Challenge
PEI is a subscriber-focused data and insights company focusing on the alternative assets markets. In 2023, they were in the process of digitally transforming their business to provide new products and services, but they had no internal software development department. Instead, they were relying on third-party vendors. When their new Head of Engineering, Richard Kerslake, joined, he was tasked with establishing a new team in Bangalore to gain greater control and accelerate the transformation.
We needed a capable, integrated team to reimagine our product offering. The Bangalore team delivered immediate results, launching two brand new products in the first year which are now selling and generating revenue.
Solution
Richard had previous experience working with The Scalers to set up an offshore team, and while keen to partner with The Scalers again, he investigated several other options. When he reviewed all the options in front of him, The Scalers became the obvious choice again, due to their focus on integration of the team and retention of employees. And his prior experience meant he knew it would work.
The Scalers handled all of the recruitment process, vetting for hard and soft skills required for each role, leaving Richard with the final interview and approval. This pipeline enabled PEI to scale to four Scrum teams with 30 developers.
The Scalers are very different from the other vendors we’ve worked with, who were mostly project-based consultancies. Their unique model manages the entire operational side of building our team here, making them first-class citizens in the business. This partnership allows me to focus on doing the good product work we do, rather than worrying about finding and onboarding people.
Once established, The Scalers handled everything on the ground from payroll, procurement, legals and regular engagement activities. All of which was organised by PEI’s dedicated Partner Success Manager and Chief Happiness Officer. This allowed PEI’s leadership to focus on delivery and strategy, which soon bore results.
Results
PEI’s team in Bangalore has become instrumental in the growth of the company. Within the first year, they brought two new revenue-generating products to the market and have since continued their development. The success of these products was possible due to both their deep integration and understanding of the company and its clients, and the quality of the employees, which is visible in common engineering metrics.
The sheer scale of the IT market in India and the availability of talent was a huge benefit in building our team quickly. We’ve built a strong, high-performing team that objectively benchmarks in the first quartile for common engineering metrics. Given the top quality of the team and the attractive cost compared to London pricing, I would definitely recommend The Scalers.
Now, with a team of over 50 employees, a couple of years later, PEI is continuing to develop its existing and new products with its long-term, cost-effective teams. All this was possible due to their decision to adopt a strategic and long-term approach to offshoring with The Scalers.
