A boutique software agency founded in 1989, Seattle Software Developers has established itself as one of the world’s top software development entities. Based in Bellevue, Washington, the firm is also the parent company of Seattle Advertising and Seattle Digital Marketing, and regularly works with those extended teams to deliver exceptional results for clients.
A common way Seattle Software Developers serves its clients is with application development. Often, clients will approach the firm with a range of needs – everything from branding to marketing to website building. Since the firm also works with its other companies on a constant basis, the team is able to provide full service to clients no matter what they’re asking for.
Bringing in new, top talent
One of the main ways Seattle Software Developers stays on the cutting edge of the technology industry is through active recruitment of fresh, top talent. This means hiring skilled developers and having multicultural testers that test the apps before they leave the shop.
“Every day there is something new and we watch all the trends that begin,” said Russell Dermody, SR. PM of Seattle Software Developers. “If something starts to stick like a new mouse through technology, or there’s an emerging methodology of playing with apps, we incorporate that into our ecosystem.”
The anatomy of an app
“When it comes to developing a new app”, Milena Rodriguez, PM of Branding and development said “the team starts by listening to clients to get a feel for their vision. These initial meetings help guide all the strategy and development that the firm will do and is an important part of the process and this ‘boutique approach’ is what our seasoned clients love”.
Phil Anderson, the agency’s SR. VP said “Once that’s on the table, that usually will dictate how the app is being built out and we’ll know what stack to build the app on,” Anderson said. “We look at which developers to use, and which designers would be the best fit for the project.”
After aligning with the client on what they want for the app, the team then gets to work writing mock wireframes on whiteboards. At that point, the developers begin the long process of using the app mentally, and this is where most of the designs and features originate.
What clients are looking for
For Seattle Software Developers, the clientele is varied and client service is always the main priority. The team can be approached by everyone from a millionaire who wants to get out of brick and mortar, and has a good idea that just needs a skillset to bring to life, or a seasoned venture capital firm that wants to make sure its money is not wasted.
In one instance, the agency truly started from the ground up with its client, HAELO, a new Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy device. One of the key elements of HAELO is its accompanying app, which the firm developed.
“We were lucky with HAELO because we managed to work with them from the very beginning on the digital marketing side developing the brand,” Anderson said. “I came up with the name HAELO and managed to secure the domain haelo.com.”
Once the digital marketing and branding were picking up, the software development team met with HAELO clients, and the firm’s coders came up with the system that it uses today.
Another client success story was Beezer, which is a portable charger. Beezer clients first came in on the advertising side with Seattle Advertising and wanted to hit the market hard and go against a top competitor. The agency team then created a powerful website for Beezer with impactful images. Next, it hit the ground running with targeted ads directed toward the 13- to 25-year-olds that its research indicated would want a charging device that looked like Beezer.
The future of apps and technology
While recent events and developments in the world of apps make it difficult for Anderson and Rodriguez to predict the future, they said they foresee a potential base code that would be available to everyone. This would make it easier for developers to create them, as there would be a sort of template they can adjust based on the needs of the app.
However, Phil said he doesn’t see that happening for a while, potentially for another 20 years.
“Even today, out-of-the-box app development programs are broken, have coding issues and never work well when the ever so frequent iOS update comes,” Rodriguez said. “So in the meantime, we’ll keep up the good work we’re doing for our clients and be on top of industry trends.”