unicrew

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of IT for an e-commerce company that primarily works in the European B2C and B2B markets. I’m in charge of the development, infrastructure, and BI teams.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Artelogic?

We had 10 WordPress websites that one developer managed. We continued to face more complicated demands from the business. Our developer couldn’t meet these demands.

Our company engaged an agency to support the developer who didn’t have much project management experience. We didn’t receive satisfactory deliverables. The sites were buggy and messy.

When I came on board, I inherited an environment where developers had direct access to databases and pushed products live without test environments. Changes needed to be made.

We wanted a vendor to support us and provide quality developers. We needed a partner that could supply us with all the resources necessary to create a proper infrastructure.

We initially engaged with Artelogic when we decided to replatform our sites, moving from WordPress to Shopify. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When Artelogic came on board, we replatformed our products. We introduced a centralized product information management system based on AWS. We integrated a scalable infrastructure and a Microsoft Dynamics ERP feature for logistics, procurement, stock management, and customer communication. We also developed a component that connects products to the appropriate sales channels, takes orders from channels, connects them to the ERP, and manages logistics.

Artelogic provides three full-time frontend and backend developers who manage day-to-day operations such as fix bugs. Their team also supports product launches and promotions.

Artelogic scales up or down based on our needs. For example, if we need to create a big feature, they quickly onboard resources. Their team performs all of the pre-interviews and send us qualified candidates. When we finish a large project, their team scales down.   

What is the team composition?

We usually work with three people from Artelogic—two senior developers and an experienced QC/BA who’re embedded into our team. Their management team finds additional resources for us when necessary.

How did you come to work with Artelogic?

Our CEO found them through his professional network. He passed the recommendation to me, and I interviewed them in addition to 2–3 other agencies. Artelogic appeared to be a good choice. I normally would’ve tested them but due to the project’s urgency, we dove into our partnership. However, we didn’t onboard an entire team on day one.  

How much have you invested with them?

We spend about €14,000 (approximately $16,500 USD) per month on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the engagement Artelogic in January 2020, and it’s ongoing. We typically work on projects for 3–6 months and then scale down. Once there’s another project, we scale up our resources again.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Artelogic finds qualified candidates. When they couldn’t find adequate resources, they told us. This showed that Artelogic wanted to have a long-term relationship with us.

Their team’s excellent. My product owner asked where we found one of Artelogic’s business analyst, calling him a superstar. If we could, we’d hire them ourselves. 

Their team delivers. As part of this project, we asked Artelogic to change everything towards the end because we had late architectural design changes. They quickly redid all of their work.

My team lead wants to keep both of Artelogic’s developers on the project until the product’s release. We have a backlog of 40 big projects, so I only see Artelogic’s involvement increasing.

How did Artelogic perform from a project management standpoint?

We follow an Agile methodology and have loose milestones. All three teammates from Artelogic help us to achieve our big targets. I give them my objectives and timelines but don’t check on their progress on a daily basis. Their team tells me about any blockers.

Artelogic anticipates our needs and meets them before we even identify them. I’m very happy with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Artelogic provides high-quality developers at a low rate. One of the best parts of our partnership’s the fact that they don’t move forward with a candidate who doesn’t meet our requirements. That practice saves me time from reviewing CVs and conducting interviews. They don’t charge us for that part of the service.

Their team spends time on searching and pre-interviewing. There was a situation when we asked them to find a candidate but decided to go in a different direction. They didn’t charge us because they recognize this as a long-term partnership.

Their team communicates effectively, which is valuable to us as an international company. It’s a must not only for development projects but also for business practices.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any suggestions for improvements.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

You should know what skills you need to leverage from Artelogic. Give them the best possible information to help them provide you with the best possible developers. Be honest with them. You should also be honest about the collaboration’s duration.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of EZ-SQR, a security startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Artelogic?

We needed support building our mobile application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When Artelogic came in, we only had a description of my idea to go off of. The team helped me nail down the features and functionalities before building it out completely.

What is the team composition?

We work with one project manager, along with a couple other people on the development side.

How did you come to work with Artelogic?

I found Artelogic after doing an online search. They picked up my call and after an initial conversation, I thought they’d be the right fit for our project.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing collaboration began in October 2019, though we’ve temporarily halted the project due to COVID-19.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The results so far have been great. Unfortunately, with COVID-19 we don’t have a final product yet, but I have been able to show what we have to some people, and the feedback has been positive.

How did Artelogic perform from a project management standpoint?

They were perfect. Nothing got lost in translation and we managed the time difference well. Artelogic has been professional, personable, and flexible, especially when it comes to our budget after the pandemic. 

To keep in touch, we mainly use Skype video chats and phone calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They delivered an extremely high-functioning product that’s great even as a demo. We’re really excited to see the results once it’s finalized and connected to a database.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be nice if they were a little more detailed in their invoices. Ultimately, I don’t have anything bad to say about them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come prepared to the engagement and Artelogic will be able to deliver what you want.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're a combination software and logistics integration company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Artelogic?

We originally sought to interconnect the moving and storage industry by using a robust software platform to integrate local service providers and businesses. Local moving storage companies could enter the long-distance interstate business by joining our platform. This would connect them to service providers and movers across the country.

Meanwhile, our company would purchase moving transportation in bulk and offer it to resale to other local moving and storage companies. This would effectively enable smaller companies to compete against the oligopolies that control such a large volume of the business at the top end of the market.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Artelogic wrote the platform from scratch, creating the software that enables customers to create job orders and effectively select the services that they want remotely whether they’re packing services, unpacking services, special services, turning utilities on, turn utilities off, loading the trucks and so forth. The user interface was obviously a really important aspect of the project. If it’s not easy to use, people won’t use it. So, they developed the platform’s backend and frontend.

Since the initial development, we’ve modified the software as the market has changed. Now the platform is integrated with smart containers that allow users to get data and information on their shipping containers, like the location at any given time.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with a project manager and a team of 2–6 people at any given time.

How did you come to work with Artelogic?

Artelogic was a preexisting vendor when I became invested in this company and project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent slightly over $1,000,000 and expect the project ‘s total cost to be about $1,500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in December 2016 and it's ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The software does what it is designed to do and we are about to launch the product. Since the market has shifted a bit, we are readjusting to meet business requirements and ensure functionality for the project’s objectives. I had some other experts assess their work to see if the product was commercially viable, and everyone was impressed by the quality of the product.

How did Artelogic perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication and project engagement ebbs and flows based on what is being prioritized. We communicate very frequently, usually multiple times a week. Although they’re located overseas and in a different time zone, we use GoToMeeting and other web devices to communicate effectively and share screens. We use cloud-based software the allows us to be running the software at the same time, which is a very effective tool for collaboration.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a highly ethical and well-managed organization. I was amazed by the CEO’s skill level and business acumen.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As a business person, my knee jerk reaction is to ask for more cost control, but I know the cost has been driven up based on the changes I request and the project requirements. Rather than being a place for them to improve, I think they manage expectations very well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Though this advice isn’t specific to those working with Artelogic— be careful to delve into the details of what you're trying to accomplish and understand very clearly the technical roadmap and cost associated with getting that done. Try to look as far down the road as you can so that the building blocks of the platform will accommodate changes.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of IT at MiniMoves, Inc. We’re a transportation company that specializes in moving small household goods. We service all 50 US states, have partners in all of the major metropolitan areas, and do about 3,000–4,000 moves each year.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Artelogic?

We had an outdated custom-built order management system that we needed to replace with new technology. We bought a base .NET system that had basic transportation management functionalities, such as being able to enter an order, rate the shipment and assign transportation. However, we operate a bit differently from other moving companies, so there was a lot of customization required in order to make the system fit with our current business model.

We hired Artelogic to customize the system and serve as our primary development team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Artelogic assisted us in redesigning and refactoring the base order management system to fit with our model.

What is the team composition?

We work with a project manager, who oversees the development team, and a lead developer.

How did you come to work with Artelogic?

The people who we bought our software from recommended Artelogic.

How much have you invested with them?

My company has spent $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work together began in November 2015, and it’s ongoing. We are looking forward to launching the system in October.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They have been involved with all aspects of the project from architecture and major modifications to bug fixes. 

How did Artelogic perform from a project management standpoint?

The lead developer has been on this project since the beginning, and he’s been an instrumental liaison to me. My team creates the requirements and assigns the work, and then we work with the lead developer and his team. We follow the Agile methodology and work in sprints. We have daily standups.

Although they’re remote, communication is great, and their team works well with mine. We communicate over through instant message or phone every day and utilize  Azure DevOps to track sprints and assigned tasks.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve been impressed by their work ethic and how they put me as the customer first. They’re always ready to jump in and go the extra mile. They put great effort into communicating to ensure that tasks are updated in a timely manner. The team keeps us apprised of exactly what they’re working on.

Working remotely often poses various challenges, but I feel that working with Artelogic is a seamless process.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so. We’ve had a really good relationship with Artelogic. Communication is key, and they’re very good at it.

Any advice for potential customers?

This applies to a lot of these types of projects, but make sure you spend your time on the requirements before handing them over to the development team. Then, establish a good assignment process in whatever methodology you’re working in.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the managing partner and business developer within the company. We provide clients with digital solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Artelogic?

We hired Artelogic to work on development projects. Their team is full of experts in PHP, mySQL, Laravel, and more.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed flexible software development services that would grow as our company grows.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We compared various outsourcing companies, but Artelogic was the only one that didn’t push us. Their team got involved before setting up a roadmap with our team. Artelogic’s development knowledge and management experience are appealing.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

Artelogic set up a development environment for continuous projects. Their services included developing and testing while providing our team with feedback on the process.

What was the team composition?

Artelogic’s development and management team are involved in the project, which includes backend developers and one QA. The team grows as development services grow.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The work is ongoing, but the impact that Artelogic has had on our development team has been substantial. They can work on developing other projects while still seeking guidance from Artelogic.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Originally, we were in charge of project management, but now we work with the lead developer. The developer thinks ahead and isn’t afraid to provide suggestions. We use Slack for communication and GitLab for project planning.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Artelogic always provides our team with solutions backed up with the right research and analysis. They don’t say “yes” to everything. Their team is open to feedback on how we can improve our collaboration.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

There is nothing that their team needs to improve.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior digital manager for Bigfood Group, which consists of several food production companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Artelogic?

We hired Artelogic to provide IT staff augmentation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their software developers work concurrently on multiple projects. Artelogic primarily uses PHP, MySQL, and the Yii 2 framework. For one project, the team does internal knowledge management via an application for our in-house chefs’ recipes. They also handle our electronic data interchange (EDI) tool, which collects our clients’ orders.

What is the team composition?

Each project has one project manager and up to four developers. Currently, we’re working with two developers.

How did you come to work with Artelogic?

Artelogic responded to our online posting for a small project. The team did an outstanding job.

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 September 2016 and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We occasionally disagreed about the code and process. Artelogic was self-critical during these exchanges and didn’t charge us for the time. In the end, the team’s quality deliverables have created value for cost. The EDI tool generates significant daily revenue and helps us solve order collection issues.

How did Artelogic perform from a project management standpoint?

Artelogic invested time to understand our needs and has subsequently proposed appropriate solutions. The team keeps us informed via summaries and daily stand-ups. They use Jira to manage projects.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They deliver quality solutions in a professional manner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take time to speak with the team because they have great advice. They’re a great partner for discussing the project scope.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the COO of an educational publishing and test preparation company. We offer an online practice platform for standardized academic aptitude tests.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Artelogic?

We needed a reliable software development partner to replace our previous vendor. Since our platform attracted more and more users every day, we had to eliminate issues to avoid bad user experiences.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to add more features, improve the UX, optimize our management of test assets, and ensure compliance with credit card payment security requirements.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

After a round of interviews and proposals, they best suited our needs.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

They implemented a range of website features, including a specific payment processing functionality. They developed everything in PHP.

What was the team composition?

I communicate with our project manager, who works with one developer and one QA engineer. I can access all the team members through Slack.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They greatly improved our customer experience. I enjoy the way our platform works now. Working with Artelogic gave me confidence in our technical solutions and allowed me to focus more on business. 

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Everything was clear and predictable. We didn't have any problems.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I appreciated their attitude! As Winston Churchill said: "Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference." They made a big difference to our business.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

I have nothing major to mention.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of development at MBIT, a Dynamics AX development company. We implement Dynamics AX solutions in Latvia. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Artelogic?

We have a lot of in-house experience working with Dynamics AX, but our client required additional web solutions. We needed a company to help us provide them.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Artelogic helped us build an internal time planning tool for our client. Using our initial version as a foundation, they added new functionalities and a third view of the app's journal. Employees can now use the app to schedule vacations, holidays, and part-time work.

The team used several technologies including JavaScript. Development is still ongoing, and our project doesn’t have a definite end date. Our client keeps requesting additional features for us to implement.

What is the team composition? 

We negotiated the deal with Dima (Account Executive, Artelogic). During the project, we’ve worked with one developer and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Artelogic?

Artelogic applied to the job opening I posted on Upwork. After reviewing several other candidates, I decided they would be the best fit for our needs.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since July 2018.
 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Artelogic’s developers are the best we’ve collaborated with. 

How did Artelogic perform from a project management standpoint?

We use mostly Skype to communicate and confirm tasks through email. Artelogic often finishes their assignments before the deadline.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Communication with Artelogic is straightforward. They establish a clear understanding of our requirements and request additional details about tasks when needed. I find it amazing that they can finish before our deadlines. They deliver high-quality work, as well. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I haven’t noticed anything that would require additional work on Artelogic’s side. We’ve been satisfied with everything they’ve done for us so far.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

We haven’t done anything special. The way they communicate makes the whole process very simple from our perspective. If we miss details, they notice and follow up with questions. When they don’t understand a task completely, they ask for clarification. We’ve had frustrating experiences with other developers who failed to do so. With Artelogic, everything went smoothly. We held discussions before even starting the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the COO of a Ukrainian software development company. We are an international outsourcing and outstaffing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Artelogic?

We needed frontend staff augmentation for our development company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked together on a short project for two well-known companies in Ukraine. Artelogic used WebSockets’ statistical reporting and Angular.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two Angular-based frontend developers.

How did you come to work with Artelogic?

We wanted to work with a local team. I had some friends who introduced me to Vuhar (Co-Founder, Artelogic).

How much have you invested in them?

We spent between $10,000–$25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from October–November 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were completely satisfied with the product Artelogic completed. From the start, the team had exemplary development skills and timely deliveries. They were supportive and reliable throughout the entire process. The integration between teams was smooth; we had direct communication and fast implementations.

How did Artelogic perform from a project management standpoint?

The experience met all of our expectations. We onboarded about 100 developers for in-house and end-client projects. The Artelogic team onboarded quickly while understanding client needs and expectations. We mostly communicated via Skype.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team had strong technical skills and worked very fast. That efficiency drove our business and it would be great to work with them again.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Listen to them because they are capable of providing great solutions. The team thought outside of the box and made precise decisions quickly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a digital solutions company. We predominately build custom solutions for mid-tier business clients, though we do serve enterprise clients as well. We have a staff of about 80 people altogether, and we also have a development framework/Software as a Service platform that delivers full A to Z development framework for building anything online - from basic websites all the way to enterprise portals and e-commerce.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Artelogic?

One of the biggest challenges I have is managing capacity with whatever resources or human resources I have. I’m trying to convert the business from a fixed-cost model to a marginal model where I can, so we had two development tasks we needed help with. First, we had projects we had to develop for our customers using our platform, and second, we needed help bringing some of our product offerings to market in areas where we can offload non-core parts of our development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They're primarily a .NET shop, but they’re very effective using our platform to develop solutions for our customers, which we're hoping to push out through their network as well. Right now, they’re predominately working in markup and JavaScript frameworks doing frontend development. We're contemplating getting them involved with our PHP work as well.

What is the team composition?

I deal directly their two co-founders, and then my staff deal with different people within their organization.

How did you come to work with Artelogic?

I met them at a trade show and they did a good job of staying connected and doing outreach. They did a great job with a couple of trial projects and we were happy with their code quality, so we kept working together.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since January 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work isn’t really related to the growth of my business, but they are developing projects for customers, so if it’s a question of are they reliable? Yes, they are. Do they do good work? Yes, they do. And do I need to babysit them? No, I don’t. I’ve had nightmare scenarios with shops that have done work in other frameworks. But that’s not the case here. I’m secure in the quality of these guys’ work.

How did Artelogic perform from a project management standpoint?

They managed everything really well over the phone and by using various PM software, email, etc. Good communication is the main factor that they have done well and made life manageable for us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’ve done a fair amount outsourcing to a lot of different places, and so far, they’re far and away the best. The quality of their code and developers, as well as their communication, compatibility, and reliability really stand out.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I could comment on thus far. I haven’t had any issues so I don’t see any need to expand on something that hasn’t happened.

Any advice for potential customers?

If you are as organized as they are you will do fine.