Nowadays, having a business website or a mobile app is not a whim, it’s a must-have. The world is going digital and the recent pandemic has only boosted this process. This is why ignoring the online environment can result in failure. However, if you have never worked with software development from scratch before, it becomes a challenge. How can you overcome it? Hire software developers.
You can do it in two ways: You can either employ a team or delegate your work to a third party. Both options are worth trying and can be applied to various industries. Let’s talk in more detail about them.
Outsourcing: Definition, advantages, disadvantages
Outsourcing is an approach to software development (or other processes like accounting or customer service) that doesn’t require you to employ new staff members. Instead, you sign a contract with an agency that will provide you with the necessary specialists. All employee-related processes are performed on the side of your partner.
Finding the perfect company to delegate your development tasks to is a no-brainer: Services like Clutch have thousands of options to offer to you. Besides, there are several trending outsourcing destinations that you can check to find the best hourly rate/quality ratio.
The business benefits of outsourcing are:
- Flexibility: Easily manage your team composition depending on tasks and requirements.
- Cost efficiency: Partner with an outsourcing company to save money since you pay only for the work done.
- Speed: Start a project as soon as possible without wasting time on interviews and onboarding.
Outsourcing also has some drawbacks to take into account:
- Less efficient communication: Time zones can become an issue for offshore teams.
- Security: Even though a non-disclosure agreement is signed, the data risks are not gone.
Also Read: How Outsourcing IT Can Help Grow Your Startup?
In-house development: Definition, advantages, disadvantages
The word “in-house” implies that all the specialists your solution requires— from business analysts to quality assurance engineers—you hire by yourself. After you interview them, they will become your full-time employees. You will pay salaries, take care of sick leaves, and provide the team with social benefits.
This approach requires lots and lots of effort. You will need to check tens of CVs, make the candidates perform a test task, and then decide who will join your team.
The pros of this approach include:
- Communication: Get answers to your questions faster and ensure more cohesive work between departments.
- Loyalty: Build a team of loyal talents who will gladly take on new tasks and support your project
- Control: Have more control over the progress and team composition.
Here are the cons of having a team on-premise:
- Not enough expertise: The team may still lack the necessary skills.
- Costs: Hiring and maintaining an effective software development team is expensive.
Which option to choose?
As you can see, both options have something to offer to you and something to be aware of. Depending on what you need to do for your project, one or the other option will be more efficient.
For example, the on-premise team will make more sense for you if you are:
- Planning on working with the team long-term.
- Too worried about data safety.
- About to stay in charge of the development process.
An outsourcing development agency will fit your goals if:
- The partnership will most likely be short-term.
- The volume of resources is not enough to hire more staff.
- You want to have more talents at hand.
Also Read: 5 Reasons Why Your Business Should Outsource IT
To sum up: Is one better than the other?
In a nutshell—no, it’s impossible to determine a winner here. Both approaches, building a team from scratch and relying on a third party, have the right to exist. Everything will depend on your project. Now, you can make an informed decision about what model to stick to or even implement both but for different tasks.
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