Many businesses, especially startups have this predicament at some time in their development. With the increased pressures on budgets and manpower, outsourcing can be a great way to gain a competitive edge. If done in the right way, it can be an extremely cost effective way of achieving results.

Let’s take a closer look at what outsourcing is, and the benefits.

What is outsourcing?

Outsourcing, simply put, is where you hire a third party to perform a designated task for you or your business. In this case we are focusing on software design and development but this could cover any area from supply chain management, accounting, customer support and service, market research, design and legal documentation. The list is endless.

Key benefits of outsourcing for software design

  • Experts in their industry

Hiring the right Firmware development service is critical and means that you can be sure that you are dealing with expert developers and their teams which focus on achieving results in a consistent, predictable way, and creating value for the end users.

  • Dealing with the latest technology

The technology advances in software design are probably the largest of any industry. Outsourcing to specialist firms you will be getting the latest technology powering your software enabling you to be one step ahead of the competition.

  • Reducing costs

Developing software can be very expensive if you try to keep everything in house. New equipment and the training costs alone can outweigh the cost benefits of outsourcing. Even after a significant investment you would still probably find yourselves behind the experts, who have years of experience in this industry.

  • Helps reduce workloads on your in-house teams

Enables your team to focus on developing and driving other areas of the business, relieving any additional pressures. This is especially beneficial if your team is running at full capacity. It also gives you the flexibility of increasing or reducing the size of your team as required.

  • Helps bring down delivery time

Most companies offer a project manager who will listen to your requirements and decide on timescales to complete the project. As they deal with these types of projects day to day, this enables the time to completion to be quicker than if you were to complete the task yourself.

Reasons not to Outsource

Finding the right company to use can be daunting, especially if there are reasons why outsourcing may not work for you. Here are a few examplamples of why it may not be advisable.

  • Poor communication

This is very important as you will be unlikely to be dealing face to face on a daily basis. You need to feel that they are listening to your requirements and taking them on board. Delays in feedback from requests you have made can also be an indicator of potential issues.

  • Becoming too dependant

Once a project has been completed it is best to ensure that you gain access to every detail so you have the knowledge moving forward. Not doing so can make you too dependent on the outsourcing companies’ services. This is referred to as a vendor lock-in and it is good practice to avoid getting into this situation.

  • Poor project planning

The project manager is your point of contact and if you feel that there is a lack of planning or knowledge on their part it would be wise to avoid using this company, or request a more experienced project manager.

  • A rise in costs

In the majority of instances outsourcing is a great way to save money, but this isn’t always the case. Pre-plan your budget and get quotes from various companies. If the figures don’t work then it may be best to keep the work in house.

  • If it feels wrong it probably is

We have all had a situation where we feel something just isn’t quite right. This is critical as there can be a risk to confidentiality of your software or company details and all precautions must be considered and discussed – ie. non disclosure documents etc. If this isn’t covered before hiring a company then it is probably best to avoid using them.

Conclusion

The benefits in finding a partner to use for your software design needs can help relieve pressures on your in house team, enabling them to work on other projects. State of the art technology can transform your business, save costs and speed up development at the same time.

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