Why You Should Outsource App Development
Outsourcing has become a global trend in the 21st century. While seeking out cheaper labor costs and sufficient competence, many companies start outsourcing some of their business functions. Nowadays, app development is one of the most popular kinds of software outsourcing. It can be explained by the fact that more and more companies realize the necessity of an online presence. Consequently, they want to have their own application on Apple Store or Play Market.
Interestingly enough, both tech and non-tech companies eagerly outsource app development. As for companies that don’t deal with software, their choice is justified by a lack of expertise. For example, a business owner of a restaurant wants to program an application with the menu and discounts of their restaurant. There’s no need to hire an in-house IT department because it takes up both time and money. In this case, software outsourcing is a reasonable solution.
As for a tech business that works on its own IT product, app development outsourcing can be useful to save time. Some IT product companies desire to accelerate their time-to-market and seek additional help with software development. In this article, we’ll focus on the reasons why IT product companies may want to outsource app development and what risks it implies.
Reasons to Outsource App Development
One of the first reasons to outsource app development is the opportunity to save time and speed up product development. This is the so-called plan “B” for companies that fail to meet deadlines and need to move on faster. Apart from time and resources, software outsourcing aims to cut down on costs. In countries with a developing economy such as India, Romania, Poland, or Ukraine, labor costs are far less than in central European countries. Moreover, governments in these countries provide special tax incentives for the IT industry.
For instance, in Ukraine, the income tax of developers is 5% of their monthly salary. Consult local offshoring providers like the Alcor group to learn more about the IT market in Ukraine. They’ll help you establish your own development center and provide further back-office support (recruitment, HR payroll, legal compliance, etc.)
By outsourcing app development, one gets access to a vast pool of seasoned IT specialists. This also enables business owners to build a team of developers with the necessary skill-sets. In Ukraine, for example, there are nearly 200k IT specialists, 36% of which are Middle Software Engineers with a degree in computer studies and an upper-intermediate level of English.
As a rule, outsourcing companies offer quality assurance (QA) services. Together with software development, your project will also undergo different kinds of testing, including manual, automation, and security quality control. It helps identify bugs and works in a proactive manner to make sure the product is functioning well enough.
Pitfalls to Avoid
When contracting with an outsourcing company, one needs to consider important factors that can influence app development and business in general. First and foremost, an IT product company should pay special attention to their Intellectual Property (IP) rights. An agreement between you and the team of developers is a must, but unfortunately, this is not a 100% warranty. Working in one office with engineers from other projects, your team of developers often interact with them informally. This leads to the exchange of information which is likely to be confidential. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Software engineers use the same set of technologies and initial data throughout projects, adding their previous experience to the mix. So make sure your IT product won’t become the groundwork for another client.
Another important issue for consideration is the pricing policy. Watch out whether the outsourcing company provides you with a detailed pricing list at the beginning of your cooperation as well as at the moment of paying bills. Go through and check thoroughly to detect hidden fees or unreasonably high costs.
Conclusions
If these are critical points for your tech business, consider another engagement model for offshoring. For example, opening your own offshore development center can help retain IP rights and keep costs under control. Reach out to one of the local offshoring providers to set up your own branded office and hire IT talent with minimum efforts.
