Serville Technologies: Making Apps Come True!
Everyone that has worked with Serville has nothing but good things to say. This mobile app development company is your dream come true when it comes to understanding your needs and curating services to suit you best. Serville has been a part of several projects and their very own JOBOY has resulted in them gaining more popularity. Serville works with their customers from the moment the idea is conceptualized till it is deployed in the market, they see through the process and make sure the client is satisfied with the outcome.
Serville Technologies is among the top 20 most promising Mobile app companies of India in 2019. Success does not come overnight, what is Serville’s story and the reason for its success?
Serville Technologies was launched with a concept to deliver something beyond technology and to grow with clients, in fact work on new products than copying existing products in the market. From our first product JOBOY to the latest trending application for our client Aakri.in, we have worked on delivering products that create an impact in the markets they operate in. We believe in reference marketing than having a digital marketing strategy, our existing clients refer new clients because of the product experience they have had with us. We study all possible completions and practices in the existing market while starting a new project, and try to bring the best practices and suggestions for business and operations before starting the development of technology, and that gives the client to have defined business model to sell his product to end users. Most importantly, we don’t take too many projects at a time to focus better on each product and deliver it with utmost quality that creates a ‘wow’ feel in the market.
We have created a product team within the company to support the clients to have the right support in building a product than just listening to requirement and building it. This mostly works in the startup consulting business where we work with the customer team from idea conceptualization till the product is deployed in the market. Our team helps in the initial business operations as well in this case, and then slowly hands over to the client with training in managing operations. This is possible because of our experience in running successful products in-house.
“We were looking for the right technology partner far and wide to create a highly customised in-house app for our export business. We approached many companies, who all had an anchored mindset and riveted ideas. Finally, we mined out Serville Technologies by sheer luck. The team was a dream to work with; they took our rough idea concoction and actually forged something that exceeded our expectations. They worked very close with us and meticulously curated the app. The app is a breeze to work with, very user friendly yet very dynamic and functional. I cannot put into words how much zestful the team was, we were in constant communication and brainstormed almost every other day for each function” says Meera Sreekumar, Managing Director, Lifna Exporters Pondicherry, who has automated the purchase and sales process with Serville Technologies.
We have the experience in creating a product, adding value added services, running the business and operations, and most importantly expanding it beyond the border.
What were the challenges that Serville faced in the initial days of growth? How were they tackled?
The major problem was the cost underestimation in the market for technology development, and many small companies trying to get a contract at lower rates. It was very tough to implement our idea of a Product Company initially, where most people do not understand the importance of developing a product, and how it works. Most of the time clients want to copy an existing product and compete in the same market. And, they do not understand the fact that there is a business model involved behind the successful product, copying the same will not give them the desired result. Over a period of time, we have seen that customers have that trust in us, and understand such factors while working with us. Our team spends time with clients to share such insights and help them to build a product that suits the market and their specific model. This helps us to maintain long-term relations with the clients.
“We’ve been working with Serville for two years, they are extremely professional to work with and overall consistent in meeting our expectations. Timely & 24*7 prompt assistance makes them remain ahead in the alliance. ” – Rajesh Menon, Head IT, Max Value Credits and Investments, (One of the top NBFC brands in India)
We understand that you have a big clientele, most of which are international like UAE and UK. Was it difficult to get clients initially? What challenges do you face developing for a foreign market?
Yes, we did face difficulty in converting business from foreign countries, mainly from GCC. It was due to the client’s mindset to get development at cheaper rate from Indian market where a mix of SME’s and freelancers rule the market. Most of them want to spend the least penny in technology, even when it is the basic structure for an e-commerce business. But, the Europe and US markets are totally different where they look for robust technology and best UI design competencies
JOBOY being Serville’s baby, has it attracted a wider range of clients? Does Serville work with startups?
We have seen a great demand for JOBOY like apps.We started getting good response from foreign markets when we launched our in-house product JOBOY in the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, and were listed amongst the top 30 startups in Asia by Super Startups Asia and a finalist in Croydon Business Excellence Awards. We now work with many corporate clients from MENA, Europe and North America on Home services and e-commerce sectors. Many of them came to us by seeing and experiencing the JOBOY app. There are major developments supporting platforms or software companies advertising for ‘Joboy’ like apps. This itself is a great recognition for our efforts to deliver outstanding products in the market.
We have quite a number of App developers in the business now, what makes you stand out? What is unique to Serville?
It is obviously the base concept of developing a product than just delivering a technology platform. We focus on developing technology products that add value to our portfolio irrespective of the monitory value of the project. We have done projects in exports, shipping, e-commerce, on-demand services (Food Delivery, Home services, Online Taxi Booking, Delivery Services), travel, fintech and investment platforms, and this is only possible by spending enormous time in understanding the business and market by our product team. We have the experience in creating a product, adding value added services, running the business and operations, and most importantly expanding it beyond the border. This is a major advantage while working on large projects or with startups. We are also fully involved in branding, marketing, operations and customer support, supporting clients to focus on their core competency during the initial stages. Most important, we are very strict on having a good knowledge of the specific industry sector, either by creating inhouse product talents, or having the support of industry professionals to deliver the best.
How long does it take to develop an App? Do you consult with your client at each stage? What is Serville’s process?
Project development time frame is strictly based on the effort required based on client specific requirements. One of our current projects is completely converting the business idea to a business model, and then adopting the relevant technology model, for a Bangalore based startup. While the project is time-bound, we work on conceptualizing idea, develop the business model, design process flows, and finally develop the technology platform.
Serville has a well-defined project management process, starting with project documentation and prototype design, followed by UI design, development, testing and deployment in live. At each stage we update the client and get required approvals to proceed further. And, we also conduct required optimizations to keep the applications up to date in all platforms. This process only changes when a client approaches us for consulting, where we work on branding, company setup, and other legal compliances in addition to technology. We can proudly say 60% of our projects are in the consulting sector, where we manage the business for our customers in the initial days.
The Covid-19 pandemic has made the functioning of businesses very difficult. How are your employees dealing with the work-at-home environment? Are you managing to stay productive?
We had to move to the work-from-home plan when we were in the middle of some of key projects. We took the decision to stop all office activities even before the government announcement. All our teammates understood the importance of being active and delivering the projects as per timelines. Project delivery was not possible without the support of our teammates. It was tough for us to handle the migration to work-from-home initially but as a team we adopted to it quickly.
What should one look out for while hiring resources for a company like an Web/App developer? Why do you think many businesses face a problem when it comes to this?
Most of the time clients look for low cost development even when they search for best development companies. That has actually prevented companies or startup entrepreneurs from coming out with the right product. Many firms might have standard templates or open source projects ready to deploy in the market. Companies can easily sell this as there is no change required and it will be easily deployable. This might be suitable at the initial stage but as requirements change or when a new feature is required, or as the transaction volumes increase, the platform may create issues. We have seen clients who have faced such issues, had financial losses, and finally invested in suitable technology development. Hence, it is important for customers to focus on understanding the Company’s capability, resource availability, and knowledge of industry as base parameters to finalize one.
“We approached Serville after going through a difficult journey with another development company. There were lots of promises in the initial stages and as the progress happened, we realized there was mismatch between our idea and expectations and the work delivered. We had to pull out as we realized we will never get the product we envisioned. While we are based in Bangalore and Serville in Cochin, initial hesitation was always there due to the distance factor in terms how this would pan-out. Initial call itself, Serville team could grasp the concept and get our vision of the product to be developed. Further discussions were even more productive as Serville did more market research and came with suggestions for further enhancement of the product. We always wanted a partner who could work alongside us rather than a pure vendor who could execute a product. All my initial fears went away and I had full confidence in handing over the project to Serville. So far its been great working with Serville having released our Phase-1 and further developments already under progress.”- says Jithin Raj, Founder and Chief Executive Officer Worcoft.com
What are the future plans for Serville Technologies and what is the goal in the next five years?
Covid has created a door of opportunities in the online products and services sector across the globe. If digital transformation was a choice in past; it is a basic need now for all customer facing companies focusing on future growth. Customers are moving towards using digital platforms compared to pre-COVID months, and this trend will fuel the growth of the digital era in the nation and across the globe. We have seen growing demand for e-commerce, On-Demand services, and Payment products in the last three months. Monetization of this opportunity is very important for companies like us to grow further. We have now invested in a few more in-house products that have great opportunities in the market. And, we are all set to scale up our business to more regions with outbound sales plans in the coming months.