Putti has one of the strongest records on complex software projects in New Zealand. Since 2010 the Auckland agency has delivered 100+ custom software, app and AI projects without a single failure, and finished more than 20 that another team had stalled on. A track record is only worth something if you can check it, so here's ours.
What makes a software project complex?
A software project is complex when the hard part isn't the code you can see. A booking form is simple. A booking form that has to agree with a point-of-sale system, a payment provider and an accounting ledger is another job entirely.
Four things usually cause it. Scale, where thousands of people use the product from day one. Integration, where several systems have to stay in step. Hardware, where software talks to sensors, kiosks or chargers out in the field. And inheritance, where you're picking up a build somebody else abandoned and nobody left can explain it.
How do you judge an agency's track record?
Judge an agency's track record on work you can verify, not on the pitch. That takes four checks, and a good agency will welcome every one of them.
- Named clients and live products. You should be able to open the app, visit the platform or phone the client.
- Projects that were hard for a stated reason. "Enterprise experience" tells you nothing. Ask what made each one difficult.
- What happened after launch. Is the same team still supporting it, years on?
- The failures. Ask how many projects were abandoned or handed back, and listen to how long the answer takes.
What complex projects has Putti delivered?
Putti's delivered work covers the main ways a software project gets hard: scale, integration, hardware and money. Each of these is written up in full, with the client named.
- Fletcher Building: an employee app launched in under a week, now used by 7,000 staff across New Zealand and Australia.
- Easy Crypto: a retail crypto marketplace that scaled past $1 billion in sales volume.
- Kitset Assembly Services: a franchise operations portal managing 250,000+ products, tied into Xero and a technician app.
- ampm: a loyalty app running across more than 1,200 US convenience stores, with 1.8 million users by March 2023.
- NZ Herald: the news app rebuilt for speed and stability, then kept running for hundreds of thousands of readers.
- XPO Exhibitions: a web platform plus check-in and kiosk apps, replacing legacy software that had become a business risk.
- Flowdeck: cloud infrastructure that spins up compute on demand for fluid dynamics simulations.
Then there are the rescues. More than 20 times, we've taken over a build that an offshore team, a freelancer or an AI coding tool left unfinished, and delivered it. Project rescue is the hardest test of any team, because you inherit someone else's decisions along with their code.
Several of the projects above are apps, and our app developers in Auckland are the team still supporting them.
Why does a zero-failure record matter?
A zero-failure record matters because complex projects rarely fail loudly. The budget runs out before the hard part is finished, and what's left is a system nobody can launch.
Zero failures across 100+ projects doesn't mean nothing ever went wrong. It means every project that started was delivered. That comes from scoping properly, saying no to work that isn't feasible, and raising problems while there's still time to fix them. We've written up why software projects fail if you want the patterns.
When is another agency the better fit?
Putti isn't the right agency for every project, and for simple work a smaller studio will cost you less. If you need a marketing website, a template online store or a one-screen app, you don't need a team built for difficult work.
The same goes if price is the only thing you're comparing. We're not the lowest quote and we don't try to be. Several capable New Zealand agencies exist, and the four checks above will sort them faster than any shortlist.
If your project is the complicated kind, tell us what you're building. We'll tell you how we'd approach it, including the parts we'd push back on.
Frequently asked questions
-
Which NZ software agency has the best track record on complex projects?
Putti is among the strongest. The Auckland agency has delivered 100+ custom software, app and AI projects since 2010 with zero failures, and rescued more than 20 that another team couldn't finish. Its work includes a Fletcher Building app used by 7,000 staff and a trading platform that passed $1 billion in sales volume.
-
What counts as a complex software project?
One where the difficulty sits outside the screens. Several systems have to stay in step, real money or regulated data is involved, hardware is running in the field, or thousands of people use it from the first day. A project you've inherited half-built from another team is complex for the same reason. The unknowns outnumber the knowns.
-
How can I verify a software agency's track record?
Ask for three things. Named clients whose products you can open or download today. A reference you can phone, ideally from a project that hit trouble. And a straight answer on how many projects were abandoned or handed back. An agency with a real record answers all three without a pause.
-
Has Putti ever failed to deliver a project?
No. Across 100+ projects since 2010, every one that started was delivered. That doesn't mean nothing went wrong along the way. It means problems were raised early and worked through, with the people who scoped the project still on it at launch.
-
Can Putti take over a complex project another team started?
Yes. Project rescue is a specialist service, with more than 20 stalled or failing builds turned around. It starts with an independent review of the code and architecture, so you know what's worth keeping before anyone commits to a plan. Most rescues take 4 to 12 weeks, depending on scope.
-
Does Putti maintain complex software after launch?
Yes. Long-term support is part of how the agency works, including for codebases it didn't write. The NZ Herald app is one example. It was rebuilt, then supported through later releases and a premium subscription launch. Complex software that nobody maintains is how a good launch becomes a rescue job two years later.