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Verified Profile
We are a custom software development company with a narrow specialization in multimedia. We create platforms specializing in:
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video, audio, and text real-time communication
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e-learning
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telemedicine
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internet TV/ IPTV
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video surveillance
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augmented & virtual reality
Business titans like Sony Music, Virgin Records, Universal Music, Samsung, Google, as well as medical and federal institutions (e.g. the US police and national banks) use our products.
Our platform range covers:
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web (for PC and mobile browsers)
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iOS and Android phones and tablets
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smart TV and STBs
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desktop
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VR headsets
Here’re the projects we’re proud of:
- Sony Music, Virgin Records, and Universal use our DJ music pool FRP.live
- BrainCert.com is a triple Bronze Award winner in Excellence in Technology for Virtual-Classroom, Conferencing Technology and Learning Management Technology along with Adobe, Allianz SE and HP.
- Super Power FX has 4.6 out of 5 in AppStore with 7500 reviews and 30 clones in Google Play. This video editor adds superpowers to videos.
- Video surveillance system ipivs.com works with 2000 IP cameras in 650 US organizations. Those are police departments, doctor education, and child advocacy centers.
- 1000 US medical institutions and police stations use our Video interpretations platform to communicate with those who need medical help or are involved in a legal offense and don’t speak English.
- Vodeo is a part of a major American media corporation Janson Media and is now working for more than 100 000 people.
- We developed a career coaching platform with personal development plans, cloud file storage, and downloadable content for Career Point who partner with Oxford on career advancement research.
Locations
UAE
Shk - Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum St,
Ajman,
Ajman
20550
88126482836
China
7/F, MW Tower, 111 Bonham Strand,
Sheung Wan,
Hong Kong S.A.R
999077
+85281932621
Focus Areas
Service Focus
- Software Development
- Mobile App Development
Client Focus
- Small Business
- Large Business
- Medium Business
Industry Focus
- Media
- Social
- Startups
Fora Soft Executive Interview
Nikolay Sapunov
CEO
Please introduce your company and give a brief about your role within the organization.
Fora Soft is a pioneer in video software development since 2005.
We develop e-learning, telemedicine, and video surveillance products. Augment reality, launch Internet TV, and recognize objects on video. Our specialization is video & multimedia software. We don’t work on anything else.
We don’t only develop, but also plan and wireframe your product so that users love it. We also do promotions so that they know about it.
Companies and startups come to us to create new products and improve existing ones.
How to choose a developer to get a cool top software product? Check that the contractors:
✅ Have cool products like yours in your portfolio. Ours:
- Sony Music, Virgin Records, Universal use a DJ music pool FRP.live.
- BrainCert.com is the 1st HTML5 + WebRTC virtual classroom in the world. Bronze at Brandon Hall 2017, after SAP and Dell :)
- Super Power FX has 4.6 of 5 in AppStore with 7500 reviews and 30 clones in Google Play. This video editor adds superpowers to videos.
- Video surveillance system ipivs.com works with 2000 IP cameras in 400 US organizations. Those are police departments, doctor education, and child advocacy centers.
✅ Develop for all the platforms you need. We cover:
- Web, including PWA - web apps that work on mobile browsers, for example, video chats.
- iOS and Android phones and tablets.
- Smart TV.
- Desktop.
- VR headsets.
✅ Estimate reasonably. We do it this way:
Estimate each user story. What we have done before - based on how much it took in the past. New ones - a Lead developer estimates. He splits tasks into small subtasks for accuracy and goes through checklists to not miss any potential problems.
I finalize all the proposals.
As CEO, I’m also responsible for strategic planning and coordinating all the departments. I carry out all final job interviews before we send an offer.
What is the story behind starting this company?
It started with love for computers – not a wish to earn. As a child, I dreamed about a computer and was delighted when bought one from the first salary at a plant where I worked during my school years in the summer. Since that time, I started learning how to administrate it, then how to program.
I started my career as a .NET software developer, then started managing project teams as a Project manager. In parallel, while still studying at university, my friend and I started offering software development services. In 2005 we developed the first multimedia chat – a cartoon world where you pick a character, walk, and text chat with whoever you meet. From that moment we start counting Fora Soft history.
That chat has been noticed, and we got more orders for multimedia chats, then video chats. In 2010 we entered the multinational market with the first order from the US: we helped an entrepreneur to transform his business into online. He used to send interpreters to hospitals on foot when a patient did not speak English. They were a few dozens in one city in Wisconsin. We developed a video chat for him, and he started employing interpreters from all over the world. Now his business has 740 interpreters serving 670 doctor offices.
Now we are a team of 97 and our slogan is #eager2develop.
I started my career as a .NET software developer, then started managing project teams as a Project manager. In parallel, while still studying at university, my friend and I started offering software development services. In 2005 we developed the first multimedia chat – a cartoon world where you pick a character, walk, and text chat with whoever you meet. From that moment we start counting Fora Soft history.
That chat has been noticed, and we got more orders for multimedia chats, then video chats. In 2010 we entered the multinational market with the first order from the US: we helped an entrepreneur to transform his business into online. He used to send interpreters to hospitals on foot when a patient did not speak English. They were a few dozens in one city in Wisconsin. We developed a video chat for him, and he started employing interpreters from all over the world. Now his business has 740 interpreters serving 670 doctor offices.
Now we are a team of 97 and our slogan is #eager2develop.
What are your company’s business model – in house team or third-party vendors/ outsourcing?
In-house team. We do not outsource at all – so to be sure, all the curved, annoying, and ineffective chains of software outsourcing stop on us. All the team members live in St. Petersburg. We used to work at the office every day before the pandemic. Now we give them the freedom to mix work: someday from home and someday from the office.
How does your company differentiate itself from the competition?
Specialization in video and multimedia is the key. Video software is difficult – it’s not like landings or just some forms. We do not work on products out of video and multimedia specialization.
It means 3 benefits for clients:
1) No learning on your project - we know how, what’s left is just to implement.
It means 3 benefits for clients:
1) No learning on your project - we know how, what’s left is just to implement.
2) Therefore, you get results the quickest way. While others are figuring out what’s better Kurento, Janus, or Wowza, we used them all and know what’s best for your needs. It means, no reworks. Imagine, you picked wrong, already implemented, and only then realized it. You’ll have to throw everything away and start over. How much money would you lose on that? With us there are no such reworks – we know how to do right the first time around.
3) Not just no learning on your project, in turn, you can learn from our know-how and experience. We’ve already prototyped and designed and programmed many products like yours.
What industries do you generally cater to? Are your customers repetitive? If yes, what ratio of clients has been repetitive to you?
Almost all industries use video and multimedia software. The most frequent our clients are:
- E-learning: virtual classrooms with whiteboards, virtual schools with everything a school needs being automated, LMSs, courses websites.
- E-learning: virtual classrooms with whiteboards, virtual schools with everything a school needs being automated, LMSs, courses websites.
- Healthcare: telemedicine video chats and conferences, EMR, and even systems to automate and speed up recipe flow from doctor to pharmacies.
- Business communication, if we can name it an industry: we develop video conferences and chats for inside-of-the-company calls in general, and for specific purposes like remote document signing.
- Video surveillance – video management systems that take video from IP cameras.
- Entertainment:
o Internet TVs – for a wide audience, like internet cinemas, or for restricted access, like TV systems for a chain of hotels – as websites or applications for smart TVs and set-top-boxes.
o AR and VR applications – from recording videos and adding superpowers on them to catching burgers and Mojitos as special offers from some advertisers.
o Messengers – including those that do not consume mobile internet traffic but show ads for being free – we developed such an app for South Africa.
o Internet TVs – for a wide audience, like internet cinemas, or for restricted access, like TV systems for a chain of hotels – as websites or applications for smart TVs and set-top-boxes.
o AR and VR applications – from recording videos and adding superpowers on them to catching burgers and Mojitos as special offers from some advertisers.
o Messengers – including those that do not consume mobile internet traffic but show ads for being free – we developed such an app for South Africa.
- Music: live concerts with remote musicians by video chats – the difficulty here is to sync their audios so perfectly that they could perform music, broadcasting that to thousands of people.
- Real estate: virtual tours on properties – by video chat and in VR.
- Ecommerce and marketplaces – text chats, demonstration of goods and services by video chats.
- Fitness and sport – remote training by video chat, trainer assistant systems where a trainer can call each player on the field separately or call the whole team together.
- HR and coaching – video chats for coaching and recruiting.
Yes, 55% of our clients were repetitive in 2020.
Please share some of the services that you offer for which clients approach you the most for?
Product development from the ground up to launch and further maintenance and updates is our main service. It’s a full software development cycle service. We do not offer only programming or only testing. We never assign a team without a project manager – because it’s not possible to guarantee quality.
We take both projects from scratch and existing software systems – for a check-up, modernization, or update.
Clients value our expertise in video and multimedia. We can review the architecture and cut client's costs on servers in times, for example – there are such cases when the architecture is very ineffective. The simplest example is when a video chat one-on-one (like doctor consultations) is implemented through a server and not p2p. Make it p2p and save thousands of dollars if not more monthly on the servers.
Our process is:
1 - Sales managers are the 1st level, software analysts. They clarify your needs. Then give 3 results: user stories recommended technologies and estimations based on previous projects.
User stories are what each type of user can do in your product. They describe your requirements more clearly than “functions”. It’s hard to say if a list of tech terms has all you need. But what you know exactly is what your users do.
2 - Analysts clarify details and draw wireframes. They are mockups of all the pages with clickable buttons. So you can play with your app before it’s developed and make cheap changes.
We calculate project time and price estimation based on wireframes.
3 - Designers draw clickable graphic design prototypes.
4 - Team of developers, test engineer, and project manager develops the product.
Developers plan details of architecture and code.
Test engineers write test cases - steps a user would do when using a function. Before each release, they go through all the test cases. We automate the testing of non-changeable parts of the product.
Project managers use SCRUM and Kanban methodologies. Manage tasks in JIRA and maintain project documentation in Confluence. We come up with a SMART goal for each project, and the team keeps it in mind all the time. This helps to create products convenient and appealing.
The analyst gets involved again if you want new functions.
5 - The team installs it on your server and helps with app stores submission. We do maintenance - part-time work on minor improvements after launch.
6 - Promoting the product: SEO, ASO, SMM, paid advertisement.
We take both projects from scratch and existing software systems – for a check-up, modernization, or update.
Clients value our expertise in video and multimedia. We can review the architecture and cut client's costs on servers in times, for example – there are such cases when the architecture is very ineffective. The simplest example is when a video chat one-on-one (like doctor consultations) is implemented through a server and not p2p. Make it p2p and save thousands of dollars if not more monthly on the servers.
Our process is:
1 - Sales managers are the 1st level, software analysts. They clarify your needs. Then give 3 results: user stories recommended technologies and estimations based on previous projects.
User stories are what each type of user can do in your product. They describe your requirements more clearly than “functions”. It’s hard to say if a list of tech terms has all you need. But what you know exactly is what your users do.
2 - Analysts clarify details and draw wireframes. They are mockups of all the pages with clickable buttons. So you can play with your app before it’s developed and make cheap changes.
We calculate project time and price estimation based on wireframes.
3 - Designers draw clickable graphic design prototypes.
4 - Team of developers, test engineer, and project manager develops the product.
Developers plan details of architecture and code.
Test engineers write test cases - steps a user would do when using a function. Before each release, they go through all the test cases. We automate the testing of non-changeable parts of the product.
Project managers use SCRUM and Kanban methodologies. Manage tasks in JIRA and maintain project documentation in Confluence. We come up with a SMART goal for each project, and the team keeps it in mind all the time. This helps to create products convenient and appealing.
The analyst gets involved again if you want new functions.
5 - The team installs it on your server and helps with app stores submission. We do maintenance - part-time work on minor improvements after launch.
6 - Promoting the product: SEO, ASO, SMM, paid advertisement.
What is your customer satisfaction rate according to you? What steps do you take to cater to your customer’s needs and requirements?
99%!
It means that 99% of our clients recommend us and are happy, based on 700 jobs and 326 000 work hours.
It means that 99% of our clients recommend us and are happy, based on 700 jobs and 326 000 work hours.
It’s the right people doing the right things that help achieve that.
The right things - process - you can see in the previous question.
Regarding the right people, recently we counted: 1 of 90 developers applicants gets a job offer from us.
We have a “Hand-pick” team-building approach:
1) Check CV and interview by phone.
1) Check CV and interview by phone.
2) Then goes 1st interview with HR - if the person fits our values. They are 4: do wow, be a team, learn and develop all the time, and be proactive. Being a team for us means trusting and developing 3 qualities: being hungry - work with drive and passion, being social smart - how you feel your words and actions influence other people, and being humble - remember a team can do more, and your results are the team results.
3) If HR sees we all will be cool to work with this guy, she or he gives a test task. We look at the approach, how well the result works, looks like, and how well the general coding approach is.
4) If all is well and he manages to complete the task on time - here goes a tech interview with his technology lead.
5) If that goes well and it was he who actually did the task :) - interview with a director. Yes, there’s no one person in our team who wouldn’t talk with me or our CFO & CMO prior to getting an offer. People are everything, so this is a must.
And our city Saint Petersburg has been winning the International programming contest for universities most of the time.
This way, our city might be the best place to hire a developer in the world, most talents are here.
So, our formula is:
developers from universities winning World’s Programming Contest
+ managers who come with solutions, not problems.
+ designers with an eye for beauty and detail.
+ testers - intuitive destroyers.
+ analysts who see both the big picture and tiniest elements with all interrelations.
= no waste, no micromanagement, the product that is brighter than you envisioned.
developers from universities winning World’s Programming Contest
+ managers who come with solutions, not problems.
+ designers with an eye for beauty and detail.
+ testers - intuitive destroyers.
+ analysts who see both the big picture and tiniest elements with all interrelations.
= no waste, no micromanagement, the product that is brighter than you envisioned.
What kind of support system do you offer to your clients for catering to their queries and issues?
Each project has a project manager. He is available to talk to the client on any day.
If the issue does not get solved with the PM, the Sales manager who initially analyzed the project is available to the client at any moment too.
If it’s that rare issue that the Sales manager can’t solve, he escalates it to the CEO.
Sales managers also give their mobile phone numbers to clients for urgent cases. Such things happen about 1-2 times per year, but if they do, we do not let clients down. One time, a server where the program was installed, became unavailable during an important telemedicine conference. At that time, we re-installed the product on a new server at night. Another time, an important license was not prolonged on time, and the program stopped working right during an investor pitch. We managed to locate the problem and fix it so that the presentation could continue smoothly.
If the issue does not get solved with the PM, the Sales manager who initially analyzed the project is available to the client at any moment too.
If it’s that rare issue that the Sales manager can’t solve, he escalates it to the CEO.
Sales managers also give their mobile phone numbers to clients for urgent cases. Such things happen about 1-2 times per year, but if they do, we do not let clients down. One time, a server where the program was installed, became unavailable during an important telemedicine conference. At that time, we re-installed the product on a new server at night. Another time, an important license was not prolonged on time, and the program stopped working right during an investor pitch. We managed to locate the problem and fix it so that the presentation could continue smoothly.
What kind of payment structure do you follow to bill your clients? Is it Pay per Feature, Fixed Cost, Pay per Milestone (could be in phases, months, versions etc.)
Time & Materials:
- You are free to make any changes at any time.
- Approximate time of completion and the approximate price is estimated, they are not fixed.
- If during the process of work the approximate estimation changes, you are notified immediately.
- All the hours we work are billable.
- Detailed timesheet explaining how many hours were spent on which task.
- Access to the latest demo version of the system.
- You are free to make any changes at any time.
- Approximate time of completion and the approximate price is estimated, they are not fixed.
- If during the process of work the approximate estimation changes, you are notified immediately.
- All the hours we work are billable.
- Detailed timesheet explaining how many hours were spent on which task.
- Access to the latest demo version of the system.
Do you take in projects which meet your basic budget requirement? If yes, what is the minimum requirement? If no, on what minimum budget you have worked for?
The minimum project we’d work on is USD 5000. It’s Proof of Concepts or MVPs with the goal to continue if successful, not full-scale finished projects. Our clients and we are most interested in projects that grow into ongoing cooperation for many years that never ends.
What is the price range (min and max) of the projects that you catered to in 2020?
The minimal is a Proof of Concept for a remote diamond analysis software – USD 5160.
The maximum is USD 400 000. It’s another year of ongoing work on a video surveillance product. We’ve been working together since 2014 and continue now, as a dedicated team. I’ve just summed up all the hours for 2020. The product is successfully in use by 450 organizations in the USA.
The maximum is USD 400 000. It’s another year of ongoing work on a video surveillance product. We’ve been working together since 2014 and continue now, as a dedicated team. I’ve just summed up all the hours for 2020. The product is successfully in use by 450 organizations in the USA.
Where do you see your company in the next 10 years?
Our vision is to become a synonym of video and multimedia software development all around the world. If someone thinks he needs a video or multimedia application developed, he’d remember: ah, I know, Fora Soft does that!
Besides that, we do not try to predict the future and control everything. We just want to remain who we are: a place, a team where people assemble who love programming and what they do. We just want to continue doing what we love and having fun and reward for that.
Besides that, we do not try to predict the future and control everything. We just want to remain who we are: a place, a team where people assemble who love programming and what they do. We just want to continue doing what we love and having fun and reward for that.
Fora Soft Clients & Portfolios
Key Clients
- Braincert
- Kujo
- Vocal Views
- Career Point
- Intelligent Video Solutions
- TapeReal
- ProVideoMeeting
- Franchise Record Pool
- Worldcast Live
- DSI Drones
- Janson Media
- Perspire
- Meetrics
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Fora Soft Reviews
4 Reviews
- All Services
- Software Development
- Mobile App Development
- Relevance
- Most Recent
- Rating: high to low
- Rating: low to high
Anastasia Timoshenko, Tax Expert at Holding company
Posted on Oct 18, 2021
Excellent partner in development!
Review Summary
We enjoyed our experience, the whole process, communication was very flexible, open & straighforward. They deep dived into our requirements, understood clearly what we need, and delivered the commitments. We know what we need, and look forward to start off with the development work. The User Stories were clear, wireframes provided what our project's value proposition is.
What is it about the company that you appreciate the most?
They are very open about what is needed from each stackeholder, the deliverables & commitments. All communication was very smooth and we feel confident to continue further.
What was it about the company that you didn't like which they should do better?
The cost for the overall project could have been less. They should provided custom offer forgrowing startups and those bootstraping their projects.
Bolu Alabi CPA, CGA, ACCA, Financial Reporting at Starlight Investments
Posted on Oct 04, 2021
Very good performance
Review Summary
We worked with Forasoft on a social media app. From inception of our project, they had a good understanding of what we were trying to achieve and provided good insights. They also executed the first half of the project efficiently. I look forward to working with them on second half of the project and would definitely recommend them.
Ali Shah
Posted on Sep 30, 2021
Great company, strong expertise
Review Summary
Fora Soft is a great partner to work with. They treat your project like their own, provide suggestions and feedback, and strive to delivery high quality deliverables. Their expertise in streaming technologies is strong. I highly recommend working with them.
What is it about the company that you appreciate the most?
Well organized team, knowledgeable, good at planning and documenting progress, weekly status updates on achievements and deliverables, attention to detail, and focused on quality bug-free work.
What was it about the company that you didn't like which they should do better?
Project estimations and staying within budget.
Sha M.Y. Rahim, Cloud Architect at Entelyst
Posted on Oct 10, 2019
Excellent company for complex development projects
Review Summary
We have worked with Fora Soft on our WebRTC and HTML5 based complex project for over several years. They are extremely professional, knowledgeable and helpful. The projects were completed on time meeting deadlines without compromising on quality and most importantly met our budget. Their engineering team is extremely knowledgeable on the subject matter and solved complex problems with ease. What we really like about Fora Soft is the ability to have a dedicated project manager who keeps in contact with us almost everyday and oversees the complete life-cycle of the project from start to finish using agile methodology. They use DevOps CI/CD pipelines to cut down release times, achieve faster go-to market and increase productivity. Their team is commendable in the subject matter and well versed in latest technologies, and delivered complicated projects with ease. Awesome company to work with.
What is it about the company that you appreciate the most?
Complex projects delivered on time and ability to quickly hire highly skilled workforce for specific tasks.
What was it about the company that you didn't like which they should do better?
None. They are already doing a great job with agile project management framework.
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