Volano Software

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a small B2B software company. We sell a mobile application to multi-unit businesses, mainly franchise companies, to help them with site visits and site inspections. I’m the sales and style director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Volano Software?

We needed a business partner to help us develop software for our clients. We were looking for a company that we could work side-by-side with and understand our client’s businesses and their pain points.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Volcano Software develops mobile applications on both the iOS and Android platforms. They also developed our main web-based platform, as well as the SQL backend.

What is the team composition?

The team size depends on what portion of our software they are working on.

How did you come to work with Volano Software?

We had a local connection and a good friend referred them to me. I felt really comfortable when we first met and I could already tell that they were the kind of partner we were looking for. I felt that they were already going above and beyond even before we started working together.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost is in the ballpark of $250,000–$500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them around February 2015 and the partnership is still ongoing today.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are a small B2B company and we’re still operating today, so I think that speaks to the pretty good impact they’ve had. They are very helpful for our day-to-day work and I feel like we have multiple full-time employees working with us. Their team helps reduce a lot of stress on our side because of the heavy lifting they do for us.

How did Volano Software perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a project manager that keeps us in line. She is the one that generates all of the meetings and agendas. We also have project management tools that help us manage issues, user stories, and all those tasks.

We also run iteration meetings depending on what we are looking at from our development cycle and our strengths. I can’t really give a solid timeline, but it really depends on what kind of project we are working on—it is totally different every time. Whether we are doing a release for our larger projects, doing a feature style release, or just doing some fixes, our cadence is very flexible

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s not a dog and pony show when working with them — they’re just true. The Volano Software team is going to tell you the way it is, what could potentially happen, why it’s going to happen, and the outcome in the end. They are not flashy guys, but they are going to come in and do the job right.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I really can’t think of anything. We’d always want development faster, but fast isn’t always cheap, and good isn’t always the best.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open and upfront. Open your playbook and Volano Software will do the same back.