we’ve paid about £80,000–£90,000 (approximately $109,000–122,000 USD), and next year it’ll be around £50,000 (approximately $68,000 USD) per month. What is the status of this engagement? We started working with them in August 2018, and the relationship is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? We’ve received great feedback from the customers on the quality of their work. In particular, they’ve recently returned a reporting project, and the end clients are pleased. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? We typically do project management. We have meetings with the developers at least once a week, and we use Teams. What did you find most impressive about them? They specialize in Python, so they have great Python developers. Also, their software development process is good, and they deliver high-quality code. Are there any areas they could improve? There have been times when we needed new resources, but they weren’t able to supply them. They’re limited in certain areas, so they have to go and find external people, which takes a long time. Also, there are a bit expensive in other areas. Their prices go up significantly from year to year, even more than inflation. It’s difficult to budget for future years. Do you have any advice for potential customers? Have a clear ownership structure and set clear expectations on what they’ll do. They’ve been a complement to our team, but you could also outsource them into projects. They’d do a good job. --- #### Figma Design & Branding for Learning Platform Startup **The Project** - Services: Branding, Other Design - Project size: Less than $10,000 - Project length: June - July 2021 **Project Summary**: STX Next provided design and branding services for a startup platform. The team created specs in Figma. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Founder, Starhatch - Industry: Education - Client size: 1-10 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Jul 30, 2021 **Feedback Summary**: STX Next’s work was met with positive acclaim. The designs are useful and effective. The team is efficient, hardworking, and competent. STX is a diligent vendor that gets the job done right. "“I was impressed with how well everything worked.”" **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the founder of a startup platform geared at making learning easy and fun.    **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? I needed help with design and branding. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? I started out with some specs of what I wanted to design. I reached out to figure out how much it would cost using Figma. Once we settled on a price, they kicked off the design.  What is the team composition? We work with their head of design, a product owner, and a couple of designers. How did you come to work with STX Next? In worked with them on a previous development-heavy project. I sat in on some good meetings about their design services. I had a good impression of them and the way they work. How much have you invested with them? I spent €6,000 (approximately $7,000 USD). What is the status of this engagement? We started working together in June 2021, and we wrapped up in August 2021. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?  I’m really happy with the designs. All of my project manager friends are super impressed with the website. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? Project management was lowkey. We had a Slack channel where we could share information. What did you find most impressive about them? Their adaptability and their willingness to challenge ideas stands out. It makes them a much more powerful partner. Are there any areas they could improve? No, it all went extremely smoothly. I was impressed with how well everything worked. Do you have any advice for potential customers? They have a very robust way of thinking. Trust them and things will go well. **UPDATED REVIEW** This review was published on February 19, 2019  Project summary STX Next is helping rebuild a SaaS platform in JavaScript and PHP into a microservice architecture in Python and AWS. They remade a form renderer and a dashboard tool. They’re also improving the overall UI/UX. Feedback summary Several new features have yet to launch, but STX Next has delivered high-quality code on time and at outstanding value. Their presence has helped bolster internal knowledge of Python and agile methodology. Customers can expect a diligent, flexible team that grasps requirements quickly. **Company Response** BACKGROUND Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the head of product development at Firmstep. We offer a SaaS platform to help local governments and public sector organizations provide excellent service to citizens as efficiently as possible. OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? Our platform was a monolith built in PHP and JavaScript. It became increasingly difficult to maintain as we added more features and products. It also lacked full documentation, meaning that knowledge was lost through regular staff turnover. We decided to move to a microservice modular architecture platform using Python and AWS services. We brought in STX Next as development partners to assist our internal team and lead the rebuilding process. SOLUTION What was the scope of their involvement? Our platform offers a form builder and form renderer. Once a user builds out a form, they can customize how it displays through the form renderer. The renderer had become buggy and difficult to maintain. STX Next rebuilt the tool to address its root issues. They also redesigned it to automatically comply with the government design principles established by the Government Digital Service. This update makes it more straightforward for customers to abide by their industry’s design standards. STX Next also revamped a workflow management tool used by councilors to organize their caseload. They improved its performance to better accommodate the tool’s current level of demand. They also added filtering options, more powerful search functions, and flexibility in the user’s viewing experience. The team helped us update our self-service portals and widgets as well. They’re also working to improve the platform’s overall user experience, decreasing page load and render times while implementing a more consistent and visually appealing design.  What is the team composition? Our initial team comprised ten people: a product owner, a manual tester, and eight frontend developers, backend developers, and full-stack developers. We’ve added another two teams over the last few months and started working with a scrum master to help manage each team’s processes. How did you come to work with STX Next? Our CTO found their team through online research. STX Next had also worked with a mutual colleague, which further convinced us that they were the right fit for this project. What is the status of this engagement? We started working together in September 2018, and the project is ongoing. RESULTS & FEEDBACK What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? Given the scale of the rebuilds, several features have yet to be released to customers. However, our pull requests in our code repositories have increased tenfold, which we’re happy to see. Working with STX Next has also taught our internal team about agile processes, Python, and new technologies. They’ve shown us better DevOps practices and how to deploy our code more safely. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? We lacked experience working with outsourced teams. STX Next helped guide us through the initial process where we learned our ideal workflows to maximize productivity. They’re excellent at understanding requirements and delegating tasks appropriately. We never feel the need to micromanage their work. We communicate through Slack and host weekly standups on Google Hangouts. When we need to update requirements, we either use a Google Doc or a phone call. STX Next manages tasks and progress through Jira. They’re highly independent and self-sufficient, and they always keep us up to date on the project’s status. What did you find most impressive about them? STX Next has adapted well to our organization, our goals, and our management styles. They’re also deeply engaged with our product and platform. Even without having direct experience working with UK local governments, the team still produced excellent user story maps and user personas for each product. They also often suggested ways to improve the user experience and make the outcome more successful. Are there any areas they could improve? Since these were new technology stacks for us, we hadn’t thought about deployment in the earlier stages. This lack of planning caused miscommunication later on about the exact scale of the project’s scope. We eventually resolved the issues though. Any advice for potential customers? Trust in their process. Give the team a degree of freedom to expand on the original requirements and make adjustments. If STX Next had stuck to our exact list of specifications, we would have wound up with a lower quality product. They’re very experienced developers with a solid understanding of UI/UX principles. Overall rating 5  Quality 5  Cost 5 Schedule 4 Willing to refer 5 --- #### Frontend Development for Data Consulting Business **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development, UX/UI Design - Project size: $10,000 to $49,999 - Project length: Feb. - Apr. 2021 **Project Summary**: STX Next provided frontend development services for a data consulting company. The team consulted with the client to improve their UI/UX and worked in React and TypeScript. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 4.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Head of Technology, Anmut - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 11-50 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Apr 26, 2021 **Feedback Summary**: The internal solution has recieved positive feedback from both the team and the company's CEO, meeting their needs and expectations. STX Next communicated effectively with the internal team to ensure a smooth workflow. The team is organized and hard-working. ""They are really good communicators with a proactive attitude." " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I am the head of technology at a data consultancy called Anmut Consulting. We are based in London and we have been in existence since 2018. We mainly work with clients to look at the condition of their data. We are mainly focused on data, and what that means is that we work with clients and deep dive into their data. We try and help them get a good understanding of the condition of their data and identify the key areas of data that are assets for them. Once we identify them, we put a number on them and help them prioritize different projects, and show them how they can make the best use of that data they have in their system. We have consultants in the company as well as technologists which is where I fit in especially on the software side of things. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? The biggest challenge was that we didn’t have the talent for frontend development. We had a small backend team, but no frontend team. We were looking at the market and were looking to try and hire internally, but the timelines were too strict, and we had to get someone in as soon as possible. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? We worked with STX Next to build a platform so that our consultants can do their job in an easier and more orchestrated way. We had a lot of conversations around UX and UI, and they asked questions about other projects that we were working on. They provided a lot of stuff pro bono which was really good, but the main stuff that they provided to us was building out that frontend for us. They took the designs that we created and created the frontend out of those. We asked them what tech stack they thought would be best for the frontend and they recommended React and TypeScript and they went with SCSS for the stylesheet. We went with all of their recommendations and so far it has been working pretty well. They talked to us about how we could potentially improve our UX and UI, so they gave some very preliminary pointers with the aim that they could fix those things for us. We aren’t quite in a position right now to take them up on their offer yet, but it is something we intend on doing in the next few months with them. There is another team, completely separate from my team, that was creating a tool that links into Power BI. That team asked STX Next for some advice and input. They didn’t do any actual work, but they advised them on potential things that we could do. What is the team composition? Technically, there were two people but then they split their time. We had one developer doing the main coding 70% of the time, and the other developer about 30% of the time. That developer verified everything that the first developer did and read over the code just to make sure that everything was good quality. The reason we did that was that we wanted a more senior person to review the code before it was pushed in.  How did you come to work with STX Next? I had worked with STX Next in the past at my previous company. We had a similar situation where we wanted to deliver quite a lot of stuff in a short amount of time. The CTO at the time just brought on STX Next. Once they were onboarded, they were really easy to work with, very competent, and very good at what they did. That left a really good impression when I was working with them there. When I left that company and came here to Anmut, I realized we needed some help and I thought back to how good STX Next was when I worked with them in the past, so I recommended them to my boss, and we went on from there. How much have you invested in them? We invested around £15,000–£20,000 GBP (approximately $20,000–$28,000 USD). What is the status of this engagement? We started a conversation with them before Christmas 2020, and we talked to them for quite a while until we had someone from STX Next actually working with us in February 2021 doing the coding. We finished the MVP in April 2020, and we will be working with them soon on other projects.   **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? The tool they helped us create is an internal tool and it is the frontend, so we don’t really have any metrics for that. We have UAT testers that are working on stuff right now. My personal feedback is that I am very happy with the front-end work that they have provided. The feedback that we have received from our CEO is very, very positive and he is really happy with the system as a whole and also happy with the work that STX had done, and it is the same from my CTO. It is still an MVP, so it isn’t perfect, but they are very happy with the first round of frontend. Overall, very positive feedback from the whole company. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? I was in charge of managing the project and making sure that we were on target. In terms of the day-to-day of what the developer was working on, I was managing that with my team as well. We have the usual scrum meetings and agile ceremonies and things like that. What did you find most impressive about them? STX Next was really easy to work with. They are really good communicators with a proactive attitude. They always respond to messages, and I am talking about the company as a whole, not just the people we worked with. They are very good on that side of things. The reason I was very confident in recommending them was that I know from past experience that the quality of work and the code they produce is good, and they are quick. I had no fears about that and that was the main thing. Are there any areas they could improve? No, everything was great. The developer himself was really good. He wasn’t a super, super senior guy so he could improve his communication skills, but overall, he was 99% good. There were some small things with communication that I maybe would have asked him to improve on if he was working with my team long-term, but definitely nothing massively negative at all. Overall, it was very positive with him in particular and also speaking to account managers and more senior people at STX. Do you have any advice for potential customers? I definitely recommend them. Have an idea of what you want them to do. Come to them with ideas and bounce those ideas off them. It is a better use of time to at least have some design you can hand over to them and then they can turn that into a frontend if that is what they are working on. If they are working on something else, like the backend, it is always best to come prepared and give them at least some direction they can take which improves a lot of things. With the frontend guy that joined us, he, in particular, liked that on his first day, he was ready to go. We had everything set up for him and we knew exactly what he would be working on for the first sprint and there were no delays. He really appreciated that. I would recommend just prepare things for the first day you work with them, get their environments ready and their access all sorted out so that you aren’t wasting time. --- #### Custom Software Dev for Shipping Service Provider **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: $50,000 to $199,999 - Project length: Apr. 2020 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next was tasked with scaling a shipping services providers' development team. Their team builds and integrates logistic service providers into the client's SaaS product. Their services are ongoing.  **Review Rating**: 4.5 - Quality: 4.0 - Schedule: 4.0 - Cost: 3.5 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** CTO, Shipping Service Provider - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 201-500 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Dec 22, 2020 **Feedback Summary**: The team at STX Next delivers high-quality work that helps generate new business and revenue. Their skilled developers are communicative and quick. Customers can expect an engaged team of developers that performs well.  ""We have a pretty good relationship with them." " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the CTO of a shipping services provider. We’re a SaaS product that facilitates the generation of shipping labels, tracking, and return for e-commerce. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We were experiencing rapid growth in our organization and were looking for different ways of scaling our development team. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? Our company integrates with carriers, logistics service providers, and on the other side, with e-commerce systems and online stores. We required additional development capacity on integrating new logistic service providers. They’re responsible for building and integrating those logistic service providers into our product. Our internal development team is responsible for the operational side of things. We provided them with some tools and interfaces so they can work dependent on our development team. That allowed us to scale up their team and make sure they’re working efficiently as well. What is the team composition? We initially started with a two-person development team on their side to help with this, and it’s now been expanded to a team of six developers and one product owner. How did you come to work with STX Next? The team reached out to us about two years ago. They visited us in the office, and it was an enjoyable talk. Based on an initial exploration together with them, we started on a trial project, which was successful. We then continued our collaboration. How much have you invested with them? We’ve invested between $50,000–$100,000. What is the status of this engagement? Our ongoing engagement with STX Next started in April 2020. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? We keep track of new business and revenue, especially new business that we can onboard into our product based on logistic service providers that they integrated into our product. We’re satisfied with their work. We have a pretty good relationship with them. The quality of work they deliver is of a high standard. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? Initially, the project management part was on our side. It wasn’t until two months ago where we got a dedicated project manager. We have weekly checkups with their delivery managers, and our account manager also participated in those calls. Since we’re happy and they’re performing well, there’s no real need to deep dive into their actual performance numbers. What did you find most impressive about them? The engineering culture that they have closely fitted how we run and build software. It allowed them to be quite well integrated with our own development teams. They provide highly skilled developers and focus on other things like communication and making sure there’s a delivery manager there to make sure that the team is actually performing. It raised the bar to make sure they’re delivering work fast with high quality. Are there any areas they could improve? No, we’re quite satisfied with their services. Do you have any advice for potential customers? Get a good relationship with their developers. They are highly skilled. If your team works with them, make sure that the engineers get together and iterate over some ideas. They’re engaged and want to provide shared knowledge rather than just building things. --- #### Java Script & Python Dev for Marketing Platform **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development, IT Staff Augmentation - Project size: Confidential - Project length: July 2013 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next provides staff augmentation resources to a marketing company. The team works on the company’s digital asset management system, using JavaScript, React, and Python. **Review Rating**: 4.5 - Quality: 4.5 - Schedule: 4.5 - Cost: 4.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Global Product & Engineering Director, Hogarth Worldwide - Industry: Advertising & marketing - Client size: 5,001-10,000 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Dec 15, 2020 **Feedback Summary**: The longstanding partnership between STX Next and the client has been largely successful, with the two teams working together as one to consistently meet targets. They’re knowledgeable, professional, and dedicated to success. ""With STX Next, you can count on them to have the expertise you need." " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the global product and engineering director at Hogarth Worldwide. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We have our own digital asset management (DAM) system, which we built a long time ago. We had to maintain it and evolve it into new versions. We needed staff augmentation to help us. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? They provided software development services and QA engineers to implement the requirements we gave them during the automatic quality process control. We use JavaScript, React, and Python. We have our own team that is responsible for deploying the software into production and maintaining the environment. We follow a scrum methodology. We work with them to refine those requirements. They give us the team that is allocated to us. Then they go into sprints. From there, they deliver the completed feature. We pick a chunk every two weeks.  What is the team composition? There are 11 people and soon to be 12. There’s a delivery manager that handles the account. How did you come to work with STX Next? I wasn’t at the company when we hired STX Next, but I think it was from a contact that was here before me. What is the status of this engagement? We started working together in July 2013 and the work is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? Since I joined, we went through a little bit of a reformation, and now we’re working in a way that’s much more focused on the cadence of delivering constant features and value to our stakeholders and product. We’re working towards the completion, the achievements of each sprint has its own goal.  Every sprint we achieve or don’t. Every two weeks, it’s either a yes or no, and then we then decide if we need to improve anything or not. We’re also emphasizing the happiness of the STX Next team, making sure they’re happy and working well alongside our team. If the team is happy, we can throw all these different changes of pace and the way we need to react to the business while keeping the morale high. That has improved significantly in the last few months, and now everybody on the team is saying they’re happy working with the rest of the team. They’re feeling accomplished. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? We manage the project on our side. They give us technical expertise. They have to manage their own tasks and be self-organized and assign the tasks internally. STX Next is very good at that but there’s no function of project management. It’s more about having team unity, and they achieve that. What did you find most impressive about them? It’s good when we aim for a partnership and they are as committed to delivering as we are. If you approach it as a vendor/client relationship, it’s a different kind of relationship. We’re all committed as a single group. There are no borders between STX Next and us in terms of who we’re working with. We all work as a single team. Are there any areas they could improve? We had communication issues in the past and issues of motivation but we worked through them in 2020. We’re in a much better place. We now have the relationship we always wanted to have. If we ever end the relationship, it won’t be because of the way we work together. It’d be for financial reasons or we discontinue the project. Do you have any advice for potential customers? If you’re in the market for a partner in Poland, they’re good. They take care of their people. Their expertise in Python and JavaScript is good. They’re solid. They stay there for a long time and develop their own people.  With STX Next, you can count on them to have the expertise you need. If you’re looking for a reasonably priced, Europe based, nearshoring or offshoring outpost, they could be a good option. --- #### Python Dev Resources for Software Consultancy **The Project** - Services: IT Staff Augmentation, Web Development - Project size: Confidential - Project length: Feb. - Dec. 2019 **Project Summary**: STX Next provided Python development resources to help a software consultancy build a web-facing service for childcare providers. They worked alongside the internal team and completed Jira stories. **Review Rating**: 4.0 - Quality: 4.0 - Schedule: 4.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 4.0 **The Reviewer** Transformation Director, Independent Software Consultancy - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 51-200 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Sep 23, 2020 **Feedback Summary**: STX Next played a critical part in building a government service that is now live. They met the consultancy’s measures of success and quality, so much so that they’ve been brought on for more work. The team remained flexible and delivered on their promises. Their Python expertise added value. "“They were quite competent in Python and had excellent technical skills.” " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the transformation director for an independent software consultancy. We undertake all aspects of consultancy, from management consulting to bespoke systems development and support. Typically, we build online services for governments in the UK and Australia. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We were working with a government organization in the UK to build a system for registering child minders and early years care provision. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? They provided development services. We were building a web-facing service for people to register childminders, and what STX Next did was support us with additional Python development capacity.  We ran scrum agile. We had a Jira board and worked in sprints, with a scrum master and a product owner. STX’s developers picked up bill tickets, so they worked alongside our own development team and provided additional bandwidth. What is the team composition? We mainly worked with developers, but we also had an account manager, Marta (Recruitment & EB Specialist). That was a useful way of making sure the service was to the quality and need that we had. How did you come to work with STX Next? My colleagues found them through an online search for nearshore developers. We visited their facility and decided to do a trial engagement with them. What is the status of this engagement? We worked together from February–December 2019. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?  We measured success and quality using the Agile process. The work was essentially packaged up as epics, stories, and tickets within Jira, and we adopted definitions of ready to ensure stories were properly defined. We did a lot of that and consulted STX's developers in certain cases.  They then took those stories forward and supported acceptance by the product owner to meet the definition of done. If there were any quality issues, they resolved them. The remit was to gain acceptance of the stories they’d taken from the product owner. More broadly, they contributed to bringing together a government UK service that is now live. Their part was a valuable and important contribution to the work. We were happy with their performance and have contracted them for another engagement. I suppose that tells its own story about how well the partnership was. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? They did perfectly well; they were no big issues. They were flexible in a dynamic environment that had frequent changes. What did you find most impressive about them? They were quite competent in Python and had excellent technical skills. They delivered what they promised to a good depth and level. We were very happy with them. Are there any areas they could improve? No, I don’t think so. Do you have any advice for potential customers? Clearly define the scope of work you want them to undertake. Try to keep the pipeline flowing. --- #### Discovery Workshop & UX Design for B2B Media Firm **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: $10,000 to $49,999 - Project length: June 2020 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next conducted a discovery workshop to help launch a new digital product for veterinarians. They delivered requirements, a road map, recommendations on the system architecture, concept design, and prototype. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 4.5 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** COO, Brief Media - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 51-200 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Sep 9, 2020 **Feedback Summary**: Having delivered quality work, STX Next has been kept on for the development phase. The team is sizable and they clearly have many resources that will ensure a successful launch. They’ve communicated thoroughly, ensuring the entire team was on the same page throughout the engagement. "“The level of expertise that they have available due to the size of their firm was astounding.” " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the COO of Brief Media. We’re a media STX Next in the B2B space. We create product for veterinarians that are clinical reference tools We have media brands as well as subscription-based digital products. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We’re launching a new product early next year, and especially with COVID-19, we wanted to take a different approach to how we thought we were going to launch the new product and look more closely to opportunities to leverage our existing subscriber base. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement?  Essentially, they did a discovery workshop and concept design. We already have an idea of what we want our new product to be, but they challenged our ideas and assumptions for features and UX. We came away with eight deliverables, helping us leverage their expertise from a business perspective. We came away with requirements, a road map, recommendations on the system architecture, concept design, and prototype. Then they gave us an estimate for team composition needed to develop the platform. This helped with product management. They also assessed how we could balance our business interests with providing the most value to the end-user subscriber. What is the team composition? We did most of our work with two people. One was representing the business and product aspect. Then we had another on the UX experience side and user journey. We also worked with a third who spent their time digging into the technical requirements. How did you come to work with STX Next? We originally heard about them from a technology consultant that we’ve worked with in the past. We had STX Next actually quote a different project awhile ago. Then, as we got more into our new product development, we had additional conversations with them in order to learn what they offered. After hearing about this discovery workshop, we decided to bring them on.    How much have you invested with them? The discovery workshop was about $15,000. What is the status of this engagement? The discovery workshop began in June 2020 and wrapped up in July. We recently started development with them, which is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?  They presented new ideas to help us leverage our additional subscriber base and upsell them this new product. They took the ideas we had and were able to expand on that. I think we will have an easier launch as a result. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? Their communication was very thorough. From the proposal they provided, we knew the phases of the process would be. That included dates and which members from our team needed to participate with each session. We also had a good idea what the expected deliverables and outcome would be. Whenever there were changes to the plan, it was because we covered more than expected in each session or because we needed more time in certain areas based on the results of the project. Overall, it turned our pretty well. For the most part, we used email for this project. They also had Miro, which was a really helpful collaboration tool that made it easy to visualize what we were discussing and collaborate in real-time. What did you find most impressive about them? The level of expertise that they have available due to the size of their firm was astounding. As a result, we had access to experts in areas that we don’t have on our internal team. Are there any areas they could improve? No, the process was pretty smooth. The only hiccup we had was coordinating meetings because we were in different time zones. Do you have any advice for potential customers? We had a very collaborative relationship with them, so I would tell future clients to view them as a partner and share as much information with them as they can. --- #### Python Development Outsourcing for Ticket Sales Company **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: $200,000 to $999,999 - Project length: Oct. 2018 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next provides two teams of outsourced developers to a ticket sales company. They do Python development, supporting API implementations and high-end supplier integrations. **Review Rating**: 4.0 - Quality: 4.0 - Schedule: 3.5 - Cost: 3.5 - Willing to Refer: 4.0 **The Reviewer** Tech Team Manager, Tiqets - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 201-500 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Jul 16, 2020 **Feedback Summary**: STX Next provides the expertise and flexibility necessary for the company to quickly scale up as needed. Although internal stakeholders would like to be more involved in the recruitment process, they’re happy with STX Next’s large pool of talented, productive, and efficient developers. "“I’d definitely recommend them. STX Next is available, and they have the tools to get a client rolling.” " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. Tiqets has been around since 2014. We sell tickets for cultural events around the world, mostly museums. We have a curated website and app for tourists and local people to find the best spots to visit in their regions. Our main office is in Amsterdam, and we have sales offices around the world. They connect to museums, and we connect to suppliers that sell batches of tickets to the museums. Those are being delivered to the consumer via our platform. My position is tech team manager. The company has been growing rapidly, from five people in 2014 to a development crew of about 50 people in September 2019, when I joined. We’re divided into different focus teams, which are multidisciplinary and with product owners, designers, tech leads, and back- and frontend developers. There is a team division, but there’s one CTO above all teams. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? Around 90% of our developers are in Amsterdam, but we like to have a flexible shell in order to adapt quickly to market needs. There’s also some work that’s more repetitive and less challenging, or challenging in a different way. We went to STX Next for their flexibility and expertise. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? We started with one team at STX Next, and we split that up into two teams a couple of months ago. One team does API implementations while the other connects to high-end suppliers for integrations that demand specialized skills. The developers are in Poland, and they receive instructions from a product owner and tech lead in The Netherlands. Our coding language is Python. What is the team composition? They changed the team a short period before I joined Tiqets. I’m currently working with two managers, one for business aspects and one for day-to-day operations. How did you come to work with STX Next? One of the prerequisites for choosing them was having Python as a coding language. There are better-known software houses in Poland, but they don’t offer Python development. We looked at their website and portfolio, and we reached out to them to determine if we should move forward. We requested information from ten companies and made a shortlist based on that. STX Next wasn’t the cheapest, but they did have a big team of developers. We’d worked with another Python development company, but they didn’t have as many developers. It would take them months to come up with new résumés if we asked for three more developers, whereas it's easier to scale up with STX Next. How much have you invested with them? It took us 3–4 months to get the team set up and working efficiently, with a cost of about €50,000 (approximately $56,900 USD). Right now, we’re paying €40,000–€50,000 per month (approximately $45,500–$56,900 USD). What is the status of this engagement? STX Next started working with the company before my time. I’m guessing that we’ve been working with them since early-2019 or late-2018. The collaboration is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? STX Next has a decent workforce, and the work that they do is productive and efficient. Whether it could be more efficient is not something I’ve tried to find out. The impact is that we have a good connection to suppliers, and we have a stable platform. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? I’m working with the general manager of their office. He is based in Wrocław, where we have our developers situated. He’s very approachable and cooperative in thinking through the different challenges we encounter working together. From a cultural perspective, Eastern Europe is a bit more hierarchical. It’s basically a matter of telling them what to do and them doing it. It’s pretty productive from that perspective. We always try to stimulate more interactions, as in also getting their opinions as experts on certain matters. It takes some time to get that culture going, but I think we have a smooth operation. It does help that we have a product owner and two developers on our side. The project is controlled from the Amsterdam side and executed by the Polish team. The developers themselves are working perfectly fine within our agile sprints, but it took some time to get started and to get used to each other. We’re using Slack for communication, Google Docs for documents, and Jira and Confluence for issue tracking, sprint setups, and measurements. What did you find most impressive about them? Compared to the other Python developer we’ve worked with, the fact that it’s so easy for STX Next to supply new profiles is pretty impressive. They have a big talent pool, and that makes them very flexible. If I asked them for three new developers by the following week, STX Next would be able to supply them. Are there any areas they could improve? Among the things we find important are people’s skill levels and their personalities and approach to the work. We like to have a pretty big hand in recruitment, and STX Next wants to put themselves down as having already estimated that a person is a good addition to our team, and we have to believe them. We find it very important that a person has certain personal traits and level of intelligence, and we like to play a part in that. If there’s an improvement point, it’s for them to be more flexible around that. There’s always a bit of a discussion when I tell them that I want to interview their resources, and that it’ll take me 60–90 minutes. It always leads to a return email with them saying that it’s not their normal route for doing things. Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs? Clients shouldn’t underestimate the starting phase. Taking in an external company doesn’t mean that they’ll have a full development team by the following week that will immediately build what the client wants them to. If the client is using the external company purely as an extension of the team that they have in their own office, that will lead to some configuration needs before everything is up and running. --- #### App Development for Social Media & Photo Sharing Platform **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: $10,000 to $49,999 - Project length: Mar. 2020 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next came onboard to complete an app that another company failed to deliver. They redid the UI, refactored and cleaned up the code, increased code security, and added various functionalities and features. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Founder, Social Media & Photo Sharing Platform - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 1-10 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Jul 8, 2020 **Feedback Summary**: STX Next not only executed a complex and challenging project but remained professional and positive throughout. Their ability to maintain a transparent development cycle and deliver tangible results bolstered internal stakeholders’ confidence in their business. The team communicated seamlessly. "“It was a life-changing transition going with STX Next.” " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the founder of a social media and image sharing application that’s for electronic music festivals. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We had been working with a previous company for about six months, and the work that they were doing was extremely subpar and wasn’t meeting any of our agreements. The designs and code quality were bad. We brought on STX Next to save the project. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? We went to them with a fully built application; all of the screens were technically completed, but everything was just poor quality visually and code-wise. STX Next did a complete redo of the UI from the on-app perspective. They made the app look like the agreed-upon designs that we’d had with the previous company. From a backend perspective, they refactored and cleaned up a lot of the code. They also increased our code security and a lot of the functionality. I believe we closed around 75 tickets over the course of bringing the app to total usability. In that time, we made sure that all of the features we intended to have were actually within the app and working correctly.   What is the team composition? I worked with Bartek (Head of React Native), a backend engineer, and a frontend React Native engineer.  How did you come to work with STX Next? I actually found them on Clutch. I liked all of the positive reviews and their location in general. I reached out to 5–6 companies on Clutch, received proposals from all of them, and spoke to them on video chat. I had the most appealing conversation with STX Next. How much have you invested with them? We’re coming up on $30,000–$40,000. What is the status of this engagement? Our work together in March 2020, and we’re technically still working together through a continuing operation agreement. We were able to launch our app in June.  **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? It was a life-changing transition going with STX Next. The development cycle with our previous company was that we’d receive a build every couple of weeks, and it was always really disappointing. We had an ongoing conversation on Basecamp about stuff that needed to be changed. It didn’t feel like there was a really good way to establish good communication to identify specific bugs, so we were wasting tons of time making Excel spreadsheets of what needed to be done.  Once we brought in STX Next, it was a world of difference. We got a Slack channel set up so that we could communicate daily. I received builds almost every other day. We engaged in a new project management tool; they just came on board with whatever I wanted to use, which was fantastic. I was able to file tickets constantly and monitor all of the activities that were going on. It really increased our confidence in the business to know that work was being done, we were able to effectively file tickets, and we were having daily communication and daily builds. They gave us a lot more visibility into the development cycle. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? Everything kept on track. We provided them with a special challenge; when I presented them the project, I didn’t have a complete understanding of how much work it was going to be. Their original estimate was 4–5 weeks, but once they got into the code, it ended up taking three months of work to resolve it. That wasn’t their fault; that was our not representing the project correctly. Even though it was a really difficult project, they maintained a fantastic and super professional attitude throughout. They kept working with us and pushing back the deadline so that we could get the project squared away in a reasonable amount of time for the amount of work that was required.  What did you find most impressive about them? The level of communication and involvement that we got from their team – especially since it was such a small project compared to what I’m sure they work on – sets them apart. It was really great to be able to work with their head of React Native and talk with their developers daily. For how little I felt the project was, we received excellent treatment, and I never had one complaint about the communication. Are there any areas they could improve? I have no complaints. Any advice for potential customers? Communication is key, as is being involved in the project. They’re super receptive to communication. --- #### Software Development Outsourcing for Business Standards Firm **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: $200,000 to $999,999 - Project length: Mar. 2019 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next provides development outsourcing services to a business standards firm. The first project entailed developing a website on AWS, which they continue to maintain. They’re about to finish another project. **Review Rating**: 4.5 - Quality: 4.5 - Schedule: 4.5 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Head of New Products and IT, GS1 Polska - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 11-50 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Jul 7, 2020 **Feedback Summary**: STX Next delivers high-quality development work that has received positive feedback from users. The supportive and accommodating team listens to the client’s requirements, and they take scope changes in stride. They provide detailed cost estimates and reasonable prices. "“Based on their approach, I felt like they wanted our business to grow.” " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the head of new products and IT at GS1 Polska, a business standards firm. We are most known for barcodes that you can find on items sold in shops. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? I’m the only IT person in our office. We needed to outsource as much activity as possible, including software development. When we decided we wanted to launch a new product, we needed a company to help us with the development of our small, standard website. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? We chose STX Next as a provider for two projects. For the first project, we created the product concept ourselves. We knew exactly what we wanted and prepared a functional specification. We had an extensive workshop with STX Next for a couple of days. We discussed the details of the functionalities that we wanted. After giving a cost estimate, they did the software development. We changed our requirements along the way; when we provided feedback, they acted accordingly.  The first project went live in January 2020, and they continue to provide support. We proposed the second project to them in December 2019, and then the same team that did the first project started the second one in January. They don’t have their own infrastructure, so they proposed using AWS. The first product is running in the cloud, and the second one will as well. They’re about to finish the second product. What is the team composition? There’s a product owner. The full team was present during all of our meetings. It was great having people that were already familiar with our business work on our second project. How did you come to work with STX Next? We started getting quotes from different companies in March 2019. Another GS1 company in UAE referred STX Next. We trust our colleagues from different countries. STX Next is based in the same city as us, which we consider an advantage. They’re a Polish company, so there isn’t a language or cultural barrier. We don’t regret hiring them. How much have you invested with them? My company has spent $250,000. What is the status of this engagement? We started working together in August 2019, and the work is ongoing. We have a plan to collect more requirements, and we’ll probably invest in the system again. Due to COVID-19, our revenue has dropped a bit, so we won’t invest until next year. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? Their development work is good. Users have said that they like the application, the functionality, and the user interface. Comments have been positive. The number of users on the app isn’t as high as we expected, but this isn’t STX Next’s issue; it’s our problem that we decided to fashion up different functionality. We didn’t recognize the needs of our customers in a very good way. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? For both projects, we worked in an agile scrum methodology. We went through our requirements step-by-step. Based on the specifics we prepared, they did a final, more detailed cost estimate. During the first project, the sprints were every two weeks. By the second project, they knew that we change our requirements often, so they decided on one-week sprints. Demos are also weekly. What did you find most impressive about them? They listen. They don’t force us to go their way; instead, they follow our way of thinking. During our tender, other companies said they’d want to keep the intellectual rights for the software they’d develop. STX Next said we could just rent their team of developers, and that we would be the owner of whatever they created. They didn’t want to be the owner of it. Are there any areas they could improve? They’re good at creating software. I think more and more companies want not only software development but also maintenance. They didn’t offer maintenance at first, but when we insisted that we wanted them to be our maintenance company also, they did it for us. I think they should do it for more companies. Also, they proposed only AWS, which is probably the most expensive. Do you have any advice for potential customers? They are a company who listens to you. Based on their approach, I felt like they wanted our business to grow. They’re very supportive. --- #### Python Development for Investment Management Firm **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: $1,000,000 to $9,999,999 - Project length: June 2019 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next used Python to develop an interactive frontend for a data discovery application. Additionally, they provided a team of engineers to build tooling for discretionary hedge fund portfolio managers. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 4.5 - Schedule: 4.0 - Cost: 4.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** COO, Alpha Technology, Man Group - Industry: Financial services - Client size: 1,001-5,000 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Jun 30, 2020 **Feedback Summary**: STX Next provided excellent work, resulting in an ongoing partnership. The team took the time to get to know their partners and project requirements. They can be described as disciplined and experienced. "“They’re very inquisitive engineers, plugged in designers, and want to know your business in a genuine way.” " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the COO of the front office technology team of an investment management firm. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? The demand for Python developers in cities like London, Boston, and New York is fairly intense. We’re very much a Python shop and we invest a lot of time in our recruiting process and hiring standards. It was becoming increasingly more difficult to find good talent in those geographic hubs and so we wanted to expand our talent pool. We were looking for a firm with a track record of expertise. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? We’ve undertaken two main approaches with them.  We started with a standalone project where we wished to enhance data discovery via a rich and interactive frontend. It was a relatively packaged up type process. Alongside STX Next, we gathered requirements from end-users, and STX Next provisioned a team that worked alongside our in-house data engineering team to build that out. A month later, we kicked off a team augmentation approach also. During this project, STX Next provided engineers to augment our existing engineering team, which was aligned to our discretionary hedge fund building out tooling for the portfolio. The STX Next engineers became part of that team’s daily workflow, their prioritization process, and engage directly with their end-users. What is the team composition? They brought a team of engineers with a mix of front- and backend. They had a product owner on their side, which was really key to the success. They came to London and we did design sessions in-person. The product owner really built up a very good understanding of our business, as did all of the engineers. They handled the project management for the standalone project. In the team augmentation set up, they provided the engineers, and we provided the project and product management. How did you come to work with STX Next? We knew them from a few years back when we used them to build out a performance attribution tool which is still in use to this day. We were aware that they positioned themselves as Python specialists, and it felt there would be natural synergy in partnering up with them. How much have you invested with them? We spent about $1 million. What is the status of this engagement? We started working together in June 2019, and the work is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? We’re happy with the results on the standalone project approach as well as the team augmentation. From the very start of the data catalog piece they built for us, they were thinking about how to track adoption metrics for this tool when it gets released into the world. We have a set of metrics for that particular tool that we can see the uptake in our user base. I can only characterize it as a success. We started with one standalone project, one small team augmentation, and we have since added some of their resources in the DevOps space with ongoing maintenance. The fact that we’re adding more building blocks into this STX Next ecosystem tells you about our conviction to work with them. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? They do product management in addition to project management. They have a well-honed, agile delivery process. The other element that really complements that is they are incredibly strong in design.  They have a very capable design team of in-house designers. That’s a great leverage effect for any firm that doesn’t have that in-house expertise, to be able to draw upon that and get that rich design layer built into your products. It creates a very nice UX on an end-to-end basis. They really want to get to know your company. They’re very disciplined. We wanted to spend that first year learning how to best interact with them. Now we’re in a place where we can plan for potentially more work. What did you find most impressive about them? I spent a lot of time speaking with other firms in the analysis phase of this initiative. STX Next had built a really nice culture, one that we felt would be compatible with ours. They’re very inquisitive engineers, plugged in designers, and want to know your business in a genuine way. Are there any areas they could improve? When we first started working with them, I don’t think the finance industry was their biggest vertical. There has been a learning curve of domain knowledge. The nature of their firm is they will provide their services pretty much across industries. Do you have any advice for potential customers? Do a proof of concept. Pick a project and make it something not too scary and not too close to your core intellectual property. Embrace the STX Next way of doing things as a starting point. The process can be adapted to suit your team’s working style but get a sense of how they would approach it so that you can map the differences and similarities. They will come to your office to carry out rich design and requirement gathering sessions with your end-users. It is critical that you spend that initial few weeks answering all the questions that they ask and prompting them to ask you 10 more questions. The more time you spend with them upfront, really getting them to understand your business domain knowledge, the better the work they will deliver. --- #### Machine Learning Development for AI Technology Startup **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: $50,000 to $199,999 - Project length: Sep. 2019 - June 2020 **Project Summary**: STX Next developed a machine learning classification system and data pipeline for an AI tech startup. They executed on the provided design. **Review Rating**: 4.0 - Quality: 4.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 3.5 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** CEO, AI Technology Startup - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 1-10 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Jun 22, 2020 **Feedback Summary**: The project positions the business for scalability; the system has increased the number of innovation records and the team can easily scrub the data. STX Next met all their deliverables and provided accurate time estimates. "“We felt fortunate to work with the  people that were on our team. They’re good people.” " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. My organization is a tech startup that uses AI to automate technology scouting for Fortune 500 companies, venture capitalists, and foundations. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We’re a startup and we were building up the team. We need to figure out all the moving pieces and find an expert in machine learning specifically for text and classification to help build our product. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? They executed our design of a machine learning classification system. They helped us develop the data pipelines to import the data to be classified and all the deployment to production. The project included everything from the data pipeline to the deployment of machine learning algorithms and models.   What is the team composition? We had a machine learning engineer, a data engineer, and a full stack developer. How did you come to work with STX Next? One of my employees did research and compared the various options out there. STX Next wasn’t the cheapest option out there, but they offered a good, reliable value. We reached out to STX Next about creating another product. They’re experts in Python and learned they had machine learning in-house, which is difficult to find. We liked that they’ve worked together before because it pays dividends to have a team with established communication patterns. It’s just more efficient. How much have you invested with them? It would have been between $15,000–$20,000 per month, so I’d guess around $150,000–$200,000 in total. What is the status of this engagement? The project lasted from September 2019 – June 2020. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?  With their help, we were able to scale our innovation data from about 5,000 innovation records to 200,000 innovation records. On the machine learning side, the project enabled us to onboard a team of five people for data sanitation, so no our data can be scrubbed and cleaned. This positions us for scalability. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? It was excellent. They delivered what they said they were going to deliver and their estimates for how long it would take were accurate. Our own product manager sets the priorities and timelines on our side. Their side found the staff to fill our needs. We used Jira to keep track of everything. What did you find most impressive about them? We felt fortunate to work with the people that were on our team. They’re good people. Are there any areas they could improve? We’re an Austin-based company, and the rigidity to sticking to Polish hours was a challenge. It wasn’t an independent piece of work, so we needed to collaborate. It would have helped if we had the flexibility and their hours overlapped with our hours in the US. Do you have any advice for potential customers? Make sure you have leadership in-house to guide the project. An in-house team leader can help manage the project and make sure everything is moving along. --- #### Custom Python Development for Cybersecurity Startup **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: Confidential - Project length: Nov. 2019 - Mar. 2020 **Project Summary**: STX Next supplemented resources to support software development for a cybersecurity startup. Following specifications, the team provided full stack development services and wrote code using Python. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** CEO, Cybersecurity Startup - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 1-10 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Jun 22, 2020 **Feedback Summary**: The investment upfront to understand the project requirements supported a successful engagement, which resulted in quality code and satisfying deliverables. The team’s timeliness and transparency ensured smooth collaboration. STX Next provided valuable expertise, enabling additional partnership. ""They understood our specifications without much explanation, which was better than our experiences with past vendors." " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the CEO of a cybersecurity startup. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We wanted to outsource development tasks related to a custom software project. We needed a team with experience in Python. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? We provided the specifications and requirements for the software and then STX developed two modules using Python. Their team wrote code as well as managed front- and backend development for their designated tasks. What is the team composition? STX dedicated a project manager, developers, and other tech teammates to this project. How did you come to work with STX Next? We considered a couple of different companies. We liked STX’s experience with Python and their processes, which were similar to ours. What is the status of this engagement? We worked together from November 2019 – March 2020. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?  Before they started to write code, STX brought in a team to understood the specifications because this project was crucial. It had to be finished on time and coded well. If it wasn't, we would've had to return the funding or come up with additional funding internally. We were pleased with the overall quality of their work. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? The communication was open and honest. We used e-mail, a ticketing system, source code systems, Microsoft Teams, and Google platforms. We also had a few scheduled meetings as well as on-demand calls when necessary. Their team met their deadlines. When we couldn’t meet our deadlines, they were flexible. What did you find most impressive about them? We liked their DevOps culture, which was similar to ours and made for a smoother partnership. Their team was knowledgeable, especially in Python. They understood our specifications without much explanation, which was better than our experiences with other vendors. During the next round of development, we will definitely work with them. Are there any areas they could improve? They aren’t the cheapest. However, you get what you pay for with development. Do you have any advice for potential customers? I can only recommend them regarding working with Python. --- #### Python & React Development Outsourcing for Research Firm **The Project** - Services: IT Staff Augmentation - Project size: $200,000 to $999,999 - Project length: Nov. 2018 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next provides outsourcing services to a research firm. Their software engineers use a ticketing system to develop, mainly in Python and React. They also offer UX design and frontend development resources. **Review Rating**: 4.0 - Quality: 3.0 - Schedule: 4.0 - Cost: 3.5 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Head of Digital Products, Research Firm - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 5,001-10,000 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — May 8, 2020 **Feedback Summary**: STX Next’s work has improved the look and quality of the firm’s product. They are a one-stop-shop whose multi-disciplinary team can quickly scale resources depending on the need. Their internal processes, from standups to sprint reviews, have been educational to internal stakeholders. "“They have made the software development process more transparent and predictable.” " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the head of digital products for a research firm. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We wanted to expand our development resources with a more local connection. We were looking to add resources in our predominant technology stack of Python and React. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? The team of engineers from STX Next use a ticketing system for development tasks. Initially, they were collaborating with our internal team, but as time went on, they began working more independently. They mainly work in Python and React. We also have access to UX designers and frontend developers. What is the team composition? The service manager is my main point of contact. They assign engineers and designers to work with us on different projects; they have a large crew in four different locations. Team size varies by project. How did you come to work with STX Next? We chose them because they had the best talent pool for Python and used Agile methodology. They also had the best pricing. How much have you invested with them? My company has spent $700,000–$800,000. What is the status of this engagement? We began working together in November 2018, and it’s ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?  They have done a lot of work in React that has improved the overall look of the product as well as the quality. They help us create and maintain software that is more flexible to adjustments. We have learned a lot from watching their day-to-day processes: standups, bi-weekly sprint reviews, etc. They have made the software development process more transparent and predictable. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? They have a good grip on what they’re doing. They work in Agile methodology. The service manager and I meet every week or two to discuss the progression, what’s going well or needs improvement, and what’s coming up. We also rotate people on and off the project as needed. There is daily interaction between our project manager and their Scrum master and product owner. They also communicate via Slack or phone with our internal team regarding technical challenges or anything that needs to be discussed. What did you find most impressive about them? They are a one-stop-shop. A key benefit is their ability to quickly scale up or down, allowing us to get new people on board for projects. It’s very efficient. Are there any areas they could improve? They had to develop their React resources along the way, which slowed some things down. They also took a while to understand what drives our company, making it difficult for them to work independently on specific features. Do you have any advice for potential customers? Hire them for the skills they have in-house. Their core strengths are Python and working in greenfield situations, such as startups or new projects. They have a multi-disciplinary team. --- #### SaaS Prototype for IT & Healthcare Startup **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: Less than $10,000 - Project length: Aug. - Sep. 2019 **Project Summary**: STX Next developed a SaaS prototype for a healthcare startup, focusing on the architecture of the system. The team also created the plan for a future roadmap.  **Review Rating**: 4.5 - Quality: 4.5 - Schedule: 4.5 - Cost: 4.5 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Chairman of the Board, Venini Health Oy - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 1-10 Employees - Review Type: Online Review - Verified **The Review** — Oct 22, 2019 **Feedback Summary**: The team at STX Next delivered the prototype in a few days. Their efficient workflow complemented their professional management style. Their skilled expertise was also noteworthy.  ""I was impressed with the pure know-how of the whole team of STX Next employees." " **BACKGROUND** Please describe your company and your position there. We are a IT/healthcare start up company with products to both public and private sector. I'm a chairman of the board. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** For what projects/services did your company hire STX Next? We needed to have a good architecture plan, prototype and overall plan to cover future roadmap for developing needs. What were your goals for this project? Our goal was to have clean view about our idea and paint that into reality. **SOLUTION** How did you select this vendor? We had heard STX is a good partner for several fields of our interest and just went for it. Describe the project and the services they provided in detail. Our project was to sit down and use their expertise to get all our thoughts to understandable format. We actually sat down for three straight days together with STX design and developer team to get everything sorted out. What was the team composition? Our two founders and 4-5 team members from STX **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business? When started we had a bit different approach to our product/service and STX just guided us to the right direction. How was project management arranged and how effective was it? Project management was fully taken care of by STX and it was just perfectly done job! Everything was written down with photos, memos, scetches and finally the Plan. What did you find most impressive about this company? I was impressed with the pure know-how of the whole team of STX Next employees. Are there any areas for improvement? No. --- #### Software Dev for Digital Seafood Marketplace **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: Confidential - Project length: **Project Summary**: STX Next provided outsourced developers to work on an online marketplace. They built a product listing feature with online payment integration using Python and JavaScript. **Review Rating**: 4.0 - Quality: 4.0 - Schedule: 4.0 - Cost: 4.0 - Willing to Refer: 4.0 **The Reviewer** Lead Developer, Seafood Marketplace - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 51-200 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Sep 30, 2019 **Feedback Summary**: Their support has helped realize the goals of the project, as they’ve provided quality code. STX Next’s developers have integrated well with the in-house team. They’re friendly and transparent. ""They’re always trying to find a good solution." " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the lead developer for a seafood marketplace. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We needed help with development. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? They work on the main development of the marketplace with our in-house team. They’re developing a feature to show the customers which products are available and which aren’t, as well as online payment integration. We’re using only Python for the backend. From time to time, they do a little bit of JavaScript. What is the team composition? We worked with one junior backend developer and one senior backend developer. There’s one QA engineer who is developing our automation testing and related features. The manager is my main point of contact. How did you come to work with STX Next? Our former CTO chose them, so I can’t say. What is the status of this engagement? We started working together in February 2019 and the work is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? Our aim at the beginning was to have more Python developers on the team, and they fit perfectly. We’re working as one big team. We’re able to develop the features that we want and the quality of work has been solid. They’re really experienced and they’ve made a great impact. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? We work in a scrum process and we haven’t had any troubles. They take part in our daily meeting. They’re working from Poland but it’s like they’re working on location with us. We consider them team members. The relationship is very transparent and we always know what they’re doing. They’re good at communication and hitting deadlines. We use Jira and an online whiteboard. What did you find most impressive about them? They’re really friendly and easy to work with. I’m really impressed with their competence. Are there any areas they could improve? No, we’re happy with them. They’re always trying to find a good solution. Do you have any advice for potential customers? Make sure the people you’re working with from STX Next are personable and friendly. For us, it was very important to us that the person fits with the team. --- #### Software Dev for MBA Communication Platform **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: Confidential - Project length: Apr. 2018 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: Using existing designs, STX Next built a communication platform for using Python, Django, React, Vue.js, and CraftQL. The project is ongoing. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 4.5 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** CEO & Founder, MBA Platform - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 1-10 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Jul 2, 2019 **Feedback Summary**: The platform has deployed without issue and attracted over 3,300 users. STX Next delivers high-quality development work reliably. The team leads a smooth and scalable collaboration thanks to their proactiveness, professionalism, and willingness to adapt practices to meet their clients’ needs. ""STX Next cares about the software they’re building, and it shows in the final quality and user experience." " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I'm the CEO and founder of a communication platform for business schools.  **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We engaged STX Next to develop our platform. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? STX Next built the backend in Python and the administrative panel using Django. The panel handles our users and databases without requiring our team to code anything. The frontend uses predominantly React and Vue.js, and we’re using CraftQL to create the interface between the front- and backend. Our team spent nine months designing the product before we started this project. The platform provides a network for users to browse, filter, and search for other users using their profile information. It also features a new group messaging system which allows the user to add many people at once based on their profile info. What is the team composition? At the height of development, we had about six people working on the team: two frontend developers, three backend developers, and one full stack developer. How did you come to work with STX Next? I reached out to about 23 different partners across the world, and STX Next was one of the ones that made it to the very final round. I found them on Clutch after my COO suggested Poland as a potential area for partnership. STX Next demonstrated technical ingenuity while charging competitive prices, resulting in a nice balance between quality of work and cost. I'd already gone through and created a backlog of features and functionalities that I wanted. I just needed to know how far my set budget could go through that backlog. A salesperson wouldn't have that level of insight. STX Next had a technical person on the very first call, which was incredibly helpful and set them apart from other partners. That person then took over my team when I chose STX Next for this project. What is the status of this engagement? We started working together in April 2018, and the project is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? The platform has launched internationally. We have over 3,300 MBA students and 46 business schools on the platform at the moment. Our site hasn’t once crashed as our user base expands and people experiment with our features—a testament to the quality of STX Next’s work. We’ve received praise from users and our team on the platform. We’re thrilled with STX Next. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? STX Next is highly flexible when it comes to a startup’s needs. We can scale the team as needed and only have to give them a week’s notice. We never have a team member sitting around doing nothing. STX Next also adapts their protocols to meet our preferences and challenges. I can’t recommend them more highly from that perspective. We use Jira and other Atlassian products to manage our tasks. We used to use Slack for our communication, but we’ve since migrated over to our own platform. What did you find most impressive about them? Because STX Next has hundreds of resources available, they can scale our team easily. If I went with a smaller company, they’d have to outsource the work whenever we encountered specific challenges. At STX Next, the team can reach out to their network, share and receive knowledge, and bring back a tested solution to our problem. They are also focused on creating a long-term partnership. STX Next cares about the software they’re building, and it shows in the final quality and user experience. Are there any areas they could improve? Originally, STX Next wasn’t as flexible in giving up its set methodologies to accommodate our needs. However, when we asked to use our money to replace a structured project management process with an additional coder, STX Next agreed. I’m glad they had the flexibility, but it wasn’t an option they considered before our project. It was a learning process for us both. Any advice for potential customers? Know your products thoroughly so that you know precisely what you want it to do and what you want to be built. It will save so much money. STX Next will help you prioritize your requests and challenge assumptions you’ve made, but it’s best to be prepared in advance. --- #### Mobile App Dev for Social Change Organization **The Project** - Services: Mobile App Development - Project size: Confidential - Project length: Apr. - July 2019 **Project Summary**: STX Next created an application for iOS and Android that features empowering meditation and audio lessons. They developed the design work within branding guidelines and built the backend. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 4.5 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Business Development Manager, Women Empowerment Organization - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 1-10 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Jun 21, 2019 **Feedback Summary**: STX Next’s beta version of the app functions well and garners positive feedback from internal team members. They deliver efficient and systematic project management and excel in their attention to detail. The team’s engagement, dedication, and communications shine. "“They go the extra mile to help me.” " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the business development manager for an organization that supports the empowerment of women. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We needed a company to help us reach far more people. We came up with the idea to develop a mobile app so we could send our message to people. We wanted to share our teachings with people and influence them to challenge themselves to be their best, positive self. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? They developed our iOS and Android mobile app. The app offers meditation and audio lessons. We have several topics such as relationships, how to set boundaries, and how to be more positive. People can listen to our teachings through audio files. Whenever you want to learn something new, the app is always there with new content. STX Next followed our branding guidelines in their development of 90% of the designs. We went back and forth and changed a few things until our visions aligned. STX Next is working on the backend, operations, and design. We postponed the release of the app because the content isn’t to the standard that I want yet. What is the team composition?  I worked with the project manager, the designers, and the developers. They are all handpicked. I love each one of them. How did you come to work with STX Next? One of my team members searched for the best app companies. We interviewed 10 companies and asked them to give us a sample of their work. It was extremely important for us to work with a company that was on the same level, and that’s what we found with STX Next. What is the status of this engagement? We started working together in April 2019, and the project is scheduled to be complete in July 2019. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? We have the beta version of the app, and it’s outstanding. It’s performing well. The internal team loves it. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? The project manager is the best. She’s exceedingly organized. There were no frustrations for me. We always had good, open communication with her and the team. We use Slack and InVision to communicate. They deliver on time. They’re detailed and on point. At the end of every sprint, they tell me what they’ve done and what they have planned. They show me the results in our weekly performance meetings. I’m happy with them. They go the extra mile to help me.  What did you find most impressive about them? They’re great. Once we’re done with this app, we will give them some new projects. Since we’re connected with the people here in the UAE, we’ll propose their services to some of our partners.  I love that they are so in love with the app and what we do. They want to be part of this social change and empowering women. Are there any areas they could improve? If they had an Arabic translator, it would give them a good jump. Do you have any advice for potential customers? Have a clear vision of the project. Know your goal and vision of the app. STX Next has the tools and the mind to do it. --- #### Bot Integration for Sports Betting Platform **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: $10,000 to $49,999 - Project length: Jan. 2019 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next is developing a chat bot integration to connect the backend systems of an online sportsbook, using cell phone authentication to allow platform access without a sign on. They also provide HTML5 designs. **Review Rating**: 4.5 - Quality: 4.5 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Director, BetDSI - Industry: Business services - Client size: 11-50 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Jun 4, 2019 **Feedback Summary**: While the integration project is still in development, their work has received positive feedback from key internal stakeholders. STX Next's professional collaboration approach makes them a valuable partner. They kept the project moving by providing critical status updates throughout the engagement. ""STX Next works with our managers in a way that's conducive to getting projects accomplished." " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there.  I’m director of business development at BetDSI. We're an online sportsbook. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We're trying to create alternative methods of playing options for our members. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement?  STX Next is connecting all of our software backend systems to a chat platform, which allows users to have a synchronous connection with the site. Users are able to handle business, make wagers, and check their account without actually having to log in. They achieve this through cell phone authentication and a chat platform. They also do some design work for banners and landing pages using HTML5 Creative.  What is the team composition? There are three people assigned to the betting bot integration, and one for the design elements. I worked closely with Judith (Business Development Representative, STX Next) on setting up the project. Once the project kicked off, I mostly work with Lukas (Marketing Manager, STX Next) and Tomasz (Team Leader, STX Next). How did you come to work with STX Next?  I found them on Clutch. I looked at several companies and contacted a few. STX Next was responsive while many others were not. Also, they had a background in working with chat platforms.  How much have you invested with them? We’ve spent between $25,000–$50,000. What is the status of this engagement?  The kickoff meeting happened in January 2019 and the engagement is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?  Bot integration is due either the end of this month or next month, depending on delivery from our end. The HTML5 designs have helped create a more attractive presence online in terms of client acquisition. Overall, our internal team is quite happy with their work. Everything seems to be working properly, with solid functionality.  How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint?  They've done a good job in project management. All meetings and collaboration have been professional. STX Next works with our managers in a way that's conducive to getting projects accomplished. We set up a series of meetings and a schedule, and they've met all our requirements. They use Trello to regularly update us with status information. Though it’s somewhat complicated on our end, they work well with our two programming groups.  What did you find most impressive about them? Overall, their responsiveness is most impressive. It's difficult to fully grade their work at this point as we’ve yet to see a finished product. However, I've worked with several other offshore companies and it hasn't ever turned out well. We’re actually seeing positive results from STX Next, which makes them stand out among other service providers. Are there any areas they could improve?  There were some issues with our teams getting on the same page at the beginning of the project. We needed information from them in order to create APIs. There was a miscommunication and they were waiting for information from us. Once we worked through who needed to do what, they got the first pieces going. STX Next was ultimately able to deliver what was needed. Do you have any advice for potential customers? Keep the lines of communication open and be very specific. One thing we did that was helpful was to create detailed spec documents. Because of our UI/UX capacity, we were able to send them examples of what we wanted. That definitely helped streamline the process.  --- #### Development & Quality Assurance for Data Platform **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: $200,000 to $999,999 - Project length: Jan. 2019 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next offers supplemental development resources for a data company. The developers primarily make API updates using Python. They also dedicate DevOps personnel to monitor an AWS cloud system at all times. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Director of Operations, Data Firm - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 11-50 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — May 20, 2019 **Feedback Summary**: STX Next’s development efforts have been so successful that the contract is likely to be extended, and the DevOps resources are incredibly proactive and communicative. The firm features an effective onboarding process and an agreeable project management approach, creating a seamless engagement. ""With their development help, we’ve hit all of the milestones we expected to hit." " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I am the director of operations at a data company. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We engaged STX Next to provide supplemental development, QA, and DevOps resources as we continued to build out our internal engineering team. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? About 95% of our platform is in the cloud using AWS technology. We rely on STX Next’s DevOps resources to monitor our cloud around the clock and alert us to any system issues. Most of our internal code utilizes Python. STX Next offers development resources to modernize our processes, including writing a new version of our API that we use to serve our data to our customers. We are also converting our data pipeline to more modern technologies, and we have used the Python developer to rewrite some of those processes, as well. For a short time, we also worked with a QA technician who ran test scripts for us. What is the team composition? In addition to the one QA engineer, we work with one python developer and one senior architect, who helped with the onboarding to get the developer accustomed to our system. STX Next also provides 2–2.5 DevOps resources to look after our operation. How did you come to work with STX Next? I had a positive experience working with STX Next at a previous company, and I hoped they could replicate that success here. How much have you invested with them? We have spent less than $200,000 to this point. What is the status of this engagement? Our engagement began in January 2019 and remains ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? We became quite frustrated with a previous DevOps vendor that was not proactive in reaching out to us when we had system alerts. Working with STX Next has been a complete turnaround. We never have to reach out to them for crucial information. They are thoroughly communicative. We expect to have them as part of our team for quite some time. We’ve completed the work with the QA resource, and we initially planned to end our engagement with the Python resource at the end of May 2019, but it’s been such a successful partnership that we are instead looking to extend the support for several more months to help with some additional projects. With their development help, we’ve hit all of the milestones we expected to hit. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? They are quick to respond to all of our messages. They’re reasonable in their approach, and we’ve been completely satisfied. We use Jira to manage their work queue and monitor their tasks. We’ve developed a productive workflow. What did you find most impressive about them? The service delivery manager that is our primary point of contact has been wonderful to work with. They’ve been reasonable and flexible to our requests about wanting to extend the contract. They’ve done everything in their power to ensure that the resources initially assigned to us stay with our team. Are there any areas they could improve? No, nothing in particular needs improvement. Do you have any advice for potential customers? We benefited from having their senior architect help with the onboarding process of their development resource. That senior figure is one of the more experienced people they have and has dealt with multiple engagements. They know how to make the onboarding period easy. I would recommend utilizing that resource if possible. --- #### Product Dev for Customer Service Solutions Firm **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: Confidential - Project length: Sep. 2018 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next is helping rebuild a SaaS platform in JavaScript and PHP into a microservice architecture in Python and AWS. They remade a form renderer and a dashboard tool. They’re also improving the overall UI/UX. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 4.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Head of Product Development, Firmstep - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 51-200 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Feb 19, 2019 **Feedback Summary**: Several new features have yet to launch, but STX Next has delivered high-quality code on time and at outstanding value. Their presence has helped bolster internal knowledge of Python and agile methodology. Customers can expect a diligent, flexible team that grasps requirements quickly. ""They’re very experienced developers with a solid understanding of UI/UX principles." " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the head of product development at Firmstep. We offer a SaaS platform to help local governments and public sector organizations provide excellent service to citizens as efficiently as possible. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? Our platform was a monolith built in PHP and JavaScript. It became increasingly difficult to maintain as we added more features and products. It also lacked full documentation, meaning that knowledge was lost through regular staff turnover. We decided to move to a microservice modular architecture platform using Python and AWS services. We brought in STX Next as development partners to assist our internal team and lead the rebuilding process. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? Our platform offers a form builder and form renderer. Once a user builds out a form, they can customize how it displays through the form renderer. The renderer had become buggy and difficult to maintain. STX Next rebuilt the tool to address its root issues. They also redesigned it to automatically comply with the government design principles established by the Government Digital Service. This update makes it more straightforward for customers to abide by their industry’s design standards. STX Next also revamped a workflow management tool used by councilors to organize their caseload. They improved its performance to better accommodate the tool’s current level of demand. They also added filtering options, more powerful search functions, and flexibility in the user’s viewing experience. The team helped us update our self-service portals and widgets as well. They’re also working to improve the platform’s overall user experience, decreasing page load and render times while implementing a more consistent and visually appealing design.  What is the team composition? Our initial team comprised ten people: a product owner, a manual tester, and eight frontend developers, backend developers, and full-stack developers. We’ve added another two teams over the last few months and started working with a scrum master to help manage each team’s processes. How did you come to work with STX Next? Our CTO found their team through online research. STX Next had also worked with a mutual colleague, which further convinced us that they were the right fit for this project. What is the status of this engagement? We started working together in September 2018, and the project is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? Given the scale of the rebuilds, several features have yet to be released to customers. However, our pull requests in our code repositories have increased tenfold, which we’re happy to see. Working with STX Next has also taught our internal team about agile processes, Python, and new technologies. They’ve shown us better DevOps practices and how to deploy our code more safely. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? We lacked experience working with outsourced teams. STX Next helped guide us through the initial process where we learned our ideal workflows to maximize productivity. They’re excellent at understanding requirements and delegating tasks appropriately. We never feel the need to micromanage their work. We communicate through Slack and host weekly standups on Google Hangouts. When we need to update requirements, we either use a Google Doc or a phone call. STX Next manages tasks and progress through Jira. They’re highly independent and self-sufficient, and they always keep us up to date on the project’s status. What did you find most impressive about them? STX Next has adapted well to our organization, our goals, and our management styles. They’re also deeply engaged with our product and platform. Even without having direct experience working with UK local governments, the team still produced excellent user story maps and user personas for each product. They also often suggested ways to improve the user experience and make the outcome more successful. Are there any areas they could improve? Since these were new technology stacks for us, we hadn’t thought about deployment in the earlier stages. This lack of planning caused miscommunication later on about the exact scale of the project’s scope. We eventually resolved the issues though. Any advice for potential customers? Trust in their process. Give the team a degree of freedom to expand on the original requirements and make adjustments. If STX Next had stuck to our exact list of specifications, we would have wound up with a lower quality product. They’re very experienced developers with a solid understanding of UI/UX principles. --- #### Web Dev for Parcel Carrier & Shipping Platform **The Project** - Services: E-Commerce Development - Project size: Confidential - Project length: Apr. 2018 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next provided Python developers to augment an existing development team. Projects included integration of shipping carriers into e-commerce platforms and AWS implementation. The partnership is ongoing. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 4.0 - Schedule: 4.0 - Cost: 4.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Software Engineering Manager, Scurri - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 11-50 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Feb 4, 2019 **Feedback Summary**: The team’s developers integrated fully into an existing process, matching its quality and workflow standards. STX Next offers varied consultation services, ensuring skillful assistance for unique challenges. Expect to smooth incorporate team members from this reliable partner. ""They’ve maintained the same standards we have on our own team." " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the software engineering manager for Scurri, an IT company providing carrier integration for e-commerce merchants. We connect and optimize online ordering, shipping, and delivery. It’s a dynamic platform and API designed to be simple, effective, and adaptable. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We needed help scaling our team when we received big projects with fast deadlines. Specifically, we needed Python developers, and they’re difficult to find due to demand. We work with high-profile customers and we needed developers who would integrate seamlessly into our own team with no decline in quality. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? They came on board a few years into the existence of our platform. They’re embedded completely in our process to the point that there’s no difference between one of our in-house developers and one of theirs. We’ve given them specifications for all the work that needs to be done. They've helped us integrate new shipping carriers into e-commerce platforms. What is the team composition? We’re working with three full-stack Python developers from STX Next. They assist with coding, databasing, and infrastructure elements. We also discuss details with their project manager every two weeks. How did you come to work with STX Next? Our engineering manager found them originally, and we contacted them again for our current engagement. How much have you invested with them? The total cost is over $100,000. What is the status of this engagement? We started working with them in April 2018 and the collaboration is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? Adding their developers did not slow down our process at all, nor diminish its quality. They’ve maintained the same standards we have on our own team. We’re completely satisfied with the quality and reliability of what they’ve delivered. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? We’ve never had any issues with their project manager, who responds immediately whenever we have questions or suggestions. Their developers take part in our planning and retro meetings. We have our own Kanban development process and we communicate through Slack. What did you find most impressive about them? They offer a broad range of consultation services. We can always count on getting specialists for single tasks—AWS implementation, for example—who bring a unique understanding of the work needed. It’s like paying for three developers while also having access to skilled consultants who can help whenever needed. Are there any areas they could improve? It would help our business if they could offer service at any time of the day. Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs? Always work to understand the developers personally during the onboarding process and integrate them fully into the team. Don’t treat them as a third-party service. --- #### Dev Support for Multi-Channel Retail Platform **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: Confidential - Project length: Apr. 2018 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next provides outsourced development to support an existing multi-channel marketplace. They address bugs, make improvements, and help develop new features. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 4.5 - Cost: 4.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Product Manager, Multi-Channel Retail Platform - Industry: Retail - Client size: 11-50 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Jan 29, 2019 **Feedback Summary**: The platform and business have grown substantially over the course of the engagement thanks to STX Next’s team. Dependable and supportive, they’re quick to address technical challenges and have even worked off hours to keep the platform live. Customers can expect proactive communication. "“Not only are they familiar with general tech stacks, but they’re also willing to learn new platforms to help us grow.” " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. We’re a multi-channel marketplace platform that works with independent brands to sell a variety of products, including homeware, fashion, and jewelry. As the product manager, I oversee STX Next’s developers. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We decided to outsource all of our development to STX Next so that we wouldn't have to hire and coordinate between different vendors. Their team works with our CTO to improve and maintain our platform. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? STX Next handles all of our development support to enhance our marketplace solution. It’s a custom built platform that allows independent brands to sell products through our site. Brands can upload portfolio items through a design dashboard, manage their profile, and update their listings. So far, STX Next has resolved bugs and assisted with new developments. While the team is proficient in Python and JavaScript, they’ve also learned to work with Cubic to help build features. They now continue to maintain our site. What is the team composition? They’ve assigned an overall account manager who serves as the point of contact between us and our developers. Initially, we worked with a single developer but have since expanded their team to two. How did you come to work with STX Next? Our CTO had research and contacted several options, including STX Next. We set up a call with them and were impressed with their work. What is the status of this engagement? They’ve worked with us since April 2018, and I don’t foresee us ending the engagement anytime soon. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? Since joining the project, they’ve helped us maintain and grow our platform. Whenever we’ve had a technical emergency or unforeseen downtime, they’ve always been available to keep the site live, even if it meant acting out of hours. Furthermore, STX Next is willing to scale to our project’s needs, providing qualified, professional resources. At one point, one of our developers needed to switch to a different project, so they replaced him with and helped bring the new member up to speed to ensure a smooth transition.​ ​​​​​​How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? They’re professional and communicative. We use Slack to keep in touch throughout the week and Trello to track tasks. What did you find most impressive about them? Not only are they familiar with general tech stacks, but they’re also willing to learn new platforms to help us grow. We use Cubic to generate the experiences on our website, which neither of their developers had worked with before. But they were able to pick it up to support us. Are there any areas they could improve? No, their work has been great, and they have high standards. Sometimes there can be a bit of a language barrier since they’re based in Poland, and we’re in England. But this hasn’t affected the work. --- #### Web Support for Financial Analysis Platform **The Project** - Services: Web Development - Project size: $10,000 to $49,999 - Project length: May - Sep. 2018 **Project Summary**: STX Next provided a supplemental engineer to offer web interface support for a financial company. They developed several features to sort multidimensional data using React.js, Redux, Python, and Django. **Review Rating**: 4.0 - Quality: 4.0 - Schedule: 3.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 4.0 **The Reviewer** Software Engineer, Financial Analysis Platform - Industry: Financial services - Client size: 1-10 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Jan 4, 2019 **Feedback Summary**: Although poor communication led to a shortened engagement, the engineer provided quality work during ramp time. The management team, however, was thoroughly engaged and mindful of the project’s success, creating an amicable working relationship. ""I had a pleasant experience overall working with them." " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I am the former lead developer of a financial technology company. Specifically, we offered a software product that helped quantitative analysts with their investing. It spans the range from very heavy statistical computations to data management to data visualization. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? Given that the company included just the founder and me, we needed outside assistance to scale appropriately. STX Next was brought on to provide web interface support. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? We were in need of a supplemental engineer as this wasn’t a well-defined project with a start and an end. We worked with a single engineer based in Poland that would accomplish our assigned tasks. We’d communicate daily and provide specific pieces of work concerning our web interface, including building new features and fixing bugs. Our interface included elements with React.js, Redux and ES2015 JavaScript, along with Python and Django in the backend. Among the projects he completed was adding a date filtering functionality to our generic table views of multidimensional data. He also added a means to manage a multidimensional dataset further—they can’t be displayed very easily, so users need to filter it down to 2D data. The engineer worked with the UI that allowed the user to decide how to go from nD to 2D. What is the team composition? We worked with just the one engineer, but we were in occasional contact with his manager, as well. How did you come to work with STX Next? The founder of the company created a list of potential companies that were all based outside of the United States. I am unsure of how he found them all, however. How much have you invested with them? I’d estimate that we spent around $25,000. What is the status of this engagement? The engagement spanned May 2018–September 2018. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? We ultimately found it difficult to communicate with a remote engineer, which led to a shortened contract. In those four months, a lot of the work was completed in ramp time, so he did not seriously start contributing to our business. He completed some minor features. If he had stayed on longer, there might be more of an impact I could point to, but given the duration, it would be difficult to do so now. That said, the engineer was very smart, and I learned a lot from him. We had trouble communicating across time zones, but the work he produced was quality. He’s smart and a sound engineer. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? Our side served as the project manager in this case, so there was not much that needed to be managed or tracked from their team. The engineer received our directions and completed the work. We used Trello to keep track of tasks, and we communicated using Slack and Google Hangouts. What did you find most impressive about them? The company as a whole is easy to work with. They were responsive to our messages, and they checked in with us constantly. I had a pleasant experience overall working with them. Are there any areas they could improve? I’ll reiterate the need for the engineer’s communication skills to improve, but I can’t suggest anything specific for the company. Do you have any advice for potential customers? As a general piece of advice for hiring overseas, one must be willing to deal with the time zone differences. --- #### Backend & Frontend Dev Support for Property Platform **The Project** - Services: Web Development - Project size: $10,000 to $49,999 - Project length: July 2017 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: Using a variety of technology, STX Next built functions that support contract generation, centralized documentation, value estimation, and payment collection processes for a property management platform. **Review Rating**: 4.5 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 3.0 - Cost: 3.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** CEO, Property Platform - Industry: Real estate - Client size: 1-10 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Dec 11, 2018 **Feedback Summary**: Outside parties have praised STX Next’s work on the platform’s backend system. Despite some management and scheduling challenges, their team was dynamic and flexible. Their staff is responsive to scope changes, adjusting their workflow to accommodate any request. "“We changed our expectations quite a bit, and they expertly accommodated our requests.” " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the founder of a platform that helps landlords efficiently manage their renters. We automate all of the manual steps in the process, from generating contracts to collecting rent. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We were just starting out. I’d developed a proof of concept with some freelancers and had a few people using the platform. I needed to find a vendor that could help me improve the system’s structure and launch the business. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? STX Next worked on the MVP of our property management platform. They used Django Python for the backend development and React for the frontend. The entire system runs on AWS with a PostgreSQL database. The team was responsible for four main features. They programmed the platform to generate contracts based on data provided by the landlords. They created a centralized documentation component to manage informational files for each property. They built an estimation function that could calculate the return on a property based on its rent prices and current value. Finally, they integrated the platform with different payment methods to collect money from tenants. The system is connected to one of the main payment and collection services in Europe and supports both credit and debit cards. The STX Next team also linked the platform to a service that lets landlords view all the transactions associated with a specific account. They continue to support our development needs while we gather some initial metrics to share with investors. What is the team composition? Unlike many other agencies, STX Next provides full-time resources that don’t work on a project-by-project basis. For the bulk of the work, I contracted a project manager, a frontend developer, and a backend developer. They also provided designers on an hourly basis. Currently, we’re only working with one full-stack developer who’s been with us since the beginning. How did you come to work with STX Next? I was located in Asia at the time, and I was looking to work with a European vendor to avoid major time zone discrepancies. I shared my ideas with a few agencies. STX Net had a strong reputation in Poland, and they offered a competitive price. I also found them to be the most professional. How much have you invested with them? So far, we’ve spent between €45,000–€50,000 (approximately $51,000–$56,000 USD). What is the status of this engagement? We started working with STX Next in July 2017, and the relationship is ongoing for the time being. I’m happy with their work, but I’ll be hiring my own in-house team soon to improve our internal operations with more in-person collaboration. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? I’ve presented the platform to outside parties, and they’ve praised its backend systems. STX Next was flexible in their workflow, allowing us to add more features throughout the development process. We changed our expectations quite a bit, and they expertly accommodated our requests. It was a dynamic collaboration. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? We use Jira to track the project, and we handle day-to-day communication through Slack. They aren’t bad, but they do need to optimize their management processes. Sometimes, they offer up suggestions that could benefit the platform but would hurt our overall business. At times, I’ve felt that they were more focused on their company than mine. What did you find most impressive about them? I’m impressed by how quickly they’re able to allocate resources to our project. When we work on specific features, they promptly provide specialists to help us out for a few hours. Are there any areas they could improve? They’re a bit expensive. Any advice for potential customers? Clients should hire STX Next to help them through the last stage of scoping out a project. --- #### Web Design & Dev for Financial Trading Facility **The Project** - Services: Web Development - Project size: $200,000 to $999,999 - Project length: Nov. 2017 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next worked in close tandem with an internal team to build a crypto exchange platform. They developed the backend in Python with a PostgreSQL database and used AngularJS on the frontend. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 4.5 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** CEO, Blocktrade AG - Industry: Information technology - Client size: 11-50 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Dec 4, 2018 **Feedback Summary**: Despite the growing scope, STX Next helped develop and launch the project while remaining within budget. The team has integrated well with in-house resources, providing critical project management and feedback as needed. They now continue to refine the site and add new frontend features. "“Not only are they transparent and flexible, but they’ve been immensely helpful when we needed to scale up.” " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the CEO of Blocktrade AG, a crypto-asset exchange platform focused on being fully regulatory-compliant. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We were trying to get to market as soon as possible but had a hard time finding an experienced team to onboard quickly and develop our exchange platform. As a result, we established an internal team to handle the initial site development before partnering with STX Next for front- and backend support. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? We collaborated with STX Next to develop our trading facility website. The platform itself isn’t a blockchain, but, rather, it’s a centralized exchange within internal matching systems. The site is Swiss guarded with the highest security features and fully complies with market regulations. Both teams were responsible for the front- and backend along with all APIs and necessary parts. They built our site using Python on the backend with a PostgreSQL database. On the frontend, they used AngularJS and the different libraries that go with it. Everything was held in Docker, so it was easy to deploy. STX Next was also instrumental in helping us secure an agency to handle the mobile development side of the project. They took part in the discussion and served as a liaison between us and the other developers. Even though another company handled the mobile development, from our perspective, it was as if STX Next had done all the work. Currently, we’re working to optimize site performance, extending our APIs and adding new features. This involves improving the charting library, adding better wallets, listing new crypto assets, adjusting and refining database performance, and upgrading the app. What is the team composition? The team changed based on our demand. We initially started with three backend developers, two frontend developers, a QA tester, and a project manager. At our peak, they assigned four backend developers and 4–5 frontend developers. We’re now working with three backend developers and one QA tester. How did you come to work with STX Next? We reviewed the available development resources in the market and shortlisted a few candidates to meet in person. Out of all of them, STX Next was the most competent and flexible option, and they had the required expertise. How much have you invested with them? We’ve spent around €400,000 (approximately $453,000 USD) so far. What is the status of this engagement? We started working with them in November 2017, and the collaboration is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? It’s hard to attribute all the results to one party or the other because it’s been a mutual collaboration. However, we see them as part of our team. Together, we’ve launched the beta site and went live with a full version. We’re now focusing on optimizing our productivity, and STX Next has continued to give us feedback. With their support, we’ve been able to improve our delivery and development speed and are satisfied with STX Next’s work. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? They’ve done a great job at project management. In the beginning, we didn’t have a dedicated project manager on our side, so they assigned a resource who synchronized everyone across both offices. We now communicate daily through Slack, and they use Jira and Confluence for tracking and documentation. What did you find most impressive about them? They’ve done a great job overall. Not only are they transparent and flexible, but they’ve been immensely helpful when we needed to scale up. When the time came to scale down, it was no problem, either. Are there any areas they could improve? No, nothing comes to mind. Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs? It’s crucial to treat STX Next as part of your team rather than just an outsourced vendor. Clear communication is also important because it simplifies processes. Finally, an internal project manager or product owner helps align everyone to achieve your goals. --- #### Online Platform for Security Consulting Firm **The Project** - Services: Market Research - Project size: Less than $10,000 - Project length: Aug. - Sep. 2018 **Project Summary**: STX Next designed a platform to supplement security and crisis management services. The team led a three-day discovery workshop first and then created story maps of the final product. The project is ongoing. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 4.0 - Cost: 4.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** CFO, Security Firm - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 11-50 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Oct 9, 2018 **Feedback Summary**: The designs met all requirements and have attracted new clients and prospective investors. STX NEXT is moving into the development stage. The team is highly collaborative, providing creative solutions and responding quickly to inquiries. They’ve delivered high-quality products at exceptional value. ""STX Next took the time to really understand what we wanted to achieve and how we envisioned the product." " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the CFO at a security, crisis investigation, and intelligence consulting firm. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We’re looking to turn our consulting firm into a quasi-consulting tech firm that offers an online platform. The software would allow clients to view their data through a meaningful dashboard and for our firm to better serve their needs. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? STX Next helped us build the platform we envisioned. First, they hosted a three-day discovery workshop to chip away at what this project would achieve, how we would do it, and what the end product would look like. Before, we had a vague list of desired functionalities. The STX Next team helped us come up with a complete and streamlined vision of the platform. We envisioned four modules that make up the system: intelligence, to educate clients; threat assessment, to evaluate the probability of potential threats to their companies; crisis management, to create procedures in case something goes wrong; and investigations, to implement after something has gone wrong. The team then took that vision and brought it to life. What is the team composition? We first communicated with a business development representative and her superior, who together worked to take our proposal to the next steps. Our development team—consisting of a project leader, a development expert, and a UI/UX expert—picked up the project from there and has handled it from start to finish. How did you come to work with STX Next? My colleague found STX Next and was ultimately responsible for hiring them. How much have you invested with them? We’ve spent between £5,000–£10,000 ($6,600–$13,200 USD) but we’re planning to spend between £100,000–£400,000 ($132,000–$528,000 USD) for the full scope of the project. What is the status of this engagement? We started working together in August 2018, and the project is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? STX Next has delivered us a story map of what the platform will look like and a roadmap of how they will develop it. These two products allow us to show our clients what we’ve been building and how it can serve them. We are also using these maps to show shareholders and potential investors how we’re creating additional value for them. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? Their business development representative has been responsive to our questions and proactive to make sure we’re happy and have everything we need. The development team itself has an innovative approach to collaboration that we plan on replicating with our own projects with clients. What did you find most impressive about them? STX Next took the time to really understand what we wanted to achieve and how we envisioned the product. During the discovery workshop, they asked us many questions and then followed up our answers with insights and further questions. This approach set them apart from other developers we talked to during the shopping period for this project. Are there any areas they could improve? In some ways, they were more expensive than we expected, but they also clearly explained why. They deliver exceptional products at great value compared to other, potentially less expensive firms. Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs? Have them host a discovery workshop. We found it invaluable to figuring out exactly what we were hoping to accomplish with this project. We went from having a vague vision that we couldn’t quite put on paper to a clear understanding of what we wanted to achieve, how to achieve, and what the end product will look like. --- #### Web & Native App Dev for Education Staffing Firm **The Project** - Services: Web Development - Project size: Confidential - Project length: Apr. 2018 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next designed and built a web-based platform and mobile app, using Django and React Native, incorporating custom features as requested. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 4.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Founder & CEO, Zappi Ltd - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 1-10 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Sep 28, 2018 **Feedback Summary**: STX Next's whole approach to product development, including an on-site discovery workshop, is extremely valuable. In addition to delivering a robust, well-performing web and mobile app, their team is highly organized, proactive, professional, and trustworthy overall. "“They're very friendly, honest, and approachable.” " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I'm the co-founder and CEO of Zappi Ltd, a recruitment platform that allows teachers and schools to connect directly. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We engaged STX Next to build our web-based platform and mobile app, including the frontend and backend. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? STX Next designed and developed both our web-based platform and mobile app, incorporating custom functionality and features as requested. After meeting with their team for a three-day discovery workshop in Poland, they then went into design and development, using Django and Reactive Native to build the platforms. What is the team composition? We work with a scrum master, tester, 2–3 designers, and 4–5 developers. How did you come to work with STX Next? We found them on Clutch after spending a lot of time researching vendors for the project. After narrowing our choices down to a few options, we decided to work with STX Next based on their experience, methodology, and pricing. What is the status of this engagement? We've been working with them since April 2018. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? Our entire business revolves around the platform STX Next built, so their work has been invaluable. Although we just launched, we've already received a lot of positive feedback from users and our team is very happy with it overall. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? Project management is one of STX Next's greatest strengths. They're very organized and responsive, utilizing the latest tools to stay on top of tasks, including Jira, Slack, and Zeplin. What did you find most impressive about them? They're very friendly, honest, and approachable. Are there any areas they could improve? There's room for improving their frontend capabilities and React Native knowledge, but they're in the process of expanding those expertise. Do you have any advice for potential customers? I highly recommend taking advantage of their discovery workshop; it was very beneficial in our process. --- #### Software Programming for K12 Communication Platform **The Project** - Services: Custom Software Development - Project size: $50,000 to $199,999 - Project length: June 2018 - Ongoing **Project Summary**: STX Next provides software, Android and iOS application development for a K-12 communication platform. Key features include sending out mass messages to schools, classes, or individual students. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 4.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** COO, Signal Kit - Industry: Education - Client size: 1-10 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Sep 18, 2018 **Feedback Summary**: Their team works smoothly and professionally, with a clean work process and efficient project management systems. They communicate effectively, despite a large geographical and time difference, and have demonstrated their thorough technical knowledge. ""They’ve been very helpful in formalizing our processes." " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. I’m the COO at Signal Kit. We provide communication services for the K–12 education space in the United States. We allow them to do mass communication for their entire school, class, students, or parents. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? We wanted to expand our development capacity for software programming, at a lower cost than what we could get with resources here in the U.S. We didn’t want to hire in-house because our needs were fluctuating pretty widely at the time.  **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? STX Next helped us better define and develop additional software features for our platform. We have another effort with them, and they're developing our iOS and Android mobile applications. This is another option for our end users as opposed to just accessing our site. One additional feature they implemented is a performance enhancement, and another is for social media posts. For example, we can push out information and school updates via voice, SMS text, and email, as well as into the web app and on social media platforms. Their team provides software testing as well. What is the team composition? I worked with a salesperson, a project owner who helps secure the resources, a project manager, three developers, a UI/UX person, an auxiliary resource, and a programmer on the mobile app. We’re bringing on a dev ops resource in two weeks and another developer. How did you come to work with STX Next? We were looking for a company that would help us bring in experienced resources, was readily available, and had a good track record at delivering on their word. We stumbled across them online. We did some research, found a lot of glowing reviews of their work, and reached out to them. How much have you invested with them? $75,000. What is the status of this engagement? We started working together in June 2018 and the work is ongoing. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? Our team is very impressed with their work process and enjoys working with them, having developed a good sense of confidence in their work. The first piece of work they did for us was around performance. They got the job done and identified other opportunities, rather than just doing specifically what they were asked. We liked how they acted as if they were part of the team. We had gotten kind of lazy on our process of how we develop our software. They’ve been very helpful in formalizing our processes, so we’re very happy with that. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? We’re very satisfied with the project management. We have a project manager on site there which helps since there’s such a time difference. He manages those resources and we interact with him directly as well as the developers. It’s been very helpful in managing the overall effort. We use Slack, email, GitHub, Jira, and a lot of the Atlassian ecosystems and use scrum as our overall work process. What did you find most impressive about them? They're pretty talented and know the technology stack that we use. They brought resources on that were very technical and savvy. They’re easy to work with and understand even though they’re far away from us in Poland. They’ve been a great group to work with and we look forward to continuing to work with them in the future. Are there any areas they could improve? No. They’ve been great to work with. Do you have any advice for potential customers? I like how we secured the project manager. It’s been very helpful having a point person in charge of all the resources. I recommend leveraging that resource if you get a decent size team. --- #### Web App Dev for Sport Services Platform **The Project** - Services: Web Development - Project size: Confidential - Project length: Feb. - July 2018 **Project Summary**: STX Next designed and developed a web app that lets users reserve tennis courts and coaching sessions. The platform features a subscription system, digital payment, and a mobile responsive design. **Review Rating**: 5.0 - Quality: 5.0 - Schedule: 5.0 - Cost: 5.0 - Willing to Refer: 5.0 **The Reviewer** Co-Founder & CTO, Sports Services Platform - Industry: Other industries - Client size: 1-10 Employees - Review Type: Phone Interview - Verified **The Review** — Aug 23, 2018 **Feedback Summary**: Although the platform has yet to launch, live users praise the app’s functions. STX Next had a winning combination of technical ability and personality. The team was quick to overcome technological challenges and adapted well to strict timelines, making them critical partners in the engagement. "“From the CTO to the developers, every individual was approachable and accessible.” " **BACKGROUND** Introduce your business and what you do there. Respondent 1 (Co-Founder): I’m one of the co-founders of a sports services company. We’ve created a platform that uses technology to expand sports services, particularly within the U.K. tennis industry. Our overall business model seeks to bring together all elements of the sport, from helping users find venues to looking at how people execute real-world experiences with our app. Respondent 2 (CTO): I serve as the CTO. In my role, I focus on understanding the product needs and translating them into technical solutions. **OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE** What challenge were you trying to address with STX Next? R2: We wanted to create a mobile responsive web app but lacked an in-house team to build it. At the time, we weren’t looking to take on anyone permanently, so we reached out to STX Next to help us design and develop our platform while still being flexible to our needs. We’ve since expanded their role into more of a long-term partnership. **SOLUTION** What was the scope of their involvement? R1: Initially, they conducted a discovery phase to identify our challenges, understand our problems, and set goals. Their account manager and CTO conducted a high-level review of the project to define the scope and assemble a team of qualified developers. Together, we were able to produce strong solutions and ramped up our development efforts. Rather than just dictating technical tasks or just handing them problems to solve, it was a collaborative effort between both parties. We also engaged their design and QA testing team. R2: I worked directly with the developers to build the web app. One of our objectives was to be accessible on a wide variety of desktop and mobile devices. However, due to time constraints on our side, we couldn’t invest in full-native development and opted for a mobile responsive design instead. That way, we could still deploy the site in the App Store down the line. The platform itself allows users to sign up, book coaching sessions, reserve tennis courts, and invite friends. We’ve also included a subscription payment system, which lets users pay a flat rate for a certain number of bookings. What is the team composition? R1: In the beginning, we worked with their account manager and CTO to scope out the project. From there, we coordinated with their developers, designers, and QA testers. How did you come to work with STX Next? R1: Going into this project, we reviewed several candidates, including STX Next. As we’ve mentioned, we wanted a partner that could provide a long-term, sustainable development program rather than just taking on a specific piece of work. R2: Out of all the vendors we evaluated, STX Next came with several recommendations. I interviewed each developer individually, giving an hour-long technical review to test their capabilities. I was impressed by STX Next's performance. They scored highly on the technical side and demonstrated strong soft skills, so we felt comfortable moving forward with them. What is the status of this engagement? R1: The initial build lasted from February–July 2018, but we’re currently in between development phases. They were able to effectively get the platform to an MVP stage, so we’re still able to run pilots and gain user feedback. However, from a business and marketing viewpoint, we’ve decided to pause the project for the time being. We would prefer to continue understanding our users and prioritizing next-level features before launching the app. **RESULTS & FEEDBACK** What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? R1: Although we haven’t launched the platform yet, we’re still running various tests to gather user feedback. This means looking at the app from a product and value proposition perspective in addition to the technology and the user experience. So far, we’ve been extremely pleased with their services. I’m confident that if we were to go live today, the app would hold up. R2: The team delivered many of the core and sub-features, and the app works well. We’ve completed a small-scale location test to gauge the app, and test users have successfully booked coaching sessions. How did STX Next perform from a project management standpoint? R2: Because I worked closely with them, we shared project management responsibilities. We typically used an agile methodology, working in biweekly sprints to drive development. On occasion, we would also have weekly sprints when we needed to get something out quickly. Each week, we’d have three check-ins as well as more in-depth meetings to discuss the product. We would then take product tickets and break them down into achievable tech solutions. I was impressed at how proactive the developers were in identifying potential issues and coming up with strong technical solutions. R1: In terms of meeting deadlines, we were under a lot of time pressure due to industry events. STX Next was able to establish a timeline estimate, accelerate through development, and adhere to our schedule. What did you find most impressive about them? R2: Their developers were exceptionally personable and proactive. I appreciated that they believed in what we were doing. They were just as invested on the product side as they were with the tech side, and I liked how they were able to look at the platform from a user’s perspective. This made it easy to form a good working relationship. R1: To build on that, I’d like to stress just how personable they were. When dealing with a larger company, it can be difficult to get a high level of in-person service. However, since I occupy more of an overarching role, I interacted directly with people from several departments, including their management. From the CTO to the developers, every individual was approachable and accessible. We always felt that we could discuss anything with them. Do you have any advice for potential customers? R1: To get the most out of their services, focus on the design before transitioning to development. They actually advised us to do this, which was the logical order, but we decided to start with a dedicated development team first and engaged the design team mid-way. As a result, it took a while for the designers to come up to speed. They handled the situation well in the end and were flexible enough to accommodate our requests. --- ## Portfolio & Awards ### Wunderman Thompson: Transforming Brand with AI Wunderman Thompson (current VML), a company constantly growing and accelerating new data, needed an ML solution that would evaluate the quality of their assets on a larger scale, speeding up the process. Their existing data-gathering process was a significant bottleneck – which slowed them down, creating a need to redesign their architecture. Additionally, they designed The WPP Open Brand Guardian – an AI platform that can be plugged into the existing production process, allowing for brand governance – and sought a reliable partner to assist in developing it. Designing ML-powered microservicesTo address the client’s needs we created an advanced architecture, allowing existing models and algorithms to be reused and run on a large scale. The full scope of our work included: 01 Redesigned architectureOur team redesigned the existing architecture, introducing ML-focused microservices with better-defined responsibilities. By doing so, we were able to more easily auto-scale with an independent group of computing endpoints in Kubernetes. 02 Enhanced AI microservicesSTX Next suggested a messaging system for running most Machine Learning and computer vision tasks by multiple Celery workers in parallel. 03 Image processing pipelines We addressed the challenge of detecting undefined, custom image parts (logos, fonts, particular objects, etc.), and created a framework for generating new training datasets, using data augmentation and synthetic data. 04 The WPP Open Brand GuardianOur experts developed an AI-driven platform, offering brand governance, inclusion, compliance with legal, industry, and market requirements, and creative excellence. It reviews creative assets and provides valuable and immediate insights ### Podimo: Transforming search with Machine Learning Podimo, a Danish leader in the podcast and audiobook industry, sought to revolutionize their search functionality to better serve their diverse user base. With a focus on rewarding creators and providing a seamless listening experience, Podimo aimed to enhance the accuracy and relevance of the matches according to user preferences. Podimo's existing search system faced challenges in meeting user expectations, often delivering irrelevant results due to a limited understanding of queries and content semantics. To address this, STX Next proposed the incorporation of advanced methodologies such as Learning to Rank (LTR), semantic search, and conversational search to elevate the experience. Additionally, we decided to implement Machine Learning models that would allow analysis of user interactions, understanding their intent, and facilitating a conversational search interface. Combining Machine Learning with semantic search modelsTaking the customer's needs into consideration, our dedicated team proposed the implementation of new features, including:A Machine Learning model: A dynamic ML model trained on user interactions to adjust podcast and audiobook rankings, aligning search results with user preferences.A semantic search model: A sophisticated language model designed to understand user queries' context and semantics, enabling content discovery beyond lexical matching.Conversation search: Introduction of a conversational search assistant to bridge user interactions with the search engine, gathering feedback for further enhancements.Search results combination: An integration of lexical and semantic search outcomes through an ML model to re-rank results for accuracy and relevance.The incorporation of these features led to significant benefits for Podimo and its users: Average position of clicked shows improved by 27%.  Conversion rate (searches resulting in a selected show) increased by 3.5%.  Meaningful listens (plays exceeding 5 minutes) rose by 1.3%.  ### appliedAI’s Use Case Management Tool Reacting to the EU AI Act regulationsAs the regulatory landscape in the European Union evolved with the introduction of the EU AI Act, businesses sought effective ways to manage their AI use cases to ensure compliance and maximize their tools’ potential. Recognizing the significance of this challenge, appliedAI joined forces with STX Next to equip enterprises worldwide with a competitive edge through a unique Use Case Management Tool. The solution serves as a strategic asset, facilitating not only risk assessment but also AI portfolio optimization and driving progress in AI initiatives. Compliance, transparency, and data-driven planningAddressing the potential issues and confusion related to the EU AI Act, our comprehensive product gives companies a clear overview of their AI use cases. Here’s how our solution empowers businesses: 01 Comprehensive Compliance OversightOur platform provides a centralized dashboard offering a holistic view of all AI use cases within your organization, ensuring adherence to the EU AI Act. Simplified tracking, auditing, and reporting processes support legal and compliance departments. 02 Data-Driven Decision-MakingLeveraging extensive research and innovative design, our platform features robust data analytics tools. These tools equip corporations with actionable insights to optimize AI strategies and enhance return on investment. 03 Enhancing European Industry LeadershipAimed at AI and legal departments, our platform fosters innovation while ensuring regulatory compliance. This positions the European industry as a leader in AI on the global stage. ### EssenceMediacom: AI-Powered Media Management EssenceMediacom, a leading media agency, sought an innovative solution to enhance their media activation process. Together with STX Next, they developed OCTRA, an advanced campaign management solution that enhances efficiency and quality in advertising across multiple platforms.Addressing the challengesThe need for improved accuracy and simplified media processes led EssenceMediacom to seek an innovative tool. They wanted a comprehensive system to reduce manual tasks, enforce best practices, and enhance overall campaign quality across platforms. To address these challenges, EssenceMediacom partnered up with STX Next to deliver OCTRA, which incorporated various key features and functionalities: Consistent naming conventions Quality Assuracne processes Platform Integration User and client management Best practice implementation The implementation of the OCTRA tool brought significant improvements in the daily operations of EssenceMediacom's media activation teams: Effective quality controlComprehensive QA processes ensured that all campaigns adhered to set quality and compliance benchmarks, enhancing overall output quality. Streamlined managementImproved user and client management simplified access and role assignment, optimizing team efficiency. Future-ready technologyAdvanced AI and ML features ensured the tool's adaptability and continuous improvement, supporting long-term operational goals. ### Tour Partner Group: Simplifying hotel bookings Tour Partner Group, a leading B2B tour operator and destination management company for Northern Europe, wanted to test whether AI algorithms could improve their internal company process related to hotel bookings.The goal was to demonstrate that AI could aid in email classification, extract relevant information from emails, and generate suggested responses, including details on additional hotel availability and event impact information. Tour Partner Group asked for STX Next's assistance during the Proof-of-Concept stage of their project. The main challenge was to integrate an AI-based solution into their existing process, which heavily relies on email communication between clients and Tour Partner Group travel specialists. The company aspired to significantly reduce response times to client inquiries by equipping specialists with meaningful information derived from AI, enhancing both efficiency and client satisfaction.The AI-based solution cut busy dates verification time from 30 minutes to 15 seconds, as noted by the sales team. Due to the email classification step and optimized process pipeline, salespersons were instantly ready to engage with clients. The ML solution summarized and provided relevant information immediately upon receiving a client request, significantly shortening response times. As a result, sales representatives gained hours of preparation time for each request, as the entire process was completed in just a few seconds. ### Tiqets—a ticket-booking platform ABOUT Tiqets is an innovative platform for booking tickets to museums and attractions around the world. Since it was founded in 2014, the company has sold over 10 million tickets to more than 2,000 venues in 60+ countries. Headquartered in Amsterdam, Tiqets employs over 200 people and has offices in various locations globally. It’s raised €54 million in a recent funding round led by Airbnb.   CHALLENGE The main challenge for STX Next was to find ways to integrate the Tiqets platform with as many ticket providers as possible, so that users would no longer need to register with each of them individually while planning their trip. We were able to meet the client’s expectations by moving from a monolithic system to a microservice-based architecture, which was able to make direct contact with ticket suppliers via a variety of APIs. To make sure that the platform was fully integrated with vendors at all times without disruptions, we also delivered round-the-clock, real-time monitoring services. They allowed us to have a full picture of the integrations at any given moment and step in to fix any issues before they escalated. Where vendors didn’t provide any API for us to integrate with, we created web crawlers that went through their pages to purchase tickets. ### Blocktrade—a crypto trading platform ABOUT Blocktrade is a state-of-the-art crypto trading platform that prioritizes speed, reliability and safety. It allows retail users, brokers, professional traders as well as institutional money managers to trade with crypto assets and indices in a fully audited and highly secure way. CHALLENGE Blocktrade’s challenge was to build a top-of-the-line trading portal in the shortest possible time window and build an internal team of experts who will take over the development of the solution provided by STX Next. Working with Blocktrade, we created a web application that will allow retail users, brokers, professional traders as well as institutional money managers to trade with crypto assets and indices in a fully audited, highly secure way, performing similarly to Nasdaq.     ### CAS, visa, and arrival automation platform ABOUT Enroly provides the first CAS, visa and arrival automation platform. It makes post-acceptance administration simple and secure, allowing universities to easily implement the solutions into their existing systems. Not only does it help improve enrolment systems, but it also automatically detects risk factors to help higher education institutions to prevent mistakes that would otherwise become deferrals, withdrawals and refusals. Enroly's range of products are used by universities, students, agents, and regional offices in more than 100 countries around the world. PROJECT DETAILS Enroly CAS SHIELD, one of the company's three core services, helps university staff manage applications from prospective students. By offering functionalities such as smart prioritization of large applicant volumes, student interview booking system, and automated reading and assessing of documents, the company helps improve enrolment numbers. The platform also automatically detects risk factors and assigns enrolment confidence scores to applications. STX Next collaborated with Enroly to increase efficiency and effectiveness with machine learning solutions, including by automating document processing and information extraction. CHALLENGE Since Enroly's platform hosts large volumes of documents, the company was looking for ways to make their processing more efficient, free up their clients' employee time, as well as speed up the verification of documents and the application for the CAS statement. The first challenge, therefore, was to identify the specific areas that would benefit from the introduction of machine learning, and create a workable project scope.   Once the scope was established, Enroly needed the right tools to help it process and extract the relevant information from the huge range of documents it receives from all over the world (for instance birth certificates, bank statements, and handwritten notes) in varying quality and formats (for instance scans and photos). ### Lamden—Python Blockchain Development ABOUT Lamden is a suite of developer tools that speed up the process of creating new and custom blockchains and apps. The Lamden Tau token connects these new projects together to create the first ever blockchain enterprise solution. The Tau token has a more general use as a universal swap token between most existing cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others. This will allow TAU to exchange seamlessly between endless cryptocurrency pairs. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Clove, which we are working on, is a decentralized application that makes atomic swaps between chains easy. Most Bitcoin-based and Ethereum-based chains, including ERC20 tokens, are compatible with the protocol. Clove enables decentralized payment channel swaps and facilitates trustless communication between compatible blockchains on the network. ### NOTA NOTA—personal fragrance-mixing system ABOUT NOTA NOTA allows designers and creators from all over the world to design and share perfumes. It’s a new concept of mixing perfumes as part of your daily routine, just like using your coffee machine. NOTA NOTA received the iF Design Award in the Product category in 2018.   CHALLENGE NOTA NOTA wanted to build an app that would streamline the user flows and interface, as well as expand the social functionalities. STX Next worked in continuous feedback mode, adjusting features and screens to the client’s needs as quickly as possible. We put a great deal of effort into making the product easy to develop and maintain by using automation and containerization, static typing and static code analysis support, and automated unit testing. To reduce the costs both during and after development, we built the new NOTA NOTA app from scratch using React Native for cross-platform mobile development. We also used tried-and-tested, out-of-the-box solutions to limit the cost of features such as analytics, push notifications, or crash and error reporting. Product Design played a key role in the development process, working hand in hand with the development team to create a seamless experience. All the core app functionalities were redesigned by applying new user flows and interactions for designing, producing, and sharing perfumes. ### Newable—easy business loans ABOUT Newable Limited is a leading SME lender in the UK. Newable Limited and Liberis Limited. Newable Business Finance is focused on enabling growth of UK SMEs through the provision of finance to those who feel they are unable to access finance through mainstream providers (such as banks).   CHALLENGES Newable reached out to us with a complete idea for the product’s MVP and a very short deadline. They were faced with the task of transferring their whole loan application process from paper printed documents to the Internet. The system had to be easy to understand and use and reduce application time for end-customers while still including several levels of approval. STX Next delivered the entire platform along with automatic payments/payouts, integration with external tools, and additional mentoring services. ### Quality-focused IPR&D solutions ABOUT Evalueserve is the largest service provider of quality-focused IPR&D (In-Process Research & Development) search, intelligence, and IP prosecution solutions that brings together first-rate data analysis with cutting-edge technologies. Evalueserve uses their proprietary methodology to help organizations across various industries achieve better performance, become more connected, and generate more value. They combine the insights emerging from data and research with the efficiency of digital tools and platforms to design impactful solutions, tailored for their clients’ business needs. PROJECT DETAILS The client initially wanted to speed up the development of their product Insightloupe™ by extending their team with Python specialists. That was the original reason they had picked STX Next, the largest Python software vendor in Europe, as their outsourcing partner. Being a Dutch subsidiary of a large Indian company, their in-house team had already been working with a mixed team of developers from both India and the Netherlands, but they were looking for backend support closer to the Netherlands. Teaming up with a Python shop based out of Poland made sense for Evalueserve. CHALLENGE Evaluserve’s product Insightloupe™ was created predominantly for large corporations with internal R&D departments. The goal of Insightloupe™ is to help analysts research patent data, which is then presented to Evalueserve’s clients—such as managers, R&D specialists, or patent attorneys—helping them decide whether to invest in a particular technological domain. Simply put, it means that Evalueserve supports and facilitates making high-stakes business decisions within the field of data analysis.       ### Single-molecule scripting platform ABOUT LUMICKS arms life science researchers and drug development professionals with Nobel Prize-winning technology to uncover how single-molecule and single-cell level processes work. With LUMICKS’ solutions, researchers can quickly perform large amounts of automated single-molecule experiments with more accuracy. As a result, researchers can improve human health and answer life science questions that people couldn’t answer before. PROJECT DETAILS Harbor is a platform created specifically for researchers which enables them to make experiments easier, more reproducible and faster than ever before.  On this platform, researchers can easily publish, download, review and cite automation scripts and data analysis methods used for dynamic single-molecule research.   Joining the platform means that researchers can also benefit from becoming part of a community based around single-molecule experimentation where they can share knowledge and talk about their experiences. CHALLENGE At the moment when they approached STX Next, LUMICKS had a big picture idea of what Harbor would be. But the devil was in the details, and in the many unanswered questions LUMICKS faced: How should the platform look and feel? What features should be included in the MVP?  What should the tech stack be? What team size and budget are needed to deliver the MVP, and how quickly can it happen? Lumicks needed not just to answer these questions, but to actually get the work done: create the design; get aligned around one common product idea; present that product idea to potential users at an upcoming science fair only one month away;   actually build the MVP of the product within four months. ### BuildFax—property intelligence solutions ABOUT BuildFax provides business-critical property condition and history data to the largest insurance and financial institutions in the world. Based in Austin, Texas, the company delivers detailed data on remodeling, solar installations, major systems, new construction, maintenance history, and more. Their database encompasses over 84 billion data points on commercial and residential structures. In 2019, BuildFax was acquired by Verisk—a leading data analytics provider in the US.   CHALLENGE Our goal was to provide BuildFax with modern tools for handling big data. Before working with STX Next, their speed of receiving data sometimes took up to four times longer than the maximum time business logic allowed. Our solution to BuildFax’s challenge was using the Spark technology; or, more specifically, its Python implementation: the PySpark and Databricks tools. To accomplish this, STX Next provided a team of three developers whose task was supporting the BuildFax team throughout that difficult and trying process. BuildFax were very happy with our services and expanded their team as time went by, most notably with 24/7 maintenance and monitoring. ### Vyze—financing platform for retailers ABOUT Vyze is a leading financial technology company for retailers and manufacturers, acquired by Mastercard in 2019 and then Ally Lending in 2021. By combining a comprehensive lending supply, technology, and support under one roof, Vyze is able to deliver businesses simpler, more satisfying financing experiences for their customers, wherever and whenever they shop. Formerly known as NewComLink, Vyze raised $13 million in series B funding in 2016, bringing the total funding to $35 million.   CHALLENGE The main challenge for Vyze was scaling up their internal development team—bringing resources on board with the right skill set, who could hit the ground running and be able to execute on their strategy. They required qualified developers with extensive knowledge and prior experience. STX Next is meeting the challenges of the project head-on. Firstly, simultaneous dedication to two platforms alone is quite demanding. Secondly, certain solutions implemented in these products could not be found in other financing platforms, meaning the developers had to design the solutions from scratch. Finally, as the project progresses, the team is not only developing a cutting-edge fintech application, but also working together with Vyze to implement the best Scrum practices. STX Next Delivered On-site financing platform for retailers Fulfilling eCommerce financing experience Advanced and robust API Full automatic test coverage with Behave and Selenium Secure online credit applications and payments Quick credit assessment Intuitive front-end design  ### Unity—BuildBot-based continuous integration tool ABOUT Unity Technologies is the creator of a flexible and high-performance end-to-end development platform used to create rich, interactive 2D, 3D, VR, and AR experiences. Unity’s powerful graphics engine and full-featured editor serve as the foundation to develop beautiful games or apps and easily bring them to multiple platforms: mobile devices, home entertainment systems, personal computers, and embedded systems.   CHALLENGE Due to their large scale of operations and specific needs, Unity Technologies decided to create in-house tools for software development. Unity Technologies asked STX Next for assistance in maintaining and steadily improving one such tool called Katana. Katana is a fork of BuildBot—a continuous integration tool written in Python using the Twisted framework. With one master server, Katana is able to use an unlimited number of slave machines to perform builds. STX Next helped create Katana to meet the demand of more than 10,000 builds per day. With its scale, Katana is crucial for Unity’s daily operations, as any downtime would affect hundreds of Unity’s developers. Challenges included resolving memory leaks, dealing with race conditions, and adding new features to the highly sensitive system. ### Fleet Command mobile strategy game ABOUT DIGIT Game Studios is the largest game developer in Ireland, founded in 2012. With their vastly talented team of over 70 people, DIGIT makes free-to-play mobile strategy games. Released in 2014, the studio’s first game, Kings of the Realm, became a worldwide hit and the highest-grossing strategy game in over 50 countries. DIGIT followed up on their successful debut in 2018 with the release of Star Trek Fleet Command. PROJECT DETAILS STX Next supported DIGIT Game Studios in the final phases of getting ready for the worldwide launch of the free-to-play strategy mobile game set in the marvelous world of one of pop culture’s largest and greatest phenomena: Star Trek.   Star Trek Fleet Command is one of the biggest strategy games on mobile. Getting into the skin of a bone fide fleet commander, you assemble a crew, forge alliances, and set out on an epic adventure to rule over the galaxy with your armada. The game allows you to pick a side in the galactic war and fight arm in arm with the Federation, Klingons, or Romulans. Alternatively, you can be your own man or woman and walk a path of your choosing in the power struggle for galactic conquest. The choice is yours. CHALLENGE DIGIT Game Studios came to us for support in finalizing the mobile game they were building with Python on the server-side. At the time, development was already well underway and in the late stages. In order to deliver the product in time and of the highest possible quality, DIGIT decided they could use an extra pair of hands to help them out. ### Decernis—regulatory and safety compliance ABOUT Based in Washington DC, Decernis provides regulatory expertise and systems to manage food, consumer, and industrial product safety compliance across more than 180 countries. Decernis gives clients a complete regulatory intelligence on the market through unique, fully integrated, patented technology platforms covering over 80,000 regulations.   CHALLENGE Decernis’ application was based on a fairly old technological stack. Supporting the technology was a growing challenge, and Decernis saw the need to push the project into a direction where they could switch to newer technologies with better support. Another challenge for Decernis was finding a partner who could work with their multiple offices in various locations around the globe and across multiple time zones. ### Seerene—a code and people management platform ABOUT Seerene is a code+people management platform that sets a new standard for how CIOs manage their most important resources – their codebase and engineering capacity. The company is based in Germany with additional offices in Hong Kong and the US.   CHALLENGE The biggest challenge for the multiple product teams in this project has been finding the right way to implement deep analytics algorithms that transform low-level code-related metrics into KPIs and insights for C-Level users, Seerene’s target group. The team is constantly developing new features and machine learning capabilities into the product to make the raw data more consumable and full of value for decision makers of large corporates.   STX Next tackled the challenge by providing 2 full Scrum teams (+ Product Design support) and integrating their work with Seerene’s internal teams. ### Zappi—a platform supporting supply teaching ABOUT Zappi is a new company on the UK supply teaching market. They come with 20 years of experience in recruitment and education and a strong focus on positive user experience and employee happiness. Their new app effortlessly connects teaching and support staff with local schools for supply work—making the process faster, easier and more transparent. Zappi teachers lead to happy kids!   CHALLENGE Zappi approached us with the need to design and build their application almost from scratch. But they knew they wanted Python, as they were well-versed in its advantages. They emphasized developing the application following good practices. We used the design thinking process to shape the solution and agile methodology to implement it. Thanks to our joint efforts, the Zappi idea of creating freedom of choice for schools and supply staff is live. ### Signal Kit—smart communication tools for the K-12 Signal Kit is a complete communication suite for the K-12 community. With cloud-based mass communication, internal collaboration, business intelligence and industry leading oversight.   STX Next delivered: - Discovery workshops followed by a UX Audit of the existing web system to understand the potential risks, test usability and accessibility, find friction points, and recommend improvements. - A full-featured React Native mobile app. - Web App Improvements. We took an existing system and improved its design coherency to create or adjust the features that met the requirements of the users and business partners. We also prepared the product for future improvements. - Product recognition support through various design tasks, from product marketing materials, through motion and interaction designs and vision, to small interface tweaks. ### meet.mba—an MBA social networking platform ABOUT meet.mba is an online networking and communication tool designed for MBA admits, students, and alumni. It was created by Matthew Brooke-Hitching, an MBA who noticed the need to improve communication and collaboration throughout the business school journey. The resulting online platform now connects almost 4,000 MBAs and Executive MBAs around the world.   CHALLENGE The reason to create the meet.mba platform was the lack of an appropriate tool that would allow MBA students and alumni to effectively communicate with each other. Matthew Brooke-Hitching chose STX Next on account of the knowledge, tools and experience we could provide. We had a tight deadline for completing the product, but managed to stand up to the challenge. STX Next delivered a full Scrum team with support from a PO, advised on the scope of the MVP, and helped prioritize tasks. Our tech stack included Django, React, PostgreSQL, Docker, and more. The MVP allowed meet.mba to gain 500 users in the first 3 months from launch. Its features include intuitive private and group chat, user profiles with deep privacy customization, and a global board for requests for help, all tailored specifically to the MBA experience.   ### Online B2B fish and seafood marketplace ABOUT Procsea is the first online B2B fish and seafood marketplace. It simplifies and optimizes seafood purchases by putting buyers in direct contact with fishermen, suppliers, and fish merchants across Europe. Procsea has revolutionized the previously overly complex maritime industry by removing the need for intermediaries and promoting short supply chains. The platform’s innovative approach, which focuses on sustainable and traceable fishing, is free to use for both buyers and sellers. PROJECT DETAILS Procsea was looking to give an overall upgrade to its fish-selling platform to make it more efficient and user-friendly. CHALLENGE To achieve this objective, the company needed to migrate its website to the latest version of Python, make improvements to the code, integrate with a new CRM, and fix some of its databases.   ### Data analytics platform for debt securities ABOUT Credit Rubric is a UK based data analytics platform for European debt securities. They provide independent quantitative analysis combining financial performance, credit metrics and market pricing. Credit Rubric is also a part of the financial information group, Acuris. Their main goal is to store and share information regarding High Yield Bonds, the issuing companies, all details of the bonds, as well as up to date information. PROJECT DETAILS Credit Rubric is a tool that will help traders make better decisions.   The platform will provide the traders the necessary support by collecting and displaying data regarding High Yield Bonds and performing complex calculations. CHALLENGE Our challenge was to prepare an MVP of a system that will allow users to query for high yield bonds and display their details including financial performance statistics and yield calculations. ### System for financing the lease of vehicles ABOUT VB Leasing Poland SA is part of VB-Leasing International Holding GmbH. It is a member of the Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken association of banks. Today it is one of the leading leasing companies in Central and Eastern Europe and the leading company on the Polish market. PROJECT DETAILS The system allows for intuitive negotiation of financial parameters, comparison between multiple variants of hundreds of offers and simplification of this procedure by issuing automated decisions and compliance reports. ### Cashback and Rewards ABOUT TBSeen is a startup run by 12 British female celebrities, including the founder Kate Thornton. TBSeen.com brings together money-saving deals, offers, and rewards from 500 carefully-curated brands, blended with original, entertaining and helpful content.   CHALLENGE TBSeen is a unique start-up case. Due to celebrities bringing in followers that immediately converted to sales, the site is making money from day one. The problem was scaling up: with a London agency of just a few devs, TBSeen could not keep up with the pace of their business growth. The need to scale rapidly and within budget brought TBseen and STX Next together.   STX Next provided TBSeen with discovery workshops, a full Scrum team, full-stack development, automated testing, business analysis, continuous integration and product design services. ### Sales & Marketing software for live entertainment ABOUT Verve (Formerly known as StreetTeam) is the world’s leading peer-to-peer sales and marketing software for live entertainment. Verve enables its customers to turn their most influential fans into ambassadors who promote their events, selling more than 300,000 tickets in 14 countries since 2012. CHALLENGE Verve came to us with an original product built in PHP and a long list of reasons why they wanted to switch to Python going forward, referring to it as a more modern solution. Their current development team is well-versed in PHP but not Python, so they were looking for a provider to manage development in the midterm while their own developers got up to speed on using Python. STX Next Delivered A global platform that enables advocates to experience the products that they love with their friends A unique SaaS application for brands, campaign managers and ambassadors A system that builds a strong relationship between events and their fans Advocacy driven model that can work in almost any vertical that has a shared experience at its core ### Ticket distribution platform ABOUT Connecting the world to tickets. Based out of Dublin, Coras allows customers to purchase tickets for any event or activity, through whatever online channel they choose.  CHALLENGE For Coras, the challenge was releasing a working MVP of their product in a short period of time in order to secure another advance of their financing. They were looking to create an app from scratch to serve as a ticket distribution platform for cultural and entertainment events from many content providers. One of the main issues was finding a common solution for all stakeholders of the project and integrating it with one of the major European airlines.   STX Next Delivered 2 Full Scrum teams to meet the designated goals of the project. Manage the mark back of tickets from one seller to the other for both general admission and seated events Track ticket sales across all allocated sellers with a complete audit trail from allocation to sale Create events and allocate tickets to ticketing agents or through user’s ticketing system API that allows any ticketing system to integrate with Coras, helping to adjust the process to meet specific needs  ### Preprocessing automation for a visual effects Pixomondo is an international visual effects company with a global network of studios in Los Angeles, Toronto, Stuttgart, Beijing, Vancouver, Frankfurt and Shanghai. The company is revolutionizing its industry offering visual effects production and supervision, CG character creation, 3D animation and pre-visualization for the feature film, television, and commercial industries. Among their projects are Game of Thrones, Star Trek Discovery, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., X-Men, Fast and Furious and Wonder Woman. CHALLENGE: Pixomondo receives video frames from their clients in different formats with different naming conventions and file structures. Each asset requires specific preprocessing which until now was done semi-automatically with console tools. Their challenge was to create a configurable desktop application with a UI for automating the preprocessing step, allowing Pixomondo to implement further image processing. SOLUTION: To achieve this goal, STX Next used sophisticated logic combined with regular expressions. It led the team to create a variety of unique processors dedicated to transforming the required files. All of the logic is easily configurable through a dedicated desktop application. This allowed us to retain the flexibility of console tools, but also greatly speed up batch operations and minimize the manual work behind repeatable tasks. ### Transportation dispatch system ABOUT T Dispatch was a progressive software development company which has built a unique dispatch system for passenger transport fleets. CHALLENGE Due to T Dispatch’s diverse, global customer base, there was a demand for localized customer features and payment service provider integrations. The development team also had to focus on improving the performance of the overall system in order to handle an increasing number of end-users. STX Next Delivered New search engine, over 10 times faster than the previous one  Increased performance which eliminated system outages  Security improvements related to booking and payment processes  Integration with payment providers in 7 countries  ### Online cookery platform ABOUT Founded in 2005, Key Ingredient is based in Austin, Texas, and features more than 2 million recipes that have been shared by cooks over the years. With about 3,000,000 unique visitors per month, their largest demographic segment consists of millennial home cooks. CHALLENGE The website, despite its long existence, was poorly optimized for SEO and the design required some refreshment, especially on the mobile site, because the majority of the users access the website from a mobile device. Another issue was that the page loading time was highly insufficient. The code itself contained a lot of legacy code, with outdated libraries and unused features.   STX Next Delivered Site speed improvement (4-5x faster) The highest SEO ratings due to front-end, back-end, and sitemaps improvements Streamlined technical stack by moving categories to elastic search (removing Oracle), moving pages to site (removing Unbounce) Moved ad code to site for better targeting, and higher revenue (managing ads and vendor in Doubleclick) 4,5 TB of unused stored data cleaned
 Secure https protocol, instead of previously used http Fully responsive web design (still in progress) Food industry articles available to users Admin Panel, redesigned and upgraded with new tools (such as image management) Automated tests (Selenium, Behave) to increase site quality  ### Realface (Acquired by Apple in 2017) ABOUT RealFace was a company whose mission was to revolutionize the way people are recognized. They were creating A.I software with the aim of bringing back human perception to digital process, delivering to customers the technologies needed to connect with their consumers in the digital era. Acquired by Apple in 2017. CHALLENGE RealFace was looking for a tech partner who could integrate their library written in C and take over development from a previous company. Their real challenge, however, was to find developers who could understand the logic of the AI face recognition system and deal with GPUImage and the dlib face detector. STX Next Delivered Using the most advanced technologies in A.I, developed in-house, STX Next created a user centered authentication service. Meet the first anti-spoof application tailored for everyday use on your device. FEATURES iOS and Android Face detection functionality Libraries: OpenCV, dlib
 Mp4 with av-Foundation Connections with Amazon S3  ### Fintech consulting services ABOUT finstreet GmbH provides consulting services to banking and financial services organizations in Germany. Their focus is on the conceptual design, as well as the development and distribution of digital products and business models. CHALLENGE finstreet’s biggest challenge was the race against time. They needed to create a banking application in less than 4 months. The app required fully responsive web design while providing the highest quality of user experience. At the same time, server-side app security was a top priority for this banking project. STX Next Delivered 1 Full Scrum team Backend Development Frontend Development UI Design Automated Testing Automation of deployment processes ### Strategic partner for digital commerce brands ABOUT FusePump is a strategic partner for brands, helping them understand and apply technology to succeed in digital commerce. Established in 2009, FusePump started by offering technology that scrapes websites and returns organized, high-quality, real-time data. In 2011, the company launched the first ever BuyNow solution which uses the same data-retrieving expertise to connect customers with live retailer prices. CHALLENGE The client came to us with an idea for the product’s MVP. The system needed to be easy to use and flexible enough to build different types of advertisements. The biggest challenge for FusePump was to provide a common solution for all clients who had different needs. STX Next Delivered One permanent and one temporary Scrum Team available exclusively to the client A set of features and tools extending the basic functionalities of the platform (e.g. providing a data validation tool and
a data mapping tool) Analysis and ideas for improvements to the development process – delivered as a workshop in the spirit of Lean process management ### Online media marketing ABOUT Analytics, DMP and DSP solutions based on cookie-less technology. Myntelligence helps companies put their customers first, to transform these customer’s digital model into a user-centric business and manage audience buying independently. CHALLENGE TheOutplay was looking for a tech partner to create an MVP of their product. Their goal was to present the MVP to potential clients and investors and secure further rounds of funding. They were looking for a quick and cost-effective solution to have a presentable prototype as soon as possible. STX Next Delivered User’s data visualization with interactive charts Ability to group unique users into segments
 Online campaigns management module
 Campaign efficiency analysis module Admin panel for platform management (creating accounts, managing permissions, etc.) “Demo account” for sales presentations purposes Marketplace functionality for trading the segments ### Consumer finance company ABOUT Paze was founded on the premise of eliminating the dependency on short-term credit and encourage working people to save. It is a next-generation consumer finance company that lets customers get the money they’ve already earned without waiting for payday. Paze does this by paying customers their salary on a daily, weekly, or on-demand basis and collecting from the employer at the end of the month. CHALLENGE Paze needed to scale up their development team quickly while ensuring that they bring software engineers with the right skills on board. They were about to launch their service and needed more resources for support and future development. STX Next Delivered Every day reports about reconciliation Tab for checking statuses of disbursements Using cards for paying installments after opt-out Tab for employers to manage their employees  ### Closed captions and video intelligence service ABOUT Cielo24 delivers searchable captions, media data and media intelligence for large media platform partners in the online education, enterprise, news, and entertainment markets. Their clients turn to Cielo24 to meet the growing demands on their multimedia including compliance laws, discoverability, reach and user engagement. CHALLENGE Due to limited internal bandwidth, Cielo24 sought a qualified technology partner to support their inhouse development team on a series of complex projects. They were looking for skilled developers who could develop and maintain their product. STX Next Delivered User requirements validation Project scoping Data preparation and migration Custom functional development User Interface/User Experience Performance testing, maintenance and support ### Pharmaceutical organization ABOUT KNMP (The Royal Dutch Pharmacists Association) is a Dutch umbrella organization for both professional pharmacists and the pharmacy in general. It promotes both the interests of its members and the interests of the pharmaceutical sector in the Netherlands. CHALLENGE The goal was to create a viable product that would help KNMP manage shortages and inform specialists about supply forecasts. The ambitious goal was to be completed within a fixed price/fixed scope project. Despite very thorough documentation, the final product needed to evolve to fit the needs of the end users. STX Next Delivered A custom Content Management System that allows the management of medicine shortages An application design that enables the user to easily update content A system that quickly notifies doctors, pharmacists, and patients of the availability of a particular medicine  ### Online casino and sports betting ABOUT Based in Dublin and founded in 2012, BetBright is an online UK sports betting and gaming operator. BetBright takes an innovative and disruptive technology-based approach to winning on the product, which delivers the very best user experience possible. CHALLENGE With three internal teams already working on their project, BetBright found themselves with a need to scale up their development rapidly. In order to do so, they were looking for capable and affordable developers with the ability to make an immediate impact.    STX Next Delivered Casino “Quick Deposit” allows users to continue to deposit money during the game without interruption Mobile page redesign including Blog & Widgetisation allows BetBright customers to stay updated with current events “Recall” adds personalized bet recommendations based on the customers’ bet history. (15+% conversion) “Automated Bonus” feature potentially adds 10% to every new customer LTV Live Casino for Mobile enables users to place bets using mobile devices  ### Recruitment platform ABOUT Buzzhire takes a fresh approach to recruitnig temporary staff in the hospitality and delivery sectors. Since 2015, their platform has been connecting employers with workers in a way that is fast, efficient, and effective. Clients looking for a staff on a short-term basis are matched with suitable and available people in their area. The technology-driven solution offered by BuzzHire means that last-minute staff shortages can be filled in a very quick turnaround time.    PROJECT DETAILS Buzzhire’s platform lets companies in the hospitality and delivery industries search for temporary staff who are immediately available. An extensive database of workers matches businesses with workers based on location, availability, and experience. Workers are notified of the vacancy and can register their interest in the position.   CHALLENGE The mobile app is key to the success of Buzzhire’s operation. Workers are notified of available shifts through the app with no need to see the webpage. Buzzhire wanted to raise the overall standard of their mobile app and add new functionalities to keep them ahead of the market. At the beginning of the partnership, it was clear that changes would need to be made to the operational system to keep up with ongoing regulations. Technical debt had to be reduced and maintenance was essential to continue providing a well-performing application. One of the main goals in the roadmap was to expand a locally operating system to the whole UK.   SOLUTION A priority throughout this project was to reduce technological debt, replace the old mobile app, and introduce national coverage for the system. In order to achieve this, we updated the versions of Python, React, Node, and RDS PostgreSQL DB that were being used. To ensure high-quality code for the future, we introduced monitoring for which we used the applications Prometheus and Grafana. ### Healthcare application ABOUT Medassist is a web app created to help medical professionals provide the best course of treatment for the people in their care. It allows doctors to assess skin changes remotely. If there is no cause for concern in relation to a person’s skin lesion, then the app removes the need for an in-person appointment. This means the doctors have more availability and patient waiting times are reduced. Medassist speeds up the process of diagnosis and removes unnecessary delays for patients who need treatment or face-to-face consultation.   PROJECT DETAILS Medassist is a tool to help medical professionals make informed decisions. The app is used when a patient is concerned about skin changes or a doctor wishes to monitor skin lesions. Doctors can generate a private link and send it to the patient. The patient is requested to take a photo of their skin lesion and send it securely through the web application. The doctor then examines the photo and can decide the next steps to take. The app allows doctors to store their patients' photographs and details in one safe place - with secure access for future reference and monitoring purposes   CHALLENGE When the product was first presented to our Product Design team, it had a very basic UI. We wanted to implement changes to improve the overall design of the app and include features to support the user experience. The focus has always been to make the app as simple to use as possible.   SOLUTION One of our UX designers came up with basic wireframes and the flows were made more user-friendly. We made it easier to upload photos and navigate within the app. Key features were added to the app: tags, a search function, and a dashboard. Tags notify users of a patient’s status within the app. For example, if there are newly uploaded photos or if information has already been reviewed. The search function allows doctors to go directly to a specific patient’s page. The dashboard provides quick access to all data and a review of recent activity. ### Application for copy clearance ABOUT Peach Media connects all the players in the TV and VOD markets by operating advanced market wide campaign management systems and data standardisation portals for video advertising.   PROJECT DETAILS CopyCentral is an application for copy clearance. Its goal is to allow advertisers to check their ads against the requirements of the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising. Using CopyCentral, you can create brilliant and innovative video ads and stay sure they will meet all acceptance criteria.   CHALLENGE Peach Media wanted the team to deliver a complex solution within a short timeframe as a replacement for the previous ad clearance system used by Clearcast.   SOLUTION STX Next was chosen among other companies and joined the Peach Media team to develop a complete solution which covers various workflows for different types of users, including top UK broadcasters and hundreds of advertising agencies. The solution needed to be able to handle heavy traffic and the upload/download/streaming of large video files.   ### Europe’s gateway to space ABOUT The European Space Agency (ESA) is responsible for planning and carrying out European space programs. Their mission is “to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.” European space programs are dedicated to discovering more about Earth, our solar system, and the universe. Through their activities, ESA aims to advance science, technology, and economic growth. ESA was founded in 1975 and regularly cooperates with space organizations outside Europe   PROJECT DETAILS We worked with ESA on their Kelvins platform, which is dedicated to competitions related to space, technology, and science. Kelvins was originally created by ESA’s Advanced Concepts Team in 2015. The Kelvins platform is used by a community of people with a keen interest in space, science, and technology. Its purpose is “to be a place for space enthusiasts from all over the world to set their creativity free and participate actively in the advancement of space and science.”   CHALLENGE The main goal of this project was to improve the quality and performance of the codebase and fix all known issues from the old version of the platform. This was done in close collaboration with developers on ESA’s Advanced Concepts Team.     SOLUTION We updated all frontend and backend third-party technologies to their latest versions. This made the codebase more secure and easier to maintain. We added a dataset element to the web pages. Datasets can now be discussed, posted, and associated with a competition. A redesign of the user system gives users the option to post datasets and organize competitions. We also redesigned the social element of the platform including discussions around competitions. New features included OpenID and GitHub authentication for users and a management panel for users with the ability to delete accounts.     We dockerized the application to make deployment and development setup easier. ### Tailored cat food service ABOUT Launched in 2014, tails.com is a nutritionally tailored pet food service that creates a unique recipe for every single dog it serves from a million combinations, based on his or her age, breed, needs and preferences. The subscription-based product helps dog owners target their pet's specific health improvements through their diet. It offers a complete, balanced nutrition plan that also adjusts with the dogs as they age.   PROJECT DETAILS Building upon the success of the dog food platform, tails.com decided to launch a parallel service for cats, called Republic of Cats. The company chose STX Next as its software development partner to help build an application suite for the project. Republic of Cats provides subscription-based feeding plans for felines that have been tailored to each pet’s unique nutritional needs and preferences. Customers can manage their subscriptions using a desktop dashboard and a mobile application. CHALLENGE Republic of Cats operates almost as a startup within tails.com. The main challenge facing the project managers was launching the product within a short timeframe and growing it towards a positive ROI that would warrant the continuation of the project. To achieve this goal, they needed an application suite to be built from scratch. At the start of the cooperation, the project managers had initial product research and business hypotheses, but most branding elements and feature specifications were not yet available. As a result, tails.com needed flexible, scalable design and development teams to help it refine the requirements and produce the full service in a timely manner.     ### Advancing knowledge retrieval with Large Language Linde, a leading global industrial gases and engineering company, required assistance in developing an internal tool to facilitate knowledge retrieval across their multi-national organization. The goal was to design a simple, top-quality, and secure solution that could quickly and reliably answer everyday work-related questions. Addressing the challenges of knowledge retrievalLinde sought a partner experienced in Machine Learning technologies who could implement a custom Large Language Model (LLM) to enable chatting with the company’s assets, such as PDF files, while guaranteeing a secure and reliable process. To meet this need, STX Next integrated a Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) tool focused on quick, easy, and expert knowledge retrieval. By utilizing a database of the company’s documents, the solution made information readily accessible to all users. This approach ensured smooth operation and significantly reduced the time required to find information.Read more: https://www.stxnext.com/case-study/linde ### Clutch Awards - [Clutch Award Badge](https://shareables-prod-static.clutch.co/badges/top_clutch.co_artificial_intelligence_company_2025_award.svg) - [Clutch Award Badge](https://shareables-prod-static.clutch.co/badges/top_clutch.co_ai_agents_company_2025_award.svg) - [Clutch Award Badge](https://shareables-prod-static.clutch.co/badges/top_clutch.co_generative_ai_company_2025_award.svg) - [Clutch Award Badge](https://shareables-prod-static.clutch.co/badges/top_clutch.co_python__django_developers_2026.svg) ### Industry Recognitions - Featured in Seth Early Podcast - Featured in Tech Radar Pro Portal - Featured in IT Pro Portal - Featured in AIThority Magazine - IT Europa Channel Awards 2023 Finalist - Featured in IT Pro Portal - Featured in Information Age - Featured in Help Net Security - Featured in Beta News - Featured in Dark Reading - Featured in Forbes - Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Central Europe - Financial Times FT1000 ## Key Clients - Mastercard - Canon - Hogarth - Man - Wayfair - Nestle Purina - Decathlon - European Space Agency - Unity ## Packages ## About the Team ### Our Story STX Next was founded in 2005 and grew from a Python-driven software house into a global technology partner serving finance, technology, manufacturing, energy, adtech and healthcare companies. As our services expanded to include AI and Machine Learning, Data Engineering, Cloud, and Product Design, so did our international reach. Today, with 500+ experts and 1,000+ projects delivered, we support clients across the US, UK, DACH, Poland and Benelux. ### What Sets Us Apart - Excellence in AI/ML, Data, Cloud & Product Design: From AI/ML development and Data Engineering to Cloud platforms and Product Design, we deliver end-to-end solutions tailored to complex, regulated, and large-scale environments. Our focus is on reliability, performance, and measurable business outcomes. - Client-centric, Solution-driven in Every Project: At our core, we partner with you to understand your unique challenges and goals. By combining deep technical expertise with a focus on practical results, we deliver tailored solutions that drive growth, efficiency, and lasting impact. - Partnerships to Power Modern Solutions: As certified partners with AWS (Advanced Tier), Snowflake, Squirro, and n8n, STX Next combines deep expertise with leading platforms to deliver integrated and reliable solutions. Partnerships allow us to tackle complex challenges and support you with partner expertise and funding where applicable. ### Quick Facts - 96 Verified Clutch Clients - 21 years in business ### Team Breakdown - Data Engineering (30) - Cloud (20) - Backend (100) - AI & Machine Learning (25) - Product Design (30) - Product Management & Agile (25) - Frontend (80) - QA Engineering (40) - Delivery Management (30) ### Commonly Asked Questions **What services are delivered by STX Next?** STX Next specializes in data engineering, cloud consulting, and AI solutions. The company supports organizations in building and operating data platforms, cloud environments, and AI systems used for analytics, automation, and decision support. Typical engagements include data lakehouse architectures, cloud consulting and migration (including sovereign cloud setups), AI and machine learning systems such as LLM-based solutions, RAG architectures, predictive maintenance, computer vision, and MLOps, as well as intelligent contact centers built on Amazon Connect. **What types of organizations typically work with STX Next?** STX Next works with organizations that face data complexity, compliance requirements, and operational scale, particularly in sectors where reliable data and AI systems are central to business outcomes. The company focuses on projects across financial services, industrial and manufacturing, technology, energy, and oil and gas services, where teams have delivered solutions like data lakehouses with Snowflake and Databricks, predictive maintenance systems, unified data platforms, and enterprise reporting transformations. Organizations with large data volumes, complex processing needs, or regulated operating environments often benefit from STX Next’s focus on stable, scalable, and maintainable solutions. **How does STX Next approach delivery?** STX Next follows a delivery approach built around engineering excellence, clear ownership, and continuous feedback. Teams apply proven architectural practices, strong data and cloud standards, and automation across development, testing, and operations to identify and reduce risk early. This enables predictable delivery, frequent iteration, and long-term stability of data platforms and AI systems. **How does STX Next typically work with client teams?** STX Next works as a technology partner, closely integrated with client teams. Engagements are typically structured around shared responsibility for architecture, delivery, and platform evolution, with STX Next engineers collaborating directly with internal stakeholders. This approach supports knowledge transfer, informed decision-making, and continuous improvement of data, cloud, and AI systems over time. **What technology partners does STX Next work with, and why does it matter?** STX Next works closely with AWS, Snowflake, n8n, Squirro and Databricks as certified technology partners. These partnerships reflect hands-on experience delivering data, cloud, and AI solutions on these platforms and provide access to platform best practices, architectural guidance, and up-to-date tooling. For clients, this means solutions are designed in line with vendor-recommended patterns, are easier to scale and operate, and are better aligned with long-term platform roadmaps and compliance requirements. ## Verification Clutch verification provides an additional layer of data to help you make the right purchasing decision of business services. - Verified Client Reviews: 97 - Overall Review Rating: 4.7 Last Updated: 2026-07-16T08:46:32Z ### Business Entity - Business Entity Name: STX Next Sp.z.o.o - Source: Central Statistical Office of Poland - Jurisdiction of Formation: Poland - Date of Formation: March 9, 2005 - Status: Active - Last Updated: March 1, 2022 - ID: 300013306 ### Credit Report Results - International Credit Risk Assessment: Low Risk - Source: Creditsafe - Last Updated: January 1, 2022 ## Locations (5) ### Poznań, Poland (Headquarters) - 38 Mostowa Street - Poznań 61-854 - Poland - 401 - 500 employees - Phone: 0048512914236 ### London, England - 77 Farringdon Road EC1M 3JU - London EC1M 3JU - England - 2 - 5 employees ### Mérida, Mexico - C. 11 310, Santa Gertrudis Copo - Mérida 97305 - Mexico - 16 - 20 employees - Phone: +52 999 544 9779 ### Spring, TX - 1401 Lake Plaza Drive - Spring, TX 77389 - United States - 2 - 5 employees ### Eschborn, Germany - c/o Rödl RAe, Taunus Tower, Mergenthalerallee 73-75 - Eschborn 65760 - Germany - 2 - 5 employees ## Connections - Bhoomi Panchal (fxis.ai) - Shalaka Teli (Gadre Infotech Pvt. Ltd.) - Nirav Patel (Kaizen Software Systems Inc) - Subhan Alam (Set 2 Close | B Corp™) ## Contact STX Next [Send a message](https://clutch.co/profile/stx-next) ### Connect on Social - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/stx-next-python-experts/) - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/StxNext) - [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/stx_next)