TVS Next Private Limited

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a software development company. We generally use outsourced resources, and have an in-house core team. We are also a digital marketing group working both for clients and on our own behalf.

What is your position?

I am the president and COO [chief operating officer] of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Blisslogix?

We needed an extension of our own team because we didn’t want to hire more permanent staff.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

Blisslogix does development work for us for Android, iOS and web applications. They work on UI/UX [user interface/user experience] as well as quality assurance testing.

We interact with their team directly, at various levels, from their CEO down to the people actually doing the work.

How did you come to work with Blisslogix?

We went through a selection process, looking at multiple companies. A member of our team had a contact within their company. He introduced us to them.

We hired them because of the breadth of their skillsets. They showed an ease in understanding the briefs that were given to them.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The projects we've worked on have ranged from $5,000 to much more. Projects differ widely in scope. Some can be bolt-ons, while on others, we start from scratch.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with Blisslogix for around two years. We plan to continue the collaboration.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I create milestones for all our work. Besides these, there are subjective markers such as how well and how fast they respond to questions, how quickly they pick up new concepts, and so on. We're content with the work they've done for us so far.

How did Blisslogix perform from a project management standpoint?

I found them to be easy to work with. They conform to the working hours of the client; they're responsive, listen well and make suggestions, acting as a part of our team.

We use an Agile environment in our projects. Project tracking is done through spreadsheets. It's not a very high-tech method, but I am old-fashioned. Bug tracking is done through a simple format, and files are shared through Dropbox. We have set dates for the achievement of corrections, and so on.

What distinguishes Blisslogix from other providers?

They work well with clients, paying attention to customer service, feedback, and other such dynamics.

Is there anything Blisslogix could have improved or done differently?

Having worked so many hours with them, there will always be normal issues that occur, but nothing stands out.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are an education technology company.

What is your position?

I am the chief executive officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Blisslogix Technology Solutions?

We needed software development for a unique hardware platform. This required expertise that we didn't have in-house. Instead of hiring permanent staff here, we wanted to find an outsourced provider.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

The software Blisslogix built for us functions as both a cloud and local solution. It was developed by them initially to run under .NET. Currently, it's a Linux application, which was not developed by them.

We've also engaged Blisslogix recently to work on a new user interface for the same product and on server-side items for it. We're adding additional functionality designed to improve functionality on the Linux platform.

The team assigned for the development was composed of three people at its largest.

How did you come to work with Blisslogix Technology Solutions?

We found them through Elance. They were one of five companies who bid on our project. We chose them because they represented their firm in the best way. We also wanted to work with a multi-developer company as opposed to the many independent talents found on Elance. Depending on a single person would have been risky, and we really wanted access to a variety of expertise.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total cost for the project was around $130,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The product is still in development. The work is scheduled to complete between the first and 15th of March 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

The product has been generally well received by test users. We do get requests for additional features and functionality. They layout was very good, and people understood where each element was.

How did Blisslogix Technology Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

We didn't have a budget or deadline per se when starting, but Blisslogix delivered what I asked them to. We've only recently come across the need for a timeline.

We aren't using any specific project management tools at this moment. In the past, we used the work tracker offered by Elance. We use email for document exchange and Team Foundation Server for our codebase.

What distinguishes Blisslogix Technology Solutions from other providers?

Their energy in attacking the product and getting to it with speed: getting an initial team, having a call, setting up the workflow, getting all the parameters identified, and starting the new project.

If I need a completely new feature, Blisslogix will put together a team and do it. There's an intrinsic value associated with being able to pick up the phone and getting an immediate positive answer to your request as opposed to being deferred and receiving vague responses.

I can literally call Blisslogix on Friday about a task and have a team put together by Sunday. By Monday, they'll hit the ground running.

Blisslogix has expanded to Austin, Texas, recently, their primary base being in India. This is very convenient as we can have morning meetings with their team and communicate with their founder locally throughout the day. When we only worked with their India base, we had a very narrow window of communication and had to wait until the next day to resume talking. Resources in two different time zones help streamline our operations. 

Is there anything Blisslogix Technology Solutions could have improved or done differently?

Our first collaboration was for a research project. I felt that the different modules they implemented weren't really designed to talk to each other in the most efficient way. We didn't have a well-defined scope of how everything should be constructed, however.

On our current project, the scope is very rigid and the deliverables are specific. There isn't anything I could really say that Blisslogix could improve on, other than a better coagulation of different elements in the software. Given the circumstances, it's not really fair to reproach this of them.

Any client looking to hire a developer for similar work should have the necessary experience. It's more complex than building a website or any other project where you can give a general list of requirements. Blisslogix are a fantastic bolt-on technology resource that attaches to a company's existing team and delivers on very specific tasks. I wouldn't ask them to build me product A and only contact them a year later.