Zfort Group

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Titan

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Titan Air Conditioning Ltd provide Air Conditioning and Bespoke Cooling solutions throughout the province working in Belfast, Lisburn, L'Derry, Coleraine, Newry, Bangor, Craigavon.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Zfort Group to accomplish?

• To conduct our compliance monitoring activities we decided to use an app to capture information from site visits as well as a web portal where all the information gathered through the app (as well as additional project documents) would be collected and managed in real time. Initially we used Microsoft to achieve these goals

SOLUTION

How did you find Zfort Group?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select Zfort Group over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fits our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Zfort Group were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The scope of work was the creation of a field investigator app as well as a web portal. 

• API development: 4 weeks, review and bug fixing 1 week. 
• Web Portal: Development 4 weeks, fixes and approval: 2 weeks, data migration 1.5 weeks. Fixes and final approval: 1 week.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

we are confident Zfort group based on demos- will increase the reliability of the system and will allow the agency to properly conduct its compliance activities in a significantly better way.

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

The project management has been great!. We frequently receive requests from Zfort group to meet (Via Google and Zoom) and receive updates.thanks to their efficiency and professionalism

What was your primary form of communication with Zfort Group?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They have provided us with great support from the first moment. They took the time to hear our concerns making they understood our specific needs. Definitely, customer service, efficiency and professionalism are in my opinion the 3 qualities that best describe Zfort group.

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

Not really. Overall, I am really satisfied with Zfort Group.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Vice President of Operations of Advocate Health Care

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience, and value-based care.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Zfort Group to accomplish?

• Development of New patient portal for medical records, appointments, and provider communication.
• Creating an EHR (Electronic Health Records) system to improve patient care.

SOLUTION

How did you find Zfort Group?

• Online Search
• Referral

Why did you select Zfort Group over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Zfort Group were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

They developed a new patient portal that would allow patients to easily access their medical records, schedule appointments, communicate with their providers and creating an EHR system to improve patient care.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Zfort Group delivered all software solutions on time and within budget. The new patient portal reduced daily calls, and the EHR system improved care quality.

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

They worked closely with us, providing regular updates and being responsive to feedback.

What was your primary form of communication with Zfort Group?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They understand healthcare challenges and develop innovative solutions. They're committed to customer satisfaction and go the extra mile to ensure client contentment.

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

They can improve communication with customers regarding the development process, but delays in updates did not significantly impact the project's success.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Hivex

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Software development company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Zfort Group to accomplish?

• We brought on Zfort to help with the creation and upkeep of our banking application. Our goal was to find an outsource partner who could supplement our existing internal team for a substantial financial technology initiative.

SOLUTION

How did you find Zfort Group?

Online Search

Why did you select Zfort Group over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing first our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

What was the size of Zfort Group’s team?

6-10 Employees

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

At the initial meeting, I conveyed our project specifications to ensure that Zfort would assign the appropriate developers who could fulfill our project needs and goals effectively. The meeting was followed by additional video conferences where we went into more depth about the project plan and scope, assigned duties, and responsibilities. They have been involved in the project from the design stage through to the development, deployment, and ongoing maintenance phase.

The final outcome of our collaboration is a cutting-edge financial technology solution in the form of a mobile and web banking app that is currently available in the market. We have continued our partnership with Zfort as we want their developers to be readily available to us whenever we need support with fixing bugs or implementing updates to our product.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• We are very satisfied with our choice to hire developers from Zfort. It has been a positive experience to enhance our internal resources with the help of experienced external developers.

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

That is the responsibility of our internal manager.

What was your primary form of communication with Zfort Group?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email
• Messaging App

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

Their commitment to our product is outstanding. They worked tirelessly to produce the best possible outcomes.

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

Nothing, we’re more than satisfied.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the office manager for an applied behavioral analysis (ABA) service provider.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zfort Group?

We needed help with developing our website. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Zfort Group built out our custom internal site, creating new functionalities and updating the aesthetics as needed. Our website uses a massive database that our employees add and remove content to and from. One key feature is manipulating how we use reports, such as modifying content, adding reports, and changing labels.

The site uses SQL and PHP. Zfort Group was able to update the previously sloppy code to work on our project. We’ve completed two sprints together and are now in our third.

What is the team composition?

Galina (IT Project Manager, Zfort Group) is our project manager, while Darya (Business Development Manager, Zfort Group) is our account liaison. We’ve worked with a few other people, but those two are our primary points of contact.

How did you come to work with Zfort Group?

We ran into a lot of challenges with working with individual developers. Those projects often suffered from a failure of communication and responsibility. So, we decided to go with a company instead. 

We looked into lists of the top outsourced PHP coding agencies. We wanted a team that could communicate fluently in English and submits to our checks that they are a legitimate agency. Zfort Group met both criteria and was highly communicative and flexible throughout the process.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $5,000–$10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in September 2019 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Working with Zfort Group has been a very satisfying experience. If we ever need them to make any edits or to tweak something that isn’t working the way we want it to, they’ll get it done within the hours we’ve committed to the project. 

We paid for about 159 hours of work, and when the work we asked for ended, Zfort Group let us know that we had 19 hours left to use. They could have easily attributed those hours to scope creep, but instead, they offered to do more work for us at no extra cost.

How did Zfort Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Zfort Group has really dedicated themselves to our project. I can’t stress how great they are at communicating. Whenever we changed the requirements on them—adding or removing a task or moving a timeline—they got it done quickly with no complaint. It makes working with them so much easier. 

The time difference between our teams also hasn’t affected communication. We have a brief window to exchange emails every morning, and Zfort Group always responds quickly. We also communicate over calls, Skype, and Trello. Trello has made remote work a breeze—we don’t need regular updates; we can just see a task’s progress in Trello. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication and willingness to accommodate us stand out. Zfort Group really wants to please their clients.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I wish I can work with Zfort Group during the day or take night shifts to operate on their work schedule. But I’m not going to ask their team to stay up late at night just to stay in touch, especially since they’re already phenomenal at communication.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be upfront about your scope from the get-go. If you give Zfort Group the full picture of what you’re looking to build instead of handing them task after task, you’ll see a better result. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Sable International. One of our offerings is a visa immigration and nationality business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zfort Group?

We hired Zfort Group to develop a web-based passport service.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The website is an online assessment tool that helps users process British nationality claims. Zfort Group built a multi-generational family tree feature with key dates. The site then matches the information to a set of solutions we’ve programmed into the database. That functionality enables users to identify claims and request a formal assessment with a specialist.

The website has had several iterations as we refine services and address user needs. For example, Zfort Group created a matching functionality for different family trees over six months that expedites the report writing process. The partnership includes several-month spikes and drop-offs based on need. We recently rolled out a new version of the site.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 5–6 team managers since the partnership started.

How did you come to work with Zfort Group?

A colleague recommended Zfort Group after a successful web development project. I reached out because I knew the team’s rates would be lower compared to other international markets. They respond quickly and provided good quotes. We got started right away.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent £150,000 ($196,458 USD) over the last two years, which included the site rebuild.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2011 and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Currently, 26,000 clients have leveraged the family tree. We can easily contact them via email and text alerts. The site achieves 3,000–4,000 monthly registrations, which translates to 100 strong daily inquiries and 15 new clients per day. As a result, our visa revenue has increased from £800,000 ($1,048,204 USD) per year to £3.5 million ($4,585,892 USD) per year.

The influx of traffic and qualified leads is instrumental to our business’ growth. Furthermore, the stable site reflects the team’s strong coding skills and grasp of our business.

How did Zfort Group perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Lync for Business on a daily basis during busier periods. Otherwise, we communicate via phone and log tasks on Trello. The latter works well for our team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team is responsive and hits every deadline. What’s more, they are friendly and affordable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, because they’ve met all of our requirements.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Detailed briefs make a difference because they ensure that both sides are on the same page. Clients should invest time early on to make specs as detailed as possible.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director at Ideal Flatmate, a matchmaking website. We help people find roommates.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zfort Group?

We needed app development that would support a matching platform to bring together compatible people, along with thousands of available listings.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They took on a live project and improved the stability of a PHP web application to support the development of new features, including a new platform for premium properties. They’re currently developing a mobile app in React Native. The group feature brings together prospective renters to find properties. Other services included the development of an algorithm to identify and root out fraudulent properties and a rebuild of our search function in React. They also implemented Elasticsearch for the backend.

What is the team composition?

Their involvement has expanded from two backend developers to four backend developers. We also work with a frontend developer, a project manager, and a designer.

How did you come to work with Zfort Group?

They were recommended by another company.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2018 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The functionality is very clear and easy to use, and our search function has gotten faster. Not only are they very adept developers, but they go the extra mile to figure out how best to work with us. They care about the project and they put in the effort to understand what we need. They’ve performed their role very well.

How did Zfort Group perform from a project management standpoint?

I rely on their project manager to communicate with team members on our side who need fixes and changes, and I know that she’ll make sure it’s done. I’ve been very impressed by their determination to deliver the best service they can. We also got along well with the developers. All of our communication was good, and their team has been quick to react to any problems we’ve had. They’ve adapted to a very fast pace of work and schedule.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve taken a personal interest in the project and have come to us with suggestions. Their guidance of the project has included taking initiative to upgrade technologies and make changes. It’s like having an internal team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’re completely satisfied.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Get on a call or on a plane to meet them. They’ve got a lot of talented people. Just make sure you’re happy with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder and CEO of RealNYC. We're a review website for New York City property.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zfort Group?

We needed a company to help us develop a website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed a website in PHP, based on my instructions. They managed the design and added maps, review buttons, and star ratings on the frontend. They also developed the Admin console on the backend. It's now hosted on Amazon Web Services.

What is the team composition?

I mostly work with their business development representative and a developer.

How did you come to work with them?

I was looking for Eastern European developers and I interviewed five or six of them. Zfort Group was the most responsive and dedicated in terms of the resources.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent about $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July 2018 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website is live and I'm very happy with everything. They're very responsible, professional, and have reasonable rates. Also, they work very efficiently. I gave them a rough idea of what I wanted and they did a great job translating it into a finished product.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very responsive despite the difference in time zones and resolve urgent issues immediately, even when it's the middle of the night for them. We usually use Slack, Jira, and email to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their prices are reasonable and they're very responsive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The design could be slightly improved. Also, there was a language barrier, so I had to change some terms and phrases. But we overcame that challenge successfully.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They're a good team and I'd definitely recommend them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder of a company that's building an ad tech tool for digital advertisers who work with platforms like Facebook and AdWords. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zfort Group?

I needed a development team that could take direction well, solve problems, and function independently. I didn't have enough time to continually follow up on their work. My co-founder, who had been the technical expert, left the project and I didn’t have any other development resources. Rather than detailed instructions, I provided an overview highlighting my priorities for Zfort Group to build upon.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Zfort Group worked remotely and completed all the development for this project. I contributed wireframes for the design and explained our business idea during the first few meetings with their business associate. He wrote detailed specifications that described each feature and its intended function. During the second round, I designed new wireframes, and we adjusted the scope slightly. Taking my total budget into consideration, we cherrypicked functionalities to include in the MVP.

From there, we arranged the order in which to develop and implement each aspect of the platform. Zfort Group used APIs from AdWords, Google Analytics, and Facebook. They integrated the platform with AWS. I offered pointers for platform options but had their developers make the final decision, so they had full ownership of the final product. I gave them general directions and had them fill in the blanks based on their technical expertise.

What is the team composition? 

We’ve worked with many people from Zfort Group at different points. In the beginning, we were most closely involved with the business analyst and relationship manager. Three developers worked on our project during the height of development. We’ve scaled down to a core team of two engineers supplemented by the occasional email from either the business associates or client relationship and sales resource. 

How did you come to work with Zfort Group?

I initially found a project manager based in Romania. I tasked him with the heavy lifting of creating a development team that had a good track record of working together. He chose Zfort Group based on their comfortable dynamic, and I approved his decision. 

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent between $25,000–$30,000 so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We held initial talks in January of this year and officially started the project in February. Our project is currently ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our MVP is live, but it's not quite ready for primetime yet. The platform Zfort Group delivered is suitable for beta testing. This process will help me cultivate a better understanding of the product. I've let our beta testers know that the platform is still a work in progress. It’s not a tool that I can charge money for yet; that's a bit further down the pipeline. 

I don't have the capacity to conduct a code review, but the MVP looks like a solid deliverable. Zfort Group defined the specifications based on my requirements and wireframes and worked cooperatively. They delivered what they promised to complete, and I'm very happy with the result. We haven't tested the scalability yet to see how it will perform when we have 10,000 clients. As far as the core functionality and the user experience, they've met all my expectations. 

How did Zfort Group perform from a project management standpoint?

My project manager in Romania was Zfort Group's development team's day-to-day contact. He also took care of the testing. I typically provide the requirements and track their work using Jira. We communicate using Slack. They translate the features I request into tickets. The developers help me refine our prioritization and timelines. I have the option our area of focus going forward. 

I started this engagement expecting to work using Agile. Since Zfort Group is working remotely, we're using a method closer to waterfall with shorter increments than usual. It’s been working very well. Running Agile with an external team is extremely difficult, but we're starting to segue into that style of development.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Zfort Group is very process oriented. They have a better sense of detail than I do. Interfacing with the business analyst was especially useful. He asked insightful questions that I hadn't considered. Since my specifications were somewhat vague, they made sure to ask the right follow-up questions to stay on track. Zfort Group helped me think more precisely about my objectives as the product owner than I usually would.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I'd like more insight on their processes, but I can't fault the team for this since I've never requested it. Right now, I don't have anyone on the internal team who could who could provide that level of information. Going back to the work method, maybe I should have made sure they were comfortable using the miniature waterfall style in the beginning. I've seen the benefits of working this way with an external team, but I know they have a preferred method. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the managing director of Emotional Positioning System LLC. We are a marketing services company that primarily focuses on consumer insight and its applications. We create market research software and license it to larger companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zfort Group?

I worked exclusively with Zfort on software development for a recent project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built the market research software for my most recent project.

What is the team composition?

I worked with a terrific client services manager and an even more terrific project manager. I have also communicated with many of their developers through either the client services or project manager.

How did you come to work with Zfort Group?

The company that hired me chose Zfort for the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked on this project from January 2015–February 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Right now there are two pieces of evidence that point to success on this project. First, the third party who hired us to create the software already has a massive amount of technology in place, and Zfort has been able to insert my products directly into that system. Second, we have received comments that the product is easy to understand and visually appealing.

How did Zfort Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Zfort was great at communicating even though they are headquartered in Ukraine. I am lucky to get ahold of some of the market research companies I work with past close of business hours, but Zfort answers practically any time of day or night. We worked primarily through a proprietary project management system, but I often spoke with them over the phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I have been either writing or commissioning software since 1968, and—in terms of personality and skill—Zfort is the best team that I've ever worked with. The difference with Zfort is that they care about the quality of the work and whether it meets your needs, and they continue to care about whether or not you're succeeding with the outcome of their work.

Additionally, because English is not their first language, they go the extra mile to translate back and restate your requirements so that there is a higher level of clarity at each step of development. I have dealt with a lot of people over the years, some for decades, and they never engaged as strongly as the Zfort team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It is necessary to do the planning step with the project management. That is when the clarification and back translation happens in order to overcome any cultural assumptions, and to ensure your understanding of what you need matches their understanding.