ICterra

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm head of Atos Unify's software products' License Management to our customers and responsible for development, operation, maintenance and L1/ L2/L3 Support of our License Management eco system.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire ICterra?

We have a very long history with ICterra, and they are our trusted software development partner for many years. ICterra has key technical competences required for the development and maintenance of License Management System for all Unify products.

Today, ICterra is competence center providing software design, implementation and maintenance services for our all License Management System components including Servers and Client applications and locking technology.

Within years, ICterra gained both domain and product know-how and has always been catching up with the state-of-the art technology and expanded its range of responsibilities from pure maintenance activities to project management, new solution development, feature ownership, testing and L2&L3 support.

We have limited resources for niche competence areas and ICterra fills the gap by providing self-managed competent teams.

What were your goals for this project?

ICterra is the tech team behind our Software License Framework used by our 200+ products. The solutions are development with flexible approach by using various technologies and programming languages e.g. C++, Java, JavaScript, Spring, ModusLink Poetic, SOAP, Restful, React, AngularJS, MS-SQL. Our main expectations from ICterra team;

• Feature & User based licensing for monetization,
• License usage track with PAYG model & online control
• Multiple platform support
• Secure Communication using the latest protocols
• Vulnerability Management for usage of several platforms in a global Security Office group
• Software L2 & L3 Support in accordance with ITIL standards Although the teams are working from remote, there is very efficient cooperation through communications tools

SOLUTION

How did you select ICterra?

ICterra was formerly part of Siemens Enpterprise Communications in Turkey and after their Management Buy Out, the decision for us was obvious as they both have remote working experience and required know how.

During the first year of contract, ICterra proved itself also as a reliable SME and a trusted partner and we have extended our working relationship. Even after our company went through a supplier consolidation, ICterra remained to be one of our very few Software Engineering suppliers in this domain as unique competence center for our License Management System.

Additionally their performance led us the decision to extend their business with L2 Support responsibilities on top of existing DevOps and Maintenance Services.

Describe the project in detail.

ICterra works as DevOps team of our License Management System. All system Update/Upgrade operations, development, bug fixing, testing & L2/L3 support services are provided by ICterra. All the activities are tracked by relevant KPIs and continuously monitored and evaluated for improvements.

Additionally, they have a very strong on-boarding process and seamlessly enable new team members in short time with a technical coaching process and online & recorded training sessions.

What was the team composition?

ICterra provides two teams for our project. One team works as DevOps for everything and also responsible from L3 support. Second team provides L2 support for our public license server.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

ICterra is technology competence center for our License Management System, which is key asset to provide licenses for our products to our customers. In addition, ICterra provides not only maintenance of legacy system but also modernization of modules/systems by using state-of-art technologies.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

ICterra is familiar with our SCRUM oriented processes and tools maintaining complex solution environments including hardware and software and has the necessary IT infrastructure, knowhow, and willingness to install, enable and utilize them effectively.

They have established an efficient test and development environment which is crucial for our line of business. All our technical meetings and project reviews are done from remote using these tools and our own collaboration platform. Apart from them we have regular quarterly Business Review meetings with ICterra.

In case of escalation, all contacts are defined and easy to reach and communicate. In addition to the professional project management by the required processes and methodologies, we had no problems in communication, coordination, and regular updates with any team members during the project.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their dedication and commitment to Software Engineering Services. As a pure software services company nearshoring is their #1 priority.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Throughout our partnership in years, the team have been continuously evaluating the performance and identifying points of improvement if any. ICterra has always taken action in case there is an improvement possibility and track the results whether it be technical, organizational or managerial.

Moreover they are open to agreed experimentation including scrapping failures without regret, should they happen.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Head of Development for the Devices on an organization that comprises of more than 100K people overseeing around 70 engineers in the present.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We have a very long history with ICterra, and they are our trusted software development partner for many years. ICterra has key technical competences required for the development of products and not planning to build internally.

Today, ICterra is one of our biggest nearshoring centers providing software maintenance and development services for our core portfolio products which are developed under the roof of the Product House (R&D Organization).

Within years, ICterra gained both domain and product know-how and has always been catching up with the state-of -the art technology and expanded its range of responsibilities from pure maintenance activities to project management, new product development, feature ownership and testing.

We have limited resources for niche competence areas and ICterra fills the gap by providing self-managed competent teams.

SOLUTION

How did you select ICterra and what were the deciding factors?

ICterra was formerly part of Siemens Enpterprise Communications in Turkey and after their Management Buy Out, the decision for us was obvious as they both have remote working experience and required know how.

After the first year of contract, ICterra proved itself also as a reliable SME and a trusted partner and we have extended our working relationship.

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

ICterra works as an extended team of our development organization and the team members take over tasks according to their roles whether it is a new project or a maintenance topic. And all the activities are tracked by relevant KPIs and continuously monitored and evaluated for improvements.

Additionally, they have a strong on-boarding process and seamlessly enable new team members in short time with a technical coaching process and online & recorded training sessions.

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

ICterra provides 3 teams for our project each team having a scrum master who are also the team leads. Besides the Scrum Master (usually the Team Lead) each team usually includes Development Engineers, Architects and Test Engineers.

Scrum masters are our main contacts for technical subjects. Additionally there is a Development Group Manager who is the line manager of these team members and takes care of all kind of administrative topics.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall ICterra helped us to improve our cost efficiency in a very sustainable way. Additionally, they have proved as a trusted supplier also for new technology topics and innovation providing not only maintenance services but also spending efforts to contribute our IP base with new ideas.

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

We have a comprehensive toolchain and ICterra has the necessary IT infrastructure, knowhow and willingness to install, enable and utilize it effectively. All our project reviews (including Sprint Planning’s and Sprint Reviews) are done from remote using these tools and our own collaboration platform.

Apart from them we have regular quarterly Business Review meetings with ICterra. In case of escalation, all contacts are defined and easy to reach and communicate.

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

ICterra is a pure Software Engineering company with more than 25 years of remote working experience, very collaborative and always solution oriented for not only for technical subjects but also for commercial and administrative ones.

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

There may always be things to improve, it is the nature of a long-term partnership and our business. But what is important for us and distinctive for ICterra is that ICterra always evaluates our suggestions with a constructive attitude and come up with innovative ideas regarding improvement of their services.