“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.” – Henry Ford
In today’s environment, the software development partnership can be a big help to a lot of businesses. Many software development companies offer a strategic partnership program that is unique and industry defining. However, not all partnerships are successful.
Often founders, CEOs, and managers get confused simply because they don’t fully realize how the software development processes work. Likewise, the software development companies don’t always fully embrace the business part of your requirements. You must find a software development vendor that will enhance and grow your grow revenues significantly.
We already have collated tips to solve the pain points in software development, it’s time to know how a software development partnership with software development companies can benefit your business.
Before you shake hands with any company, it’s necessary going through the process of finding a good provider.
Partnership with a Software Development Company and Its Benefits
- Guides in making sound technology choices
As an owner, you might have the right idea, but without the right technology, you may struggle to transform your vision into action. You can hire a software development company that will assist you with lots of things that includes identifying the ways to make a rich-product in a different development environment. With access to tech experts, you can be assured that your team makes the best technology choice keeping in mind the latest trend.
- Supports in exploring new opportunities
Partnering comes with a different cost of advantages as it offers an opportunity to explore new markets. A development partner can help you in identifying new ways of making the product viable for a new market.
For instance, you might be interested in developing a mobile app for a specific demographic, but to increase the market acceptance we would suggest you go for a progressive web app (PWA). PWA is the lighter version of the native mobile app which offers easy user access in a browser without the need to download the app.
- Offers you an early proof of concept
An experienced software development team can give you an early proof of concept to help you figure out whether your software product is market ready or not. They will help you in identifying the gaps if any to fulfill the objectives of what it was designed for. Your software development partnership will make your product better and future ready.
- Helps in mitigating risks
Security, regulatory and compliance regulations are now the main concerns for any company. Your software development partner will navigate these challenges with assurance to offer you the best-protected solution.
- Post-project delivery support
You will get high-quality post-delivery support, including maintenance, production support and implied warranties with ease and assurance.
Here Are The 8 Tips For an Effective Software Development Partnership
- Look for the partner who understands your business
As a CEO you know it is not only about the code and technology behind the software product. Your software development partner must understand the challenges and new features you are looking for and accordingly help your business to focus on the priorities.
An October 2017 report on MarketingCharts.com shows that B2B buyers said about 27.5% of vendors talk too much about themselves and don’t get to know about the company.
This shouldn’t be the scenario with you. Take into account how they approach you.
- Select the appropriate engagement model
You should consider some new association models with software development vendors. Extended team, managed services and other options which are different from staff augmentation and fixed-price models can be considered. Fixed price projects work well when the budget, scope, and deadlines are predefined. But it rarely happens that all requirements are clearly segmented from the beginning.
Extended or dedicated development team model is an apt choice for long-term projects. You will get a team of professionals entirely focusing on your development project.
- Clearly discuss your security policies
Generally, small-sized companies don’t have well-defined security policies as it needs specific expertise, substantial time and resource investments. If security is crucial for your project, you must talk to a mature company that goes through periodic audits of its security policies and has the required certificates.
The software development vendor should specify the administrative and technical controls which they apply to ensure the ethics, availability, and confidentiality of the information value.
Besides this, you have to make sure that the agreement with the vendor guarantees the protection of your information and intellectual property.
- Compare cultural compatibility
Remember, you need a proactive partner who can cover all of your business needs. So, the team has to be knowledgeable to find the best solution. To build a lasting partnership, you need to make sure that the team’s aesthetic is close to yours or at least they are ready to accept your culture.
For instance, it is not uncommon that the vendors tend to over-promise when it comes to being on the same page with the client. It is seen that the company doesn’t offer the business objective information that can further help to take the final call.
According to MarketingCharts.com report (2017), even after signing the contract around 19.6% of the vendor act more like vendors than partners. 18% of the business accepted that the software development team seems too transactional and not interested in a relationship.
You need to scrutinize and understand their culture so that it will add value to your business.
- Balance time-zone differences
If your partner is in another country, make sure they understand the time-zone differences. It is important for the development team to be aware of the overlap hours with your company. This will help to schedule calls and planning sessions for both the teams to strategize for growth.
- Select a partner for long-lasting cooperation
Now that you have understood what other points to consider, it’s time to select a partner who is ready for long-lasting cooperation. It often happens when the development team stays longer they become the product knowledge holders. This can help you later when you are planning to develop further projects.
- Scrutinize what will motivate to sign the agreement with you
Have you ever thought what will motivate the software development company to sign the contract with your enterprise? Financial gain is not everything when the vendor is looking for long-term cooperation. A client or partner with patience and sound knowledge of technology attracts the vendor. Even if the enterprise is short in technical understanding, the vendor expects cooperation in creating a quality development environment. Good communication is crucial in a stable partnership.
- Check what value the vendor can add to your business
Development is much more than coding. A software development company which offers you different additional services is like a cherry on the cake. We offer additional services like staff augmentation services, digital marketing services, voice technology and many more so that our partner doesn’t have to look for services outside.
A long-term association can be very promising. Unfortunately, a software development partnership doesn’t always work out as expected. Poor communication, delays in responses and payments, lack of transparency- all these factors signal that there is something wrong in the contract. But you should never stop looking for a good partner.
Even when companies are looking for a channel partner, they should find individuals who see value in working with the enterprise.
We hope the above tips will help you to get a fruitful result.
Let us know your opinion and experience with software development partnership. Feel free to comment below.
