Digis, a Fiverr company (NYSE: FVRR)

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a branch director of a Ukrainian insurance company. I’m also a senior manager of the group that combines our sales, IT, and accounting.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DIGIS?

Our database was separate from our sales CRM, and it was 20 years old. We were getting leads online that weren’t connected to the database at all.

The process worked, but it wasn’t very comfortable to get a lead online and put the information into the database and the CRM separately. It was a huge problem that we’d created ourselves, and we needed someone to put our databases together. That’s when our collaboration with DIGIS started.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

DIGIS created the connection between our systems from scratch. They’re separate databases in separate systems, and they had to be connected both ways. That way, clients could use our site to get insurance information from previous years, which was in our old database. We didn’t want to make a new database from scratch, so DIGIS connected the old one.

As I understand, our database is mostly PHP and Java, and our site is HTML5.

What is the team composition?

I mainly worked with Alexey (Founder & CEO). We have three people in our in-house IT department, and they connected to the rest of the DIGIS team. 

How did you come to work with DIGIS?

We searched the market, mainly through Google, and looked at multiple companies. We wanted the provider to have a presence in Ukraine because international payments are harder to make in our country. We also needed to get the project done quite quickly, and some of the companies we spoke with wanted more time.

How much have you invested with them?

The project cost was 2 million Ukrainian hryvnias (around $71,737 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started looking for a company in October 2019, we found DIGIS in November of that year, and we started working with them in December. We finished the work in May 2020, and we’re not using their services now. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

DIGIS’s solution has been working for us for the last two months. We’ve increased the comfort and speed of using the platforms for both our clients and salespeople. One employee is able to do twice the work now, instead of doing the redundant job of inputting the same information into two systems.

How did DIGIS perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a few partner companies working with the database, so we were very strict in terms of deadlines. We also imposed some payment deductions for delivering late, and DIGIS agreed with this. They always answered our calls and updated us on the progress of the work. I appreciated having a single point of contact on their side.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive part for me was that they delivered on time, which programmers aren’t typically known for. I also appreciated their patience in answering our questions. There were some problems with our managers during testing, who didn’t understand how all the connections would be made. We got in touch with them, and they sorted it out quickly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would’ve appreciated having more transparency on what was going on, but I’m not a programmer, so I’m not sure that it’s even possible.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

It’s important for clients to know what they want to get out of the engagement. We were told a few times that this was impossible to do in our budget, or that it would be better to just create a new database instead of a connection to the old one. We were appreciative to find a company willing to do what we wanted.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We're an IoT company that builds software products and services for Transportation and Fleet Management industry. Director of Product Management responsible for managing software product development and software integrations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DIGIS?

DIGIS software team was hired to implement IoT implementation for a very large customer project. The software developers at DIGIS did an excellent job in implementing the project on time and within budget.

What were your goals for this project?

The goals for this project included integrating customer's various internal systems with our platform.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

DIGIS has been a reliable and high-quality partner for many years for our company.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Software Development

What was the team composition?

Project managers, Software Developers, and Solution Architect

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was delivered on-time and within budget.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project Management was provided by Project Manager within our company while DIGIS provided us with the needed Software Developers.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Quality of software developers

Are there any areas for improvement?

Sometimes being on a different timezone from DIGIS can pose challenges. Having developers operate on our business hours would be great. The DIGIS developers do try their best to respond to questions during our business hours, but the process can be better if our hours are exactly matched.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of development at a SaaS company that provides golf-course management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DIGIS?

We wanted to create an app that’s integrated with our existing platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

DIGIS developed an app based on our existing infrastructure according to our specifications. They then automated data extraction from our platform into the app and vice versa.

The information displayed on the user’s app corresponds to their location. The app displays a map of the specific golf course that a user is on, so they can check their position on the course.

What is the team composition?

I just dealt with the project manager, but I believe there were two developers.

How did you come to work with DIGIS?

We discovered them through a freelancing site, and we were impressed by their portfolio. We were taken by their expertise after conducting an interview with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $30,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in March of 2019 and it’s an ongoing project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve delivered us a functional platform, and they’ve been good about troubleshooting for it. They deal with issues quite quickly. The development process has been relatively smooth other than a few minor hurdles.

How did DIGIS perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very good. They adhere to deadlines and do what they say they’re going to do.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They deliver what they promise in a timely manner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes, they rush to get things done, so they don’t necessarily do things in the most logical order. They’ve already received and addressed that piece of constructive criticism. That’s the only thing; generally, they’re very good.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Maintain open lines of communication. Make sure you’ve properly outlined your project scope. It’s important that requirements are drawn up to avoid scope creep down the line.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

B2C company in the transportation field, with millions of active users per month.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DIGIS?

Our data Engineering team had growing challenges and needed backup for reducing backlog, moving forward with strategic projects.

What were your goals for this project?

- reducing backlog - moving forward with strategic projects quickly - increase our stakeholders' trust in our ability to deliver

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We chose this vendor as another team in the company had worked with them and good recommendations of them.

Describe the project in detail.

Essentially, we added two additional engineers to our team, onboarding them for a couple of weeks and then slowly beginning to give them tasks to perform, explaining the context along the way. Slowly but surely, these individuals were able to take on more and more responsibility and independence. Today, 8 months in, we count on them for bigger projects than short term tasks. They talk to stakeholders on their own, and fulfill all the teams rituals as part of the team.

What was the team composition?

The team is composed of 6 data Engineers, as two are focused on the data collection aspect, another four are focused on BI and ETLs.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Within a couple of months we could see that our backlog was reduced, and our time to deliver projects was reduced.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was effective as we brought the individuals over to our offices for two weeks to onboard to the team. The workflow after that was effective, as they participated in all our meetings and communicated when stuck.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I feel that the two individuals are team players on one hand, and are able to work remotely from the core team on the other hand. They are communicative when they are stuck, which is very helpful.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We were very satisfied with their work overall, obviously working remotely and in English isn't easy for everyone but they made it as comfortable as possible, adjusting to our hours and joining our rituals.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are full-cycle software company and I'm responsible for all Human related issues in it.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DIGIS?

We worked with DIGIS's developers for few Health Care projects.

What were your goals for this project?

To set up the connectivity between a custom cloud infrastructure, mobile component and a custom smart device.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Before choosing developers we have conducted extensive interviews with different vendors. DIGIS's developers showed themselves like real professionals, repeatedly confirmed this during the project.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

DIGIS applies a whole bunch of technologies and is good in each of those. DIGIS software engineers can work on multiple projects in parallel and have no problem with switching between them as they are aces in their technologies. They place right emphases on right things and set proper priorities to right tasks and components. That's what we call "correct workload balance'.

What was the team composition?

We worked with one Backend (node.js) and one React Native developers on two different projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There was very important for us to make this projects thorough and in time. With DIGIS help we done it.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

In addition to our project manager and DIGIS project manager, there was a dedicated person on the team whose task was to keep track of everything and report asap as something occurs. Communication promptness: we were very pleased to have almost immediate feedback from DIGIS even during the weekend or non-working days. There was a dedicated PoC to address our inquiries and transfer them to proper person in charge.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

With that being said, DIGIS people are very proactive: if they see something undesirable or nonstandard, they will not wait until the next meeting/telecon with you, they will let you know about it immediately and even start resolving the issue.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I'm sure there is no limit to perfection. But throughout all cooperation with DIGIS we didn't have any issue or bad remarks.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We offer a live chat & messaging solution to our customers. My role is CTO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DIGIS?

We are growing our development team and mainly work with remotely. Digis helped us by adding parts of their people to our team. They are part of an ongoing agile/kanban project. Main skills are NodeJS, Native Javascript, Angular and HTML/CSS.

What were your goals for this project?

To expand our team with good quality developers that are used to working remotely.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

By internet search. Then interviewed each candidate independently. Did a month of trial period for each suitable candidate. We did this for multiple companies. Digis provided us with some 'winning' candidates.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Digis helped us by adding parts of their people to our team. They are part of an ongoing agile/kanban project. Main skills are NodeJS, Native Javascript, Angular and HTML/CSS.

What was the team composition?

Approx 10 remote developers, 1 CTO, 1 Product Owner, 1 Scrum Master, 2x Q&A, 1 Designer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are very happy with the candidates provided by Digis and their quality. We are also happy about the communication with the Digis management team and project managers.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was arranged on our side in Agile style (Product Owner, Scrum board, Scrum Master, etc).

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The quality of the developers stands out to us. They also are open to improving their performance.

Are there any areas for improvement?

It took a while to get to know each other. Could have been more easy. But it's no longer an issue.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of a stealth startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DIGIS?

We have a group of technical founders, but we needed more hands to work on the project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We are building a mobile app for iOS and Android. DIGIS provided a team of backend engineers to support development and they work with MongoDB and AWS. Our technical founders manage their team in-house. Now, they’re helping us find an Android developer.

What is the team composition?

We work with two backend developers.

How did you come to work with DIGIS?

One of the co-founders at DIGIS was my classmate at university. I just reached out to him and explained my needs.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $10,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2019 and our work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We only have positive feedback. Everything works well. They pulled together the team together quickly.

How did DIGIS perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been integrated into our internal systems, so we use GitHub, Jira, and Slack. We manage the development schedule on our side, but they have an assigned person who can answer our questions. They work quickly, communicate well, the documentation process went smoothly, and we haven’t had any payment problems.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Everything they create works. We haven’t had any problems working with them. They’re an outstanding company.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We haven’t had any negative experiences with them and don’t have any constructive feedback.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just read the emails, respond, and speak with the people you need to get things done.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the creator of Vseakcii, a stock screener for beginners and advanced stock market enthusiasts who want to achieve great results in the market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DIGIS?

I was searching for an agency to make a product MVP.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed the MVP of my investment management platform. Prior to our partnership, we'd been working with another service provider. So, we first provided their team with the unfinished version of the MVP produced by them. I presented them with the intended designs for the app, and they got to work on the backend. They used Laravel on the backend and Angular.js on the frontend of the project.

We have documentation and source code for the MVP. However, they’re still working on the project as we make some last-minute changes.

What is the team composition?

I work with a project manager and have direct contact with the lead developer. It’s easier for me to work directly with them. When they were producing the MVP, there were 3-4 guys. At this point, we still have two developers on our account.

How did you come to work with DIGIS?

I found them on Upwork, choosing them based on their strong internal ratings. We decided that DIGIS would be the best match because they were willing to take on a rescue mission project. Not all teams are okay with finishing other code.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $50,000-$60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2018, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There are bugs with all development projects. However, they're able to fix the bugs once they're located. I don’t have any complaints about their work. The MVP has about 200 registrations, and I’m testing its capabilities each day. When I find bugs, DIGIS corrects them in 1–2 days.

How did DIGIS perform from a project management standpoint?

They've provided the best project management I've ever experienced with a partner. We communicate via Skype and Trello, which has worked well for us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They respond to our questions and concerns very quickly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I’d have them improve. I’m more than happy with their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you're aiming to create an MVP at a moderate price, directly hire this agency. They make things happen.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a project manager for a virtual assistant company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DIGIS?

They developed an iOS app for us.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built it pretty much from scratch. We had requirements in terms of the idea of design, but they executed it and created the code and the app itself. They also helped launch it. This first app allows you to modify the bass level of music you’re playing on your phone. They’re currently developing other iOS apps for us.  

What is the team composition?

We normally work with three of them. They might have added more during the bass app, but I’m not sure.

How did you come to work with DIGIS?

We hired them thru Upwork.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $25,000 so far.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We’re working on other projects with them now, but the first app development ran from the middle of March 2019 until August 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have set milestones, and whenever they were reached they sent their progress. We would test it and provide feedback, going back and forth until it was completed.

How did DIGIS perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done very well. We had a lot of feedback but they implemented it. There were bumps in the road at some points, but they delivered everything we needed by the end date.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of the job stood out to us. With them, once we give them instructions, they follow them, especially when creating the code.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There could a little bit better communication. There have been a few times when it was hard to get a point across, but that’s on a small scale. Everything has been accomplished.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them clear guidelines and instructions and they’ll get the job done.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CEO and founder of Opsly. We're a startup developing a self-service web platform that helps other startups use Azure cloud platforms simpler and faster because it generates infrastructure-as-code scripts and drag-and-drop architecture within the cloud best-practice framework.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DIGIS?

We hired DIGIS to improve our self-service platform from the frontend perspective. 

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were to create a fully functioning platform with a nice UI and a display of information on pop-ups/different screens. DIGIS would develop the AngularJS components and write the majority of the code on the Rappid framework. The solution would also include a login/register UI flow.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found DIGIS through Upwork. They had a lot of reviews and a good reputation. Also, Nick (Managing Partner, DIGIS) was quick to find me an affordable front-end engineer in one day.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Digis developed our frontend Angular components using HTML/CSS/TypeScipt for various features such as creating a drag-and-drop functionality for cloud services. Working with our developer, they retrieved data from APIs and displayed it on the GUI, which they styled using a color theme. UI screens were created for all of the various features (e.g. architectures and environments). During the development process, they added custom widgets to solve complex logic, such as creating widgets that could handle the parsing logic of JSON schemas. 

What was the team composition?

The team consisted of one frontend/Angular developer. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product they developed is the main part of our business. It has now allowed us to start selling the solution to consumers in the market. My expectations were to have several more features done by this time, but due to complexity from unexpected issues, we didn't finish them.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We did daily standups on Skype, and we used Google Cloud Platform source repositories to store our code. The engineer was always responsive and very friendly on the calls.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

It was impressive how fast they matched us with a developer. It was a friendly team, and there were no complications.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Yes, for the market rate I paid, I should have expected a more experienced developer.