It used to be that companies would try to do everything in-house. You’d have several departments (and even more employees) all working on separate tasks that would in some way contribute to the business’s bottom line.
Nowadays, however, this isn’t always the case …
Many of the most successful startups are trying to keep themselves lean by limiting their in-house team to people whose services are required every day.
The rest of the work? It’s outsourced.
Time For Some ‘Mythbusting’
Now, outsourcing has often received a bad rap over the years. It’s often associated with offshoring — sending jobs to other countries in an effort that reduces business expenses while often lowering the quality of delivered products or services.
This is far from the reality of today’s outsourcing environment. Outsourcing doesn’t mean that work is getting shifted to an overseas call center. These days, it means providing expert, specialized work that the company can’t manage in-house.
I should know …
Before starting Darkroom, I worked for a company that was winning in the outsourcing space by providing top-notch outsourcing services to big-brand clients. The truth is, companies like Airbnb, Tinder and Twitter are all flocking to outsourcing companies — particularly when it comes to software development.
Silicon Valley startups are looking for “gold standard” outsourcers — and for good reason. The end result for their software development can be far better than what they might achieve on their own.
Creating the Perfect Product
In the world of product development, outsourcing is, more than anything else, a way of ensuring that you get high-quality results. Consider startup founders, for example …
Most would-be entrepreneurs have a great idea for a product or service. They may have a strong background in marketing or business management. But this doesn’t mean they know how to create software.
Statistics behind startup failure rates shed additional light on why enlisting expert help for software development matters. In one comprehensive analysis of startup failures, 24 percent of founders cited “technical/product issues” as a contributor to their failure, while an additional 11 percent cited “inexperience/skills gap.”
This isn’t to say that each of these failures was caused by attempts at in-house software development — but it’s easy to see how inexperienced developers could see these results.
When you outsource to an expert team, you can have greater confidence in receiving a technically sound software program. Quality engineers provide efficient, reliable work that leverages resources you likely wouldn’t have access to in-house.
As a result, you’re more likely to achieve a technically sound software program that helps you deliver on the promises made to your customers.
Greater Flexibility Becomes a Reality
Another great advantage of outsourcing software development is the increased flexibility it provides your business. Trying to do everything in-house requires hiring part-time or full-time employees. It may require the purchase of expensive equipment or programs.
These can prove to be significant investments in a startup’s early stages — especially if you don’t have a permanent need for such staff members or equipment.
When you outsource with a qualified partner, you maintain a level of flexibility that also allows you to keep your finances in the black. You only pay for services when you need them. You don’t have to make costly investments or undergo a lengthy hiring search to build a programming team.
IT outsourcing serves as a worthwhile comparison to software development. Researchers have noted that IT outsourcing doesn’t just improve efficiencies and minimize costs in IT.
In these situations, outsourcing also reduces significant expenses in administration, sales and other areas. In a world where many startups fail because they run out of money, this benefit is particularly noteworthy.
By only paying for software development when you truly need it, you can maintain a higher level of control over your startup’s expenses, reducing waste and putting yourself in a better position to adapt to an ever-changing marketplace.
Outsourcing is also more easily scalable than hiring an in-house team.
Getting a software product ready for market won’t be limited based on the in-house resources you can afford at the time. Instead, the third-party team can scale operations to ensure that deadlines are met.
All the Time In the World
Starting a successful business requires a lot of time and effort.
In fact, many of the most successful businessmen in the world cite working 12 hours each day as one of the biggest contributors to their financial prosperity.
Of course, not every startup founder has that kind of time. But regardless of how many hours you have available to work, what ultimately matters most is whether you are using that time to the best of your ability.
Software development is a complex and time-consuming process — and when you already have countless other business responsibilities, managing these projects can take you away from other important tasks that will allow you to grow your business.
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, then, that one of the biggest advantages of outsourcing your software development needs is that it will give you more time to focus on your areas of expertise.
Your outsourcing partners will handle all the “nitty-gritty” of development, from overseeing the progress of the work and supplying staff members with needed resources to checking for programming errors and ensuring that the final product is delivered on time.
When you leave these complex tasks to an expert, you can focus on other crucial activities that drive the success of your business. You’ll suddenly have more time to meet with investors, to finetune a marketing campaign or further develop your business strategy.
Outsourcing For the Win
At the end of the day, choosing to outsource software development is all about achieving the desired outcomes for your business. This is something we take very seriously here at Darkroom — it is why we have international teams set to scale products at affordable prices.
We know that outsourcing works — and that it will work for you.
Today’s fast-paced business environment requires flexibility, collaboration and expert insights. Rather than go through the costly and time-consuming process of building an in-house development team, outsourcing this work will get you the results you need, when you need them.
That’s a sure-fire recipe for success.
*Image Credit:
-Featured Image, Pexels
