Yes, YOU need to outsource your software development…

…and in this brief blog post I’ll give you 3 good reasons why…but first we need to ask the question:

What is outsourcing? 

The term is thrown around all of the time and I think it’s worth us spending some time figuring out more or less what it means.

In my world, outsourcing means that you’re hiring someone OUTSIDE of your company; who technically works for someone else. More technically, these people are contract workers rather than employees. But I think it’s important to dive beyond the technical definition.

What does this really mean? It means that there is the PERCEPTION of more loyalty and dedication from employees. On the flip side, the perception is that there is a lack of loyalty and dedication from outsourced workers. We’ll get into whether this is true or not soon enough…

Let’s get on with it. Our 3 reasons you need to outsource.

Reason #1: Lack of local talent. 

This is a big one. And it’s obvious in the tech space. Simply put: Finding software developers who are talented, qualified, and available in your area is HARD.

I’m seeing this unfold now. I hear from recruiters that they’re going back to their client companies telling them that the people they are looking for – local, full-time on-site – simply are not available.

Click here for some recommendations on finding those “Rock Star Ninjas”.

Reason #2: Writing code is not your core competency.

You probably didn’t create your business in order to perfect the art (or science?!) of writing code. What’s your business’ core competency? If it’s something aside from software development, you should strongly consider outsourcing (at least some of) your software development – so that you can better focus on the main goals of your business.

The parts of software development that you shouldn’t completely outsource (but rather you should consult on) is the planning, design and product management. Your team needs to be involved in the software development process – especially if you outsource. Don’t think that you can hire some software developers and magically come back weeks or months later with the perfect product. That just doesn’t happen in the real world. You (or your team) must be involved.

And that takes us to our final reason…

Reason #3: Outsourced workers are motivated and dedicated.

Remember our discussion at the beginning about the definition of outsourcing. Technically it’s a simple difference of contractor vs employee.

But what matters more is the perception. You see, the assumption with outsourcing is that the people you hire will not be as dedicated – nor will they be as motivated – as their employee counterparts.

And unfortunately this becomes what you might call a self-fulfilling prophecy. That is, because you assume that outsourced workers aren’t as good as employees, they won’t be.

You need to change your perception and the way you handle your workers – outsourced or not.

It really comes down to how your workers are treated (ie, managed). If you treat all of your workers as part of your team, they are more likely to play the part.

So my argument is that, if you have a problem with outsourcing, that problem may not be the outsourcing at all; the problem is likely staring right back at you in the mirror.

Conclusion and Summary

Hopefully you learned that you can have success with outsourcing your software development, that it can be a huge benefit for you and your business. And, in order to make it a success, you need to do a better job of treating (ie, managing) your workers – outsourced or not – well.

And get involved – you and your team – in the software development process. Contribution from all the key stakeholders on the project will skyrocket your chances for success.

So what are your options when it comes to outsourcing? I wrote a blog post about Why You Must Outsource a while back.

What do you think? What successes and failures have you had with outsourcing?

Let us know!