In the previous blog, we got a reasonable understanding of how a technology partner helps non-tech entrepreneurs build a successful tech startup. But, the quest to find a good tech partner that fits the purpose is often very tricky and requires to answer some critical questions. So, moving ahead, I am writing this blog to offer insight into what all important things a non-tech entrepreneur must consider before partnering with a technology service provider to make their startup a success. Let’s begin!!!
Looking for a Technology Partner: Here’s What to Consider
What are Your Technology Goals
Before you start looking for a technology service provider, you should draft what exactly needs to be developed and what the deliverable should be at each step of the process. Defining your goals helps the technology partner establish if your goals are realistic and can be achieved without having you to make any false promise to your customers. An honest tech partner won’t shy away from saying no if your requirements are not feasible for the real world.
It’s better to be too specific from the outset rather than facing a situation at a later stage where misunderstanding leads to redoing of the code over and over again to meet your expectations. The more details you provide about your needs and requirements, the easier it gets for a technology partner to do business analysis and be on the same page.
Do they have Expertise and Passion for Technology
For tech startups, it’s paramount to go for a technology partner that holds good experience in providing technology solutions and enjoys what they do. Some sort of research is required at your end to deduce how long and how well they have been faring in the technology market providing solutions similar to your requirements.
Also, you should look for solutions your competitors are providing to customers and what additional features you can provide to create solutions to their pain points. It’s a good idea to conduct a direct meeting with a technology service provider over Skype or face to face, if possible, to know what technology stack they have been using and how fast they adopt new technologies to keep pace with ever changing tech market.
Ask for Demo Product
Well, trusting an independent software vendor blindly could land you in big trouble. Therefore, before entering into a contract with a tech service provider you can ask for a prototype of your app/website. This helps you test and verify their skills and expertise to ensure they are the right fit for your dream project.
Project Management
Since requirements are likely to change with changing times, it becomes very difficult to make changes in a product that was completely developed at once. Therefore, you should go for a technology partner that follows Agile or DevOps approach as they enable developing a product in small iterations and have a working software ready at a very early stage of development. Besides, you can market a feature much faster and continuously build on customer feedback to meet their expectations.
Service Level Agreement (SLA)
Having a service level agreement (SLA) leaves no room for confusion. Both the service provider and receiver know what their responsibilities are and what exactly has to be developed and delivered while maintaining minimum quality levels laid out in the SLA. Metrics for SLA should cover the volume and minimum quality of work, speed, responsiveness and efficiency. Besides, an SLA should define mean time between failures (MTBF) or mean time to recovery, response, or resolution (MTTR).
Duration and Cost
A technology service provider just not shares the technology burden of your startup, but also helps reduce cost and time significantly. However, if you don’t lay out in the agreement the estimate cost and time to build your product, you may get charged higher that you thought or your budget allowed. So, make sure the agreement has the cost and time mentioned along with a provision for negotiating changes in the expected period of time. Read the contract between you and your service provider carefully to avoid any hidden costs.
Do they Test
Having different vendors for development and testing often exceeds the deadline. So, the better option is to choose a tech service provider that can do both product development and testing. When the development and the testing team are at the same place, they coordinate better and make iterations much faster. As a result, you can market your product faster and stay ahead of the competition.
Communication Skills
No matter how technically strong your service vendor is, they would simply not be able to align with your requirements if they failed to understand you. So, communication skills must not be trivialized while looking for a tech partner. The project manager and the team must have excellent communication skills to get a fair idea of even the finest details you share with them, be it spoken or written. They must also be able to raise queries and ask for information in clear terms to avoid delays in decision making.
Location of Technology Service Provider
Apart from skills and expertise, you should also take into consideration the location of your technology service provider. Since different locations have different government regulations, facilities, business environment, availability of resources, etc., you should go for the one that best suits your business. Countries, like India, have already become very popular for having software development outsourcing companies owing to the ease of cross-border business, abundance of resources and the ability to effectively adapt to different cultures.
After Sales Support
A software vendor that offers after sales support is always a better option since you may require to make changes or improvements after the release. So, post-production support should be in your list while looking for a tech partner.
Data Security Regulations and Intellectual property
Personal data security has become a big concern across the globe. So, choose a technology service provider that agrees to comply with the existing personal data regulations, like GDPR for European Union members. Also, agreeing a vendor upon signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) ensures to keep your confidential information/data safe. An ideal technology service provider uses the latest security protocols for data transmission and sharing, and codes the solutions using the latest security standards.
Conclusion
There are myriad of choices available when it comes to finding a technology service provider for a tech startup. Still, choosing the right technology partner is very tricky and confusing for non-tech entrepreneurs. However, if you carefully consider the tips I have discussed in the blog, you can protect yourself from making a wrong decision and adversely impacting your business. A right technology partner means time and cost saving while getting a top notch product developed to shape your dream idea into a reality.
Why Evon
Evon Technologies has over 10 years of experience in IT consulting, app development, web development, QA and testing, custom development, enterprise integration, offshore product engineering, application migration and application maintenance. Evon was a startup itself when incepted, therefore understands the pain points and struggles of a startup. Our expertise and passion for technology drive us to provide innovative technology solutions to all our startup clients, with the sole intention of bringing them desired growth and high ROI.
If you are looking for an offshore technology service provider for your startup, get in touch with us. Trust us, we won’t disappoint you. You can even test and try Evon before going into complete development and testing of your product.
What else, apart from already discussed, do you think one needs to consider before going for a tech partner? Which country is your preferred choice for finding a tech partner and why? We value your views, please share them in the comment box below.
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