The impulse to optimise creativity and progress with the best but most affordable solutions at your discretion is something that all business owners, startup founders, managers, and individuals exploring different ideas have in common. This trend influences a lot of choices, and there's one dilemma that always remains common: Should you go for outsourced product development or in-house?
In-House Product Development
In the past, companies created and designed all of their product lines internally.
Market analysis, design concepts, prototype development, testing, and tool maintenance are all part of that plan. Organizations either hire personnel with knowledge in each of these crucial areas to accomplish this goal or make due with the personnel currently on their payroll.
Outsourcing Product Development
Outsourced product development services is when you engage a third party from outside your firm to carry out tasks and create goods that were previously handled internally by the staff and employees of your organisation.
It comprises services like developing an innovation and marketing strategy, user experience (UX) design, the creation of software solutions, and working on product updates. To assist clients in turning their ideas into action, each party/agency provides a range of services and specialties.
However, it has been seen that many companies prefer to create products internally rather than outsourcing for a variety of reasons, including:
- They tend to feel a sense of helplessness in managing and controlling the development process.
- They fear losing one's sense of security and control of intellectual property.
- They fear that an outside agency may turn a blind eye towards the ingrained corporate culture and overlook a certain perspective that is integrated into goods.
Let's Face It: Post-Pandemic Era Has Changed The Way We See The World
In Deloitte's 2020 Global Outsourcing Survey, we have seen a quick shift towards outsourced software product development services. As businesses learn to work together in a world where efficiency, performance, versatility, and affordability are more essential than a geographic space, they have apparently learned to expedite the process of outsourcing.
Moreover, if there's anything good about Covid-19, it has to be the fact that the pandemic helped in debunking the notion of a tight-knit workplace. Post pandemic era is one where people are more open-minded. They understand that resources can be availed from anywhere around the world. The acceptance and promotion of remote working is likely to increase the outsourced software product development services.
Which One Is Good For Your Business: Outsourced vs In-house?
We will be honest and cut to the point of saying that this choice could largely boil down to only one answer: "It Depends!"
However, we'll give you a bunch of reasons why outsourced product development could be great option for your organisation-
The Core Benefits of Outsourcing
Multidisciplinary Expertise
When you onboard any outsourced product development companies, you're in for a treat. You'll deal with people who have spent years in their field, perfecting every bit to the end. They have in-depth knowledge about everything, from design to market trends to strategy. They'll help plan your product in collaborative synergy which results in successful execution.
Here's what you'll get:
- Product Management- to decide upon the USPs of your product
- Technology Leadership- to develop an agile process that evolves with the product
- UX Designer- to strike a balance between UX and UI
- Technology Architecture- to develop a robust security and interface
- Development- to optimise a product with different languages
- Quality Assurance- to test the product before production
- Growth Marketing- to expand your business and increase your sales
Single-Minded Focus
The workforce at the outsourced agency is entirely concentrated on your product because that is what they have been employed for. Not only do you gain from their years of knowledge, but also from their undivided attention.
A good agency will keep you informed about the milestones achieved in a weekly meeting with status reports. You'll be in the loop of what's happening because it has become easier than before to communicate with people.
Product-Success Mindset
When working with a product, it's crucial that you start with what we call as the minimum viable product or MVP, and gradually present the other functionalities to your users.
This mentality is brought to the table by a reputable outsourcing product development company. The organization should assess what is in the MVP and choose which decisions should be made for experimental work and which should be taken to provide the groundwork for a more durable foundation.
Based on customer experience and lessons learned, the team is expected to promptly alter directions. To put it another way, the group must be agile.
Market Ready in No Time
It's imperative to launch a version of your product as soon as it takes the desired shape. This can be done as early as possible if you have a fully-functional team with appropriate expertise and focus. They'll help you bring your product to consumers in a timely manner. You don't have to waste time recruiting, interviewing, and explaining the whole process when you can simply hire an outsourcing agency who is just ready to get your work done.
Lower Costs, Guaranteed
One of the major conclusions of the Deloitte Global Outsourcing Survey 2020 is that employing an outsourcing agency is a lot easier on your pockets than handling an in-house team.
Previously, people talked about cost savings as a side benefit to other goals, like enhancing agility or raising service delivery. Results indicate a large uptick in the proportion of firms prioritising production efficiency in 2020, and this number will only rise in the context of a pandemic-induced worldwide downturn.
It's Not a Question of 'Ifs and Buts,' it's Something that You Need
The majority of organisations believe that the sole or the only advantage of outsourcing product development is cost savings. As a result, they end up taking the longer route. When you choose the road less taken, you enjoy the many benefits that others aren't even aware of!
Like any activity, outsourcing product development has advantages and disadvantages. The drawbacks can be categorised into three main issues, including a sense of control loss, security and IP ownership fears, or a worry of losing business culture.
But it's clear that the problems outweigh the advantages in hand (the ones mentioned above). You should look for outsourced software product development services in an agency that shares your vision of success.
