TELUS Digital

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

I work for a real estate development company. We build residential and commercial buildings and across the U.S. Our big project is the high-profile Barclays Center in New York City. This arena is for the Nets who moved from New Jersey to Brooklyn. 

We purchased the team in 2003, and we had plans to build the arena in 2006, 2007, and 2008. It was delayed for a while, and we finally broke ground in 2010 with a brand-new arena. We’re going to build the most technologically advanced arena because it’s brand new. We’re going to put the best components in it. 

What is your role and responsibilities?

I manage all of the vendors that we have, and there are hundreds.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your process for selecting WillowTree Apps for the work?

I spent a lot of time in the App Store. I looked at other venue applications. There are template apps out there, such as Mobile Roadie. YinzCam has template apps, which venues have gone after because they’re inexpensive. At Barclays, we’re a new venue and a new look, with a new team and a new logo. We wanted a different-looking, custom app. We had to find a developer. I talked to Funware, which did the Florida Hurricanes’ custom app design.

Through my connection at Carbonhouse, they introduced me to WillowTree. Carbonhouse does a lot of hosting for venues. I think they were just acquired by AEG, so they do a lot of website hosting. They introduce me to Tobias [Dengel, WillowTree Apps CEO], and we hit it off pretty well.

Between his team and his design team, they understood what we were looking for. We gave them a design overview, but not exactly a design. We were looking for a company that could go out and design something without needing too much micromanagement. They took a lot of initiative themselves, and that’s what I was looking for. We did a proposal/RFP with them, and they came back with their preliminary design.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work?

The overarching thing is to improve the fan experience. We created two apps. One is the Barclay Center app, which represents the venue. The Nets are our anchor tenant in the building, but we also do about 220 total events. Out of those 220 events, 41 of them are Nets games. We have all other events, such as concerts, shows, and the circus. We wanted to create an app that helps you inside the venue. Navigating around, ordering food, and getting to deliver it was a must for the app. The stadium uses StadiumVision Mobile, which is multicast streaming via Wi-Fi, which hasn’t been done in another venue. In essence, it enhances the fan experience.

From the Nets application, which we also worked on with WillowTree Apps, the issue was to connect with fans with stats and upgraded seat offers. There are different options in the game that fans like. If you’re sitting in the upper concourse, you can upgrade your seat for $40, and then sit close to courtside. There are definitely enhancements, and that’s our way of connecting with the fans. We can utilize it because we have as good Wi-Fi system, and a good distributive antenna system for cellular connectivity. So, it really comes down to how we’re communicating with our fans.

I commissioned them to  build the Barclay Center App, to build the Nets apps. There was an iPhone/iPad app that controls the TVs in the suites via StadiumVision Mobile, which is our IPTV solution. Fans could also order food and look at the menus inside the suite on the custom iPad.

I gave them a wish list of things we wanted in the Barclay Center, a wish list of things that go in the NetSet, and then a list of requirements that had to be in the iPad app that was in every suite. They took that wish list, boiled it down, did everything from the organization, the structure, the mapping, the wireframes. They sent them all to us, and I loved the first design, so they took it from the first design, they stayed on that. They helped organize everything for the layouts. I gave them specific things.

My boss wanted something easy, like when you go on a plane and get the little Galaxy tablet. You can eat, you can watch TV, so he wanted that same thing. So, when you go on the app, you log on the Wi-Fi, and the app asks you right away what you want to eat. You can watch Interact, which communicates right to the scoreboard, send text messages, and security alerts. Everything that was on my wish list, they put in their wireframes, developed it, and got it integrated in the apps.

There were a couple of things that they integrated into the app, specifically, the StadiumVision Mobile component, which has been done before. They had to work with the Cisco team for that. We flew out to San Jose to Cisco headquarters to work with that team, to integrate with their SDK. We are really proud of that, to be the first venue to roll out StadiumVision Mobile. It streams different content onto your mobile device while you’re in the venue.

We used SDK from Bypass Lane to manage the food ordering; we had to integrate the 3-D mapping software from another company. Ticketmaster integration used SDK integration, which is never that easy. But it really came down to the structure and organization. They understood our requirements fairly well, so they put it in an easily functioning app that’s easy to follow. That all held true for the Barclay Center app, the Nets app, and the iPad app was a whole different animal.

We wanted something easy on the wall that allowed someone to control the TV. The cool thing about that, which is another SDK from Cisco for the StadiumVision Mobile component, is that I can have one iPad in the whole venue control every TV. I can turn every TV on or off at the same time. That’s unique in that it’s from the custom iPad app that they developed for us. All the colors and schemes were from them.

Does the app work for Android?

Yes. We can’t eliminate half our population. For our public-facing Wi-Fi, we have 4,000 to 5,000 people connected a night. I know how many are in the app, what they’re doing in the app, how many on StadiumVision Mobile are looking at the feeds, and I also know what type of devices they have. So, the iPhones are around 30 percent, and the bulk consists of Samsung, Motorola, Nexus, and the other devices that are on there. There’s a huge population. The Galaxy S4 is a huge phone. You have to develop Android. There’s no other way around it, and you can’t just do iOS.

So, they develop both iOS and Android for the Barclay Center and the Nets. The iPad just needed to be iOS, because it’s a custom app that we send out through our mobile device management, the [M Solution].

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

Low- to mid-six figures.

When was the latest milestone completed for that work?

The work is all finished. We have a maintenance contract to perform upkeep on the iOS 7 upgrades. I have a retainer with them, because it’s a mobile app. Especially in the sports/entertainment industry, we’ll want to upgrade different features. We’ll want different SDKs to add such as people tracking.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

I work with Iversoll, IT, AV, and broadcast for the whole arena. I work with tons of vendors, everyone from Dactronics in the Center to the broadcast guys, all the way up to the mobile app. It was good because I spent so much time with everything else, and had limited time to spend with WillowTree. They put in their A-team. Without me micromanaging, WillowTree took a lot of initiative themselves.

You have to look at the team that built it and the guys they put behind it. It’s not one of these big development companies that outsource their work. They did all the work in-house, and I felt comfortable with the team. I got to know them, which helped tremendously. I can’t say enough about the team. They’re solid, and the design team was great.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

I always look at different enhancements that I wish I put inside the app that we’re planning for now. Also, we want to prove out ROI, which means getting in early with them. We design the app in a certain way, and we have certain goals for each thing, such as enhancing the fan experience. As a sports/entertainment venue, you have to look at how we can sponsor certain areas such as the StadiumVision Mobile feed. Working with them early to build packages to help my sales guys, sponsorship guys, sell the different parts of the app or sell the overarching app by itself would help. That’s something new that hasn’t been done before, and I wish we spent time earlier in the process, when I was pitching the app. I would have had the GEICO/Barclay Center app or something like that.

That’s a specific sports and entertainment arena issue. I’m really happy. I go to events in different venues. When they talk about who did it right, they always reference the Barclay Center when figuring out the mix between the app for the team and the app for the venue.

BACKGROUND

Can you give a brief description of what your company does?

We are focused on the blue-collar field service market. Right now, fire safety protection companies, but ultimately plumbers, electricians, and mechanical folks who show up at a typically commercial realty property, and do some level of facility maintenance and/or repair associated with that. We provide an application that on the mobile side helps their technician communicate their job status using the GPS function, report on the status for the job using photos, audio memos and things like that, enabling them with mainstream market mobile devices instead of specialty devices using Android and iPhone.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your main business goal or objective for undertaking the project?

TELUS Digital (Formerly WillowTree) helped us design and implement. We basically delivered the design to them, but they made is specific to the Android platform. We relied on their expertise for the Android platform to deliver this application.

SOLUTION

What was your process for selecting WillowTree to work with?

We went through quite a bit of reference work and due diligence work. We initially started down a path of using non-native toolkit called PhoneGap. PhoneGap’s fine if you’re basically doing a little Web app. But, it doesn’t work well at all if you want to take advantage of rich features set on the device. WillowTree basically did a really good job in our interview and diligence process and, subsequently, did a good job bidding the work. After winning the project, they did a good job delivering it. We’ve continued to use them for multiple follow-up projects since then.

What part of the project was WillowTree involved in? 

Mainly the development. We deliver the design to them, but they did have to do several things to make it specific to the Android platform because the iPhone design doesn’t necessarily translate. A lack of a back button on iPhone, for example, means you do certain things design-wise that you don’t do with Android.

They were involved in all of it, but they did not do the initial design. They implemented our design and updated our design to fit the Android platform.

How long ago was the project competed?

The first one was finished in August of last year, something like that, maybe September. Then, we’ve done a subsequent follow on to that, I think two follow-ups to that initial one.

Can you give a general cost estimate for the project?

It was just a little under $50,000 for the initial project. We subsequently spent more than that with them given the follow-ups that we’ve done.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How happy are you with the results of the project?

I’m very happy. They’ve been very attentive. I think their technology and design expertise is very good. Mostly, their service is really good. They stand behind what they do, and they’re very knowledgeable. There’s very few surprises. They’ve been really good to work with.

When working with WillowTree, is there anything that stands out as being special or unique compared to other developers that you’ve worked with?

Their willingness to commit to a scope of work at the beginning of a project, and live with that, is and has been the stamp of their expertise. They know what it’s going to take. Even if they’re off on that, they still stand by what they laid out for you because they’re not looking at their first project being the only project that they do.

Is there any area that WillowTree can improve or that you’d do different the second time around?

Nothing right off the top of my head, I can’t think of anything that stands out. It’s been a very successful engagement for them. I think the only challenge that they and other’s face that’s not unique to them is the dearth of Android hardware. Not a specific problem, but a problem for everybody.

BACKGROUND

What is your position within the university?

I’m the Director of Web Communications and Interactive Media in the Central Office of Development and Public Affairs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your main objective for developing this application?

We were looking for our university to have a comprehensive mobile app that would be useful and of interest to a wide variety of groups, visitors, perspective students, fans of our sports and of course, students, alumni, faculty, and staff.

I’m assuming you didn’t have any internal mobile application developers for this project?

No. Unlike many universities, we are a pre-decentralized place. There were a couple of small ones that have been developed, but nothing significant.

SOLUTION

What was your process for selecting Willow Tree Apps to work with?

We put together a group of stakeholders—organizations around the university to talk about what we wanted to try to do. We began with the alumni association, student affairs, art group, obviously the technology management group, and variety of others. We talked about the scope of it and what we were looking to do. We looked at other major universities that had apps, and we looked at other major vendors. When we refined what we were actually looking for, over a couple of months, we put out an official word at the state university for a request for proposal. We invited proposals based on the criteria that we spelled out there.

They were located here in town, and we liked that. The bigger thing was that they had a wonderful presentation, and they had an excellent vision for what we could do with it. They went above and beyond what we stipulated, and they brought some creativity to it. They are technically and management-wise very proficient, and we were impressed by all of that. Aside from all of those particulars was that they really got the idea that we wanted to have something that was distinctive among colleges and universities, and they certainly answered that desire.

Could you tell me more about the scope of the project?

As we begin working with them, we were essentially meeting on a weekly basis, and a lot of email and context about the project management system was going back and forth. They were bringing new technologies that we hadn’t even considered such as the augmented reality. That wasn’t the proposal but as we went to do that, there was a lot of joint work between our group and their group. There was also an awful lot of work on their part to make the athletic section of it all work well; that was very distinctive. There were little functionality things that were cool, but we hadn’t really thought of, like having a variety of our fight songs and cheers on the app, which is like a really popular part of it

How long ago was the project completed?

Initially, we just went with an iPhone, or an iOS system, version in 2010. We contracted with them in May and launched in August of 2010. A year later, we launched an Android version, which they also built, so it’s just been the last two years.

Can you give me a general estimate for the cost of the project?

We’re a public university, so it’s something of a public nature. It was about $49,500. We had $50,000 initially, and then we had another $40,000 for the Android version.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How happy are you with the results of the project?

We’re very happy. A big part of this is that the various stakeholders are happy with the app, and that has certainly been the case around the university. Most indications we’ve had from comments on iTunes, direct communications we receive, is that people like it and its use has continued to grow. I haven’t looked at the stats in the last month or two, but we’re well over a million user sessions now. There are now over 20,000 users who have downloaded the file and the app.

When you’re working with Willow Tree Apps, is there anything that stood out as being unique compared to other development firms you may have worked in the past?

There are smaller firms, and we work with a lot of big enterprise type-vendors. We enjoyed that from a standpoint that it was very easy to reach the principals if we needed to. They weren’t involved in everything, but they were always right there and that was appreciated. It really felt like a partnership. They brought a fresh enthusiasm to the project. That was a great thing from our standpoint. They wanted to see it succeed, and they worked very hard to do that. They met their deadlines and all of those good things. It was a good partnership; sometimes the scope can creep, and the vendors can say that’s going to cost you more money, that kind of thing. We had very little of that in this project.

Do you think there’s any area that Willow Tree can improve or do slightly better in?

I’m reluctant to criticize anything. The result was very, very good. I’d say the one thing maybe was that it was down to the wire a little bit, but we knew it would be that way. The tight timeframe that we were demanding, and they met it. They handled it pretty well.

BACKGROUND

Can you briefly describe your company?

We are a leading online community for small businesses, based out of Columbus, Ohio.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What were your goals going into the project?

Since many of our users were accessing our online database through their mobile devices in remote locations, we wished to create a mobile application in order to deliver a better user experience. The application had to connect to our database of millions of companies, and make it easy for users to find critical information on the go.

SOLUTION

How did you discover WillowTree Apps?

We initially searched for mobile application developers locally in the Columbus area. Eventually, we began to look for a developer nationally and narrowed our search to five firms. We chose WillowTree Apps because they had a very good understanding our company's goals and objectives.

What technologies were used?

WillowTree Apps developed a mobile application for both iPhone and Android devices. The application makes use of a real-time database API integration, GPS integration, including maps, social media integration, and a mobile ad server.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Has the project met your original goals?

We are very pleased with the results. Since its launch, the iPhone application has consistently been a Top 20 Business App within iTunes, as well as listed by Apple within “What’s Hot” for Business iPhone apps.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Business operations, Business analyst

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire WillowTree®?

Website development

What were your goals for this project?

Timely delivery

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Google

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Website development

What was the team composition?

100

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

WillowTree® did good work

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Good work

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Good prices

Are there any areas for improvement?

None