Software Development Outsourcing | 5 Key Benefits

In 2018, 47.5% of businesses outsourced their software development needs. Moreover, this trend is set to continue in 2019. Several large companies have already increased software outsourcing budgets by third compared to 2018. For the most part, this is due to increased demand for bespoke business software and faster project turnarounds.

Off-the-Shelf Vs. Bespoke Software

Off-the-shelf software rarely serves businesses as capably as bespoke software. As a result, companies are routinely forced to limit operations or work around non-supported software features. By comparison, businesses which invest in bespoke software are free of such restrictions.

Software Outsourcing Success Stories

Alibaba, Skype, and WhatsApp are all examples of software outsourcing success stories. However, it isn’t just big brands which understand the advantages of outsourcing.

By designing and using bespoke software, companies across the business spectrum can increase profits and add new revenue channels. Making a one-time investment also frees businesses from recurring software subscriptions and license fees. There is just one question: Why does software development outsourcing make more sense than in-house development?

1. Recruitment Cost & Development Time Savings

As surprising as it might sound, even major tech brands embrace software outsourcing. These include app developers like the team behind the popular Opera web browser. For the most part, this is due to software developers being in such high-demand.

l Big software brands constantly headhunt developers

l By being in high-demand, developers hired by SMEs can be tempted to leave projects prematurely, leading to high staff turnovers

One of the chief advantages of outsourcing, therefore, rests with the fact that businesses can lower recruitment, onboarding, and staff turnover costs while retaining access to top industry talent. In fact, companies can typically expect to save up to 30% when outsourcing software development. (When compared to costs associated with developing software in-house.)

2. Reduced Business Disruption

When hiring a dedicated team of software developers, companies need to invest in new IT hardware, attribute office space and assign managerial resources to oversee projects. By comparison, software outsourcing allows businesses to remain focused on core activities like sales with minimal disruption.

3. Reduced Risk & Increased Data Security

When existing staff don’t specialize in IT, it can be difficult to hire the right development team. It can also be difficult to assess the quality and security of a finished product. Thankfully, software development outsourcing mitigates these risks.

When projects are outsourced, they are placed in the hands of teams who know how to correctly audit code for security flaws. Team supervisors also ensure that software is built to spec and meets several quality control standards.

4. Faster Project Turnaround

Unless you are a major tech firm like Google, in-house software development can take months. (And occasionally years.) Recruitment, onboarding, and investment in new IT infrastructure, all slow the development process further. By comparison, software development outsourcing allows businesses to take delivery of software much faster.

5. Software Outsourcing Delivers a Better End Product

Do you have unrealistic software expectations? According to survey data, unrealistic expectations and poorly defined project goals are the chief cause of software development failure. However, software outsourcing allows businesses to liaise with dedicated customer service teams throughout the development process.

Meeting customer expectations is of paramount importance to software development companies. Representatives, therefore, work to identify core software requirements and potential limitations, before development gets underway. Of course, this might not be the case if outsourcing a project to a freelancer. However, overall, software outsourcing leads to better project deliverables and a higher degree of end business satisfaction.