When there is no regular need for IT services, hiring a full-time specialist, be it a programmer or a tester, has no sense. In such cases, outsourcing is a good option. IT outsourcing is a partial or full handover of certain work (support, maintenance, software development, etc.) into the hands of outsourcing companies. Cutting costs, innovations and fresh expert perspective - is what you get when outsource software development tasks. Moreover, outsourcing provides you with access to a wide talent pool. But it’s not all black and white. There are some challenges that come hand in hand with the benefits. In order to make a wise decision, you should be aware of all possible pitfalls before hiring a dedicated development team.
It’s a Good Idea to Outsource:
- When IT is not a focus of your company. By outsourcing, you add needed experts to your team to do tasks that are not part of your business.
- Your project requires up to 6 months of implementation. In case of long-term projects, a quick reaction to changes in business requirements is needed, which outsourcing cannot cope with. For such projects, outstaffing and time and materials models are more suitable.
- You need to create an MVP (minimum viable product) to find out the demand of the market or you want to pitch an idea to investors. With today’s technology race, testing initial assumptions with the help of MVP is critical. As MVP requires quick implementation and reasonable costs, outsourcing MVP development comes to the fore.
Now that you are familiar with the benefits of outsourcing for your business, it is important to understand that they are not set by default. All common risks, such as possible increase in costs, fragile software solutions or unauthorized use of data, are spelled out in the contract with your outsourcing partner beforehand. These risks can be minimized by choosing a reliable company with extensive experience in IT outsourcing, like CoventIT. When you think where to outsource, always pay attention to testimonials or what companies use these outsourcing services at the moment. If you consider an option of outsourcing to Ukraine, then this post about how to choose a development team for outsourcing in Ukraine will come in handy.
Mitigating Risks to an Outsourcing Company
Reputable outsourcing companies bear responsibility for the outcome and potential difficulties that may happen on the way. At CoventIT, we will not undertake a project without examining all the details or without having expertise in the needed field. Once we sign the contract, all arising issues are on our shoulders. It’s no longer your concern. For instance, there is always a risk of bugs and inconsistencies that may pop up during the development process. This could happen when you already have a web product written in an old code or with the help of certain incompatible frameworks and programs. After we take on a project and set a final price, we are ready to solve such problems, regardless of their complexity.
Having been on the market since 2007, CoventIT has a lot of experience in different outsourcing projects. We believe that the desired outcome is always based on careful planning and realistic formulation of goals.
Below, we will share some tips to help you reduce risks and get a quality web product in cooperation with your outsourcing team.
- Initial Communication Is Important
Any discussion about possible risks and challenges starts with communication. It’s always better to overcommunicate in the beginning when you need to make an outsourcing team familiar with your business and goals. Set a contact with technical experts in the outsourcing company, not only with their managers. Pay attention to the questions they ask about your project, whether they are deeply interested in the logic and the history of the project or not. Do not be offended if the developers ask questions about the development team you previously worked with. An outsourcing company also takes some risk and wants to cooperate with reliable people.
- Define All Details
Successful implementation of your product depends on how thorough you work out the details. Based on correctly drawn up technical tasks, a work plan and cost (fixed price) are determined. Changing your plans along the way is not easy. Most likely, a development team will have to add new technical tasks which may affect the speed of project implementation and its final cost. That’s why it’s so important to think over every detail, especially when it comes to small projects where the launching speed is vital. With such a changeable market, delays in implementation could jeopardize the relevance and functionality of a product.
- Carefully Choose an Outsourcing Bid
If cost is the main driver for you, read contract details to make sure what the final price is and what services it includes. For example, if you want the outsourcing company to provide project management, check if it’s included into the timeline and cost. It has to be the common understanding of the deliverables stated in the contract as well. A team of professionals is selected depending on your needs and budget. For example, junior developers will get the job done for less money, but they will spend more time on development. Moreover, their code will be much more expensive in subsequent support and development. If speed is important to you, then opt for experienced senior professionals who will cope with the task faster. Anyway, there is always a win-win solution if getting things straight beforehand.
- Agree on Timing
As it was mentioned above, speed matters. For some projects, one week delay can mean losing big profits or having big setbacks. Scheduling problems often arise because of several reasons:
- the time was initially miscalculated
- a lack of project management
- changes were made along the way
- the desired features of the product were not determined in the beginning
To avoid scheduling problems in software development, choose an outsourcing company with a big staff of developers to supplement the team in case of emergency expansion of the project scope.
- Make Sure That Outsourcing Company Takes Responsibility for Technical Risks
In an effort to get an innovative product, outsourcing companies use cutting edge technologies, which sometimes plays a dirty trick, especially if your project is not from scratch. For instance, it might be that your website uses outdated plugins, libraries, frameworks that do not support new functionality. In such cases, CoventIT developers address the gaps and rewrite code where needed without additional effort and investment on your part.
Takeaways
Despite all potential risks, by outsourcing your IT needs to an expert like CoventIT you can majorly fuel your business. When hiring an experienced dedicated team, it takes all responsibility for the project. We at CoventIT try to set comfortable relationships, minimizing your troubles and accomplishing the desired outcome - everything to keep you come back. After successful collaboration in outsourcing projects, we will be happy to switch to another cooperation model or help select your own IT team. Choosing us you choose quality.
