As if choosing the right software developer for your business wasn’t tedious enough, here comes another crucial choice you’ll need to make – In-house development vs outsourcing. Is your developer or team of developers going to sip coffee in a real or virtual conference room while they debate on Drupal vs. Laravel or are they going to be these unknown and out of reach people you have no idea about? In-house software development is easy to understand as that’s the model most of the world has been following. The only difference is that in this evolving world, more preference is given to a remote in-house team, thanks to the post pandemic era of freedom-loving professionals who are more than happy to save their time and your money. We will come to the benefits of this later.
Outsourcing has also been around for some time and has its own pros and cons. The bunch of developers in this case is not in your direct reach or under your control. There’s a middleman (the manager from the outsourcing firm) who is passing messages between you and the development team.
Both these options are good depending on the nature of your project, your budget, the outcome you expect and your timelines. Let’s discuss both of these models to help you make the right choice.
What Is The Difference Between In-house Development And Outsourcing?
“In-house” is where your software developers have all the real perks a company provides along with perhaps the freedom to work from home in their pajamas (if you’re going to hire remote developers, they will bless you and your business, trust us). The team is yours and there is a feeling of belonging to a community that helps the developers stay aligned to your goals and vision. You’re always in control and can direct the team the way you want to in order to shape your business and achieve the set objectives.
“Outsourcing” is where your developers can work on your project alongside multiple other projects. They’re possibly juggling many at a given time and their only goal is to finish all of these projects in time. As mentioned earlier, they’re not under your direct reach so it is impossible to expect a feeling of community, team bonding, and alignment with your vision and direction. You have no direct access to, or ability to communicate with them.
The outcome – The job gets done in both the settings.
The fact – If given a choice, a software engineer will go for remote work
The challenge – Which setting is actually beneficial for you?
Let’s solve this mystery right here by putting out everything on the table and viewing it objectively.
In-House Development Advantages
1. Faster Communication
It’s easy to talk to your software developers if they’re a part of your team. Walk right up to them (or, if it’s a remote team you’re working with, schedule a virtual meeting) and communicate what you need. It really is as simple as that. Face-to-face communication, whether real or over a video conference can simplify a lot of things and reduce the chances of misinterpretation. This is crucial for a development team as coding is not a simple task and any kind of miscommunication can lead to the entire project being a big failure.
2. More Accountability
With your website or app, you don’t want to announce the launch date and be a month or two late. With in-house software development, you can expect changes at lightning speed (OK – I’m exaggerating. I can feel the wrath of a thousand angry developers wanting to feed me to a java grinder. But seriously, response time for in-house teams is much better.). Your developers are answerable to you every day. In-house teams are more accountable and can be shaped into more responsible teams as well.
3. Community and Vision
With all the debates about the importance of work culture, you must know how important it is for any company’s overall growth, sustainability and scalability. A feeling of oneness and belonging makes teams perform better. They’re able to interact with each other, are accountable together and are also working towards the same goal. This cumulative feeling of unity leads to better ideas and outcomes of projects too.
4. Overall Development and Career Security
This is important to any professional. An in-house developer, even if engaged in remote work, will enjoy not just professional but also overall development. With everyday interactions, every employee’s perspective is broadened. When in-house developers enjoy these kinds of benefits and know that they have more stability, they’re able to perform better. For your company, this means higher retention rate and faster growth.
In-House Software Development Disadvantages
1. Overhead Expenses
Rent, taxes, devices, coffee machines, electricity bills and so much more makes up for the cost you have to bear to have an in-house team. Is it really needed? Think about it.
Fret not. This is where remote work steps in. Remote teams are in-house teams that come with none of these overhead expenses but with all of the advantages of in-house teams. Besides, your developers most definitely will enjoy a remote setting. Who wouldn’t want to sit in pajamas all day while working from the comfort of their homes? DistantJob helps you find the right remote developers who fit your goals, vision, work culture, and project. If you’d like to approach the best developers at affordable rates, you can get in touch with us.
2. The Developer Rejects You
If developers have an offer from another company that let’s them work remotely at the same pay that you’re offering, they will reject you. The REAL perks for a developer are not a social setting and a coffee machine at work.
This is why you must seriously consider hiring a remote in-house development team. You stay in a win-win situation where your company enjoys an accountable team and the developers get to work from wherever they wish to.
The in-house model, especially a remote in-house model is more suitable for those who are serious about their business and want to build a sustainable business that delivers quality. All of this while also staying smart about finances and building a work culture. Everything is possible when your in-house development team works remotely.
Outsourcing Software Development Advantages
1. Short Term Savings
This is a good shortcut for those who are looking for a quick fix. We know there are no shortcuts to success. If you have a sudden project that needs you to start sooner than your next breath, you can outsource the project to an agency. They’ll take care of the rest.
2. Expand and Contract at Will
You can change the team size depending on the projects you have at a given time. The outsourcing agency works according to your project type and recommends a plan accordingly. At all times, the agency is in control and you don’t have direct access to the developers who are working for you.
Outsourcing Software Development Disadvantages
1. Security
When you’re working with a vendor, you don’t exactly know the entire development process. Also, you don’t know if the vendor ends up sharing confidential information with a third party. These risks can be minimised by having a signed agreement and an NDA with your vendor.
2. Communication Gap
There will always be some or the other form of communication gap when you’re outsourcing software development. Remember, you have no direct access to the team. You need to communicate via the outsourcing manager and in an area as crucial as development, one miscommunication can cost you your entire project.
3. No Consistency or Sustainability
Since you have no direct control over the development team working on your project, you can never be sure of consistency in quality. If your projects go to different developers every time, you will see varied results. Without any consistency in quality, communication, security, team work, culture, and delivery, your business will suffer sustainability and scalability issues. This is very risky for any business that wants to grow in the long term.
With all of this information right here, it should become easier for you to decide what you actually want. Depending on your project and on the need of the hour, you will be able to take a step that will have long term consequences, good or bad. Before you take the plunge, refer to the cheat sheet to see everything at a glance.
In the war of In-house software development Vs. outsourcing, remember that the right talent at the right time in the right setting can actually change the future of your business. Get in touch with us because, at DistantJob, we will help you make peace by finding the developer that you deserve.
