Orases

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of an automotive technology company specializing in programming and calibrating advanced driver-assist systems. We’re a startup on the verge of opening.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Orases?

We needed help developing our proprietary software.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Orases is building our proprietary software's MVP. The team is also responsible for the software's UI/UX design. The software will serve as front-facing software for customers to schedule services via our customer portal. The platform will also provide updates and alerts regarding where the car is in the calibration or service process. The software will have an estimating tool that will send the estimate immediately to the customer and alert them when an estimate needs approval. 
Additionally, it will notify the customer when the car is complete and ready for pickup or if it's in transit going back to the customer. The software will also be a home for all the reporting that goes along with our services. The documentation is provided via that portal, and there is a historical record for each customer of the different vehicles we’ve worked on.

The software aims to take our internal processes regarding how we service vehicles and put them into the software. It’s a map for our techs on how to pick up a car, service a vehicle, and all the steps we do to ensure that. After this MVP launch, we’ll collect enough data to enhance our operations and efficiencies based on that data. Then, we’ll build more solutions once we know what we’re trying to solve.

The app will be available for desktop, mobile, and tablet devices. The tablets are connected to our equipment and are Android-based. We can also use our software via our scan tools. Each office has TV monitors throughout the shop and in the office space that will reflect the dashboard of reporting from the software. This will help us understand how many cars are in line, the anticipated delivery date, and if a vehicle needs approval for an estimate. We can also put some performance metrics for our techs.

Orases has also integrated our calibration tools and some off-the-shelf solutions like QuickBooks and HubSpot into our proprietary software. We’ve built API connections to integrate third-party solutions and share data with the software. 

What is the team composition?

During the discovery phase, we worked with six teammates who learned about our business and mapped out the general concept. Since signing the contract, we’ve been actively working with five teammates, including Kevin, a team leader, a primary developer, and a teammate specializing in code development and integrating HubSpot and QuickBooks.

How did you come to work with Orases?

My partner and I have worked on startups and evaluated different ideas and companies; we started looking at Orases around two years ago. We’ve developed software before to help manage our companies and learned a lot from that process. We went through a long period of evaluating different software companies. An attorney friend of ours recommended Orases. 
We had a Zoom call with Nick and provided a flowchart of the business. We started meeting with the team in person and looked into who they had done business with and the software they had developed. From a cultural perspective, we learned that Orases was a company similar to ours. 
Other companies we talked to were trying to take pre-built solutions and morph them into the software we wanted to build. We went through a discovery process of 2–4 hours, where we had an open exchange of ideas. The team showed genuine enthusiasm about our concept, and we could feel it. The discovery process sealed the deal.

Orases wasn’t the cheapest, but we felt they could build a unique product for our company. We weren’t trying to do something broad for the entire industry; we wanted something unique to our company. Our companies lined up well.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $279,000–$285,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the development process in February 2024. We’re wrapping up the MVP, and the beta testing is finishing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Orases has built an outstanding first phase of the software, and their enthusiasm for the project is evident in what they produced. We’ve compared the software to our internal processes and how we service our customers. We’ve asked if it’s possible for the software to do something, and within a couple of days, Orases has shown us. The software is clean and responsive, and the team provides thorough demonstrations. I’m amazed at how well Orases takes our ideas — this has been the easiest company I’ve ever worked with. 

We’ve had some bugs during beta testing. One aspect is that we upload the repair order from our customer. We’ve had some issues with uploading and crashing the system several times. We haven’t had real-life online testing yet, but the initial run needed to be tweaked. Orases doesn't test the software once and say it’s working; they find ways to try to break it or confuse it. We’ve learned a lot by doing that. I appreciate Orases' willingness to test the software and push the limit. When something fails, we go back to the drawing board and try to fix it. We hand the team general problems, and they propose solutions.

How did Orases perform from a project management standpoint?

Orases hasn't missed any deadlines; if anything, they’re ahead of schedule on most deliverables. We requested Orases to put a VIN number into the system so the VIN number could hold the advanced driver assist systems on that vehicle, which is through the National Highway Transportation Board database. I figured it would take Orases six weeks to deliver, but it took them a week.
If something arises, the team leader keeps us organized and on task. Her communication is outstanding. I prefer talking on the phone to email. If I call and she’s not available, she calls me back within 30 minutes. We also meet with the primary developer three times a week via Zoom. Besides my meetings with the development team, I have monthly meetings with the management team, in which we go through our scorecard and all the project updates. 
Orases is easy on the budget. We know what we want to build and the budget, and I know what we spend every month before the bill comes. We use Confluence for project management. All the notes and recorded calls are there. If one of us misses a call, we can go into Confluence and watch the call. All the notes and tasks that are due from anyone on the team are there.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

I want to highlight our team lead and Kevin L. What I appreciate the most is that they listen very well and are able to take the ideas of a person who isn't a software developer and bring them to life in an efficient way.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Orases’ ability to connect with us is impressive. The team is genuinely invested in us being successful. Orases goes above and beyond, researching our industry and learning more. They've become my friends. Nick reaches out periodically to see how my partner and I are doing. We have a very unique relationship. I’ve spent a lot of money and will probably spend more, but it doesn’t feel transactional. What Nick has built at Orases is remarkable. 
In the past, software development projects annoyed me because I felt I was working with people who didn't have a human connection. Orases' ability to connect with people on a human level and listen is pretty remarkable. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There is nothing I can point to. We’ve had mistakes in development, but nothing has upset me in this process. I’m beyond satisfied.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be honest and bring the vision of what you want to build. Don’t try to limit it, and trust Orases. The team will take your feedback to develop the product. Orases isn't going to make arbitrary decisions on their own. Be open about what you want because Orases won't make you feel bad because you aren't familiar with software development projects, which can be intimidating for many people. Trust the team's ability to take your words and put them into real life. Don’t rush the discovery process.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Vice President, Operations of Wireless ATM Store Inc.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We sell and support cellular devices as a micro-ISP with a heavy focus on providing connectivity for payment-processing equipment and similar business critical assets.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Build an interactive device management platform for our wireless customers and administrative staff to use for reporting, troubleshooting, billing, and organization.
• We also needed them to takeover, support and enhance our existing e-commerce website.

SOLUTION

How did you find Orases?

Clutch Site

Why did you select Orases over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Orases were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Build a custom software platform and database that would consist of over 80,000 cellular devices assigned to over 1,200 unique clients. There needed to be a high amount of flexibility for our administrative staff to modify devices, service plans, customer assignments, etc. There needed to be an extensive amount of API integration between the platform and the carriers' platforms (Verizon, AT&T) as well as the devices themselves. 

The scope also included the ability for the platform to aggregate usage for each device and subsequently create monthly invoices to be distributed to each client. The system also provides the ability for our administrative staff to easily submit ACH transactions to our bank for all of the monthly charges owed. Additionally, the system has a robust module for determining how and when devices receive configuration and firmware files in an automated fashion. 

The project also required an elaborate dashboard to be built that consolidates an extensive amount of data and provides attractive visualizations and metrics. Key deliverables for the project consisted of work being uploaded to a beta environment periodically for user acceptance testing, as well as a final "launch" of the portal in July 2023. We are still in an ongoing contract and are regularly testing and releasing new features to the portal since the launch.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from our customer base. The responsiveness, speed, and efficiency of the platform has been much higher than expected, and lightyears better than the platform that our previous software vendor provided. The launch of the platform to the live environment was near seamless.

 We have maintained an amazing rapport with our team at Orases during the entire project, which helps facilitate a highly productive process as we continue to move forward with new work. As a byproduct of the the way the platform was built and the understanding of our scope, we have much more visibility into the inner-workings of the database, which ultimately has added productivity to our staff's daily responsibilities. 

We are able to utilize software tools provided by Orases to have full transparency of the flow of stories/items that are being worked on, in testing, ready to launch, or completed.

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

The project management at Orases far exceeds any project management we have experienced with any other vendors. The team is highly responsive, organized, works well together, and always transparent. It has made our participation in the project much easier to manage. They met deadlines most of the time, and when unable to, we were always given a fully transparent rationale for the need to extend when needed. 

I have never had any experience with Orases where I felt there was a lack of responsiveness at all. They've understood our needs from the very beginning and are always thinking of ways to find the best solution for all of our requests/requirements.

What was your primary form of communication with Orases?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

We found that their existing portfolio/clientele was very impressive. During the project, their unique approach in terms of project management transparency and access to all team members on a recurring basis was extremely helpful to us and made the project efficient and productive, with little to no need for any rework due to scope misunderstanding. 

They also leverage great software products for project management. The amount of interest in our business model and "why" we were requesting certain features was also very unique and impressive and something we had not encountered at all with previous software vendors.

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

I cannot think of anything that would drastically stick out in terms of improvements.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Sr. Director of IT & Operations of a non-profit company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our company is the unifying champion for quality youth mentoring in the United States. Our mission is to close the “mentoring gap” and ensure our nation's young people have the support they need through quality mentoring relationships to succeed at home, school, and ultimately, work

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Develop Requirements for a new system
• Develop a new system and transition the organization to it
• Support Management for the new system

SOLUTION

How did you find Orases?

Referral

Why did you select Orases over others?

• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

What was the size of Orases’s team?

2-5 Employees

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

We own and manage a country-wide mentoring volunteer system. After going through an unsuccessful rollout and partnership with a previous vendor, we sought to find a new partner who supports our vision and has experience rebuilding an entire system. Through an RFP process and recommendation, we found Orases and agreed to move forward with them. The project involved a complete redo of requirements, approval of Phase 1 requirements, the redevelopment of the system, testing, training, and launch plans.

Additionally, we agree on a support management contract to continue with further improvements and enhancements. We are currently in discussions to plan phase 2 of the volunteering system. They are also working on developing another system of ours that includes integrating it into the volunteering system.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• We launched the project on time and included all of the phase 1 requirements, plus some added items. We also observed a reduction in user support requests, which means the system was built easily and was user-friendly.

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

Their project management is impeccable. The PM and Team were easy to work with and made us feel heard. They valued our input and ensured we were comfortable with the designs before it was considered final. Most importantly, they managed to pivot and were flexible with last-minute changes. All hands were on deck. We certainly made the right decision to partner with them.

What was your primary form of communication with Orases?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their BA walked us through the requirements and design sessions phenomenally. They were patient and ensured we understood the details clearly. They quickly learned the system and process, making these sessions seamless and effective. We were very impressed!

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

There was a last-minute change of resources, which required a bit of delay in onboarding.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Director of Technology for an association of immigration attorneys.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Orases, and what were your goals?

It was time for us to update our custom e-commerce store which was about 10 years old. The goal was to develop something within our custom AMS and not continue to have an outside product that connected.

We also had new products we wanted to sell that wasn't easily handled by the previous system. We also needed to be mobile friendly and give users a better experience with digital files.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Orases is our primary technology vendor. We are in a multi-year project plan with them to integrate all of our separate systems into one larger system. Key to continuing to work with them has been the work they have done on prior projects

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

The project went through a detailed discovery and then a development process. The platform is built in cakePHP. It integrates with our custom AMS and accounting system plus two external vendors for e-learning and a warehouse for physical products.

Key deliverables included a back-end product management system, a front-end store for users and an administrative checkout for our internal customer service teams

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

A project manager, a UX person for requirements gathering, a lead developer, 2 additional developers and a QA person.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Final deliverable was excellent and both staff and users were very pleased with the product. Ongoing support and adjustments have also been very smooth. Our staff is happy with the easier product creation interface and access to better sales data.

As part of this process we did learn that our own organization needs to work in a more waterfall environment and to complete all discovery before beginning development. Orases has been accomodating and future projects are following that structure

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

For this project we used Basecamp and Redmine as our project tools. During the discovery phase we met 2-3 times per week over Zoom and during development once every 2 weeks. Redmine tickets were used to track individual elements and their status.

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

The entire team at Orases is really easy to work with. They're also very prepared for meetings and take excellent documentation

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

Bringing new team members up to speed in our complex custom environment can be time consuming. But Orases seems to have developed a good plan for onboarding and we haven't had many issues.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

In American Kidney Fund, we provide grants to low-income patients, do research around kidney disease, and provide kidney education. We’ve also partnered with a number of organizations for clinical trials and research regarding emerging opportunities for assisting our patients. As director of IT project management and enterprise application, I manage a lot of our IT products and business initiatives.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Orases?

We wanted to find a partner to help us implement an off-the-shelf solution for our grant management process, as well as a payment merchant service so that our payments could go out automatically.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Throughout our engagement, Orases has become a strategic partner for us. They’re responsible for developing and implementing our grant management application, one of the most important applications for our company. We adopted using their platform as part of our application, which got us an 80% off-the-shelf and 20% customized solution as a result.

Currently, Orases acts as our management and support team. They manage our application, support it, host it on AWS, and make changes and enhancements to it as needed.

On this application, users can create a profile and go through the process of submitting a grant application. Based on the financial and insurance information they fill in, we evaluate them and decide if they’re eligible for the benefit or not, according to our internal rules and requirements.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 1–3 people from Orases. We generally work with the same individuals, so the tenure at Orases has been very solid, preventing a lot of turnover situations and providing us with high expertise team members.

How did you come to work with Orases?

We went through an RFP process, looking for a vendor that could help us with our project. The companies to which we launched the RFP, including Orases, were a mixture of companies we found on Google, my own contacts, and referrals.

We shortlisted 6–8 vendors from the RFP process, narrowed them down to three, and ultimately selected Orases due to their great bid. From the moment we met, we really liked how they worked. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $500,000–$1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2018, and our engagement is ongoing. We’ve had a tremendous partnership with Orases, and we’ve been using our new application since 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The application we used before was extremely slow. However, the one implemented by Orases has improved speed, response time, usability, and interaction capabilities, making it very user-friendly and intuitive. Thanks to our new app, our internal staff also has more flexibility for handling certain procedures, such as sending things back to patients and providing them with responses to their questions. Overall, Orases’ work has increased our productivity and efficiency across the board, being very helpful for both our internal staff and outside parties accessing and submitting grants.

How did Orases perform from a project management standpoint?

Orases uses a mixture of agile and waterfall processes. Every year, we have a scheduled discovery time, where we do a discovery process on a number of enhancements that our business requires. Additionally, we schedule our launch plans. Thanks to their great work, all of our projects are usually on time.

We use Basecamp to manage the project, and we have Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet team meetings. Additionally, we use a tool to submit issues and requests.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Orases’ consistency, experience, knowledge, and skill sets are very solid. As I said, they’ve been a key strategic partner for us, both to take us where we are at and where we want to be in the long term. They’re very dependable and more than capable of handling our requests.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Orases can further improve their offering and become more than a custom software development company. It would be a great opportunity for them to expand on project management methodologies, showcasing best-in-class training offerings to their customers and adding value to their services.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

National Public Radio (NPR) is the head-end of the public radio system for the US. We provide nationally broadcasted content and support a thousand or so public radio stations. I am the director of content production systems.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Orases?

We have a news production system called NewsFlex. It is used by producers and editors to write and collaborate on stories as well as work across divisional teams for editing, preparing, and planning these stories. On that platform, they could also link to our audio playout system. 

We’d recently extended NewsFlex to a number of stations as a web platform working off of our on-premise server infrastructure. However, we decided that we wanted to build a version of it that could provide better support and scalability as we expand over time. It was going to take 2–3 years for our internal software development team to build it out, so we hired Orases to speed up that process of moving NewsFlex to the cloud.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our goal was to make the story creation going on in these hub stations transparent and visible to other stations. We mostly worked in Node.js and Orases took on some modular work that our internal development team handed to them week after week. 

Orases tended to what we call “tenancy”, which allows multiple stations to be live at the same time on the same software platform. Their team helped us build a custom set of permissions that let users either see or not see what other stations are doing, depending on their contractual relationship with those other stations. These permissions also defined what they could see from NPR’s headquarters team and what ours can see from theirs. 

What is the team composition?

All of the developers that were brought on were senior developers. For the bulk of the time, we were working with three people but that number varied throughout the project. We also had a QA early on in the engagement whom we swapped out for a software engineer midway through. 

How did you come to work with Orases?

This predates me, but we contracted them for a similar project years earlier. Orases helped us build an enterprise-level asset management system that currently runs live in the background and is connected to all of this work. 

How much have you invested with them?

Our budget was $375,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

This project lasted from January–September 2021. We completed everything in that very fixed, focused timeline.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Orases consistently hit their targets, helping accelerate the pace of our internal software developers. They integrated well with our team, our Slack channel, and our daily stand-up meetings. 

How did Orases perform from a project management standpoint?

Apart from Slack, we used Jira and Confluence. Orases worked in our ticketing system. 

Their project manager and I would connect multiple times a week to check in on how things were going. We also held a formal meeting every two weeks to do budget burn rate and project check-in. That sequence helped us feel that we had enough eyes on the project 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their flexibility was the biggest thing for us. They weren’t super comfortable with embedding their staff into ours at first since it would cause them to lose a bit of visibility into what their contractors are doing. However, after working closely with Larissa (Director of Client Engagement) and Kat (Director of Operations Logistics) to define how we would need to work, they came around eventually. In the end, all of us could say it was a really successful model. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, everyone was super happy with how this project turned out. There wasn’t any point where we felt that we weren’t getting what we needed from Orases. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Understand what you want as an organization and state it clearly before going into the project. As it was in our situation, agreeing to a certain work model beforehand will help you avoid communication missteps and frustrations. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the accounting manager for NextDayDumpsters. We rent open-top, roll-off dumpsters and trash containers that you see on construction sites, but we mostly focus on residential and small- to mid-size contracting environments.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Orases?

Our biggest struggle was that the software systems available to onboard customers and developing our routing information didn’t fit our needs. When I started seven years ago, we had six drivers on the road, which was manageable, but now we have 18 drivers, and we need a more complex system. The solution had to distribute orders amongst the drivers and contain routing capabilities, which will allow us to take on more customers, routes, and deliveries.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Phase one started with removing us from our current system while still collecting the necessary information from customers. Essentially, we wanted to get rid of the fluff in our process. A big issue was moving us away from physical paper. Initially, we had one person dedicated to entering paper orders into the electronic system — they moved screen by screen through a customer’s first name, last name, billing address, and site address. It wasn’t as simple as it should have been. This phase also included devising a way to send the information we input down into our routing platform.

We launched the Phase One product in July 2020.

The question for phase two was: how do we use this information to generate more business? The beginning of phase two involved clean-up and bug fixes, as well as implementing changes our service representatives asked for. Additionally, we devised a system to reach back out to our customers. Until this point, we hadn’t done any sort of remarketing. Now, we’re reaching out to customers with questions about their experience, what aspects of the interaction we could have improved, and any next steps that they want to take.

We’re at the beginning of phase three right now, establishing what its focus will be moving forward.

What is the team composition?

We started out with three people, and then we brought on a new project manager because our initial resource had to transition off. The switch was easy; our previous manager ensured their replacement was on the same page as we were. The remaining team filled in any other blanks. There’s also been another addition, so that brings the total to five people.

How did you come to work with Orases?

Our owner would have a better idea than I do, but I believe we found them through a business entrepreneur group. They connected at a time when we’d already gone through a couple of CRM systems and none of them had worked. We realized we’d have to do so much custom work, even with the existing platforms, that starting from scratch with a company like Orases would be easier.

How much have you invested with them?

If I had to give a number I’d say it was around $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from March 2019–July 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Because everything used to be on paper, our customer service representatives now joke with me that I can take the printer away. The transaction between the customer and our service representatives is much easier than it used to be. By the time we’re off the phone, we’ve charged their card and input all their information into the system. We’ve removed the need to call people back and correct information.

Now, if we ever have to pull customer information from our old system, no one understands how we put up with it for so long. Our former data entry resource has an entirely new set of responsibilities because our representatives can handle all that work while they were on the phone with customers.

We expected some transitional pains, as everyone was used to the old way of doing things, but what we expected to be large issues didn’t materialize. In fact, those aspects turned out to bring the most relief.

How did Orases perform from a project management standpoint?

We set up our meetings at the beginning of every week, as well as what we would be discussing: early in the week we talked about possible issues with their imminent deployment, and later in the week we discussed the content of the next sprint.

Communication took place over a number of systems, including Basecamp, where we sent general messages to everything, and Redmine, which we used post-launch to log any bugs or feature requests. At most, they took 24 hours to respond to messages.

They also set up a priority system, and they respond quickly to urgent requests.

In terms of being on the same page, we never felt like they didn’t understand us. Even when we changed project managers, the experience was seamless. There was no starting from the beginning there.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Nick (President) and everyone on his team care deeply. We have a standing monthly call with him to touch base on how things are doing. He asks for feedback to funnel down to his team as well. Nick isn’t just worried about the transaction, he and everyone at Orases is invested in what they're working through with their clients.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We communicated any bumps in the road to Nick and his team, and they addressed everything, even some lacking communication at the outset. There isn’t anything we haven’t addressed.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t get caught up in how you believe the software needs to function.

When we went through our billing system, Orases presented a solution that was three steps where the old process was ten steps. When we objected, saying that they couldn’t cut certain parts out, they explained how their improvements would simplify our work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m partner and president of a creative and strategy agency based in the Washington D.C. area. My role typically revolves around governing the work products and relationships we have at the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Orases?

We’ve done several projects with them over the years. In this case, we needed to create a learning environment as well as a brand for the internet security space. They needed to use intellectual and legal research to create an entity that could help govern occurrences in internet security and privacy. The product would help inform and educate around the ever-changing rules in privacy. In a world where companies are sharing personal data digitally,  they helped us create a space that defines where that dominance in the rule is.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

This project spans one very large site and more than one additional microsite. This was a collaborative effort in crafting messaging for the market and organizing around that messaging through user testing. They also collaborated with my team to facilitate an attractive design that reflected the research they did to inform their decisions. 

A big part of the effort was leaning into their technical acumen and creative strategy background to determine how the solution would materialize. The initial ask was that this resource would serve as a content hub, but the product grew into so much more due to our collaboration.

The site’s features included voting functionality, translations in over a dozen languages, portal features, and a membership component. We had the ability to change content and communications to accommodate the ever-changing space.   

What is the team composition?

There were two key people and about three others that would be present for calls. There were definitely others contributing to the work that we didn’t get to speak with on a daily basis. 

How did you come to work with Orases?

We wanted someone that was local for interconnectivity and collaboration. Additionally, it was important for our partner to be innovative, on the cutting edge of technology, and able to dig deeper into client needs. Because this is a very technical field, we wanted our partner to match the client’s tech expertise.

Unlike most website development projects, we didn’t want a company that solely does websites. The technical space calls for people to imagine the full spectrum of developmental potential for the product. We knew that our client would likely be adding features and functionalities to the product well after the build, so we wanted a team that could create that opportunity for them. 

To find them, a colleague first recommended them to us. Then, we did some homework online about their brand and team. They seemed like a very good fit. While they weren’t the cheapest company, we realize that you get what you pay for. Our budget accommodated their prices as well. The priority was that they were able to roll with the ever-changing environment of working with a Fortune 100 company in a highly technical space. They definitely seemed like they could provide that.

Aside from them, there were about 2–3 other options that seemed like a good fit. We didn’t want a giant company or a company that was too small. They fell somewhere in between, which was good and encouraged us to work with them.    

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $750,000–$800,000 on their work. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January 2012–2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had people for the tech community, clients, and even people overseas talking about how solid the functionality was. Early in the process, we even had people commending our relationship because we didn’t have any technical problems. We were able to establish confidence in their tech skills very easily, so we could move on to do great things with the build.  

How did Orases perform from a project management standpoint?

We developed a deeper relationship because of our frequent face-to-face communication. When things were changing, they were able to move quickly and pivot in a new direction. Because they understood tech context, they were brought deeper into the fold of the client. Their comprehensive recommendations and ability to be a team player in that space allowed all of our teams to work very collaboratively together.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to respond quickly and intelligently without being reactionary was impressive. They remained cool-headed and confident, so there was never any hesitation about what was going to happen next.

Typically, in these types of relationships, a challenge will shake the foundations of the development somewhere along the line. That never happened. When working with sensitive, global material with leaders in the industry, sometimes we had to move on certain tasks within hours. They were a decisive partner. I could call them at any time and have complex situations dealt with pretty quickly. That was one of the strongholds of our relationship.  

They brought ideas to the table that was well beyond what we were planning. That’s been recognized now by several groups. The components they added and suggested have allowed for a much grander audience for the site. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

It took some time to ramp up. However, this was a complex project, so that may just be the nature of the beast. They contributed to conversations well and never oversold themselves. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come to the table with enough of a plan for them to react to. They have the capacity to build things up from scratch, but all good creative and strategy need borders. Without some direction, their creative thinkers might take a project in a different direction than you wanted. Come to the table with a clear vision and information about your audience. They’re going to be able to build on that.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CIO of a regional music company. With nine locations across the Midwest, we provide rental band and orchestra instruments for grade school students. We work with a lot of directors, and usually, go to schools so students can pick out their instruments.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Orases?

We had a couple of different issues. Our information was siloed in different ERP and CMS tools. In order to coordinate between our internal staff and sales reps, our sales reps had to duplicate their actions in each tool.

There were a lot of disparate parts that needed to come together, and one of the biggest challenges was that the ERP running our company business was based on FoxPro, which is an outdated flat file system.

We needed a partner that could integrate all those tools, build new workflows, and create calendaring software.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Orases developed an information processing software that connects with our ERP. Then they created the whole workflow piece of the software. It ensures that our pricing is always accurate, taking into account different tax rates in different locations.

What is the team composition?

We worked with about six people from their team. The project manager was our primary contact at the start of the project, but we also worked with senior developers and a UX designer. As the project went on, they introduced us to other workers.

How did you come to work with Orases?

Our IT partner helped guide us through the RFP process. They brought about a dozen companies to us, including Orases. Then I read through each candidate’s Clutch reviews and narrowed it down to three choices. Our committee assessed each candidate and gave a strong go-ahead for Orases.

How much have you invested with them?

The quote was $200,000–$240,000, and they stayed in budget. They weren’t the lowest quote, but they definitely weren’t the highest.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Orases in April, and they finished the product in July 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product has resolved a number of the recurring issues we’ve had. The pricing functionalities of the software have really increased our efficiency. They under-promised and over delivered. We don’t have to correct much.

We’ve brought in a couple of staff members since implementing the software, and they’ve said that the software is wonderful. This kind of feedback reinforces our belief that this was a good investment.

They didn’t just build what we were asking for, but actually took the time to understand the workflows and culture within our business. They consistently listened and asked questions. In the end, they built what we needed, not necessarily what we thought we wanted.

When the stay-at-home orders began in March 2020, we were able to continue without dropping a beat because we had all of this infrastructure and it was all in the cloud. All our reps could use the software from home.

How did Orases perform from a project management standpoint?

Orases was very responsive. In addition to my project manager, there were two other people I could contact when I had questions. I always had someone I could go to.

Their communication was very strong, and they used Redmine and Basecamp to provide transparency. We met every week, so I always had a handle on what was going on within the project. As a result, I was able to provide updates to our principals.

At the beginning of the project, they provided a sprint schedule, and they hit all the deliverables within time and budget. Whenever we hit a bump in the road, we discussed it, figured out the best course of action, and solved the problem.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Orases was wonderful to work with. They were a good fit for us culturally and were very supportive. We had around 170 employees who’d never gone through custom software development before, so there was a learning curve. Orases helped us throughout the project to ensure the process went smoothly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Given the parameters of the project, they really pulled off a great project. We’ve been really happy.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions and have discussions. Orases fit with our company culture and got to know our internal processes, so they understood why we asked for certain things. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a $13M trade association with a staff size of 30. My position is Vice President of Finance and Administration.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Orases?

The software and hardware that we used for one of our business units were very outdated. I don’t believe they were supported anymore, so we were running a risk for quite some time. Also, the system was not PCI-compliant, and it was one of our goals across the organization.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Orases evaluated the old software on a project basis. They conducted interviews with all of our team members who worked on the old system. They looked into the old system's functionality to determine whether they could build a new one, and they ultimately decided that they could.

Then, Orases started writing the functional requirements document, with assistance from our team members. That document grew and became a basis for their development. At that time, they estimated the expenses and started developing the software for us. They led everything, from the beginning to launch. Following the launch, many tweaks needed to be done, as the software is quite complex. We are hoping to be finishing these bug fixes soon and move on to the support-only engagement.

What is the team composition?

Laura (Digital Project Manager) is the lead person on our project, and she’s amazing. I believe she works with a few programmers. At the beginning, there were probably more people, but recently, I’ve just been working with Laura and one of the programmers.

How did you come to work with Orases?

We did our due diligence. We worked with the IT company (that served as our CTO) to create the business case for the transition and identify the right vendor. Orases was one of the recommendations. After multiple interviews and meetings, we hired them to do this job.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $300,000 with Orases directly. There have been some additional expenses, such as integrating our accounting software or bringing on other consultants.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work together began in April 2018, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re not fully PCI-compliant yet, but we’re on that path. Also, the system that Orases developed is a cloud- rather than server-based, so it’s easier to access. It’s also supposed to be much more efficient.

The original functional document didn’t cover everything needed, so we continued adding to it. The functionality is quite complex, so it was difficult to capture everything at the start for both our internal team and Orases. There were delays and additional expenses related to these additions. We wanted to complete the project in the shortest amount of time and for the lowest investment. We spent much more time and money that was originally assumed. However, I’ve never had any doubt regarding Orases' integrity, as they have always been very upfront with me about the hours. Laura frequently updated me on the hours, and when we’re getting close to using up all the hours of a given task or month. 

I have nothing but good things to say. Throughout the entire process, I felt like we were in this together.

How did Orases perform from a project management standpoint?

The main thing that wasn’t great was the timing. We planned for this project to take about 18 months. We’re almost at 30 months at this point. I realize that these types of projects tend to go over. We are close to doubling the time, mainly due to the functionality added after the start of the project. 

Other than issues with timing (that were partially caused by our team), Orases has done a wonderful job with project management. I had to manage the change process, as many of our team members were used to the old ways and a bit resistant to change. Laura stepped in and kept helping me with that, throughout the entire process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very organized, and they don’t waste time. I know they have other clients besides us, but whenever we work together, I feel like we are their focus.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The process of documenting the functionality of the software could be improved. Due to the functionality assessment that was not comprehensive enough, we doubled the cost of the project. Both teams were involved in capturing the functionality, and somehow - too many items were missed.

Any advice for potential customers?

If I were to recommend anything to other companies, I’d suggest a very due diligent approach at the onset of the project. Have as much as possible written into the document, so there are no surprises later.