Published on September 6th, 2019 | by Jagdish

Hiring a Software Development Team vs Building in House

There’s a big debate going in the industry, whether to hire a software development company or get it built in-house? This generates a lot of rift between most of the businesses as software development can be a tedious and tricky task. The developers involved have to go through a series of planning, development, and testing associated with the development process. This also can be a lengthy process as it takes time to deliver outcome as per clients’ requirements.

While both in-house development and hiring a team has its own set of benefits, they also come with various challenges for both business and the software development company. If not planned well, it could lead to a disastrous result that would not be acceptable by the business at all. We shall take this discussion ahead and illuminate more on the topic so that you have a better understanding before going forward with the decision.

Hiring a Software Development Company

Benefits:

1. Cost-Benefit:

The best advantage of hiring a software development team is cost-saving that a business enjoys. This is so because the business would not require hiring a dedicated team of skilled and experienced developers for the project. Also, the cost of hardware and infrastructure is saved completely. Many outsourced software development companies decrease the overhead costs like rent, bills, taxes, lease and more. When the costing comes down at level which the business can easily afford, it’s best to go with hiring the software development company than going for costly in-house team.

2. Skilled Resources:

Without a doubt, hiring a software development company means you would be associating with the best team of skilled and experienced developers who would be doing your job. You get to attain their knowledge in your project and alter or modify the project at any point in time without worrying on developer’s knowledge on the trends. The talent also help business to incorporate the latest trends in the software which gives a competitive advantage to the business and help them sustain longer in the market.

3. Product documentation:

Another advantage is that you get to have comprehensive project documentation of the project built by the development company. This document would act as a support to all those people who would be associating themselves with the project in the future.

4. Business Productivity:

Every decision made in the business is for its growth and success. Outsourcing software development company is another decision made by managers that improves the business productivity and its scope of improvement. This can also be placed like business would be saving tons of money, taxes, hardware and software licenses and infrastructure. Saving time and money is a big help for business.

5. Resource Management:

When you decide to get a software developed for your business, you have to think a whole deal with resources and its management. Resources includes everything. Right from talent employees to infrastructure, and to hardware & software selecting your choices need to be prominent in every aspect. Managing resources is a complicated task as it requires constant monitoring and planning to get through the process. Outsourcing software development company eliminate the challenge of resource management as everything is managed by the team and it has nothing to do with the business at all.

Challenges:

1. Communication:

Since the team that you have hired for your project does not sit with you, communication could be a bit challenging. It may also happen that you outsource your project to some software development company which won’t be in your vicinity. This brings up the challenge of communication gap and without proper guidance the resources may fail to generate the required output.

2. Methodology:

The most important thing which business often forgets to ask before hiring a software development company is the framework or methodology they follow for the development. While many software development companies follow agile methodology, few are still stuck with the traditional approach of software development. This leads to a delay in the delivery of the project and the project might not turn out as expected.

The overall advantage of outsourcing the software development company overpowers the challenges that it comes with. Most businesses love to work with companies that have power to own the project as their own. Outsourced software development companies take the charges of the project and ensure that the project is developed by smart and skilled software developers. This also enables them to bring developers who are aware of the latest trends and technologies and help businesses to incorporate those trends in the project.

In-house Software development

Benefits:

1. Developers on Payroll:

With in-house software development, the chances are that the developers you have hired are on a payroll basis. Which means that they are levied to perform and enjoy the benefits and bonus. If the developers are not performing, business should always replace them with skilled ones.

2. Planned Proposal:

The best part of in-house development is that the business has defined a team who is always available. On top of that, a planned proposal can be configured in the starting so that it can be followed during the entire development process. This saves a lot of time in unnecessary tasks like meetings, calls, etc.

3. Access to Project Alterations:

In the ever-changing dynamic market, there is constant doubt of changes to be made in the software. This could also happen while the development company is building the project. In-house software development gives access to any changes or modifications to be made in the project easily and instantly. You don’t need to wait for additional members to discuss it and do it.

Challenges:

1. Recruitment:

The worst part of in-house software development is that businesses themselves have to do all the recruiting and hiring. This is the most tedious and time taking process as you don’t want to hire any unskilled or less experienced professional for your project.

2. Project Halt:

While you have your in-house software development team, you are highly dependent on the presence of the team to complete the project. If the prominent members of the team are on leave for a few days, it halters the development of the project and may lead to delay in the completion and delivery of the project.

Conclusion

The constant discussion on the choice of hiring a software development and in-house software development is never-ending. Any business that look for low-cost software development would go with hiring the team. Outsourcing the development company is a big help as it takes care of business project without them having to look at resources, hiring the right team, costing, maintenance and all.

Once you give the directions to the team, they are set to go with the development and would need guidance only when they get stuck with decision making. It’s a simple process of transparent communication and getting a quality output in return. The one who looks for their team to develop the project would go with in-house. Having the pros and cons of each option, it purely depends on the requirement, budget, and necessity of the business. Whichever be the final choice is sure to give benefits and profits to the business.

Having said it all, it is important to have a look at the importance of project to figure out which kind of assistance it requires. In case, you need every bit of detail about your project, it is best to consider in-house development otherwise the option of hiring such services is always there.

Tags: app development, business communication, resource management, software, software development, software development company

About the Author

Jagdish is the digital marketing strategist at Finoit Technologies, a reliable custom software development company. His responsibilities include promoting digital marketing initiatives at Finoit.