In an era driven by technology and innovation, top product development companies stand as a cornerstone for revolutionizing various industries and catering to evolving consumer needs.
As we step into the year 2024, let’s take a look at pioneering companies that shaped the landscape of product development and exhibited a commitment to delivering curing-edge solutions this year. But first, let’s take a quick look at what product development is!
Understand Product Development
Product development is the entire process of turning a mere idea into a successful product, albeit physical or digital, in the market. This process covers all the stages a product may go through, from initial ideation to launch and constant improvements.
5 Differences Between Product Development and Software Development
Many people often have product development mixed up with software development. However, these two concepts have some differences.
First, software development refers to building software solutions, be it websites, mobile apps, or custom software. It includes all relevant activities such as coding, testing, debugging, maintaining, and updating software.
Meanwhile, product development is a broader term that involves the entire lifecycle of a product, from conceptualization and design to production, ongoing maintenance, and even marketing. A product here isn’t limited to software but encompasses other types (e.g., physical goods and services).
One research indicated that the global market for product design and development is expected to expand at a CAGR of 10.08% between 2024 and 2030. Accordingly, we can see a strong growth of intelligent medical devices in this realm.
Comparison Table: Product vs Software Development
To better understand these two concepts, let’s take a quick look at their 5 key differences:
Product Development | Software Development | |
Scope | Include the whole product lifecycle, including market research, concept validation, UI/UX design, post-deployment analytics, marketing, and ongoing support. | Focus specifically on the development and maintenance of software products. |
Focus | Focus on crafting a complete product that addresses your business goals, meets end-user needs, responds to market changes, and generates value. | Aim to deliver the functional and trusted software that meets technical specifications. |
Team Composition | Involve a multidisciplinary team that includes a diverse range of roles like product managers, designers, engineers, and more. | Only involve roles related to software development, such as developers and testers. While product managers and designers can participate in the process, the development team itself is more technical. |
Success Metrics | Success is measured by such factors as user satisfaction, revenue generation, market adoption, and overall product impact. | Success is measured by delivering functional software with minimal bugs, complying with technical requirements, and meeting project deadlines. |
Deliverables | Focus on a finished product ready for market, be it software solutions, physical goods, or service offerings. | Focus on software functionalities and codes. |
Through this comparison table, you may understand software development is a subset of the entire product development.
5 Key Steps of the Product Development Process at Designveloper
In today’s software landscape, software is often a core component of most products.
Many companies now leverage traditional software development as part of a product development process. This can involve using a staff augmentation model, where external developers work alongside your in-house team to create software solutions.
Companies can also outsource a full-stack software development service. This allows them to focus on other aspects of product development, such as marketing and design. So, how does this process work?
At Designveloper, we believe in a well-structured development process that helps build the right product for our clients. Here’s a breakdown of the 5 core steps we follow to ensure a successful product launch:
Research & Ideation
This initial phase is all about gathering meaningful insights to validate your ideas and determine the product’s core value.
If your concepts aren’t fully formed, we’ll offer consultation packages to help realize your ideas. These consultation sessions can be held through meetings, emails, or questionnaires. We even conduct rigorous market research to understand your target end-users, their demands, and even the existing competitor landscape.
Concept Development
Now, when all your requirements are straightforward, we thoroughly analyze and classify these requirements based on their functions, feasibility, and priority.
To facilitate this process, we leverage a library of functionalities we built from previous projects to suggest the most critical features for your product. Also, we even propose the best tech stacks to optimize the product. Besides, we use a wide range of techniques like Pomodoro, Planning Poker, or analogous estimating to predict timelines and budgets for essential tasks in each sprint cycle.
This helps us devise detailed specs for your product and then refine your idea into a concrete concept with well-defined features.
Design & Development
Our design team works meticulously to build a user-friendly and intuitive interface that fits your brand identity well. Meanwhile, the development team handles the technical aspects of the product and develops a robust and scalable solution using the latest technologies (like AI).
For design, we’ll build a preliminary wireframe of your product’s user interface and experience. We also pre-design interface elements (e.g., color themes, icons, or typography) that may be reused in other different situations.
Then, we build MVPs (Minimum Viable Products) to better visualize your product’s user experience and gather early feedback. These prototypes enable quicker iteration and ensure our project is on the right track before starting deep development.
For development, we’ll first find a suitable project/code base structure and define which state management models are necessary. We also reach a consensus on general rules for writing code (e.g., code style or convention).
Then, we classify all the features to identify which one needs prioritizing (e.g., login) based on business goals and dependencies between features. Those relying on others need our first focus and development. For example, we can’t implement a social sharing feature without a user login first.
The development process often involves front-end, back-end, and API integration. We even make a careful plan and preparation for the first seamless release to app stores in this phase.
Testing and Refinement
Before launch, your product undergoes thorough testing. At Designveloper, this may involve three types of testing as follows:
- Unit Testing: test small components of the product to ensure they work seamlessly.
- Integration Testing: test whether different units, components, or modules of the software solution work compatibly with each other.
- User Acceptance Testing (UAT): test the software with real-world users to get the final feedback before official deployment.
In addition to conventional testing methods, we also integrate AI tools into our development process. These tools help us generate test cases and run tests automatically, hence saving us much time and avoiding mistakes during the testing phase. Through testing, we can identify any usability issues or bugs and make proper adjustments. This ensures a smooth user experience on launch day.
Launch and Post-Launch Support
We aid you in preparing documents, studying app store policies, and more for a seamless product launch.
After deployment, our development team also provides ongoing support by analyzing product performance and user feedback for constant updates and improvements. We also integrate the latest technologies into your product if needed based on market shifts, end-user needs, and evolving requirements.
Top 10 Best Product Development Companies
In this list, you can find companies of different niches and sizes, so both small startups and established large businesses will be able to find a reliable IT partner here.
1. Clockwise Software
- Rate: $50 – $99 / hr
- Employees: 80+
- Founded: 2014
- Clutch Rate: 4.9
This company located in Dnipro, Ukraine specializes in JavaScript app development. Clockwise Software has 180+ delivered projects. The company provides several services that are crucial in today’s product development, such as the discovery phase and IT staff augmentation.
Clockwise Software’s developers have experience in many industries, like marketing and advertising, real estate, logistics, and healthcare. Their experts are able to create data visualization dashboards, SaaS apps, online marketplace solutions, booking applications, content-sharing platforms, streaming apps, and location-sharing applications.
This product development company’s biggest clients are Eventbrite, Johnson & Johnson, Knocking, SegmentAI, and KP Technology. Clockwise Software is awarded every year by Clutch, being named among:
- TOP Developers in Ukraine in 2018
- TOP B2B Companies in Ukraine in 2019
- TOP Developers in Ukraine in 2020
- TOP Development & IT Companies in Ukraine in 2021
- TOP React Developers in 2022
Also, Upwork recognized Clockwise as one of the best agencies for 4 years in a row, from 2017 to 2020. In 2023 the company continued to do great work and became one of the most exciting options for custom web app development, staff augmentation, and IT strategy consulting.
2. Vention
- Rate: $50 – $99 / hr
- Employees: 3000+
- Founded: 2002
- Clutch Rate: 4.9
This New York-based software product development company has over 3000 engineers, consultants, and other specialists. In 20+ years Vention opened more than 20 offices in North America and Europe, in addition to NY headquarters.
Among the main services provided are IT consulting, frontend and backend development, UI/UX development, QA and testing, security and compliance, and mobile development. With such a massive team Vention can elevate your app from idea to reality, bringing the necessary set of skills and deep expertise.
The company mainly focuses on fintech, healthtech, eCommerce, edtech, gaming, and cybersecurity industries. Vention is an official Google Cloud Partner, AWS Consulting Partner, and Salesforce Consulting Partner.
Despite its impressive number of employees and offices on two continents, Vention continues to work with small businesses alongside billion-dollar corporations. Among the biggest clients in their portfolio are Doctors Without Borders, Freshly, ZEFR, Class Pass, and DealCloud.
3. Solwit SA
- Rate: $25 – $49 / hr
- Employees: 350+
- Founded: 2011
- Clutch Rate: 5.0
Solwit SA is located in Gdansk, Poland, and is about as good as an offshore product development company can be. Founded by software engineers with 20+ years of experience working in the country’s biggest companies, Solwit SA has over 300 employees and specializes in end-to-end custom software development and application testing.
Official partner of Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, this software product development company is actively using emerging technologies, such as machine learning, IoT systems, and AI, in their work.
Among Solwit SA’s clients are businesses focused on hardware manufacturing, healthcare equipment, retail solutions, waste management, and smart devices. This digital product development company has been known for a long time as a reliable IT outsourcing service provider, and in 2023 became a part of the multinational Alten Group. So, if you want a team of experienced software engineers and testing professionals, now will be the best time to start working with Solwit SA.
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4. Treeview
- Rate: $50 – $99 / hr
- Employees: 25+
- Founded: 2016
- Clutch Rate: 5.0
AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) are among the main tech trends in recent years, and Treeview is one of the leaders in this field.
This Uruguayan product design and development company based in the nation’s capital Montevideo is ranked the best AR/VR developer in Latin America and among the best 10 in the world according to Clutch.
Using the Unity engine, Treeview’s team of engineers and 3D designers created 40+ AR solutions for edtech, healthcare, agriculture, and retail industries.
Some of the prime examples of Treeview’s exceptional work are Newton’s Room app for learning physics, VisionWEARx for diagnosing and treating learning disabilities, and the University of Alberta’s AR platform for immersive learning. With 7+ years of experience and an end-to-end development cycle, Treeview is one of the best options for your AR/VR digital product.
5. EvaCodes
- Rate: $25 – $49 / hr
- Employees: 45+
- Founded: 2019
- Clutch Rate: 5.0
This full-stack blockchain and Web3 development agency was founded four years ago in Lisbon, Portugal, and grew at rapid speed. Now, EvaCodes has headquarters in New York and development hubs in Estonia, Armenia, Ukraine, and Poland.
The main services provided by EvaCodes include cryptocurrency development, smart contracts, tokenomics, fintech products, real estate blockchain solutions, and NFT marketplaces.
In 4 years the company already has 150+ successful projects and has been named the number one blockchain agency in the world by Clutch in 2022. Among the most prominent examples of their work are Ethereum EVM, Crypto Insurance Platform, and Crypto Nomadic.
EvaCodes works with several programming languages (JavaScript, Swift, Python, Go, etc.) and frameworks and CMS (NodeJS, Angular, React, etc.), so you will be able to easily choose a perfect tech stack for your fintech project.
6. Achievion Solutions
- Rate: $100 – $149 / hr
- Employees: 25+
- Founded: 2013
- Clutch Rate: 4.8
Founded in Washington, DC, Achievion Solutions quickly established itself as one of the leaders of AI development. The company worked on numerous government projects, such as transport management software, an NIH grant management system, a patient reporting application, and a compliance system for the oil and gas industry. Other prominent examples include an intelligent chatbot for Just Answer and an AI-powered investment marketplace.
Achievion Solutions mainly works with small and medium businesses, helping them to implement Artificial Intelligence in their operations and improve overall productivity. For the last 4 years, Achievion has been named a top AI development company by Clutch, winning several other awards in 2023.
If you need AI-powered solutions to gain competitive market advantage or solve business problems, consider Achievion due to their extensive experience in various industries and exceptional track record.
7. Mobomo
- Rate: $100 – $149 / hr
- Employees: 65+
- Founded: 2007
- Clutch Rate: 4.8
This US-based full-service agency was founded in 2007 in Vienna, Virginia. Mobomo is known for developing mobile apps and cloud computing solutions, but the main focus of the company is open-source CMS based on Drupal, Ruby-on-Rails, or WordPress.
Mobomo relaunched the website for NASA and won four Webby Awards for their mobile-responsive design. The company collaborated with other government agencies, like the International Trade Association, World Bank, US Navy, and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Today, Mobomo is not only a digital product development service provider, but also became one of the best web design companies in the world, receiving numerous awards from Clutch and being included in the Inc. 5000 list for 9 years in a row. If you are looking for a mobile application or web solution not only with great performance but also exceptional UI and UX, you have to consider Mobomo.
8. PLANEKS
- Rate: $25 – $49 / hr
- Employees: 25+
- Founded: 2019
- Clutch Rate: 5.0
This Ukrainian product development company from Kyiv has been around for 4 years and is now considered one of the best IT service providers working with Python. With only 25+ employees PLANEKS already collaborated with such big businesses as Guinness, WeWork, and MusicTeam.
2023 can be considered a breakthrough year for a company that received numerous awards from Clutch as the Top Python and Django Developer. PLANEKS mainly focuses on fintech, HR, eSport, hospitality, healthcare, digital marketing, and insurance industries.
Also, the company provides staff augmentation services, which can be extremely useful if your project lacks an expert Python developer. If you need an offshore SaaS product development company with unmatched Python expertise, PLANEKS may be the perfect fit for you.
9. ChicMic
- Rate: $25 – $49 / hr
- Employees: 150+
- Founded: 2012
- Clutch Rate: 5.0
This Indian mobile-focused software development company quickly became one of the major players in the niche of mobile applications and games. ChicMic delivered 2000+ projects in the last 11 years. The company’s products were installed more than 80 million times, with 5 apps earning #1 rank.
In recent years, ChicMic branched out to blockchain and NFT development, Web 3.0 solutions, metaverse development, and the PC gamedev industry (game concept arts, asset creations, animations).
This company mostly uses Objective C programming language but also utilizes Swift, C#, and PHP. If you are planning on creating a viral game or mobile application for your business with an eye-catching design and perfect user experience, ChicMic will be able to give you what you need.
10. Zazz
- Rate: $50 – $99 / hr
- Employees: 250+
- Founded: 2011
- Clutch Rate: 5.0
This American digital agency has 14 offices around the world with 275 team members working there. Zazz mainly focuses on IOS and Android app development. Besides, the company also provides product strategy consulting services and develops web applications, smart TV solutions, AR/VR solutions, and IoT apps. The company is an official partner of Microsoft, Google, Apple, Amazon, SAP, and Roku.
Zazz primarily focuses on healthcare, hospitality and leisure, and fintech industries. Among the most well-known apps developed by them are Mindset, Settlyt, Roundup, WeCare, and Frenzy.
Zazz mostly works with Swift and Kotlin but their engineers also have experience with Java, Python, PHP, and other programming languages, so deciding on the perfect tech stack for your app won’t be a problem. Overall, if your business is in need of a high-quality mobile application, Zazz should satisfy your needs perfectly.
Conclusion
Providing users with the best digital products possible is the key to success in this era of technology. But only top software product development companies can really bring your idea to life. In this list, you can find an IT service provider for any kind of website or application your organization may need to succeed. If you have a clear vision for your product, these top 10 development companies can become a reliable partner for you in 2024.