With the introduction of blockchain technology, most companies and enterprises wish to venture into this new domain and explore its huge range of benefits. From offering stringent and rigid security measures to providing access to the digital ledger system, improving data security, and improving transparency and reliability, blockchain apps come with numerous advantages. However, it takes work for enterprises to execute the development project all by themselves, especially since it requires recruiting professionals with needed skills, managing project complexities, and supporting the required infrastructure. Under such conditions, outsourcing the project to a blockchain development company is the most feasible option.
But it is much easier said than done! Choosing the right development company for blockchain technology will have a significant impact on the entire SDLC process. Besides, several other facts will be at stake, which is why you must decide on time. To accurately judge your options, we have compiled a list of questions that you should ask a blockchain development company.
1. What is your experience in blockchain app development?
Checking the experience gained in different blockchain development projects will provide valuable insights into understanding the company’s capabilities and involvement. A seasoned and experienced company will not only have access to a versatile tech stack but also be fully aware of the emerging blockchain and technological trends in the industry.
Furthermore, such companies are often expected to have dealt with clients from diverse domains, like supply chain, finance, fintech, and many more. It proves the ease with which the company can adapt and scale its project development strategies based on specific industry needs.
2. What platforms and technologies do you use as a blockchain development company?
Finding a blockchain app development company with technological excellence is the key to successful project execution and completion. Inquire about the technologies and platforms they are well-versed in and have valuable knowledge of. This will help you deduce whether they can adhere to the specific project requirements and meet the prep-defined goals without any further complications.
Additionally, choosing the right blockchain technology, such as Cosmos, Ethereum, and BNB Chain, will determine the project’s progression in the future.
3. Is there any reference or case study of past projects handled?
Knowing about the company’s excellence in blockchain development is needed more than just a consultation or the information available on the official website. To gain valuable insights into the real-time strategies and plans implemented, you should ask the concerned company about any reference to the past project or case study. It will help you understand the client profiles they have dealt with, the challenges they faced during project execution, and the blockchain solutions they offered. With such widespread knowledge, it will be easier for you to determine if the company can adhere to your goals and objectives without any conflict of interest.
Furthermore, you can also deduce whether or not the chosen blockchain development enterprise will be compatible with the initial project plan.
4. In what ways do you ensure compliance and security?
While blockchain applications offer an enhanced level of security and data transparency, verifying the same with the development company is imperative. Inquire about the steps they implement to remain compliant with the stringent industry standards and regulations. This will help you understand if they can adhere to the company principles and protect your confidential data. Apart from this, it would help if you also asked about the ways they ensure complete security and privacy for the developed blockchain application.
For instance, inquire if they conduct periodic audit checks, implement multi-layered authentication layers, prioritize strong military-grade encryption, and establish a strong, secured foundation.
5. Can you work on custom blockchain app requirements?
One of the most important questions that you must take into account is whether the blockchain development agency offers customized services or not. Often, applications with off-the-shelf features and functional modules restrict scalability in the future, thereby reducing the chances of adapting to changing business goals and objectives. However, a custom blockchain application will not only offer enhanced adaptability and flexibility but also significantly reduce the complications in scaling. You can easily integrate new features or modify existing ones without working on the application from scratch.
Hence, asking about the availability of custom app development on blockchain technology is imperative.
6. Do you conduct QA? If yes, what steps do you implement?
Although most blockchain app development companies perform rigorous testing for quality assurance, it is better to clarify the matter before you make the final call. It would help if you inquired about the strategies implemented for quality assurance testing of the developed application.
Also, ask about the steps incorporated in enhancing the development quality without compromising the progression speed or app performance. It will help you understand if the blockchain app development company considers quality its top priority.
7. How do you manage the entire blockchain development project?
Implementing appropriate project management strategies is the key to successful execution and minimal downtime and failure risks. So, you must ask the app development company if they pay attention to the project execution planning and management or not. For example, ask if they conduct thorough market research and requirement analysis during the planning phase or not. If that’s not the case, it might incur huge complications later on once the development cycle commences.
Also, ask if they follow an agile methodology for blockchain app development or not. Without it, the time complexity will further increase, and there could be significant delays in the overall project delivery plan.
8. Do you perform a risk assessment before starting the development work?
One of the major reasons for blockchain app development project failures is the need for more risk assessment capability. So, ask the company if they are well aware of the probable downtime and outage risks that might happen once the application is deployed in production for real-time use. For instance, maximum occupancy of servers can often lead to sudden outages and increased application downtime.
Hence, the company should pay attention to CPU memory utilization and optimize load time and speed to prevent such catastrophes. Similarly, if appropriate security layers and encryption algorithms are not implemented in place, it might create problems like SQL query injection, DDoS attacks, data theft, and many more. Hence, the blockchain app development company should assess the potential security risks and accordingly plan the development phase.
9. Will you extend post-deployment support services for the blockchain app?
Asking whether post-deployment support is included in the blockchain development services is imperative. If the company doesn’t offer any support service, it might be easier for you to tackle the complications after the successful deployment of the blockchain application. The only solution for such situations will be to hire another blockchain development company specializing in support services. It can lead to an increased budget and several other problems. So, to avoid these kinds of hassles, it would be best to clarify the support offerings beforehand.
From updating new features to deploying security and data patches, there are several sections involved with post-deployment support. You should ask the company about these sub-services in detail to understand if they can meet your specific project requirements or not.
Conclusion
With this detailed discussion, you now have a proper understanding of the key questions to ask a blockchain development company before hiring. These questions will help you gain an appropriate understanding of the company’s technological excellence, capabilities, adaptability, and other factors. Also, it will give you a brief idea of the company’s expertise in developing blockchain applications that have custom features specific to different industries. Ensure to carefully evaluate the answers so that you won’t have to worry about making a wrong decision.