Software Development Outsourcing - The Ultimate Guide

You have decided to read this article because you want to know all about software outsourcing, right? You have come to the right place. This is the ultimate guide to software development outsourcing. You will learn what is software outsourcing, why it is needed, what are outsourced product development models, and how to choose the best software outsourcing provider. Let’s dig in:

What is Software Development Outsourcing?

Software outsourcing is the practice of hiring a third-party for your software development. In simpler terms, it means giving away your software project idea to an expert third-party, that transforms it into a software product. The practice of outsourcing product development has become a preferred practice of organizations throughout the world. Let’s have a look at both pros and cons of outsourced product development first:

Why Software Development Outsourcing?

Current trends clearly show that companies prefer outsourcing over in-house development. For instance, according to a recent study by Statista, the IT outsourcing industry in the US alone is 132.9 billion dollars in the year 2020!

To clearly understand why outsourced product development is a better choice, let’s have a detailed look at the pros and cons of both in-house software development versus outsourcing:

Cost and time:

For an organization to develop software on its own, dedicated human resources and IT infrastructure is required that may lead to high costs. On the other hand, due to tough competition in the market, outsourcing companies offer friendly costs to their clients and ensure product delivery on time. So in comparison, the outsourced product development is cost and time-effective.

Expertise and technology trends:

Software development outsourcing companies keep up with the latest technology and trends to stay relevant in the market. On the other hand, organizations need to allocate separate finances on hiring the new staff with expertise on the latest technologies and/or training of their staff.

Quality and flexibility in software development:

Outsourcing software development ensures high quality and flexibility to the customer as an experienced outsourcing company makes correct technological decisions giving high-quality products. It has dedicated infrastructure, services, and a qualified team to work with.

Security:

Data security issues are termed as one of the major drawbacks of outsourcing software. However, keeping data in-house doesn’t make it completely safe from the vast cyber-threat landscape. A wise decision in this regard is to outsource software product development to a security-aware organization following data security protocols.

Communication and Business Culture:

Another key issue with outsourcing software is miscommunication between both parties and misunderstanding of the business culture of the customer organization.

Software Development Outsourcing Beats In-house Product Development

To conclude, outsourcing software seems a better choice provided that the outsourcing company keeps up with the technological trends, is security-aware, and understands the customer’s requirements/culture. Now let’s see what are various ways to outsource software product development.

What to Look for When Outsourcing Software Product Development?

Software outsourcing company provide various methods for product development. It is wise to have a look at the two most popular software outsourcing development models before outsourcing your project.

Dedicated Team Model

In this model, the outsourcing company provides you with a dedicated team of experts that can help you build your software product. These experts include software developers, designers, UI/UX experts, QA engineers, etc. This team ensures that the software product development process is running smoothly. The outsourcing company might provide you these professionals onshore, or they may also work remotely according to your requirements and feasibility. The pricing of the dedicated team model depends on the number of members and hours.

Project-based Model

In the project-based model, you hand over the entire project to the outsourcing company. Now it’s the company’s headache to manage the outsourced project development cycle. You just need to set up a budget and time for your project!

How to Ensure Maximum Value Out of Software Development Outsourcing?

Selecting the right outsourcing company can be a game-changer! To ensure successful software development, you must check out the following factors:

Expertise and Experience

You do not want to give away your software project to a bunch of rookies. Check the portfolio of the software development companies. Evaluate the expertise and experience of the teams you are going to work with.

Communication and Management

How are the outsourcing company representatives communicating with you? Are they listening to your ideas and apprehensions? Do they seem cooperative and helpful? How do they resonate with your organization’s culture? Furthermore, keenly observe how they manage time to respond to you, how effectively they communicate. These factors are crucial for your project to be a success.

Creativity

Software development teams should be creative. Evaluate the creativity of the outsourcing software development company. See their portfolio, website, marketing strategies, blogs, and product demonstrations. See how differently they work from the rest.

Regularity and Compliance

It is crucial to check whether the outsourcing company takes care of regularity and compliance. Do check if the company understands and implements security standards such as GDPR or HIPPA.

Value for Money

Take quotations from different software development companies and observe which outsourcing company provides the best value for money. Furthermore, remember that time is also money. So set a feasible budget and time with the third-party product development organization.

Customer Reviews

The customer’s review tells a lot about the organizations. Check client testimonials and customer reviews on third-party review forums and websites as well.

Software development outsourcing seems the right choice for everyone: from SMBs to large enterprises. The key is to find the right software development company for your business!