Outsourcing Guidance Reviews

“. . . very methodological in approaching startup ideas and has proven to be excellent in putting global teams together and getting them working”

I met Michael through a software sourcing company in 2018. I was in the early stage of creating a software startup business centered around the use of augmented reality for the healthcare market. As an entrepreneur with a healthcare operations background, I needed to partner with a technology expert to design and build the product I envisioned. I had many challenges, including narrowing down the company’s scope to arrive at a Minimal Viable Product and sourcing the right solution partners. Michael did an incredible job guiding me as we defined the requirements for the product, created a development plan, and structured a statement of work to serve my company’s best interest. We met with teams of outsourced software engineers in different countries and ended up selecting two companies with different areas of expertise, both in Hungary. The software solutions team that Michael helped to assemble has been a critical asset for me. Michael is very methodological in approaching startup ideas and has proven to be excellent in putting global teams together and getting them working. He has a vast understanding of technology—both in technical and business terms. He has a great sense of humor, is very thoughtful and personable. Without Michael’s involvement and guidance over the last two years, I would never have successfully created the company and developed the first product.

“I learned a lot . . . about managing outsourced software development projects”

I first worked with Michael two years ago to improve a custom software system that Imprint Energy uses to test and manufacture our ultrathin, printed batteries. It was a joy to work with Michael! He was professional, patient, handling any issues quickly and efficiently, and I learned a lot from him about managing outsourced software development projects. He spent time with us to define and document our requirements. Early on in the process, he participated in Zoom calls with our developers in Brazil to help keep things in order and on track. With Michael’s help, we got the team working smoothly, and I was able to step in and manage the remote development team. This would have been much more difficult without Michael’s help.

“. . . earned the respect of the developers, the designers, and team leaders, which is no easy accomplishment”

I have worked with Michael for the last two years on a software development project for one of his clients. I am a Project Manager for the team, which includes software engineers based here in Ukraine, as well as DevOps resources in India, a pen-testing group in Colombia, and various technical experts and code reviewers that Michael has brought in from the US. Michael is outstanding at what he does. He is a master facilitator who can help all parties understand each other correctly and remove false assumptions from everyone’s head. As a Project Manager, I know that a key value of any agile framework is communication, which bridges the gap between business people and technical people—Michael functions as that bridge. I have seen him lead intense in-the-weeds engineering conversations with our most experienced developers and quickly change gears to talk at a high-level with executives. He has earned the respect of the developers, the designers, and team leaders, which is no easy accomplishment. Michael brings a vast amount of experience to software projects, and everyone on our team has learned a lot from him. If you want to learn about what works or doesn’t work in our industry, ask Michael.

“. . . a fantastic job documenting and explaining the client’s needs”

I worked with Michael on a software project for one of his clients in 2019. My role was Consulting Analyst, and I was also the Lead Developer on this project. Michael is a great communicator and facilitator, which allowed my team to ramp up quickly. Michael did a fantastic job documenting and explaining the client’s needs, including detailed workflow diagrams and a thorough description of the software requirements which he had created with the client. It would have been difficult for my team in Brazil to get the level of detail that Michael could get from his extended conversations on-site with the client. Michael was also great at explaining our completed development work to the client clearly and logically. He made our development team look good, and the client was able to clearly understand all the effort we put in to make the project successful. Michael is a real professional, and I look forward to working with him again on future projects.

“. . . able to motivate the engineering teams under him to accomplish goals no one believed were possible”

I have been working with Michael Marmor since 1998. During that time, he has served at various times as a supervisor, a mentor, a colleague, and a consultant. We have worked together to create startups, resurrect agencies in crisis, and make a dramatic positive impact on a variety of organizations.

During our time at Exceed Communications International in the late 1990s to mid-2000s, Michael was my direct supervisor in both our New York City headquarters and Hyderabad, India software development center. He was an outstanding thought leader and mentor. He was able to motivate the engineering teams under him to accomplish goals no one believed were possible. I always felt during that time that I was able to reach a much higher standard when working with him, and this has served me well throughout my career.

After Exceed, we maintained contact for several years and used each other as technical advisors. Eventually, I joined The Keffi Group, where Michael was leading the technology efforts for this newly founded private equity firm. While there, among other things, Michael’s team in India designed and built a complex software system for the telecom industry. This project was on behalf of one of the firm’s investors and used Michael’s hand-picked team of software engineering staff based in New Delhi. The software Michael’s team created ended up being one of the most valuable market differentiators for the company, prominently highlighted in sales and investor marketing efforts.

During his time at the Royal Thimphu College in Bhutan, I maintained contact with Michael. He transformed the IT department of this newly formed college from a procurement focused, non-technical group to one that focused on implementing appropriate technologies that could provide genuine value to the teaching and learning effort.

In my role as the Director of Global Infrastructure at the International Rescue Committee, the IT department engaged Michael in various diverse projects. He led a challenging discovery project to save a software project in crisis in our Silver Spring office. Thanks to Michael’s careful research and insight, the project got back on track and in the hands of a skilled outsourced software development partner. He also became involved in sensitive discovery and negotiations with a national cloud vendor used by all of our US Resettlement Offices. His calm manner and insights kept the meetings focused and productive. IRC also engaged him in a series of technology audits and successfully used his analysis to establish a baseline and develop improvement roadmaps.

Few people have the depth of software engineering, business, and overseas experience that Michael has. As a technologist, a leader, and a creative thinker, I can confidently recommend Michael, and I urge you to consider engaging him to work on your software projects.