The statistics are unequivocal: software development consulting is on the rise.
According to the International Data Corporation, a global market intelligence provider, IT consulting providers struggled in 2020 due to COVID-19. However, unlike other businesses, they largely managed to sustain growth thanks to the workforce transformation efforts and the move toward increased automation and cloud-based solutions worldwide.
Here’s the proof: in 2017, the global software consulting market was valued at $157.26 billion. By May 2021, the size of the U.S. market alone had reached a whopping $576.2 billion and a 4.7% average annual growth between 2016 and 2021.
With IT consulting gaining popularity, you may be thinking of hiring software consultants yourself. You could be looking for someone to guide your digital transformation, reduce your product development costs, or help plan and implement your software projects.
In any case, however, it’s important to know exactly what you are getting yourself into before partnering with a software consulting vendor. Managing your expectations is key to ensuring fruitful cooperation and getting the best bang for your buck.
With this in mind, let’s debunk some of the most common myths about software consulting services!
3 All-Too-Common Misconceptions About Software Development Consulting
Zartis is a software development consulting company (among other things). This means our team spends a considerable amount of time explaining what IT consulting is — and what it isn’t — to clients who are new to the game.
Here are three myths about software consulting we hear all the time:
- You get to offload all the work to the software engineer consultants
- Consulting is a one-time service
- You will know everything from the start
The Reality of Software Development Consulting Services
None of the myths above are true. Here’s how software consulting really works:
1. Successful Software Consulting Is Collaborative
Whether you’re looking to design a new product, develop a project implementation plan, or build a digital transformation strategy for your company, you cannot expect to dump the whole workload on your software development consultants and call it a day.
Even the most experienced senior developers will need ongoing insights when it comes to your project requirements and business processes. Building an agile process with short development cycles and feedback loops from day one is the best way to ensure that your consultants understand your changing needs and goals and that everyone is on the same page throughout the partnership.
In that sense, software consulting services have a lot more in common with staff augmentation or extended development than outsourced product development. Both software consulting and staff augmentation involve close and often long-term collaboration between your in-house staff and the remote development team.
That said, there are some key differences between these services. Staff augmentation generally works best for increasing your resources to build specific digital products or to handle ongoing software needs. IT consulting is better suited when you are seeking out expertise in a specific domain or industry such as modernizing your legacy systems, switching from a monolith to microservices-based architecture, or migrating on-premise applications to the cloud.
2. Software Development Consulting Can Be an Ongoing Service
It’s possible that you only require software consulting services for a specific, time-bound project.
However, if you’re like most of our clients, the chances are that you could benefit greatly from recurring or ongoing consulting. Software development can be a complex and time-consuming affair, especially if your business goals also include things such as:
- Staying on top of a certain metric
- Ensuring consistent innovation or modernization
- Maintaining mission-critical applications like customer engagement software
Goals such as these have always been essential for business success but may be even more important during the current pandemic. A well-thought-out and carefully executed digital innovation strategy can help you retain your competitive edge in an uncertain economy.
To achieve that, you may want to consider a long-term partnership with a software consulting vendor. Having access to experienced teams of consultants and software developers on an ongoing basis can make a big difference to your bottom line.
3. Flexible Consulting Arrangements Are a Thing
Not sure exactly what your project needs are? That’s totally fine.
While it’s always good to start with a blueprint and as detailed user stories and requirements as possible, you should keep in mind that in the agile world we live in, things can and do change. A month or two into the project, you may realize that you want to change gears and modify some — or all — of the pre-defined parameters.
The good news is that software consulting is fully compatible with a flexible approach to development. Good engineers and consultants should be able to take into account all project requirements, time-to-market considerations, and your business needs as they evolve and make technical decisions accordingly and without being bound to obsolete pre-conceived plans.
That’s exactly how we do things here at Zartis. Our clients have the flexibility to change things along the way. We are more than happy to accommodate amendments to the design, timeline, and resources needed.
For even greater flexibility, you can also choose between different pricing arrangements, such as:
- Fixed-price contracts: You pay a fixed fee for a specific predetermined deliverable. Any additional services are charged separately and in addition to the original fixed fee.
- Time-and-materials contracts: You receive ongoing consulting services based on your changing needs. The consulting vendor does not charge you for a specific deliverable but rather for the time and resources they spend on your project.
Software Development Consulting with Zartis
At Zartis, we specialize in custom software development consulting based on long-term client partnerships and an extended team model.
Whether you need expert advice on innovation outsourcing, digital transformation solutions, or a legacy software modernization project, we can help. Our software development consultants have extensive experience working on different project types across various industries, including:
- Edtech
- Energy Technology
- Banking
- Fintech
- Medtech
- Telecommunications
- Automotive
- E-commerce
- Travel & Airlines
… and more.
We offer a flexible service that can be scaled up or down, allowing you to tap into the combined expertise of 200+ world-class engineers across the globe.
To learn more about our software development consulting services and how we can help you take your business to the next level, reach out!
