Further thoughts on setting up telephony. If you feel your competative advantage is customised in cloud voice app, Twillo is an option. Full REST imtegration is available for every step of the caller experience.
Author: Aleks Kudic
As the teams work in different locations, MockFlow lets you easily share wireframes online. We use PrtScr tool to capture and annotate changes to designs to feedback cutting the comms loop super short.
To remain balance sheet light you need to be cognisant of adding any unnecessary complexity to your tech setup. If you need a local phone number use virtual phone numbers from Sonetel or Sipgate and forward to an IVR or a local number. Skype To Go is an option too but as of early 2015 geographic coverage is limited.
SVC or Mercurial or Git or TFS. Pick one and make a use case for it across the organisation beyond the IT. We like cloud-native service. Check that it integrates with the key Dev / Data / Modelling tools and that it doesn’t create an admin overhead for the IT. Structure versioning so that picking up a version you can create the full deploy so include dependences like data model, scripts, server configs. If you cannot create a runnable deploy you are missing something. You don’t want to waste time chasing loose ends.
or if you prefer a paid version of a task tracking tool, Asana. Use those to get to the status of your projects faster. Tools don’t replace face to face meetings in which to exchange ideas or come to a decision but are great at surfacing somewhat obfuscated project management reporting. To further optimise the process pull data to a dashboard (Asana has an add on) via a microservice API to automate reporting further.
All work needs to create value and opportunity for easily building new functionality. Pick the best tool for the job. Uniformity of tools in big organisations might be necessary. Startups have no legacy. So choose wisely. Picking a Programming language follows the same rule. For data / file work Python is fine, for web or backoffice C#/.NET offers integrated stack to accomplish results fast while taking care of performance and basic security, for distributed content creation WordPress is a solution. Don’t feel the need to go with a single vendor or open-source. Also remember that some components of the stack are easier to replace.
Inhouse balanced with near shore scale dev throughput at a reasonable cost while preserving continuity. Contracting with a near (or an off) shore team needs produce a single team spirit so having regular contact (daily the best), a retainer in place, a well speced work, paying on delivery and fast payment to the preferred payment method are important.
Could-native means that brain patterns needed to be rewired. The same thing is true when you moved from from desktop to client and server apps and now to mobile and cloud services. You simply do everything in a different way. This different way happens to be designed from the start with a whole different approach to security and isolation. This native view extends not just to how features are exposed but to how products are built of course. Developers don’t assume access to random files or OS hooks simply because those don’t exist. Everyone has moved up the stack and as a result the surface area dramatically reduced and complexity removed. It is also a reality that the cloud companies are going to be security first in terms of everything they do and in their ability to hire and maintain the most sophisticated cyber security groups. The point is to be able to leverage cloud-native to your advantage.
Open space office is a barrier to uninterrupted coding work. Start early to create new functionality. Leave late to code review. During the day use headphones but explain to others that being anti social is not anti work.
Full stack payments providers offer fast set up and easy tech integration. However once the volumes increase the business will be subject to an underwriting process with an uncertain outcome causing possible disruptions to the service. Ensure that payment providers understand your business up front by using Resellers or Merchants to pitch your case to the selected few PSP saving you time. Either way having coverage of the local payment methods is a must.