Hire a Dedicated Delphi Development Team
· Typical ramp: 12 to 15 business days
Reviewed by Javier Uanini, CEO and delivery lead, Siblings Software.
Delphi talent is thin on job boards, legacy VCL apps still run daily operations, and the last senior author left years ago. A dedicated Delphi development team from Siblings is a managed squad: architect, Object Pascal engineers, DUnitX QA, delivery lead. We work from Córdoba, Argentina (GMT-3) under our dedicated teams practice, with overlap across US business hours.
This page covers the Legacy Delphi Continuity Test, published monthly bands, first-thirty-day governance, VCL and FireMonkey scope, and when Delphi staff augmentation is enough. For broader outsourcing context see Delphi development outsourcing.
Who hires a dedicated Delphi team (not staff aug)
Mission-critical desktop still on Delphi 7 or XE
Manufacturing, logistics, and finance terminals cannot pause for a rewrite. You need phased FireDAC migration and regression suites, not a slide deck.
API exposure stuck behind monolith UI
REST gateways, RAD Server, or hybrid .NET services are on the roadmap but nobody owns threading and data-module boundaries. A squad owns both lanes.
Support tickets spike every release season
Memory leaks and database throughput regressions need profiling discipline and DUnitX gates inside the sprint, not after UAT.
FireMonkey pilot without starving VCL production
Dual-track delivery: Lane A keeps desktop green; Lane B ports selected flows to FMX with shared regression coverage.
The Legacy Delphi Continuity Test
Three honest yes answers mean a dedicated Delphi squad is the right shape. Otherwise we recommend staff aug or scoped project delivery.
We reference Embarcadero RAD Studio documentation and community guidance from Delphi Praxis when planning version upgrades.
Monthly pricing bands (published)
Stabilization pod
Two Delphi engineers plus part-time QA. Crash triage, dependency bumps, support-season hardening.
Band: USD 10k to 16k per month. Minimum: 3 months.
Modernization squad
Architect, three engineers, QA embedded. Version upgrades, FireDAC, REST exposure.
Band: USD 17k to 28k per month. Minimum: 4 months.
Enterprise squad
Five to six people including delivery lead for multi-site or regulated deployments.
Band: USD 26k to 38k per month. Minimum: 4 months.
First thirty days on your Delphi codebase
Week one: read-only audit of units, packages, and build scripts. Week two: first merged change through your pipeline. Days fifteen to thirty: governance dashboard with regression pass rate, support ticket trend, and modernization burndown. Vetting includes a pair session on a real VCL screen: threading around async work, a FireDAC edge case, and a failing DUnitX test.
When web dashboards or portals are part of scope, we coordinate with our web development and API development teams so Delphi backends and modern frontends stay on one roadmap.
Example engagement shape
Freight control tower (composite). Delphi 7 logistics desktop across 180 warehouses. Modernization squad upgraded core modules to Delphi 12 with FireDAC, added REST gateway, automated 120 critical regression flows. Support tickets down 38% during peak season; nightly Azure DevOps deployments. USD 27k per month over nine months.
More case studies on request for manufacturing and logistics references.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Delphi architect or tech lead, senior Object Pascal engineers with VCL or FireMonkey production hours, QA with DUnitX automation, and a delivery lead who owns sprint hygiene. Everyone is full-time on your engagement inside your repositories and build pipelines. Minimum commitment is three months; after that, fifteen-day notice either side.
The Legacy Delphi Continuity Test is our named checklist before proposing a dedicated squad. Q1: Is production still on pre-10 Delphi with VCL or BDE debt? Q2: Do users depend on daily desktop uptime in manufacturing, logistics, or finance? Q3: Is API exposure part of the roadmap via REST, RAD Server, or hybrid .NET services? Two yes answers mean a managed squad beats lone contractors.
A stabilization pod of two Delphi engineers plus part-time QA is USD 10,000 to 16,000 per month. A modernization squad with architect, three engineers, and QA is USD 17,000 to 28,000 per month. A larger enterprise squad with five to six people including delivery lead is USD 26,000 to 38,000 per month. Figures are all-in from our side for salaries and employer taxes.
Yes with phased rollouts. We audit data modules, migrate BDE or dbGo to FireDAC in slices, introduce automated regression suites, and keep production builds green each sprint. Big-bang cutovers are refused without parity tests and rollback tags.
Staff augmentation adds individuals to your management chain. A dedicated team supplies the architect, internal review bar, DUnitX discipline, and accountability for modernization slices. Use augmentation when you already have a strong Delphi lead. Use a dedicated team when memory leaks, release cadence, and API exposure need one accountable unit.
Week one is read-only discovery: unit inventory, component dependencies, build pipeline map, and risk-ranked backlog. Week two lands the first merged change, usually CI hardening or a targeted memory fix. Days fifteen to thirty establish governance: regression pass rate, build success, support ticket trend, and modernization slice burndown on a shared dashboard.
Yes. Engagements start with a mutual NDA and a Master Services Agreement that assigns source code and deliverables to you on payment. We work inside your repositories and signing keys.
OUR STANDARDS
Delphi engagements ship like operational software, not ticket queues.
- Memory and threading profiled. Leak hunts are scheduled work, not panic Fridays.
- Regression before promotion. DUnitX suites gate releases on critical flows.
- Documentation lives in your repo. ADR-light notes for data-module and API decisions.
- Knowledge transfer built in. Pairing with internal engineers before tapering the squad.
Contact Siblings Software Argentina
Send Delphi version, user count, and modernization goals; we reply within one business day.