To outsource software development or not? That is the question!

Gera-IT has been working in digital services outsourcing for many years. Given that, the title of the post looks like either a marketing hook or making an anti-ad for ourselves, doesn’t it?

But we prefer to be realistic and do not believe in coins without the other side.

There are many reasons why outsourcing can be really beneficial.
The most common advantages are:

• Reducing labor costs;
• Larger workforces; 
• Access to industry experts;
• Increased flexibility.

Yet, despite the benefits of outsourcing, sometimes it is not a good idea.

Let’s consider.

By being in the position of both customer and service provider of digital services. We highlighted 5 real cases when outsourcing was a really bad idea: 

1. Lack of skills to control outsourcing team;
2. Lack of time and financial resources and/or high complexity of the project;
3. Tight coupling of work and no way to split it;
4. Security and legal limitations;
5. SMART goals are not defined;

Let me explain each point.

1. Lack of skills to control outsourcing team

There are a number of reasons why you might outsource your projects. In all cases you should be sure you have a clear understanding of how to:

• control the work;
• accept the work;
• integrate the results to production usage;
• transfer expertise and assets;

It requires discipline and managerial skills to organize the workflows with an outsourcing company. Because you are the one who is ultimately responsible for the successful completion of the project.

By definition, the outsourcing model requires at least two agents: you and your partner. With the assumption that you have the skills mentioned above. Your partner needs also to be professional to make collaboration run smoothly. 

A good question here is how to choose a professional outsourcing partner. But this is another story. 

2.  Lack of time and financial resources and/or high complexity of the project

Lack of time leads to gaps in communication and decreases general quality.

Lack of money leads to a temptation to hire cheaper partners with the appropriate skill set. But most of the time the results do not fit the expectations.

Selecting a more expensive but experienced team will save the budget in the long run. Your project would have fewer bugs, faster app releases, and more efficient and smart work. These are all significant cost savings and higher satisfaction at the end.

3.  Tight coupling of work and impossibility to split it

This happens when you have a team that is already working on the project and you need more capacity. But the project is not ready for splitting into modules or subprojects to delegate.

In general, it is solvable, but sometimes you need to make efforts to get the ability. 

While it’s not so – avoid outsourcing pls.

4.  Security and legal limitations

Sometimes outsourcing is a bad idea simply because it is not permitted due to legal or security restrictions. Such as:

• HIPAA limitations;
• Agreements with incubators or other organizations;
• Privacy of data, algorithms, code, etc;
• Other limitations.

5. Clear and reachable goals are not defined

“If a man does not know what port he’s steering for, no wind is favorable to him”. 

(Seneca)

If you have not set S.M.A.R.T goals for your project you shouldn’t expect that from someone else including your outsourcing partner.

***

Common mistakes while outsourcing:

• To rely on the dev team too much and lose control. During all time the Client should be sure that the process is moving in the right direction and fits the goals.
• Hoping that the contractor can read your thoughts and didn’t make edits – Unfortunately not. Maybe in the future. Who knows.. 😏
• To be sure that the contractor can share your risks (financial, general success, etc). In Gera-IT we treat each project as our own, and always provide suggestions to make it run successfully. But all the risks and the last word are always on you. 

I know, this sounds obvious, but these are real situations we faced.

To summarize:

✅ Outsourcing is not a vitamin to be useful for everyone. 

✅ It has many profits but also contraindications.

✅ For each case, specific efforts should be made and then you will find gratification. But it’s not for sure 😉

If you are not sure to outsource or not, contact us, and let’s find it out together