10 Qualities of a Software Outsourcing Company to Look For
Although the 2020 economic crisis is like no other, and much worse than the global financial crisis back in 2008, life goes on and business persons are now engaged in taxing efforts to keep their businesses moving, amidst the pandemic, amidst the great fear and uncertainty that the entire world is facing due to Covid-19. Given this scenario, outsourcing could be a good solution for businesses big and small.
Software outsourcing is a contemporary way of providing software services to customer when hiring in-house specialists is hard, or even impossible. It lowers costs while providing good quality, particularly in today’s pandemic world. As outsourcing service providers have been practicing remote work systems for some time now, long before the Coronavirus hit, their tools, processes, and infrastructure are perfect for distance collaboration.
With the great number of outsourcing companies out there, choosing a particular outsourcing software development company could be a difficult task. There are however guidelines and tips on the top qualities you should look for before hiring an outsourcing partner.
Before we dwell on it further though, let us first review what outsourcing is.
What Outsourcing is All About
The process means hiring resources outside your company to get certain functionalities done, in particular software development. It could be lead generation and customer service development, administrative tasks, financial and accounting duties, IT operation, marketing, human resources and many more.
Hiring an external software development company could lead to:
- More growth
- Lesser overheads
- Quality of service and greater focus
With software outsourcing, organizations are rewarded with bigger staff support and extra time. This lets them stay competitive, scale and boost offerings and services, which is really great news for consumers.
Factors to Consider when Hiring a Software Outsourcing Company
- Money Savings. The major purpose of outsourcing, in pure business terms is to enhance the bottom lines via reduced operational expenses. You need not be an expert to figure out where you are going. You only have to find out if the process could help lessen a considerable sum of your capital in hiring staff and purchasing equipment.
There should also be a balance between the quantity and quality of services that the outsourcing company could provide. Consider if you for example outsource app development. You should find out if the implementation of the function would be more expensive and needs more resources than when outsourced.
- Technology and Resource Combination. Resources and technology are major considerations when opting to outsource. Ask your prospective outsourcing provider about the technologies and tools they will use for the project, and their capability of maneuvering all your needs.
Moreover, determine if the company has well-trained resources. It would be better if the vendor has an office with updated systems and could carry out even the most painstaking functions.
- Price Tag. One of the most common reasons why companies outsource is hiring talent at a competitive and reasonable price tag. Some vendors offer services at competitive rates. Nonetheless, rather than going for the most affordable vendor, do a comparison and determine what you’ll get from other providers as well.
There are also vendors that could provide customer support services without extra charge, which is a great deal in itself. Just bear in mind that while the price is a critical factor, it must not however be the only factor to choose a vendor.
- Trustworthiness. Before signing any agreement, make it a point to visit the website of the vendor. Moreover, make a research online to find out about the company, its safety practices, infrastructure and of course their development team.
Read about case studies related to the functionalities that you are hiring the service provider for. This is a great help to assess the provider’s reliability. If you have a reference who have worked with the company before, the better.
- Least Supervision. It’s a given that the outsourcing vendor would take care of everything from scratch when hiring an outsourcing vendor. No room should be allowed for shoddy or sloppy work.
Selecting a responsible outsourcing partner like Tatvasoft who would handle projects is a must-have since you only have to do less supervision on the task. This way, you could spend more time on your core business functionalities.
- Ability to Meet Deadlines. Time is precious, time is gold, and time is money in the outsourcing field. For example, if a vendor is unable to meet the deadline, there could be major bottlenecks. This alone could repel any cost-savings you anticipated.
Make certain that the vendor will adhere to the timeline and quality promised. One of the ways of doing this is to make inquiries ahead of time.
- Limit Liabilities. Certain functional areas, more often than otherwise could build up business liabilities. This is both time and money consuming, which could be spent somewhere else. You can outsource specific functions to limit liabilities to an extent.
- Who leads the Team. Knowing the team members of the offshore team is critical. Ask the company for the CVs of the members of the team, including their clear technical expertise and set a video call meeting during the initial stages. In short, find out as much as you can.
- Communication. Whether you’re offshoring or onshore, the business communication is the key for your company to run smoothly. It could cause a huge problem if your language and your vendor’s don’t match. Ultimately, this could cause a communication gap.
In some instances, it’s better to opt for the international language to communicate, for a lesser chance of getting into a transmission problem. Vendors mainly should be able to handle your questions and reply promptly, without letting you wait. Communication skills should be spot on without communication or cultural hindrances.
- The Service Legal Agreement. This is one of the most critical documents when it comes to hiring an outsourcing software development partner. Make certain that the vendor is aware of the SLA term and each single detail is clearly written by the guidance of the agreement.
CONCLUSION
Despite the pandemic, technologies and infrastructure continue to evolve, especially in the Asian region. Organizations that need to grow and stay on the competitive edge in the worldwide market could not afford to overlook the functional benefits and cost savings of outsourcing.
