After years of successful expansion of .NET, the Redmond giant decided to create a new solution called .NET Core. Now we can say it was a breakthrough. Multi-platform functioning, open-source, support from community and Microsoft, strong typing, rich libraries and perfection of C# are a few features that make this product extraordinary. But is it special enough to take one’s chances and use it for startups?
Picking the right technology for MVP
Most startups prefer to create PoC (Proof of Concept), also called MVP (Minimum Viable Product) as the first phase of a project. This prototype’s purpose is to prove that the idea is sensible and that the product is possible to develop. It can be introduced to potential clients with minimum effort, without a need to prove its worth.
The real question is — which technology would be the best to build the MVP? You will hear different answers:
- “Python is just great, Django makes the administration panel build itself…”
- “Node is perfect, it has great community support, many libraries and what’s most important — it’s trendy!”
- “Only Ruby on Rails, many startups became successful because they decided to go with this technology.”
All statements above are true. No matter which technology and language we pick, what matters is correct architecture and high code quality of the product. It truly is the key to success.
The next step after creating the MVP is implementing additional elements. The results can go in different ways. Modules developed with a lick and a promise won’t be enough and they will most likely have to be rebuilt. It will cost you time and money — sometimes even more than doing a custom product from scratch. And when the deadlines are short, a new version of the product won’t preserve code integrity. That creates technological debt. This way expenses grow and team morale decreases.
The good news is that this doesn’t have to happen. To avoid it, it is crucial to pick well-suited technology and programming language during the first phase of the project. It will truly influence the product’s longevity and quality. Strong typing, code compilation and refactorization tools are just a few features that will make implementation successful. They will also help maintain and expand the project.
Another good practice is to watch and learn from the best. Which technologies are used by big enterprises, banks, government, etc.? Usually it’s Java (a lot of frameworks and languages pattern after Java — eg. PHP Symfony framework was inspired by Java’s Spring) and .NET. So if those industries already tested these solutions, we can use them while working with startups.
Why is .NET Core the right choice for startups?
In November 2014, Microsoft launched the .NET Core platform. It was a new version of the famous .NET Framework, but also a new product, including one of the most important features — being cross-platform. While .NET Framework runs only on Windows, .NET Core is available on macOS and Linux, too. .NET has already been considered an excellent and foolproof tool, but with this expansion, its capabilities grew significantly. It was a chance to sustain a great reputation and to gain even more popularity.
Not worrying about the limitations of just one operating system allows presenting better custom offers that correspond with the budget and business needs. Finding a suitable server to develop an app is a piece of cake. .NET Core apps also work splendidly with open source servers, eg. Nginx or Apache and commercial business solutions like IIS (Internet Information Services).
None of the startup-friendly languages should require paid programming environment. .NET Core is not an exception here. Coding can be done in a simple text editor and then compiled with a console. Additional tools like Microsoft Visual Studio, JetBrains Rider, ReSharper, etc. can be purchased accordingly to the budget.
As a C# programming language known for strong typing, .NET Core gets another point for being excellent for startups. Languages like that allow implementing architecture and project patterns for modular and scalable development which results in high code quality. This way the process of adding new developers to a project is also much quicker.
Ready-to-use components available with .NET Core can reduce the number of bugs that might occur when developing software. Those libraries are verified and limited — you don’t need to search and analyze hundreds of them. Usually, we just need to check a couple before finding the right one.
As a Microsoft’s product, .NET Core includes dedicated libraries for business components support (eg. Active Directory) and cloud platforms (eg. Azure). It’s a unique feature that distinguishes it from other technologies. Easy-to-use cloud solutions are particularly useful for startups. They allow kickstarting cooperation between a company and a software house without building new architecture.
Especially integration with Microsoft Azure has lots of advantages, including:
- Easiness of scalability
- Pricing that includes only real-time use of resources
- Smooth integration with other Microsoft services
- Automatization of deployment and maintenance
What’s important is that Microsoft Azure is the second most popular cloud service for business in the world. Its dynamic growth is an advantage.
Last but not least, Microsoft’s platform is highly popular. Its constantly growing number of users creates a demand for more .NET Core specialists. Training materials are easily available. Development processes are getting simpler and faster. Competition between software houses increases which reduced the cost of programming in this language. For startups, that’s a significant benefit.
To sum it up…
Why do we think .NET Core is amazing for startups? Because it has everything a startup might need. Choosing the right technology for a digital product is not easy. And it’s a key when there are a limited budget and expectations for short delivery time. Let’s not forget that a prototype of a product should be ready for expansion and maintenance.
All those essential advantages are present in .NET Core. It’s the right choice if we are aiming for success in all phases of the project. Our vision assumes that every startup can kickoff with an MVP and become an enterprise in the long run. We create prototypes for our clients with this business-oriented approach in mind.
