SPYERA
IT IS WHEN YOU NEED TO KNOW
People Behind SPYERA
SPYERA’s technical arm is under the CTO, and his team consists of around seventy people organised into the following groups: Research, Development, Test, Support, IT Operations
14352
MEDIA COVERAGE
91%
RETURNING CUSTOMERS
18
AWARD NOMINATION
20
YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
RESEARCH
The engine of our company’s innovation is our Research Group – a bunch of creative technical thinkers who absorb what is happening in all areas of mobile technology. They spend most of their time researching – poking, probing, and reverse engineering all sorts of technology from mobile operating systems, device firmware, GSM hardware and anything else that takes their fancy.
They uncover undocumented APIS and backdoors, design new algorithms for maximum power savings, or see how systems behave when pushed to the edge of performance. These guys provide the seed for new product visions.
They uncover undocumented APIS and backdoors, design new algorithms for maximum power savings, or see how systems behave when pushed to the edge of performance. These guys provide the seed for new product visions.
PRODUCT PLANNING
Ideas for products, features and improvements come everywhere, especially in our Support Group. Unlike other companies, Support is represented at the highest level of the company and is a tremendous source of inspiration or moderation, depending on what ideas are being discussed. All employees can contribute ideas, and the Corporate Architect sets about consolidating the brainstorming sessions – creating designs and plans that can be taken to development.
DEVELOPMENT
The Development Team is responsible for implementing ideas that we feel will delight customers or delight ourselves! They have to make the vision reality.
Unlike other companies, SPYERA products cover a vast array of technologies. With so many mobile device platforms and so many hurdles to overcome ( opportunistic antivirus companies, device signing tests, uncooperative payment gateways, rampant credit fraud that we have to absorb the cost of), we have to have technical and problem-solving capabilities in almost every application development technology of the last ten years.
This includes protocol designers, ARM assemblers, security specialists, a dedicated team of native language application developers for smartphone platforms (J2EE, Symbian C++, Windows C++, C#, Blackberry, UIQ, Android, iPhone), J2EE server team, SIM Toolkit, Technical Architects, Web Designers, and Requirements Analysts.
Unlike other companies, SPYERA products cover a vast array of technologies. With so many mobile device platforms and so many hurdles to overcome ( opportunistic antivirus companies, device signing tests, uncooperative payment gateways, rampant credit fraud that we have to absorb the cost of), we have to have technical and problem-solving capabilities in almost every application development technology of the last ten years.
This includes protocol designers, ARM assemblers, security specialists, a dedicated team of native language application developers for smartphone platforms (J2EE, Symbian C++, Windows C++, C#, Blackberry, UIQ, Android, iPhone), J2EE server team, SIM Toolkit, Technical Architects, Web Designers, and Requirements Analysts.
TEST
Then we have our Test Teams.
These guys must ensure that what we sell is good enough to meet our customers’ expectations.
The Test Engineers design and build our customised test tools, design automated tests, and carry out functional, load, and usability testing. Also, there is the diligent work of our Execution Testers, who run the scripts and try to throw spanners into the works to see what happens.
When you consider all permutations of devices, countries, networks, firmware, and services that come together to make a product release, add the demanding nature of our customers, and the hostile, fragmented and resource-limited environments that our products operate in, only then is it transparent how difficult working for SPYERA Test is.
Second to customer support, the Test is the most critical facet of our organisation.
The Test Team makes sure the vision stays strong.
These guys must ensure that what we sell is good enough to meet our customers’ expectations.
The Test Engineers design and build our customised test tools, design automated tests, and carry out functional, load, and usability testing. Also, there is the diligent work of our Execution Testers, who run the scripts and try to throw spanners into the works to see what happens.
When you consider all permutations of devices, countries, networks, firmware, and services that come together to make a product release, add the demanding nature of our customers, and the hostile, fragmented and resource-limited environments that our products operate in, only then is it transparent how difficult working for SPYERA Test is.
Second to customer support, the Test is the most critical facet of our organisation.
The Test Team makes sure the vision stays strong.
IT OPERATIONS
Without a healthy body, nothing can be achieved –and that’s what IT operations do.
SPYERA IT support staff keep our internal systems up and running. Networks, VPNs, Routers, Email, Sharepoint, Backups, SVN, Asterisk, provisioning new staff, installing DLP systems, and so much more, the Operations Team keeps the lifeblood of the company flowing smoothly.
SPYERA IT support staff keep our internal systems up and running. Networks, VPNs, Routers, Email, Sharepoint, Backups, SVN, Asterisk, provisioning new staff, installing DLP systems, and so much more, the Operations Team keeps the lifeblood of the company flowing smoothly.
OUR DNA
They say that the personality of a company is a direct reflection of its leaders, so let me give you an idea of what our philosophy is and where it comes from.
As SPYERA’s Chief Architect, it is not immodest to acknowledge that I must contribute somewhat to the company's personality.
My core approach to software product development was forged over a decade of working for what used to be the world’s biggest computer company and is still the most significant software developer.
In that company's early mists of the late 80s, products were designed for exquisite quality – down to details such as the manuals, fan noise, environmental disposability, compatibility and labels, to name a few completely unrelated items. If something could conceivably cause a customer problem, QA had the absolute veto to ‘STOP SHIP’. That’s how seriously they took things and why products were often delayed for less than solid reasons.
As it turned out, this idealistic approach (and the three-year development and extra cost this philosophy entailed) did not produce results that were valued by the marketplace –and the company paid a massive price, losing wholesale market share to those more agile companies that offered products that were ‘good enough’. This caused much soul-searching about what quality means to a customer, and many companies became resigned to designing a product to be ‘just good enough and no more’.
In 2010, we believe the pendulum has swung way too much in favour of ‘good enough’ – because ‘good enough’ is a subjective term. This philosophy has spawned products that destroy the customer’s belief in the software industry. There is a middle ground, but it is closer to the idealistic days of yesteryear than today’s practice of releasing alpha versions and hiding behind an email address.
We believe that it is in our best financial, intellectual and moral interests to create products that meet the actual needs of our customers –especially in this industry, where reliability and privacy are everything. However, meeting customer needs only makes sense if we have fun doing it because, in the final analysis, we love doing things simply for the kudos and challenges.
The best example is our PC SPY product – it was not done for any ROI – we did it just because it was fun, and we could, which is perhaps the best description of our DNA.
PS: At the time of this writing, no one has achieved a remotely installed and undetectable keylogger for the PC. Will it sell enough to cover its costs – unlikely; was it fun to do – for sure!