Python for the jobs Python is best at
Data work, automation, and integrations, plus maintenance of the Django and Flask applications clients already run. We will tell you plainly when Python is the right answer and when it is not.
What we use Python for
Python's real advantage is its libraries. Anything involving data cleaning, analysis, scientific computing, or machine learning has a mature, well-documented Python package behind it, and no other ecosystem is close.
Data cleanup and reporting pipelines
Pulling numbers out of several systems, reconciling them, and producing the report your board or your funders actually asked for, on a schedule instead of by hand.
One-time migrations and imports
Getting years of records out of an old system and into a new one, with validation and a dry run before anything is written.
Automation between tools
When the off-the-shelf automation platforms cannot express the rule you need, a small scheduled Python job usually can, and it costs nothing per run.
Maintaining Django and Flask applications
Feature work, dependency and version upgrades, and adding tests to applications your previous team left behind.
When Python is the right call, and when it is not
Good fit: the centre of gravity is data
If the hard part of your project is analysis, forecasting, document processing, or anything touching machine learning, Python is the right language and we will say so even when the web layer could have been Rails.
Good fit: you already run Python
If your analysts or developers work in Python, adding a second language to the building is a cost with no benefit.
Not our default: a standard web application
For portals, internal tools, and customer-facing applications we build in Ruby on Rails, because that is where our depth is. Django is a fine framework and you would be better served by a Django shop for a Django build.
Watch out: a script that became a system
The most common Python problem we inherit is an automation that started as one file and now runs a department, with no tests, no error handling, and one person who understands it. We can stabilize that, and it is cheaper to catch early.
Questions we get about this
- Do you build web applications in Python?
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We maintain and extend them, and we would not choose Python for a new custom application. Our depth is in Ruby on Rails, and you are better served by a Django team for a Django build.
Where we do reach for Python is data work, reporting pipelines, migrations, and automation, because the library ecosystem there is the best there is. If the hard part of your project is data or machine learning, Python is the right answer and we will tell you that even when it means a smaller engagement for us.
- Can you maintain a Django or Flask application we already have?
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Yes. Feature work, dependency and framework upgrades, deployment, and adding tests to an application that arrived without them.
We start with a written read on what is there, what is risky, and what it costs to get current, so you can decide about maintaining, migrating, or replacing with real numbers rather than a hunch.
- Can you help us choose software instead of building something custom?
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Yes, and we would rather do that when it is the right answer. We run the requirements work, put the same structured questions to a shortlist of vendors, sit through the demos, and hand you a written recommendation covering fit, pricing, integration, and risk.
Then we help you configure and adopt what you picked, which is the half that usually decides whether the purchase was worth it.
- What platforms do you support?
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All of them, in the sense that we've worked across most major and a lot of niche ones. We're most experienced with WordPress, Shopify, and custom Ruby on Rails applications. If your stack is something we haven't worked in before, we'll tell you that on the consultation, and we'll be honest about whether we're the right fit.
Have data trapped in three systems?
Tell us what report you are assembling by hand and how often. A free consultation will tell you whether that is a scripting job, an integration, or a sign you need different software.