Pros and Cons of Outsourced Software Development

Outsourcing development has been a massive section of the global IT industry for years. And it keeps growing, with a staggering 70% increase projected by the end of 2023. Outsourcing was a staggering force during the early 2020s, enabling ambitious projects even in uncertain times. Today, let’s discuss outsourcing software development pros and cons to give you a level-headed look at this massive industry.

This article will address some of the pitfalls of outsourcing, ways to minimize those risks, and reasons to choose this approach. We will rely on GetTrusted’s experience as a platform that connects companies with suitable vendors to discuss cost details, current trends, and ways to make your project go smoothly. 

GetTrusted emphasizes security and reliability to eliminate potential risks. However, we still want to be transparent about the outsourcing process. This way, we ensure our clients know what they get into and make the most of it. Read on to learn more details. And if you’re ready to talk about your project, click here to get in touch.

When Do You Need Outsourcing Software Development Services?

In most cases, realizing why outsource software development is good for you isn’t enough. Instead, one should learn its importance before it becomes critical. It’s vital to assess your team’s capabilities and goals and see possible gaps between them. Outsourcing is the most effective when it’s a tool, not a last-chance band-aid.

Here’re the three core factors to consider when deciding whether outsourcing is your best bet:

• Project scope
• Employee availability
• Outsourcing team choices 

Now, let’s look at them in greater detail.

Project Scope

Suppose you’re an insurance company looking to create a mobile app for your clients. Then, you likely don’t need much human resources. Instead, you need a continuous developer presence, someone to update the app regularly, fix bugs, and more. Such projects are often small in scope, encouraging you to opt for a regular outsourcing model. But because of the durability, hiring an in-house specialist seems more pragmatic.

Such clarity is critical since outsourcing isn’t just a chance to save money. Its primary purpose is to help you achieve things that a standard approach wouldn’t deliver. Even for the case above, a contract with an outsource vendor might be a good solution. You just need to make the comparison beforehand. That, in turn, leads us to the next factor.

Availability of Employees

Are there appropriately skilled developers in your area ready to sign on for the work you need? That question may sound simple to someone in Silicon Valley. However, many regions are now experiencing a talent drought. So the only viable options may be relocating developers or relying on outsourcing and remote work models.

Relocating a team for any project is a considerable expense. It makes this option impractical for smaller businesses. In contrast, outsourcing is an attractive solution. It involves no relocation expenses and flexible cooperation options. Moreover, you can expand or shrink the team whenever necessary. And all that comes without geographical limitations. It’s one of the main reasons why the outsourcing market is booming.

Outsourcing Teams’ Availability

The third factor is the availability of high-quality outsourcing teams. Indeed, there are plenty of professionals out there. But can you directly access them and contact a respected vendor instead of hiring a team with a dubious reputation?

That’s where GetTrusted’s role in software development outsourcing is crucial. We can connect you to the top-3 companies in your niche. They all have confirmed experience and professional developers on board. Our escrow service eliminates financial risk, while the high-class vetting process guarantees quality.

With that in mind, you should no longer be wondering, “Why do companies outsource software development?” The question is, “What should I expect to get, and when can I get started?” Therefore, let’s get started right now with a full estimate.

The Pros of Outsourcing Software Development

Now that you know when to turn to this model, let’s address the other pressing question: what are the pros and cons of outsourcing? First, we will list the benefits of an outsourcing model. Note that these advantages depend on how you structure your cooperation with a vendor. So some of these may appear more significant for you.

Regardless of which benefits of outsourcing software development become particularly relevant for you, we’ll provide quick explanations and ideas on making the most of each.

Cost Savings

Сompanies often hire professionals from East Asia or Eastern Europe to cut costs and boost their revenue. However, like with most things, it’s best in moderation. Don’t go for the cheapest vendors you can find. It will likely cause extra expenses in the long run. Moreover, you may need better developers to fix the cheaper ones’ mistakes.

So instead, aim to spend less by spending smart and not wasting extra funds. You may benefit from regional salary differences and forgoing onboarding costs without using extra office space. That accounts for staggering savings. So there’s no need to look for the cheapest vendor available.

Access to Talented Developers

Outsourcing opens up the world’s talent pool to you, so you can find a developer with any specialization. GetTrusted knows a lot about it and all pros and cons of IT outsourcing. That’s because we focus on connecting established vendors with clients in their niche. In most cases, a developer’s years of experience aren’t the most critical factor here. The main question is if they’ve done projects similar to yours.

Faster Turn-Around Time

As mentioned, you skip several parts of the regular workflow with outsourcing. You don’t need to conduct multi-stage interviews with every team member. Also, you won’t struggle with a lengthy onboarding process and the tenuous adaptation of your project managers to new, unfamiliar tasks.

Plus, outsourcing agencies work on various projects and deliver them quickly. Though the expression “a well-oiled machine” seems impersonal, it perfectly fits vendors’ work ethic. They guarantee that no emergency or disruption will affect your project.

Simplified Project Management

With outsourcing, you won’t need your project managers to adapt to what could be a one-off detour from your regular operations. You’ll only need a point person to contact the vendor. The employees will handle the actual project management, keeping things smooth. You’ll just do check-ins to confirm things are going according to plan and, if anything changes, relay your new ideas.

Working Process Flexibility

Switch out team members if necessary, creating the flexibility you can’t get with an in-house team. After all, when you spend months hiring and training developers, changing to a new specialist would waste lots of time. An outsourced team is usually large enough to have backup options and adapt rapidly.

Various Payment Options

Thanks to the services of companies like GetTrusted, you don’t have to pay for the work upfront, even on a monthly basis. Instead, you keep the money in escrow, only releasing the payment once the work is complete and you’re satisfied with the result. It creates an extra protection layer and frees you from handling extra financial operations and risks.

Focus on Core Business

Outsourcing leaves space for your company and employees to work on your highest-priority tasks. Meanwhile, the vendor copes with the project at hand. You won’t need to expend precious resources that might be necessary elsewhere.

Turnkey Work

Many think outsourcing’s core purpose is to handle development on a project that’s already fully prepped. But that’s often not the case. Apart from coding, outsourcing teams provide quality assurance, business process analysis, post-release updates, and user support. It all depends on how much you want to hand over to the agency. The process can be as hands-off as possible throughout the project’s lifecycle.

Less Stress and Fewer Risks

Let’s be upfront and say this advantage isn’t always in place. In fact, making software outsourcing less stressful and risky is the primary purpose of GetTrusted exists. We get you in touch with vetted, experienced teams that provide high-quality products. This approach eliminates dissatisfaction and force majeure risks.

Along with our escrow service, it means that even an ambitious project won’t carry the usual problems and stress in-house development brings. GetTrusted and the hired vendor take on the most problematic areas, such as extra expenses or employee issues. 

Cons of Outsourcing Software Development

Like with any other decision, you should be aware of outsourcing software development issues before committing to it. Here, we’ll briefly mention the potential problems and disadvantages of working with a vendor. Remember, these won’t necessarily reflect your experience. But you should still consider these pitfalls when assessing your outsourced employees.

This section relies primarily on things GetTrusted’s partners have seen in the market. Most of them are about a lack of experience. However, collaboration is a two-way street, so learning about these problems is essential for running a fruitful and stress-free project.

Time Difference and Communication Problems

One of the advantages of outsourcing software development is the ability to work with any team worldwide. However, when collaborating with developers in an entirely different time zone, consider the difference between your schedules and discuss it immediately. It’s not a good idea to schedule a check-in call for 05:00 AM on tin developers’ time zone, right?

Similarly, establish limits and expectations for communication. Discuss the following:

• How soon do you expect answers to emails (especially ones sent at an odd time)?
• Which communication method do you prefer?
• How often do you expect process updates?

Lack of Control Over the Team

Working with remote developers who have their own management is a double-edged sword. It may be both among the pros and cons of outsourcing IT. On the one hand, you are hands-off and stress-free. But it comes with the risk (though not a guarantee!) that the team won’t consistently follow your vision since it’s partly out of your control.

Cultural Differences

Our world is quite diverse, which means you won’t always agree with the chosen outsourced team you choose. But that shouldn’t interfere with your collaboration. To avoid this challenge, ensure your work approaches don’t differ drastically. Check if the hired team holds the same cultural values as you do. The latter is vital because your contractor’s work and reputation reflect on you.

Security Risks

Something you should expect no matter what is outsourcing software development team ensuring confidentiality. To achieve that, a solid contract with a bulletproof NDA is essential. GetTrusted always works under strict NDAs and guarantees the same for the vendors it discovers. In today’s highly competitive world, we consider this a standard work principle that protects our clients’ reputations and technology.

Difficulty in Finding a Good Vendor

Finding a reliable partner is likely the most significant problem with outsourcing. With endless possibilities and a rapidly expanding market, making the right choice is challenging. Moreover, there are still low-quality vendors out there. That’s why companies seeking high quality without spending months looking for it turn to GetTrusted.

Our company delivers an estimate on your project within 48 hours. And once you approve it, we handpick three top teams to bring your ideas to fruition. These won’t be random vendors found on a sketchy marketplace. We offer experienced companies with a verifiable track record. Besides, work doesn’t start without a thorough interview. A GetTrusted employee will guide the conversation to ensure that the vendor answers all the relevant questions and that communication starts on a good note. Those are the benefits of outsourcing with GetTrusted that you can test here.

Software Outsourcing Market Trends

In order to give you an idea of what outsource teams can be used for, here is a list of the most popular trends in the outsourcing market.

Cloud Services

Establishing a cloud infrastructure can help make your service more scalable and boost its performance. There’s also software-as-a-service and cloud storage, both of which can make your product more appealing to users.

Nowadays, competition is high in almost every market niche, which means even a tiny advantage can mean everything. Boosting your system with cloud capabilities can give you an edge over the competition.

Cybersecurity

Keeping your databases and network secure from intrusion is essential, with even the biggest corporations learning this lesson the hard way. However, hiring an in-house department of cybersecurity experts is incredibly costly. So outsourcing the development of cybersecurity solutions is the way to go.

AI (Artificial Intelligence)

AI is the newest and hottest trend with many companies turning to ChatGPT for content creation. Others yet use generative networks to handle customer support and other simple tasks. Getting such systems up and running requires expertise, which is easy to get with an outsource team of AI engineers. 

With nearly 70% of businesses using AI or laying the groundwork for its use, it is high time to jump on the trend. AI-building teams are only going to get more expensive as time goes by.

ML (Machine Learning) Automation

Machine learning automation is similarly on the rise, as companies realize just how much time and money ML can save. By automating the process of learning, you remove the need for an expensive data science department. In addition, it substantially cuts the time needed to ship a project, which tends to be around four years for ML-related projects.

Web 3.0

Web 3.0 is a catch-all term for a futuristic approach to the web, involving:

• Decentralization
• Blockchain
• NFT and cryptocurrency projects

Its popularity is owed to the fact that web 3.0 promises to give back control to the users, instead of corporations. This means any projects done within this framework will gain a lot of attention. However, if you want to approach such a novel direction, it’s best to work with experts

Five Tips for Effective Outsourcing

Now that you know the pros and cons of outsourcing software development, let’s discuss a few tips to boost this process’s effectiveness. Consider it a brief guidebook on maximizing cost efficiency and pushing results to the highest possible level.

Define Business Goals

Know where you’re moving before starting your journey. If you turn to outsourcing, define your project’s primary objectives. Determine what happens once it’s complete. Also, discover whether you’ll need to adjust your company’s overall direction later n. It will benefit your business and help you make the most out of your outsourcing contract.

Check The Company’s Profile

You won’t have to follow this tip if you rely on GetTrusted. We will match your needs and approach with the companies, guaranteeing a good outcome. However, if you prefer to conduct due diligence, look up your collaborating agency. Check their past projects, employee list, and credentials. Also, verify the general information on how the company grew and changed over time.

Make a Plan

There are some questions to ask when outsourcing software development if you want to come up with a successful project. Therefore, create a collaboration plan based on the answers to the following:

• What is our hard deadline for this project?
• Are you flexible on the scope, and if so, is it the right decision?
• How much oversight do you want to have?
• What are the most likely problem areas?

Follow Every Stage

One of the advantages of software outsourcing is that you’ll have a whole team to keep the project on the right track. There is always a temptation to expand and make something more spectacular. But remember that sticking to a plan curbs risks. Meanwhile, deviating from it creates many potential issues. Thus, adhering to a roadmap and following through on every stage of a project’s lifecycle is key.

Manage Expectations

Like any other professionals, outsourcing developers might have roadblocks in the process or end up with some bugs in the initial product versions. Don’t let that disappoint you, as those things aren’t unique. What matters is how the team reacts to challenges and whether they recover, delivering an excellent result.

How to Avoid Risks while Outsourcing?

We’ve already discussed why outsourcing is good. But it’s also critical to know how to approach it. Minimizing risks is essential if you want a good final experience. So let’s talk about coping with outsourcing safely. Your first step is to have a trustworthy “mediator” of sorts. It’s a company that links you up with a reliable vendor. Then, it handles the introduction, oversight, and financial aspects.

GetTrusted fills that role perfectly:

• We offer a service that connects employers with vetted outsourcing agencies.
• We don’t work with freelancers.
• GetTrusted comes to the table with prime teams handpicked to fit your project.
• Our policy involves an escrow service.

Simply put, GetTrusted is about putting the client and the project first and making the risks disappear. We know all the software outsourcing pros and cons. And we work to ensure you only get the advantages.

GetTrusted is the Safest Choice to Find an Outsourcing Team

This article covered outsourcing software development pros and cons, showing which benefits and risks may impact your results. While the advantages are pretty compelling, you can avoid the challenges with good planning and a reliable mediator like GetTrusted. If you’re ready to start your outsourcing journey and have a project lined up, get in touch with GetTrusted. We’ll help you with a secure and productive launch.

We offer an estimate within 48 hours and introduce the three best companies for the job. Once you’ve chosen the vendor, we conduct an extensive interview. Then, the work begins while our escrow service protects your funds. When you approve the final result, the developers get their salary and move on to their next project. You, meanwhile, get the quality GetTrusted guarantees.

Let’s get started today – click here to request an estimate.