Steadfast in 2021: Redefining the Software Development Agency
When 2020 began, few of us had any idea of what was coming. We saw the world changing, ecommerce and other digital industries thriving, and more businesses seeing the value in being online. 2020, the Covid pandemic, and its associated lockdowns kicked that process into high gear. As we enter 2021, we want to examine what we became in 2020, and what we see for 2021.
First, some context: Steadfast was founded as a product and technology consultancy in 2018 with the goal of helping businesses achieve their technology goals and move confidently into a digital marketplace.
Over the last three years, we have helped clients across a variety of industries level up their technology. We’ve built products, streamlined processes, and provided much needed insights. In that time, we’ve learned a lot about what it means to be a trusted partner, from finding the best solutions for clients to transforming paper businesses to digital powerhouses.
In 2021, our goal is to continue this work, while also bringing our learnings to a wider audience, sharing our experience and insights wherever they can bring the most value.
Lately, we’ve started to bristle at the title of “software dev shop,” something often associated with cheap, sloppy code from offshore developers.
In our experience, software firms come in a couple of flavors.
The first flavor is the major firm, staffed with hundreds of engineers charging enormous amounts. While the work is thorough, well researched and designed, with exceptional end products, that level of service simply isn’t affordable for ninety percent of businesses. That’s not us, and honestly, we don’t want to be.
The other flavor is the true dev shop: a small to midsize outfit, often outsourced, that can build what you want, but in order to maintain margins, the code is pumped out and the products are utilitarian. As a small firm, it would likely be easy to fall into this kind of mentality, garnering as many clients as possible, and firing off solid, if somewhat bare bones, projects as quickly as possible. That’s just not our style though. We care too much.
Obviously, these are the ends of the spectrum, and plenty of firms fall in between. Yet, when the average surf shop or boutique or shipping firm or [name your business here] looks for software development, these extremes are what they tend to see. One level of service is simply too expensive, and the other just doesn’t provide what they really need.
So in 2021, our goal is to redefine what it means to fill the role of a technology consultancy, while maintaining our purpose of working to bring clean, effective technology to businesses that need it. Here’s what that means for us:
Inform. We want to be a trusted source of technology education and information to anyone looking to understand what they need. This means extending our knowledge and expertise beyond our direct conversations. Over the next few months, we will be engaging in a number of ways to provide thoughts and expertise, technical and nontechnical, on all sorts of topics related to tech and business.
Partner. We don’t just want to build what our clients ask for. We want to fully understand their businesses, their goals, and their customers, to devise products and solutions that truly revolutionize our client’s businesses.
Sherpa. Empathy is only the first step. Our job isn’t just to provide the equipment and point the direction. As a technology consultancy, we want to be involved every step of the way, guiding and iterating, so that our clients reach every new milestone. One point on this: We’re selective about our clientele for this reason. If we’re going to go on a journey with you, we want to make sure the fit is right.
Be the Best. Our goal is to have the highest quality at all times. That means not just using the best available tools and technologies, but making sure that the people who are providing advice and doing the work are the best in their field.
2020 was a tough year by nearly every metric. 2021 is the time to learn from what was already happening, sped up by the pandemic, and now more important than ever.
This is why we exist.
We want to help you find success, and we believe that technology is almost certainly the solution.
Stay tuned to this blog (and our social media) for more insights, education, and random thoughts (and memes! Gifs! Other things the kids do… like dances? I could probably get our founder to do some TikTok dances… Working on it now). If you’ve been thinking about how technology can help your business or bring your ideas to life, reach out to us here.
We’re looking forward to all the incredible unexpected things coming 2021. We hope you are too!