There is widespread adoption of digital transformation across various industries. The readiness of businesses and the availability of software solutions have also been accelerated in the past couple of years due to global health concerns. The latest trends in software development across industries include custom software solutions and proprietary technologies tailored to the specific needs of individual businesses. With this also comes software development outsourcing, “a trend projected to expand in the next few years as organizations grapple with their digital transformation goals,” according to an October 2021 Forbes article.
The transition to digital transformation has become a must in today’s already digital world. The widespread adoption, then, is not just about joining in a trend but also about gearing up onwards for flexible growth. Considering all these, there is also a widespread need to hire new skills for a digital environment. Not only that, but there is also the need to bring in people to build or develop customized software solutions so the business can run in the digital environment or, at least, can automate some processes to adapt to the demands of the current and the future market. Instead of building a team and planning a project from scratch, though, software development outsourcing has become a popular way towards digital transformation as it can quickly provide the urgently needed software solutions.
Before we proceed, you may be interested to explore some of the topics mentioned above. Here are links to some of our related articles.
What Exactly is Digital Transformation?
The Latest Trends in Software Development
The Essentials of Customer Application Software Development
Software development outsourcing
Getting the right talent to develop the right software for your business is crucial. Unlike other areas in the business, hiring a team that could provide the needed solution for business continuity, to thrive in the digital world, and to develop scalable software solutions to anticipate future business opportunities could take considerably longer time than usual. As said earlier, software development outsourcing has become a go-to solution to meet desired results with ease and convenience. Business Matters defines software development outsourcing as “the use of external resources to provide custom software. It can include both web and desktop applications, mobile apps, websites, enterprise resource planning software (ERP), open-source projects, customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, accounting software, or any other type of custom application.”
But, does your business need it, though? In his Forbes article, Robert Krajewski, CEO of Ideamotive, said, “By stalling your decision to outsource, you might be hindering your progress.”
Well, let’s look at first some pros and cons in software development outsourcing so you can avoid missteps and unnecessary costs.
Pros
Access to top talent
An industry survey quoted in a Forbes article suggests that planning to hire key software roles typically takes at least 70 days, i.e., 50% longer than any other non-tech role. Outsourcing companies, on the other hand, have access to unique talent and industry experts. As mentioned in a previous article, “Why Offshore Staffing is Beneficial to Your Business,” outsourcing provides access to highly-skilled, highly-equipped, professionally-trained individuals that can perform even very specific tasks you may just have thought of.
Flexibility and Scalability
When you tap into an outsourcing firm, what they do is set up for you a team with the right talents and skills specific for your project. Also, outsourcing firms have large talent pools so businesses can scale projects more quickly than figuring it out on their own in-house.
Cost-reduction
Maintaining an in-house team is already costly. With outsourcing, on the other hand, you only pay for the services you need and as you need them. This means avoiding making major investments in personnel, software, and infrastructure.
Proven workflows and efficient processes
With their wealth of experience in developing software solutions for different clients, you can be sure outsourcing firms have improved workflows and processes project after project. They can also help you optimize or manage the workflow you have in mind based on best practices, perhaps even specific to your industry.
Cons
Communication issues
With outsourcing and offshoring, time zone concerns and cultural differences always come to mind. Know more about outsourcing models and offshoring options from our previous articles:
Why Offshore Staffing is Beneficial to Your Business
Common Issues in Outsourcing Partnerships and How You Can Prevent Them
Limited motivation and limited control
There could be less motivation to see through a project’s completion. This could happen considering the distance between the business and the outsourcing firm’s team, both in location and company vision. Also, the distance could be farther when an outsourcing firm uses freelance software developers.
Low-quality code and documentation
There is a tendency in software development to resort to a low-code solution. These are quick build solutions making use of pre-built components for similar tasks. Among the problems this could generate are security concerns, compatibility issues with unsupported applications, and also governance and compliance issues. Also, the output could be way below expectations especially when the outsourcing firm lacks rigorous quality controls.
Final Thoughts
Onboarding always takes time. Be sure to anticipate the hurdles you might encounter so you can avoid losing more time. Be thorough. Check the software development outsourcing firms’ reviews and testimonials and pay attention to your initial impressions of them. Be upfront with your expectations so that you can be sure your vision is getting across. Finally, be ready with quantifiable metrics for progress reports and evaluation.
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We at StratAccess strive to build long-term relationships that extend beyond the typical vendor-client transactions. Our primary focus is to successfully promote and serve each client’s products or services as though they are our own. Combined with the skill and knowledge of the Philippine outsourcing industry, our company has positioned itself as a leader in delivering its clients access to qualified quality and cost-effective BPO referrals.
