Outsourcing software development: The Ultimate Guide to Success

It takes a long time to build an in-house team of skilled developers for software development. Building an expert team of developers in a well-paid location can be quite costly for your company too.

There are several factors that motivate companies to outsource their software development to Outsourcing software development companies.

These factors include competition, increasing costs of running the business, and unavailability of required native talent.

This is why offshore software development is now emerging as a smart business move that exposes a company to the best global talent from all across the world without the hassles of on-site development.

This is why we bring to you the ultimate guide for outsourcing software development. You will also find out the benefits and risks of outsourcing software development.

Offshore Software Development – What It Means?

Offshore software development is basically the process of outsourcing the task of software development to a company that specializes in outsourcing software development. This company can be located anywhere.

The hiring company generally aims to delegate the software development process to a company that provides the most skilled and affordable global talent.

For example, a U.K based software company may delegate software development to an outsourcing software development company in India.  

When Would You Hire an Outsourcing Software Development Company?

Software development is a time and resource-consuming activity that needs a lot of attention from business owners.

Many times, companies find themselves spending more time, technical resources, and funds on creating a new product rather than focusing on their core business. This is avoided by delegating the work to offshore development companies.

Software development is mostly done on a budget because the costs of software development can run out of hand if not managed in advance.

If your company cannot afford in-house software development, it is wise to find an offshore software development company.

This way, the task can be done for a fraction of the cost. You can find the best developers in the world without having to go through a tedious hiring process.

Outsourcing software development gives you the freedom of getting the best team while maintaining your budget.

When You Have to Launch on Time

There is cutthroat competition in the software market so sometimes the timing of your project can mean success or failure.

A lot of companies work on similar ideas but sometimes the ones to do it first are the ones to capture the initial market.

Hiring a team of skilled developers for a specific skill can take months. The recruitment process involves many stages and the company has to deal with several factors.

By outsourcing software development to a company, you can save all this time. You can get your project finished on time and launch the product before your competition.

When You Don’t Have the Experts with Specific Skills

The software keeps changing and so does the technology that goes behind creating them.

There are times when companies feel that they don’t have the required talent to accomplish the task of developing particular software.

You can solve all these problems by hiring an offshore software development firm. In a concise amount of time, you will have access to the most skilled developers along with the latest technology which will help you achieve your goals.

You Need More Flexibilit

Companies face a lot of challenges while developing software because there are multiple factors, decisions, and people involved in it.

Outsourcing software development gives room to the company for improvements and changes which are otherwise not easily possible in a fixed setting.

You can hire firms for different parts of the project for specific durations based on contracts. You can offload the development work to the hired firm while your in-house team works on management.

Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Software Development

It is a big step to trust another company for the development of your software. However, there are numerous benefits that attract businesses towards offshore development.

Let Us Take a Look at the Benefits of Outsourcing Software Development First

Affordability

The first and one of the most important aspects of software development that companies look into is the cost of the project.

To develop new software, you would need to buy new technology and hire new talent. All of this can be avoided if you hire an offshore provider.

You don’t have to recruit and train the talent. This directly translates into better efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Access to the Best Global Talent

There are times when the skills required for developing software are not present within your company.

Additionally, with an offshore client, you are offered access to talent from all around the world.

This opens endless doors for you and gives you great results while maintaining global quality standards. You can get work done by top experts in rare fields which are not available locally.

Quicker Delivery

By hiring the right offshore software development firm, you will not have to put any pressure on your core team which is mostly limited.

Your core people can work on core issues while software development can take place according to the budget and deadlines decided in advance.

Since offshore development is done mostly under fixed time frames, you get to launch the product quickly without affecting your core business operations.

Constant Support and Maintenance

You can also use these services to get efficient and quick support/maintenance. Any good product needs constant technical maintenance along with the latest updates.

If you outsource all these, you can save a lot of time and resources which can be allocated to growing your core business.

Everything has two sides and this also applies to offshore development. There are certain risks in hiring an offshore development company that you need to be aware of.

Risk of Data Breach

To avoid any data leakage or breaches, you must ensure that the firm has the highest security standards and a great proven record.

A carefully framed contract is necessary before you start the process of development. If there is a risk, you should eliminate it before you start the journey.

This saves you a lot of trouble in the long run. Only hire firms that adhere to international data security standards.

Legal Risks

Before you hire an offshore company, make sure your legal team goes through all the details regarding the laws of the country of the hired firm.

There are many countries that do not adhere to US legal standards on confidentiality agreements or other contracts. Make sure you do the due diligence on this aspect before you finalize the hiring.

Lack of communication

For the success of any software development project, solid and clear communication between both parties is essential.

The better the communication, the more transparent things are. You can ensure better communication by hiring from countries where you can communicate in the same language.

You should reveal all your expectations and communicate them clearly in order to avoid any misunderstanding later on.

You should be able to directly and clearly communicate with the developers or other people involved in the development process.