Outsourced vs In-House Software Development

February 2022

A lot of companies who plan to build custom software are often faced with the predicament of deciding whether to use an in-house development team or hire an external one for their project. 

Whether you’re focusing on automating your business’s processes or aim to move your existing system to the web or a new platform, Coretechs can help fill in the gaps. More often than not, these projects require specific functions or features and you may not have developers with the necessary skill set among your IT department team (if you have one). In many cases, these companies tend to face a shortage of human resources or don’t have enough time to put together a close-knit team of diverse experts.

That’s where we step in. The outsourcing of software development will continually expand over the next few years, so in this post, we’ll discuss both the advantages and drawbacks of each method to help you decide what best aligns with and supports you and your business goals.

In-House Software Development

Some advantages of using an in-house team for your projects:

  • Level of understanding. Your in-house team has a deep understanding of your company or business objectives and knows the goal of your projects from the get-go, which ultimately saves time and effort on your part. Outsourcing creates the need to invest some effort into getting a new team up to speed.
  • Communication and control. Communication is inherently more efficient as you’ll have the opportunity to oversee and manage internal teams and processes hands-on.
  • Team Development. Having an in-house team means you can train and develop employees to reach specific goals. The employee will get an opportunity to expand their knowledge in the industry and gain more professional experience, and you’ll achieve another specialist for your team.

There are also some drawbacks:

  • Time. Specialized technology experts are rarely available for immediate hire, as they often have current and ongoing jobs they’d like to stick to. So if you don’t already have experts on your team the hiring process can be difficult. In order to persuade specialists to join your team, you’ll have to offer them something better than what they currently have, whether that be a better salary or a fun, new project in a technology they really want to work with. Building your team could potentially take a lot of time and cause a lull in your project. 
  • Expenses. An in-house team requires investing a lot of money in both the recruiting and training process. Also, you’ll need to provide the proper technological equipment and anything necessary for team expansion, such as another office or even training materials specific to your company.
  • Project delays. If anyone on the team falls ill or resigns, this can cause standstills on your project depending on their involvement. So, this is a potential risk that could result in starting the hiring process over for that specific decision or coming up with processes to overcome those delays.

Outsourcing Software Development

Inherent advantages:

  • Cost-effective. One known advantage of outsourcing software development is its significant cost reduction and higher ROI. A dedicated outsourced team like us will save you money long-term, as we work on an hourly basis for projects, technical support, and maintenance. Learn more about our pricing here.
  • Top talent and new technology. Companies are now gearing more towards accessing top engineering talent and working with the most innovative, upcoming technologies. These will deliver an even better end-user experience for their audience and supercharge business.
  • Focus on business objectives. Because you’ll be outsourcing and delegating this work, you will have more time to focus on honing your core business goals and needs.
  • Staff size. You won’t need to expand your office, hire extra personnel, or provide equipment for an outsourced team. We have everything we need and can work with you virtually anywhere due to meeting technology and our location near Washington, D.C.
  • Convenience. If you hire an outsourced team and decide you don’t like the work that’s being done or just want to switch gears and go in a different direction, you can easily hire a new team. If you have an insourced team, you’ll have to work with them and if it doesn’t work out, changing teams is difficult.
  • Quality of work. A team of specialists that is determined to help your business succeed is invaluable because of the long-term effect custom software can have on your business. Find out more about our custom software development process here.

Possible disadvantages:

  • Quality of work. Unfortunately, there is also the possibility of bad quality of work. There are situations where a business may be forced to create its own in-house team due to a bad experience with an unprepared outsourced team. Coretechs is confident in our ability to provide outstanding solutions that can drive your business forward, but it’s always a good idea to research any development team you’re considering working with.
  • Management. You can be involved in the project, but you won’t have front-seat access like you would with an in-house team. To get around this as best we can, Coretechs communicates very frequently with our clients as we know you want to be hands-on to make sure that the end product is exactly what you are looking for. Therefore we keep you in the loop at all times by placing a dedicated Project Manager on your project so you’ll have a single point of contact throughout the entire process.

According to Daxx’s review of the Avasant IT Outsourcing Statistics report, “Application development is one of the most frequently outsourced IT functions in 2021. More than 60% of tech companies are outsourcing at least a part of their application development. [Also], Network operations dropped in IT outsourcing volume from 34% in 2019 to 27% in 2021, [and] around 55% of the study respondents informed that they will increase budgets for outsourcing cybersecurity functions.”

Overall, trends are pointing to an increase in businesses seeking out outsourcing for their software development than ever before in 2021, as well as an increase in the budgets that they are putting aside to facilitate their endeavors.

As outsourcing becomes more and more popular, Coretechs is confident we can help you create or maintain your website or app. Gathering a cohesive team with enough experience to do your project and do it well is a big investment of time and budget. We also know that it’s tough to trust a company you don’t know initially to handle something as important as your software.

We’re confident that we can help you bridge the gap between business goals and custom software. Coretechs is happy to help in any way possible and you can contact us any time to get started!

Photo by Marvin Meyer