SVAPS Systems

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm CEO of Pennebaker Conglomerates, a small company that originally developed at text analysis program.

I'm also the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Receptiviti, a Toronto-based company that develops language analysis solutions for companies.

For what projects/services did your company hire SVAPS Systems?

SVAPS-Systems completed rebuilt our text analysis program LIWC in 2015 making a unified platform for Macs and PCs that was integrated with a sales platform.

In the years since, SVAPS has helped to modernize the system and add new features as needed.

What were your goals for this project?

The text analysis program had to run efficiently and to work with thousands of users who had minimal knowledge of a text analysis platform. It should also be integrated with our commercial product run through Receptiviti. SVAPS-Systems had to work with two groups with differing needs.

How did you select this vendor?

I had worked with several developers earlier but none truly understood the complexity of our problems. SVAPS-Systems was recommended by a developer group in Toronto.

In interviews with the SVAPS-Systems CEO, Alexander Chingarev, it was clear that he had a broad overview of my needs. I was also looking for someone who was quite flexible and was able to listen.

The decision to go with SVAPS was made by a group of people on the Pennebaker Conglomerates side (who are mostly academics) and Receptiviti (many with IT and development experience).

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

SVAPS worked with me and our in-house experts to modernize the original LIWC program.

The program relied on a group of text dictionaries that included internal dictionaries and also user-created dictionaries. In the analysis of text, the program needed to be able to analyze millions of files as well as extremely large csv/excel files (as well as text, rtf, non-image pdfs formats).

The system had to be extremely fast and to provide understandable output that could be used by researchers and, in some cases, novices. Many of the decisions were jointly made by the SVAPS group and our group. It was very much a collaboration.

What was the team composition?

The Pennebaker Conglomerates team included a social psychologist, a computational social scientist, and a computational immunologist (all academics) with extensive background in LIWC and text analysis.

On the Receptiviti side, we worked with a project director, two developers with CS backgrounds. We only worked with Alexander Chingarev on the SVAPS side.

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

SVAPS-Systems was amazing. The development of the program took about 6-8 months and worked exceptionally well. We worked closely together and were constantly testing the system over the development process.

When unexpected problems occurred (sometimes from our side, sometimes from SVAPS), we would troubleshoot together. Once the product was launched, SVAPS was (and is) always available to help out.

I've never worked with any group as impressive as SVAPS. They far exceeded my initial goals and expectations.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Ours was a relatively informal arrangement. We connected via email and Skype. We had regular Skype meetings. SVAPS knew which of my team to talk with for specific problems. It was like having SVAPS in the office next door.

Although the project involved people in Belarus, Canada, New Zealand, and the US, there were never any language or communication problems.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

SVAPS-Systems understood our problem, listened to our challenges, and could anticipate hurdles we hadn't considered. Their code was masterful and the final product is phenomenal.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CTO of Pro Alliance. We’re a startup social tech platform for retail.

For what projects/services did your company hire SVAPS Systems?

We needed to develop a SaaS platform with a mobile-responsive UI.

What were your goals for this project?

We set out to build a platform that allows end-to-end visibility of your supply chain and sharing of data between all stakeholders. It will serve as a B2B retail business model.

How did you select this vendor?

Another startup that we’re cooperating with introduced us to them.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Initially, we did functional analysis, documentation, and wireframing in-house. Now, SVAPS is working in Scala, Angular, and Selenium. Specifically, they’re providing technical analysis, development, automated testing, QA, and DevOps.

What was the team composition?

We’re working with a team of eight people including a senior Scala developer, a junior Scala developer, two Angular developers, two QA and automated testing resources, one project manager, and one DevOps resource.

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

SVAPS is providing services that are critical us building an MVP and a fully operational product.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We’re handling project management in-house, but we have daily contact with their project manager. They’ve displayed excellent product knowledge and a strong understanding of our business needs.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They have a young, well-educated, enthusiastic team that’s willing to learn and grow. No question is too hard for them.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Proactivity and communication can always be improved.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a company called iText Software. We are a technology provider that focuses on everything related to PDF technology. We offer a set of components, software libraries, for developers. We are a Tier 2 provider to other technology companies and help them enable all kinds of PDF functionalities in their applications. We don't offer any end-user applications; we only offer the technical building blocks to other technology providers to enable them to use PDF technology.

What challenge were you trying to address with SVAPS Systems?

When we upgraded our flagship product from Version 5 to Version 7, a big challenge for us was updating documentation. Our previous version of the product was well-documented over the years and was kind of a reference in the developer community, mainly because of that feature. When we released a new version, we had to catch up in terms of documentation. For a more important project, we contacted SVAPS and asked them to help us by migrating the existing Version 5 documentation to Version 7. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

This project mainly involved migrating code samples, especially Java code samples, from our old version of the product to the new version. We supplied SVAPS with a set of existing codes, but they also came up with their own interesting examples. We shared a versioning system, a code source depository, where they could commit their work, which was quite convenient for us to integrate into our own workflow of publishing those examples and using them afterward. 

In terms of managing the file, the code samples, we never experienced any difficulty working with them or with the technology in general, partly because of the technology we used. It’s a versioning system for source code, which means that if you make any kind of mistake, it’s always possible to roll back or go to a previous version. In general, it’s the default practice in software development to use such tools. We’re accustomed to using it, and so is SVAPS, so we didn't experience any problems working together in that way.

How did you come to work with SVAPS Systems?

I had worked with a founder of the company, Alexander, when he was at a previous company, which was also in PDF technology. When we needed additional resources for this project, I thought of him. We knew each other already, and I was confident in his skills. SVAPS’ existing experience in the PDF world made it easy for me to pick them.

How much have you invested with SVAPS Systems?

We would like to keep that confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began the project March 2016 and ended it September 2016.

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

The content that SVAPS produces is published on our website and is actively used as a way of documentation for our customers. I consider that a measure of success.

How did SVAPS Systems perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve had a good experience working with SVAPS, which wasn’t a big surprise because I had worked with Alexander in the past. I especially liked that they really take ownership of a project. They are not a typical outsourcing company where you have to give them specific requirements, and they execute those blindly. They tried to think along with us, give suggestions, and come up with improvements for the project. That makes it convenient for me so I don't have to spell out every detail beforehand; we can cooperate as the project goes. The fact that they take ownership also meant that our communication was always open. They clearly communicated what they were trying to do and how they would do a better job than what I suggested. They also gave me decent feedback about delays in planning or even vacation days of some of the team members that would have an impact on the project. All in all, it was an easy experience working with them, which is what I expected.

Are there any areas SVAPS Systems could improve?

On the ideas where they took more initiative, it would have been better if they had gotten feedback from me earlier. In terms of the story that we’re telling with the documentation and these examples, we might have been able to be more consistent. Some of the examples are technically good, but they aren’t really selling the story as we would have liked it.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with SVAPS Systems?

When you’re working with SVAPS, I think it’s important to realize you're not dealing with a typical offshoring or outsourcing company. I think you get the best results with them if you communicate with them on a peer level and try to incorporate and value their feedback because they have the experience, and they stick along with not only your technical needs but also your business needs. Use working with SVAPS as an opportunity; don’t see it as a threat from somebody who doesn't want to execute your requirements or roadmap as you define them. Try to incorporate their feedback into the project because that’s a major strength and a benefit of working with them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We have 20–25 people and specialize in data visualization for clients. We offer our own product and also take on project work.

What challenge were you trying to address with SVAPS Systems?

We had some large projects that required more developer capacity than we could provide. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

One of our projects involved a large system for which we needed to process a lot of data and create different visualizations for it. We built a backend system that processed large amounts of data, making it easily queried by the client application. The frontend was built using AngularJS and JavaScript. SVAPS Systems worked as a subcontractor and provided 10 frontend and backend engineers. They were mostly involved in development, maintenance, and testing, but they also helped with some design. The production version needed to be kept live while adding any new implementations, and SVAPS Systems provided bug fixes as needed.

We’ve also worked with SVAPS Systems on a project using Scala, and there was also some Python work done on a limited basis.

The second project involved supply-chain data that were gathered from multiple suppliers, carriers, and logistics services providers. We helped clean that data and built a platform on which all those parties could interact and visualize the data.

How did you come to work with SVAPS Systems?

We’d worked with SVAPS Systems for a different company, starting 10 years ago. They were initially recommended by another party in Belgium.

How much have you invested with SVAPS Systems?

The cost varies month by month. In the beginning, we had a cost of under $10,000, but we have had months with more than $20,000 in cost more recently. The overall cost has been over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with SVAPS Systems in September of 2015. The work is still ongoing.

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

We rely heavily on SVAPS Systems and use an Agile process for tracking everything. The collaboration has been more operational and hands-on, so I couldn’t provide any simple metrics.

There are quite a few people from SVAPS Systems’ side working for us, and we definitely expect to continue working with them in the future.

How did SVAPS Systems perform from a project management standpoint?

We are in charge of project management, while SVAPS Systems mainly focuses on development and testing. We do welcome their input, though. We use Skype and Slack for communication, as well as a whole bunch of cloud-based tools. We’re always on the same page, and deadlines have been met well.

What did you find most impressive about SVAPS Systems?

Being almost in the same time zone has really helped. We did work with companies in India and other parts of the world, and the collaboration was more difficult. SVAPS Systems’ culture is close to ours, which also helps.

Are there any areas SVAPS Systems could improve?

There’s always room for improvement, but we’ve kept a hands-on approach on a daily basis. Whenever something needs to change, we will feed it back to SVAPS Systems, and they react well. We’ve never let things escalate; if something concerns us, we will immediately talk to SVAPS Systems and get it resolved. Although they’re 2,000 kilometers away, SVAPS Systems feels like they’re only a city away.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with SVAPS Systems?

Working with a development team in general, whether internal or remote, requires open communication lines and continuous investment. The more this is done, the more return the client will have. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior developer for a company that was recently acquired by another firm. My day-to-day functions have more or less stayed the same. We develop software to help the application process for drug submissions. So basically, a pharmaceutical company would find a drug that they wanted to market to the public, but first, they have to submit an application to the government to get approval. They’re required to go through testing and they have to record all the information from those trials. All that information is data, and that data is submitted to the government as part of their application. We help streamline that process with our software.

What challenge were you trying to address with SVAPS Systems?

We have a lot of documentation that is in the format of PDF. We approached SVAPS because we had previously worked with their development director, Alexander. We approached him with some questions regarding how to do certain things with PDFs, manipulation, creation, all that stuff. We heard about his company and went from there.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I don’t know if I can go into too much detail about the specifics about the programs.

How did you come to work with SVAPS Systems?

We heard about them because of Alex, but we ended up contracting them for work with general programs that we were thinking about incorporating into our software.

How much have you invested with SVAPS Systems?

I’m not at liberty to disclose that information.

What is the status of this engagement?

If I recall correctly, I started communication with them in the spring of 2016. A lot of our projects are one-time projects, but we’ve actually gone back to them several times for different things. That first project we started in the spring is now finished. We contracted them for some bug fixes with PDF work, and we’re currently thinking about contracting them for something else, details still pending.

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

I don’t have any statistics, but I can tell you that working with them is a very pleasant experience. They are very responsive, and if you have any comments or questions, they respond quickly and address any issues that you have.

How did SVAPS Systems perform from a project management standpoint?

I would give them a very high score. They always try to gather all the information and get the details before they start. Obviously, sometimes things fall through, and when they do, we communicate about it and work from there. Most of the time, things run pretty smoothly.

What did you find most impressive about SVAPS Systems?

I haven’t worked with too many external vendors, but from what I’ve gathered, SVAPS is very capable and responsive, and they do exactly as you request them to do. I would say that stands out to me.

Are there any areas SVAPS Systems could improve?

I can’t think of anything.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We provide a cybersecurity solution for brand names IoT manufacturers, I am the VP R&D

For what projects/services did your company hire SVAPS Systems?

To build our dashboard for cybersecurity officers in our customers' companies, and eventually, our backend as well

What were your goals for this project?

build a quick solution that visualizes our capabilities and scale it afterward

How did you select this vendor?

we knew a project manager in SVAPS that made the introduction

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

they developers a web UI according to our specification and design. They also developed backend components in numerous programming languages.

What was the team composition?

The team consisted of a project manager and 4 developers

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

The project boosted our sales effort by helping us to demonstrate and visualize the product

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project manager received assignments and allocated the developers and managed their assignments. We provided technical guidance if needed.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are professional and hard-working people, willing to invest more time to get the job done

Are there any areas for improvement?

nothing that comes up to mind