Outsourcing IT services and solutions has been steadily on the rise for decades, particularly in the field of software development. This practice of utilizing external sources for your company’s development tasks can significantly help by accessing unique expertise and the best remote talent, for fast and cost-effective product delivery.
The advancements in technology over the last decade have made it convenient to work virtually from anywhere in the world. This offers companies from small business through to enterprise organizations a tremendous opportunity to source skilled developers from all over the globe instead of being limited to the talent that is available locally.
Devising an outsourcing strategy can be time-consuming, but once you have figured out the strategic route, you will be able to save both time and money in the long run. Why outsource? When it comes to managing your IT products and development services, there can be just too many tasks that require time and commitment. Your in-house IT department (if you have one already) may not be able to manage the intricate and complicated projects that require new features and tech advancements crucial to your company’s annual revenue. In this case, software development outsourcing makes perfect sense.
Learn all about the benefits of outsourcing and how to find your dream remote team in this post.
Outsourcing and how it drives more efficient and effective software development
Outsourcing can be one of the best decisions you end up making for your company. The decision often plays out with increased returns and reduced annual costs, when a long-term strategy that follows agile development is implemented with a knowledgeable and reliable partner. Already having a partner in place saves you sourcing each software developer for in-house efforts, plus generally has a lower cost of hiring in the long run.
Outsourcing software development has become an attractive option for all organizations in the last few decades. In fact, according to a recent study, “application development is outsourced, entirely or in part, by 53% of IT organizations.” The findings also show that spending for IT outsourcing is significantly on the rise year-on-year in all businesses; small, mid-size, and enterprise organizations.
Here’s how outsourcing can help you supercharge your company’s growth without breaking the bank:
- Can help you reduce the costs of hiring and retaining an in-house team in the long run;
- Increase focus on the tasks that require more attention;
- Bring additional human resources in to create new and improved product features;
- Find a remote team for timely market reach and a quick product launch.
When is the right time to outsource?
Here are some of the cases where outsourcing can help you with your company projects:
- You need a bigger team , or one with a more well-rounded skill-set for a software development project;
- You need a project feature built and your team is busy with other work;
- You need expertise in specific technologies like Ruby, React, Node.js, Amazon Web Services, etc;
- You need a software application built and don’t have an in-house team already.
What type of company can outsource successfully?
Outsourcing can be an effective and cost-saving strategy, for ROI, for small and large companies and startups. Depending on your project and budget requirements, you can choose to outsource a number of software development tasks, including web application development, mobile development, and data processing, to name just a few. As long as you can find the right fit remote team for your project requirements, you can outsource successfully - regardless of the size and type of your company.
What types of software development and other IT services can be outsourced?
If you have a software development project in mind, regardless if it’s web-based or a traditional application, chances are that you’ll be able to outsource development.
Here’s a quick overview of software development services (and other IT services) that you can easily outsource to remote IT partners:
- Web applications development: You can choose to outsource the complete web application development or a part of a project; for example, you can find a remote IT partner for back-end development, front-end development or for a particular functionality that requires advanced expertise.
- Mobile development: You can outsource mobile app development in iOS, Android or Windows. You can find IT partners who have experience in both native mobile app development (mobile apps coded for a specific mobile operating system) and hybrid mobile app development (apps built using CSS, HTML5 and JavaScript that work on iOS, Android and Windows Phone).
- DevOps: You can outsource services like infrastructure migration, performance or cost optimization, or setting up a distributed environment for your application/service.
- Other IT solutions and services: Other IT projects that can be outsourced include e-commerce application development, API design & development, IT infrastructure security, and integration with external services.
Things to consider before choosing software development outsourcing
Outsourcing can be a challenging task, especially for projects that require a skilled and dedicated workforce. Before choosing a company for software development outsourcing, consider the following points to ensure that your project is in good hands:
Focus on quality first
Cheap resources may align well with your budget, but they may not generate the result that you want to see. You need to consider the skill-set, software know-how, experience, and proven ability to deliver before considering an IT partner, in order to ensure a smooth process and quality end result. So, focus on quality first - even if it means increasing your budget. It will pay off in the long run.
Avoid teams that offer abstract or suspiciously low duration or budget estimates
Time estimates that are suspiciously low can usually lead to a number of defects and shortcomings that can elongate your project and blow out your project timelines. If you are suspicious about substantially low time estimates or really high estimates, ask your remote team to provide the breakdown for time estimates with regards to the task requirements. This will help you understand the time allocation for the task at hand better. The time and budget estimates should match the project breakdown. Before choosing your IT partner, ensure that they have done their research and analysis for outlining the project estimates.
Don’t just focus on the façade
At the end of the day, it’s the quality that matters the most. Only experienced IT teams with substantial expertise and technological know-how can save you from what’s known as “tech debt”. Technical debt creeps in when underlying problems that may be not be visible at first glance in time cause a cascade more issues for you down the line. Reliable remote IT teams are able to understand your requirements and have a deep understanding of the technologies required for the project to protect your company from tech debt. Look for companies that employ best testing practices to help ensure underlying code is of higher quality.
Make sure that outsourced resources are managed properly
Choose software development companies that have an “open” communication culture that allows you to stay in touch with the developers anytime during the workday. This will ensure that your project is being completed as per specified requirements and time frame so there’s no need for adjustments and costly changes at the end. This transparency in communication also ensures that you are aware of the progress being made, making managing external teams faster and more effective.
Consider the legal requirements
Before starting any project with your external team, make sure that your IT partner offers you appropriate legal terms, including ownership of code and assets, to ensure that you hold all the rights to your product’s content.
Choose stable organizations over freelancers
Software development is a comprehensive process that can be too much to handle for individual contractors. Remote software development companies are dedicated entities that have a management and organizational culture that fosters best software development practices. Employing best practices while coding is extremely important when it comes to intricate tasks like web or mobile development. Choosing a reliable software development company that has a dedicated team, adequate resources, the right expertise and an advanced remote culture will ensure a brilliant outcome for your time and money. Remote software development companies will also help you choose the right technology stack for your specific IT projects.
Attributes of a reliable software development company
When looking for a remote software development team, look for the following:
Dedicated and experienced team
Reliable software development companies dedicate team members to client projects so that clients can have timely delivery. That means employees are working solely on your project only, so their focus is never elsewhere.
A lot of IT companies decide to use their teams to do different projects simultaneously using the same team, which can lead to serious failures including project delays (often in multiple projects for multiple clients). This is usually the result of bad management making decisions that try and maximize profits at the sake of both their clients and their employees.
At times, the team members are forced to work overtime which leads to mental exhaustion that ultimately pushes team members to quit their jobs. This gives birth to another challenge for your company which is to find a new team member. New team members can take time to learn about the project’s scope and architecture which delays the project even longer. In most cases, new team members feel pressured to finish the task at hand and usually lose their, focus delivering inferior quality output.
Therefore, it is important that you choose a remote IT partner who can dedicate a team completely to your project until the very last sign off.
Progress updates and constant communication
Reliable software development companies usually focus on clear and constant communication that ensures that clients are regularly updated about the project’s progress. In addition, the teams conduct daily stand up meetings to ensure that team members have a clear understanding of their tasks. You have the ability to reach out to your team anytime, allowing you to get to know your team before you start working with them, and consistently maintain clarity in your communications throughout the project.
Strong company culture
A strong company culture with quality and pride in work at the forefront cultivates best software development practices. Reliable companies operate on strong company values that play a key role in successful project completion. Choose companies that showcase strong company culture and team leadership.
Safe and secure project dealings
Software development blueprints and documents are highly proprietary in nature. A reliable remote software development company will always rely on encryption-enabled communication and take necessary measures to secure data (and its access) and store the codebase securely, etc. Always discuss security and storage before starting the contract to see if the remote company you are considering has policies in place for client data protection.
Company culture, remote management expertise, and experience all contribute directly towards an outsourced project’s outcome. We have substantial experience in software technologies to offer a comprehensive package for all your development needs. We have been a trustworthy IT partner to many international companies and startups. This experience equips us to understand your requirements and create a strategic plan to fulfill them in a timely manner. If you need a remote software development company for your IT needs such as web application development, mobile app development or DevOps expertise, contact us. Our in-house software development team and IT experts will take a close look at your project requirements and advise accordingly.
