UMM Digital

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a heating and cooling technology company. We use our patented technology to create heating and cooling products for different applications and spaces including the healthcare and automotive industries. Our technology can achieve anywhere between 0 to 60 degrees instantly and provide instant cooling.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with UMM Digital?

One of our products is a cooling wristband that helps women during menopause, and we wanted to design a website for it. UMM Digital did the complete web design, content, and social media set up for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

UMM Digital’s first task was handling the website layout and development. Then, they moved on to coding and a webshop integration, which involved setting up a payment gateway. After that, they initiated all of our digital and social media channels and established SEO and Google Ads campaigns. They have set us up with complete digital marketing for our products.

There was also a data translation aspect to the project. We had an existing website that held a number of scientific papers and research, including testing documents and testimonies we’d received about the product. After providing them with all the data, they converted it into a product that a common person could digest.

What is the team composition?

UMM Digital’s two directors are constantly managing the project. One led the web development and web design tasks, and the other one handles digital marketing. We’ve also worked with one content writer, a web designer, and a couple of SEO resources. There’s also a project head.

How did you come to work with UMM Digital?

I asked an information exchange group for entrepreneurs that I’m a part of for recommendations on digital agencies, and I received a bunch of names. I spoke to all of them, and several people who’d worked with UMM Digital gave me very strong feedback. They mentioned that UMM’s quality of work is really good and that they finish the job. This was key for us because we couldn’t completely define the scope of our project ahead of time. Previous digital agencies we’d worked with got hung up on tasks that weren’t in the scope, and that felt restricting to us.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent $52,000 so far on website development, and we have been paying $12,000 per month since February 2021 for digital marketing.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in September 2020. Phase one was completed in January, and now we are working on phase two, where they are running digital ads, social media, Google Ads, and video campaigns.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have received positive feedback about the website after sending it to friends and family, as well as from previous product buyers — they’ve only had good things to say about it.

Our social media likes have gone up significantly, and we’ve seen a lower bounce rate with people who are visiting our site, meaning people are spending a lot more time on the site.

How did UMM Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a weekly review with one of the key members of the team, so we are clear on what’s happening. I’m also interacting with the product head almost daily. We use Microsoft Teams and WhatsApp for communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their willingness to get the job done no matter what stands out. Nothing is out of the scope of the project, and that helps me not worry. Most of the time when you work with an agency, they keep adding charges and tell you that certain tasks are extra. With UMM Digital, however, I know that I’m getting everything I pay for.

UMM Digital is doing a really good job of managing the work. If I have a complaint, I can take it to them, and they’ll resolve it on the same day.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Every team has weak links that drag the work down, and I would rather have weak links weeded out quickly to deliver strong performance at all times.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you don’t like a team member, just tell UMM Digital openly and they will replace that person. I let them know that someone wasn’t fit for my team, and they took the feedback very positively.

If you have any concerns, then take them to UMM Digital immediately, and they will resolve them. At the end of the day, you are paying money to have the work done, so be upfront if there is something that you don’t like.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a backend support engineer for a large social media platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with UMM Digital?

We needed help developing a content moderation mobile tool.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

UMM Digital provided development for an internal tool used for content moderation. We released a total of 13 features, one per month.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a couple of people from their engineering team, and their coordinator was my main point of contact. I also interacted with Santhosh (CEO). 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around £350,000–£400,000 (approximately $480,000–$550,000)

What is the status of this engagement?

We started discussions in December 2019, and the project ran from January 2020–January 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

UMM Digital is an awesome company with a wonderful engineering team. The tool they made helps me a lot on the backend support side.

How did UMM Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

UMM Digital was always punctual. They typically delivered one day before the due date.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a professional company, and they get awesome resources.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think so. If they maintain the same level of service, they’re going to achieve the next level for sure.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I can fully recommend UMM Digital. They delivered one hundred percent on what they committed to. They have wonderful resources.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a part-time freelance software consultant. I also have a full-time job and build software projects for my clients and other companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with UMM Digital?

I had a client that needed a real estate investor portal.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

UMM Digital is my outsourcing partner. They built a real estate investor portal for my client using PFP and MySQL for the server-side. They also used JavaScript and React as frontend technologies. Their team built a complete frontend for us. UMM Digital started with doing the mock-ups, and we provided them with feedback and then finalized it. They used the mock-ups to build the actual UI.

What is the team composition?

I mostly worked with Premkumar (Executive Director & Co-Founder), who is the head of operations for product development. I also worked with Santhosh (CEO). 

How did you come to work with UMM Digital?

I came across them while I was searching for companies on Google. When I was back in India, I had some projects that I needed to outsource, so I searched for some local companies.

How much have you invested in them?

A rough estimate for the real estate project was around $130,000. Overall, I’ve worked with them on three projects and spent around $300,000 USD in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in June 2019 and was delivered in November 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

UMM Digital gives a lot of input into the user experience. They delivered a product with excellent user experience and impressive user-friendliness. It doesn’t take much time for us to train our users on how to use the application.

User experience is one of the metrics that I personally keep track of. Their team is really customer-centric. They spend a lot of time and effort trying to understand the customer, context, and business. UMM Digital tries to understand the needs of the customer. They’ve delivered a customized solution that fully solves the customer’s needs and problems.

How did UMM Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

From a timeline standpoint, they stick to the deadlines. For the last project we worked on, we followed an agile process. They focused on building a prototype first and then based on the feedback of the customer, used it for development.

It’s easy to ask them to make changes during the product development lifecycle, and they focus on getting an MVP out really quickly. That makes a big difference for the customer so they can see the product soon, and they’re happy to provide feedback for the development.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a sound technical team. They’re very agile, and it’s easy to collaborate with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They can improve when it comes to testing. There are testing automation technologies available, and they could utilize them more. Apart from that, they could also focus on providing a good maintenance package. They should be able to provide a clear solution or package so that the post-development maintenance can be carried out as well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d suggest providing them with detailed requirements first. Have clear expectations when it comes to timelines and milestones.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a business developer for an entrepreneurship platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with UMM Digital?

They provided web and app development services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They created our website and mobile app from scratch. We provided them ideas and feedback which they incorporated into their work. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with Santosh (Founder & CEO) and Charles (COO). 

How did you come to work with UMM Digital?

We saw their reviews online, and their portfolio was really good. 

How much have you invested in them?

We spent around £500,000 (approximately $636,657 USD). 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from August 2019–April 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of work was good. We’re happy with what they did. The platform is clean and professional. We didn’t know how to create a user-friendly platform, but they came in with some great ideas that really helped us. 

How did UMM Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They were really good in terms of project management. We didn’t know what we wanted in the beginning, but they helped us devise a plan and worked with us to come up with ideas. Whenever we needed to talk to them, they were available. They gave us honest feedback about all our ideas which helped us build trust in them. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication is most impressive. They’re always available, and they’re very intuitive. We felt like they were reading our minds. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’re happy with everything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

Just trust them because they have great ideas and are very trustworthy. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company is based out of Nairobi, Kenya, and we build and operate hostels for college students. I take care of software development and implementation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with UMM Digital?

When our company was started, we’d bought an out-of-the-box product for managing hostel operations. It had an interface through which customers could pay their own rent and raise maintenance issues. The product’s model didn’t fit our processes, and the cost of repairing and maintaining it was too high. We decided to build our own software solution.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

UMM Digital developed a web application for managing our hostel operations. It was built on Laravel PHP on the backend and AngularJS on the frontend, and it has a MySQL database.

We split the project into two parts, starting with the frontend. Once their designs were approved, UMM Digital started building the application around them.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with around 10–15 people from UMM, including a project manager, two UI/UX designers, two testers, and a mix of frontend, backend, and API developers. We’re working on a project basis, so I’m not privy to the exact team composition. We just talk to the tech lead and the project manager.

How did you come to work with UMM Digital?

We talked to around 15 companies about developing this application, and we selected UMM Digital because they had a competitive price and put an effort into understanding our requirements. They seemed to be more flexible than other vendors we looked at, which were stricter about change requests and only offered a limited number of them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve paid them $200,000–$250,000 so far, and we’re going to invest another $50,000 or so.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with UMM Digital in April 2019. Our current project is almost at the final stage, and we’re already planning a new project with them for a month or two from now.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had some issues with application security and other aspects a couple of months into the project. We raised this with UMM Digital’s senior management, and they revamped their team, adding more QA people. Things have gone pretty smooth over the last 8–9 months after we sorted those issues. I’ve been happy with the quality.

How did UMM Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

UMM Digital is quite open, and they’re available whenever we have a query. We have daily catchup meetings, and we get all the information we ask for promptly. We have visibility into how much time each feature is taking.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The main reason we selected them was their strong understanding of our product requirements. They also had better UI/UX capabilities than the competitors we looked at, and I feel they’ve lived up to our expectations. 

They’re flexible, and they get involved in the project and suggest changes for improving it, even if it’s mid-sprint. Other vendors I’ve worked with weren’t as flexible once they were given the requirements.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind at this moment. We had some initial challenges with the security and technical architecture of the app, but we escalated those properly, and the experience has been pretty good since then.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients should think of UMM Digital as a partner rather than just a development agency to give requirements to. Engaging them on matters such as how the product should function and what features should be there might lead to a better experience and allow UMM Digital to add more value to the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CTO of a health tech company. We have a telemedicine platform where users can access a doctor via video-chat.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with UMM Digital?

We were for a company that could develop a web and mobile platform for us. We needed to find a vendor that could work quickly but remain affordable.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The initial development was done through Java and React Native. The mobile apps are available on iOS and Android. They recently started using Flutter. 

What is the team composition?

We had an account manager who was our main point of contact. I think there were 5–6 additional people involved. 

How did you come to work with UMM Digital?

One of my friends who had worked with UMM Digtial previously introduced me to the CEO.

How much have you invested in them?

We invested about $150,000 for the mobile app development and $25,000 for the web platform. We also have an ongoing maintenance contract. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in November 2019. The majority of the work is done, but we have a maintenance contract with them. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of the work is great. Throughout the engagement, the team was really responsive to change requests that we made. During the bug fixing process, they were quick to address issues based on security priority. 

We also made adjustments to the size of the mobile app so that it was easier for users to download. They were very accommodating to those changes. 

How did UMM Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They delivered everything before the deadlines. We used Jira and they shared their schedule with us through there. The process was very transparent. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were most impressed with the high-quality of the final deliverables. They did exceptional work within our budget. The specialized development they did was also great.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I can think of. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

Give them detailed requirements. They’re good at engaging and getting the information they need by asking questions. Have an initial meeting to discuss exactly what is needed since that will make the process easier for both of you. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the technology director of Align Associates. We work in data analytics and offer business solutions to clients across India and some parts of the Middle East.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with UMM Digital?

We had some gaps in our design and mobile applications.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had an opportunity to work with UMM on a mobile app for restaurant-based services. We were happy and have since worked on two or three projects with them.

One was for an SMS application using PHP and a Laravel framework, in which they were well versed. They provided us with solutions for mobile apps using the Cordova platform. It's a complete end-to-end web to mobile solution.

What is the team composition?

I was in touch with three people from their team who really took care of us.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent less than $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from September to December 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The main purpose of building these types of apps is to increase the efficiency. They fully understood the complexity of our needs and provided good solutions.

How did UMM Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management was good. Whenever there was an issue, it didn’t matter what time of day it was, they would help us out.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their energy is impressive. They have a range of people that differentiate them from other service providers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The project management could be improved in terms of their time calculations, but otherwise, they do really good work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the technical director and shareholder of a startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with UMM Digital?

We had an idea and wanted to convert it into a product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They took the idea we had for our web and mobile app and developed it, but it is primarily a web app. The app was built on MariaDB and Laravel PHP with an AngularJS frontend. They used Android Studio for the Android app and Swift for the iOS mobile app.

Through many days of requirement sessions with the UMM team, we came up with the modules and started to develop those modules. Once the base was done, we began expanding more on those modules.

What is the team composition?

Initially, we worked with five people. We currently have a dedicated team of eight members including a designer.

How did you come to work with UMM Digital?

We were referred to them by a friend. I gave them a small project initially and they did an excellent job. They also showed me the different web apps that they developed previously. They have a suite of apps that they developed with different web technologies, which gave me the confidence that they could help me convert my idea into a product.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in November 2017 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We recently launched phase one, and we have taken on one customer so far, with two more coming soon. Overall, UMM Digital translated our idea into a good product. It’ll take a few more months before the product matures for a larger audience, but the first round of feedback from our customers has been great, and I am happy about that.

How did UMM Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

We took an agile approach, working in two-week sprints, and they delivered what I expected within the timeframe.

We have a daily stand-up meeting where we look at the different functionalities, and they provide me with details on what they achieved the previous day and the plan for the current day.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their commitment and creativity are the most impressive thing about them. They brought our idea to life in a short time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They lacked experience in developing a SaaS product. It might have been one of their first times doing something like that. Our product aim is to host millions of users, and that scale of experience was missing, but they learned it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would recommend them for any web and mobile app. They are a great team to work with for anything that requires creative content. If you have your requirements ready and clear, their delivery will be much faster. We consciously took an agile approach because we weren’t clear on what we needed from the beginning as we only had the idea and not the full details of it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the technical director of Wii Tronics Solutions, which provides end-to-end software and hardware for parking management solutions. Our hardware can be installed in any parking space; it sends sensor data to us, which we provide to end customers via mobile and web app portals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with UMM Digital?

We had the expertise to get the parking space data from of the sensors and put it into our servers, but the challenge was to make it look presentable for our end customers. We needed help with creating the UI/UX of the apps.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The apps for Android and iOS determine how many and which parking spaces are available using Google Maps. Administrators can use the platform to view how many times a space was used during a specific time and other data.

We contacted UMM Digital for the development of an Android and iOS app and a web portal for administration purposes. I approached them with the requirements, and they came back with a proposal detailing the cost and timeline. We agreed on a price, and I gave them approval to start. The scope was clearly defined. I listed the pages they needed to do for the web and mobile app.

We had a call recently about the UI of our overall system.

What is the team composition?

I worked with three people in total, one person each for the web, Android, and iOS application. I also had a contact for escalations.

How did you come to work with UMM Digital?

We found them almost four and a half years ago through word of mouth. Someone told me that UMM was doing a great job. We negotiated, and they were professional in providing us a quote.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with UMM in January 2016. We launched the app in multiple phases. We’re still working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The smart parking app was successful; it’s currently available on the Google Play Store and App Store within India. UMM has been flexible in terms of making customizations on short notice.

How did UMM Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

Any mobile app requires a development process that goes through long phases. There were challenges in terms of timelines and resources available, but we worked through them. UMM was flexible in terms of pricing. If there was something that needed to be done within the framework of the parameters we’d agreed upon, they were flexible in accommodating small changes that I requested.

I was able to get in touch with them for any issues. We have a great working relationship.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciated their flexibility. They were approachable and maintained good communication. They understood exactly what we were doing and how those functionalities integrated into the UI.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We required tables and other UI elements that could be reused across different pages. My software has around 100 pages, each page with some kind of table that is displayed to the end user. Building a generic component that could be customized for each of those pages would be helpful. Currently, if we need to make a general UI change, we have to do it for every page.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clearly describe what you want and provide exact requirements. UMM has the capability to handle the project management in terms of estimating what the customer should expect, but being clear will further ensure that they do a good job.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was a co-founder and director of FIZZ e-Ventures. FIZZ was a mobile application that focused on increasing walk-in customers for restaurants, bars, saloons, and spas by advertising their deals and discounts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with UMM Digital?

We had an initial idea and found that the most viable option was to outsource the skilled work for the website and app development. An in-house team would require a payroll and we weren’t sure that the project would kick off. A partner would also prevent us from making typical novice mistakes.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our initial discussion was on the development of an iOS and Android app, a website, and a backend infrastructure. The apps were built as native products, and the backend was built on the MEAN stack—MongoDB, Express.js, AngularJS, and Node.js.

Beyond app development, UMM advised us on how we should structure the project, emphasizing the MVP—implementing some basic features and letting the customers decide what they want. These were a few points and indications that we wouldn’t have come up with on our own.

What is the team composition?

I was closely associated with the core team, including Santhosh (Founding Director, UMM Digital). I was in contact with two other individuals, including their head of business development.

How did you come to work with UMM Digital?

The other companies we shortlisted were more focused on what they could provide, what the rollout time would be, and how much it would cost us. UMM put forth case studies for products they’d built within the same space or similar ones. They talked about the challenges they’d faced and how they learned from those.

It ultimately came down to the service. Cost-wise, UMM was similar to everyone else in the market, but they offered me more than just the development of an application I required; they offered hand-holding throughout the process. As someone without a background in the tech field, that caught my attention.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of their work was around 500,000 Indian rupees ($7,500 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with UMM Digital in August 2015, then the first version of the product came out after 6–7 months. Our association with them in terms of initial development lasted for around 15 months. We employed an in-house team after the app launched.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We started working with them at a stage when we didn’t have a product in place. We went to them with an idea and they helped us conceptualize it. They have strong expertise in terms of not just technology, but interlinked aspects like digital marketing, SEO, and so on. They were able to guide us and incorporate those into the first version of the product.

How did UMM Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

We could see that UMM had been in a learning period themselves and taking on smaller projects, while ours was their first end-to-end engagement. They had some challenges to solve, but they had a committed and strong working team who were able to pull it off. I would rate their performance highly.

I’ve been involved with them on other projects since, and I'm able to see their professional growth from our first interaction to now, two years later.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The biggest point is that they’re not completely compartmentalized. They have a holistic approach to identifying what the customer is looking for. I come from a non-tech background, and their contribution helped me establish what the basics of technology were, and why one software was better than the other. It was not something they were asked to do or something I paid them for, but they understood our needs and shared what they thought was the right approach.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They need to stop micromanaging. They get too involved in the nitty-gritty of details, which means that they can get sidetracked and a few projects delayed. It’s something I’ve confronted them about and I’ve noticed them working on it closely, so it’s not a significant issue for me.