July 14, 2014
Once seen as an option for those without capital, outsourcing has grown in acceptance. Many firms turn to outsourcing to develop a new product, maintain an old product, or extend their resources.
If you're considering outsourcing but are on the fence, these 5 benefits may convince you to give it a try.
1. Creating Your First Version of the App
Outsourcing is ideal for a beta version of your app. An outsourced team of software engineers can quickly and easily develop the first version. In turn, your internal team will receive the app in a very short turnaround, and begin evaluating it.
When you can describe the vision for what the app will do, and can deliver a very basic specification that explains your idea to a team of workers, you can outsource successfully. They will collaborate with you to clarify what you want and fill in any missing pieces.
2. Augment Your Existing Internal Development Team
Use outsourcing to complement your internal developers to add manpower and specific technical expertise to the development team. Since your outsourced team of workers are located elsewhere, they can extend the development cycle beyond your 8-hour day.
3. Reduce Burn Rate
When your organization spends too much on in-house programmers, outsourcing app development can relieve the budget. In this case, you can trim the in-house team (often eliminating expensive local contractors) to a core selection of people who can manage the outsourced team and can do product management onsite. This approach enables you to outsource projects as needed to a team of professionals who have the required expertise and cost less.
4. Creating a New or Additional Application
When you are building a new version of your app or a secondary app, outsourcing its development allows your internal team to remain focused on primary goals without getting distracted by the new project. A common example of this is adding a native mobile app to your existing web application. If the add-on can use the same documentation, structure, and code as your primary project, you'll realize an even faster turnaround.
5. Testing and Quality Assurance
Testing, QA, and maintenance are popular work to outsource, and you'll find many firms that specialize in delivering effective quality in your software. It is still important to have your internal team take responsibility for their own code. This requires they still perform unit tests on their code and/or other basic tests. Outsourcing enables your in-house team to continue to work on priorities while ensuring that your app is fully tested and market-ready for launch.
Outsourcing is ideal for these 5 use cases. With a fast turnaround, lower cost, and a rapid development cycle, outsourcing's many benefits may convert you.