The technology you use is incredibly important but what really makes a business run smoothly is the team behind the technology. Having experienced dedicated programmers on your team will make your business run better and your life so much easier. Almost every business relies on some sort of technology to maximize productivity. There are so many apps, programs, and custom software that businesses use which can help streamline processes and maximize your ROI. However, as important as these technologies are, the team who builds, maintains and customizes each of them is even more important. What is a Dedicated Programmer A dedicated programmer is hired to work as a freelancer or on a short or long-term contractual basis. You can hire an individual person(s) or work closely with a development company like SDI who has over 225 dedicated staff. You can pay for a seasoned programmer on a monthly basis providing your business with a predictable monthly budget expense. With a dedicated programmer, you can accomplish anything you want on your project without any unexpected additional costs for adding more functions/features. You can usually hire a programmer to complete a project for one fixed price. However, this doesn’t allow you to easily make changes as your business changes and grows. Change requests come at an additional cost so there is not much flexibility. With fixed-price development, the programmer is not dedicated to your business so you are oftentimes less likely to get everything you want to be done when you want it. This approach is less flexible and more time-consuming. The Flexibility There are no limits on what can be achieved when you have a team dedicated to helping you with your business goals. A monthly contract basically means you pay a consistent flat monthly price. You can call up anytime and ask for any changes or anything else you want to be done with your project. It’s also easier and far more flexible to hire multiple people to work on your software. You can add more resources or reduce the number of people you want working without penalty as the project moves towards completion. Pricing and Technology Pricing varies from company to company and person to person. On average, hourly is between $20-$30 and monthly is about $2200. Be careful about the pricing though. You don’t want to focus solely on the pricing. If the price seems too low it’s too good to be true. It is far better to hire dedicated programmers through a development company because you are protected from fraud most likely going to have more options for experience and pricing. You will also have a team of people at your disposal for greater productivity vs 1 person. This can make things much easier when trying to get your project completed. Technology options are another reason why having a team is better. Most programmers have expertise in 1 language, but some projects require more than 1. If your business changes then your technology may change as well. Having the option to just say “hey I need a developer who can build this” is simple and easy. A development company like SDI offers all different types of dedicated resources who can be allocated quickly and for short to extended periods of time. To give you a better idea of how many technologies are out there, here is a quick list. • Java • Windows 8 • HTML • Android SDK • Objective C • iOS • C • PHP • C## • ASP • Joomla • .NET • Laravel • C# • Magento • C++ • WordPress • CSS The programming team you hire should have a minimum of 10 years experience and have a big enough team that offers you the experience and flexibility to accomplish your goals. Dedicated programmers should serve as a seamless extension of your business without the high costs of direct employees. If you are ready to see how an experienced team can help you contact us to discuss your development needs.