Software development outsourcing to enhance your team

In the current technology-focused business environment, it has become a prerequisite for companies to develop custom software products to stay competitive. Doing so in-house is usually a complex and time-consuming process that will inevitably delay growth. Therefore, businesses increasingly decide to outsource software development, with outstanding results: releasing world-class products at accelerated speeds.

Before you decide that outsourcing development is the right solution for you, evaluate the pros and cons and have a clear plan for how the collaboration will fulfill your specific business needs.

Outsourcing software development offers a number of benefits:

• Access to the newest technologies

Technology evolves at such a rapid speed that it’s difficult to keep up with all the developments if this is not part of your core business. Working with an experienced software development services provider means having a partner who stays on top of all advances and will ensure that you don’t fall behind.

• Efficiency

Assembling an in-house software development team from scratch is a long and expensive process. Talented software engineers are a highly sought after commodity. A successful recruitment process requires a significant investment of time and resources, and top-quality talent is increasingly difficult and costly to attract and retain. Unless you need a team long-term to work on many projects, it is probably neither time- nor cost-effective to build one yourself.

An established software development company will have already done that work and will have a team ready to start on your project immediately.

• Control the costs

Highly skilled software engineers are available in many countries but their price tags vary greatly depending on the location. It is likely that working with a dedicated team based abroad can offer you significant savings. Issues that used to be problematic when it came to working with a foreign partner, such as communication and project management tools, are now mostly a thing of the past.

• Improve company focus

Outsourcing software development is a good strategy for businesses whose goals include growing and scaling up fast. It allows you to keep your limited internal resources directed toward the most essential activities. Your recruitment team can focus on only bringing in essential talent, while your HR and IT departments don’t get overtaxed. As a result, you can stay focused on the core elements of your business.

Look for a company with international experience and a proven track record – one that will follow the latest advances in usability and user experience and will deliver first-class products that can be easily maintained and upgraded post-launch.

The outsourced software development company must fulfill the same high standards that you would set for in-house developers so that you’re sure you’re not compromising on quality. It's possible to outsource to a full digital partner that has a solid portfolio of delivering global projects of all sizes and complexities – make sure your partner is experienced in working with clients remotely while delivering business goals on time.

Here are the best practices that will help you to avoid the pitfalls of outsourcing your software development:

• Choose the right development methodology

Different software development companies might work with different methodologies and approaches to the development process. Many of the issues that used to be negatively associated with outsourcing were connected to the ‘waterfall’ model. The client was not actively involved beyond the initial phase of development and the approach often resulted in buggy software that was difficult and costly to fix. On the other hand, if you choose a software development company that uses agile processes, you will be constantly updated on the progress of your app or website and will be able to provide feedback and guidance at any stage, ensuring that any likely issues are solved before they have the potential to derail the project.

• Use the best online project management tools

An outsourcing partner that is experienced in working with remote clients will have highly developed and fine-tuned project management processes to make sure that you stay in the loop.

• Clear business outcomes

Set specific goals for the product, including its functionalities, usability, UX design, and loading times, all supported by real data. Through agile processes and highly-organized project management, you’ll be able to test the product throughout the development process and achieve the results that fully satisfy your performance goals.

There are two main models of software outsourcing to choose from:

• Team Extensions

If you already have an in-house software development team but need extra manpower to speed up your current project, or perhaps your team is lacking engineers with certain skill sets, an external company can provide you with the temporary workforce to join your team remotely.

• Project-based

You can also outsource the full development of your product and have the external company do both the management and the engineering.

An experienced outsourcing partner will be able to offer different models depending on what you need.

Additionally, your partner should be organized around innovating processes and technological advancement, and provide all-round digital consulting and development services for others.

Decide on the terms of communications, processes, and deliverables to make sure that the collaboration results in a product that meets your exact business goals.