Mobile Events As An Alternative Way To Find Software Developers

While the majority of business people and mobile startuppers look for software development companies online, visiting dedicated events, conferences, exhibitions, remains an alternative, a very effective at that.

You don't know who actually may stand behind a good-looking website; at an event you can meet your potential software contractors in person. You need a respectable company for your software project – and you need more proof than statements on the software company's webpage. And if you are a result-oriented entrepreneur who requires cost-effective remote work, and at the same time values face-to-face communication, a mobile event can become the best solution for a number of reasons.

What Are The Advantages Of Visiting Events?

Visiting a specialized event is an endeavor that pays off with correct approach. You get rid of the obstacles that plague purely remote work, share all of its advantages and gain new ones.

• The companies that exhibit and/or share reports at major IT events are considerable players. The very fact of participation is already a factor of reliability – they are real people, they have the budget to exhibit, they have talents to contribute reports to developer conferences. From now on it's easier to warm up trust.

• You have the opportunity to interview many companies during one event. You have the choice, so use it.

• You communicate face-to-face with your potential remote contractors. Perhaps the biggest advantage stated in favor of in-house teams is the possibility of meeting in person. Here it's shared partially. You meet in person with the key people behind a software company. If meeting in person is one of your priorities, an event is the solution for you.

• Getting to the point takes much less time. If you contact a software company purely online, the first calls are dedicated to getting acquainted and gradually proceeding to your project. How fast and effectively it happens – depends on the experience of the consultant you've contacted. At the event there are no obstacles of distance or awkwardness. You can faster see whether you share work principles to get on well for further productive collaboration.

• You can directly communicate with technical specialists from the company's side. It's much easier to establish a substantial discussion as for the technical side of your project. If there is a technical specialist from your side, it's even better.

• For result-oriented entrepreneurs there's an opportunity to proceed to the project at once. You can come to positive conclusions and discuss the project there and then.

• If the event is local in relation to the company, it makes sense for you to visit the chosen company's office. You may talk to the company's top people, including the CEO.

What Events Are Worth Visiting?

• First, product-related events. If you need a CRM, you go to a CRM-related exhibition. There you contact people who offer CRM solutions – it can be that you don't need to create it from scratch. Instead, they may have a reaymade option that can be customized for your business needs.

• If you are an appreneur who needs a custom mobile product, you may either go to an event dedicated to the major technology that will be used to create your app, or to startup events – software companies often attend startup-related events to look for promising collaborations. As for developer conferences – if you have a technical specialist from your side, such an event can make sense for you.

• There are also outsourcing-related events: there you will find everything you need to know about outsourcing, how it works, how it correlates with your work principles. And a plenty of candidates.

• At last, the world's biggest IT events, such as Mobile World Congress, are divided into departments where you'll be able to quickly find what you are looking for.

How To Be A Winner At The Event?

You are finally there, ready for productive interviews. What should you pay attention to? What questions should you ask? Here's the checklist.

• First take a general look at the company's representatives. Any event is quite stressful for participants, so you can assess how well these people handle stress, how good their language skills are. Good consultants and managers don't advertise themselves. They must do their best to help you find the best solution to your business problem.

• Software companies at IT exhibitions are mostly represented by management staff; yet the presence of a leading technical specialist is invaluable. Managers can tell you more about the company and the industries they worked with, showing product examples in the process. A developer will be able to take a look at your documentation, if you have any.

• Even if you have a full technical specification of your future product, there will be no time for all the candidates to study it. Prepare a simplified, accessible set of documentation with sketches/mockups. The company's technical specialist must be able to take a brief look at this documentation, assess it, envisage the business logic, find possible problematic moments, and voice the opinion that'll be valuable for you. Ten minutes should be enough to study it; full spec can be sent later if you agree on everything else. This is not the place and time to demand precise, well-reasoned estimates.

• Pay attention to the specialization of the company: whether they are leading specialists in cross-platform development, or they have a strong iOS department with high-quality products on App Store. Pay attention to their certifications. This depends on the kind of the product you want to create.

• You can do the usual research you'd do while looking for a contractor online: check the website, take a look at the portfolio, read and watch testimonials, check the company's profiles on freelance marketplaces, wherever they are present: Elance, oDesk, Guru, etc. You can either do it yourself or ask them to provide you with this information.

• Checking the company's portfolio on the web is essential. Yet if the company specializes in mobile development, ask them to show examples of their work on mobile devices, so that you are able to try them out yourself. If there is a product in some way similar to what you need, ask them to tell you more about it.

• Take notice whether they are active participants of other IT events: do they have regular experience? What conferences did they attend? Were they just guests or did they contribute reports? This showcases their expertise.

• Don't stop at the first exhibitor. Since an IT event gives you choice, use it to the full. Form a circle of candidates to choose from. If the event lasts several days, you may form it on the first day. Then narrow it on the second one, have a more extensive talk with the candidates you found the most preferable.

• Don't limit yourself with regions and rates – yet learn as much as you can about various outsourcing destinations. And if you are determined to find a company with an hourly rate of not more than $25, for example, don't neglect those whose rate is, say, $30. The five-dollar difference might mean a serious improvement in quality and reliability – you won't run the risks of building the product twice. If you have a limited budget, they will help you optimize the development and come out a winner. They will consult you and suggest alternatives so that you are able to fit in the budget.

All combined, you receive a one-time expense that pays off. All in all, Skype calls and Google Hangouts messaging don't substitute face-to-face conversations, especially if it's your priority. You'll be able to reach mutual understanding and move closer and faster to the successful accomplishment of your software project. Our company has rich experience of participation in mobile events of various caliber, and we will be glad to answer any questions you might have – or, if you wish, meet you at a mobile event.

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