Two Clouds designs, builds, and maintains the systems that businesses use to manage their day-to-day operations, such as ERP platforms, integration layers, customer portals, and stock management systems. The clients it works with are often in manufacturing, financial services, e-commerce/retail, or logistics, and tend to seek out Dan’s services when their off-the-shelf software no longer cuts it. It might be they have outgrown a SaaS product or that they are sitting on an ageing system no longer invested in. Since establishing his company last year, Dan has been passionate about offering a service business, not a product business. He explained: “I want to build long-term relationships with clients where we genuinely understand their business and grow with them.” This may sound simple, but it actually shapes almost every decision Dan makes regarding Two Clouds, from how it scopes work to its pricing, and how it handles problems. Being open and honest is also key, even when the news is bad. These are just the fundamentals, and what sets Two Clouds apart on a technical level is that it builds custom software designed to grow alongside the client, and does not just provide a system. Many agencies deliver projects well, but end the relationship with the customer as soon as they get it over the line. Dan has seen first-hand what happens next: the software becomes a legacy system – too expensive and complex to support – so the company is forced into an expensive rebuild of it. Dan told us: “We work differently. Once a system is live, we keep investing in it alongside the client, and that extends the lifespan of what they’ve already paid for. The longer that relationship runs, the better we understand the client’s business, and that ultimately makes us more useful to them.” Things do not end here, as keeping up its end means Two Clouds must stay close to the technology it is offering, and this is one reason why it uses AI tools as part of its own development workflow. Dan continued: “We work across Azure, AWS and Digital Ocean, and keep our integration capability sharp across Sage, SAP, Salesforce, and QuickBooks, to name a few. But honestly, the bigger part is staying close to the clients. Most of what we improve comes from listening to what businesses are actually struggling with.” Since most clients are also not technical, it is mostly up to Dan to make the decisions for them. This position makes Dan somewhat sceptical when it comes to some of the trends in this space, especially AI in software development. Vibe coding is one area with lots of hype, but Dan believes it is worth being measured about it. Whilst he does use AI tools across his work and finds them genuinely useful, he recognises they are not yet fit for building serious systems on their own. The opportunity is for experts like Dan to use AI to speed up processes, without sacrificing their engineering expertise. Leaving our readers with some valuable expertise, Dan shared the general rule he has when it comes to solving technical challenges is that it is fine for a person to spend 30 minutes to an hour on a problem by themselves, but they need to ask someone if it is any longer. “Pride is expensive in this industry”, he said. As for his clients’ challenges, a big part of what Dan does is helping clients who have previously been let down, with the kind of turnaround he offers even making them feel excited about work again. These projects, all of which have come from Dan’s ethos of doing the work properly, being visible in the community, and staying patient, are set to continue for the rest of 2026 and beyond, with Two Clouds looking to maximise growth areas such as integration projects to open up projects that might otherwise have remained in the woodwork. We wish Dan the best of luck with all of this, and are delighted to recognise the quality of his Northern Irish software development consultancy in our IT Awards 2026. Contact: Dan Coulter Company: Two Clouds Web Address: https://twoclouds.co.uk/ Specialising in bespoke software development, Belfast-based consultancy Two Clouds provides custom business software to clients in the UK and Ireland. Dan Coulter, the founder and managing director of Two Clouds, is a software integration specialist (Sage, SAP, Salesforce), leveraging more than 15 years of experience building custom software to deliver what he believes is the culmination of his knowledge. We caught up with Dan for more following Two Clouds’ recognition. Best Emerging Software Development Consultancy 2026 – Northern Ireland
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