Before Purchasing Software You must Know these things

Factors should be considered to choosing the best software company

Having clearly defined projects for your business will be tricky if you haven’t worked with developers before. Isn’t it? Getting clarity easy. But, at the same time, with a software development company, you can even go through a discovery phase and understand how you will build your company better. 

Sometimes there are problems with less responsibility. Software engineers might disappear at critical moments for your project. For companies, it is more complicated and brings damage to their reputation.

So, it’s a must to have faster and easier scaling of your team. Most startup IT service providers can offer additional quality staff in several weeks while looking on your own might take months.

In this phase, we are trying to give you clarity in choosing the best software development firm for your company. You can consider some steps before jumping into software development for your company. 

Research your technical partner before the first meeting

• Existence of the company. Depending on the company’s location, try to check local registries online to find out whether the company officially registered and how long it has been on the market. 
• Review sites. Use them more for finding their clients and projects. Please do not believe all their reviews blindly (the whole industry of writing fake feedback exists). Better contact their recent clients directly. Check their presence if they have Clutch, Goodfirms, and Upwork profiles. 
• Google. Look beyond the company’s website for references. You can use Google operators such as the following: “company name” -site: company’s website. You can access the company website via the following link: -site: the company website and search for detailed information about their leaders.
• It may cover the biography, stages of work, professional qualities, and more. You can find their names depending on their website, LinkedIn profile, or company profile. The same techniques can be applied to Google when searching for the company name. 

 Portfolio discovery

Most materials about choosing the most suitable development company suggest considering those with similar projects. However, we think each project needs a unique approach, so it’s better to check the variety of projects, industries, and expertise. But do not believe everything they say about projects on their website. Instead, check their recent products and ensure you are satisfied with the quality. 

At the same time, find out whether a company has a positive experience with startups because, as we already mentioned, it requires a different approach.

Software development company culture

Along with technical expertise (UX/UI design, software engineering, testing, etc. ), the right partner will also have a strong company culture. It’s not just about the technical side of software development but also the creative side. The quality of work you will receive from an organization is often determined by its company culture. 

Your company’s developers must be closely involved in developing custom business software. When you hire a developer, you welcome them to be a part of your team. Examine their hiring process, team diversity, inclusiveness, and how decisions are made.

 Employer Brand

A software development firm’s image in the global and local tech market dramatically influences how well and fast it can attract tech talent. It relates to the question — of how fast you can scale your team upon demand.

A software development provider with a reputable employer image is less likely to have employee staffing and retention problems. Therefore, reviewing the organization’s employer brand is crucial when choosing IT services for startups.

 Price

All innovative approaches and ambitious claims of companies are worth nothing without appropriate legal protection. Of course, legal documentation may vary from project to project. Still, you should expect the following set that meets international standards: 

• Client Agreement
• NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement)
• Secure Data Storage
• Code Warranty
• Personal access to data about employees who have access to your project information
• Guarantees. For example, Digis offers a two-week free trial and replace the employees if they do not suit your project.
• Application Ownership or intellectual property rights on your product. To avoid any ownership conflicts in your project, make sure you have an explicit agreement with precise wording that follows the law of the governing country.
• GDPR compliance is also vital because, without it, you will not be able to market your products globally
• Security. Ensure the chosen company uses proper security protocols during product development. Ask about their security measures.

Communication

As we mentioned in the beginning, working with a custom application development company is a long-term partnership in most cases. So you should understand each other early in your relationships to ensure a comfortable and streamlined work process.

Along with your shared sympathies, you should consider time zone differences, the language they speak and how well they speak, their communication methods, and how quickly they reply to your communications.

 Transparency

The best software development company should provide you with a transparent process and be honest about limitations, possible delays, and the best solutions. 

Besides checking how they are honest and transparent in a personal meeting, discover public updates on the company’s social media and blog changes. Ensure you will have access to the project files. All these things help you control the project and improve your communication flow.

Agility

As a startup or to grow your business, you need to be able to change your plans fast and with no loss. You must ensure new technologies, scaling, quick updates, switching between multiple pricing models, and more. For now, it is only possible when the agile methodology is used for product development. 

You can verify the team’s agility by asking what methodology they use and proposing hypothetical changes in requirements and their impacts on both costs- and time-wise.

Consider future maintenance and support

Nevertheless, software development is usually a long-term partnership. For example, one day, you might need the provider to have changes to your development.

Therefore, a written agreement must be in place to guarantee software configuration, orientation, customization, maintenance, backup services, and other project knowledge and best practices.

The best partners want you to grow

The best partners do not chase fast money; instead, they understand that they can grow together with you from a long-term perspective. In attrition, it is one of our operating principles. 

A professional shows disagreement and engages in active dialogue. Unfortunately, the best software development teams often violate a famous “customer is always right” rule. They will never add a single feature to your product if they consider it irrelevant.

The alternative is to ask many questions – they can brainstorm on the product’s value, learn about the end-user experience, and suggest changes to ensure it is viable. 

Therefore you should choose agencies that offer complementary services. So to make a final decision, you should consider the company’s unique services and competitive advantages. For example, it may be marketing support, business development, etc.