TESO

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an IT outsourcing company that provides software and IT managing services. We offer software development services too. I’m the founder and CEO of the company, and we’re based in Vietnam.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TESO?

We want to have more clients from different markets. While we have clients in the Japanese market, it is different from the rest of the world. We wanted to focus on the English-speaking market.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

If a company wants to build a website, they give us the order, description, and functionalities. Then we have to analyze the clients’ requirements. From that, we will make a clear estimation with a plan and timeline.

We work from the beginning to the end of a software development lifecycle. With TESO, we’re searching for a fairly cost design team to assist us in bringing the website we had in mind to reality. The TESO team supplied the same services as rivals at three or four times the cost and work samples to back up their ability.

They basically help us in designing our clients’ websites. We outsource their services to help us with the services that we’re providing to our clients. We do the consultancy for our clients and outsource parts to our partners like TESO. They also assist with mobile app development and SEO. TESO advises on what we should and shouldn’t do.

What is the team composition?

With all of our projects, we have different sets of people. I do work with 30-40 people. I also used to work with the team leader.

How did you come to work with TESO?

I have connections with business people in Vietnam. They were just from reference.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve probably invested more than $200,000, but less than $1 million. There are several projects, but we pay based on project weight and request more resources when needed.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together about two or three years ago. Our partnership is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I used to work with a lot of IT companies in Vietnam. I would focus on their services, not only the quality of the coding, because I’m not someone who can check in detail.

I do believe in reliability. With TESO, we are partners and friends. We can trust them, and they do have instant support. Whenever the system is going down, they’re there. Bugs and failures are common for most IT development projects. They have a good way of discussing how to fix the problem rather than get around the problems.

How did TESO perform from a project management standpoint?

TESO always meets deadlines. For example, they used to finish like a week earlier than the deadline. They also apply Agile development.

They have on-sprint meetings, so I can see the progress of the project. For example, if our project lasts for six months, they usually have a two-week retrospective so that I can see the progress every two weeks.

Our communication is through chat, meetings, and emails.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m most impressed with their supporting services. In IT services, people buy something that’s invisible. I used to work in a lot of IT projects management, and what I see outstanding from this company is that they provide us a degree of support. That makes me feel safe when I give them an IT project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

At the beginning of the collaboration, we had some miscommunication because of the time zone difference. Sometimes we work with people with different English proficiency as well.

We did have some issues, but in Agile, we have the retrospective. At the end of each sprint, we do point out the good and bad. After each sprint, we improve upon it. The communication issue is now solved.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would recommend them to my friends. Within our network, it’s hard to find a suitable company because there are thousands out there. Finding one that suits you isn’t easy. Some companies have high rates and have a different culture of working.

With TESO, I understand the cultures and their support services, so I would recommend them to our suitable clients and friends.

If they’re looking for a proper Agile software development team with on-time delivery, I would recommend them.