Web applications and websites
Staff portals, client platforms, back-office systems and business websites, built in TypeScript with Next.js and React, Node.js or Python on the server, and PostgreSQL underneath.
Custom software development company in South Africa
Arke Technologies (Pty) Ltd is a custom software development company in Johannesburg. We design, build, integrate and support web applications, mobile apps and cloud platforms for mid-sized and large organisations, public-sector bodies and schools across South Africa, with written scope, POPIA-aware design and a monthly service review after launch.
What a software development company does
Software development, or computer software development in the older phrase, is the work of turning a business process into dependable software: understanding the process, designing the data and the screens, writing and testing the code, releasing it and keeping it running. A software development company does all of that under contract, and stays accountable for the result after launch rather than handing over a folder of code. Whether you call it a software house, an app making company or an IT software development company, that accountability is what you are buying.
Custom software (also called custom developed software, or bespoke software) is built for one organisation's way of working. It makes sense when off-the-shelf products force your people to work around them, when a process is what sets you apart, or when several systems need to behave as one. It does not make sense when mature off-the-shelf solutions already do the job. Then configuring one of them is cheaper and less risky, and we will say so.
In information technology and software development terms, most of our work takes one of four shapes: a new application (a staff portal, a field app, a client-facing platform), a database application that replaces spreadsheets and email, integration between the systems you already run, and modernisation of software that has become hard to change. Corporate software development adds one requirement to all four: evidence that an audit committee can review, not only working code.
Software development services we provide
One team designs, builds, secures and supports the software, so you have one contract and one accountable lead.
Mobile apps
iOS and Android apps in Flutter, React Native, Swift or Kotlin, including offline-first apps for field teams. If you need a mobile software development company, start here:
SaaS products
Multi-tenant platforms with data isolation between customers, for organisations that serve many clients or business units from one system.
Legacy modernisation
Staged replacement of ageing systems that preserves the business rules inside them.
DevOps, testing and quality
Automated builds, separate dev, test and production environments, and test suites that catch regressions before users do.
Integration and APIs
REST and GraphQL APIs, webhooks and event-driven links to ERP, CRM and management accounting software such as Sage, Xero and QuickBooks, to payment gateways, and to SARS and CIPC interfaces.
Data and AI inside the product
Reporting and dashboards through data, analytics and business intelligence, and AI features built with models from Anthropic (Claude), Google (Gemini, through Vertex AI) and open-weight models, with guardrails, logging and cost controls, through AI consulting and implementation.
Software our team has delivered
We would rather show working systems than a capability deck. Our team designed and built each of these.
AtlasOS
Our own operating system for professional services firms: multi-tenant, with database-level isolation between firms, built on Next.js, React and PostgreSQL on Google Cloud SQL, and in production.
ISOcore
An ISO management system platform for ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001: documentation, non-conformances, corrective actions and audit scheduling.
ESGnet
ESG data collection and reporting aligned to GRI and SASB, for sustainability officers and investor reporting.
Server Hub
The commerce and quoting platform behind our hardware division: a catalogue of more than 26,000 products, quotes backed by dated sources, PayFast and Yoco payments, AI-assisted sourcing and a customer assistant.
Atlas OS gives us visibility across 89 entities that we simply did not have before. The compliance tracking alone has saved us significant time every month.
We also build our own IT operations platform, Hesper, which launches in November 2026.
Languages, methods and toolkits, in plain terms
Buyers meet these terms in proposals. Here is what they mean and how we use them.
Software development languages. The list that matters for business systems: TypeScript and JavaScript for web front ends and Node.js services, Python for data and AI work, SQL for PostgreSQL databases, Dart for Flutter, Swift for iOS and Kotlin for Android software development. Java and C# are common in the enterprise systems that business software often has to connect to. The best language to learn, or to build in, is the one your future maintainers can hire for.- Software development kit (SDK). Definition: a software development kit, or toolkit, is a packaged set of libraries, tools and documentation for building on one platform. The Java software development kit (the JDK), the Android SDK and the AWS SDK are common examples. A kit shortens the build but ties you to that platform's release cycle.
- The V-model. A sequential method that pairs every design stage with a matching test stage, so requirements trace to test evidence. Useful where auditors want that trail.
- Agile and XP. Iterative methods. Extreme Programming (XP) adds pair programming, test-first development and small, frequent releases.
- Design patterns. Software design patterns are proven, named answers to recurring problems, and they make code predictable for the next developer.
- MVP. A minimum viable product is the smallest release that tests whether an idea works with real users. MVP software development suits new products; it rarely suits replacing a system people depend on every day.
- Green software development. Efficient code and right-sized cloud resources use less energy and cost less to run each month.
Our own method borrows from each: traceable requirements and test evidence from the V-model, and short release cycles from agile practice.
Governance, compliance and security
Software that handles personal information or public money must stand up to audit. We build the evidence in from the first week.
- Governance and reporting. A named delivery lead, a risk and issue log, written change control and status reports to your sponsor at an agreed cadence. After launch, a monthly service review and report.
- POPIA. Privacy by design: data minimisation, encryption in transit and at rest, role-based access, audit logging and retention rules, so your Information Officer can answer for the system. See our POPIA compliance checklist.
- King IV. Principle 12 makes the board accountable for technology and information governance; our documentation, decision records and reporting give it something to govern with. Read King IV and technology governance.
- PFMA and MFMA. For departments, public entities and municipalities, we work to their procurement and reporting disciplines and keep audit-ready documentation. See IT services for the public sector.
- Security. Controls aligned with ISO/IEC 27001 and OWASP guidance for web and mobile applications, secrets kept out of code, and penetration testing before go-live. More in cybersecurity services and IT governance, risk and compliance.
Buying from Arke: procurement and continuity
Arke Technologies is a Level 1 B-BBEE contributor (sworn affidavit available on request), which gives buyers 135% procurement recognition. Company documents, a bank confirmation letter, our CSD supplier number and SARS tax compliance status are available on request, and we complete standard bidding documents when a bid requires them. You can buy through a proposal and purchase order, a support SLA or a formal tender response. Procurement teams can start with our company facts and supplier compliance for the public sector.
Continuity is written in, not promised. You own your data, credentials, code and documentation. We document every system so that a team other than its original authors can maintain it. If you move the work in-house or elsewhere, we hand over the code, the environments and the runbooks in an orderly exit. Once live, the application can be supported alongside your devices, servers and network infrastructure under one managed IT services contract.
What custom software costs, and what drives the price
Last reviewed: September 2026.
A credible quote for custom software development names each of the factors that drive the price:
- Scope. The number of user roles, screens, workflows and reports.
- Integrations. Each connection to an ERP, CRM, payment gateway or government interface adds design and testing work.
- Data. Migrating and cleaning records from old systems is the most commonly underestimated line.
- Compliance and security. POPIA controls, audit trails and a penetration test add cost and remove risk.
- Platforms. Web only, or web plus iOS and Android.
- Support. The service level you need after launch, priced separately from the build.
We do not publish rates. We quote each project in writing after discovery, broken into phases so you approve spend stage by stage, and support after launch is priced under its own SLA. For the detail, read app and software development cost in South Africa.
Based in Johannesburg, building for South African organisations
Our head office is at Stoneridge Office Park in Greenstone Hill, Johannesburg. Delivery is remote-first, so we work with organisations in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban on the same terms, and meet in person where the work needs it. If you are comparing software development companies in Cape Town, South African software developers in Gauteng or software companies in South Africa more widely, ask each the same three questions: who owns the code, who supports it, and what happens when a key person leaves.