2022. October 10.
Software development is a complex process requiring specialised knowledge. No wonder, that most organisations cannot do it "in-house". In such cases, outsourcing custom software development is the best solution. Let's see why!
Custom software development can give your company a competitive advantage in the market. Whether it's for internal or external use, if it provides a precise answer to a well-defined problem, you can only profit from it. New software solutions can help to increase efficiency and productivity, and consolidate the return on investment. Additionally, a custom development’s integration into an existing system is easy.
On the other hand, the development process is a complex, multi-step task with many stakeholders. There are only a few companies that have the right development skills and the spare capacity to do the job.
Outsourcing custom software development is not unique. Many expanding companies hire an external development company, one that specialises in the unique task. There are several ways to outsource, so let's look at the most popular ones:
- The most common case is when a company assigns a team to a specific development project. The collaboration is for the duration of the project, or until the software is ready.
- Sometimes, the company may choose to work with a development company for a long period, not just for one project.
- A third option is to expand the in-house IT team with employees from a development company.
Benefits of outsourcing custom software development
Outsourcing has many advantages over setting up your development team. Let's look at the biggest benefits of outsourcing!
Convenience
Outsourcing is a very convenient solution for your company. Of course, this does not mean that the client company has nothing to do with the project, as successful cooperation is needed. Nevertheless, outsourcing offers a convenient solution. There is no burden on the staff, no extra time and effort for software development, and the result is always a finished product.
Cost-effectiveness
Although outsourcing may seem like the more costly option at first, if you dig deeper, you'll find that it's exactly the way to cut costs. If a good part of IT capacity is consumed by development, there is not enough time and attention to operate, improve and troubleshoot existing infrastructure. Therefore, it can cost a lot more if you don't outsource development. Not to mention that without the right knowledge and staffing, the process can take a long time, but more on that later.
Scalability
Scalability is usually used in the context of software. The concept is that development starts with a software of a certain size and functionality, but if there is a demand for it, this can easily be updated. For example, a webshop may have 100 products, but if there is a sudden increase in the range of products, this amount can easily be increased.
Scalability can also be applied to the process of custom software development. In the case of outsourcing, the number of developers is as large as needed. As the development company is likely to be working on several projects, it can easily reallocate the workforce to where it is needed most. If the project reaches a stage where all the resources are needed, you assign more developers to the project, if it is in a quieter phase, you assign fewer. This also means that costs can be rationalised.
Technical support
A specific feature of outsourcing is that not only the development but also the operation can be outsourced. This means that technical support can be provided after the initial software roll-out and even years later.
Professional team
Development companies tend to have a wide range of skills. Developers work according to a set methodology, and in a way that achieves maximum efficiency.
For many companies, outsourcing custom software development is the only way to develop. Fortunately, as you can see, outsourcing has many advantages. Most importantly, choosing the right development team can make or break the success of a project.
Don't take any risks, hire a professional company to do the development for you!
