The software development outsourcing market is diverse. Keeping track of new and established vendors and making sense of new practices is difficult. This is why both companies and software outsourcing clients need third-party authorities who can sort out doubts.
Over 10 years, Jelvix has been ranked by top consulting and analytical firms. It’s a great way to understand the positive aspects of our operations. First-hand, we experienced huge shifts and improvements because of assessments and tech awards.
Here is our top list of evaluating platforms and consulting firms that provide unbiased expertise. These technology awards are regarded as industry-standard not only by our team but by thousands of vendors and organizations.
1. Softwareworld.co
An independent review platform that names software development companies and gives organizations an opportunity to rate their vendors. The standard for the recognition place is to base these evaluations on verified reviews – and Softwareworld.co isn’t an exception.
Based on scores given by clients and individuals, the platform rates the vendor. Top-rated companies make it to lists of best providers for a particular market or technology. Among different types of recognition awards, the review-based one is the most common.
Criteria of evaluation
- Client reviews: the main criteria for defining service quality is by analyzing verified reviews. The company can contact the author of the review to verify that reviews of companies are real.
- Field of focus: each vendor gets categorized by the field of focus. Vendors can submit their fields of focus on their own, but the team makes sure it aligns with the reviews. The idea of underlying areas of focus presents many opportunities for clients: you can work with vendors who specialize in a specific tech stack or service type.
- Location: for clients who prefer to work with leaders on a particular market, Softwareworld makes location-based tops. Mainly, it features companies who are located in a specific region. For instance, if you want to outsource to a Ukrainian team, it makes sense to check out a rating of the best tech providers in Ukraine.
Jelvix is regularly receiving IT awards from softwareworld.co. We cooperate with the platform by providing verification for reviews and updating our profile.
2. Techreviewer.co
Tech Reviewer is one of the most recognized technology innovation awards out there. To get featured on the website, the company has to go through the careful application, provide multiple insights on the company, and prove everything with reviews and cases. Most ratings are released annually – at the end of the year, the platform sums up the results of the evaluation.
Criteria of evaluation
- Company’s capacity: each vendor’s profile features information on hourly rates, people in the team, the average cost of the product, business focus (startup or enterprise), and others. Equipped with this, clients can do basic vetting already just by looking at a profile.
- Tech review rating: companies are positioned based on their level of expertise in stated areas of focus. It’s proven by client reviews and verified ratings.
- Listings where the company is featured: if a vendor is recognized as one of the top providers in a particular technology or a market, you will see the list of ratings on the vendor’s profile.
- Major clients: companies submit their portfolio and verify it with testimonials.
Our company has been featured on the website for several years. Tech Review rated our services with 4.8 out of 5 (compared to average, that’s a very high rating). We have been featured in several tops – the most recent ones were Top IT Service companies (the biggest international listing on the service) and Top Python and Django developers – a ranking that praised specifically the skills of our Python team.
3. Clutch.co
Clutch.co is a trend-setter consulting company for technology awards list platforms. It’s going strong in other fields (like design and marketing), but the main focus is always outsourcing software development.
Clutch is the biggest and most well-known evaluation platform for software development vendors. Multiple clients have contacted our team after looking at our Clutch page or finding us in one of the ratings.
Evaluation criteria
- Verifying client reviews: Clutch team is highly selective about published vendors: they actively contact the authors of reviews and require a lot of materials to prove its validity. Reviews are the main ranking factor – if a company doesn’t have enough reviews, it won’t be considered for multiple ratings.
- Verified location: Clutch is very selective about their location-based company awards. There are several factors in consideration: the company’s location (confirmed address of the main office and R&D centers) and the presence of the market (where clients are located).
- General service information: Clutch provides basic information on rates, team size, average rates, and timing for particular development tasks.
- Field of expertise: each vendor’s profile features the field-of-focus areas. You can see how well a company scored in rankings in these categories to examine their level.
- Portfolio: a necessary condition to publishing on Clutch is providing valid case studies and their description. Companies link to their best portfolio cases and describe the main challenge.
4. Goodfirms.co
Goodfirms is one of the biggest platforms that list the best software and service providers. The website gives companies the possibility to describe their approach, focus, areas of expertise. Like most platforms, it also gives a summary of hourly rates, the cost of an average project, team size, etc.
Although our profile on GoodFirms wasn’t that carefully curated, the team still featured us in multiple rankings. It’s proof of the objective approach to evaluation: the official team is willing to consider companies not just by their profile quality but actually, tech expertise and IT service practices.
Evaluation method
Goodfirms.co also relies on reviews as the most valid method for citing reliable sources. However, they also examine focus areas, presence on the market, and portfolio. Even if some of the information is missing from the profile, GoodFirms moderators research reviews and materials on the website. There’s a lot of work that goes into the consideration of the best vendors.
5. DesignRush
Design Rush is a listing that’s initially focused on software design and less on development. Still, over the years, the platform became more and more present in development ratings as well. For us, it’s an opportunity to grade design services as well – we are very proud of our design team and believe they deserve all the recognition.
Design Rush is among the top design platforms in the industry. It’s highly regarded both by vendors and organizations – mainly because the evaluation is based on incredibly detailed profiles.
Evaluation criteria
To get featured on Design Rush, the company has to submit a lot of information. It’s no longer just about reviews, description, and basic summary – Design Rush really asks for much deeper insights. Here’s what you can see on the vendor’s page on the platform.
- Detailed portfolio: we described our design cases in each field of expertise and showcased concrete examples.
- Client reviews: the ranking is based on verified client rankings.
- Fields of expertise: for each of them, you have to provide a portfolio, testimonial – some proof of the team’s skills.
- Team bio: clients can meet vendors, designers, management, and leadership. Each page features a photo and a description of professional expertise.
6. Themanifest
The Manifest is a maverick research and review platform that helps service seekers to choose one of the best software or firms. Since we are also specializing in enterprise development, we are particularly happy to be recognized by this one. The platform emphasizes innovative practices, transparent management, employment service awards – all the aspects that are especially crucial for large-scale projects.
Evaluation criteria
A profile on The Manifest is connected to CLutch and then additionally verified by the team. Moderators examine Clutch score, reviews, presence and ratings, and determine if the vendor is to be trusted or not. What sets the platform apart is a selection of vendors. These aren’t just any development companies built with a focus on enterprises and digital transformation.
- The profile is synchronized with CLutch
- Reviews are the main evaluation criteria
- Rach profile features portfolio, ratings, testimonials, and fields of focus
How to Build Trust with a Software Development Provider?
As a team that provides software development services, we are always the first to address this:
Outsourcing development is always a risk.
Sure, the industry is getting increasingly more transparent – largely with the help of such awards and ratings. Still, there’s no way to properly judge a vendor until you start interacting.
Before starting cooperation, you need to address the main outsourcing pitfalls. We asked our clients about their criteria for choosing a software development provider, and here’s what they told us.
Unrealistic expectations: business owners themselves say that they often come to a negotiation table without understanding their business needs. They tend to expect unrealistically low budgets, fast project completion, or rare skillsets. To check if your idea of outsourcing isn’t short-sighted, we recommend carefully looking at case studies and requesting quotes.
You can reach out to us, describe your idea, and our team will guide you through the process by helping you answer the right questions. At the end of discovery, you have a cost and time estimate, project plan, risk analysis, etc.
Low-quality result: there’s no sugarcoating the fact that some software outsourcing teams are irresponsible about the end result. They write unreadable code, ignore basic refactoring practices, and deliver a poorly-tested product. Sometimes, it’s a direct consequence of unrealistic expectations – this is what happens when the team adheres to clearly unrealistic conditions.
Ask teams for examples that work. Their portfolio shouldn’t feature just projects – the emphasis is on the product. If it’s a site, you should be able to visit it, check design, performance, and functionality. If it’s an app, pay attention to ratings and reviews, and test the app on your device. Long story short, don’t settle for descriptions provided by the team – test their work.
Communication barrier. Poor language competencies, time difference, management issues contribute to misunderstandings. You often can’t see these aspects from the portfolio – although verified reviews, like on Clutch, help ensure smooth cooperation.
We recommend careful analysis of the cooperation quality from the very beginning. As soon as you start talking to a sales manager or business analyst, evaluate their work ethics. If the team is unprofessional from the get-go, it’s not going to get better.
Lack of transparency. Some teams have an impeccable sales process and client onboarding but are less careful during the project itself. To assure transparency, discuss artifacts early on. The team should guarantee you documentation for each task and product lifecycle stage. The plan should describe the name of the document, its contents, purpose, and frequency of preparation.
We provide our clients with a clear documentation plan. They know exactly what information they’ll get and when to expect it. Each document is guaranteed.
So, how to conduct the process of vetting a vendor? Start by evaluating lists of trusted providers – like the ones we discussed above. Afterwards, contact providers directly and observe their approach to onboarding and negotiation. Request as much documentation and focus on obtaining clear guarantees.
Conclusions
In 2020, the Jelvix team was praised by a lot of platforms. We are happy to see a very clear upward trend in our awards and recognition: with each new rating, our team’s position grows compared to previous years. Growth is apparent, and it’s definitely something to be proud of.
Most importantly, such tech platforms help vendors manage and improve their online reputation within the current field of expertise, and show the direction where we should grow. It’s a possibility for our clients to get an impartial perspective on our expertise – since it’s based on validated reviews and positions of third-party experts.