Since digitalization has become a new normal especially in the past few years. No matter the size of a business, to survive in this digitally-owned era, every business needs to pay attention to its digital growth. From startups to mid-sized businesses and large enterprises, it’s a challenge for businesses to keep their technological game strong. A reputable custom software development company can help you with it.
Who is this Article for?
The reason, why many businesses hire software developers, is because they want a reliable, knowledgeable, and reputable team that can assist them to overcome their business challenges by creating bespoke software solutions adhering to the ever-changing technological world. This article goes exclusively for such businesses that are looking for software developers but still confused about where to start.
This article is not a type of tested formula that is bound to work for every business in every situation, but it’s more of a comprehensive guide to help businesses align their project scope, project goals, and desired results with the core business objectives. Let’s dig into it!
The Software Development Company Outlook
It is important different types of software development and companies exist. Each has its own perks and limitations, business model, and scope. Also, understanding the importance of each type of software development helps you define and align your business goals with the kind of services you are going to have.
Here are a Few Types of Software Development Companies Exist
Onshore: An onshore company that exists in the same country as yours, more likely to be in your city. Working with an onshore company means you can expect them to be extremely professionals, and their costs would be higher. Typically in onshore software development projects, a dedicated team is assigned to a project that contains expert designers, developers, QA managers, a project manager, and an accounts manager. The greatest advantage of working with such a company is communication is a lot easier, and you can also arrange in-person meetings with that company. The normal size of an onshore company varies from 10 – 50 people. Here are a few pros and cons of working with an onshore company:
Pros | Cons |
Communication | Higher in cost |
Hands-on latest technologies | Conflict between teams |
Understanding of customers’ requirements | |
Offshore: Offshore development refers to the development of a software project outside the borders of your business and separated by different time-zones. The biggest positive of working with an offshore custom software development is, they’re considerably cheap as compared to onshore companies. According to a survey, out of all outsourced software development projects, 86% are those which are outsourced to cut operational business costs. A famous myth about offshore companies is, they use low-quality codes, which I think is not true every time and one should not fix this with a business model as it leaves a negative impact on the entire industry.
Thorough research can help you find the right offshore software development company that can help you achieve your desired business goals. Let’s have a look at some pros and cons of working with an offshore company:
Pros | Cons |
Less costly | Poor code quality |
Accurate project timelines | Communication barrier |
Work in milestones | Time barrier |
Note: Offshore company model suits those businesses/individuals who have specified and targeted project scope and goals.
Near-shore: Near-shore development refers to the development of software projects by hiring a custom software development company from a neighboring country. This model is somehow closer to onshore, but border restrictions are still there in this model.
This model has its specific perks and limitations and serves as a good option for those businesses that are already working on a project and need some extra players to join them, so they can get the benefit from their expertise. It is a bit expensive approach as compared to offshore but less expensive than the onshore model. It’s a good example of staff augmentation. Following are some advantages and disadvantages to this approach:
USA’s Neighboring Countries:
Chile, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina.
Note: The near-shore model is the best option for a team of developers who want more players to assist them on an existing project to get it developed. Rather than hiring a full-service offshore or onshore company, this approach can do the job for them.
Hybrid: Some companies have adopted a hybrid approach which in combination with the reduced costs of near-shore/offshore development offer onshore project development and management. The project/product manager (PM) is here in the States with the hybrid model and the production team are near-shore or offshore.
Here are a few benefits and limitations of this project approach:
Pros | Cons |
Suitable for small businesses | Time barrier |
Less costly | Language barrier |
Strong project communication | |
Note: This approach is a great option for small businesses and startups with small teams that look to get development assistance from expert software developers.
Project Scope and Development Cycle
At this stage, a business is required to define the project completely, it can be need to get the project developed, what are the challenges a business is trying to meet with the development of the project, scope of the project, project and budget, and the project’s development cycle.
Many projects fail because of the vagueness in the project scope that can’t be achieved and is more of a fantasy. The project must be realistic and must be aligned with the business’ objective goals. It should sound clear and authenticate so that the developer you hire can get it developed the way you want.
Business owners like to have their software projects developed in short time cycles, so they don’t have to wait longer to implement the solution. Software development companies that offer short development project cycles are likely to win more projects because one of the primary reasons why businesses outsource their software projects are, they want to save their time in doing something more relevant to them and is attached to the core of their business. A project development time must not exceed 3 months.
Project Cost:
A very important factor while setting the project scope is the budget of the project. Most of the times it happens that the budget of the project is much strained as compared to the level of required work, and final deliverables. Projects that are completed via multiple milestones have a greater possibility of getting developed in time and are more successful as everything between the clients and developers is very straight from the beginning of the project.
For example, the cost of getting a mobile app developed varies from $15000 to $50000 depending on the expertise of the app developer. And after development, an app goes through different testing processes that are done by QA managers, their salaries also vary on the basis of knowledge and field experience.
Conducting a Research:
The next phase in this process is to start doing the research work. Up till now, you have an understanding of different software development approaches, you have defined your project scope and development cycle, and the budget you are going to spend on the project keeping aligned with your project’s scope and deliverables.
It’s time to do some research about the companies that have a good reputation in the market and have been there for a while. There are a few platforms that can assist you in your research, for example, Clutch.com, Yelp.com, and Goodfirms.com, etc. You can search for companies according to the type of project you are desiring to get developed. You can find a great list of companies that are in the market for a long time and they have a great clientele.
Initial Assessment: You can get an initial assessment of the companies by looking into their past work, reading their case studies, and their clients’ reviews. Reputation matters a lot when you are looking to hire a custom software development company as it tells the story of a particular company’s past work, the value is added, and how successful was the project they developed. Another good way to get an initial assessment is to get in touch with the company’s BD team and to request some more case studies, their cost quotes to have a better understanding if it’s the right company for your business or not.
Creating a List of Companies: After having an initial assessment of various companies, it’s a good way to make a list of those companies you have shortlisted after the initial assessment. It will help you negotiate with them.
Hiring/Negotiating a Company:
This is the last phase of this process in which businesses negotiate with the most appropriate custom software development company whom they find a possible best tech partner for them. This phase is all about discussing the terms and conditions of work, hours of work, setting the milestones, finalizing the project scope and project budget, and a detailed introduction to the development and project management team.
For a project to turn out successful, this meeting should be very detailed and every question must be answered before putting pen to paper.
Wrap-Up:
SoftCircles is a US-based custom software development company that started providing its exceptional development services back in 2012. We are mainly based in New York and Wisconsin with our other offices in London, Amsterdam, and some in South Asia.
SoftCircles proudly offers an expert and professionally trained workforce who fits in every project. Our expert and energetic team makes every task look so effortless. Over the years our processes have proven enormous success to design and develop software solutions, web portals, and mobile applications. At SoftCircles, we offer the following services:
- Multi-platform Mobile Applications
- Custom Web Portals
- Web Applications
- Custom Software Development
- CMS/CRM Development
- UI/UX Design
- QA Testing
Want to discuss your project? Get in touch.
