Visto Marketing

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of MyCoza.

What challenge were you trying to address with Visto Marketing?

I’ve worked with them on several projects, including a large one for a mining company in South Africa.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Visto has provided front- and backend web app development services. JavaScript and PHP were two of the technologies used. 

What is the team composition?

I don’t have any hands-on participation with the projects anymore, but when I did they had one main lead from their side.  

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve had more than 10 projects so far, and the average cost per project is $120,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

I’ve been working together since around July 2015. I’m not working with them directly at this moment, but some of our subsidiary companies are.

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

From my perspective, their knowledge of PHP and CMS environments is quite extensive. Although some of the knowledge on JavaScript could have been more thorough, I’m sure it’s improved since the lead was a quick study. They provide outstanding developers who were good workers and showed the kind of growth we were expecting. 

How did Visto Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

I work side by side with the lead. He’s very young, but he’s an outstanding developer. There’s been quite a bit of coaching from my side related to his youth, but that’s something that endeared him to us. We decided to take him under our wing and it formed a mentorship relationship to a large extent. We invested in him because he showed potential and growth. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

When it comes to developers in general, they are sometimes not people-oriented. In the past, we could leave a developer in a corner on their own and they’d be happy. Unlike some other developers, the Visto Marketing team can work efficiently in teams, take instruction, and fit with the culture.

Even though the team is a lot older than him and had a different language and culture, they are adaptable and perfect in this regard.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

There is potential for development in a lot of areas, but keeping motivated can be a bit trying just generally.  

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

There’s no one-size-fits-all provider, and I suggest having an initial interview with their lead. If his personality is aligned with the client’s, they’ll do fine. If not, there could be issues down the line, especially when the pressure is on. The idea is to make sure that the development team and its lead don’t fall apart then.