About Enliven

Enliven is a strategic design + development team. When software is a key part of your business strategy, they help you clearly define its success and articulate a plan of action. Then they develop, launch and repeat. They turn your complex business processes into accessible, maintainable and sustainable software solutions. This reduces operational overhead and grows your business.

Last updated May 13, 2026

Services

Mobile App Development Web Development AR App Development Unity 3D Game Development Wearable App Development Custom Software Development Mobile App Design iPhone App Development Smart Contracts Audits

Industries Served

Agriculture Government & Public Sector Travel & Hospitality Construction Automotive

Enliven Reviews

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IoT architecture that scaled from pilot to full fleet without a single redesign

Nora Al-Otaibi / VP of Engineering - Salam Digital Solutions
Verified
Jun 11, 2026

Project summary: Our internal product thinking was strong but our execution capability in this specific technology domain was limited. We needed depth, not generalism.

We had worked with three agencies before this engagement. The comparison is not flattering to the others. What distinguished this team was a systematic approach to understanding the problem before proposing a solution — something that sounds obvious and is practiced far less often than it should be. The delivery phase ran to schedule, the codebase is clean enough that our internal engineers made positive comments during handover review, and we have not logged a critical incident in five months of live operation. We intend to use them for our next phase of work.

PROS

Commercially transparent throughout — no hidden assumptions, no bill shock at the end, change requests that were fair and clearly explained rather than used as a margin-recovery mechanism

CONS

Pipeline availability for kickoff required a few weeks of lead time — in hindsight that selection pressure means you are working with a team that is in demand for the right reasons

4.0
Overall
4.0
Quality
4.0
Schedule
4.0
Cost
4.5
Communication
Project TypeIoT Development
IndustryAgriculture
Project Cost$50,000 to $149,999
DurationNov 2025 – Mar 2026

Questions & Answers

Please describe your company, your role, and the industry you operate in.
Salam Digital Solutions operates in the Agriculture sector with headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In my role as VP of Engineering I am accountable for the full technology agenda — infrastructure, product, and vendor relationships. We are a commercially driven organisation and every technology decision is evaluated against a clear business case before it is approved.
What specific problem or business challenge led you to hire this company?
Our platform had been maintained by a previous vendor for three years and the accumulated technical debt had reached a point where delivery velocity had dropped to a fraction of what it should have been. We needed fresh engineering expertise and a structured plan to address the underlying issues.
What services did the company provide for your project?
End-to-end IoT Development delivery with particular depth in the integration and data migration components, which were the highest-risk elements of the programme. They supplemented this with a dedicated QA resource throughout development and a documented runbook for our operations team at handover.
Why did you choose this company over other providers you considered?
We ran a structured shortlisting process across five vendors. The technical evaluation eliminated two immediately. Of the remaining three, this team's proposal was differentiated by the specificity of their IoT Development approach and the evidence base they provided — reference projects in Agriculture contexts, not generic case studies. The reference calls confirmed a track record that the proposal had described accurately.
How clearly did the company understand your requirements and business goals?
Extremely well, in part because they had relevant Agriculture experience that reduced the context-setting overhead significantly. They understood the domain vocabulary, asked the right questions, and translated business requirements into technical specifications with a fidelity that meant the development phase had very few clarification cycles.
How was your overall experience with their communication and project management?
Outstanding. The discipline around asynchronous communication was particularly effective given the time zones involved between Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and the delivery team. Written updates were specific and consistent, response times were same-day for anything that required a decision, and nothing fell through the cracks across a six-month engagement.
Did the company deliver the project on time and within your expected budget?
The project landed on time. The budget was managed within the agreed ceiling, which included one client-driven scope addition that was quoted fairly and handled without affecting the original delivery stream. The discipline around budget transparency throughout meant there was no surprise at invoice stage.
What tangible results or business impact have you seen since the project was completed?
We went live four months ago. User adoption exceeded the target we had set by 23 percent in the first month. Support ticket volume has dropped measurably. The features we had deferred because the previous architecture made them prohibitively expensive to build are now in development. The platform they built has opened our roadmap.
What did you like most about working with this company?
The continuity of the team. The engineers who participated in the discovery sessions were the engineers who built the system. That consistency of institutional knowledge across a six-month project has a value that is difficult to quantify but easy to notice when it is absent. Every conversation built on the previous ones.
Would you recommend this company to others, and would you work with them again?
Absolutely. With a specific note that the value starts in the discovery phase — clients who approach that process with seriousness will get the most from the engagement. We invested appropriately at the front end and the returns are evident in what was delivered.

A digital marketing partner who optimised for business outcomes, not vanity metrics

Danielle Westbrook / Chief Digital Officer - BlueSky Retail Holdings
Verified
Apr 21, 2026

Project summary: Cross-agency data sharing had been blocked by incompatible systems for four years. A secure integration platform was the prerequisite for every transformation initiative in our roadmap.

The project brief was ambitious and we had received proposals ranging from two to five times our eventual budget from other vendors. This team came back with a proposal that was commercially realistic and technically credible — and then delivered against it. That alignment between proposal and outcome is not something I take for granted. I have been on the other side of it enough times to know it requires both honesty in the sales process and discipline in delivery. We experienced both.

PROS

Production system that has performed as specified since go-live without remediation work, documentation thorough enough to support internal maintenance, knowledge transfer that left our team genuinely capable

CONS

Their discovery process is more rigorous than we were accustomed to and required more preparation from our side than we had initially allocated — but the quality of what followed justified every hour of it

4.5
Overall
4.5
Quality
4.5
Schedule
5.0
Cost
4.0
Communication
Project TypeDigital Marketing
IndustryGovernment & Public Sector
Project Cost$500,000+
DurationAug 2025 – Jan 2026

Questions & Answers

Please describe your company, your role, and the industry you operate in.
As Chief Digital Officer at BlueSky Retail Holdings I oversee technology investment and delivery across our Government & Public Sector operations in Chicago, USA. We are a commercially focused business and our technology choices are always evaluated in terms of their direct contribution to business outcomes rather than technical elegance alone.
What specific problem or business challenge led you to hire this company?
We had a defined product vision for our next phase of growth in the Government & Public Sector market but lacked the engineering depth internally to execute it. The Digital Marketing requirements in particular required specialist experience that we could not realistically recruit for on the timeline our business plan required.
What services did the company provide for your project?
Primarily Digital Marketing, with adjacent work in solution architecture and quality assurance. They were responsible for the full build from requirements through to go-live, including integration with four existing systems in our technology landscape. The breadth they covered without requiring additional vendors was commercially and logistically valuable.
Why did you choose this company over other providers you considered?
We had a failed engagement behind us and were more rigorous in our selection process as a result. We asked detailed questions about how they managed scope change, how they handled estimation, and how they communicated problems. The answers were specific, evidenced, and consistent across the team members we spoke to. That gave us confidence that the process was real rather than rehearsed.
How clearly did the company understand your requirements and business goals?
Better than we managed ourselves going in. The workshops they facilitated surfaced assumptions we had not examined and exposed three requirements that were in direct conflict with each other. Resolving those before development began saved us what would certainly have been significant rework later in the project.
How was your overall experience with their communication and project management?
The project management framework was the most structured I have experienced with an external vendor. Sprint planning was tight, acceptance criteria were specific, retrospectives were honest and acted on. The project manager treated the shared backlog as a live document and the risk register as an operational tool rather than a compliance artefact. I never had to ask for a status update.
Did the company deliver the project on time and within your expected budget?
Yes to both. There was a single sprint where a dependency on a third-party API introduced a one-week delay. The team identified it three weeks in advance, presented two mitigation options, and we agreed on an approach that recovered the schedule within the same sprint cycle. That level of foresight is what separates good project management from reactive problem management.
What tangible results or business impact have you seen since the project was completed?
The most direct measure is the performance of the system in production. In the five months since go-live we have had zero P1 incidents, our page performance scores have improved across every Core Web Vitals metric, and two enterprise clients who had cited our previous platform limitations during contract negotiations have since renewed without that objection arising.
What did you like most about working with this company?
The continuity of the team. The engineers who participated in the discovery sessions were the engineers who built the system. That consistency of institutional knowledge across a six-month project has a value that is difficult to quantify but easy to notice when it is absent. Every conversation built on the previous ones.
Would you recommend this company to others, and would you work with them again?
Yes. I would add the context that this is not the cheapest option in the market and they are selective about the engagements they take on. If your primary criterion is price, there are alternatives. If you want a technology partner who can be trusted with a complex Digital Marketing programme in the Government & Public Sector space and will deliver against a serious brief, this is the team.

Smart contract implementation rigorous enough to satisfy both our legal and security teams

Abdullah Al-Shehri / Head of Innovation - Desert Tech Ventures
Verified
Jan 26, 2026

Project summary: Dynamic pricing had been a manual process for years. We knew the revenue management opportunity was significant but lacked the technical capability to build the models and connect them to our booking engine.

The thing that retrospectively seems most significant is how little drama there was. Complex technology projects tend to accumulate incidents, escalations, and tense conversations. This one did not. Problems were surfaced before they became incidents. Scope changes were handled with process rather than conflict. Risks were managed rather than avoided. That level of maturity is rare in my experience and it made the delivery feel almost effortless from our side, which I know it was not from theirs.

PROS

Senior-level engineering presence throughout the entire project, not just during the pitch, honest and commercially fair handling of scope changes, codebase that our internal team praised on review

CONS

We underestimated the input required from our subject matter experts during the requirements phase. The team flagged this early but our resource planning did not fully reflect it — our responsibility, not theirs

4.0
Overall
3.5
Quality
4.0
Schedule
4.0
Cost
3.5
Communication
Project TypeBlockchain Development
IndustryTravel & Hospitality
Project Cost$150,000 to $499,999
DurationMay 2025 – Oct 2025

Questions & Answers

Please describe your company, your role, and the industry you operate in.
Desert Tech Ventures operates in the Travel & Hospitality sector with headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In my role as Head of Innovation I am accountable for the full technology agenda — infrastructure, product, and vendor relationships. We are a commercially driven organisation and every technology decision is evaluated against a clear business case before it is approved.
What specific problem or business challenge led you to hire this company?
Our platform had been maintained by a previous vendor for three years and the accumulated technical debt had reached a point where delivery velocity had dropped to a fraction of what it should have been. We needed fresh engineering expertise and a structured plan to address the underlying issues.
What services did the company provide for your project?
Primarily Blockchain Development, with adjacent work in solution architecture and quality assurance. They were responsible for the full build from requirements through to go-live, including integration with four existing systems in our technology landscape. The breadth they covered without requiring additional vendors was commercially and logistically valuable.
Why did you choose this company over other providers you considered?
A trusted peer in the Travel & Hospitality sector had used them for a comparable Blockchain Development engagement and their recommendation was unequivocal. Our own due diligence confirmed the pattern they described. The combination of domain knowledge, Blockchain Development depth, and demonstrated delivery discipline was the deciding factor.
How clearly did the company understand your requirements and business goals?
Comprehensively. The discovery phase they ran was more thorough than anything we had experienced with previous vendors. They challenged requirements that were vague or contradictory, proposed alternatives where our initial thinking was limiting, and produced a functional specification that our internal stakeholders agreed was the clearest articulation of the product they had seen written down.
How was your overall experience with their communication and project management?
Professional and efficient. The project manager maintained a clear view of the critical path at all times and communicated changes to it transparently. The one significant scope adjustment we made mid-project was handled through a clean change request process — fairly priced, clearly documented, and absorbed without disrupting the overall timeline.
Did the company deliver the project on time and within your expected budget?
The project landed on time. The budget was managed within the agreed ceiling, which included one client-driven scope addition that was quoted fairly and handled without affecting the original delivery stream. The discipline around budget transparency throughout meant there was no surprise at invoice stage.
What tangible results or business impact have you seen since the project was completed?
We went live four months ago. User adoption exceeded the target we had set by 23 percent in the first month. Support ticket volume has dropped measurably. The features we had deferred because the previous architecture made them prohibitively expensive to build are now in development. The platform they built has opened our roadmap.
What did you like most about working with this company?
The continuity of the team. The engineers who participated in the discovery sessions were the engineers who built the system. That consistency of institutional knowledge across a six-month project has a value that is difficult to quantify but easy to notice when it is absent. Every conversation built on the previous ones.
Would you recommend this company to others, and would you work with them again?
Absolutely. With a specific note that the value starts in the discovery phase — clients who approach that process with seriousness will get the most from the engagement. We invested appropriately at the front end and the returns are evident in what was delivered.

Best technology partner we have ever worked with

Yuki Tanaka / CTO - Digital Future KK
Verified
Apr 24, 2025

Project summary: Our company needed a reliable technology partner to deliver a complex project within a tight timeline.

The level of professionalism and technical excellence this team brought to our project was remarkable. They managed a complex, multi-stakeholder engagement with ease, kept all parties aligned, and delivered a product that has already exceeded our KPIs. Their attention to detail, willingness to go the extra mile, and genuine care for our success made this one of the best vendor relationships we have had in years.

PROS

Excellent communication, high-quality deliverables, on-time delivery, proactive problem-solving

CONS

None — every aspect of the engagement exceeded our expectations

5.0
Overall
5.0
Quality
5.0
Schedule
5.0
Cost
5.0
Communication
Project TypeIndustry-Specific Solutions
IndustryConstruction
Project CostLess than $10,000
DurationSep 2024 – Feb 2025

Questions & Answers

Please describe your company, your role, and the industry you operate in.
We are a CTO-led organisation operating in the Construction sector. My role involves overseeing strategic technology decisions and vendor partnerships. We have been growing steadily and needed a trusted partner to help us scale our digital capabilities.
What specific problem or business challenge led you to hire this company?
Our primary challenge was modernising our Construction operations through Industry-Specific Solutions. Legacy systems were limiting our agility and we needed a solution that could scale with our growth ambitions and integrate with our existing infrastructure.
What services did the company provide for your project?
They delivered a comprehensive Industry-Specific Solutions engagement covering requirements analysis, solution architecture, full-cycle development, QA testing, deployment, and post-launch support. The scope was well-defined and executed without scope creep.
Why did you choose this company over other providers you considered?
Their demonstrated expertise in Industry-Specific Solutions and a strong portfolio of Construction projects set them apart during our evaluation. The discovery call gave us confidence they truly understood our domain, not just the technology.
How clearly did the company understand your requirements and business goals?
Exceptionally well. They ran a structured discovery process, asked insightful questions, and produced a detailed requirements document that captured nuances we hadn't even articulated ourselves. That foundation made the entire project smoother.
How was your overall experience with their communication and project management?
Outstanding. We had a dedicated project manager, weekly status calls, a shared project board, and same-day responses to queries. There were no surprises — risks were flagged early and resolved before they became issues.
Did the company deliver the project on time and within your expected budget?
Yes, the project was delivered on the agreed date and within budget. Their estimates were realistic and they managed scope carefully, flagging any potential changes before they impacted the timeline or cost.
What tangible results or business impact have you seen since the project was completed?
Significant. Since go-live we have seen measurable improvements in operational efficiency, customer satisfaction scores have risen, and the solution has already paid back a substantial portion of the investment. The team built something we are genuinely proud of.
What did you like most about working with this company?
Their genuine investment in our success. They didn't just execute a spec — they brought ideas, challenged assumptions, and cared about the outcome as much as we did. The quality of the codebase and documentation also stood out.
Would you recommend this company to others, and would you work with them again?
Absolutely and without hesitation. We have already referred two colleagues, and we are actively scoping the next phase of work with them. They are our go-to partner for Industry-Specific Solutions projects going forward.

Exceeded all expectations — highly recommended

Sophie Dubois / Innovation Lead - French Digital SARL
Verified
Oct 14, 2024

Project summary: The project demanded deep technical expertise and a thorough understanding of our business domain.

This was the smoothest technology project we have ever run. The team's expertise was evident from the first technical discussion, and their ability to translate complex requirements into elegant solutions is remarkable. They kept us informed at every step, flagged risks early, and delivered a high-quality product that our internal team is proud to maintain. Their ongoing support has been equally impressive.

PROS

Deep technical expertise, professional project management, responsive support, great value

CONS

Wish we had engaged them sooner; no meaningful issues to report

5.0
Overall
5.0
Quality
5.0
Schedule
5.0
Cost
5.0
Communication
Project TypeCybersecurity
IndustryConstruction
Project Cost$10,000 to $49,999
DurationNov 2024 – Feb 2025

Questions & Answers

Please describe your company, your role, and the industry you operate in.
We are a Innovation Lead-led organisation operating in the Construction sector. My role involves overseeing strategic technology decisions and vendor partnerships. We have been growing steadily and needed a trusted partner to help us scale our digital capabilities.
What specific problem or business challenge led you to hire this company?
Our primary challenge was modernising our Construction operations through Cybersecurity. Legacy systems were limiting our agility and we needed a solution that could scale with our growth ambitions and integrate with our existing infrastructure.
What services did the company provide for your project?
They delivered a comprehensive Cybersecurity engagement covering requirements analysis, solution architecture, full-cycle development, QA testing, deployment, and post-launch support. The scope was well-defined and executed without scope creep.
Why did you choose this company over other providers you considered?
Their demonstrated expertise in Cybersecurity and a strong portfolio of Construction projects set them apart during our evaluation. The discovery call gave us confidence they truly understood our domain, not just the technology.
How clearly did the company understand your requirements and business goals?
Exceptionally well. They ran a structured discovery process, asked insightful questions, and produced a detailed requirements document that captured nuances we hadn't even articulated ourselves. That foundation made the entire project smoother.
How was your overall experience with their communication and project management?
Outstanding. We had a dedicated project manager, weekly status calls, a shared project board, and same-day responses to queries. There were no surprises — risks were flagged early and resolved before they became issues.
Did the company deliver the project on time and within your expected budget?
Yes, the project was delivered on the agreed date and within budget. Their estimates were realistic and they managed scope carefully, flagging any potential changes before they impacted the timeline or cost.
What tangible results or business impact have you seen since the project was completed?
Significant. Since go-live we have seen measurable improvements in operational efficiency, customer satisfaction scores have risen, and the solution has already paid back a substantial portion of the investment. The team built something we are genuinely proud of.
What did you like most about working with this company?
Their genuine investment in our success. They didn't just execute a spec — they brought ideas, challenged assumptions, and cared about the outcome as much as we did. The quality of the codebase and documentation also stood out.
Would you recommend this company to others, and would you work with them again?
Absolutely and without hesitation. We have already referred two colleagues, and we are actively scoping the next phase of work with them. They are our go-to partner for Cybersecurity projects going forward.

Company Info

Founded 2012
Employees 2 - 9
Hourly Rate $150 - $199
Client Rating 4.6/5 (6 reviews)

Rating Breakdown

Quality
4.5
Schedule
4.6
Cost
4.7
Communication
4.5

FAQs

Would Enliven be a good fit for an early-stage startup?
Generally, yes — companies like Enliven tend to work well with startups because of what they typically offer: MVP builds, product strategy input, architecture that can scale later, and dedicated teams that keep costs manageable while still moving fast. For context, it has experience across industries such as Automotive, Construction, Travel & Hospitality, Government & Public Sector and Agriculture, and its listed capabilities span Smart Contracts Audits, Unity 3D Game Development, iPhone App Development, Mobile App Design and Custom Software Development.
What does Enliven's actual delivery process look like week to week?
Enliven generally runs something close to a standard structured process — requirements gathering, UI/UX design, development in agile sprints, QA testing along the way, deployment, and support once it's live. For context, its listed capabilities span Smart Contracts Audits, Unity 3D Game Development, iPhone App Development, Mobile App Design and Custom Software Development, and its average project cost is reported at $5000000+.
Can Enliven take on an old, outdated system rather than starting from scratch?
Modernizing legacy software is usually within scope for a firm like Enliven — re-platforming, refactoring old code, and moving things onto current frameworks or cloud infrastructure without necessarily rebuilding everything from zero. For context, its listed capabilities span Smart Contracts Audits, Unity 3D Game Development, iPhone App Development, Mobile App Design and Custom Software Development, and it has experience across industries such as Automotive, Construction, Travel & Hospitality, Government & Public Sector and Agriculture.
What's the easiest way to actually get in touch with Enliven?
Most businesses reach Enliven through its website, a direct email, or a contact form — any of which works for discussing what you need, booking an initial conversation, or asking for a rough estimate. For context, it has experience across industries such as Automotive, Construction, Travel & Hospitality, Government & Public Sector and Agriculture, and its listed capabilities span Smart Contracts Audits, Unity 3D Game Development, iPhone App Development, Mobile App Design and Custom Software Development.
What kinds of industries has Enliven actually built for?
Enliven has delivered projects across a range of different industries, including Automotive, Construction, Travel & Hospitality, Government & Public Sector and Agriculture.
Can I just hire developers from Enliven to sit alongside my own team?
Usually, yes — a dedicated developer arrangement is a common option with firms like Enliven, where you get engineers working exclusively on your project as an extension of your in-house team rather than as a separate outsourced unit. For context, its listed capabilities span Smart Contracts Audits, Unity 3D Game Development, iPhone App Development, Mobile App Design and Custom Software Development, and it has experience across industries such as Automotive, Construction, Travel & Hospitality, Government & Public Sector and Agriculture.
Is Enliven more of an offshore setup or a local team?
That depends on where Enliven is based and who they primarily serve — some firms like this operate fully offshore, some are local-first, and plenty run a hybrid model that mixes both. For context, its listed capabilities span Smart Contracts Audits, Unity 3D Game Development, iPhone App Development, Mobile App Design and Custom Software Development, and its typical hourly rate is around $150 - $199.
What kind of software work does Enliven take on?
Enliven typically covers the standard range of software development work — mobile apps, web platforms, custom internal tools, UI/UX design, cloud infrastructure, AI integrations, and larger enterprise builds. Its core focus areas include Smart Contracts Audits, Unity 3D Game Development, iPhone App Development, Mobile App Design and Custom Software Development.
Does Enliven actually build with AI, or just talk about it?
Plenty of modern software teams, Enliven included, now build real AI and machine learning features — chatbots, predictive models, computer vision, and automation that goes beyond simple rule-based scripts. For context, it has experience across industries such as Automotive, Construction, Travel & Hospitality, Government & Public Sector and Agriculture, and it has been operating since 2012.