Outsourcing development software

When you hire an outsourced team, you can save money on these hiring expenses. For example, the cost of living in London is far higher than in a country in Eastern Europe, like Poland and Ukraine. By outsourcing your software development team, you can also hire top-quality talent from developing countries like the Philippines at a fraction of the cost! Instead, you get access to tons of third-party vendors around the globe to handle your custom software development projects.

Most of these software development agencies have accumulated technical expertise by working with a wide variety of clients. To manage these clients and projects, outsourced teams also have access to top-of-the-line software development tools. This will help them easily adapt to your business needs! Additionally, outsourced teams may follow Agile development methods or DevOps that allow them to be more productive. These processes can also help speed up time to market delivery, helping your company increase its tech capability at a rapid pace.

By transferring time-consuming projects to an outsourcing vendor, you can reduce the workload for your internal tech team. This way, your full-time employees can focus on strategic goals that match their skill level, while the outsourced team focuses on these niche software solutions.

Having an outsourced software development team can often improve the quality of the final product. Your outsourced team can have dedicated resources for testing and quality assurance to ensure that the final software product is stable for a better user experience. Moreover, as your outsourced team may have fresh ideas on making your software solution better, it can lead to more innovation. They might even suggest new approaches to solve existing business problems.

You may need to overcome problems like language barriers, cultural conventions, and time zone differences. Your outsourcing software or algorithm is at the risk of being stolen or replicated by an individual employee.

But one can loosely define code quality as a collection of attributes that needs to be communicated to the outsourced team. And two must-have attributes are clarity and maintainability. For example, you should be able to check if the code is well-formatted, documented, and tested for long-term success and bug-free execution. Sure, these can be challenging, but you can overcome them with some proactive measures mentioned above. Now, if you want to outsource software development, you need to choose the right model based on your needs.

The best thing about outsourcing software development is that you can manage your outsourced team in any way you choose! You can use different models to outsource the development, maintenance, and testing of your software solution to suit your business needs. You can hand over project requirements to the outsourced team, and the team works on the project from start to finish. Before the project begins, both you and the outsourced team fix the price and deadline of the project.

This gives the outsourcing developers complete control over the planning and execution of the project. This model consists of hiring a team of skilled experts from a third-party outsourcing vendor.

These outsourced software development professionals work together and act as an extension of your core team. When choosing a team of developers, you can assess them with a short coding test to check if they are prepared to take on the essential tasks to develop the software for your company.

The dedicated team can consist of many skilled professionals, like a software engineer, designers, UX specialists. They ensure that your product development processes are running smoothly and effectively. Managing a dedicated team is similar to managing a remote team.

When outsourcing software development, there are a number of long-term goals that can help you make the most of the opportunity. There could be many goals that can help you in the long run. Some companies might start outsourcing as it could help them get software development services at a smaller cost.

It might help cut down the overall costs of the development. Many other companies believe that outsourcing can help them scale up their teams quickly. Outsourcing can help in fulfilling any type of long-term requirement of a developer or a team of developers. Another long-term goal that you might want to set is regarding maintenance. You need to form a long-term outsourcing relationship with a vendor to ensure your software is not just fully maintained but also upgrades as and when any new technology is launched.

In the long run, you want to achieve quality codes for your software from a software outsourcing company that also helps you cut down your overall software development budget. Apart from the long-term goals that most people talk about, there are some short-term goals as well that you can set up based on your requirements.

These could be as simple as getting on-demand support or on-demand developer for your software. You might have a small project at hand that needs completion within a specific period. However, due to a lack of developers, it is taking longer. Hiring a remote developer for those particular hours can speed up your development. The next goal for any software development would be to plug the technology gap.

Most organizations, startups, and enterprises choose to outsource their software development to integrate the latest technology in their development work. You can get an API or application program interface, a plugin, a small module, or any other thing developed for your software. This could help when the API you need is to be developed using cutting-edge technology that is yet not present in your in-house team or even in your local region.

Outsourcing can also help you with migration. When you want to migrate your website, web application, mobile application, or any other digital product from one platform to another and upgrade it, outsourcing can be very helpful. It can speed up the process of migration and help you become digitally advanced. Even when you are planning for digital transformation , joining hands with an external technology partner can speed up your digitalization efforts. With goals in place, you can move ahead with your software development outsourcing plan.

This is where the technical co-founder of your startup can help you choose the right strategy to choose. The first step towards successful software development outsourcing would always be about strategy. If you have adopted the right outsourcing strategy , your outsourcing efforts are bound to succeed. But if you have had a wrong start, your outsourcing efforts would not last long.

There are several strategies that businesses adopt depending on their requirements and their work. Every organization has a gap that it seeks to fulfill through outsourcing.

This could be a short-term gap or a long-term one, a project requirement, or a technology gap to fill in for a client project. Different organizations have different requirements which we have depicted using various scenarios. Let's talk about these in this section. These are those organizations that have a core team of developers or programmers sitting in their office but are lacking technical expertise. They need a specific technology added to their project.

This could be new technology or something that your in-house team is lacking. Many even have some technology challenges which cannot be solved by the in-house teams. This can be solved by hiring remote developers for the project. They can hire specific tech experts from across the global talent pool and find the right people to work for their project. Whether you want to fill short term technology gap or build a long-term outsourced, cost-effective center of excellence, hiring developers, or setting up an extended team is the best solution.

So, depending on your requirements, you can get core developers or a complete team of developers, designers, project managers, QA testers, and others. You can easily hire developers and build your extended teams for software development and add additional expertise to their projects. Make remote team members an asset to your organization and leverage the value that they can deliver. Many organizations do not have a technical team in their office for software or product development.

They need to set up an ultra-powerful team dedicatedly working on their project but at a lower price. The best part here is that there would be a project manager over the team to make sure everything goes as planned. One of the best parts about outsourcing is that it lets you choose between different engagement models based on your tech requirements. You can even build complete dedicated teams with developers, project managers, designers, quality assurance engineers, and others for your project.

The organization can have as much involvement as it wants. It can discuss requirements directly with the project manager and ensure the work is done as described. It can even have meetings with the developers if needed.

This is when you have too much on your plate to handle the development of this product or software. These are organizations that either needs some software outsourcing company to build their software completely or hand over a project to an external company. They need a trusted vendor to build the software from scratch and manage it until it scales. In such cases, you will require a team that will manage the end-to-end product development and will hand the product over on its development.

For startups and SMEs with smaller team sizes and just a few people at the management level, managing an offshore team or remote developer could pose more challenges than being beneficial. Depending on your requirements and the involvement you want, you can get end-to-end product development.

Development: This is the stage where the actual software is developed by the developers. When outsourcing development , your idea of the software is transformed into a full-fledged software with its APIs, web, mobile, and cloud apps. Scaling: This is the stage where your software is up-to-date and ready to rule the market.

It would include everything from inbound to outbound strategy to generate demand. The biggest advantage of outsourcing the complete project to a software outsourcing company is that it will ensure clear deliverables and reduce friction. All you need is a clear goal, a well-developed outsourcing contract with the scope, and other things listed clearly.

This would help in the end-to-end development of the software in a more streamlined and speedy manner. In such situations, a company can take the managed product development approach. You share the product idea with the company and discuss the requirements.

The vendor handles everything from MVP development to scaling the product and launch. This is a situation that most startups find themselves in after the seed funding round. They have an MVP or a very basic version of the product. However, now they need to scale up the product and get product development with new features and functionalities which they are unable to develop with the existing resources.

They need expert assistance from technology partners or need to hire a technical co-founder to scale the product. One of the easiest ways for product managers to scale their products without expanding their infrastructure or tech expertise is to hire extended teams. IT offshore companies offer extended teams that act as your in-house team, just sitting in an offshore location. You already have a team who built the MVP , now you need more developers, technology experts, and engineers to scale it.

This can be easily done by joining hands with a software development outsourcing company. Another scenario that most startups find themselves seeking assistance from an offshore IT company is when they are launching a tech product but do not have the required technology expertise. They need a technology partner or need to hire a CTO or technical co-founder to help with everything technology.

Such situations call for the organization to hire technology partners. Many IT companies help startups from scratch to build their MVP, get validation, ensure cash flows, all the time assisting with the development and other technology aspects.

This is another scenario when a company is looking to modernize its existing legacy applications. They need to modernize their existing software or systems by infusing the power of the latest disruptive technologies.

This is when organizations look for an external software development company to handle their project from the middle to modernize them. They might need the company to develop a particular module of their existing software or need an outsourcing company to help with digital transformation.

This is where they need to find a digital transformation enabler. Such companies have teams to help with any type of external support like:. Single-Page Application. Mobile Responsive. Here, you might need an interface for your software, want to have a new plugin developed using a new-age technology, or anything else. This is a great strategy as you can keep your in-house team working on the core of the software while the remote team of developers can build the independent module or work on your smaller project.

Depending on your situation, you might just need a single remote developer for your in-house team or you might need a complete team of all the developers, testers, designers, and everyone to turn your software idea into a reality. In fact, for some projects, you might have everything jotted down and can even give the entire project away to an offshore software development company. When outsourcing, you need to be careful as to how you undertake the entire transition to ensure it succeeds.

Performing due diligence before outsourcing or choosing an offshore software development company is also important. But even before that, you need to be sure if outsourcing is the right solution for you or not. Timing is a huge factor in outsourcing success.

Outsourcing when your company is neither ready nor in need of an external source can be harmful. The same goes if you refrain from outsourcing despite all signs telling you to outsource. So, let's find out first when is the right time to outsource and when a company should avoid outsourcing. Many startups, enterprises, and CTOs come to us with the same question. They are not sure if it is right for them to outsource product development or hire an in-house team to do the job. If you are wondering if software development outsourcing is for you or not, keep reading to know if it is right for you to outsource.

The next reason why you should probably choose to outsource your software development is if your local developers are not as skills as your project demands. You can always find the required skills in countries where IT talent is better and more qualified. You already have an in-house team of developers but they are too busy in other projects.

This is the time you can definitely reach out to an outsourced software development company. You would not be exploiting your in-house team and they would be able to work in their full efficiency on the current project, maintaining quality. The next factor that convinces most people to opt for software development is the requirement for technology. The latest technology is being added to the digital world and a new version of the latest frameworks or coding languages is being launched.

Finding a new developer each time you want to add this technology stack could be challenging, in terms of both time and money.

By joining hands with a technology partner, you can be assured to add the latest tech stack to your software development. You need to have careful monitoring and management of any project if it is taken in-house. You need to ensure compliance, manage teams, check the code quality, and much more. With so much in your place, you might find it difficult to focus on your business growth. By availing of the outsourcing software development services by an expert company, you can easily focus all your energy on things that need your special attention.

Moreover, bringing in expert teams to work on your project would mean speeding up your development timelines. Outsourcing software development can be a very effective way to cut down your overall cost of development. You save on the IT cost, the infrastructure cost, hardware cost, and many other costs when you start outsourcing. While it is important to know when you should outsource software development, at the same time, it is also important to know when not to do so.

Yes, there are many instances when you can work better without outsourcing to achieve success. Here are some of the things that will tell you that you should not be outsourcing software development. Jumping into outsourcing is never a good idea if you are still not convinced that you have found the right company. There are a number of things that you need to assess before finalizing the outsourcing software development company.

Do not join hands with a company just because it is offering you cheap development. Check the reviews, testimonials, portfolio, experience, technology stack, niche, etc. Before outsourcing, discuss the non-disclosure agreement, IP protection, confidentiality of your software, etc.

If you see even the slightest hint of any threat, avoid outsourcing. Additionally, if your core information like the customer records, business data, etc. For companies like Uber, whose core business revolves around the Uber app itself, outsourcing its development is never a good idea.

You need to be involved in your core business competency and cannot delegate its development to someone else. While outsourcing is supposed to decrease the overall cost of software development, there can be some instances where it might expand your budget.

For example, if you want a plugin or API developed, hiring a highly specialized professional for it could be very expensive. You can rather get an intern or a junior developer from your local area to get it done. Even when you are outsourcing your software development to some offshore company, you are always liable to have some control over the work and access the docs or files required for the same.

If you find yourself being totally cut off from the project and see the outsourcing software development companies take all the decisions, you can definitely avoid this method. Right from the start, you need to have a clear vision of what you want from them and follow up with them.

If you have your apprehensions and doubts, here are some ways that can help you succeed in outsourcing software development. Knowing when to outsource and when to skip is crucial for success. Not every operation or task should be outsourced. There is a stark difference between in-house and outsourced product development and one can leverage its benefits only when they know what to outsource and when.

It is always advisable to outsource what you have very little knowledge of and keep the core functionalities in-house. It is very important that you pay extra attention and heed to the onboarding process of your team for outsourced services. Just like you would onboard any regular team for your in-house operations, you should treat the remote team the same way. Sharing the information about your company and its culture, introducing them to other team members, delegating tasks, and everything should be as smooth as with any in-house hiring.

Before you finalize any company, it is important that you ask them to work on your test project first. Get them to work on a smaller module or project to test how the communication goes. Also, check their trustworthiness and honesty about the process, delivery on promises, and how quick they are in developing it. You can even start with a smaller product or a prototype of the product with MVP development.

When you have the developers or team members sitting within your physical proximity, the communication tends to be extremely high.

But when you are working with remote teams, this poses a problem. You cannot just assume that they would know everything about the software, your company, or the way things work, or what you expect them to do.

Say everything clearly and make sure there are zero assumptions. The next tip to succeed when you are outsourcing software development is to be involved as much as you can in the development project. You would be totally involved in any in-house project. Do not be too carefree about your outsourcing project thinking the project managers would handle everything.

Although they would definitely take care of everything, it is your responsibility to be involved. Be available for weekly meets.

Also, it is important that you give early feedback to anything and everything you feel is not going as planned. Outsourcing gives you flexibility and you can always communicate with them about your requirements to get early changes done. The next tip is to establish dependencies with the external team that you hire. This is an important tip to eliminate any type of miscommunication or misunderstanding.

This is where you have an outsourcing contract that establishes all the important tasks that need to be done by the external team. It should be clear as to what all the offshore companies are expected to deliver and what they will not be responsible for. This would also eliminate any unhealthy dependencies.

Another important tip while working with an external team is to encourage feedback exchange. This way you know where they are on the work front and if they are stuck somewhere. Not just that, feedback exchange helps you get a fresh perspective on things and a new set of eyes to look at the project.

The external team might have some better opinions or ideas about the software development which might help enhance the product even more. As the world is turning into a global village, many countries are opening doors and offering outsourcing services. Apart from India, China, Ukraine, there are several other countries that offer outsourcing software development services. When you are planning to outsource your software development, there will always be a question around which region to choose for.

Countries across the world have started offering outsourcing services to organizations across the globe. If you wish to know the major outsourcing regions from which you can choose your outsourcing partner for software development, here is a list of the same. With IT hubs like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Gurugram, and similar cities, India is fast gaining popularity as one of the best countries to outsource software development.

India produces over 3. Not only does India have great IT talent, but the cost of outsourcing is also pretty low. The people are also fluent in English, eliminating any language barrier. In fact, a new Korn Ferry study revealed that India might become the tech leader by amid the tech crunch that is expected to hit the global IT market. No wonder outsourcing to India is becoming so popular today.

However, there is still a bit of a technology gap. So, if you have complex software to be developed, it is probably best that you chose some other country. The Philippines is best for simple software development. As per the stats from HackerRank, Poland ranks third in housing the most skilled professionals. With 4. However, there are challenges here as well. Only 10 million of the 1. Moreover, IP protection and piracy is also an issue in this country.

Ukraine has great tech talent and can be trusted with all types of software development projects. Its time zone also overlaps with the US and UK, giving you better flexibility. India has gained popularity as a hotspot outsourcing destination. Many companies from across the world have joined hands with Indian companies to outsource their software development. Whether it is data processing, eCommerce management, search engine marketing, software development, or any other kind of IT software outsourcing service, they love outsourcing to India.

The key difference between the two boils down to relationships and goals. Tactical outsourcing. This term is used to describe a situation where companies outsource projects in response to changing circumstances. Often, tactical outsourcing is reactionary and focuses on short-term goals. For example, if a company needs help meeting a deadline or meeting a temporary increase in demand, they might contract out a one-off project to avoid falling behind.

Strategic outsourcing. Strategic outsourcing focuses on long-term goals. In this scenario, companies focus on building ongoing relationships with trusted vendors to help them achieve strategic goals.

This approach offers several benefits. One, companies can take on more work; two, they can offer more products and services; and three, they can enter new markets. Additionally, in-house teams can spend more time on the projects that make the best use of their time. Forrester recommends choosing IT partners that understand transformation and have technologies you can use as a catalyst for better outcomes.

Software outsourcing is an extension of that.