In today’s world, due to the constant pressure to operate more efficiently and reduce costs, many businesses have transitioned from an in-house to outsourced IT staffing model.
By using external providers, your company can have access to solutions including, but not limited to: infrastructure management, threat monitoring and crisis resolution.
It is obvious that IT outsourcing provides numerous benefits compared to traditional in-house staffing models.
Here are the advantages and disadvantages of IT outsourcing:
Advantages
Partial responsibility
You will not be concerned about keeping the developers in-house.
It’s basically so simple: just sign a contract and that’s it! The employed developers that will work on your project are not on your payroll, which means that you have just partial responsibility for them.
You have access to a larger talent pool
At the moment you start searching for a developer to hire, you’ve got limited access to the right potential employees.
For example, if you need a qualified developer in a certain field, like JavaScript, you need to expand your search. Thanks to IT outsourcing you can access talents worldwide and find the skills you need for your project!
Lower labor costs
Let’s be honest: the vast majority of companies that are doing this, are chasing lower labor costs.
When companies hire internal employees, competitive compensations and different benefits packages to recruit and keep the employees happy should be included. But for those companies that decide to outsource their services, the costs are much lower, because most of the times do not include benefits such as health insurance or vacation pay.
Outsourcing will allow you to find easier the right talent at the right price.
Managing risk better
Managing risk efficiently can be a determining factor in the overall success of any organization.
In outsourcing, because you have a B2B relation, the risks connected with employment and employees who quit unexpectedly are reduced. Usually, the specific rules provide security against litigation, better terms and conditions as it comes to responsibility and deployment on time.
Many of the IT outsourcing risks can be mitigated with solid preparation and planning. Also, you should always understand what the potentials pitfalls are, and how they might be avoided.
Faster delivery cycles
When you decide to outsource, you will definitely have more developers working on your project for lower costs, as we mentioned above. This will improve the delivery speed and the achievement of your goals on time. You don’t have to worry, because the quality will not suffer because of the fast cycle of product delivery.
The optimization of resources in IT outsourcing, will allow you to spend more time on management, coaching and planning, which will help you to achieve faster your goal: a successful business.
Now that we know the advantages of outsourcing, let’s have a look at the disadvantages.
Disadvantages
The security of your company’s data
Sharing data will always be tricky. Most companies often have concerns when it comes to outsourcing certain tasks to third parties. In most cases, companies are unsure of whether they can trust outsourcing providers with their confidential information.
That’s why, you should always choose the best outsourcing team for your project! Your partner should always keep your data safe. Ask about storing, processing and protecting data before you sign the contract.
The issue of trust
If you are still thinking whether outsourcing is a good idea, how you can trust someone located thousands of miles away has probably crossed your mind.
We recommend you to choose the company based on the following:
– The number of successful projects
– The knowledge sharing process and technical skills development inside the company
– The company’s website
– The feedback you receive from their previous clients
– A code example can also be a good idea. You can always ask for a code example used to implement some functionality in a previous project. This is how you can check if the code is well-written and the best practices used in it.
This way you will ensure that you will work with the best company.
Domain expertise
This one should shape your opinion about an outsourcing IT company. More exactly, the area of professional skills and development.
How to avoid the risk of choosing an inexperienced company: find out the technologies your possible partner is proficient in, have a look at its implemented software, quantify and qualify its accomplishments.
Conclusion
From our point of view, it’s better to choose outsourcing instead of having an in-house team.
IT outsourcing can give you a great competitive advantage – just remember to choose reasonably. Price should not be your only focus when you make the choice. Think wisely, because you need to work with a trustworthy partner who will meet all your needs.
When you’ll find the best team for you, one of the most important steps is to build a long-term relationship. And in this case, both parties of the outsourcing contract should be satisfied with the cooperation, clear communication and mutual trust.