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UnknownDev

About us

A South African software company that builds things to last

UnknownDev builds custom systems for companies across very different industries, and runs its own SaaS products. The domain changes constantly; the engineering discipline does not.

Start a projectSee what we have built

How it started

UnknownDev began as a small independent venture taking on the systems other people found awkward - the ones with real operational detail, regulatory edges and a business depending on them. That work turned into a company with a consistent method rather than a single specialisation.

Why the name

Behind every piece of software people rely on there is a developer nobody can name. The billing system, the scheduling tool, the integration that quietly moves the data - that is the work, and it is the work we want to be good at.

Where it is going

Two tracks, deliberately. Client systems keep us close to real operational problems across very different industries. Our own products - UBooks first - force us to live with our engineering decisions over years instead of handing them over at go-live.

How we make decisions

These are not aspirations on a wall. They are the rules we apply when there is a trade-off to make and nobody is watching.

Boring technology, deliberately

We pick well-supported, widely-understood technology so the system is still maintainable in five years. Novelty is a cost, and it is your cost, not ours.

The dependency rule

Domain logic never knows about HTTP, databases or vendors. That is what makes a system testable, portable and cheap to change - and it is not negotiable in our codebases.

Small releases, real users

A narrow first version in front of real users beats a broad specification agreed in a meeting. We scope to something genuinely useful, ship it, then build outward from what people actually do with it.

If it is not automated, it is not finished

Manual deploys, untested backups and undocumented servers are the causes of most outages. Build, test, deploy, health-check and roll back automatically, or expect to be paged.

Say the uncomfortable thing early

If a requirement is going to cause a problem, or a budget will not cover the scope, you hear it while it is still cheap to change - not in a post-mortem.

No lock-in as a business model

You own your source code and your repository. We would rather be kept because the work is good than because leaving is expensive.

What working with us looks like

Five stages, each with something you can hold at the end of it. You are never waiting on a black box.

  1. 1-2 weeks

    Discovery

    We map the actual process - including the parts that happen in WhatsApp and on paper - and write down the scope, the constraints and what success looks like. You get that document whether or not you continue with us.

  2. 1 week

    Architecture & plan

    Domain model, integration map, hosting decision and a delivery plan with estimates. Trade-offs are stated explicitly, in writing, before anybody writes code.

  3. 6-12 weeks to first release

    Build in increments

    Short cycles with something reviewable at the end of each one. Automated tests and a deployment pipeline exist from the first week, not bolted on at the end.

  4. Ongoing

    Release & harden

    Health-gated deployment with automatic rollback, monitoring and alerting, restore-tested backups, and a runbook for the incidents that are actually likely.

  5. Your call

    Support or hand over

    Keep us on a support agreement, or take the documented codebase to your own team. Both are fine, and we do not make the second one difficult.

Three ways to engage

Something built, something maintained, or a decision made. We will tell you which one you actually need.

Project

A defined outcome with a written scope, a fixed architecture and staged delivery. Best when you know what needs to exist.

Good fit when

  • New system or platform
  • Replacing a spreadsheet process
  • A rebuild with a known target

Retainer

Ongoing capacity for a system in production - features, maintenance, monitoring and a response commitment.

Good fit when

  • Live product needing steady improvement
  • No in-house developer
  • Compliance or reporting deadlines

Advisory

Short, focused engagements that end in a written recommendation. No implementation commitment attached.

Good fit when

  • Architecture or code review
  • Build-versus-buy decision
  • Inherited codebase with no documentation

Boring technology, chosen on purpose

We pick well-supported, widely-understood tools so your system is still maintainable in five years. Novelty is a cost, and it would be your cost, not ours.

Front end

  • React
  • TypeScript
  • Vite
  • Tailwind CSS
  • Angular
  • Blazor

Back end

  • .NET / C#
  • ASP.NET Core
  • Node.js
  • REST & OpenAPI
  • Background workers

Data

  • SQL Server
  • PostgreSQL
  • Entity Framework Core
  • Redis
  • Time-series storage

Infrastructure

  • Linux
  • Nginx
  • Docker
  • GitHub Actions
  • systemd
  • Azure

The practices that decide whether it lasts

  • Clean architecture with a strict dependency rule
  • Automated build, test and deploy on every push
  • Health-gated releases with automatic rollback
  • Atomic releases and instant revert
  • Structured logging and alerting
  • Restore-tested backups
  • Rate limiting and input validation at every boundary
  • Secrets in the environment, never in source
  • Performance budgets enforced per release
  • WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility targets

Company details

Registered name
UnknownDev (Pty) Ltd
Founder
Jean De Lange
Country
South Africa
Working model
Remote, clients worldwide

Think we might be a fit?

Tell us what you are trying to solve. If we are not the right people for it, we will say so and point you somewhere better.

  • A reply from a developer. Not a sales pipeline. The person who reads your message is the person who would do the work.

  • An honest answer on fit. If an off-the-shelf product solves your problem better than a custom build, we will tell you which one.

  • No obligation. A first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. Discovery output is yours either way.

Or email [email protected]

Optional

A few sentences is plenty. Mention any deadline or budget constraint.

Usually answered within one business day.