Best South African software houses

Software houses specialise in designing, developing, and deploying custom software solutions built to meet clients’ specific needs.

Several prominent South African software houses offer these services to local and international businesses, with some of the best being Agile Bridge, Codehesion, Entelect, JustSolve, and Synthesis.

These companies build bespoke software to address business-specific challenges and opportunities while providing maintenance and support services once the software has launched.

In South Africa, businesses in sectors like finance, agriculture, retail, healthcare, and telecommunication are increasingly relying on software houses to digitise their operations and improve customer experience.

Many also specialise in mobile app development, through which businesses can interact with customers or manage internal workflows from their mobile devices.

Bespoke software solutions provide various benefits for South African businesses, including:

• Improved efficiency — custom software solutions allow businesses to streamline processes, automate tasks, and reduce operational inefficiencies, resulting in improved productivity and cost savings.
• Specialised solutions — widely available software doesn’t always meet the specific needs of businesses, an issue solved by custom software solutions from software houses.
• Scalability — Software houses design scalable solutions that can grow with businesses, enabling seamless expansion without major changes.
• Competitive advantage — custom software solutions enable businesses to improve customer service, streamline operations, and differentiate themselves from their rivals.
• Cost savings — partnering with software houses can be far more affordable than hiring an in-house team to develop software.
• Faster deployment — software houses can accelerate a business’s development process, allowing them to get their solution to market faster.
• Improved security — cybersecurity is a major concern in the modern age and software houses develop solutions that are secure, reducing the the risk of data breaches.
• Expansion — South Africa is somewhat of a gateway to the African market, and software houses can help businesses scale their solutions across the continent using regionally-relevant technology and expertise.

Five of the best South African software houses available to local and international businesses are listed below in alphabetical order.

Agile Bridge

Agile Bridge has been around since 2003. However, it underwent a significant leadership change in 2019, appointing Deon Koegelenberg as CEO and Robert McMenamin as CTO.

Along with the leadership came an ambitious growth and expansion strategy, which has seen Agile Bridge grow its team of highly skilled engineers to around 170 since 2019.

“Before the expansion strategy in 2019, Agile Bridge was known as a boutique software development partner specialising in multinational and complex enterprise solutions, architecture, and systems design,” it says.

Since expanding, the company has excelled at developing mobile apps, dynamic web applications, complex integrations, frontend and robust back-end systems for cloud and on-premises systems.

Agile Bridge has serviced large enterprises worldwide for years. It has now started shifting to offer its services to medium-sized clients, offering them competitive and cost-effective systems.

“Agile Bridge excels in projects within the financial services, banking, insurance, and automotive sectors, where high-transactional, complex, and reliable solutions are essential,” it says.

Codehesion

Founded in 2017, Codehesion started out as a software innovation house focused on automated solutions across various industries.

However, it quickly learnt that there was a gap in the market for trusted app development.

It has since grown to become a leading South African mobile app development company, specialising in Android and iOS apps, and software systems for businesses.

“With over 70 successful applications delivered across various industries, our proven process emphasises efficiency, maintainability, and a strong foundation for lasting success,” it says.

“Our structured approach breaks projects into manageable phases — from initial planning and design to development, testing, and deployment — guaranteeing quality at each stage.”

It has worked in industries including property technology, fintech, telecoms, education, entertainment and hospitality, logistics, security, and the non-profit sector.

Entelect

Software house Entelect was founded in 2001 out of the Electrical Engineering School at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

The firm provides software solutions to organisations in industries like agriculture, banking, energy, healthcare, media, mining and manufacturing, and telecommunication.

“Our philosophy and our culture continue to allow us to help forward-thinking businesses around the world to achieve their objectives through the delivery of end-to-end technology solutions,” it says.

Entelect employs more than 1,500 qualified software professionals, managing 150 active projects out of nine offices around the world.

The firm’s services include custom software development, data and analytics, and digital transformation solutions.

JustSolve

Founded by Botha van der Vyver in 2016, JustSolve started with a team of five people and has seen substantial growth since.

“Our first year marked the beginning of our long-standing partnership with OutSystems, allowing us to use a combination of low-code and pro-code development to rapidly deliver innovative software solutions,” it says.

The company doubled its team and client base in 2017. Observing the need for human-centred design in software development, it established its UX/UI practice and launched its first graduate intake.

As it continued to grow, JustSolve expanded its service offerings to include agile delivery and business analysis and continued to hone its expertise in the healthcare, automotive, and telecommunication industries.

JustSolve received international recognition in 2022, becoming the first partner in Africa to be awarded the UX/UI Competency Badge from OutSystems.

“We also received the OutSystems’ Business Impact Award’ in collaboration with our client, Life Health Solutions, recognising the impact our work made within the healthcare industry,” it said.

Synthesis

Synthesis is a South African software development powerhouse with nearly 28 years of experience in the industry.

Founded in 1997, Synthesis has developed a wide range of software products for banks and treasuries, including the country’s first Internet banking platform.

The firm first entered cloud services in 2014 and became an Amazon Web Services (AWS) partner in 2016.

Since then, it has grown from strength to strength, achieving Amazon’s AWS Consulting Partner of the Year award in 2021.

In 2024, it won the AWS Generative AI Prize of Excellence, ICT Awards Africa’s Intelligent Software Partner Award, and achieved AWS Premier Tier partner status.

According to Synthesis, the following priorities have significantly contributed to its success:

• Identifying top talent and equipping them with skills to excel at pace
• Forming pioneering partnerships
• Sharing skills, resources, and expertise
• Using state-of-the-art technology to solve real-world problems
• Using technology to help its customers advance