Introduction
Startups are spawned by innovative breakthroughs. New ideas and insights sprout-out fresh startups with modern ways of working. However, there are big hurdles to the growth of these concerns.
Resource scarcity, fluctuating staff strength, getting the product to the market in time and the need for maintaining investor trust are some of the problems being faced. A growing trend these days shows that strategic outsourcing, specifically in software development, is paving the way to overcoming these obstacles.
Advantages of Outsourcing
- When you begin a startup you will need a website to handle operations, smooth payments, and communications with your clients. You will also need a mobile app. These are exactly what an outsourced software developer can fabricate for you
- As a growing business, through outsourcing you can focus on developing your core competencies while handling ancillary projects externally.
- Through outsourcing, you can leverage expert labor while saving startup running costs by employing the specialists for short durations
How Outsourcing helps overcome challenges faced by Startups ?
- Startups face huge challenges in attracting good talent because of competition with large companies. Developers prefer employment with established companies because of their proven credentials. This can be side-stepped by recruiting from a global talent pool available with a IT Staffing Concern
- Startups need highly experienced manpower to hit the ground running. Time to get the product out in the market is not enough to train junior developers. Outsourcing here, provides experienced programmers to fulfill this need quickly
- To develop fast, the employees of a Startup might get over-loaded. Outsourcing provides you with flexible labor to ease the pressure when needed
- Investors love to get involved in the process of hiring without the technical knowledge of the project. With outsourcing you have to just introduce the vendor, showcase the projects the team has handled so as to satisfy the investor of the decision
Tips for choosing the Right Outsourcing Partner
- Research: One should enquire as much as possible about the potential outsourcing partner. Feedback and recommendations from previous clients are very helpful in this regard
- Case Studies: One should read about the company’s previous experiences with other firms. This will help you to get to know about them. Make sure their clients are real and they are not holding vital information back – are their credentials genuine ?
- Communication: Choose a partner which communicates well – their teams are able to understand you quickly and respond to your needs
- Talk to the developers: Put an effort into knowing the actual developers – will they be a right fit ? Do they have the necessary experience?
Examples of Startups that Outsourced Software Development
- Slack: This application makes it easier for companies of all sizes to talk to their employees.The founders outsourced its development to Metalab and 6 months later they hit the jackpot. Since then Slack has not looked back and has attracted more than 5 billion dollars of investment
- Skype: This video conversation application is so popular that the phrase “to Skype someone” has become a common part of the modern lexicon. The founders of the company outsourced the development to an Estonian group and the package had a successful launch. Eventually it was sold to Microsoft for 8.5 billion dollars
- Whatsapp: This messaging app, is designed to facilitate communication and allows you to send photos, videos and documents. Its development was outsourced to an Eastern European freelancer, who later became one of the team leaders. Today the app has been downloaded at least 220.5 billion times
Conclusion
Outsourcing software development can be an effective method for startups to boost productivity while cutting expenses. They can also benefit from working with a credible outsourcing concern since it gives them access to highly qualified and experienced engineers while freeing up internal resources for use elsewhere. One must conduct the necessary research and evaluation just like for any other business choice before committing to an outsourcing strategy.