Computan

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of a HubSpot consulting and training company.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

HubSpot consulting, implementation, and custom training. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Computan to accomplish?

• Custom Website Development
• HubSpot Chatflow Integration with Salesforce and Dynamic Results Page

SOLUTION

How did you find Computan?

In-person Event

Why did you select Computan over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Computan were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Backend and middleware work behind an insurance-industry client's HubSpot ecosystem—work that goes well beyond what HubSpot handles natively. The core project has been building and maintaining the middleware that connects HubSpot to the client's agency locator tool, which lets consumers search and get matched with insurance agencies based on location, insurance type, and other criteria. 

Key deliverables have included: 

Custom agency locator tool: Development of the middleware and backend logic that lets consumers search for and get matched with insurance agencies based on location, insurance type, and other criteria, integrated with HubSpot but running custom logic outside of what HubSpot handles natively.

Website rebuild on HubSpot: Migrating and rebuilding the client's website natively within HubSpot, including custom templates and modules to support the site's design and functionality.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Since launch, the rebuilt site and agency locator have held up reliably under production traffic, with Computan's Cloudflare-based bot mitigation keeping the tool protected from abuse without disrupting the consumer experience.

The agency locator itself has become a core piece of the site's consumer journey—handling agency matching and search reliably at scale. +300 matches per week

Beyond the initial build, Computan's support has meant fast turnaround on backend issues as they've come up, minimizing downtime and disruption to the client-facing experience.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Project management with Computan was consistently strong throughout the engagement.

We had weekly calls to stay aligned on progress and priorities, and they kept our project management tool updated in real time, so we always had visibility into where things stood. 

On top of that, we had direct Slack communication with their team, which made day-to-day collaboration easy and fast. Their responsiveness stood out, whenever we flagged an issue or a need, their team moved quickly to address it. 

They also delivered on time, meeting the launch timeline for both phases of the project. 

Overall, it felt like a true partnership rather than a typical vendor relationship—transparent, communicative, and dependable.

What was your primary form of communication with Computan?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

What stood out most about Computan is their deep technical fluency within a HubSpot‑centric stack. They know where HubSpot’s native capabilities end and where custom development must begin, and they operate seamlessly in that space. Building a fully custom agency‑locator tool that integrates cleanly with HubSpot is a rare skill, and they handled it with a level of technical sophistication we haven’t seen from other partners. 

What made them especially valuable was how they translated that complexity for us. Coming from a non‑technical background, we could have easily gotten lost in the weeds, but their team consistently broke things down into understandable, actionable steps. 

We also appreciated their can‑do attitude. Whenever we presented a request, they didn’t dismiss it as impossible; they found a way to make it work. Early on, they offered a trial period, letting us test the partnership before fully committing, which gave us confidence from the start.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Computan could have done differently?

Honestly, there's very little we'd point to. If I had to name one area for improvement, it would be around coverage during team absences—there were times when a point of contact was out and we didn't have advance notice of who to reach out to in the meantime. Clearer communication ahead of time, along with a designated backup contact, would help ensure continuity when someone's unavailable. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of digital marketing for a SaaS company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Computan?

We needed someone to provide us with web development and maintenance.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Computan is helping us with web development and maintenance services focusing on UI/UX design, as well as other digital marketing tasks such as social media, email marketing, and SEO.

We mainly use WordPress as our main development platform and build everything that requires coding like landing pages, and email templates.

What is the team composition?

I mainly work with an account manager, customer success manager, and a product manager.

How did you come to work with Computan?

I came across Computan through Clutch.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve invested about $20,000–$30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in January 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They presented us with a fully optimized website that speeds up the entire web experience for our customers. We went from a failing grade to an A in terms of web performance.

How did Computan perform from a project management standpoint?

They do a great job of adhering to timelines, budgets, and keeping up with communication. The Computan team is also very responsive despite the fact that they’re from a different time zone, and they’re completely adaptable in any situation they’re in.

We primarily use Slack and Microsoft Teams to communicate and use a tool called Freedcamp to manage the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with their ability to work with agility and flexibility to handle any situation in the development process.

Additionally, they bring a lot of knowledge, ideas, and recommendations to the partnership to improve certain processes and keep us from making mistakes.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could be a little more proactive when it comes to communicating the progress of the project but other than that, I’m very satisfied with their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I advise you to get the right communication and project management tools in place at the beginning of the partnership, and I would also recommend scheduling regular meetings with their team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior director of operations at CenterPoint Group, a consulting firm and a purchasing organization. We buy marketing contracts that we pre-negotiate with key suppliers — all driven to improve our service levels and save our members’ money and time. I work with our suppliers and in marketing to ensure that our client base is happy with what we put forward and in the relationships that we’ve established for them.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Computan?

We needed to update our website and improve its functionality. We also wanted to standardize our messaging to our existing and potential customers. The team then worked on everything from color schemes and the website’s look and feel to our marketing, emails, and blogs. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Computan initially ran through what our website looked like in relation to our goals per page. The homepage served as our key page, while other pages had their own purpose. That could be to drive visitors to certain pages or drive them to a sales representative, account manager, or the customer service team. 

From there, we asked Computan to create mock-ups of what they thought the updated website should look like in terms of being modernized. They provided those mock-ups. We did some tweaks to their design, but we went with the general direction that they wanted us to take. They then implemented their suggestion through our CMS, which allowed us to do our own internal tweaks without needing to go through them or someone else. 

In terms of website features, the site had calls to action that were designed to grab attention without being intrusive. There were also embedded videos and ROI calculators. The goal of these elements was to make the website more user-friendly and interactive. We wanted to reach a standard that most people were used to when it came to competent websites.

What is the team composition?

Based on our back-and-forth communications, various people were involved in the project. They ranged from project managers to specialists in different areas like graphic design and coding. People responsible for QC also worked on the project.

How did you come to work with Computan?

Our company moved our CRM to HubSpot, and Computan came recommended by them. They were in HubSpot’s ecosystem. We also talked to a couple of companies and thought that Computan was the right fit for us. Then, they helped us migrate our systems over to HubSpot; they also ensured that everything was functionally working on the platform and that we could update the site easily. As a result, they were the first team that we thought to go to when this particular project came up. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $5,000–$10,000 on this project. 

What is the status of this engagement?

This specific project lasted from October 2021–March 2022. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We previously had next to nothing in terms of website traffic. After Computan updated the website, we saw a whole lot more activity. It hadn’t been live for long, but we were getting more targeted responses. People were going to the pages that we wanted them to go to, and a lot of that could be attributed to Computan’s guidance and design work.  

Anecdotally, the team was highly communicative. They were upfront when telling us about costs, and their resources were reasonable when it came to staying within our allocated budget. Moreover, their members were good in terms of showing us their previous work, which allowed us to see what might be the best fit for us. In other words, they planned the direction of the project truly well. 

How did Computan perform from a project management standpoint?

Computan’s project management was great. We told them what we needed to do, and they outlined the steps. When we asked for budget estimates, they provided us with the work they could do within a specific timeframe along with its costs. They also stayed within their estimates. If we needed to do some tweaks, they didn’t nickel and dime us. Moreover, the team stayed on track; they made sure that our team stayed on point to meet the deadlines we were setting for the project. 

To communicate, we did conference calls and check-in meetings when we needed to discuss things that couldn’t be explained through emails or other messaging platforms. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Computan was highly flexible, and they could quickly adapt to our needs. We’d asked them for a standardized approach and a set theme across our channels. We also asked them for templates we could use internally to make our lives easier going forward — they did a fantastic job here while also upgrading our branding.  

Moreover, during our prior iteration, they were able to work within our bounds, especially as we were migrating and becoming comfortable with the new environment. It also helped that they were experts in HubSpot. Overall, their work was clean, replicable, and free of any errors that would pop up in weeks, months, or even years down the road.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could always improve the visibility of the work they were doing. That way, we’d know what was being done. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You should definitely work with Computan — you’ll be pleased with the end results. To get the most out of them, be as detailed and upfront as you can be. Come with examples of what you want your website to look like. Then, ask them about their best practices in terms of what they see in the market. Listen to what they say, and take their advice because they know what they’re doing in terms of finding the most efficient means to getting your message out there. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the senior manager of business improvements and strategic initiatives for the facilities and services department at an educational institution. We run all operations, electrical, mechanical, policing, caretaking, moving mail, grounds, and a number of other services such as property management for about 120 buildings on our campus.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Computan?
We had never had a communications expert on our team, and our website was out-of-date. The site was built more as a content management system. We hired an internal web designer who took a UI/UX approach to redesigning the website from the client's perspective.

We needed a very competent developer to help us build it in WordPress. Our team engaged Computan to handle this. We asked them to build the website from scratch based on the specifications and design we created. Our team also wanted them to help us test and refine it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?
After we designed the new website in Figma. Our team created the wireframes and content. We selected the photos and identified what interactions we wanted from links, animations, and pages. Computan’s scope of work was to build the website on WordPress. They did some custom development because some of the features needed to be coded in the backend. Their team also selected a number of plugins and brought the design to life within WordPress. 

We had a separate project that involved creating a page that was built outside of WordPress. We needed to take a report and create an interactive, engaging digital version of it. Computan was kind enough to support us very quickly. They brought another developer on board who developed everything from scratch. We gave them the design and requirements, and then they coded everything.

What is the team composition?
We have primary contact with our project manager. There’s also a main developer who worked on our website and another developer who handled the separate page project.

How did you come to work with Computan?
At our university, we go through a fair tendering process for major projects. Essentially, I did my research because we need an external consultant to support us. I identified the best-reviewed vendors online and connected with a number of them to describe the scope of work and request a quote.

Computan was able to demonstrate their ability to deliver and could start working quickly at the most competitive cost. What really stood out to me were the reviews they had online. I conducted a client reference call with one of their current clients, and the review was very glowing; it was reassuring to me. Additionally, Computan’s portfolio looks really good. We liked the examples of the other website they had built. 

How much have you invested with them?
We’ve invested approximately $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?
Our ongoing engagement started around November 2020. We’re very close to launching in the next couple of weeks.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 
Working with Computan has been an absolute pleasure. Their team is responsive to our needs and actively listens. They’re patient with us when we ask a lot of detailed questions. On the relationship front, it’s been very successful. They’ve met all of our requirements, which is an indication of success. Computan builds and develops everything we needed and wanted in a reasonable timeframe. They’ve provided us with some creative solutions and workarounds when we couldn’t get what we wanted in a straightforward way. 

Our project manager has been great. He’s always staying ahead and asking about what we need to plan for or consider. They’ve adapted very well to working with an institutional client because we have a lot of restrictions and internal policies around who can go into the backend or get access as well as what types of approvals we need for plugins. We needed to go through a number of steps, and they were very supportive. In general, we got what we wanted and it looks the way we want it to. Nothing’s broken and everything is working as it needs to.

How did Computan perform from a project management standpoint?
We have stand-up meetings every day. They’re efficient at going through their tasks. Their communication is great around clarifying as well as giving us updates. We primarily communicate through Microsoft Teams and Slack. In between meetings, we send each other files, recordings, photos, links, content, and feedback through Slack. As we got closer and closer to the final product, we started using BugHerd to leave comments on where things needed to be tweaked or fixed. Their developers were great at constantly checking BugHerd and completing or making the fixes.

What did you find most impressive about them?
They’re incredibly customer-centric. Computan is easy to talk to and jumps to action when we need them to. Their team really works to understand what our needs are — from the developer to the project manager to one of their co-founders.

Are there any areas they could improve?
More timely invoices would be great. That’s the only thing I’ve had to follow up with them on. Other than that, there’s nothing. Computan is great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Have your design ironed out and your requirements very firm. That’ll help you work with a developer such as Computan because it’ll give you a really good sense of your expectations. Then, they’ll do what they’re best at and go on to ask you prompting and clarification questions. The more detailed you are, the better Computan will be able to work with and support you.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of a commercial production company specializing in TV commercials and print photography for the advertising world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Computan?

We were previously engaged with a vendor who built us a site using HubSpot's CMS. Unfortunately, it didn’t work the way we wanted it to, so we needed another company to fix it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I had spent months working with another outfit that didn’t know what they were doing, and Computan saved the project. They basically took the HubSpot website and fixed everything to make it work as intended. Although the team did not do the initial UI/UX design, they helped me complete it and gave me some excellent tips on making it more efficient. The bulk of the work is finished, but it’s still constantly evolving. They're updating it as we go to keep it relevant and robust.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Sajeel (VP Operations), who put me in touch with the development team, and Bratislav (HubSpot Project Manager), the lead developer.

How did you come to work with Computan?

Computan was recommended as a HubSpot expert by a local digital marketing agency that works with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $12,000–$15,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

They took over in November 2020, and it’s still an ongoing project. The site was completed by December 2020, but the team is still updating it.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project has been successful. Computan definitely rescued the project and got the UX to work the way we wanted. It’s functional and doesn’t crash, so I think they did a fantastic job. I’m very proud of the website.

How did Computan perform from a project management standpoint?

They stuck to the plan and are available when we need them. Whenever we had any problems, they were quick to respond. We used Zoom to communicate a few times a week. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Computan team is highly efficient and intuitive. They’ve also been honest about timelines. Overall, they’re a knowledgeable and trustworthy team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I was looking for a bit more design recommendations. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

In every case, do your homework on the vendors you engage with. Word-of-mouth allowed us to trust Computan, and it ended up working out. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of VTR Learning. I oversee operations for the organization. We’re an online education company with a proprietary learning management system (LMS).

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Computan?

A few things that we were trying to address were systems development, bug fixes, website redesign, and blog migration.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Computan worked as a third-party developer for the marketing agency we were using for our rebranding. The aesthetics of the website came more from the marketing team, but Computan implemented everything on the site itself. We provided them with detailed mock-ups and a breakdown of what we were expecting. Overall, the whole website was meant as a rebrand, so it was built from the ground up on WordPress and JavaScript.

Over the last 6–9 months, we’ve been working directly with them as a third-party developer. We provide them a list of bugs and detailed MVPs. They do a lot of research to estimate how long it’ll take them to fix it, and then they’ll dig into our system and work with one of our developers to better understand it.

In terms of phases, we kind of give them a batch of bugs, new products, or new pieces to our site, and they implement those. We pay the invoice and start a new batch. For ongoing development in general, there’s a lot of little fixes, API implementation, and tweaks to our system.

What is the team composition?

There are 4–6 people on our team, depending on the type of project and amount of work involved. Sajeel (VP of Operations) is our main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Computan?

We were working with a marketing agency that used them in our website redesign. After that project ended, we decided to continue working with them for ongoing development work. We had a really good experience with them when we were redesigning the website. They were easy to work with, and we liked the results of all of their work, so we just pulled them on board to continue working with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent somewhere between $10,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working directly with them in September 2020, and we have an ongoing partnership.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, they’re very easy to work with, and they’re flexible when it comes to changing our development, expectations, or what they’re working on. Also, they’re always really accurate in their project cost estimates and honest with the time they spend on each project. In that way, they’re very trustworthy. Most importantly, their project outcomes always meet, if not exceed, our expectations.

How did Computan perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done great. We have two weekly meetings; sometimes as short as 10–15 minutes, but it's just enough to make sure that they have everything to produce what we’re looking for. We just kind of keep the ball rolling, which is always helpful. Neither team is in the dark throughout the process, and I like that style.

For project management tools, we use Windows Visual Studio.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They give us a lot of attention and man-hours as their customer, which is really just the reasonable and expected amount of development work. Furthermore, they spend a lot of detailed time, research, and their own resources to quote us for each project, and those estimates always tend to be very accurate in the end.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As with any developer, it’s important to be crystal clear with your expectations and try to determine any potential roadblocks rather than being surprised by them. For example, Computan might be fixing a bug or something related to the website aesthetic on the desktop version. Later, they complete it, and we find out that it wasn’t fixed on mobile. Since we didn’t make clear what we were expecting, it’s understandable. Therefore, sometimes you just have to be clear on all of that, because I wouldn’t expect them to just do more work than what we’re telling them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Similar to the previous question, when you create the stories for them to work on, be as detailed as possible. Have some screenshots, mock-ups, and just get everything sorted out upfront rather than have them do a first iteration and a lot of back-and-forth to tweak it some more. It saves time and money on both sides.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of strategic communications at NGen, a government-funded nonprofit organization that supports companies in the advanced manufacturing space in Canada. We work with small, medium, and large companies on manufacturing projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Computan?

We’re a new organization that has grown quite quickly over the last couple of years. Our website was significantly in need of an overhaul, so we worked with Computan to execute some design and development work for our new website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We came to Computan with some UX/UI requirements and templates that were created by a different organization, and they worked with us pretty hands-on to determine what that would look like after developing the site itself and its functionality.

We had a few introductory calls with them in the beginning. Then, we set up constant check-ins and service standards, and we followed them over the course of six weeks to develop the website from start to finish. They developed the site on the HubSpot content management platform, so all the development was done within that tool.

Computan helped us implement an interactive map on our website that shows the impact our funding is having across Canada to help us tell our story. This was a feature that we didn’t have on our old website.

Computan also helped us design all the forms and lead capture the calls to action on our site.

What is the team composition?

We worked at several levels within Computan. We had a direct connection with the VP, who helped us manage the project. We also had a close relationship with a senior developer, who ran with the team. I’m not sure how many developers they had on their team, but they managed all of the communication — it was fantastic.

How did you come to work with Computan?

The organization that was helping us with the UX/UI designs recommended Computan. What ultimately led us to them was that they were really flexible in working with us to determine what we needed, and they delivered exactly that. They didn’t try to sell us other marketing packages that we didn’t need.

There were other providers that we looked over, but instead of just delivering on the website development, they were trying to sell us other services that we weren't interested in. Computan cut right to the chase and offered us exactly what we were looking to get.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $10,000–$15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement started in January 2021, and the project was finished in March 2021. The project is now wrapped up. However, we’re still working with them on a support contract.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a number of service offerings that have grown over the last couple of years. The biggest improvement that we were able to achieve, with the support of Computan, was to make those offerings much more clear and accessible to the people that come to us looking for help on their projects.

We’ve also gotten good feedback from our projects, and we’ve noticed that the people that come to our website are spending more time on it — that’s a significant improvement as well.

Computan was fantastic to work with. They were responsive to our edits and our needs as they arose.

How did Computan perform from a project management standpoint?

We were very clear upfront about what we were expecting in terms of timelines and deliverables. Throughout the project, we were always on track with all of those goals. If there were any changes or delays, we were made aware of them right away, and we were able to work through them in a way that worked for both sides.

Computan was very agile and respectful of our needs, and we had open and clear communication. It was a really good process from start to finish, and I was pleased with that.

We held weekly Zoom meetings where we ran through the status of the project. In them, we had contact with the VP and the senior developer, so we could take stock of our priorities and execute on them throughout the week. We also had ad hoc communication with the senior developer, so we could deal with any issues that arose during the week as they came up.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It was impressive how agile Computan was. We set our requirements at the start of the project, but as we were going through it, a few of our needs changed. Computan’s ability to react on the fly to changes that arose with respect to the project plan was absolutely a highlight.

They were able to accommodate all of our needs and pivot really quickly when it came down to crunch time. That flexibility around our needs was their best attribute.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The entire process was flawless. If anything, an earlier introduction to the senior developers, so that we could have set our expectations with them as well as with the senior managers, would have been great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as clear and concise as you can about your needs on the project upfront. Also, be as transparent as possible about the probability of your project changing over time. Computan was very flexible and accommodating. As long as the people that are looking to engage with them be clear about that up front, they’re set for success in any project that they take on.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the principal of Sherpa Business Development, which is a marketing consulting practice.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Computan?

We hired Computan to handle some of the more technical aspects of website design and maintenance for our clients. From there, we extended into some SEO and general online marketing help.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Computan designed several WordPress sites for my client using provided brand guidelines and client preferences. For some of those engagements, they created and implemented the designs while we delivered the final result. Other situations were more retainer-based where, after the design and roll-out, Computan continued to maintain the sites.

What is the team composition? 

I worked with 6–8 people over time. My main point of contact was a project manager based in North America, but there were also other project managers who coordinated the work that needed to be done. Besides them, they had distinct design and implementation individuals.

How much have you invested with them?

Over the years, we spent about $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them consistently between September 2016–February 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Computan gave us the ability to offer a more complete suite of services. Prior to working with them, our agency didn’t offer web design nor maintenance, so they really enabled us to go to market as a more complete digital marketing agency. This allowed us to quickly add $20,000–$50,000 per year in sales.

How did Computan perform from a project management standpoint?

At first, I was worried that they would be hard to manage because of the time difference. Their team was based across Southeast Asia and Central Europe, so they couldn’t just come over and hash things out with us. 

However, it was a pretty seamless process. They plugged into our Trello board, which was where we tracked everything that we were doing for our clients. That made it easy to hand over assignments, exchange materials, and track metrics.

The team was also very communicative, and it was nice to have a project manager to deal with. If I ever had anything that seemed to be progressing slowly, especially considering the challenges caused by the pandemic, I could always ask him for an update.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were flexible enough to work with us in the way that we wanted to engage. That mechanism made it easy for them to become a piece of how we function. Secondly, their web design capabilities went beyond my expectation. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they were perfect for what we needed at the time.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

While it might not be feasible for you to have real-time conversations with their designers and developers, Computan isn’t really structured for that. Instead, you should take advantage of their assigned project managers because they’re more customer-focused. I didn’t always recognize how useful it was to reach out to them to catch up, but it really did help.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work with a digital marketing firm. We work primarily with companies to capture leads and convert them into sales.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Computan?

We hired them to develop websites.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They took the designs that we developed internally and then either through a theme or through a wireframe, completely coded that Web site.

They would be utilizing anywhere from WordPress and Magento. Also, they are utilizing and updating us from HubSpot templates that we have as well.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with project managers and the management staff. I believe they had a team of developers and hardware system consultants working with them.

How did you come to work with Computan?

We went to a HubSpot conference in Boston and met them there and began to have a dialog. when we were smaller and needed some consistent technology partners to code for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2017 and we still work with them on a project-by-project basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been very pleased with all of their outputs. We check it using Moz and Google Analytics to make sure that we’re capturing data the way that we need to.

How did Computan perform from a project management standpoint?

They consistently deliver within 5–10 days of the project's estimated completion date. Sometimes it’s a little early or a little late, but overall they deliver about on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve utilized other providers in the past, but they were all offshore and we didn’t have a US-based presence. So I always got up at 4 am to get work done. Working with Computan, I really appreciate that now I can work on my time and my schedule. They do whatever they can to fit my schedule despite working from all over the world.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Better communication on what they’re billing for. We had a general sense of what we’re being billed for, but for maintenance for some items, I don’t get as much detail as I would like.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Continue to stay engaged with their project management ream. Do express your desires to them and keep them up to date so they understand what you’re trying to accomplish during the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My organization is a marketing agency. I own the agency with my husband, and I oversee all of our digital and content work. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Computan?

As we were developing websites for our clients, we increasingly needed developer skills that we didn’t have in-house. We’re also located in an area that has a bit of a weaker development talent pool.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Computan essentially serves as our in-house developers. Whenever we’re working on a web project and run into something development-related – whether it’s as small as changing a font we’re having an issue with or as big as creating an entire website built off of an illustrator design – they handle it.

We have an ongoing monthly retainer. As things come up throughout the month, we just email them directly and ask for help, and they put a team on it.

What is the team composition?

They have one centralized support email, and whoever is available picks up the task and then handles it through completion. I know they have developers all over the world.

They also have people that are more specialized in particular platforms, such as HubSpot, WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. In the rare cases where we’re working on a platform that isn’t HubSpot, they have people that are specifically skilled in that platform, and they put them on the job to help. 

How did you come to work with Computan?

We’re a HubSpot partner agency, so we’re familiar with that whole network of relationships. The timing of our search for development support coincided with our becoming a HubSpot partner agency, so we were looking at solutions that were more HubSpot-focused. Computan had a booth at Inbound, and they have a great relationship with HubSpot.

How much have you invested with them?

We’re on a 40-hour retainer for $1,200 a month. That’s obviously less expensive than hiring someone in-house.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work together began in the spring of 2018. At the time we brought them on, we only had one project, but we’ve continued the relationship for more than two years because they’ve become such an invaluable resource to us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Partnering with Computan has really given us confidence in our abilities and services in the digital space. Before working with Computan, we were obviously able to execute projects, but working with them has given us a new level of confidence in knowing that we can deliver to clients exactly what we want to, and that we're not going to be hampered by any lack of development knowledge on our side. 

Over the years, we've thrown so many different kinds of things at them, and there's never been a situation where they said they couldn't do it. They always come through. We’ve had different urgent situations, such as a site going down, and they have always jumped right in and solved the problem. They really act like they're part of our company and that they want us to succeed as well. We have been able to continue to grow our client base, especially in the digital space, because of that.

How did Computan perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s great. They’re very communicative. My team sets the pace, so at times when we’re working on more intensive projects, we set up weekly calls to check in on the status of various things they’re working on. When it’s slower, we don’t talk until we have something we need them to work on. They’re just very responsive to our needs. They’re super flexible to fit into our workflow.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their desire to help us succeed sets them apart. I feel like they really care about doing the job for us, and they understand the client-side pressure. That’s reflected in the fact that they've never said ‘no’ or ‘I don’t know’; instead, they say that they’re on it and will look into it, and they get it done every time. Their level of caring and dedication is great. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

From a project management standpoint, some more communication within their own team could be helpful. I sometimes get the feeling that they’re not all talking to each other. For instance, if one person working on a project isn’t available, we’ll have to wait for them to come back on shift. Other times, two different people will pick up a project and not realize that someone else started it. There could be a little more internal communication, but that’s not something that has had a negative effect on us; it’s just something I’ve noticed.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be really clear about what you want. We’ve been most successful on projects when we’ve provided really specific examples and mockups, such as diagrams down to the half-inch of where we want something placed. That has made the communication easier, because in some cases, there is a language barrier.

Anytime I felt the communication was weak, I’d ask to have a call, and that solved it. The more clarity and communication that you can provide to them, the more you’ll get back.