In the current digital landscape, things are moving at a staggering pace. Recent breakthroughs in AI technology have caused big changes with even bigger impacts. Every day brings new AI applications and uncovers innovative uses in every field, sending changes rippling throughout the industry. Even if AI isn’t directly related to your work, it’s likely affecting you somehow. This is an exciting time to be involved in the software development space. However, it’s also a scary one. What’s possible is changing every day. Software companies need to be dynamic and responsive to avoid being left behind. This is where outsourcing software development comes in.
This means having a strategy with plenty of built-in flexibility designed to allow agile adjustments in response to changing circumstances and provide the ideal conditions for growth.
This article will discuss:
- The benefits of outsourcing software development
- How to accelerate growth with outsourcing software development
- How to choose an effective outsourcing partner
- Best practices for making outsourcing work for you
- Necessary precautions to protect your business
- How to know if it’s working for your business
Advantages of Outsourcing Software Development
Software development is a complex and exacting process. Ideally, it should be done as efficiently and effectively as possible. There are many software development outsourcing benefits that you just can’t get from an in-house development team.
Cost Efficiency
Profit is a top concern for businesses looking to achieve growth quickly. The less money you spend unnecessarily, the more you can allocate to growing your company. When companies outsource, cost savings in software development increase. Outsourcing means saving money on the hiring and training process, no added overhead costs, and often paying lower salaries for developers.
Access to a Global Talent Pool
When you hire in-house development teams, you are restricted to local applicants or those willing to relocate to be near your offices. This means a significantly smaller talent pool.
How does outsourcing software development expand your talent pool? Outsourced developers can work from anywhere in the world, giving you access to a global talent pool of the best minds.
Faster Time-to-Market
Speed is key, especially right now. There’s a lot of potential for efficiency in outsourcing. Having flexible software development teams that you can customize to get all the skills you need for each project can be a huge time saver.
You can also spend less time managing the team and less money hiring them. Since outsourcing is more affordable than in-house developers, you can hire more people on the same budget.
This kind of scalable software development solution provides the exact team you need. Scale up when you need more hands on deck and scale back down when your needs are lighter. You get more man-hours in the same or less time, speeding up your timeline significantly, and resulting in a faster time-to-market.
Identifying the Right Software Development Outsourcing Partner
Outsourcing software development can be a huge help to scale your business. However, you can’t trust just anyone with your software development. The better your outsourcing company is, the better results you’ll see.
Assessing Company Expertise and Experience
Look into any company you plan to partner with. Ask questions about their areas of expertise. Do they match your needs? Do they have developers with all the expertise you need for current and future projects?
Expertise is one thing in outsourcing software development, but experience is another. Just because someone has the technical credentials you require, doesn’t necessarily mean they’re up to snuff. There’s a lot you learn by doing. Some skills can’t be taught in a classroom and experience is the best teacher when it comes to dealing with the unexpected.
An outsourcing company may look great on paper, but if the developers don’t have the experience in the kind of work you need, with successfully completed projects to show for it, you can’t know they can do the job right.
This goes for the company itself as well. Managing an outsourcing team that provides results for the client is complex and difficult. There are tons of little things that require practice to get right. The more experience, the better. You want a partner who has honed their methods and has a streamlined workflow that’s been battle tested before.
Evaluating Communication and Project Management Skills
No matter where you outsource to, it’s vital that the developers and anyone else you’ll be in touch with can speak your language fluently to avoid miscommunication.
Not only that but also make it clear upfront how much communication you expect, when you want to be in touch, and how. This will help things run more smoothly.
How ParallelStaff Can Help Your Company
ParallelStaff meets all the outsourcing software development requirements and more! We have the right experience in the outsourcing business and have developers with expertise in numerous different fields.
All our developers have excellent English language skills, and we can be in touch as much or as little as you need. We always seek to communicate clearly and ensure that expectations are discussed in detail.
Let ParallelStaff take care of finding and vetting the ideal team for your needs to save you time and money. With us, you can start in as little as 10 days with the perfect group of developers for your project!
Best Practices for Successful Outsourcing Collaboration
You can start with the best team available, but if you don’t take steps to ensure the project is done correctly and everyone is on the same page, you won’t get the results you want. However, there are things you can do to ensure everything goes smoothly.
Defining Clear Project Scope and Milestones
Before starting a project, you’ll want clearly defined goals, a well-articulated project scope, and to make sure everyone knows what their job is. Letting people know what you expect of them as directly and detailed as possible will allow them to best meet your expectations.
Even with the best team and the right planning, sometimes things still go wrong. It happens. To avoid letting misunderstandings or hiccups throw your project way off track, it’s best to check in regularly.
Clearly map out what steps should be completed and when. Then, check-in at each milestone to ensure things are going as planned and you are happy with the results so far. If not, make adjustments as needed. This will prevent serious problems down the line.
Implementing Effective Communication Channels
Every team has preferred communication channels. Some things are better discussed over the phone while others can be mentioned via Slack. Set up the communication channels you want to use and make it clear to the team which should one to use under what circumstances.
If there are specific team members that they should contact regarding particular project elements or with certain types of questions, make that clear and provide those details where they’re easily accessible.
If something isn’t working, don’t be afraid to make changes. Sometimes a particular channel seems ideal in the abstract, but in practice, it just doesn’t work. Test out different methods until you find the right fit.
Regular Progress Monitoring and Feedback
It’s also helpful to be able to see how the project is going at any time. A project management system is the perfect way to do this. Features like Kanban boards allow progress to be shown visually. You can use it to assign tasks to specific team members and see their results at any time.
Providing honest and constructive feedback is another important element. At every step, look at the progress, explain your thoughts, and ask for any changes if need be.
Mitigating Risks Associated with Software Development Outsourcing
While there are a lot of benefits to be had when you know how to accelerate growth by outsourcing software development, it isn’t without its potential downsides. There are some risks associated with it. However, if you recognize them and take steps to mitigate them, it’s possible to avoid them completely.
Establishing Intellectual Property Protection Measures
Software development can be very lucrative. Since you’re counting on outside contractors to create the software your business will use and profit from, you need to protect yourself.
Firstly, there should be contracts in place clearly giving your company all rights to any intellectual property developed by the team. Make sure each developer understands that they’re giving up all rights to anything they create for you.
It’s also important to ensure that whatever country they’ll be working in has adequate protections for your company in the case that someone should try to use your intellectual property. Mexico is a great choice for this reason. The US has many legal agreements with Mexico, intellectual property rights being one of them.
Ensuring Data Security and Compliance
It’s important to keep your data safe. So what can you do to ensure data security and compliance when outsourcing software development? The company you work with should be able to explain what protocols they have in place to ensure your data is secure. Look into their data handling practices and privacy policy to make sure it meets your needs.
Another good measure for cybersecurity is to give everyone a unique login and restrict permissions to only the information they need to access for their duties. Also, have everyone sign a non-disclosure agreement to protect your privacy.
Planning for Contingencies and Scalability
They say even the best-laid plans don’t survive the battlefield. Try to imagine what could possibly go wrong. Give your team more time than you should actually need whenever possible. Then, when there are delays, you have a built-in buffer. Choosing a company with experience also ensures they’ll know how to handle any roadblocks.
Also, since your goal is to grow your company fast, make sure the partner you choose has enough developers that specialize in the areas you require to ramp up the team as your business grows. Talk to them and learn about how they deal with scaling your team to see if it’s convenient and efficient.
Measuring the Impact of Outsourcing on Your Company’s Growth
All this preparation and diligence beforehand will go a long way. However, you also need to know if it’s working or if you need to make changes. Here are some ways to do this.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Metrics
Have clear KPIs to measure your company’s growth. This can include the number of new software releases, quarterly earnings, number of clients, or whatever growth metrics are most important to you. Keep track of them with a simple system that’s easy to keep up with. Check-in on these metrics regularly to assess your progress.
Analyzing Results and Continuous Improvement
Use that data to analyze the results your tactics are having. If these metrics aren’t where you want them to be, make changes and improvements. Keep tweaking the system until you get the results you’re looking for. This will help you find the ideal formula for how to accelerate growth with outsourcing software development.
Ready to transform your business through cutting-edge software solutions? Schedule a meeting with our expert ParallelStaff development team now and discover how we can accelerate your company’s growth!
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