If you’re starting a business in the 21st century, you are almost certainly going to need software solutions to run your business. Even the lowest technology businesses will need websites, accounting systems, billing systems, etc. Consequently, one of the first questions you’ll need to ask yourself is, “Do I need to build custom software or should I license something off the shelf?” We hear this question all the time at CodeStringers, particularly from startups. The company h

If you’re starting a new tech business, finding the right development team can be one of the most important decisions you make. But how do you find the right team? The first decision you’ll need to make is whether to develop in-house vs outsource. Then secondly, if you outsource, you’ll need to decide between an onshore and an offshore development team. We’ve discussed both of those decision points in previous articles. Today, we're going to focus on finding an offshore devel

Because of the benefits outlined in the previous article, software outsourcing has become the solution for many firms worldwide. Software outsourcing also comes in various forms, classified by location, such as onshore, nearshore, and offshore. If you've decided to go the offshore route, the next question is which country is best suited for your offshore software development. This post will outline the criteria for determining which country is best suited to outsourcing your

It’s hard enough to choose between software companies based on their merits, but it’s even harder to choose between them when they offer two different types of contracts. Startup CEO/CTOs probably get a dozen emails a day from software vendors. How will they figure out which vendor will deliver the best quality product at the best price? This article will review just one of the many considerations that go into vendor selection, which is choosing between the two types of vendo

Updating legacy systems or creating new software applications, whether for internal or customer use, often demands substantial resources. While larger organizations possess in-house IT departments capable of handling software needs, many smaller businesses lack such capabilities. Simply hiring IT professionals with the necessary skills can exceed the budgets of smaller- to mid-sized companies. The primary reason most businesses opt to outsource their software development is r

When a prospective client contacts outsourcing partners for software development, they have a crucial question. Beyond the usual "get to know you" questions, this question stands out. “How long will it take to build my software and how much money will it cost?” Outsourcing engagements often turn into nightmares, and this is where it begins. Buyers often realize it months after signing contracts. To explain this, I’ll use an analogy that’s near and dear to my heart, having jus

We have seen two fundamentally different philosophies on how companies interact with their software during years of working with our clients: the first we call project focus, and the second we call product focus. Choosing a philosophy for your business will affect your product, company, culture, and customer experience. Project Focus Project Focus is a methodology that establishes specific, predefined goals along with a clear deadline and budget. In this approach, a software

Beyond the obvious criteria such as technology stack expertise, domain experience, and value, hiring a software development partner (i.e., an outsourcer) is ultimately about trust. For my part, I’ve worked in the software industry for nearly 25 years, but only five of those years have been as an outsourcer. For the first 20 years, I was on the other side of the proverbial table, where I hired and/or worked with many outsourcers. With few exceptions, I found the experiences w

Seems like everyone has an idea for an app these days, but do most of them know how to build that app efficiently, at a high level of quality, and within a reasonable budget?

Vietnam is a rapidly growing location for software development outsourcing and product development...

CTOs and VPs of Engineering - especially those at smaller firms - likely feel overwhelmed when evaluating potential outsourcers. The outsourcing market is more than $90 billion annually, and there are literally hundreds of thousands of firms and millions of individual developers from which to choose. Even the process of creating a methodology to group vendors and assess their skills can be a daunting task. Firms searching for outsourcing partners typically share the common ob