How to choose the perfect software house to work with?

The support of external software houses instead of internal IT departments is already a standard for many corporations, start-ups, and SME companies. Software houses in Poland, according to Clutch, are already more than 900. How to choose the perfect software house to cooperate among them? Today we will point out 8 criteria that you absolutely must check before making a decision and contract.

Portfolio and case studies of IT projects – local and international

The experience and reputation of a software house are evidenced not only by the number of implementations in its portfolio. The range of operations is also important. Pay attention to whether the IT company you choose has a track record of cooperation on both local and international projects. Providing IT outsourcing services to different countries means that the team is versatile, competent, and has experience in different markets. A broad, international scale of operation is the best way for a programmer to grow.

When reviewing an outsourcing company’s portfolio, check whether the company has carried out a project similar to yours. The specifics of the IT industry also allow you to verify the integrity of the implementation. You can easily find out whether a given application or website actually exists and works. Check out our portfolio of IT projects at Speednet and see what it should look like.

Positive ratings and reviews on Clutch

Often the choice of a software house is determined by friends’ recommendations and customer reviews. The easiest way to learn about a company’s reviews is to look at its business card on Google. In addition, customer testimonials companies boast about on their websites and in case studies.

However, you will find the most reliable and objective software house evaluations on the Clutch platform. It was created to facilitate the search for IT business partners from around the world. It contains specific data compiled by independent analysts, numerous case studies, reviews from clients, and information on industry trends. Our average rating on Speednet on Clutch is 5.0/5.0 – thank you!

Perfect software house team seniority

Definitely, the turnover of employees in many technology companies hinders the development of their business. A constantly changing team will not be able to guarantee smooth work and harmonious communication. 

Fortunately, in the case of Speednet, the average seniority of programmers is 5 years. This assures both us and you that we are entrusting tasks to a group of well-rounded and experienced professionals who work for an established company. It is also a guarantee that you will do the project with proven people on time.

The size of the in-house team

The experience and reputation of an IT outsourcing company are also determined by the number of its employees. For example, in Speednet we have 220 IT experts. It is worth finding out how many of them work full-time, and how many are employed as freelancers. In addition, the larger the team, the more likely the greater and more varied experience of programmers, able to handle projects of varying degrees of sophistication.

The easiest way to find out? Go to the profile on LinkedIn of a particular software house and see how many people they employ. You can even get to know these people there – perhaps the company showcases its top specialists in posts or on a blog. Beware of fake accounts – the number of employees of an IT company, shown on LinkedIn, may differ from reality by 20/30%. 

Experience of programmers in software house

If a software house makes information about the qualifications and experience of its staff available on its own initiative, it means there is nothing to hide. For example, individual and team portfolios of programmers involved in the projects of a given IT company are important. It’s also good if the software house is transparent about what percentage of programmers are employees just learning and gaining competence.

In our case, 64% of the programming team are seniors – you can rest assured of the quality of your project’s care, knowledge, and years of experience.

Programming languages and technologies well known and used in software house

Increasing competition in the market of IT services companies prompts their owners to expand their offerings, which is not necessarily followed by their quality. For example, if a company offers to work with a myriad of languages and technologies, this can be a warning signal to us about overly broad promises or the use of subcontractors.

Too low a price

Once you have analyzed the portfolio, the offer, and information about the software house’s team, the price may be the deciding criterion. The lower, the better? Definitely not, especially in the context of software development.

Too low a price may mean that:

• the company is hiring too many juniors,
• the pricing was prepared on the basis of an overly general brief, which did not include important details, and the final cost will increase anyway, but at subsequent stages of the work,
• the service of testing the emerging software was not taken into account,
• underestimation occurred and there is a risk of abandoning the order or renegotiating the price later.

Quality of communication with the project manager

The last of the eight most important rules for choosing an ideal software house is to verify the manner and quality of communication with programmers, as well as the project manager, responsible for your order. It is worthwhile to determine at the beginning of cooperation:

• how we will communicate,
• how often we will be informed about the progress of the work,
• what is the speed of response and answers to our questions,
• whether our project will be supervised by a dedicated and experienced project manager.

Remember that cooperation with a software house is not just commissioning a specific service. Here, partnership counts, and the partner should try their best to understand our business. Thus, sharing any suggestions and tips also comes into play. Usually, an IT specialist who actually cares about our success (or not) is able to influence (positively or negatively) the course of the whole project.

Do you already know how to choose the perfect software house for your IT project?

Following the path of these 8 most important points will allow you to immediately eliminate IT companies with which cooperation may prove to be an unprofitable risk and to decide whether it is better to develop an in-house team or actually transfer these tasks to an external, dedicated IT team. 

Do you already know which software house meets all the criteria listed? Perhaps it is our team at Speednet – if so, write to us and learn more about our capabilities!