Zone24x7 Inc.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work for Macy’s Systems and Technology, who is responsible for the technology development for Macy’s Inc, a tier 1 retailer in the US. My role within the company is Product Manager

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Zone24x7 Inc.?

We hired Zone24x7 for device monitoring and management software development and development of custom software for our Kiosks.

What were your goals for this project?

The solution required to deliver a reliable remote device management solution for our Win Ce device fleet, which had over 30,000 devices as well to development consistent software that could run on price checker kiosks, maintaining a stable customer experience.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Based on the past work history of this vendor

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Zone24x7’s developed the software that ran on the Price Checker Kiosks and the management software that enable us to remotely update the software and firmware of our Win CE hand held device fleet. They also carried out QA assurance testing to ensure a solid experience. Their business analysis teams work with our teams to understand the requirements and clearly document them. The project management teams ensure that these features were split into clear milestones and delivered on time.

What was the team composition?

It was close to a 10 member team consisting of Architects, Software Engineers, QA etc.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The work that Zone24x7’s did had a profound impact on the uptime of our devices, which in turn translates to improved efficiency of our workforce. The Kiosk software was very smooth and helped provide a great customer experience.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project management was handled very effectively through clearly organized meetings and by following a strict methodology. Clear project status and project hindrances and corrective actions are communicated on time and clearly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We felt like we were in very safe hands. Zone24x7's expertise in embedded and hardware engineering is always a major advantage, which gives them the ability to build optimal software that runs on constrained devices, as well as to troubleshoot problems at any level of a system on their own. Apart from their technical expertise, their teams have a great attitude, and operate more like an extension of our own teams, rather than a mere vendor.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Team’s were visiting our client premises on a 3 months basis based on their Visa to support initial requirements gathering and deployments. It would have been nice if they had some permanent people in the USA for long term basis.