Where do you look for exceptional software development agencies?
If you're launching your startup or a new project or your previous vendors don't have the capabilities or capacity, there are plenty of avenues to explore, in this article I’ll try to give you a comprehensive guide about all the different options with their benefits and downsides.
Summary
Size of the European development market
There are around 30.000 software development agencies all across Europe. One of the challenges is there’s no one comprehensive database where you can find all of them and evaluate them through a unified criteria.
Even if there was a list like this, who has the time to look through this many agencies? You’ll quickly get overwhelmed with all the options. Most of us would want to kick start our project tomorrow with a partner we can trust with a good cost / value ratio.
Challenges in Choosing
Ambiguity in agency positioning is common. While many agencies offer broad services, partnering with those specialising in niche industries or technologies will most likely produce superior results.
If you want to change the colour of a button on your website, you don’t need an exceptional team, your cousin can do that. But, if you’re working on an innovation project, where you need thought partners and industry experts - you can’t risk going with a wrong partner.
I talk with agencies on a daily basis and if you dig deep enough, 95% of the time their main value proposition in the CEE region is that they’re cheaper compared to other regions (US, Western Europe).
My favourite positioning is a team of 15, whose main technologies are:? "Angular, React, Vue, Node, Python, Java, .NET, or whatever you happen to need…"
If everyone claims to be cheaper than the others, then comes the question: how does an agency get selected by the client instead of the others?
Partner selection is skewed to be biassed
According to our data, over 60% of the collaborations are built through referrals and previous work relations. This is a people business, people buy from their friends and ex-colleagues.
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Only a bit more than 25% of the clients we talked to took the time and effort to search for agencies based on their personal requirements. I would always encourage you to look for different alternatives, even if you’re sure that you’ll work with a referred agency - having 3 options to choose from and to compare can only be beneficial for you.
Also worth mentioning that agency’s sales people have literally no chance of winning a project through cold calls, it’s nearly impossible to catch the right account at the right time and connect with the right contact, rather they should look to build genuine connections and act as a trusted advisor.
Online Listings and Directories
Online platforms like Clutch , GoodFirms , Sortlist , UpWork offer directories of development agencies, promising a shortcut to finding the best partners. However, the sheer number of listings - and digging through them - can be a problem in itself.
Many top-tier agencies opt not to list themselves on online lists, viewing it as a matter of pride or exclusivity.
Consequently, decision-makers risk overlooking these talented teams, and missing out on great partners.
Moreover, the bias of online ratings to manipulation through paid advertisement undermines their reliability as sources of objective information, casting doubt on their utility in informed decision-making.
Exploring Blogs and shortlists
While individual blogs and agency websites offer personalised insights into potential development partners, they are also often used for self advertisement.
I would urge you to be cautious with these listings and only treat it as credible sources if you personally know and trust the author, otherwise you're better off with the long listing sites.
Seeking Referrals & Leveraging the Network
Requesting referrals from trusted colleagues and industry peers presents a obvious avenue for partnership discovery, offering a shortcut to reputable agencies and saving time in the search process.?
Despite their convenience, referrals often come with inherent biases,? people will? tend to refer friends, leading to subjective views that may not align with objective evaluations of agency capabilities.?
Furthermore, the limited market visibility of referrals confined to local & personal circles risks overlooking superior agencies resulting in locally optimal choices.
Exploring Industry Events
Industry events present an opportunity to engage directly with development experts, offering insights and connections that can inform the decision-making process. Meetups, conferences, tech summits, retreats, masterminds and business workshops are just a few examples where you might be able to talk to devs, architects or c-suites and gain valuable insights.
During these interactions, you should be cautious, distinguishing between sales pitches and authentic insights. It can be more worthwhile to connect with experts such as event speakers instead of the salesperson / CEO, to avoid biassed information and make more informed decisions.
Utilising Google Search
While browsing Google offers a ton of information, sorting through what's real and what's just marketing BS demands careful judgement. I believe it combines the downsides of long listing sites with millions of results and biased results through advertisements.
To streamline the search, I would advise you to use specific search terms like "List of Django development agencies in Warsaw". But even with specific searches, they usually loop back to platforms we've already talked about.
Leveraging Agency Partners
By now we should be on the same page that finding your ideal development partner is no trivial task. In a next article I’ll discuss our agency selection criteria of how to evaluate you potential partners once you found them to increase the probability of success of your project.?
If you get stuck with your search, Agency Partners can help you out. We’re constantly monitoring the European development market, looking for top-notch boutique development agencies you’d want to work with - only about 2% of the agencies get into our private network.
Tell us about your requirements and we’ll match you up with 3 of the best agencies with a personal recommendation within 3 days.
Business Development | Client Success Strategist | Growth & Market Analyst | Sales & Project Management
3 个月We're also looking for exciting projects! Let's connect and discuss how we can collaborate further.
Highly experienced IT professional / Sales and Marketing expert looking for a new role.
6 个月- excellent article, well done. ;-)
Highly experienced IT professional / Sales and Marketing expert looking for a new role.
6 个月The map in the article is unfortunately incorrect. There is no way there are 10,000 + development agencies in the UK. As an example, Manchester is supposed. on Clutch, to have over 50 mobile app development agencies. There are actually only about 7 or 8. The rest of the entries are overseas firms misrepresenting themselves as "being in Manchester" to get business, which, of course, they won't. The whole situation is a minefield and if you don't know what you're doing, my advice is to talk to someone who does.
Highly experienced IT professional / Sales and Marketing expert looking for a new role.
6 个月It's all smoke and mirrors. Firstly, you can use Clutch to check customer feedback: a lot of it is made up. Someone's cousin did it. ;-) Secondly, you can look for local companies using Google or Google Maps, in case you feel the need to be ale to visit them - surprise ! The "Manchester" company which is right on your doorstep is a virtual office, a postbox rented for ￡20 a month by a company in Ahmedabad. Thirdly, you could look at prior clients mentioned on the website, but most of them are either tenuously connected or made up. Even if you do find a reasonable looking development company, bear in mind that there is a lot of staff churn in the software industry and the results from 18 months ago may not represent the company now - staff move on. The solution is to grow a trusted network via attending events, developing a range of contacts and consultants and taking advice. The biggest mistake you can have is to choose the wrong software vendor, they will tie you in absolute knots. Oh yes. That company in Manchester ? Ask where their developers are physically located, and whether or not they are direct employees or merely subcontractors. You may be surprised.
The secret tech-team behind funded startups | Idea to Exit Product Partner | Co-founder at VeryCreatives
6 个月Using Clutch is an excellent way to get international visibility. It costs money, though, and you should spend some money on marketing anyway.