Partnering for Success: How Ballast Lane Applications Supports Agencies with Scalable Development Solutions
We have had great success in the past few years with several agencies of different sizes. This article describes the type of work we offer and our approach, and highlights some of the benefits to agencies and their clients. Our ability to be flexible in our offerings and scale up and down as needed enables us to become long term partners.
Engagement Options
At Ballast Lane, we offer several different engagement options depending on the needs of our clients. The following have been proven successful for agencies:
Product Development: As a development partner, we are able to provide the necessary resources for a partial or complete team to work on a project as a pod. This can be independently managed, or be managed by the agency or client, and can be in the form of a fixed cost scope or a monthly arrangement that follows Agile methodology.
Consulting Services: We are able to bring in short term help in areas such as Tech Architecture, DevOps and QA, that might be lacking on the agency or client side.
Staff Augmentation: This is ideal when a specific role needs to be filled at the agency or client. Because all of our team members have the confidence and experience to integrate as part of the client team, we find this works very well as a model, and removes the cost of Ballast Lane having to manage and coordinate the day to day work of the individual. Another benefit is that the individuals are members of a practice team at Ballast Lane, and therefore have the support of our teams for feedback and professional development.
Approach, Examples
As with most things in life, there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to our clients, and we tailor our solutions to meet their individual needs. Here are 2 examples:
Case Study 1 - small agency: We became the development partner when their client needed a new website that included the setup of a new headless CMS and some backend integrations. We engaged a team that included a Project Manager, Designer, Developer and QA, and some DevOps as needed. The initial engagement was for about 6 months, but we moved to a Maintenance/Feature Development retainer model that lasted almost 4 years.
Case Study 2 - large agency: We started out by helping to fill a resource gap when one of the agency team members went on maternity leave. From there, resources have been added as needed, including Frontend, Design, QA, Backend and DevOps. We have been providing consulting services in developing QA standards and processes, as well as Staff Augmentation for the other roles.
Benefits of working with Ballast Lane
In addition to having access to great talent, there are a number of benefits to working with our team:
- Talent: We have a rigorous hiring process and ensure that our team members follow our core values. In addition, all are fluent English speakers, are in the same/similar time zone, and have a good cultural fit. This allows us to stand out from offshore and many other nearshore companies.
- Access to resources without the need to hire: If a particular need is identified, we can provide it quickly without the need for the agency to hire or quickly search for a new partner and evaluate them.
- Flexibility: Particularly in the case of Staff Augmentation, we are able to add and remove resources as needed. This provides agencies with flexibility in staffing, and lowers the risk of carrying full time resources during lulls in client work.
- White Label option: We are able to take on the alias of the agency, providing a seamless experience for the client.
- Cost: Our nearshore model means that we are significantly less expensive than the equivalent onshore resources, enabling agencies to ensure that they maintain healthy margins with their client work.
We are happy to have a conversation to understand agency needs, review any proposals from clients that might be a good fit, and describe our approach and get the relationship started. It’s low risk, low effort. Let us know if you want to chat.