Should You Outsource Software Development Overseas?

If you’ve got an idea for a new software solution and are ready to start bringing your vision to life, you’ve likely come across a variety of difficult decisions that prove vital to the success of your project. When putting together your software development team, you’ll have three options to choose from — building it yourself, hiring an in-house team, or outsourcing the work overseas.

Since most people won’t know how to do it themselves and an in-house team can prove extremely costly, outsourcing software development has become an increasingly popular option among startups and new businesses. 

Outsourcing software development overseas is an advanced technique that can be beneficial to any project, but only if it’s done properly. 

Your idea will come with a budget that can’t be compromised, specific features that need to be implemented, and an expected time to market that can’t be missed. When choosing a successful development team, you need to ensure these needs are met without disturbance.

Much like every other decision you’ll make, there will be a variety of pros and cons that need to be considered. We’ll not only detail those below, but we will also give you some pointers on how to make the right decision for your project.

What are the pros to outsourcing development?

The global market for outsourcing was valued at $85.6 billion in 2018, a number that has continued to grow and now sits at around $92.5 billion. Recent history has proven that more and more businesses are choosing to outsource their IT needs. 

While the No. 1 reason is to cut costs, there are plenty of other pros that come with it. Let’s take a look at some of the most vital advantages to hiring a development team overseas.

1. Less Overhead – an outsourced development team means you will only be paying for the services they provide. You won’t have to worry about supplying office space, paying for job postings, and equipment needed to get the job done. Since they aren’t technically your employees, there won’t be any extra expenses for that either.
2. Flexibility – having the ability to scale your project at any time is important to successful software development. Outsourcing allows you to easily add or remove people throughout the process. You might need several specialists when building the software, but need less during the maintenance stage. 
3. Fresh Perspective – you’d be surprised at how receiving a fresh perspective from nearshore or offshore countries can benefit your software. An in-house team will likely be composed of employees with the same mindset using the same technology, but that will change with an outsourced team that knows how to think outside-the-box. 
4. Saving Time – putting together an in-house team will take up a large amount of time with interviews and onboarding, while trying to learn software development yourself can take years. In addition to that, you’ll be spending more time managing your employees to ensure they’re completing their work. Outsourcing saves you from all of that.
5. Experience – an in-house team that meets your budget will almost always consist of rookie developers that don’t have a lot of real-life experience building software. Outsourced software developers aren’t just talented, but will come with a large portfolio where you can adequately review their recent work.

Among those advantages, outsourcing software development overseas will also allow you to appeal to new markets or audiences, avoid certain levels of risk, and give you the space you need to care for the rest of your business while the software is being built. 

Want to start your own startup?

What are the cons to outsourcing development?

As we mentioned above, outsourcing software development will come with some disadvantages that need to be examined before moving forward with your project. Depending on your specific situation, some of these can be avoided. 

Let’s take a look at the cons to outsourcing software development:

1. Data Risk – when sharing your idea with a development team overseas, you have to understand that there will be some data risk involved. Depending on how unique your idea is, there could be a lot of people that would love to get their hands on it and you’ll want to ensure your team can be trusted with it.
2. Communication – one of the biggest issues faced with overseas development teams is finding effective ways of communicating with them. Not only will this provide delays throughout the process, but it can cause unwanted frustration and stress.
3. Hidden Costs – if you aren’t diligent when selecting a development team overseas, they could surprise you with a larger-than-intended bill when all is said and done. Hidden costs can include time spent on meetings, additional equipment needed, and underestimations when you were given the original quote.
4. Business Approach – one of the pros to an in-house team is the ability to control the way your team operates. With an outsourced team, they will likely operate with their own standards and regulations that you’ll have to follow. This can cause some disruption in the development process when both sides aren’t seeing eye-to-eye.
5. Reliability – one of the worst phone calls or messages you want to receive one random morning is from your development team explaining how they can’t continue building your software. Whether it’s due to an increased demand in outside work or simply putting your trust in an unreliable team, this can damage your expected time to market.

In addition to the disadvantages listed above, hiring a development team overseas can be deceiving at times. Since most of the communication will be done through email, phone calls, and video messaging, you need to be extra diligent when selecting the right team.

How can you make the best decision for your project?

The pros and cons can be extensive to anyone looking to get started on their project. Whether you decide to go with an in-house team or an outsourced team overseas, we have three major pieces of advice to help you make the right decision:

1. Be Diligent – look at customer feedback, check their portfolio, ask the tough questions, and take your time
2. Stay Organized – keep track of meetings, take notes when speaking with potential teams, and retain essential documents
3. Don’t Settle – know what you want, know what you need, and don’t settle for anything less

While outsourcing your software development needs is an advanced technique, it can be the most profitable decision one can make if done properly. 

If you’re ready to get started on your project, contact us today and we’ll be happy to send you a quote!

—

Photo by TippaPatt on Shutterstock