Hiring a custom enterprise software development company is standard practice for businesses that want to keep up with the ever-evolving technological norms in the post-pandemic world. Robust, scalable, secure, and customized enterprise software solutions can make any business more transparent, scalable, and resource-efficient. But, choosing a custom enterprise software development company in the current environment is not easy.

  • Last year, the global custom software development (CSD) services market earned over $60 billion in revenue, a 22% increase in business compared to the previous year.
  •  G2 and Capterra are two popular websites that list/rate custom enterprise software development companies. On G2, there are over 11,000 custom software development companies out of which over 2,000 specialize in enterprise software development.
  • On Capterra, over 1,500 companies provide enterprise software development services.

Choosing the right custom enterprise software development company amidst the sheer number of options can be confusing. In this article, we will discuss nine screening strategies that make the selection process easier. Here are nine ways to select the right custom enterprise software development company that can work closely with your company and develop software solutions that enhance your business growth.

9 Easy Tips to Choose a Custom Software Development Company

1. Enter the Market After Reviewing Your Needs

1st Tip to Choose Custom Software Development Company: Enter the Market After Reviewing Your Needs

To determine whether a enterprise software development company is “right” for your business, you need to first understand your business needs. Only then can you judge whether a software development company is capable of addressing your enterprise software needs. When interviewing custom enterprise software development companies, discuss your key business requirements. Here are some examples.

  • Define the specific functionalities/features that you need your custom enterprise software solutions to have.
  • Discuss your long-term growth plans and clarify whether the company will be able to handle increasing user loads, expanding data volumes, and routine software maintenance projects.
  • Specify any security requirements (e.g., data encryption, user authentication, GDPR/HIPAA compliance regulations).
  • Clarify which existing third-party applications and systems the custom enterprise software solutions need to integrate with.

By defining your business needs before searching for a custom software development company, identifying the right provider will become easier. It will help you to draft realistic timelines and budgets. 

2. Review Their Technical Skills

2nd Tip to Choose a Custom Software Development Company: Review Their Technical Skills

Finding a technically skilled team of developers is the key to developing and refining custom software applications for your company. Ideally, the development company you choose will assign seasoned workers to your project. These seasoned pros should have a diverse set of skills in software development, including:

  • The ability to architect scalable, secure, and maintainable software solutions.
  • Coding skills in Java, Python, C++, and other programming languages.
  • The ability to create centralized, scalable, and secure databases (SQL and NoSQL).
  • Expertise in developing Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that allow your custom software tools to interact with existing systems and services.
  • Strong understanding of cloud computing platforms like Azure, AWS, GCP, etc. for deploying custom enterprise applications in a cloud environment.
  • Proficiency in performance testing, unit testing, integration testing, and other software testing methodologies.
  • Familiarity with Scrum, Kanban, and other Agile development methodologies.

The company you select must also commit to maintaining and updating your custom software solutions in the long run.

3. Review their Market Reputation

3rd Tip to Choose a Custom Software Development Company: Review their Market Reputation

Websites like G2, Clutch, and Capterra offer unbiased info about software development firms. The company you select should have positive reviews on such public review sites. Also, try getting referrals from industry members who have previously worked with the custom enterprise software development companies you are interested in. Leverage their firsthand experiences to make honest assessments about the development companies before you meet with them to discuss your software needs.

4. Prioritize User Experience

4th tip to Choose a Custom Software Development Company: Prioritize User Experience

Developing and implementing custom enterprise software solutions takes months if not years. If the solutions are not user-friendly from the get-go, you will need even more time to train your staff on how to use the software. Hence, “flawless user experience” should be one of the first things you say when a company asks you “What do you want from your enterprise app?”

Clarify that you do not want enterprise apps that are too complex for new workers to use. Ask the developers to involve your workers during the app’s testing and quality assurance stage. Your team should run tests to ensure the user-friendliness of the custom software solutions before they are released.

5. Review their Tech Stack

5th tip to Choose a Custom Software Development Company: Review their Tech Stack

It is impossible to develop professional-grade enterprise apps without the right technology stack. Choose a development team that keeps up with the latest technology stacks and programming tools that are pertinent to enterprise application development. Here are some key components that your custom software development company’s tech stack should contain:

  • Expertise in Python, JavaScript, C/C++, Ruby and .NET.
  • Experience in using Angular, React, and Vue.js frameworks
  • Solid understanding on how to manage, design, and secure SQL and NoSQL databases.
  • Experience in using platforms such as Google Cloud, AWS, and Azure to develop cloud-based enterprise software solutions
  • Expertise in using Jenkins, Git, Docker, and other DevOps tools
  • Expertise in addressing all security/compliance requirements for enterprise-grade businesses
  • Experience in using Business Intelligence tools like Tableau, QlikView, and Power BI
  • Experience in using Machine Learning tools: TensorFlow, PyTorch, and Sci-kit-learn
  • Experience in using Big Data tools like Hadoop, Spark, and Hive

These tech stack components are crucial for developing advanced, enterprise-grade software solutions.

6. Clarify Delivery Time

6th Tip to Choose a Custom Software Development Company: Clarify Delivery Time

Clarify your desired deadline right at the start of the vetting process. Discuss key milestones or deliverables that you need the development company to address along the way. Provide detailed timeframes and avoid ambiguity when discussing time-related details with the company. Familiarize yourself with their custom software development process as well.

Ask how much time they need for each development stage. This includes training and troubleshooting the software. Only work with a development company that can meet your application deadline objectives.

7. Clarify Your Communication Skills

7th Tip to Choose a Custom Software Development Company: Clarify Your Communication Skills

Working with software developers who prefer working in isolation is tough. Yes, you need dedicated coding wizards in your development team. But, these pros should be open to receiving and giving feedback whenever you need them to. Hence, establishing communication channels with the development team right from the start is essential.

Ask the development team to be responsive to your messages. The developers should involve you and your staff in tasks like reviewing prototypes, making revisions to the app, performing bug fixes, etc.

The developers should also be open to adapting to your company’s project management process. This means they should hold meetings, send progress reports, submit deliverables, and provide technical assistance whenever you need it. This includes post-launch support!

8. Scrutinize their Quality Control Measures

8th Tip to Choose a Custom Software Development Company: Scrutinize their Quality Control Measures

Your custom enterprise software development company should offer robust quality assurance (QA) measures. Without these measures, your final products may fail to perform as expected. Here are some key elements of a robust QA process:

  • Clear functionality and performance standards for the custom enterprise app should be set from the start.
  • QA engineers should be involved in the development process and communicate with your team from the beginning.
  • The developers should perform unit testing, acceptance testing, integration testing, and system testing to identify any errors in the software at every stage of the development process.
  • The development company should use automation tools to streamline the testing process and swiftly deliver test cases and test reports.

A strong QA process is the key to delivering enterprise apps that keep improving in quality and efficiency. Collaboration between the customers, developers, and QA engineers from the start is essential to ensure that the custom software meets the desired quality standards.

9. Budget and Cost

Most software development companies promise to deliver cost-effective solutions and flexible budgeting options. But, their flexibility and cost-effectiveness often dissipate 2-3 months into the development cycle. By that time, it is already too late and clients have no choice but to over-spend in certain departments

To ensure that doesn’t happen to you, clarify your budget from the get-go. By that, we mean to clarify how much you are willing to spend during each stage of the enterprise app development process. Here are some key expenses to consider when coming up with this detailed budgetary plan:

9th Tip to Choose a Custom Software Development Company: Budget and Cost

Ensure that this budget plan aligns with the already established project schedule. Submit this detailed budget to your development team. Clarify that the project must stay within the financial limits you have discussed.

Final Take

Unlike regular applications, custom enterprise applications cost businesses a lot of money when they glitch out. Hence, investing in the right custom enterprise software development company is an all-critical decision for new-age business leaders. Use this guide to minimize the risk of getting this decision wrong.

Also, before making a final decision, meet with the workforce of the custom software development company. Learn about their thoughts on the project you all are about to undertake. Make sure that the folks you are about to work with for a long time are likable and passionate professionals who are excited to provide your company with customized software solutions!