IT Outsourcing Myths vs. Realities

When it comes to IT outsourcing, many companies are hesitant. Luckily, that’s mostly due to myths and misconceptions.

The possibilities offered by the internet are vast and evident everywhere we look.

The current Coronavirus crisis the world is facing shows just how powerfully the internet can be used for businesses, schools and organizations to continue their operations using remote communication, interaction and work.

However, while we have been reaping the benefits of the age of the Internet for quite a while now, there are some stereotypes and ideas about working with remote teams that continue to affect the decisions that many businesses make.

The concept of IT outsourcing still remains alien and often scary to companies that are accustomed to having an IT developer or team physically in the same office as them in order to realize their IT goals.

However, the reasons for this prejudice normally comes down to some myths and false stereotypes.

Below, we explain some of the main ones (and why they are usually false).

1. It’s not efficient

A common idea about working with remote IT teams is that efficiency is lost due to cultural differences, distance and a lack of communication affecting project speed and efficiency.

The idea is that if you are able to work with an IT developer that is in the same room as you, a project can be realized faster, and more in line to the desires of the project initiator.

In reality, efficiency can be greatly improved through outsourced IT development.

Communication can be systematized in a way that leads to optimal productivity, time zone management can be leveraged to speed up delivery times, and more competitive pricing means the team you hire can be larger and more suited to your specific project.

And if you’re worried about cultural and language barriers, they can also be easily overcome, and even used to the advantage of your company.

2. Developers in developing countries are less capable than those in the West.

There is a pervasive idea that IT developers in the western world are better trained and more professional than those in the developing world, who might not have had the benefit of the West’s advanced education systems and professional environment.

This is a wildly inaccurate and unfair stereotype.

Countries like Vietnam, Mauritius and Madagascar – where Bocasay has its outsource teams – have highly robust and advanced IT training programs and universities.

Developing countries have been investing heavily in the industry, which they have rightly identified as holding immense potential for their future economic growth.

The truth is, IT developers in developing countries are just as a talented as their western counterparts, and usually train and use the same technological tools to realize their tech projects.

3. You lose control of outcomes

Considering how long we’ve been used to working with people who are in our physical presence, it’s almost natural that we place great emphasis and value in the productivity of in-house teams.

As humans that have evolved in close-knit societies, and individuals that have mostly been trained to believe in the power of the office, we are almost hard-wired to think that teams that sit under the same roof work best.

Most of this belief comes down to the idea of how a project manager and/or leader can evaluate work and make sure a project is going to plan.

However, examine this idea closely, and it quickly becomes clear that the success of a project does not depend on clients, project managers and developers being in the same building, but how professional each individual is, and how adequately their systems of communication and evaluation are.

If you are working with a professional IT service provider, they will introduce robust systems for ensuring that project deliverables are realized accurately, and according to schedule, and will go out of their way to internalize feedback and communicate.

Put simply, you don’t need to be breathing down your IT teams’ necks in order to get what you want out of your project (we would argue that doing so would usually be counterproductive anyway).

So what are you waiting for? If you would like to find out more about how to get your IT project rolling using one of our talented offshore IT development teams, get in touch to find out how we can work together.