So, you have an app idea and are ready to get started. The only hurdle is you need to find an app development company to bring it to life. You have spent time crawling through Clutch and online comparison sites to compare developers, from web specialists in Silicon Vally to app developers in Edinburgh. Now, this is the tricky part, how do you decide?
The beauty of our modern world is that you may not be limited by geography. You can compare talent across the world, with different skill sets and pricing options. Now, this is the tricky part, how do you decide?
Edinburgh is Scotland’s capital city and is well known for its thriving tech ecosystem. There are many benefits to working with a team of app developers in Edinburgh, so we have summarised just a few of these for you.
1. It’s Thriving Tech Community
This year Edinburgh was identified as the UK’s top city for innovation outside of London, and you might recognise some familiar names among those who have grown and flourished in Edinburgh, including Skyscanner, Freeagent and Fanduel, to name a few.
In 2021 Edinburgh was named the best place to start a business outside London. A report by Barclays showed that Edinburgh has the largest number of high-growth startups outside of London, and an estimated 621 businesses based in Edinburgh – 280 of which are tech companies. The same report estimated that investors have made £940m in total equity investment in Edinburgh tech businesses since 2011.
This success is thanks to Edinburgh’s thriving start-up community, quality of life and retention of a highly skilled workforce. Edinburgh’s tech ecosystem is known for its close-knit entrepreneurial network, with tech hubs like CodeBase, University incubators, and events like TuringFest, Scotland’s annual tech startup conference, gelling everything together.
Some of the key areas of growth among Edinburgh startups include fintech, life sciences, the space sector and the energy sector.
2. Edinburgh Developers Care
The Edinburgh tech ecosystem is bursting with organisations that put values at the forefront of their decision-making. There is a plethora of impact-driven businesses and startups based in Edinburgh, from B-Corps and Zebras, to not-for-profits and charities. Sustainability and impact are at the forefront Edinburgh is even home to Impact Summit, Europe’s leading purpose-led business event. There is a respect for values that impacts the way everyone communicates within the ecosystem. App developers in Edinburgh appreciate the need for good communication and transparency in the work that they deliver as a result.
3. Cutting-Edge Talent
Edinburgh was named the best city for talent in a recent study of the top UK cities to start a business in 2022. The same analysis reported that Edinburgh has the highest percentage of highly skilled workers, with 65.4% of the population having a Higher Education Certificate or above.
With a 31% growth in tech employment since 2018 and a start-up and scale-up ecosystem in excess of 500 companies. Research shows that Edinburgh is well-placed to continue attracting tech talent, particularly with its forward-thinking startups, focus on work-life balance and improved quality of life compared to other tech hubs like London. For these reasons, Edinburgh has also been recognised as one of the UK’s top cities for women in tech.
And for those looking to hire app developers in Edinburgh, the great news is your money will go further for you than working with developers in other cities in the UK or the US. According to recent Glassdoor insights, the average salary of a software engineer in Edinburgh is 37% lower than in London.
4. No Communication Breakdowns!
We all know how important good communication is when it comes to managing a digital project. If you are looking to outsource your project but don’t want to risk language barriers or timezone issues, you should consider hiring app developers in Edinburgh or elsewhere in the UK.
Don’t outsource to a company if you are concerned about language issues or communication breakdowns. You might find you are saving money on the day rates by off-shoring your development work, but you will no doubt pay the price, and then some, when it comes to reworking features due to miscommunications over the course of the project.
No matter how detailed your user stories and brief may be, you will have some very in-depth and complex conversations over the course of your project, and you want to be sure that you are speaking directly to a team that understands your needs. When you work with development teams who are based in Edinburgh you have peace of mind that everyone speaks the same language and is confident working with clients in English-speaking countries.
5. The Scenery
Home to so much incredible architecture and scenery, what an amazing perk of working with app developers in Edinburgh. With so many castles, rivers, mountains and lochs on the doorstep, Edinburgh is a fairy tale of a city with so much to see and do – it’s well worth a visit. Why not make a trip to visit your development team and take a hike up Arthur’s seat or wander up the cobbled streets of the Royal Mile to visit Edinburgh Castle?
There are many reasons why working with app developers in Edinburgh could be a great option for your project. We hope that this gives you some insight into just a few of these.
If you are on the fence and still not sure, get in touch to talk to one of the locals! We are sure you will be convinced in no time.