The benefits of a full-cycle software development company

Whether you are a part of an aspiring startup or an executive at a well-established company, there comes the point in time when you need to take your web/mobile app idea to a software professional and see what it's worth.   

You could look to employ someone with the right skills. This might involve interviewing some software engineers, for each part of the task: Android app, iOS app, the web app, not to mention UI/UX design, marketing, testing. Moreover, you hope everyone you've hired will 'click' as a team to ensure your product is a success.  

Or you could speak to the many software development companies that can offer you all the right resources: a dedicated Project Manager and a team that already know each other and have had experience working together as a team, having proof of efficient collaboration in the app store.  

If you decide to subcontract, you again face a question: do I trust one company to do it all, or do I engage with several agencies? For example, you could hire a reputed branding & design agency to create UI/UX design for your website and app, then let a software development agency do the coding bit, or even trust the web, iOS, and Android apps to different companies. The testing could be carried out by a third party altogether, and further marketing (if necessary) be done by someone else entirely.  

There is no certain answer as to what the right choice is, but both options have their pros and cons. Some of them are listed in the table below.  

Having witnessed both types of projects (subcontracted to a single company vs. subcontracted in parts to a few organizations), we have concluded that partnering with a full-cycle software development agency offers many more benefits. For example, aiding you at the product concept/discovery stage, branding and design, the web & mobile app development, through testing all the way to launch, marketing, and post-launch support. Apart from fully subcontracting all parts of your product development to the external supplier(s), you can always find what works for you. For example, if you have an in-house designer, or, say, a marketing specialist, you can have them collaborate with software partner(s) of your choice working towards the common goal.  

Sourcing your product development to one or more companies is in many ways similar to getting dinner. You may know a restaurant where they serve good wine, another one with a delicious soup, the third one with a mouthwatering main course, and yet another one where the dessert is pure bliss. I doubt one would want to go to a 'restaurant crawl' and visit each of them in turn for their specialty. While that may be the case sometimes, most evenings, you would just opt for a peaceful dinner, all courses in one place.