Are you ready to build software or software applications for your business? If so, there is a question you must ask yourself: Should you use an in-house team or outsource your software development? The truth is, there are pros and cons to both approaches, and there’s not a universal answer.
In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at in-house software development, outsource software development, and a hybrid approach to using both!
A Closer Look at In-House Software Development
When you take an in-house approach to software development, it means you’re using an internal team to get the job done. Generally, your in-house software development team comprises trusted people who understand the culture, rules, and regulations within your business. If your mantra is, “If you want to do something well, do it yourself,” then hand-selecting your software development team in-house suits you.
In this case, you will need to look for specialists, conduct interviews, ask questions, and control all the processes for hiring and executing the project. The drawback is that this team is not as specialized as an outsourced team in different areas.
Let’s break down the pros and cons of an in-house software development team at a high level.
Advantages of establishing an in-house software development team:
- Exclusive focus on your product
- No language/cultural boundaries
- In-project expertise
Disadvantages of using an in-house software development team:
- Huge, inflexible price
- Staff turnover costs
- The lack of expertise in different areas
A Closer Look at Outsourcing Software Development for Your Business
As we discovered, employing an in-house software development team has its perks, but there are also some drawbacks. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of outsourcing software development, which involves contracting with a company or independent contractors to produce your product or specific aspects of it.
An outsourcing software development strategy adds a lot of flexibility to your organization, allowing you to quickly add or remove different functions as your product’s needs change. However, outsourcing software development does have its own drawbacks related to the transience of your relationship with your contractors.
For example, it can be challenging to find talented tech specialists, especially when you need a product ASAP with unique features. This is why companies are increasingly turning to outsourcing for their software development needs.
Let’s break down the pros and cons of outsourcing software development at a high level.
Advantages of outsourcing software development:
- Price-wise expertise
- Smart time-to-market
- Easy scaling of flexible teams
- Streamlined processes
Disadvantages of outsourcing software development:
- Difficult to align goals
- Transparency and security risks from rapidly changing personnel
- Risk of poorly documented code that is difficult to support
An Alternative Software Development Approach for Your Business: A Hybrid Model
Consider this third option if you can’t pick a winner between in-house software development and outsourced software development. A hybrid approach is a combination of on-site and outsourced software development. From the initial idea to the product launch, there are several stages where in-house specialists can provide you with more value. Still, you can contract out specific tasks to cheaper, outsourced providers.
Again, let’s break down the pros and cons of this hybrid approach to software development.
Advantages of hybrid software development:
- Impeccable project organization
- Optimal costs
- Maintains flexibility while still building in-house expertise
Disadvantages of hybrid software development:
- Splitting responsibilities can slow development
- More complicated to organize
A Side-By-Side Comparison: Finding the Right Software Development Approach for Your Business
|
|
In-House Software Development |
Outsourcing Software Development |
Hybrid Approach to Software Development |
|
Costs |
High |
Lower, depending on the outsourcing team you choose |
Cheaper than in-house, more expensive than pure outsourcing |
|
Expertise |
Narrow |
Extensive expertise in various fields |
Extensive |
|
Speed |
Low |
High |
High |
|
Quality |
High, meets the expectations precisely |
High |
High |
|
Security |
High |
Lower but can be improved with the help of NDA and similar agreements |
Lower but can be improved with the help of NDA and similar agreements |
|
Management |
Well-established processes and seamless communication |
Less manageable but depends on the outsourcing team you choose |
Complicated as it requires handling both in-house and outsourcing team issues |
|
Recruitment |
High |
Addressed by your outsourcing partner |
In-house team recruitment requires your time and resources, and your outsourcing partner provides you with a complete team. |
Get Started with the Right Software Development Approach for Your Business
At GST, we use a hybrid approach to software development, which means we use both in-house and outsourced resources to get the job done! We believe it not only gives us a unique advantage over our competitors, but it also equips us with a diversified perspective and allows us to maximize quality assurance and company organization.
Our full-stack and agile development teams are staffed flexibly to plug-n-play specialist skill sets to achieve maximum productivity at a minimal payroll burden. We also utilize flexible full-stack agile development teams to outperform in-house new hires by over 30% in shipping high-quality and on-time products.
If you were to have just one full-stack developer, a typical MVP development cycle would take more than one year to execute. Hiring additional internal team members would cost roughly $112K per developer and take more than 24 days. In contrast, GST can provide the entire development team for your project with an “in and out” price estimated to be 1/3 of the in-house alternative in a shortened timeline with the assurance of an accountable cohesive enterprise experienced team.
For more information, visit www.gstdev.com to find out more details about our services.
