Your business’s web and mobile presences are the primary touch points for your customers. First impressions are always made here, and brand perceptions are judged not long after a customer visits your website or mobile app. Competent software and web outsourcing companies are aware of this, and therefore always strive to ensure that their clients’ digital presences are up to par, and always one step ahead of the competition.
But why outsource your business’s software and web development needs in the first place? In this article, we delve into some of the advantages of software and web development outsourcing, as well as some evergreen tips on how to ensure successful outcomes, when partnered with one.
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Benefit 1: Cost savings is a no-brainer
Being able to significantly save through software and web development outsourcing was one of the first driving factors for companies to embrace a partnership with a provider that was located halfway across the world. This was also well before remote work and distributed teams were less of a norm and more the exception, but a slashing of costs still encouraged many companies to shift over from an in-house to an outsourced team.
This factor has only been reinforced with time, especially as more software outsourcing companies mushroom across the globe, owing to a rise in demand from organisations of all sizes to outsource, as opposed to maintaining in-house teams. Businesses based in North America, Europe, as well as bigger markets across the Asia Pacific region are now highly familiar with how much they stand to save through outsourcing, now making it the go-to option for almost all businesses across any industry.
Benefit 2: Get access to top talent, sans any geographical limitations
With software and web outsourcing, your business has the ability to expand its net when it comes to recruiting the right team members. What used to only be limited to a specific geographical region has now been expanded over to an entire continent, and probably even the whole world. As software outsourcing companies typically function on a remote basis, there is little to no restriction on where a team member needs to be located, in order to accept an offer.
This has turned out to be a massive boon for businesses that engage in software outsourcing, as otherwise, a conventional brick-and-mortar office environment would have mandated hiring team members that are physically located within close proximity. Either this, or team members need to relocate, which can pave the way towards a more expensive and even a higher time-to-fill rate for businesses.
Benefit 3: Get access to the latest technologies
Similar to how talent isn’t confined to a specific geographical location, getting access to the latest technologies is now more streamlined for businesses that partner with a software and web outsourcing company for their development needs. With many top and well-established software outsourcing companies now also offering services for cyber security, cloud resource optimisation, SEO, digital marketing and even AI, businesses have a go-to partner for all things technology, thereby enabling them to adopt the latest advancements under the trust and care of a long-term outsourcing partner.
Benefit 4: Reduce administrative burdens
When software and web development operations are outsourced, companies are spared the responsibility of attending to administrative duties that pertain to salaries, benefits, allowances, office space, equipment and other miscellaneous employee requirements. With team members for software and web development now hired and managed by a third-party provider, businesses need only mention their requirements and preferences, and their outsourcing partner takes care of all end-to-end processes.
In turn, this entails only supervision from business managers, freeing them up to focus on tasks of a more executive nature, as well as those that require their strategic and/or analytical attention.
How to ensure success when working with a software and web development outsourcing company
Web development companies, irrespective of where they are based, will typically offer solutions that are tailored to each of their client’s unique requirements; boilerplate solutions are pretty much non-existent. The tips below are geared both towards companies that have joined hands with a new software outsourcing provider, as well as those that have a long-standing partnership with a provider they trust.
Always conduct an assessment
Gather relevant members from your team to discuss what’s deficient across your existing web applications and other software collateral. Also consider any patterns that may have been observed from customers, such as repetitive complaints. Gather all these findings into a brief, so your outsourcing team has a primary point of reference. Alternatively, companies that have a long-term outsourcing partner can conduct assessments together, to ensure one-on-one collaboration and mutually align every team member from the initial discussion itself.
Always start with an MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
Whether it’s the full release of a new application or a part thereof, an MVP is always practical – while also being less burdensome on outsourcing teams. This is because MVPs only demand focus towards the most essential of features, with successive features in later versions only being determined through direct user engagement and feedback.
As a result, the time and effort that software development teams expend are only channelled towards functionalities that users are bound to genuinely make use of – as opposed to implementing features based on assumption, which may never get used.
Always improve every iteration through analytics
Before your application or any new functionalities are implemented, it is important to determine what the KPIs for said application or functionality would be. This shall typically require insight from sales, marketing, and service teams, so getting them involved to determine which KPIs need to be monitored, and which reporting tools are optimal, is highly advisable. Based on the insights gathered, successive updates can be made to your application, so users know they are being taken seriously and a high calibre of customer experience is maintained.
Summing it all up…
Software and web development outsourcing continues to be the preferred option for building high-performance applications for companies around the world, irrespective of size, industry and even budget. With significant cost savings and access to a global talent pool, software and web outsourcing companies can power businesses with the leverage they need by delivering the latest technologies as part of a continuous partnership.
No matter what your organisation specialises in and how unique its requirements are, it is essential to adhere to the following tips, to ensure success:
- Conduct a detailed assessment with your business and software outsourcing teams,
- Start with a minimalistic version i.e. an MVP,
- Measure KPIs and other relevant statistics, to make improvements that are backed by data.