We started Cidersoft because we were tired of seeing companies burned by agencies that over-promise and under-deliver. Ten years and 200+ projects later, we've built something we're proud of.
We believe that great engineering, done by experienced, accountable people, is the single biggest lever a technology company can pull.
Most IT vendors optimize for their own margins: they send junior engineers, hide offshore teams behind account managers, and make switching painful. We built Cidersoft to be different. Senior engineers only. Transparent processes. References available for every engagement. You know exactly what you're getting, and so do we.
We also use AI in our own operations. Candidate matching, technical vetting, project tracking, and client reporting, all powered by internal AI tooling we've built and refined over years of real engagements. When you work with Cidersoft, you're not just getting AI-capable engineers. You're getting a vendor that runs on AI itself.
Every engineer in our network has a minimum of 5 years of hands-on production experience. We don't have a "developing talent" pipeline, we have a senior talent pool. This is a business decision, not a marketing claim: senior engineers are more expensive per hour but dramatically cheaper per outcome.
Since 2022, we've required all engineers in our network to develop working proficiency in AI integration. Not familiarity, working proficiency. Every engagement includes an AI capability assessment during discovery, and we integrate AI where it genuinely moves the needle. Not as an upsell. As standard practice.
No black boxes. In staff augmentation, you know exactly who is working and what they're doing. In project execution, you have full Git access, see every sprint board, and get weekly written reports. We don't hide the work behind deliverables, you see it as it happens.
This is our most differentiating practice: we proactively offer references for every engagement, every time. Not curated testimonials, direct contact with the CTO, VP Engineering, or CEO at the client company. We do this because we're proud of every relationship we've built, and because it eliminates doubt faster than any marketing copy.
Our account managers and tech leads are based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Your engineers may work remotely, but you always have a local point of contact who can meet in person, attend your all-hands, and represent you in conversations with the engineering team. No time-zone surprises.
Over 60% of our revenue comes from repeat clients. We measure success not by project count but by how many clients come back. That means we're always thinking about the long-term health of your codebase, team, and technology decisions, not just the current deliverable.
Named engineers, direct access, and a Bay Area account manager who stays involved throughout the engagement, not just at kickoff.
We don't operate like a typical agency. There are no subcontracting black boxes, no layers of middlemen between you and the engineers doing the work.
In staff augmentation, you're getting direct access to the engineer. They're in your Slack, attending your standups, and committing code to your repo. We handle the contract, the compliance, and the backup, but the engineer is yours.
In project execution, you have a dedicated team with a named PM, a named tech lead, and engineers whose profiles you've approved. No surprise hand-offs, no "the team" as a faceless entity.
We also don't disappear after launch. Post-launch maintenance is built into every project scope, and most clients retain us on an ongoing basis. We're invested in what we build, because we'll be maintaining it.
Founder & CEO
Ilya founded Cidersoft in 2015 with a straightforward thesis: senior engineering talent, transparent processes, and long-term relationships beat the traditional agency model. Ten years and 200+ projects later, that thesis has held up. Cidersoft has grown from a one-person operation into a Bay Area engineering partner trusted by startups and enterprises alike.
Before Cidersoft, Ilya spent over a decade in software engineering and technical leadership across industries including fintech, healthcare, and e-commerce. He is a Forbes Business Council member and remains hands-on in client engagements, architecture reviews, and technical strategy.
This is not a standard agency practice. We offer direct references, real conversations with past clients, because we're confident in every relationship we've built. If you're evaluating Cidersoft, we want you to hear from people who have worked with us directly.
Ask us for references before you sign anything. We'll connect you within 24 hours.
Whether you're evaluating vendors or ready to start, we'd love to hear from you. No pressure, no sales funnel.
