Web Peppers

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an IT business analyst for Prestige Network, an interpretation and translation services company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Web Peppers?

We were looking for someone to help with development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first phase of our project was done with a different company, and the second phase was completed with Web Peppers. As a translation and interpreter services company, we needed to have telephone interpreting and video & video telephone interpreting for the people doing our services. 

However, because the first phase was coded by someone else, their team had to focus on the code someone else built. There was a bit of a wait until they researched the code to understand what we wanted for phase two fully. Then, they developed a web booking portal for us.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with almost ten people. At the moment, we have a frontend & backend developer, a designer, a QA person, and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Web Peppers?

I was looking for someone to develop a video app for both iOS and Android. I googled and went to a couple of sites. We took a look at their previous projects and saw that they had one in the UK. We initially wanted a quote for a video app, but after a while, we had another project in mind.

I contacted Web Peppers, and they were accommodating. I sent the requirements, and their team understood the project and gave an estimate. At the time, we put a pause on the project, but after a year, we came back and read their reviews on Clutch about other big plans they had done.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between £25,000–£27,000 (approximately $33,000–$35,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Web Peppers started in August 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The deliverables were excellent. Their team remained on top of things, fixing any bugs or issues.

How did Web Peppers perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management approach was very good. Our assigned project manager is a technical and skilled person. She knows exactly what we want and understands the project in detail.

We have weekly calls and releases for small things every two to three weeks. Our project manager also understands the tasks and how much time is needed for those tasks. We’re confident in the work Web Peppers completes.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of their service is impressive. When there’s an issue, they try their best to understand the problem and fix it. Other companies might say that their developers are busy and that there is a wait. When we worked with the previous company on phase one, it took them six months to take care of a small bug. Web Peppers could complete that task in three days.

The other company didn’t do a lot in six months. We paid every month for them not to deliver a lot. Web Peppers delivers every single day.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have no issues so far, but communication is the key to success. Sometimes things get lost in translation when there is a language barrier. We had a couple of issues at the beginning, but now their team is just brilliant. They understand us completely.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If a project has a four-month estimation, you should still add one or two months. They provide a rough estimate, but the client still needs to understand that in the process of working on the project and delivering tasks, there will be some dependencies. No development company can guarantee something will take precisely six months.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company specializes on full cycle development of CMS Drupal Based sites, which include high-load, multi-language, multisite, eCommerce, integration with third party systems (i.e. SAP Hybris,), as well as integration with existing B2B systems and financial processing.

My current position is Production unit director/Delivery manager, i was Country manager at Adyax before, until company was merged into Smile.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Web Peppers?

We have very productive cooperation with Web Peppers, who has provided high quality Back End and Front End Developers according to project needs and has shown professionalism in adjusting to project and, subsequently, to client needs. Pretty much all project types where WEB Pepper was involved

What were your goals for this project?

fast reaction to change requests and changes in velocity requested by the client, WEB Peppers helped us a lot by providing professional BE and FE Devs when projects needed help the most

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

we found their contact via community references and met during Drupal events

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

they provided selection and monitored the performance of the FE and BE devs, during all project phases (design, planning, Sprint execution, delivery and warranty period), as well as prompt replacement of the staff when required.

They were our primary point of contact to help with any unplanned client demands for which Web Peppers can provide qualified developers even with short term notice. This is very important in fast changing world of IT, where quality and agility is key to winning the customer trust

What was the team composition?

team consisted of FE and BE Devs, usually 2-3 people in the team

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

we had multiple project with Web Peppers, overall, I would say at least 20 over the years. We've had positive margins with all projects where Web Peppers was involved. delivery quality also helped us to retain our customers

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was on our side, so there is not much feedback about that is possible

What did you find most impressive about this company?

quick reaction to our request and changes to the team composition as well as required qualifications

Are there any areas for improvement?

grow quicker - so bigger companies can start working with Web Peppers :)

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), a global nonprofit organization. I’m the manager of the Global Foundations Unit, that organizes discussions about cutting issues around the globe.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Web Peppers?

We were seeking IT support for our web portal, which serves as a hub for donors to support SAIs in need.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided virtual IT support for our web portal. Throughout the engagement, we communicated via email and Skype. They’d monitor the network for any problems.

Recently, they even implemented some development work. They consulted with me throughout the process and delivered a final template for me to approve.

What is the team composition?

My primary point of contact was Natalie (Business Relations Manager, Web Peppers), who was very prompt in her responses. I’ve been in contact with a few others, but she was my go-to person.

How did you come to work with Web Peppers?

I found them online. Back in 2017, I released an RFP to find an agency to develop my portal. While Web Peppers applied for the account, they didn’t get it. However, they were my second option, and so I reached out to them when I needed ongoing IT support.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve only spent around $2000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I only have positive things to say. They’ve been responsive, responsible, and very service-oriented. I’m very satisfied with their work.

How did Web Peppers perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re always accessible and fast to reply. They’re also communicative, and make sure to consult with me on developments. I’m very happy with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take them on, because they’ll be a good partner.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a project manager at EBS Global Services. We mainly work with a product for archival and document management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Web Peppers?

We needed help with web development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did Drupal development for us in tandem with our own team.

What is the team composition?

I have been working with one developer from their team as well as one other person.

How did you come to work with Web Peppers?

We posted our need on LinkedIn for a technical partner who works with Drupal. Web Peppers responded to our request. We interviewed many developers, but we selected Web Peppers and began our collaboration.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in August 2019 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Web Peppers provided us with a professional developer who has been committed to the work and has gone above and beyond to respond to our needs. It was a very good collaboration. The developer was engaged with the project and respected the deadlines.

We work in agile methodology and we have sprints which need to be validated every two to three weeks. I validated his work and commitment to the value of the development that was done.

The developer also had meetings with the client, and I have received very good feedback from our client that he knows what he is doing and is very good at what he does.

How did Web Peppers perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Jira for our project management and we also had daily meetings to discuss any issues. Additionally, we had sprint planning and demos with the client. We worked well together considering the time difference.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They did everything to respond to our needs and ensure the value of the resource commitment.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have as many interviews as you can to be sure to validate everything you need to validate before going through with the process. Web Peppers are very good and give you the time to validate so that you are sure of what you are doing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a freelance graphic and digital designer at sorensteenson.dk. I’ve worked together with various companies, and I also work in partnerships and collaborations with other designers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Web Peppers?

I’ve worked on three different projects with them. The first one I did was a website as a freelancer, working for another company. I wasn’t really involved with the economy of Web Peppers on the first project, but it was definitely the largest one I’ve been involved in with them.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The initial project I hired Web Peppers for invovled frontend and WordPress CMS implementations, and it worked very well. There were some challenges in the design that we made, which made it difficult for some elements to work well, both on desktop computers and mobile platforms. I expected that this would be a problem in the work with Web Peppers, but I think they solved it very well. There weren’t any problems regarding this that cause me to worry about the other projects.

Some of the work on our current project is going to be finished a little bit later, but it’s close to finished now. It was for a Danish organization working with LGBTQ people, organizing a huge event in 2021. It will feature a big European conference, a big sports event covering Europe, and other individual events. I, together with another designer, made complete designs for this whole website and all the events. It’s mainly informational, as there’s going to be some kind of event calendar, overview, and various kinds of news pages.

We’re also working on a third project right now, a smaller one with a very tight schedule. The design was delivered last week, and Web Peppers is going to deliver a relatively simple frontend and CMS solution soon. We’ve had a very, very short timeline for this one, but I believe they’re going to deliver.

What is the team composition?

I’m not aware of how many members from Web Peppers are working on this project. For a smaller engagement like this, I think there would be 1–2 developers, probably a part-time project manager, and maybe a tester. For the previous project, I believe there was also just one developer, one project manager, and maybe some testers. I don’t really know for sure, though.

On the Danish project, I only communicated with a project manager. On the project we’re doing right now, for a legal Danish company, I’m in touch with someone who’s either a project manager or web developer.

The core of the communication has been pretty okay. There were some misunderstandings, but that’s fair given that the project timetable is very strict.

How did you come to work with Web Peppers?

I was actually part of choosing Web Peppers for that first project with them. We did a Google search and asked some people for recommendations of companies in Kiev and Ukraine. We chose Web Peppers and were very happy that we did so. It’s been good working with them.

That first experience with them was very positive, so I chose them for two future projects as well. I would certainly emphasize their project management, which was very structured and high-level, but also the work they did. The website for the first project was very good.

How much have you invested with them?

I was just working as a freelancer for another company with the first project, so I wasn’t involved in the financials. With the second one, I paid them €1,633 ($1,780 USD), and I paid them €1,030 ($1,120 USD) for the third, smaller one.

What is the status of this engagement?

The second project started in May 2019, and it’s actually not finished yet. Part of it was finished in July, but there’s going to be a second, smaller iteration here during the fall. This is just due to something with the client, not Web Peppers.

Web Peppers started working just last week on the third project, and it’s not yet finished, but it will be pretty soon.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The first project was for a large international development organization, and they were very satisfied with Web Pepper’s work. They told us, the designers, as well as Web Peppers, that the project exceeded expectations. I can also say that the primary concept person for the end-client—the one who approved the design and the work made by Web Peppers—said that we delivered a good product that he would use with inspiration (an approximate translation of a Danish saying).

How did Web Peppers perform from a project management standpoint?

The last project has a very tight schedule, and there wasn’t much communication initially about when the developers would be working. I didn’t expect that, but I would be pleased if they gave me a daily status, given the schedule; just something to let me know that things are okay. That’s maybe the only negative thing.

In general, I’d say that communication has been very good and professionally-constructed, both by email and Skype—sharing screenshots and things like that. In general, I’m very satisfied with the communication with Web Peppers.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I cannot say. I don’t have that many companies to compare them to, but I’m very satisfied in general with the communication and project management. I would expect other companies to be not as good in that aspect, so that may be their number one thing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m a graphic and digital designer, and I think some of their developers could be a bit more design-minded, and, maybe, when it comes to very small design details I may not think about, they could bring ideas and solutions themselves. They do do it sometimes, but I think it was more the project manager and not so much the developers. It seems they’re more system developers, and not design-minded, frontend developers. This isn’t a big thing, though.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I would recommend them for projects that are a bit bigger; for instance, the last project I worked with them on. If I had a small website with no special requirements, I may search for a smaller company. For larger websites with a lot of functions and features, and maybe multi-platform ones, Web Peppers can deliver—and they do it on time. There’s nothing to worry about. People can work with Web Peppers with no problems at all.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a partner and head of communications at ViegandMaagoe, an energy and sustainability consulting firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Web Peppers?

We needed to build a new website for our client, a Ukrainian foundation with several stakeholders.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Web Peppers developed a Drupal website from scratch based on our designs.

What is the team composition?

We work with the project manager. They have a team of backend developers working behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with Web Peppers?

We did a Google search for Ukrainian developers.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2018 and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Web Peppers works fast, but the third-party arrangement has elongated the timeline.

How did Web Peppers perform from a project management standpoint?

It took time to develop a good working relationship. Web Peppers now leverages their strong communication skills to navigate this multi-stakeholder project. Likewise, we are satisfied with their project management skills because they meet deadlines. The teams communicate via email and Skype.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team handles difficult requests with professionalism and flexibility.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, everything has been very smooth.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CIO of Dventure AB.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Web Peppers?

Although we were already working with a developer, we needed to find another vendor with better availability. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Web Peppers provides maintenance and ongoing web development support, making regular edits and updates to our WordPress e-commerce sites as needed. They're on call for high-priority tasks such as fixing bugs or security problems. 

What is the team composition? 

We only interface with a project manager, who manages the developers assigned to our account. 

How did you come to work with Web Peppers?

We found them on Upwork and liked the value they offered, their affordability, and their flexible approach. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spend about $400 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with them since November 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Web Peppers provides reliable and fast service, which is extremely important for our business. They continue to meet KPIs we've set in our agreement in terms of response times.

How did Web Peppers perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication is very good overall, which is generally through Skype and email. Their project manager is very responsive and reliable. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're great at communicating overall; they're very approachable and work with a sense of urgency. Any minor issues we've had have been handled promptly and professionally. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could be a little more proactive about providing feedback around ways to improve our sites and provide more billing options. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

No, but I think they're a good fit for a small to medium-sized web-based company. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of operations at Kastfast Ltd, a B2B digital advertising and media solutions firm. We’re a young company crafting customer-facing solutions for businesses with large volumes of users (e.g., mobile operators). Most of our solutions revolve around rewarding loyal users with bonuses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Web Peppers?

Although we have our own technical team, we needed external resources to help us customize our core loyalty rewards platform. We were looking for developers with a range of technical skills across a number of software tools.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Web Peppers is currently working with us to customize our proprietary rewards solution, providing both front- and backend development. It’s a platform that allows businesses to advertise to users in a unique way.

On the frontend, they’re helping us with our web and mobile web components. They then tie that into the backend using APIs. The team is responsible for API running, testing, and integration. Other key backend work includes SQL database creation and formation.

In addition to working on our solution, Web Peppers handles development for a number of mobile operators. In one instance, we hired them to maintain and support a product for one of our clients.

What is the team composition?

I mainly work with their head of tech and project manager who coordinate with each other. The project manager is responsive and extremely efficient. She also has a good working knowledge of our disciplines, including SQL and JavaScript.

How did you come to work with Web Peppers?

At the time, we faced a number of challenges: the cost of local resources was too high, and the market was full. It was difficult to find the appropriate resources to handle our project. I extensively researched several development firms worldwide, gauging their technical skills and English proficiency. Out of all the candidates, Web Peppers was the only vendor that could handle both SQL and Microsoft tools.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about €50,000 (approximately $57,00 USD) thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since June 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a service level agreement (SLA) with all of our clients and have yet to have a high-priority fault to contain. That is to say, we haven’t had any outages due to Web Peppers’ work, which is pretty good.

How did Web Peppers perform from a project management standpoint?

The time difference has never been a problem. Because we have clients on the opposite side of the world, we’ll occasionally have to deploy parts of the project in the middle of the night. In those cases, Web Peppers has diligently supported us. They’re willing to participate in conference calls at any time of the day, which is absolutely essential. When we need them, they respond. In terms of communication, we use Jira and Slack to coordinate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Not only do they have good project management, but their quoting method is excellent. They make sure to scope out the project well and deliver an analysis before they start working. That way, we know exactly what we’re paying for and can see the final estimate.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The engagement is still young, but I haven’t had any problems with them yet. There are instances when errors occur due to a language issue, but those are easy to address.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You have to be detailed. Scope out the project first and educate them on exactly what you want to achieve. Give them a set of business requirements as well as designs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

JYSK is a large Danish retailer with more than 2,500 stores around the world. I’m a Drupal team leader in the Ukrainian IT department of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Web Peppers?

We needed help hiring Drupal developers in Ukraine.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided two developers for our team. We gave them a job description and received a few CVs. We needed senior-level developers, so we spent some time adjusting our requirements to best reflect our needs. Based on this, they offered some good candidates, out of which we could have hired more than two people.

We continue to use them whenever we need to hire additional resources. I know they offer development for Drupal and other technologies, but we haven’t used them for that.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of their services was around $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them around 2015, then hired another developer through them in 2016. We don’t have an open contract at the moment, but whenever we need to find additional developers, we will use their services.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Both of the developers we hired are still working with us.

How did Web Peppers perform from a project management standpoint?

They were always available and provided good communication over phone calls, text, and email. We received CVs over email and interviewed the candidates internally. I was responsible for the collaboration with their team and for the hiring process in general. I worked with them to adjust the technical requirements we had for the developers.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re our most successful hiring partner. We’ve used other agencies in Ukraine and Denmark, but never managed to actually hire any of the candidates they referred.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. We’ve had a good collaboration and good results so far.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients need to provide concrete specifications for the resources they’re considering hiring, detailing their company’s profile and needs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a co-founder and the CEO of a consultation and mentoring company that works with startups. We also provide development resources in some cases.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Web Peppers?

We needed additional resources for the initial development and improvement of multiple products.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Web Peppers initially developed an application using Python, AngularJS, and React Native.

We build landing pages and simple websites, but have used their team for multi-thousand-user platforms. From the start, they have specialized in large PHP portals.

What is the team composition?

Over the last six months, I have been in touch with around 10 people from their company. One of their principals was a main contact for our work, but I also requested a dedicated project manager and QA resources.

How did you come to work with Web Peppers?

I have had a business relationship with Evgen Rybak, one their founders, for 15 years. We went to the same university. He focused on different development technologies than myself, and could sometimes complete client projects that I could not.

After Web Peppers was formed, I assigned them a problematic startup project that another development team had started. They sorted out and refactored some legacy code, taking care of support and developing new features. Even though it was a bit challenging, the project was completed successfully. It consisted of a lot of issues and undocumented code. I was satisfied with their work, and appreciated their ability to adopt our processes.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of their work has been above $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Web Peppers in September 2017. They continue to serve as our outsourced development team. We have recently discussed the next scope of enhancements for a product.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I mostly work with startups, so we don’t spend a lot of time focusing on KPIs. Based on the estimates we’ve gotten from Web Peppers, they’ve delivered quite well, with a +/-10% margin. They never exceeded the 10% overhead included in my calculations.

Web Peppers proposed some technical innovations and upgrades for the code. They completed some tasks much sooner than expected because they identified simpler solutions. Their work has been quite solid.

How did Web Peppers perform from a project management standpoint?

I wrote a short guide describing our processes, including what tools to use, how frequent reports should be, and what the deliverables should be. They adopted that guide without additional discussions and have been following it ever since.

One problem I’ve always had with outsourcing is that teams follow their own processes instead of reporting in the format requested by the customer. Web Peppers has actually worked within the process I initially defined.

I’m a technical person myself, so I’ve asked to communicate directly with their developers and discuss the work in precise terms. Because I didn’t need a very experienced project manager, I asked for a more junior resource for general micromanagement and communication. I even offered to train that person, since I don’t mind sharing my experience. I was surprised to see that even the junior PM I asked for performed quite well. Had I not known about it, I wouldn’t have noticed a difference in experience.

Web Peppers typically has a few junior developers training in the pipelines, but those resources aren’t normally assigned to customers. I find this approach to work best.

They gave me a few options for communication tools, but we use Favro for project management on our side. It’s a Swedish tool similar to Trello, but with an easier basic workflow organization. They used Favro for task planning and updates. We use Slack, where the team is constantly active, for instant communication. I can also call them using Telegram or Viber if I have an urgent request. They normally respond instantly.

We have shared feedback both ways. Normally I wouldn’t accept this, but their members know what they’re talking about.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a good discipline, which is a rare thing to find in the outsourcing and IT professionals market. If I have an urgent request, they can even work on Saturdays and during evenings.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They work too much. The workday could be cut down to less than eight hours. This is good from a business point of view, but not when it comes to their personal lives.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

It’s vital to define process steps at the start of the collaboration. After this, everything will work flawlessly. Web Peppers is a logic-oriented company, without sales discussions and other things. If they receive a precise request, they will do it, but the process needs to be formalized.