Why forward-looking companies prefer outsourcing app development?

Outsourcing app development liberates you from a series of complexities. With a solid development partner on your side, you can expect a host of benefits. And by benefits, we mean you will have more time and energy to focus on your core business and thus be able to contribute more to your bottom line; you do not have to be constantly anxious about wading through the never-ending sea of tools, technologies, frameworks, and programming languages to build your software.

Furthermore, you will likely spend significantly less than what you end up spending in-house. However, there’s a less steep learning curve involved when you choose not to do it on your own and instead go out and look for someone professional to do it on your behalf. Outsourcing app development projects has become a strategic move for companies wanting to focus more on core business operations, access top-tier talent, and achieve increased time-to-market.

Whether you’re a start-up, an established company, or a large-sized public or private enterprise, outsourcing helps you get rid of the complexities of app development and get futuristic apps at significantly lower costs.

If you’re thinking about outsourcing your next software development project, keep reading! In this blog, I’ll help you understand the pros and cons of outsourcing app development and how to get it right the first time. Let’s get started!

What does Outsourcing App Development mean?

Outsourcing is the business practice of hiring external agencies or individuals to do certain specific tasks that were traditionally performed in-house. Similarly, outsourcing app development is when you engage a professional and reliable mobile and web development company to help you build secure apps.

The journey of outsourcing a development project to a third-party vendor helps you build software often at significantly lower costs as you get to access a wider talent pool without having to hire and setting up an in-house design and development team.

The most significant ROI, in my opinion, is however, the fact that outsourcing application development enables organizations to shift the burden to someone more capable and lets them to focus on core business activities.

Why outsource app development?

There’s nothing wrong with in-house development. By all means, you can choose to build your thing in-house, provided doing that makes sense. However, if you have done the comparative analysis and feel gravitated toward engaging an independent development company to help you out, here are solid reasons to help you further make up your mind:

• Your priorities do not take a backseat: Think about it. If you go the ‘in-house development’ route, you might have to juggle a lot of things, such as building an in-house development team, hiring the required talent, undertaking endless research about the latest tech trends and cloud services, and whatnot. Doing all this will take a toll on your productivity. You might not find enough time and energy to focus on your core things. And that’s not a very good situation to get into. That’s why startups and big enterprises often choose to outsource their development needs.
• You get better software, faster: Businesses can not wait for years to get an app built. They need it faster than ever for a series of reasons including customer expectations rising at a frantic rate and the need to meet and exceed those expectations to outbeat the competition. By partnering with a reliable and professional app development company with a wider talent pool, you set the stage for a great experience and a better app within the predetermined timelines.
• You save on development costs: In-house development is likely to cost you way more than what you would typically pay to a development partner. Working with an experienced app development company not only saves you time and energy (which is far more valuable than money), but also helps you save on the development as you do not have to purchase software, hardware, and IT talent in the form of engineers, designers, product managers, quality assurance professionals, etc.

Challenges often associated with outsourcing

We’ve explored the advantages of engaging a reliable partner for web and mobile app development. And believe me, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. However, we must take note of them. A careful comparison can help you make an informed decision and choose the right fit for your business. Here are a few challenges that often rise up when a vendor comes into the scene.

• Finding the right development partner: Finding a development company that truly cares about your project and delivers on its promises often made in the pitching stage is half the battle won. And yes, we now have hundreds of companies operating in the development space. But they all are not ‘equal’ - equal in terms of skills, talent, desire to build the best for their customers, and partners.
• Lack of complete control over the project: In ‘in-house development,’ you hold the cards. You hire the team. You set the rules. However, things change when you bring a partner on board. And yes, you are often an active part of everything that goes on in your project, you might still feel a certain lack of control on how things should be done and delivered.
• Technical debt: Technical debt is ‘all the right things’ that your outsourcing partner might not do or decide to postpone for the future, just to ensure that the timelines are met. The scope of the technical debt can vary significantly and can even ruin the growth prospects of your software in the months and years to come due to a wrong selection of framework or technology or issues left unchecked.

Also read: What is Technical Debt and how to manage it?

Why Do You Need to Outsource Application Development?

We are living in a fast-paced world. And companies need to innovate and build rapidly to stay relevant and ahead of their peers.

In-house development models demand significant effort and cost. Think about it: If you do not have a team, you need to hire them. Hiring skilled IT talent itself requires a tremendous amount of time, money, and energy. They might require separate training and continuous support as well.

More importantly, you might find yourself focusing more on building a product or service that you need to run your business than on the things that you should actually focus on and things that contribute to your bottom line. That’s why, businesses of all shapes and sizes often take the ‘outsourcing’ route when modernizing their IT infrastructure or building an application from the ground up.

Whether you are from a start-up focusing on building an MVP or an enterprise looking to further scale up your digital capabilities, outsourcing can be a powerful way to build while staying focused on your core business.

Bottom line 

Technology is increasingly becoming the differentiating factor for modern businesses seeking improved customer experience, better analytics and insights, and new revenue streams. Though companies can choose to build apps they need in-house, outsourcing app development to a specialist can help you take advantage of a much wider talent pool, the latest tech, tools, and platforms, and continued support post-app launch. It’s true that even with a development partner, there will be some concrete work to do on your plate. But things will be a lot easier, smoother, and affordable when you tread the outsourcing path.