May the Outsource be with You!

To meet the strategic transformation needs of a growing business, companies may consider hiring a technology partner to help plan and execute software development and delivery. Outsourcing this work, especially overseas, comes with a specific set of challenges. But these pain points can be mitigated by choosing the right technology partner.

There are four main issues that come up when discussing the opportunity to outsource software development:

• Lack of Control
• Communication Issues
• Forfeiting Quality
• Sacrificing Employee Morale

Lack of Control

Stemming from a lack of trust, the fear of losing control of a project makes it difficult to let go. Businesses feel like outsourcing means they aren’t driving the project. This is usually reinforced by the thought of losing tech space and oversight.

Outsourcing should be a partnership, not a question of ownership.

There will always be a balance between the client and the partner, hinging on communication and integrated efforts. The client remains involved as they oversee the project, while the technology partner applies their specialized skillsets to strategize, develop, and deliver the best solution for their problem.

However, a sense of losing grip on the project doesn’t come only from managing the project planning and execution. Traditionally, clients expect partner engineers to work in-office. That provided a level of comfortable, physical oversight. They could literally watch engineers work on their project. COVID-19 accelerated a major shift in project expectations. Work models have changed to allow for remote partnerships that deliver the same results, if not better!

At the same time, off-site doesn’t necessarily mean offshore. A local or regional partner can deliver a custom solution without the fear of losing track of project deliverables or manpower. Instead, having an outsourced team can provide the comfort of trust and execution.

Communication Issues

Challenges such as language barriers, time zones, and reliable connections (phone and/or internet) are typical in outsourcing models, especially in offshore development. Spoken and written communication can be difficult. Availability, flexibility, and response time may be impacted by differences in operation hours, and lines of communication may not be up to standard causing disruptions.

Again, it’s crucial to remember that not all outsourcing companies are created equally. Just as outsourcing doesn’t connote off-site, it also doesn’t have to imply offshore. Trusting the development of your product to a local team mitigates fears and has far less pain points regarding the potential communication barriers of typical offshore outsourcing models.

Forfeiting Quality

You can have cheap, or you can have good. If the bottom line is the only consideration, the fact is that the product likely won’t satisfy the need. In fact, the quality of the product and experience should meet or exceed expectations, since you are hiring for expertise and execution. An outsourced team of specialists will deliver a higher quality product faster than an internal team that is potentially already stretched thin in their job responsibilities and skillsets.

With a local development team, business can trust that their partners: know and understand the market, have researched and designed for its specific needs, and will deliver a product that is better than expected. Following, there is an aspect of built-in support and kinship knowing that the local team is as invested in community engagement, growth, and success as they are.

Sacrificing Employee Morale

There is a fear that outsourcing technology solutions signals internal instability and a loss of trust and respect for internal teams. That comes with a heavy cost, impacting company culture, satisfaction, and potentially impacting loyalty. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Outsourcing in order to leverage the expertise of your technology partner, and not just looking to cut costs, can actually help the morale and growth of your internal team, showing them that their time is valuable, and that you understand their needs both as individual associates and as a team.

Technology partnership provides more than just workload stress relief. A good outsourcing partner shares best practices and helps to educate associates. This collaboration allows for internal teams to experience growth and self-improvement, which directly affects the company’s success. This kind of partner engagement proves that outsourcing is more than product delivery by cultivating good relationships and developing trust.

Want to learn more about how Viagio can empower your solutions? We’d love to hear from you!