Darwoft

Introduce your business and what you do there

I’m an IT manager at a global bottling company.

What challenges were you trying to address with Darwoft?

They helped us develop an app that analyses the performance of production lines and sends alerts in case of any changes on the predetermined KPIs.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They used .NET. We started with Azure but we didn’t use that technology in the end.

What is the team composition?

The project had different stages. At t first, we worked with 5–6 people and now that we are in one of the last stages we are working with two people.

How did you come to work with Darwoft?

We asked around with colleagues and they came up as a reference. We interviewed them and we really liked what we heard. Thus, we decided to work with them.

How much have you invested in them?

About 1 million and a half Argentine pesos.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them at the beginning of the last year and continue working with them.

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

As the app hasn’t been launched yet, we can't say much about the impact at the moment, however, we’re very happy with their work both on the professional and on the human level. They’re a great service provider.

How did Darwoft perform from a project management standpoint?

They met all deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were pleasantly surprised by the User Experience.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Remrise is an early stage e-commerce startup developing solutions for sleep. I lead engineering and product management.

For what projects/services did your company hire Darwoft?

We needed to develop a gamification backend for our mobile app that has flexible and configurable business rules so that we can update goals and badges easily.

What were your goals for this project?

Develop a flexible and well written, well tested, well documented backend that works for our business and is well-maintainable for our engineers.

How did you select this vendor?

Someone we work with used to work at Darwoft and recommended them.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They built the backend per the above, and set up regular milestones and demo meetings every two weeks. They provided testing of the backend and integrated with myself and one of our engineers to ensure everything was smooth.

What was the team composition?

Project manager, engineering lead, engineers, QA engineer.

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

We haven't launched the feature yet in our mobile app, but from our evaluation, the backend is well documented, deployed, configurable, and well tested. It's flexible enough to be consumed by our mobile app as well as our web front end.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Darwoft had a project manager as well as en engineering manager. The engineering manager explained their agile development process at the beginning. They arranged to meet with our engineer both remotely and in person regularly.

We had demo meetings every two weeks where they showed us demos, asked questions, and showed us the extend of their tests. They set up end to end deliverables that were done incrementally so we were well assured we were making good progress.

This was a fixed cost project, but when Darwoft was able to make do with fewer resources at the end, they charged us less, and communicated this to us in a very transparent way.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Darwoft provided the service at reasonable cost and were very communicative, asking questions whenever needed to ensure they delivered what our business needs.

They are concerned about making our business a success rather than check off boxes. They are a wonderful partner and we would love to work with them again.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None, everything went perfect!

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the co-founders of a custom software house. We focus on development projects and web development for a variety of clients.  

What challenge were you trying to address with Darwoft?

Our biggest challenge was capacity at the time. We were looking for extra manpower to get projects done more quickly.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Starting with one of their developers at first, they began working on projects alongside my team. At this point, we’ve collaborated on 3–4 web apps. They’ve done full-stack web development, using PHP, AngularJS, and MySQL.

What is the team composition?

There are now two developers that we work with.

How did you come to work with Darwoft?

We looked for outsourcing options online to reduce the cost of labor. I interviewed 4–5 companies and got along well with Darwoft. One of the biggest advantages was that we operate in similar time zones. There wasn’t a language barrier either. 

How much have you invested with them?

To this point, we’ve spent between $60,000–$80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October 2018 and continue to collaborate. Since this is a staff augmentation effort, we have them on an hourly contract that lasts through the end of the year.

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

I’ve been very pleased with the developers they’ve provided us. The quality of work has been high, and they have specialized resources. We didn’t use the full range of their services—they offer project managers and analytics teams that we didn’t use. They offered those services up several times, though. Their developers are great, but they have a lot more to offer on top of that.

How did Darwoft perform from a project management standpoint?

They used Basecamp, which has been great. In addition to our communication on that platform, we have daily phone calls with their develops, serving as progress updates. Whenever there has been a deadline, they’ve worked hard to reach it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve done an all-around great job on our projects.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s always a couple of little things, but as a company, they’ve done a good job.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a hardware company that imports advanced security systems from China. They’re joint cameras with alarms and sensors. I’m in charge of choosing our products, speaking with suppliers, managing sales, and handling any necessary follow up.

What challenge were you trying to address with Darwoft?

We wanted to develop an app specifically for the South American market. The platform needed a simple and clear UX design that would allow us to easily add new features.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They assisted us in building iOS and Android versions of a mobile application for our South American customers’ security systems. They continue to support our development, and they even connected us with another vendor to complete the backend build.

Once users link the app to the security hardware, they can stream audio and video content, control zoom settings and sensors, manage their memory card, send messages, add new cameras, and more. Basically, it acts as an overarching administrative system for all of the user’s security hardware.

What is the team composition?

We work with two developers.

How did you come to work with Darwoft?

One of my partners works in the software business, and he recommended them. I reached out and shared the details of our project. Their flexibility and communication skills solidified my decision to hire them.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent between $10,000–49,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2018, and they’re providing ongoing support.

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

Overall, it was a positive experience. Before working with Darwoft, we were a bit restrained in terms of our capabilities, but with their I help, we were able to introduce new features to the market. They made us more independent and helped us achieve our goals. The app offers a wide variety of new functions. For example, the platform will send alerts if any of the cameras stop working. The additional elements give us a competitive edge in the market.

How did Darwoft perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very timely. We suggested that we use Slack and Pivotal Tracker to manage the project, and Darwoft adjusted their workflow to accommodate those platforms right away. They were receptive to feedback and really listened to our requests, so we worked very well together.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They offer a very personalized service, which is generally hard to find in bigger companies. They willingly adapted their approach to fit our needs and requirements. I was confident that we’d be happy with the final product because they paid such close attention to our requests. Additionally, I appreciated their level of professionalism.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We run a large consumer-facing website that generates leads for business and straddles a B2B/B2C role. The niches we fill include home services and content publication. I’m the founder and CEO.

What challenge were you trying to address with Darwoft?

We hired them as an external development arm to supplement our team.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The content on our site includes information about thousands of services providers. Darwoft helps with ongoing redesigns of our websites, various site updates, and the maintenance of its functionalities. They are responsible for software and backend development related to custom modules in JavaScript, PHP, and CSS3 for the Drupal platforms we use, and they recently moved our backend server from Rackspace to Pantheon.

What is the team composition?

They support us with two to three developers.

How did you come to work with Darwoft?

The developers we worked with previously were in the States, but they charged more than we felt comfortable spending. We decided to search for new development teams in Latin America, mostly because of the similarity in time zones. We initially contacted their sales team and spoke with one of their leaders fairly quickly. They impressed us with their presentation, so we decided to use one of their developers on a trial basis. There was a steep learning curve at first, but they worked extremely hard and we saw a lot of benefit in working with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend in the neighborhood of $10,000 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our collaboration started around September 2016 and is ongoing.

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

They help us with major redesign, and we’re still in the process of restructuring our backend server system. The work they’ve done already makes us look more professional, and we like the arrangement we have with them. If we discover a particularly challenging issue, they will call upon other members of their team and ultimately come up with solutions. We’re very pleased with the quality of their work.

How did Darwoft perform from a project management standpoint?

Trello was the most convenient project management tool for us, and communication is good. I work directly with the developer, which is easier than working through a project manager. The only occasional drawback occurs while they are focused on solving problems and creating new functionality. Though there are occasional gaps in their responsiveness, I find this arrangement much more practical than talking through a middleman.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The biggest key strength is their commitment and willingness to work hard to meet our goals. They work late into the night or early in the morning to solve any critical issues. Even though they’re working on contract, they are as involved as any member of our internal team and put forth every effort to get good end results.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are occasional communication lapses, but that is to be expected from any vendor. They’re very good, and I don’t have anything I think they should change.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work at a company dedicated to technology design and development—websites, web apps, etc. I’m the president, with a team of designers and coders, though we also outsource some projects.

What challenge were you trying to address with Darwoft?

We have been working with them for some years now, outsourcing some of our development projects.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve worked on web and mobile application development. Various projects have used Drupal, WordPress, and PHP.

What is the team composition?

It depends on the project. For example, a WordPress project may involve two developers. It’s different according to the needs of the project.

How did you come to work with Darwoft?

They were recommended to us by a freelance developer we used to work with. We worked with them on one project, and as we got to know them better, we began to trust them with larger tasks.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve been working with them for so long that it’s hard to remember. It’s around $15,000–$20,000 per year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them 10 years ago and our collaboration is ongoing.

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

Their engineers are very well versed in several technologies, which has helped us a lot in our projects. They’re great at adapting to different projects and are very flexible. Their commitment is important to us—they’ve never let us down during any of the projects; they’ve done everything to make them work.

How did Darwoft perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s improved over time. When we started, it was a little informal, but we’ve since started using project management tools. Though they weren’t very organized at the beginning of our collaboration, we’re now very comfortable.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Often with technology projects, plans are made but end up getting changed. That causes troubles with resources and budgets. However, Darwoft has always been able to adapt and help us find solutions. We solve problems together, which I find really valuable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could still improve on their project management and communications skills.

Please describe your company and your position there.

The company is a software development center specialized in security. My role was manager of the team were the Darwoft members joined.

For what projects/services did your company hire Darwoft?

We are a QA team for company, we focus our activities in manual and automation testing. We were in a peak of work and we need to add capacity to our team.

What were your goals for this project?

Improve quality and reduce the amount of manual intervention required to integrate various products.

How did you select this vendor?

We receive feedback from others colleagues so we requested a quotation from different vendors and choose Darwoft due to the feedback received, the price and the availability.

Describe the project in detail.

Darwoft was responsible for analyzing the existing code and to provide the changes needed to migrate from Python 2.7 to Python 3.0 Deliverables

What was the team composition?

2 resources with knowledge in QA, QA automation and Python Development

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

The work between the teams was fluent and there were no distinction in knowledge and priorities. At every step of the way, members from both sides worked as a unit, aiming to the same direction, sharing information, and learning from each other.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We requested that the resources joins our team physically to speed up the rampup. So the communication and workflow was effective.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Open communication, open to get feedback, company compromise.

Are there any areas for improvement?

N/A

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CTO at a US-based startup for online divorce services.

What challenges were you trying to address with Darwoft?

I hired them for development and rapid prototyping.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed a demo for a fundraising platform for our startup. They used React.

What is the team composition?

I worked with an architect, a developer, and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Darwoft?

Darwoft is a very well known company that has grown a lot and they’re referred often in the startup scene. Also, I had collaborated with their CEO in different projects in previous positions. 

How much have you invested in them?

We invested around $15,000–$20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

This last project started in April 2019 and finished in June of that year.

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

I am always delighted with their work. We use this demo often, it is key for our fundraising activities. It is completely solid and has no bugs. We never had the need to fix anything, it works just perfectly.

How did Darwoft perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication is just excellent. We used Slack and had constant interactions with them. We also use Trello as our ticketing system. Everything worked perfectly and they met every deadline. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of their work and their ability to meet all expectations were most impressive. Also, the cost-benefit balance is great.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were growing a lot and at some point so they had a small lack of personnel but they were able to solve that two years ago.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Darwoft has the expertise and seniority to understand your business and provide value very fast. Get profit off that.