Reasons to outsource application development (and are they worth it?)

SOFTWARE OUTSOURCING

While outsourcing software development has been there as a somewhat-adapted concept worldwide for quite a few years now, it has become the new normal lately in this pandemic era. Like any other concept that manages to make its mark in the ever-evolving tech world, software outsourcing, too has successfully hit the contemporary sweet spot in terms of cost-effectiveness, highest productivity and minimized errors.

Quite justably, software outsourcing was primarily seen as something only biggies can think of - as handing over the core business idea & sensitive information, paired with a mammoth time and money investment appears to be more of a ‘risk’ than an ‘advantage’ at the first glance. While the value of IT spending expectedly exceeding $413.72 billion by the 4th quarter of 2021 stands by the fact that ‘software outsourcing’ truly has the buzz around it, let’s not blindly go by the results and instead, have a look at the reasons so you know whether “to go or not to go for software outsourcing” !

I guess you didn’t miss our guide for hiring app developers, right?

Top Reasons To Outsource Application Development

Reasons to build an app? Checked.
But what are the reasons to outsource application development?"

It’s like using a calculator to get a simplified value from a complex numerical problem - you don’t want to spend the extra manual time when you can simply get a long-term helping hand with a mere upfront fee! Also, you can channel those saved hours into increased analytical thinking and solve more under lesser time. Same story put for a business angle to the context : here’s a list of the reasons to outsource your application development needs sooner!

access a broader talent pool

[1] Access a broader talent pool

Reading the caption some of you might be thinking, what if I set-up my inhouse team with expertise from all spheres?

Sure, that’s probably the best way to go about the application development requirements, as long as any of the following..

Shelling out a lump sum in the name of salaries and maintenance fee for the big fat development team even after development is done
Expanding the team for each tech requirement coming up on the way
Compromising on the ‘experience’ factor to build a ‘somewhat does the job’ team under a ‘reasonable budget’

…doesn’t look like a matter of concern to you.

But honestly, going by my experience of building mobile & web applications for companies from several industries across 15+ countries, I strongly believe in one simple statement. That is, regardless of your business revenue, compromising financial resources on a long-term money-eating solution, when there already exists a more cost-effective yet quality-ensuring approach - is almost always a business-breaking idea.

risk management

[2] Skip to the good part (fully functional solution minus development risks!)

Undeniably almost every business’ dream is to get the best application developed and facing the risks is most certainly the worst nightmare. Out of all the other reasons to outsource, risk escaping is probably one of the best one. So basically, by outsourcing your application development you hand over the responsibilities to the chosen team up-close and ahead of that dealing with the glitches, bugs and risks is on them. Your role? Getting away with the cream - read, IP rights and a fully functional solution that you desired to build in the first place.

cost reduction

[3] Lesser Pocket Pinch

Talking about the reasons to outsource the first thing that every other write-up will be highlighting is the cost angle but hardly any will explain to you the ‘Why’ behind it. To present a clear picture of the pricing difference, let’s have a look at what you pay for and what you don’t!

By outsourcing what you pay vs what you don't

eliminating tech debts

[4] Eliminate The Common Antagonist In Development - Tech Debts

No matter at which stage your business might be at or what size it is ( startups / medium to small size / enterprise ) - whenever there’s an application development requirement, there’s a priority conflict. Let’s face it - application development is a dedicated task in itself with quite a few responsibilities associated with it - from coding to testing, from debugging to perfecting the design for best UX and more. In such a scenario, where during the process of app development there’s a fair chance of tech debts being piled up, outsourcing works like a savior. This way you manage all the lightweight coding, growth strategies and management inhouse while the outsourcing company builds you the app of your dreams.

expert insights

[5] Expert insights

Like you know your business the best, the right outsourcing companies know theirs. That means, while you opt for outsourcing application development, along with a wide talent pool, you get insights rich with years of experience and the knowledge of what goes right & what doesn’t.

Top 3 Tips For Risk-Free App Development Outsourcing

Reasons to outsource - checked!

ABCs of app development - checked!
But all the benefits of outsourcing as discussed above are only achievable if you avoid the outsourcing pitfalls in the process. Here are 3 tips to help you outsource your application development requirements successfully :

[1] Vendor Research

Think of your outsourcing vendor as someone who is going to execute your application through 3 major stages - understanding your vision, adding their insights and then creating a final scope you both agree to, as a feasible detailed description. To ensure that the vendor does all these the best way possible, make sure you find concrete answers to the below questions in the vendor research phase.

Experience : Have they been there and done that?
Expertise : What value do they add?
What do their clients have to say? (Think beyond the displayed lines - have a real talk with their clients!)

[2] Consistent Communication

If you don’t ask, they won’t tell! So make sure throughout the development phase you consistently communicate with them - be it a milestone completion or a bug detected during the testing phase - you should be the one making calls (and calling out on any little implementation going south!).

[3] Smaller Feedback Loop - Suggest Milestones!

There are several aspects that an application may function at, implying there’s a set of features and a bunch of functionalities associated with each feature. Without a pre-set plan it can become overwhelming, resulting in either a half-baked application development or frequent interruptions along the way. So to ensure effective application development - break your entire scope of application into micro-goals, popularly termed as milestones, and voila! That’s all you need to do to have all features covered, glitches detected before it’s too late and debugged just in time.

Why Outsource App Development To BinaryFolks

There’s no dearth of companies that outsource but the real deal is to know who offers what before zeroing down on one! Here’s what BinaryFolks has in store - choose us if these fit your needs :