VM.PL Software House

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the business development manager for a software development company. We design and develop custom software for our clients. I’m responsible for sales, account management, and partner management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire vm.pl Software House?

We were looking for a subcontractor to provide additional resources for our development team.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to increase our development pace and grow our client’s project quickly.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We knew vm.pl through a partner network and had had prior experiences with their management. We considered several subcontractors for this project, and vm.pl was best suited to meet our needs. Our shared trust and business values were the deciding factors, as was the availability of their skilled developers.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

We’re part of long-term development cooperation with a client who owns a project management solution for creative industries. vm.pl’s developers, who we interviewed to test their technical and interpersonal skills, are responsible for both front- and backend development and have already introduced a PHP Symfony framework. We also utilize their Angular skill set. Though our client submits the features they want implemented, the developers still make a number of technology decisions.

What was the team composition?

Initially, a senior full-stack senior developer joined our team. A junior developer started working with us a few months later.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The vm.pl developers integrated into our team and quickly became productive, which ensured that we met our initial goal. They’ve also been willing to take on work outside the original scope.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

vm.pl’s developers’ and management’s responsiveness is outstanding. We monitor their productivity on Jira and use Slack to communicate. Their team is comfortable working in English, and both developers we use have professional English skills.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They set a high standard for responsiveness and customer service. We’ve also been pleased that the developers pitch their own ideas that are then put into practice.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

Because vm.pl developers are proactive and press for positive change, they can grow disappointed when it doesn’t materialize. This isn’t a true disadvantage, as it helps our team advance and evolve, but it does speak to how expectations should be structured.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the editor-in-chief of a selective book publisher in Poland who produces 50 new titles every year.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire vm.pl Software House?

We needed someone to develop a web-based tool that allowed us to coordinate our work on and calculate the cost of new publishing projects.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a secure tool that could calculate royalties for each product type of a certain title (hardcover, paperback, e-book, audiobook, bundle) as well as create production and publishing schedules for distributors.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had bad experiences with companies that had no prior knowledge about the book market a few years ago, so we’ve been searching for a vendor that’d already cooperated with publishers. vm.pl Software was one of four vendors we considered.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

We contributed documentation with our desired features and functionalities and gave them access to the previous software we used. Nevertheless, they prepared updated documentation, mock-ups, and a graphic layout.

It’s going to be a web-based solution so our remote team members can access it through their browsers. They’re also creating different levels of access, for our seven different user types, and prioritizing flexibility, so we can improve it based on our future needs and market necessities.

What was the team composition?

We worked with five people from their side.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s too early to say as we’ve just started preparing our 2019 publishing plan.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We’ve had two or three meetings in-person while the rest of our communication is done via email, telephone, Skype, and an uxpin.com, an online UX design platform.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They’re devoted to us and make authentic efforts to understand our project. They were also flexible in finding a satisfying cooperation model.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

They should improve an initial time estimate for projects.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the digital delivery manager of the Warsaw office of an international education company. I am responsible for delivering digital content to our market, which is in Central and Eastern Europe.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with vm.pl?

We needed the ability to provide our publications in a user-friendly digital format. They should also be available on different operating systems and devices.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have worked on several projects with vm.pl. The first one involved building digital course books for students of English and German as a second language and interactive whiteboard software for teachers of English and German. The material needed to be as interactive and rich in multimedia as possible to make it more interesting for users learning English and German on any device.

We also engaged vm.pl in a formative assessment project, creating an online system through which teachers could register classes, download tests, feed in results, and create progress and efficacy reports (i.e., individual reports for students, classes, and schools to manage and compare results and progress against region or country population). Currently, vm.pl has developed an Android app and is soon delivering an iOS app for us.

How did you come to work with vm.pl?

vm.pl was recommended to us by people from our trade. We considered one to two other companies, but, on the basis of our initial conversations and vm.pl's past experience, we decided to select them.

How much have you invested with vm.pl?

Sorry, this is confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with vm.pl in 2012. The work is still ongoing. We have been working on a major upgrade for our platform since 2016, making our tests available online through mobile devices and computers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

vm.pl worked within our agreed schedule and budget. More recently, we've adopted the Agile approach, which has led to more flexibility in terms of budget and timelines. vm.pl has been able to adapt to our constraints.

How did vm.pl perform from a project management standpoint?

vm.pl's team is constantly learning, which has happened during our collaboration as well. Their project management skills weren't as good when we started working together. But, later on, vm.pl introduced a Scrum master and started working according to the Agile methodology. This has paid off, so we've been more satisfied with their project management and communication skills. One of vm.pl's managers is constantly in touch with us.

What did you find most impressive about vm.pl?

vm.pl's team is very flexible and can react quickly to what is happening in our market. They've stayed up-to-date with technology evolutions, suggesting improvements for our requirements.

Are there any areas vm.pl could improve?

vm.pl is a small company and our impression is that they work from one order to the next. This means that, if there's a period of reduced demand, vm.pl can have a problem. In our recent project upgrading our assessment system, vm.pl needed to employ more programmers. I think those programmers were likely let go after the work ended. In terms of becoming a stable company, vm.pl has some progress to make.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with vm.pl?

Make sure that vm.pl has the necessary resources available, and take an active role in planning and delivery.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the Digital Projects Manager at Macmillan Poland. I am responsible for all digital products Macmillan delivers to public school teachers in Poland (i.e., interactive whiteboard software, online interactive content, and other online solutions like diagnostic tests).

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with vm.pl?

About 8 years ago, vm.pl was one of very few companies in Poland dealing with educational technology. They already had some experience in the field, and that is why they became our main developer and supplier of the IWB software.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their job was to develop the complete software: from requirements list up until delivering a master copy DVD-ROM for duplication. They designed the whole user interface, all the teacher functionalities (annotation tools, zooming, tools for own content creation), developed all of the interactive content (interactive activities, audio, video), ran the tests, and encrypted the application. Over the years, the application became significantly enriched and updated with a lot of new functionalities and interactive activity types. All in all, vm.pl developed the IWB software for 4 book series which have been used by thousands of teachers in Poland in public schools, mainly primary sector.

How did you come to work with vm.pl?

I honestly don't remember, sorry.

How much have you invested with vm.pl?

Unfortunately, I cannot share this information.

What is the status of this engagement?

They began working for us 8 years ago and continued until 2015. Currently, we are not planning any future projects together due to change in company policy and market situation in Poland.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Unfortunately, this is very difficult to measure in our case. The software is distributed to schools together with course books and other materials, usually in packs, so there aren’t any specific figures to reflect impact or sales. And as to the quality, there is only occasional feedback we receive from the teachers. In the case of vm.pl products, it was generally very positive.

How did vm.pl perform in terms of project management?

vm.pl delivered all projects according to our expectations and requirements.

What did you find most impressive about vm.pl?

vm.pl is currently one of the most recognizable education tech companies in Poland. They deliver high-quality products and, most importantly, have a unique understanding of the educational field. Their experience is vast: from interactive textbooks to diagnostic portals, data management, and training. What I consider most valuable about vm.pl is their impressive technological background and knowledge; special compliments to Łukasz Borzęcki, their CEO and head of IT.

Are there any areas where vm.pl could improve?

Scheduling and delivery time.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with vm.pl?

Related to the above; it helps to schedule ahead.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We were originally a Polish law publisher, but we have transformed into a service provider for lawyers, giving them access to information about the law and everything related to the subject. We offer legal acts published by the local government as well as commentaries and books explaining the law to lawyers and paralegals like accountants and other professionals. The content is bought from authors and published within our electronic system and printed books.

I am the CIO of the company. I am mainly responsible for the platform that helps users navigate through legal information. I am also partly involved in maintaining back office systems for dealing with authors and financial information.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with vm.pl Software House?

Vm.pl developed a system for educational process management and integrated this software with SAPR/3. The SAP integration enabled exchange of sales, warehouse, and financial data.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have developed a product that closely correlates with our SAP system. It enables us to plan the scope of books being published, keeping track of our relations with the authors in terms of royalty fees and the acquisition process. The main users of this system are the people from the acquisition department, but it is also used by the people from the sales department, who use it for planning the number of books to be sold. In the backend, we exchange data between this product and our SAP/ERP [enterprise resource planning] system.

How did you come to work with vm.pl Software House?

Vm.pl has been actively working on the IT market for companies from the publishing industry. They contacted us with an offer to create such a system for our publishing house.

How much have you invested with vm.pl Software House?

The cost for the development and maintenance of the system over 8 years has been calculated at around 200,000 USD.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with vm.pl 8-9 years ago. The system provided by vm.pl is relatively comprehensive, taking around 3 years to build. We have continued to use vm.pl for the maintenance of the platform and for new functionality builds.

One year ago, we had a few discussions about rewriting the system with new technologies. We ultimately decided not to do that, mainly because of internal constraints.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The collaboration with vm.pl has been smooth. There have been few issues which were escalated to my level, so the relationship is good, from my perspective.

Our system has been built specifically for us, which comes with some limitations. Using a more generic solution would have allowed us to benefit from more widely available tools for it on the market. On the other hand, the system is tightly correlated with our business and the processes which we've implemented.

How did vm.pl Software House perform from a project management standpoint?

In terms of the day-to-day collaboration with vm.pl for new development and the maintenance of our product, they have fulfilled our needs. I have no negative feedback to give vm.pl, and I know that the people in our operational department have also been satisfied with the relationship.

What did you find most impressive about vm.pl Software House?

Vm.pl has been able to provide new ideas for the platform, but this is normal in a vendor relationship. We have a good cooperation, but it's not necessarily better than it would be with other companies.

Are there any areas vm.pl Software House could improve?

Not from my perspective. Any improvement points have been discussed with vm.pl.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with vm.pl Software House?

I would recommend collaborating with vm.pl, but I don't have any specific advice.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CTO for a mid-sized softwarehouse. Our Plattform provides state of the art solutions für several problems in the insurance-sector.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire vm.pl Software House?

We need qualified senior developers to enable our growth

SOLUTION

How did you select this agency and what were the deciding factors?

We compared serveral agencies. The main factor was experience, professionalism and service.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Confidential

Describe the recruitment process in detail.

After vm.pl found matching developers for our requirements, we talked to them and made the last decision. All developers where perfectly suited for our needs.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the engagement that demonstrate progress or success?

confidential

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective. The developers are integrated into our inhouse teams. Every other week we have a short meeting with vm.pl, updating each other.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their communication works great. Everyone works very professional.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

The communication works very well. Each contact person works very professionally and everything happens on an equal footing.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

- IT Consulting - Role: Head of Nearshoring

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire vm.pl Software House?

- Software Development in Salesforce

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

via personell Network and reccomondation

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They provided software development in Salesforce.

What was the team composition?

N/A

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After one Year working with him, we feel like he is allready Part of the Team + the delivered Quality in the Project was great.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

VM.PL deliverd more than expected, their developer did an outstanding job not only from the technical side but also from the personnel side.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Finding the right person that does not only fit from the technical site but also from the personal site

Are there any areas for improvement?

No