Outsourcing Software Development Projects: Pros and Cons

Quick Overview:
The blog unveils outsourcing software development projects pros and cons. It’ll help you understand the answer to why you should choose this approach and what can be the potential roadblocks. Once you grow the advantages and disadvantages, you can make a rational decision about choosing outsourcing for your app development.

Outsourcing Software Development Projects

We all know that outsourcing software projects has gained massive growth. Organizations looking to develop their business software solutions are getting heavily dependent on this approach. But, among all the advantages you see, there are also some drawbacks to balance on both sides.

Here, we are going to discuss outsourcing software development projects pros and cons. It’ll help you understand both aspects before relying on this method to build your business application.

The Pros of Outsourcing Software Development

Following are the top advantages of software development outsourcing that you must be aware of.

1: Leverage of Global Talent Pool

In outsourcing software development, you have the benefit of choosing a development team from anywhere. It can be from the same or different city, country and even continent. You can analyze the key competencies of all the globally available development companies and choose the right one. Due to this, you avail of:

• Development team equipped with experienced developers, designers, testers, and managers
• Complete transparency in the procedure
• Utilization of the latest technologies
• Leverage to network with the top 1% of the talent

2: Lower Development Cost

Whether you choose an onshore, nearshore, or offshore outsourcing model, you’re always going to save on cost. In software development outsourcing trends, you save on three main aspects: hardware and software resources, human resources, and overhead costs. In addition, you only have to pay for the services as described in the contract, and all other responsibilities will be of your development partner.

However, the cost you save varies as per the selected outsourcing model. But, offshore, the chances to save a higher cost are higher because of the currency exchange rate.

3: More Focus on Business Operations

When software development is going on, you have to focus completely on them. From collecting data, curating designs, developing apps, testing them, finding the right technologies, and more. All this takes a lot of effort, cost, and time. But, you save on all such factors by choosing a third-party firm offering software development services.

Furthermore, once you onboard an outsourcing development firm, you are free to focus on core business operations. Your software is being developed, and you’ll receive constant updates about it. As a result, you’re effortlessly growing your business, making it more profitable, and your app’s getting ready simultaneously.

4: Faster Time-To-Market

One of the main purposes of having software is to save time on redundant tasks and enhance productivity. But building software and releasing it to end-users also needs time. But, you can reduce the defined timeline by outsourcing development because:

• You don’t have to spend time on hiring a development team, as outsourcing firms already have the best ones.
• The agencies provide you with consultation so that you can quickly select the most reliable technology.
• You don’t have to look for hardware and software resources, as it’s also the responsibility of a development firm.

Additionally, such agencies offer flexible team sizes, meaning you can increase the number of professionals working on your project. As a result, software gets way before the defined deadline.

5: Better Project Management

Every software development project gets overviewed and handled by a project manager. The companies offering outsourcing development services assign a dedicated manager to your project. You can contact them for any kind of communication and discussion.

In addition, such firms also utilize the latest management tools, which help you track every minor task. Moreover, you also leverage to have alternatives planned for every circumstance so that development goes on smoothly. Last but not least, security threats are also discussed beforehand to ensure data integrity and confidentiality. Thus, your project is managed well from every aspect.

The Cons of Outsourcing Software Development

Below listed are the cons of outsourcing software development that you must consider before choosing this approach.

1: Additional or Hidden Costs

It’s obvious that you will read the contract before proceeding with development. But, sometimes, there can be additional costs to the engagement model or the package you selected. Following are some of the charges that can increase the budget unexpectedly:

• Buying any new resource specifically for your project.
• Clearance is required by the development firm in their country to work with you.
• Payment according to a fixed currency exchange rate.
• Additional taxes

2: Data Security Risks

To secure data, both software and hardware should be patched. If your outsourcing partners utilize any cracked software or second-hand hardware, there’s a possibility of a data breach. In addition, if their network is not secured and employees are not aware of security risks, they have a possibility of potential data breaches.

Due to all these factors, your data also comes under security risks. In addition, software developed using such resources can also be infected with malware from the very beginning, which can impact your customers and even compromise your firm’s data.

3: Difference in Time Zone

Time zone difference mainly comes when you select the offshore outsourcing model. It can cause time over-lapping, leading to miscommunications and non-availability of the development team during your working hours.

Due to this, important discussions about the software can be missed, and functionalities can get messed up. However, this can be converted to pro if relevant communication protocols are established.

4: Changes in Country’s Financial and Politics

Changes to the condition of the country are also associated with offshore outsourcing. If the country of your development firm faces change in regulatory affairs, IT acts, or financial conditions, your project can suffer. Additionally, war like circumstances in the country can lead your project to completely shut down.

So, whenever you choose outsourcing, always analyze all the risk factors and check the previous and current state of the selected firm’s country. It’ll help you make the right decision.

Concluding Up

Before you outsource your software development project, you should learn about its pros and cons. It helps you prevent additional risks and have a smooth development process. Outsourcing helps you save costs, time, and effort. In addition, it also leads you to focus on business operations and ensure that the project is managed efficiently.

However, it does have cons, such as time overlapping, missing discussions, and paying extra due to hidden costs. Therefore, you should always analyze outsourcing software development projects pros and cons before choosing this approach.