Pros & Cons of Outsourcing Web Development Projects
It’s a question a lot of organizations, especially start-ups and small enterprises grapple with, in the nascent stages of their development: to hire an in-house team or outsource web development projects? Traditionally companies have preferred having their own teams but with changing times and growing needs, more and more organizations are outsourcing web services with favorable results.
It’s time to take a closer look at the pros and cons of outsourcing your web development projects and weigh your options before you choose the most effective solution for your requirements.
Advantages:
Cost-effectiveness: Web development projects need highly trained and experienced teams but hiring and training the right teams can lead to a very high overhead cost. This is particularly worrying for entrepreneurs working on a tight budget. In fact, even a lot of well-established brands are looking to cut costs without compromising on quality. Outsourcing your web development projects is always less costly as you don’t have to provide annual salaries and other employee benefits. You can get short-term projects delivered on time without the added investments.
Hassle-free Project Delivery: Recruiting and training the right talent is time-consuming and can be cumbersome, especially if you’re working on a deadline. Outsourcing ensures you don’t have to invest time in acquiring the right people, arranging for resources and the right infrastructure which is now solely the outsourced agency’s headache.
Access To A Diverse Talent Pool: When you outsource all web application development projects, you ensure that you have access to a more diverse and dynamic talent pool and are not limited to only the in-house talent. Hiring an entire team with all the right skillsets and relevant experiences can be quite daunting but through your outsourced agency, you can work with specialists from all over the world to create more innovative and cutting-edge web solutions.
Disadvantages:
Lack of Control: An in-house team gives you the right to choose your web developers but you may not have the same kind of control over the ones your outsourced agency chooses to work with. While it isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it can be quite frustrating especially in the initial phases of the project. Often agencies work with web developers located overseas and the time gap along with a possible language barrier can lead to delays and miscommunication. This is why choosing an agency that comes on board as a trusted advisor and partner in every step of your web development journey is key to ensuring total success of your project.
Communication Gap With Project Manager: One person in your outsourced agency who can make or break your project is the Project Manager. Critical to the success of the project, he/she is the first point of contact for the client, managing client expectations, communicating exact deliverables to the assigned team, ensuring top-notch quality and timely execution, identifying problem areas while maintaining a respectful professional relationship with both the client and the team. It is the project manager who conducts a team capability assessment and assigns responsibilities to make sure you receive the best quality outcomes.
With an in-house team, you’ve the ability to choose a dedicated Project Manager but you have to relinquish that control with the outsourced agency. If there’s a lack of communication between you two, this can lead to serious misunderstandings and the possibilities of mistakes. Even though many credible web development agencies let you interview the project manager assigned to your task, it is an issue which often troubles the minds of many a client.
Relevant Industry Experience: While the basic skillsets needed to be a web developer are common across industries, different sectors have vastly different requirements. Web developers have to be aware of the client industries, and the respective best practices to deliver the best results. For example, a B2C fashion company and a B2B infrastructure brand will have very different web requirements even though the technical fundamentals will remain the same. Outsourced agencies may often find it difficult to put together a team whose experiences match the client’s expectations. And a mismatch in experiences and sector requirements can lead to project delays and overall failure.
Now that you’re aware of all the possible downsides of outsourcing your web development projects, it’s time to ensure how to get more bang for your buck with an outsourced agency. Always do your homework before finalizing one, insist on interacting with the project manager and checking the team portfolio. Many credible agencies these days provide customized teams to meet your exact requirements. Read reviews & listen to word-of-mouth and question the prospective agencies about all your doubts. Avoid hiring the first agency you speak to; interact with multiple agencies before deciding upon one. And don’t forget to trust your gut because you’re not just hiring a web development agency; you’re on-boarding a trusted technology partner who is instrumental in translating your vision into reality!
