Remote working has never been as critical to survival as it is today. Before the Coronavirus pandemic forced most of the world into lockdown, organisations were beginning to more widely embrace remote working, making every effort to understand the benefits and flexibility that it brings. It’s fair to say that the past ten years have seen attitudes to remote-working shift from intolerance, to open-mindedness, to acceptance, and now, through this pandemic, remote working is actively encouraged. Living through an epidemic, we see the adoption of remote working practices now viewed as a necessity for both personal and financial existence.

There is no getting away from the fact that the twenty-first century is technology-focused, with many organisations prioritising the development of their in-house technology and software, with a view to both retaining their best people and setting themselves apart from their competitors. The growing acceptance of remote working means that software can be developed anywhere in the world for anyone in the world. Technology today enables the easy location and evaluation of specialists, matching expertise to the requirements of a specific job; it’s that easy.

Research firms suggest that there are currently more than 21 million developers worldwide, with an estimated 10% working remotely full-time and up to 50% working remotely part-time.

Those that work from home will recognise the greater flexibility that it gives them—with many recouping hours in their day from time saved on stressful commutes. As an employer, you get to choose your experts from a sizeable pool of talent located anywhere in the world, with no requirement to relocate your workers.

Building software for your business. Support is out there, but where to start?

Developing software is essential for any business that wants to stay ahead of the game, but knowing where to start and who to turn to for support can feel overwhelming. Whether you are looking to create a mobile application that assists your contractors or a web-based application that showcases your product, we’ve listed some key considerations that will provide your organisation with some software development-based direction. Ask yourself the following five questions:

What business challenges am I facing? 

Software can be developed to solve a multitude of problems that comprise employee management, operational efficiency, inventory management, and upscaling, take time to think about what obstacles you would like to overcome.

What are the frustrations of my team?

Use the knowledge and expertise of your team to help you understand what processes they would like to see improved and what they feel holds them back in providing a great product or excellent user experience. If you are a sole-trader and thus, without a team, you can utilise your market information—analysing data will help you to understand a problem and begin to build a solution.

What is my goal?

Be sure that your goal is solution-focused and serves to overcome the problem that you have. Your software development solution should be just that. Creating a list of needs versus wants will help keep you on track while allowing you to manage any budget limitations that you may have.

What do I know about already-existing solutions?

When you are thinking about building software or having it made for you, it’s worth researching whether there is an existing solution on the market, one that a software development expert might adapt or integrate to suit your needs. Is your idea linked to User Interface (UI), or User Experience (UX)? What are your views on its features, adaptability, and scalability? You can help your software developers by understanding the mechanics of your business.

What do I want my software developer to know?

Communication is critical—software development teams can work only with the information that you give them. You can write it down, sketch it out, or use one of many whiteboarding platforms, whatever you are comfortable with, but vital to the build of your software will be telling your developer how you expect things to work.

Many software development service providers can offer you guidance on software development and provide on-demand development teams to build software that enables new business processes or improve existing ones.

Is it possible to successfully manage external developers? What are the benefits of developing an externally functioning network?

Choosing to partner with dedicated software development professionals that have been outsourced by your software development provider does not have to be challenging. Coordinating your in-house and external development teams is essential to the smooth running of any Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), and here’s how you can do it in five easy steps:

• Assign a project management tool that you are at ease with
• Establish accountabilities and ensure the teams understanding of them
• Prioritise regular communication across internal and external teams
• Ascertain a healthy balance between staying involved and allowing your professional teams to develop your software expertly
• Agree on a timeframe in which you will review progress against set milestones

Outsourcing your software development often speeds up the build experience; it frees up the time of your internal management team, reduces hiring time, and saves you money.

How can Bitboxx help me?

We don’t expect you to have all the answers. Bitboxx can advise, guide, and help you find experts to build your software based on your requirements. Our years of experience mean that we can support organisations of all sizes in finding specialists that will build software development solutions that will last.

For a commitment-free conversation, guidance or support, feel free to contact us.