In-House vs. Outsourced IT: A Comparison
We take a look at the pros and cons of different approaches to IT development.
As the global economy becomes increasingly digitized and businesses rely more and more on robust IT infrastructures and assets, the need for software development has exploded. This has created a situation of scarcity in the developer market, with the pool of talent in many countries not being able to keep up with demand.
Along with it being difficult to actually find developers to hire, companies also have to deal with steep labor costs and relatively high turnover in developer teams. Head-hunting is rife in the industry; companies are willing to expend a lot of resources on acquiring IT talent, creating enormous pressure on smaller businesses with slim margins.
This situation has inevitably created a strong demand – and reason – for outsourced IT services, which can provide companies with access to developers located all around the world, often at much more competitive prices than those found in their immediate communities.
But what are the differences between these two approaches? Is having a team of in-house developers really the ‘premium’ choice, reserved for large companies with the resources to maintain them?
Let’s take a look at the differences:
Cost
The first difference between the two options that needs to be highlighted is probably the most important, and that’s the difference in cost.
Having an in-house team of developers is, for most companies, not a cheap or easy endeavor. As well as the aforementioned high costs of hiring developers in most western countries, having a developer team in-house also involves a lot of additional resource expenditure on managing the team, furnishing them with the necessary equipment, and maintaining their contracts.
With outsourced teams, companies can benefit from a streamlined arrangement that allows them to pick and choose when they enlist the services of developers, scaling the team as necessary according to the specific, changing needs of each project. If done with the right outsourcing partner, this can significantly reduce costs and free up a company’s resources in the long term.
Availability
One of the main supposed benefits of having a team of in-house developers is the idea that they are always on call, within a company’s own organization, and focused purely on the company’s projects and needs.
However, the only difference to the above description for an external developer team is the fact that the team does not exist within the hiring company’s organization. And that is in many cases not a negative point.
External developer teams can be contracted for a much lower cost, even if they need to be exclusively devoted to a given company. This can free a company from having to enter expensive labor contracts with individual developers, and can provide a company with the flexibility to only pay for development work when it is needed, and not on a permanent basis, as is the cases with in-house teams.
Efficiency
Professional IT outsourcing companies are specialized in managing developer teams and have the experience and knowledge to deliver high quality IT and development solutions that are specifically tailored to a wide range of different companies and their own unique needs.
A company that hires in-house developers needs to expend resources training that team in the company’s specific needs, and will always be vulnerable to the potential for key employees resigning and destabilizing a project.
With external IT providers, these issues are handled by the outsourcing company itself, allowing client companies to focus on their own core business. With just a minimal amount of input to a single point of contact in the developer team, companies can realize their IT and development goals, in a way that can be faster and much more cost-efficiently than if it were done in-house.
Are you in need of an IT development team to take your software dreams to the next level? Get in touch to find out how Bocasay can be your trusted partner in the process.
