The Role of Outsourcing for Small Businesses
As an entrepreneur, you might wonder: what is IT outsourcing for small businesses? Software development outsourcing for small companies is a delegation of tech tasks like web development, web support, cloud services, or hosting, to external software services providers like Drupfan. Rather than maintaining a full-time tech team and investing in the retention, insurance, training, and bonuses for in-house employees, outsourcing enables hiring temporary specialists for the course of the project development without the hassle of HR processes. Such an approach plays a crucial role in a business strategy for small enterprises, as it allows them to redirect money into other key areas like product development or marketing.
Benefits of Web Development Outsourcing for Small Businesses
Let's review the advantages web development outsourcing can provide for small businesses in more detail.
Reduced costs
By opting for software outsourcing, small businesses can significantly reduce costs associated with the implementation of tech projects. First and foremost, you eliminate the need to retain a full-time in-house team and invest in their maintenance, training, and HR processes. Besides, by opting for offshore outsourcing, you can hire web developers from Eastern Europe, Latin America, or India, at lower hourly rates without sacrificing the code quality. Lower labor costs are associated with lower cost of living, economic differences, and reduced overall expenses for companies to retain employees.
Learn more about offshore software development in our recent guide.
Access to the best experts worldwide
By choosing IT outsourcing, small businesses gain access to a global talent pool, rather than being limited to hiring within their own country. This allows you to choose the best out of the best for reasonable costs. In addition, such an approach allows hiring specialists with exclusive expertise, like cybersecurity, cloud computing, or AI development, which are more difficult and costly to maintain in-house.
Delegation of risk management
IT outsourcing enables business owners to delegate part of the risk management associated with software project implementation, making their workload less overwhelming. Besides, software development companies like Drupfan possess extensive expertise in managing tasks related to cyber security, data protection, and regulatory compliance, resulting in more efficient problem-solving and elimination of potential vulnerabilities beforehand.
Accelerated time to market
Having an extra set of hands for a short period can help your team meet deadlines and deliver the product to end-users faster. Outsourcing IT tasks ensures that technical expertise is available when needed, speeding up the development process without compromising quality.
Operations scalability
Outsourcing of web development tasks allows you to quickly scale the size of your team up or down as the workload changes without hiring or laying off in-house employees. Get the expertise you need and when you need it.
Faster task implementation
By delegating tasks to a team of seasoned professionals, you receive a faster implementation and quicker turnaround, as developers are highly skilled in implementing web development tasks and focused on delivering efficient results. Their experience allows them to handle complex tasks with speed, ensuring your project stays on track and meets critical deadlines.
Ability to focus on other business goals
Outsourcing software development allows business owners to focus on core objectives and strategies rather than pile themselves up with technical issues. This leads to improved productivity and company growth.
Drawbacks of Web Development Outsourcing for Small Businesses
While IT outsourcing offers many benefits for small businesses, it also comes with some potential drawbacks. However, by understanding pitfalls and ways to overcome challenges, businesses can mitigate those risks and leverage the advantages of outsourcing to the fullest. Let’s review some key drawbacks of software development outsourcing for small companies.
Lack of control over software project
When opting for an outsourcing model, small businesses might get the feeling they have less control over day-to-day operations associated with tech products. As the external provider is responsible for making decisions and handling the stages of software development projects, the overall strategy might not be well-aligned with your core business objectives.
Solution: To eliminate the risk of losing control over software projects, small businesses should establish clear communication, and regular reporting processes, and appoint a dedicated in-house project manager.
Communication barriers
Cooperating with a multinational team might bring issues connected to communication, cultural misunderstanding, and time zone differences.
Solution: To overcome communication challenges, it is crucial to hire developers fluent in English. Here at Drupfan, we only hire specialists who speak good English. If time zone alignment is of paramount importance for your project, opt for nearshore outsourcing. Nearshore web developers are usually in the same or 1-2 hours time difference as your internal team.
Reduced in-house innovation
Outsourcing IT tasks to an external provider might grind to halt an in-house professional growth and innovation in the tech field, as team members might lack opportunities to develop new ideas and solutions. Over time, this might be due to the lack of expertise and experience in particular technology or processes.
Solution: If the technical growth and evolution of your company are crucial for your business, maintain a balance between outsourcing and in-house work. Encourage your internal staff to collaborate with outsourcing partners, share ideas, and actively participate in meetings. Provide training and workshops to keep your in-house staff skilled in the latest technologies.
