Everything You Need to Know to Outsource Your Project Successfully
Can you believe a chance exists to save up to 300–400% of software development costs? Do you know some of your key competitors already do that?
Either if you want to launch an exclusive startup or build a brand-new CRM for your corporative needs, you may have considered different options and offers. Hiring an on-site engineering team looks like a real headache, doesn’t it? Besides, it will cost you a fortune. We believe that doing the initial research, the outsourcing topic may have appeared in your search results. Today, we will describe how to outsource development in detail, explain key principles, highlight the main reasons to opt for this method and even show how much money you can save!
To outsource, or not to outsource?
Let’s start with the essentials: what do you get once opting for software development outsourcing? Well, first of all, keep in mind that most of the successful companies worldwide already outsource specific service or even entire departments. After that, take a look at 4 reasons to try outsourcing:
1.Effective task delegation
You can invest weeks, months and years in successful app development and after all this time… nothing will happen. A software app is nothing more than just a piece of code unless it provides value to users and brings revenue to its owner. Thus, if you pay too many efforts to app development, testing and maintenance, you simply have no time and energy to deal with more critical business processes.
Delegate a certain amount of work, and you won’t need to worry about wasted time. Outsource software engineering, and you’ll get a precious chance to focus on product sales, marketing, PR and other crucial operations for business development.
2. A way to cut costs
As we’ve mentioned above, some of your competitors do save their money with outsourcing. Legends like Lufthansa Systems, Samsung and Unilever delegate software development to partners overseas. This method helped Unilever to save over $700 million!
Outsourcing allows save money on 3 critical factors:
- HR processes like recruitment and hiring;
- Office needs: rent, hardware etc;
- Salaries: a well-known fact is that software engineers’ salaries in many countries worldwide are lower in comparison to the US.
3. Cooperation with top professionals
No, we don’t say there are no IT professionals in your country. What we say is that outsourcing allows going far beyond your country’s borders and build a partnership with people who have dozens of years of relative engineering experience. Each specialist based overseas has a solid background in delivering several outsourcing projects annually; he or she follows the latest trends and knows how to satisfy customers’ needs and requirements in the best way. In comparison to local employees, outsourcing company’s representatives may have wider, deeper expertise. And a stronger team means a stronger product.
Read also: How Much It Costs to Build a Web Application from Scratch
4. Reducing time to market
It may take from several weeks to several months for you to gather a whole team in the office, onboard your new colleagues, set up processes and finally start working. In a case with an offshore team, it looks completely different: this team is already complete. These people already got used to working together; they already follow a defined product development methodology. Once you find a reliable partner and discuss the requirements and details, the development process starts instantly.
Besides, mixing this point with the previous one we can say that more experienced the team is, the faster this team launches a product.
Web development outsourcing: how to start?
Now, let’s define the critical steps to take to outsource your software project successfully.
Know your goals
No matter what industry you’d like to break into or what revolutionary project you’d like to launch, you have to build a detailed vision of this app.
- Describe it in detail, decide on key functionality and augment it with a “nice to have” list of features.
- Understand potential users’ needs and make sure the functionality you offer can satisfy them precisely.
- Take a look at similar apps and answer the questions about why your app is better than any other.
- Think about your finances and define the budget you can invest in your app.
That’s your homework: the better you understand the scope of work, the deeper research you make, the more competitive app you’ll produce.
Read also: Startup MVP Insights for a Successful Business Development
Find your partner
It is essential to start a partnership with a reliable, trustworthy, skilled development company. The choice is unlimited: you can find development agencies in almost any corner of the world.
There are 3 outsourcing options:
- Onshore development outsourcing means that your engineering team is based in your country;
- Nearshore development outsourcing means that your partner runs a business on the same continent;
- Offshore development outsourcing means the development team you work with is located on another continent, thousands of miles away.
For businesses from the US, onshore development means partnership with US-based company, nearshore development means partnership with an agency from Mexico, and offshore development means outsourcing your development to Portugal, Ukraine, India, etc.
This stage is also significant in terms of finances. Just take a look at engineers’ average salary in different countries:
Depending on your choice, you can cut the budget considerably.
The easiest way to find an outsourcing company is to check popular services like:
However, this task is not a piece of cake: it requires thorough preparation and takes time. We’ve prepared an entire guide on how to find a reliable partner that will be helpful here.
Build a workflow
Cooperation with a team overseas requires strict rules to be followed. The engineering team you choose will provide you with a piece of advice on how to organize processes. But here is a recommendation we’d like to share with you: pick the right tools to make your teamwork flawless:
It is important to keep in touch with your development team, share your thoughts and build seamless communication both written and verbal.
There are many handy tools you can employ for design team needs. Using them, you can check the latest changes and make sure everything goes well with the sketch.
To keep a hand on a pulse of app development, you should work with a convenient task management system.
To know exactly how much time your team spend on your project, utilize a powerful time tracking and reporting tool.
In conclusion
Software development outsourcing is a complex topic that requires investigation and deep understanding. However, once you delegate certain services to a reliable partner overseas, you save time, money and energy you need so much to launch a successful app.
Some more questions may bother you so we prepared a detailed article about how to outsource app development. Also, we are ready to share some insights on the best outsourcing destinations! Check it and make sure that’s the best option for your rapid business growth.
