VOLO

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Human Resources & Organizational Development of Roche

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Among the biggest biotech companies in the world, Roche offers genuinely unique medications in the fields of oncology, immunology, infectious illnesses, ophthalmology, and central nervous system disorders.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire VOLO to accomplish?

• There aren't any mobile web developers working for us. We hired VOLO to help us with the process because we didn't want to hire more in-house developers.

SOLUTION

How did you find VOLO?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select VOLO over others?

• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from VOLO were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

In addition to our main app, VOLO assisted in the development of an iOS and Android resident app. We gave them a briefing and demonstrated our goals using a few different apps. They then produced a design that we had to agree with. After that, we worked with Voice to design the frontend and UX/UI using Figma while building the backend, which required developing an API.

They worked together with our team to make sure our vision was reflected in the app. The software allows users to automate numerous operations around a home or apartment, including door unlocking, lighting, window treatments, temperature management, and receiving alerts about patient

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

They turned in the best possible work. They carried out our plan with great skill and minimal issues. Although we didn't implement the entire product, their staff was incredibly simple to work with.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

We could not have been faster than them, but we were still well beyond their deadline. They made sure our demands were satisfied.

What was your primary form of communication with VOLO?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their quick response time and comprehension of our goals were quite outstanding.

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

No, they fulfilled our requirements and put up a fantastic performance.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at a business consulting company focused on executive leadership and a breakthrough mindset.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with VOLO?

We needed a partner for custom software and web development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

VOLO is our go-to partner for digital solutions development. Based on our ideas and their best practices standpoint, VOLO’s team codes and tests custom software and web platforms from scratch to help us translate our business needs into functional solutions. Regarding technologies, they work with React, .NET, C#, and custom APIs.

What was the team composition? 

We work with 12–15 members of VOLO’s team but mainly interact with a project manager, a tech lead, a business analyst, and a group of frontend, backend, and UI developers.

How did you come to work with VOLO?

We wanted to work with an Armenian company, and we chose VOLO because they seemed like the right option.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2016, and the engagement is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

VOLO has always delivered on the outcomes we’ve set forward in a quick turnaround time, enabling us to accomplish our digital platform deliverables on an annual basis.

How did VOLO perform from a project management standpoint?

VOLO’s project management is outstanding. We’ve worked with different people with different roles throughout the engagement, but we’ve established a rapport with them since day one. Their team is integral to our business because they bring their thoughts and ideas with a good work ethic. 

Regarding tools and communication, we use Azure DevOps Server and daily phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We feel like we can count on them for anything since they feel like an extension of our organization.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on. They’ve been able to overcome the language barrier because everyone we’ve worked with on VOLO’s team is fairly fluent in English.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Include the development team in some of the calls and plans for the development process because they can bring more ideas for solutions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief information officer of an insurance consulting firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Volo?

We needed a company that could help us develop an app for insurance companies.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired Volo to help us develop a compliance application using ASP.NET MVC. It’s a very niche project management tool for insurance companies. Volo has been instrumental in converting MVC to Angular 5 and microservices and maintaining the MVC app the way it is.

The app’s core features include search capability for attachments, which allows users to take any PDF, Word, or Excel document attachment and search through its content. Another feature is the app’s capability to interface with our clients through an external open API.

The app also has a workflow engine and an industry API, which the government uses to interface with insurance companies. All the backend code that syncs with this industry group API was done by Volo.

What is the team composition?

We work with 50 people from Volo. Their team includes software developers, business analysts, manual and automation QA engineers, and project managers.

How did you come to work with Volo?

Volo was referred to us by a trusted source who had worked with them in the past.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $10 million so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2017, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen an increase in our users and clients since we released the app. The app has also consistently performed well and has successfully kept up with the demands of our users.

How did Volo perform from a project management standpoint?

Volo has performed well in terms of project management. We have a 12-hour time difference, which has worked well for us because I’m able to reach their project managers any time of the day, even if it’s the middle of the night. If I reach out to them and they’re not online, they will usually get back to me first thing in the morning.

We use Jira for project management, and we use email and Microsoft Teams for communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m most impressed with Volo’s expertise. We had worked with a lot of providers, and none of them had the level of talent that Volo provides. We’ve thrown all kinds of problems their way, and they’ve always come up with a better solution than what we were originally thinking.

As a matter of fact, when one of our competitors came up with a way of integrating their product with Office 365, a senior developer at Volo found a way to do the same in just under a week, which was very impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would love it if Volo could provide me with the metrics in terms of their work so I could send them directly to our management team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them the freedom to express themselves and show their creativity in helping you build your product.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of Visual Abstract. We create software for medical publications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Volo?

We needed to develop custom software, so we sought the help of Volo.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our goal was to set up a production platform that could integrate human interfaces into the backend that we had already developed. This platform should be able to hand over production and production processes, especially between the different, coordinating departments of a company.

We first discussed what would be the best solution in terms of time, cost, and quality. Volo then moved into the implementation phase. For this project, their team needed to involve new systems, for which they also needed to do the necessary research. They developed the platform using AWS and consulted with us on the technical implementation. 

Volo now provides ongoing maintenance services.

What is the team composition?

I’ve been in contact with Volo’s CEO, CFO, CMO, and sales team. I’ve also had conversations with their legal team, but we primarily work with the project manager and their team of senior and junior developers.

How did you come to work with Volo?

We reached out to them to find out if they would be the right supplier for this project. We asked them for a proposal and ultimately chose to work with them because of the solutions they provided. The quality of their work, their seniority, and their piercing were also very competitive.

How much have you invested with them?

Overall, we’ve spent over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The partnership started in March 2021, and it’s still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We didn’t have a platform before, but now we have one. They’ve delivered everything on time, within budget, and with high quality. They are a great partner to work with.

How did Volo perform from a project management standpoint?

They use a scrum framework, and they’re very good at managing the project. We usually communicate via Slack, Teams, emails, and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I would say it’s their price that distinguishes them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing that I can think of right now.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be kind to the team because they are kind as well. Make sure that you clarify the scope and ask for feedback because they have specialists who might help as well. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of a technology company in the healthcare space. We build apps that help customers connect with pharmacies, and our business is focused on the Canadian market. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Volo?

Our company wanted to make the pharmacy experience better, quicker, and safer for customers when getting their prescriptions filled. To do that, we needed to develop a piece of software, and we hired Volo to develop our mobile and web apps. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a good idea of how we wanted the app to look before we reached out to Volo. Our team created the wireframes, and Volo brought in designers and turned those wireframes into high-fidelity mock-ups. Moreover, the team worked on our brand and graphics until we were happy with the appearance of the deliverables. From there, we moved on to the development phase, where the engineering team built the apps’ backend. 

What is the team composition?

We mainly worked with a project manager, and their engineering team consisted of around five people. Those included a mobile developer, a backend developer, a QA person, and a DevOps engineer. 

How did you come to work with Volo?

We searched on Google for offshore teams. Our company heard good things about Ukraine-based teams, and I had good experiences with consultants and developers in that country.  As a result, we specifically looked for similar companies, and we came across Volo on Clutch. Our team also spoke with 4–5 offshore groups and two Canadian companies. We landed on Volo after checking their reviews and having a good interview experience with them. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement lasted from June–September 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work quality was good. I’d worked with many other freelancers and developers before, and Volo’s quality stood out. Our team didn’t have to deal with a ton of defects as far as coding was concerned. Overall, they performed well on the engineering side. 

How did Volo perform from a project management standpoint?

Volo’s project management was well-done. They had a dedicated project manager that communicated with us daily, and the language barrier wasn’t a big deal. English was their second language, so there was some small miscommunication here and there but nothing truly impacted our materials. 

We used Slack for most of our communications, plus we did a weekly video call, which worked fine. They also used Jira and Zeppelin to help us monitor where they were in terms of development and bug-fixing. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Volo team had a great culture; their resources worked and communicated well together. The team was deeply engaged, putting a lot of effort into hitting deadlines and delivering a good product. I truly appreciated that they worked hard and were flexible.

Moreover, they had a full stack of development skills available. They didn’t only focus on development; there was also a QA person that did a good job of finding bugs before they delivered the product to us. Overall, the team members had dedicated roles, which made the process quicker and the quality better. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They set an ambitious timeframe, and that made the project a little tough on our side because we didn’t have a lot of time to check or approve things. I understood that they were trying to deliver as quickly as possible, but they could have taken a couple of weeks more to save us a bit of trouble. That being said, this was likely a minor estimation issue and everything went well.

Moreover, time differences were also somewhat an issue since they were 10 hours ahead of us; we were pretty much on the opposite sides of the globe. That made the window for quick response a bit narrow. However, we still managed to communicate well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Spend time up front to get the exact design that you want before you commit to the partnership. That way, you won’t have to redo things later. Other than that, I highly recommend Volo for their great services and the good experience they’ve given us. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a product marketing manager for the Dzain app, which is a joint project with the mobile development company WeMobile. We’re planning to release the app soon.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Volo?

We needed someone to take care of the entire app development process, so we hired Volo.

SOLUTION

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Volo provides UI/UX design and full stack development for the iOS and Android apps. They’re building a polling app for us and are creating the logic for the inner pages, categories, personal accounts, and social elements, like leaving feedback for other users and updating profiles.

We started by providing Volo with technical documentation to ensure that everything would be done according to legal and operational procedures. They take care of all the technical details while our team handles the marketing strategy.

What is the team composition?

The team size varies depending on the period and the density of deliverables. On average, we have 3–5 people dedicated to our processes, including the iOS and Android developers, backend engineers, QA engineers, and a project manager. The number can go up to 7–8 members for additional QA and backend work.

How did you come to work with Volo?

We found them when we were checking our local network in Armenia. Volo is well-known, has a high rating in the country, and is one of the top recommended companies. They had the best terms, so we decided to go with them.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost is within $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Volo in October–November 2020, and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The main indicator of success is that we got the mobile app by the deadline since Volo has delivered early. We now have a functioning product that’s 90% ready. We just have some features to add before releasing it.

They’re professional in terms of communication. We’re constantly getting information and updates regarding processes. We’re really happy with the professional approach of the Volo team.

We’ve had bugs and issues, but everything was caught during testing. The QA let us know if something is wrong, so we knew about the bugs beforehand. Volo has fixed everything before handing the app over to our team. 

How did Volo perform from a project management standpoint?

They know what they’re doing, and nothing comes as a surprise to them. We follow the work through a Jira board, with the project manager overseeing all processes. He’s able to handle everything; we don’t even have to talk to the developers.

We have a Slack channel where we chat about ongoing processes and issues, and we’re also using Atlassian tools and Trello.

What did you find most impressive about them?

One thing that puts a different spotlight on Volo is that they’re really into business, leaving the creative aspect of the project to us. When we’re negotiating something, it’s only the business matters that are on their table. It’s really professional and inspiring how they show their capacities clearly and honestly. They’re trustworthy and have made us want to work with them from the very beginning.

Are there any areas they could improve?

For larger projects, we might need some more flexible communication tools. The ones we have now are totally fine since it’s quite a small project, but it could become messy to use for bigger ones.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to be as clear and specific as possible in defining the objectives, before starting the work. Volo has a professional approach, and they’ll start all processes really fast and at the same time. If you forget to tell them about a certain piece of information, it might turn into a problem.  

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of MobiDram CJSC. We’re a telecom subsidiary of the Russian company MTS and are licensed by the Central Bank of Armenia to provide digital payment-system company services. We handle fund transfers, issue electronic money, open accounts in virtual environments, and serve clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Volo?

Back in 2010, we needed to develop a mobile payment platform so our clients could open online accounts and transfer funds electronically. Our in-house staff didn’t have the expertise to build it, so we hired a contractor.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Prior to hiring them, we’d been relying on a web platform to meet our clients’ needs, so Volo transitioned us to a mobile app. After we provided them with a broad scope of features and functionalities we needed, their team handled all of the design and development work. The platform processes many kinds of financial transactions and we’re always adding more options. Volo continues to help us improve our existing services and develop new products so we stay competitive in the marketplace.

What is the team composition?

Their team consists of developers and QA testers.

How did you come to work with Volo?

They were already handling web development for our parent company and applied to work for us when we advertised for developers. After evaluating our options, they proved to be the best choice.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested almost $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2010 and we have an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We handle 60% of the telecom market in Armenia. At this level, there’s always a dilemma about whether to develop software in-house or hire an outside vendor. Given that this was a new area of development for us, Volo's team has been worth the investment.

We constantly need new products and their team’s expertise has made it possible to keep up with those demands. They’re well-informed on how to minimize security risks and hacks, which has been invaluable.

How did Volo perform from a project management standpoint?

We started out using Trello, but have switched to Team Foundation Server. Our in-house project manager coordinates with the team on Volo's side and plans our actions at two-week intervals. We control the implementation throughout each planning cycle. Since we’re continually rolling out new versions of our app, it’s important to keep a log of all the product development and document the features in each update. All of that’s monitored and controlled by the project managers.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team is very passionate about what they do. They’re quick to respond, proactive about solving problems, and they’re committed to our product. Developing new products is a challenge since we’re always creating new products from scratch, so it’s important that the Volo's team is equally dedicated. It’s not just about the total number of hours logged—we’re also committed to our targets and deadlines, and everyone tries to do their best in order to reach them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As a client, we always want more, faster, but there’s only so much you can do with your budget and resources. For this time being, we’re well-calibrated and we understand each other. I don’t know what to suggest as an improvement. I always encourage Volo's team to be on the edge of new technologies and developments in the space.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I don’t have any at the moment.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Trade Cloud Services. We provide a communication platform that helps commodity traders find partners and conclude deals. So far, we’ve gone live with metals (e.g., aluminum, zinc, nickel) and are planning to expand into energy and agricultural products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Volo?

When we first reached out to Volo, we were just an IT startup and lacked an established infrastructure. We didn’t have any organizational processes in place and we were still defining our future platform. Not to mention, we didn’t have the internal resources to build our systems. We needed an agency that could be flexible and innovative enough to persist in a changing environment, so we approached Volo to develop our web-based platform as well as our iOS/Android app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They initially helped us scope out the project, creating a set of technical requirements that addressed our needs. Using our prototype designs and screens, they looked at ways to implement security measures into the system, get the platform running on the cloud, and then monitor and manage it in the future. They then built the platform and mobile versions according to our specifications.

Our product is essentially a web app comprised of mostly HTML screens. Because their team is primarily a Microsoft shop, we restricted our technology to Microsoft products. They built the backend using .NET Core and developed a technically complex chat feature using MongoDB with a SQL server. The chat system required a number of real-time functions that not many IT companies could provide.

Additionally, we needed the platform to work on a wide range of devices. Volo ensured that all components (e.g., database, server pieces, front- and backend) could run on browsers across China, Europe, and America as well as on iOS and Android. We’re now looking to implement blockchain technologies in future developments.

What is the team composition?

Over the course of the engagement, we’ve worked with about 35 team members, including website designers (who worked on our public website), UI specialists, architects, full-stack developers, native Android and iOS developers, DevOps specialists, various testers, user acceptance testing (UAT) environment specialists, QA staff, business analysts, and project managers.

If they lacked a specific skill set, they would bring in outside resources to supplement their efforts. They’ve always been very clear when hiring external people.

How did you come to work with Volo?

I found them through a personal recommendation. Previously, I had a consulting business before selling it to a nearshore IT firm. Because of that, a number of people came to me for advice on nearshore businesses, and I learned a lot about several companies. I particularly liked a few firms in Armenia and, after a selection process, decided to go with Volo.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $1.5 million thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

Their work began in February 2017 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Because we're an IT company without an in-house development team, Volo has been at the heart of everything. They’ve literally built every piece of our platform, and the quality of their work is striking. I’ve worked in IT for a long time and have seen an enormous volume of projects; to date, I’ve never seen a project with fewer bugs going live.

How did Volo perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve continued to partner with them because their work process has been particularly effective given our style. They participate in workshops, have plenty of discussions, and can work onsite or remotely. We use Slack to coordinate their activities and Jira and Confluence to record their results. I also appreciate that they’re able to communicate with my teammates who are less tech-savvy.

In terms of scheduling, we’ve hit most of our deadlines. There have been some instances when we’ve been a few weeks late on a task, but those were typically due to functional changes that were out of their control. On those occasions, they’ve worked hard to get things done on time, so we haven’t suffered from the timing issues that other companies tend to have.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Despite our unique way of gathering requirements, they’re flexible enough to work with us and have adapted to our style. I also value their commitment to completing tasks. Compared to other providers, they’re able to deliver as promised, which can be rare for tech companies.

At the moment, we’re doing some work in the blockchain space, so I’ve asked them to look at a few newly released technologies. Even though they haven’t seen the software before, they’ve been able to leverage their past blockchain experience to quickly get up to speed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They don’t really have the scalability to provide people on short notice due to their size. On occasion, we’ve hit resource bottlenecks when trying to find people, particularly on the mobile side. I've also noticed that they don't have Java specialists. While they did provide some Java development, in the end, it didn’t live up to our expectations.

What’s more, I would appreciate it if they were able to work across multiple offices. They have a number of locations across Armenia and Ukraine, and I’ve worked with a few of them in Ukraine. However, it didn’t feel as integrated or seamless as when they were all in the same place.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CTO of Procivis. We do a lot of work with blockchain and smartphones and I'm responsible for the overarching technology strategy and product delivery service.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Volo?

We were launching a crowdfunding campaign and we needed a company to help us with our website and a mobile app prototype.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We already had a website, so Volo redesigned it. They also developed a working prototype of an iOS app from scratch. The prototype displays the frontend of the app without a backend integration.

We had a tight deadline, so we had to work on short sprints, where their project manager and myself defined the requirements on the fly. We also worked closely with their designer and the frontend developer, who implemented the design. My technology team was very small, so I relied on their resources.

What is the team composition?

I worked with two developers, a couple of project managers, and a designer.

How did you come to work with them?

Our CEO knew them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them between December 2017–February 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We used the app as a marketing tool for crowdfunding to showcase our vision. The website helped us convince our investors of the quality of our team and the project. As a result, the crowdfunding was very successful. Volo worked quickly and immediately implemented the changes we asked them to do.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

We had phone calls to discuss the features and we worked via Skype to finalize the design specs. When the development phase started, we reviewed the code in GitHub.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have quality developers and offer a good price. Also, their English was great.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They delivered everything I had expected and more. I was very happy.