The Best Software Development Companies in India

How To Choose a Software Development Company in India to Partner With

Step 1: Define Your Project Objectives

Before you start looking to outsource development to a software company from India, you need clarity regarding your project. The company you hire needs to figure out how to accomplish what you want, but it’s up to you to spell out the what. At the very least, you should be able to answer the following:

1. What problems is the software meant to address?
2. What features should the software have?
3. What will the end-users get?
4. Who is the ideal target audience?

To make it more clear, let’s say you are starting an eCommerce website that sells toys but users still can’t order and pay for goods. Your answers could be:

1. The inability for users to connect their credit cards and pay for goods.
2. The software should enable users to order goods and connect to a payment processing platform; the software should be usable directly on the website and have a mobile app.
3. The end-user should be able to fill their carts with one or multiple items, select their preferred payment method, and order the goods to be shipped to their desired address.
4. Parents and guardians of children between 3 – 10 years of age; people looking to purchase presents for children between 3 – 10 years of age.

You’ll notice that these are just bare-bone answers for a hypothetical project. Thus, the more details you know, the better. Yet, this is the type of foundation that you can start from. The first three questions relate to the software’s functionalities, while the last one is important for design in general, as well as UX/UI design.

Additionally, you should have a timeframe for the project in mind as well as the phases. For example, how many months after development starts the product should be available for testing, when the MVP will be ready, and when the completed software will be out.

While you can start negotiating with software companies before you have a developed plan at hand, it can unnecessarily stall your project. Even worse, you may choose a company that doesn’t meet your requirements because you didn’t know what you required to begin with. So, it’s highly advisable to make the plan. Then, it’s on to step 2.

Step 2: Reputation, Portfolio, Case Studies

Now it’s time to begin your search for software companies. The first thing is to filter by reputation. Check their social media, any social proof the company puts out, and, more importantly, check their reviews on independent review platforms. This step can be a time-consuming process, so be prepared to dedicate a few days to perusing companies.

Or don’t. We’ve done this part for you. All the software development companies in India on this list have stellar reputations, so you can skip this part if you so feel. Regardless of whether you used our list or created your own, the next step is to check a company’s portfolio and case studies.

These documents show what specific projects a company has worked on. This shows demonstrable experience and is the best measure of what a company is capable of. If you find a company that has worked on projects similar to yours, you can be relatively certain they would be a match from an expertise standpoint.

Step 3: The Company’s Specializations

In case you can’t find a company from India that has experience with software development projects like yours, that doesn’t have to be the end. There are many, many types of software projects, so it shouldn’t be too surprising if you can’t find a company with that specific type of experience. In that case, check out what the company specializes in.

Once again, their portfolio and case studies can help, but also take a look at what they state they are best at. It should be clearly displayed on their website. But don’t stop there. Go to LinkedIn (or other social media) and examine their senior employees’ profiles. That should give you a good estimate of the level of expertise the company can offer.

If you find a good match, excellent. However, try not to go too high or too low with your expectations. For example, most custom software development companies can build a mobile app, even if that’s not their primary focus.

On the other hand, if you need a cryptocurrency payment platform, then you should insist on hiring a company that specializes in blockchain technologies. To put it simply – the company you hire needs to be specialized to the degree that your software development project is specialized.

Step 4: What Is the Company’s Structure and Approach to Project Management?

Up until now, we’ve discussed how you can gauge a software company’s tech expertise. But that’s not all that’s required for successfully executing a software development project. Particularly when you are choosing a software development company in India.

You should understand the company’s structure and what approach they take to software project management. Outsourcing software development can be boiled down to two models:

• Staff augmentation – when you lease a developer to work on your project together with your in-house team.
• Project teams – when you hire a dedicated team to work on your project, where the management of the project is left up to the company you hire.

Why is this important when choosing a software development company in India? For one, let’s say a development company employs staff with all the expertise your software project requires, but they only do staff augmentation and you have no in-house team of developers.

That means that even though they have the necessary knowledge, you likely can’t have them all working on the same project because they have other obligations. Staff augmentation is meant to fill a skill gap within a company, not create a fully functioning team. Otherwise, you’re hiring a project team.

However, if you are hiring a project team, then the management of the project is left up to the company. This means they need to have project management personnel and employ effective methodologies for it all to go smoothly. Typically, the software company should utilize a type of Agile method, be it Scrum, XP, Lean, Kanban, etc.

The best software development companies in India all use Agile, for good reason – it has proven to be the most effective method of producing high-quality, tested software on time. It’s based on an iterative approach to development and focuses on flexibility based on the client’s input and needs.

The thing is, successfully running an Agile team requires experience. This is why 7 developers, even if they are the best at what they do, can’t simply sit down together, form a team, and run an entire project.

For these reasons, you need to understand how a company is structured, how they work on projects, and what project management approach they utilize. So how can you find all of this out? By calling a company representative and asking them pointed questions.

Step 5: What Is Their Post-Development Support Policy?

Finally, we get to the final step – post-development. In essence, it’s better for the same software company that created the software to maintain it. However, depending on the complexity of the software you need, they could also train your in-house staff to do it. Staff augmentation is also an option.

Regardless of what specific maintenance service you may need, check with the software company you choose what their policy is. Making a plan up-front, even if the end result is that no post-development support will be needed, can save you a lot of headaches down the road.

One Additional Tip

You’re likely looking to outsource development to India in order to cut costs but get high-quality software. While this is a good business move, you should be wary of the cheapest options. Think cost-effectiveness, not upfront costs.

If you hire a company with the lowest rates but that can’t get the job done up to your standards, what are you left with? A waste of time, money, and energy. Make sure the development company you hire has the expertise and experience your project demands, even if that means paying higher rates.

No Indian Software Company Can Meet Your Needs?

This doesn’t have to be the end of your search. While India is one of the largest destinations for outsourcing software development, the world is bigger still. Below, you will find similar lists with the best software development companies from Eastern Europe to Latin America. So take a look and find a company you would like to partner with.