A Hard Choice: IT Outsourcing or Hiring Developers?
The matter of outsourcing is argued for ages. While some business concerns got used to outsource and that is just a routine for them, others prefer not to take risks and to hire in-house developers. The experiences of companies may differ, when they choose to outsource, like, for example, some businesses may succeed cooperating with outsourcers and vise versa for others it can end up with a bad experience.
So, in this article we are going to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of outsourcing as well as hiring developers.
Hiring Developers vs Outsourcing
- Advantages of In-House Developers
- Always accessible
Definitely, the overriding reason to work with hired staff is that your employees are always available. It appears to be a very important aspect of companies operation, since in-office developers can make changes to the project as quickly as possible. Moreover, the process gets much easier when the developers and the project manager are at the same place.
- Clear vision of the project
It goes without saying that sharing the same office contributes to good understanding of the project between all staff members. They get a clearer vision of their roles and this allows them to complete their tasks with maximum quality.
- Quality
It is undoubtedly that the management of the company can better control the quality of the hired staff, as each expert is hired following precise criteria and corporate principles. It means that the project manager can assign tasks according to the qualifications of the personnel.
- Disadvantages of In-House Developers
- Price
The first and paramount weak point of the hired developers is the cost of their work. In comparison with outsourcers, in-office developers` cost is approximately four times as much as outsourcers`.
- Working hours
It should also be highlighted that the employees are not always occupied with work, even if they are at their workplace. It means that they are even paid for the time they spend on office conversations, breaks and lunch. As a result, it is also deeply tied with huge financial losses.
- Advantages of Outsourcing
- A way to economize
The first and most visible benefit of outsourcing is money you are going to spend on the project. As already mentioned, the hourly rate of outsourcer in most cases is much lower that of the in-house expert.
- Qualification
Many business concerns believe that the quality of work is lower due to the low price, since it is commonly thought that the better spesialist — the higher price for his work. Actually, the competence of outsourcing specialist is not worse that of in-office staff, and sometimes even better. The difference in price only depends upon the level of economy in the country the outsourcer from as well as the average level of income in particular country. In fact, you have a chance to find an excellent specialist at a low price, if you have a right approach to the outsourcing company selection, for example, careful study of portfolio and already made projects can be a key for the right choice.
- Disadvantages of Outsourcing
- Risks
Surely, the main drawback of outsourcing is that your project can appear at risk. For example, poor-quality work as well as the risk of being misled without receiving any results. There is also a likelihood of unauthorized dissemination of information about the project or failure to meet the deadlines.
- Nevertheless, all these risks can be minimized following the next tips:
- Cooperate with well-known companies;
- Carefully study the portfolio and feedback on the quality of work done;
- Sign up a well-organised contract, taking into account all the details;
- Design a payout system so that possible risks and financial losses are avoided.
Conclusion
In this article we discussed benefits and drawbacks of IT Outsourcing and Hiring Developers. Both kinds of cooperation has its advantages, risks and disadvantages. The cheapness of outsourcing specialists arises as a great risk, while the trustworthiness of in-house experts can turn into huge expenses.
So what kind of collaboration is better and more effective? Taking into account all mentioned above we can come to a conclusion that outsourcing can bring much greater return than hired employees, if you have a right approach to outsourcing.
