Software development is a complex and rather long process. That’s why it can be hard to decide which company to choose for this important task. We made this list of top software development companies Birmingham to help you out.

We’ve analyzed the following points:

Year of foundation
Company’s customers and their reviews
Rankings on platforms like GoodFirms, Clutch, AppFutura, and others
Company’s size
Location

All the data were used to score companies by rates. That said, all companies are assessed within their price range to make it easier for you to navigate through the post and plan your budget.

Software Development Companies in Birmingham Within $25-$99

1. Cleveroad

Founded: 2014
Company’s size: 50 - 249
Min. project size: $10,000+
Avg. hourly rate: $25 - $49 / hr
Website: cleveroad.com
Offices: UK, Ukraine
Areas and services: Mobile Development, Web Development, Cloud Solutions, Cross-Platform Solutions

Cleveroad is a company that develops software and applications for B2B and B2C sectors. They work with startups and SMEs working in logistics, retail, media & entertainment, healthcare, and other fields. The company offers services connected with web and mobile development as well as Data Science, ML, AI.

2. Code Wizards Ltd

Founded: 2000
Company’s size: 10 - 49
Min. project size: $5,000+
Avg. hourly rate: $50 - $99 / hr
Offices: UK
Сode Wizard is one of the software development companies in Birmingham. Its experience shows us that most IT projects and products have a long lifetime and it's important to get the best value from them. Despite the fact the company is basically a group of people formed in the mid-2000-s, the company has been growing quite rapidly and now has two new locations Reading (Berkshire) and Birmingham (West Midlands) which provides the company with an opportunity to stay as close to the client as possible.

3. Moore Tech Solutions, Inc.

Founded: 2004
Company’s size: 2 - 9
Min. project size: $5,000+
Avg. hourly rate: $100 - $149 / hr
Offices: US
Areas and services: Web DevelopmentWeb DesignSearch Engine Optimization
Moore Tech Solution, Inc holds its expertise in the niche of web design, website development, search engine optimization (SEO), and local presence management. The company offers the following services: web design, website development, search engine optimization, and local presence management. Moore tech solutions are proficient in Joomla CMS, however, the company thrives for new challenges and is always open to new opportunities.

4. Purr Digital

Founded: 2013
Company’s size: 10 - 49
Min. project size: $25,000+
Avg. hourly rate: $100 - $149 / hr
Offices: UK
Areas and services: Web Development, Custom Software Development, Mobile App Development
Purr is among software development companies in Birmingham that is proficient in web development, app development, digital consultancy, and project management. The company takes its origins from simply being code-lovers. The developers are open to new challenges and always strive for perfection.

Throughout the time the company is working, it has developed work policy which the company always keeps up to. So, whenever the development team starts a new project the company feels free to consult the team regarding any question that may possibly occur.

Startups are popping out like mushrooms in the rain. Due to survivorship bias, we only know successful startups. But what about those that failed and caused vital losses to investors?

The majority of startups collapse because the market doesn’t need them. To understand what customers need from your product, you should develop a minimum viable product. MVP costs less than a full-fledged solution and allows you to study the situation on the market. This approach got companies like Amazon and Dropbox all the way to where they are now.

This post will shed some light on mvp software development. I’ll also give some examples of MVP, so stay tuned.

How to Build an MVP

Even though an MVP has fewer features, you still have to take steps before the development. So, let’s find out all the details of the MVP development process.

Market Research
Market research is the fundamental point of any project. If you don’t want to end up broke — analyze. Make sure that your product will be interesting for users. There are a lot of platforms that conduct paid surveys, like SwagBucks, Onepoll, Toluna, and so on. Use their services to get a detailed portrait of your customer. Also, keep your rivals in sight — monitor their updates.

Get a Clear Idea
Here’s the challenge that requires every entrepreneur to think. You should find an answer to the following questions:

What problems can your product solve?
How useful can it be for the end-consumer?
Why would they use this solution?
At the end of this stage, you should have an accurate picture of the essential qualities of your product. Since these qualities should help users, you should first define the problems to solve, and then get down to MVP app development.

Define the Feature List
While building an MVP for a startup you have to provide a software development company with a list of features. So write down all the components you want to have in your app.

Further, leave only those features that are vital for the concept of the app. MVP means that you don’t have to implement complicated frameworks and fancy design at once. So, take one step at a time.

Build and Launch
After all the points are settled, you can begin the development of your MVP. A common mistake here is to launch a product of poor quality hoping to fix it in future updates (and never fixing it). Building an MVP doesn’t give you the right to launch a bad product. It has to satisfy customers and investors, or it’ll be a failure from the first minutes. Nevertheless, it has to be laconic, easy to use, and match user needs.

Analyze the Feedback
After collecting user responses, you should make a conclusion based on them. User feedback can help you a lot. Early users will be both your testers and idea generators. They will offer you features to add next and find bugs.

Statista claims that mobile app revenue will reach $581.9 billion in 2020. There is lots of competition meaning that you need to be aware of the latest trends to stay competitive. iOS takes a significant part of the mobile app market. In this article, we’ll discuss iOS app development trends for 2020.

Here’s a list of main iOS trends in 2020 we’ve considered:

Machine learning and artificial intelligence
Augmented reality
Internet of Things
Wearables
Cloud integration
Chatbots
iBeacon
Security

#1. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

Regardless of the industry, many businesses try to apply ML and AI technologies to their iOS applications. Of course, Artificial Intelligence isn’t the phenomenon of 2020, but it brings a lot of positive changes.

For example, Facebook shows relevant content, based on the users’ preferences. AI analyzes customers’ behavior and interactions (likes, comments, and more) and offer similar content.

According to the latest research by International Data Corporation, the AI technology will get the more than $47 billion in revenue by 2020.

Let’s consider some use cases of Artificial Intelligence.

Searching suggestions
This technology helps optimize the searching process. AI allows integrating the search suggestions along with spelling corrections. Spotify tends to suggest new artists and albums that customers may like. Also, the service can analyze the users’ activity and generate the playlist with their favorite genres, bands, and so on.

Siri
Siri becomes smarter. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning make Siri’s answers more accurate and trustworthy. In 2020, Siri is expected to analyze what’s happening with the user (e.g. location) and make appropriate and precise suggestions based on the collected data.

Deep Learning
AI-powered Machine Learning (aka Deep Learning) is used to analyze the customers’ behavior and predict their demands. As a result, businesses can reduce expenses due to more precise predictions. Netflix uses AI to improve recommendations to app users. That’s how the platform engage visitors.

#2. Augmented Reality (AR)

Augmented and Virtual Reality are among the next iOS app trends in 2020. In the last couple of years, we’ve experienced an obsession with AR games like Pokémon Go and Dino Trek.

There are already a lot of apps like IKEA that use this technology to provide a better consumer experience. In 2020, AR applications become mainstream thanks to their abilities in marketing, healthcare, and other industries.
For example, well-known social media apps such as Instagram and Snapchat have already been integrating Augmented Reality. They offer users a bunch of cool stickers and animated masks.

Apple offers various tools to create Augmented Reality experiences:

- ARKit 3. This technology moved forward and enables showing content in front of or behind people, following up to three faces at a time.
- Reality Composer. It allows developing animations and interactions on iOS to improve application’s content.
- RealityKit framework. Using data provided by ARKit, this framework lets integrate virtual items into the real world.

#3. Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things technology brings a lot of changes to routine tasks. There is no doubt that IoT is one of the most significant iOS development trends.

IoT allows connecting various devices and transferring the information. Statista claims that the IoT market’s size will reach $1.6 trillion by 2025. Internet connectivity becomes a new standard thanks to a great number of smart devices.

Industries like logistics, agriculture, and healthcare can benefit from IoT integration to their iOS applications. For example, iOS health applications can assist healthcare providers with checking patients’ condition at home and bring the data to the doctor.

For example, Triton Sponge helps determine how much blood a patient has lost. It uses various image processing algorithms to calculate the amount of blood.

Internet of Things has brought one more iOS app development trend — wearables. iOS applications powered by IoT tend to connect fitness trackers and smartwatches to smartphones. Their main task is collecting health data.

#4. Wearables

The stats are amazing: by the end of 2021, the market of wearable software expected to reach approximately $62 billion.

There are a lot of wearable devices on the market like fitness trackers, smartwatches, smart jewelry, and more. Having similar functions, they may be completely different in design.

There are several most common features for wearables:

Health data collection
As users wear this device all the time, it’s perfect for tracking such health marks as heart rate, steps, burned calories, blood pressure, and more.

Notifications
Users can have push notification on their wrists which increases engagement. For example, you can send users notifications when they are passing by your store, using iBeacon technology.

Social media
Wearable devices allow looking through social media content. It can be quite profitable for businesses since social network is a perfect marketing channel.

Considering the future of iOS app development, it’s quite profitable to create applications for industries such as fitness and healthcare. Wearable devices are gaining their popularity due to their convenience. For example, such messengers as Telegram and Slack have versions for Apple Watch that allows receiving and sending messages.

#5. Cloud Integration

One more iOS app development trend for 2020 is a cloud technology that brings a lot of opportunities to the iOS app development. It assists with organizing and storing a large amount of information.

Cloud-based iOS apps run on the cloud and increase the effectiveness and productivity of applications. Such a solution is beneficial for both — developers and users. This tool helps mobile apps store a large amount of data and manage complex tasks. As for iOS engineers, they can use cloud platform for the development, making it quicker and simpler.

Cloud technology has several more advantages:

Scalability. Any iOS app requires constant upgrades and updates to follow all the users’ requirements and expectations. Cloud solution offers higher scalability level.
Cost reduction. One more vital benefit of cloud technology is cost savings.
Security.
Such giants as Dropbox and AWS has already offered an opportunity to run an application on the cloud.

#6. iBeacon

This powerful technology from Apple is getting more and more popular in marketing. So it’s another iOS app development trend for 2020.

But what is iBeacon itself?

Beacon stands for wireless transmitters that send signals using Bluetooth technology. Having established the connection, a push notification with set message appears on the user’s iPhone.

Let’s consider an example. The potential buyers are passing by the clothing store. And they don’t pay attention to the banners or ads. As soon as customers pass by the shop, sensors connect to the smartphone and send a notification.

This iOS app development trend can change the retail industry and boost sales. Let’s consider an example. The popular US department store Macy’s tend to use iBeacon technology. The customers get notifications about exciting deals and goods that may be interested in.

#7. Chatbots

More than half of the customers want to have more do-it-yourself services. So, chatbots fit this mission perfectly.

For example, Starbucks has released an application called My Starbucks Barista. Users can tell the bot what kind of coffee they want, coffeeshop location, and other order details. After that, the customers just need to visit the chosen Starbucks and pick up their cup of coffee.

#8. High-Security Level

Last but not least trend in iOS app development for 2020 is security. Apple has already created a great security system. Due to a lot of cybercrimes, personal data protection is not only a trend but a vital improvement. These days, customers tend to pay via applications, so there are a lot of personal data to protect.

iOS app developers pay a lot of attention to this matter. After the release of iOS 13, there are more opportunities to secure information.

Developers can integrate AppTransportSecurity (ATS) into their applications to offer a higher security level. This powerful tool increases the privacy and data integrity of connections between iOS applications and web services.

Retail Automation Realities

Automation in the retail industry is shifting the existing business models. So it’s a good idea to start with finding out what the new realities are.

Retail automation: demand, not an option
There's no way to compete on the fast-changing market with increased retail-margin pressure, investments in e-commerce, lack of specialists – and thus a high demand on them – using traditional cost-reduction means. That's primary why retailers are turning to automation to support and increase their profits.

What is Uber for X?

In Uber for X, ‘X’ means any deliverable service in the market. How does it work? First, customers connect with service providers by placing their orders via mobile app or website. Then, the provider looks through and accepts the request, and – if everything works for them – delivers the service.

In different Uber-like apps, connecting buyer and service provider sometimes takes more than pressing a button. But that’s still the main concept of it. Mostly, Uber for X platforms have a variety of in-built filters making the search process both very fast and convenient.
For example, to get from point A to point B all Uber users have to do is to place a request, and wait for matching with a driver. Few minutes – and the car’s right at the corner.

These days, the question of how to make a booking app for hotel rooms is quite relevant for diverse groups of people. The success stories of such mammoths as Airbnb and Booking.com have pushed the eTravel industry forward stimulating a phenomenal growth. In fact, this is why not only hospitality professionals are wondering how to create a booking app but many startuppers and entrepreneurs from various industries too.

This article is written with the intent to help you create a booking app and make this process less questionable. I'm going to guide you through the hotel booking app market, show the most suitable basic and additional features, monetization models, and many more.

Dating app development can be both profitable for you and a good solution for people that want to find a soulmate. So check this article out to see how to build your dating app.

How to create a dating app

To give you a hint on how to create a dating app, follow these steps below:

Step 1. Study the functionality principle of the dating app
Step 2. Analyze main benefits before you build a dating app
Step 3. Create the structure and design of a dating app
Step 4. Use a right tech stack to create dating app
Step 5. Add MVP features to your dating app
Step 6. Choose your monetization way

Build an app structure and design

When we have listed main benefits, we can proceed directly to the development process and start with making a dating app structure. Let's see how to do it!

Choose a catching name
'Catching' word is the most appropriate word in this case. People need to remember the name of your service, it should be short and associative so users will be able to hear it once and remember forever. Word of mouth will also work here since users will share the name of your app with their friends.

Determine your target audience
What is the age range of users you create an app for? Of course, you can create a general dating app that can meet the requirements of both youth and an older generation. Ok, then, what will be a distinctive feature of your app? It will be similar to other counterparts and you will gain nothing. So, it would be a better option to create an app for a specific audience, a specific region and so on. It will help your app stand out from the crowd and achieve a success.

Make an amazing UI/UX design
The interface of the app should be catchy as well so users will feel positive when they start using it. Keep up with a simple principle - build simple and intuitive design. Users want to deal with a clear UX that is not extremely unique and that isn't confusing. As for UI, bright colors and clear buttons will surely be adopted well by users. Don't complicate - and you will succeed!

Deal with a marketing plan
Apart from good design and the right target audience, you shouldn't ignore brand promotion and increase your customer base when you create your own dating app. That is why you should create a marketing plan and think over each step to increase customers' loyalty and engage more users to your app. Marketing plan plays a very important role in the brand promotion and it should be competent, so mind it.

So when you decide on how to make a dating app for Android or iOS, these 4 simple steps will help you create an overall structure of your dating app and promote it wisely.

WhatsApp: its role and history

WhatsApp was founded by Jan Koum and Brian Acton in 2009. At the end of the year, it was launched on the App Store for iPhone with no alternatives in the world at the time.
This application, referred to as an instant messenger, was intended to give users an opportunity to exchange messages in real time using mobile Internet or WiFi. Today WhatsApp is available for all popular mobile operating systems.

Apple's App Store has more than 2.2 billion apps. Consumers spend as much as 80% more on iOS apps compared to Android ones. Such a tendency led to $38.5 billion in revenue, $26.5 billion of which was paid off to iOS developers for 2017.

However, iOS is loved by developers from all over the world not only for financial reasons. The simplicity of development and minimalistic approach which company sticks to also make a difference. There are no fragmentation problems as the lineup of Apple devices is relatively small and all of them have a unified UI.

To build an iOS app, you'll need to hire iOS app developer working with Objective-C or Swift in Xcode or any other IDE. In this guide, we also cover the vital points you need to learn before you hire iOS programmers.