With Southeast Asia’s digital economy expected to exceed $300 billion by 2026, startups must use the right tech stack to position themselves for success. A tech stack is a group of technologies, frameworks, and coding tools companies use to build their digital product. To compete on a global stage, startups in Southeast Asia must ensure they choose the right tools to assist in their development.
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Choosing a stack that is fit for purpose can significantly enhance the product’s performance, scalability, and reliability while saving the time and money it takes to develop it. Using an ideal stack improves the speed at which the product can be created and launched, which also helps cut costs. Moreover, a good selection of tech can enhance the user experience, which is critical to retaining customers and building a loyal user base.
Factors to consider when choosing a tech stack
Before choosing the tools, consideration of several factors to get the ideal solution is necessary. These can include:
Type of product/service
The first consideration is the type of application being built. Different applications require different technologies, so choosing a tech stack suitable for the product or service’s specific needs is vital. For example, selecting tools optimised for mobile development is vital for building a mobile app.
Cost
Budget and evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of different solutions is another vital consideration. For example, cloud computing solutions like Amazon Web Services (AWS) can provide significant benefits but may be too expensive for some startups.
Target audience
Startups should focus on digital products or services in demand for the regional audience. This approach makes it easier to get a market for the completed solutions.
Scalability
The selected technology package must be scalable and flexible to meet increased demand, online traffic, and data. As the business grows, the tools used should be able to grow in tandem.
Integration
With the addition of more technologies, it is vital that the tech stack can integrate with other platforms and services already in use by the startup. Third-party application programming interfaces (APIs) can provide valuable integration capabilities, allowing companies to leverage the benefits of other services and platforms.
Security
Southeast Asia has fallen foul of increased cyber attacks in recent years, so choosing technology with robust security features is crucial. This will help protect startups and customers from potential threats.
Tech talent availability
Finally, considering tech talent availability in Southeast Asia should influence the choice of products used because finding skilled developers for teams should be easy. The region has been experiencing a tech talent crunch, making it prudent to reduce recruitment costs by matching the selected stack to the startup’s available tech team.
The team should be able to fix bugs and maintain or manage the startup’s digital product after development. They should be comfortable with the programming language used to build the app.
What to include in a startup’s tech stack
A startup should consider the following various components when deciding on which technology to employ:
App development programs
The first component to consider is the app development software or coding used. Programmers can opt to use programming languages, such as Python or Java, to design an app. Alternatively, they can use No-code development platforms to build a digital product.
Cloud computing
The cloud offers startups the ability to scale quickly and efficiently and the flexibility to adapt to changing market conditions. Cloud computing services like AWS and Microsoft Azure provide various services, including data storage, analytics, and application development, that can help startups grow and succeed.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Another critical component to consider is AI. It can help with coding, provide insights, automate tasks, and develop AI-powered solutions like chatbots, helping startups gain a competitive edge and stay ahead of the competition.
Content Management Software (CMS)
Startups need content management software (CMS) like WordPress, Joomla, Squarespace, and others to create, manage, and distribute content to the public. It helps to market a company’s products and services and to respond to customer queries through blog posts, infographics, and more.
Third-party applications
Finally, third-party APIs can be a valuable addition to a tech stack, providing access to services and data that can enhance a startup’s offerings. APIs like Google Maps and Stripe can help companies improve user experiences, streamline payment processing, and integrate with other platforms and services.
With so many solutions available today, choosing the right tech stack to get a business up and running can be challenging. Startups in Southeast Asia should remember that technology evolves quickly, so it’s crucial to stay up-to-date with new tools and innovations that can help them improve their digital product and stay ahead of the competition. Moreover, they should take their time to research to ensure they find the ideal solutions for their needs.