No matter if you’re an established enterprise or a budding startup – outsourcing product development is a smart move. This trend continues to gain traction because it increases innovation and helps scale businesses.
Pocket-friendly services that arrive in customizable packages are a godsend for all product development managers. So if you had any dilemmas over in-house vs. outsourced product development employees, this article is for you.
Find out which factors you should consider when running a business and when planning on expanding your team with outsourced staff.
Definition of Outsourced Product Development
Outsourced product development means, simply, hiring skillful and expert IT technical specialists that can cover your project needs.
So, in settings where you need to move a part of your development tasks outside your company, you hire a third party that provides outsourced product development services.
That is a popular practice these days since in-house IT departments usually can’t handle the bulk of IT tasks coming their way.
The services usually offered span different subcategories of IT, but most of them fall into one of these:
- IT infrastructure maintenance
- Product strategy and roadmapping
- UX and UI design services
- Custom software development
- Consulting with ongoing product iterations
The attractiveness of expert product development consultancy lies in the fact that they are often on call 24/7, and they offer customizable service packages that span from ideation to launch. Depending on your needs, you can hire services from an outsourced team that will deliver you a complete software solution or an outsourced team that will offer support in the form of product consultancy, legacy software modernization, new feature development, etc.
More and more businesses are embracing the outsourcing business model since it usually means getting a turn-key software solution fast and within budget. Outsourcing also means you spend less time and money on talent acquisition but more on that later.
According to Statista, the global market size of outsourced services climbed to $92.5 billion in 2019, and that number continued to grow.
What Do You Get With Effective Outsourcing Of Product Development
A lot of things should be taken into account when choosing a third-party product dev vendor. Below are some of the main benefits that explain why outsourcing is right for you.
Expert Knowledge, Vast Skill Sets, and Experience
When you have a new product idea, your first step should be a business plan that underlines which consumer needs would be solved by it. The business plan should also contain answers for each step of product development.
At this point, you can pinpoint where you stand when it comes to available resources and employee experience in areas related to dev tasks and launching the product.
With outsourced product dev vendors, you can pick from a large roster of experts through customizable service packages. You can quickly and affordably access services of consulting, analytics, marketing, UX and UI design, MVP prototypes, and more.
Control Over Development
Outsourcing your product development needs doesn’t mean handing over control of your output with no questions asked. Your outsourced team should be a collaborative extension of your company, eager to partner up and bring you the results you need.
That is why outsourced development is sometimes referred to as “staff augmentation”. The great thing about this principle is that selected experts from the third-party vendor may be dedicated just to your project. These dedicated outsourced teams often have team leaders that communicate with you directly, delegating tasks to their team members and updating you regularly.
These projects sometimes take over a year, so a proven vendor will carefully pick a team that suits your needs, as well as a well-versed project manager or product owner that will keep you in the loop and consider your ideas.
When choosing a team, you also choose the scope of services, the project time scope, the budget, etc. Bear in mind that some product development service companies let you manage the team with active involvement. Others let you focus on your other tasks more if you are needed for micromanaging elsewhere.
Lowered Project Expenses
If you are a startup, you probably meticulously track the financial capital allotted, and external product development can end up becoming a lifesaver (or, more appropriately, a business-saver).
Actually, no matter if you are a large company or a startup, your financial department will appreciate the move of recruiting technical specialists that fit your budget. Your tech-savvy staff will, on the other hand, appreciate the fact you all now have access to a global talent pool of techies.
Here are some things to keep in mind if you truly want to lower costs:
- Avoid making the mistake of choosing the least expensive outsourcing product dev provider.
- Make sure to assess the team’s expertise before they begin working on your dev project
- Request the resumes of the developers who will work on your project, and if appropriate, speak with them.
- To test the waters, start with a trial project or prototype.
- If you are a non-technical person, you can even employ a third-party consultant to verify the quality of the service company’s code.
Quicker Road to Product Launch
If you have an innovative idea for a product, you shouldn’t rush its development. But you shouldn’t wait too long, either, since you don’t want your competition swooping in to steal your potential customers and dominate the market.
The more you sit around and wait, the more difficult it will be for your idea to launch and lead to business growth.
Outsourcing product development services means building, testing, launching, and scaling a product much faster.
Final Word
A product development provider with a proven track record will consider your needs and work diligently to implement them into the finished design. The provider is not only someone who will deliver you a good product but also consult and guide you along the best path while remaining open-minded to your ideas, wishes, and feedback.