How to choose the right software development company?
As a business owner and key decision-maker, if you are in urgent need of developing a software application or build a custom mobile app for your business and time is of essence, software development outsourcing can always be a great solution. We have mentioned several times in our previous blog posts that outsourcing overseas can provide many benefits to business such as costs saving and access to large pools of talents and advanced technologies as well as many others.
The question is how to choose the right custom software development company which can provide the best suitable solutions among thousands of software development companies out there? And sometimes, the biggest and most well-known one might not be the answer. It is indeed a very tricky task and should be performed with caution.
In this post, we examine some of the general points which you will find useful to help with the task of selecting the right software outsourcing partner, as follow:
Identify Specific Business Requirements
First of all, you need to identify all the specific needs for your software outsourcing requirement which would enable your potential outsourcing partner to provide you with the best suitable solution. This is important because a suitable solutions would fulfill all of your specific needs and at the same time provide an estimate which would be as much accurate as possible. This can be done by talking directly to your employees who will use the software application the most and then evaluate the requirements, and pain points to address etc.
Review Technical Skills
The next step is to gather information about the outsourcing vendor. Their skills, experience handling similar projects in the past, team capacity of working with advanced, latest technologies (relevant to your projects), portfolio etc. It’s worth noting that you should look for outsourcing companies that can provide direct communication between you and their developers (or team of developers).
Clients Testimonial
The outsourcing vendor which you choose to work with should be a reliable one with credibility. One of the most effective ways to check your vendor's credibility is through their client base and previous work history. You can check this through past clients’ testimonials/reviews on many B2B directory website or connect with the firm’s existing clients for their opinion and/or recommendation of such a company. Doing so will help provide you with peace of mind and make sure that your potential partner is reliable and a good one to work with.
Budget Cost
Cost is always one of the most important factors when it comes to software development outsourcing. And cost is also just as important as the outsourcing vendor expertise. Embarking on a project with a development cost that is too high wouldn’t yield the desired ROI (return on investment). On the other hand, a project cost that is too low can compromise the quality of the final software product. You should try to enquire several companies and also compare the offered price to market average to have an overview. Offshore development is cheaper than on-shore most of the time. And, do not forget to take into account other additional costs such as set-up, training, and annual maintenance etc.
Project size and scope
Every software development project is different in regard to their requirements, complexity, and scope. Many software projects need to be specifically developed for certain industries such as healthcare, banking, finance etc. which require a certain set of technologies. The same is also applied for some large and enterprise-scale software projects that need advanced technologies to be developed for. The more advanced the technologies and tools, the higher the skills and experience (as well as cost) required.
Some outsourcing vendor only takes on the project of a certain size and some might not take on the project of size that is too small or develop at a price that is too high. On the other hand, there are vendors that can take on many projects ranging from small to large, regardless of size and requirement. Depends on the nature of your projects, you should select the vendor that can meet your specific project's requirements while still maintain within budget.
Development Team
Developers are the people who will directly work on your projects and would make or break it. Thus, it’s important that you verify if they are qualified to perform the jobs required. Also, you should conduct an interview to see if they could be a good match for your project. Development skills and technical expertise aside, the question you should ask is if they are as passionate about your project as much as you are about it. The interview could be online via Skype or any video conferencing.
Post-Live Support and Services:
As you may already know, there’s still a small chance that things might go wrong after deployment. In the case of software application, you need to check if your outsourcing vendor provides technical support and maintenance as well as software updates post-deployment. This helps to ensure 24/7 uptime and avoid any disruption of business which may result in loss of revenue and productivity.
Consulting
Most of the software outsourcing these days provides free consulting in the beginning to help you analyze and have a better understanding of your project requirements. During the session, you should feel free to ask your vendor as many questions as you want to help clear any doubts you may have.
Conclusion:
Choosing the right software development company for your needs is important since they are the key factor to ensure the success of your software project. You should spend time to do thorough research based on the above-mentioned points and hopefully, the research process will result in a solution that can meet all of your requirements.
Endnote:
TP&P Technology is a top-ranked software outsourcing company based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We offer custom software development service for a wide range of industries and business organizations, contact us today to know more about our IT services and see how we can help to solve your business challenges.
