How to choose a software company in Barcelona

Choosing a software development company in Barcelona is easy to start and hard to get right: there are dozens of agencies and consultancies with similar-looking websites. What separates a good supplier from one that drags the project out is not visible in the portfolio, but in how they answer a few specific questions. This guide gathers the ones we recommend asking before you sign.

The short answer

Choose a company that starts by understanding the business problem rather than the technology, that proposes a measurable pilot or MVP before the full project, that integrates with your current systems (ERP, CRM, email), that leaves you with ownership of the code and the data, and that has comparable cases with companies of your size.

8 questions to ask before you hire

1. 1How will you understand the problem? A good supplier asks to see the real process, who carries it out and how much time it costs today, before talking about screens or programming languages.
2. 2What do you deliver first? Ask for a pilot or MVP with the key functions within weeks, not a fixed project of many months with nothing in production.
3. 3How does it connect with what we already have? Software that does not talk to the ERP, the CRM or email forces people to type everything twice and loses almost all of its value.
4. 4Who owns the code? It should sit in a repository in your name, with documentation and no dependence on the supplier’s proprietary licences.
5. 5What happens after delivery? Ask about support, maintenance, response times and how improvements are requested.
6. 6Where is the data stored? Hosting in the European Union, minimum permissions and GDPR compliance.
7. 7Have you done something similar? Ask for real cases, preferably with a client contact, on projects of a size similar to yours.
8. 8How is success measured? Before starting there must be an agreed indicator: hours saved, errors avoided, requests handled or sales.

Warning signs

• A fixed budget without having seen the process or spoken with the people who use it.
• A proposal centred on the technology rather than on the problem it solves.
• No intermediate deliveries until the end of the project.
• The code or the hosting is registered in the supplier’s name.
• There is no identified technical lead during the project.

Local agency or remote team

Proximity helps in the analysis phase: visiting the company, seeing the process first-hand and having the team around the same table speeds up decisions. After that, development can move forward remotely without any problem as long as there are frequent deliveries and a clear communication channel.

How we work at Ideas más Ideas

Since 2014 we have been developing custom software, apps and artificial intelligence agents from Barcelona. We analyse the problem, propose a solution with a quote and run a pilot to measure the impact before the full project. The code and the data always belong to the client.