Virtual1
Foreword
When we met UK-based Virtual1 back in 2010, we hadn't predicted we'd still be a part of their team 14 years later.
Even after two acquisitions, most recently by PlatformX Communications, Aimprosoft is still their number one choice for IT staffing - even over their parent company's enterprise-level staffing provider.
-
Project team
6 Backend developers, 2 Frontend developers, 2 QAs
-
In progress since
September, 2010
Story
Story
As a start-up, Virtual1 focused on making clients independent of expensive overheads and complicated internet connectivity issues. In the UK, laying cables can cost up to £100 per meter, but as a leased line provider Virtual1 could offer customers a more affordable, convenient internet connection.
When we initially helped Virtual1 scale, their customer relationship management systems and service coordination were managed almost entirely by hand. Not only did they need one single seamless, customer-facing portal to service clients, but also a way to shift expensive manual work to an automated, streamlined system.
Together, we decided that Liferay was the strongest tool to cover both internal management needs and support Virtual1 through exponential commercial growth.
Challenges
Challenges
Initially, Virtual1's fast growth and big goals meant they needed a portal that could provide: Capacity to support an array of equipment, customer orders, and communication between providers and suppliers.
In 2011, Virtual1 became an Internet Services Provider, pushing the need for an increasingly complex platform that supports broadband internet providers and clients.
Solutions
1Portal
We used split user stories to understand gaps in services Virtual1 offered and ways to improve their portal. Their variety of distributing partners also made the portal more complex to include services like
- Connections to Virtual1
- Users, payments, and internal/external communication
- Network resource monitoring
5 Key Elements to Virtual1's Portal
Together, we decided these 5 factors would take priority when building their portal:
- Smart and quick onboarding for new partners and clients.
- One single server for every single partner.
- High security and authentication measures.
- Settings for users, customers, pages, and permissions.
- Simple and sleek design.
Pioneering a new portal isn't cheap. Liferay is still the best resource to build a portal while managing possible risks, keeping development costs affordable, and including these 5 key elements:
Smart and quick onboarding for new partners and clients.
Fast and simple sign-ups make for a seamless onboarding experience. Clients register with their name, the name of their website, and other basic yet crucial contact information. Our Liferay's experts used portlets so clients can begin business cooperation faster.
One single server for every single partner
Each new partner gets the same impeccable online experience, with no code resources and easy customizations within accounts.
High security and authentication measures
As Virtual1 continues to grow, strong security measures are needed for both clients, the portal, and customer websites themselves.
Settings for users, customers, pages, and permissions
Virtual1 emphasized the importance of every individual user's experience, customer management, and role definitions within the portal. User grouping allowed us to organize all communication, orders, prices, purchase statuses, contracts, and more to keep internal and external activity organized.
Simple, sleek design
Their online portal offers an easy-to-navigate user experience and customizable looks that align to different brand styles.
Development
Development
As Virtual1 grew, we developed a variety of solutions for users and internal team members, including
- Custom order workflows
- Settings based on service packages
- Kit for partner account settings, like access, management, and communication
Partners aren't only able to order products, they can also compare carrier prices, and safely and securely e-sign documents within the portal.
Features
Features
Location-based pricing, in real-time
We developed a price map so customers can request an accurate price estimate of their or their business's location. They can also compare multiple providers, overall availability in their zone, and service packages.
- Side-by-side price comparison of internet providers
- Seamless online orders via simple forms
- One portal for all customer services and accounts
- Resources to automatically monitor service
Salesforce Integration
Their portal is integrated with Salesforce, so management of leads, sales, and their funnel is seamless for Virtual1 and partners.
Automatic notifications and updates immediately show up in Virtual1's portal, including information on orders, data, equipment, and business opportunities are all reflected.
1Access
This tool allows Virtual1 to monitor orders and quotes within the portal. Partners can also create their own orders and monitor customer orders independently via Virtual1's portal.
UX/UI Design
UX/UI Design
Part of Virtual1's overall goal was to build a portal that isn't only functional, but stylish and engaging for users.
Our designers focused on blending Virtual1's branding with the portal internally, while keeping the user experiences for client, partners, and customers simple and intuitive.
Stack
- — Frontend
- — Backend
- Liferay themes
- Sass
- Css
- jQuery
- AngularJS
- Bootstrap
- Liferay
- Spring
- Hibernate
- Salesforce integration
- Spring Boots
- PRTG Integration
- Elasticsearch
- Tomcat
- Velocity
- BECS Integration
- SOAP
- JSON
- MySQL
- PostgreSQL
- Jenkins
- Maven
- Gulp
- Ant
Results
Results
Aimprosoft has supported Virtual1 from scrappy start-up to surviving two acquisitions and becoming a household name.
In 17 years, Virtual1's partnership requests have increased by 100x, catapulting them to become a top telecom provider in the UK. In 2016, they won 'Network Provider of the Year.' And progress hasn't paused - now, we're focusing efforts on their B2B corporate distribution portal. We're excited to see what they'll achieve next.
Let’s talk
Are you a wholesaler and need to manage your distributors separately but united? We can do it.
The form was submitted successfully. We will contact you shortly. Meanwhile, we suggest checking out what our clients say about software development with Aimprosoft.
Proceed to ClutchFeatured in
