Should I Outsource Software Development? (5 Reasons Why the Answer Is Likely “Yes”)

Whether you’re looking to augment your existing software development team or are hiring a developer for the first time, finding the right people is one of the most challenging things your HR team and technical hiring managers will do. It’s also one of the most crucial steps toward the success of your software project.

Written by Scott Craig|Posted on November 4, 2020

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Whether you’re looking to augment your existing software development team or are hiring a developer for the first time, finding the right people is one of the most challenging things your HR team and technical hiring managers will do. It’s also one of the most crucial steps toward the success of your software project.

Software development outsourcing (or nearshoring) is a way for companies to hire qualified, vetted technical professionals with less risk to the company, and at a significantly lower cost than hiring someone in-house within the US. Outsourcing technical talent for software development needs is an attractive option for many companies – and outsourcing development does not mean sacrificing quality.

Here are five reasons why outsourcing may actually be the best choice for your organization’s software development needs.

Lower Staffing Costs (But Same-Quality Development)

Perhaps the most obvious benefit: nearshore software development can often save an organization a significant amount of money. Nearshoring and outsourcing allow businesses to hire experienced, senior-level developers from countries close to home, but with significantly lower labor costs.

More and more businesses in the United States are outsourcing to Argentina, which is a software development epicenter in Latin America. Despite boasting very strong, internationally-recognized university technical programs and a huge workforce of talented developers, average salaries for development roles are much more competitive than in the US, meaning that US companies can hire a developer with the same level of expertise and same-quality output as a US-based developer for a fraction of the cost. Argentina is also time-zone aligned with the United States, culturally similar, and English proficiency is excellent.

Unmatched Ability to Hire Experts in Specific Technologies or Niche Industries

Every company struggles with difficult-to-fill positions – but trying to find a senior software developer with niche capabilities like blockchain and cryptocurrency development, or who knows how to work within complex legal requirements such as those around medical software development, is a staffing challenge unlike any other.

If you’ve been struggling to find a developer with a very specific skillset or specific industry knowledge, consider outsourcing. Agencies that provide outsourced software development generally have stronger recruiting capabilities than the average employer, which means that they often have exactly the skillset you’re looking for already – and if they don’t, they can usually find this person for you.

Reduced Productivity Risk

Outsourcing and nearshoring reduces productivity risk within an organization, and mitigates the financial risks that may be associated with increasing productivity. Particularly, having a huge backlog of tasks can have an enormous negative impact on productivity levels. Supplementing your workforce by outsourcing backlogged tasks or new projects allows your full-time staff to properly focus on other responsibilities.

At the same time, many companies may hesitate to outsource – especially business-critical tasks – because they worry that they won’t have enough oversight over the outsourcing company’s processes and procedures, or that communication with them won’t be as strong as it is among their own staff. But many outsourcing companies (such as AccelOne) make integration into the client’s existing team a key part of their service, and are able to use your team’s existing PM tools as well as adapt to your internal processes. AccelOne also offers outsourced technical project management, which, beyond proving project outcomes, makes communication with the client clearer and adds additional visibility into the project.

Reduced Hiring Risk

Growing your team is an exciting part of growing your business, but expanding your in-house staff can come with risks. Hiring an FTE (full-time equivalent) employee through a software outsourcing company mitigates many of the risks that may give the management team pause when it comes to hiring.

Working with an outsourcing company allows you to hire the staff you need without hours spent by your HR department, equipment costs, or any of the other costs associated with growing your in-house staff. Look for an outsourcing partner who utilizes tools like video interviews to help you screen candidates, and who allows your business to have a say in which resources are assigned to you.

Ability to Scale Hours (and Staff) As Needed

It’s common for work levels to fluctuate, and you may not be sure how long you’ll need your developer for, or for how many hours per week. Outsourcing may be a great option if this is your case, because you’ll be able to reduce or increase hours very quickly compared to recruiting and managing in-house staff.

If you outsource software development, your entire technical development team – from project management to coding to QA – can be outsourced. It’s also easy to scale the size of this team whenever needed.

And which time zone your outsourced team is located in does make a huge difference in your ability to scale up. Communication is often difficult when there are only a few hours per day of overlap between the work days of you and your dev team. Imagine checking in with your team at 10am your time, 5pm their time, and then realizing at noon that you need to meet again. If your dev team has already signed off for the day, you won’t be able to meet again until what would be the end of the next day for them. An entire day has been lost in communication.

Argentina is only 1-2 hours ahead of Eastern time, so outsourcing to Argentina means that you and your development team will be online for nearly the entire workday. Being in constant communication with them impacts your ability to work and grow the project enormously.

Are you looking to outsource your software development to a company in Seattle?

Our full cycle and custom software development services are tailored to fit your unique business needs. Leveraging Seattle’s most skilled and experienced talent, we deliver high-performing, reliable, and successful solutions everytime. Whether it’s improving an existing application, augmenting your in-house staff, or building a product from scratch, we’re prepared to help you with custom software development, software testing & QA, app and web development, IT support and maintenance, blockchain consulting, UX design, and much more.

Give us a call.

Scott Craig

Scott Craig

CEO

Co-Founder

Kirkland, WA, USA

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