Outsourcing for your business

Outsourcing has occupied firm positions on the international IT market and has proved to be an effective way to complete the projects with lower costs and time expenditures. According to KPMG research, outsourcing companies can be a great solution to those, who concentrate on the cost of the project, quality improvement and flexibility of the process.

Moreover, final price of the project remains one of the main reasons why enterprises decide to entrust the task to an outsourcing company. Often the reduction of price can reach 40%! The most popular markets are Eastern Europe and India, where the prices are much lower. For example, an average rate per hour among US developers is $50-$250, while the same services may cost $30-$150 in Eastern Europe.

You can also save enough time working with an outsourcing company, which doesn’t spend hours on meetings and discussions: each part of the team works on the project separately and simultaneously.

However, you should be aware of the risks this type of cooperation may bring, to have a chance to decide whether it is an option for your project. Knowing these potential risks, you will be aware how to manage them or even turn into additional benefits and opportunities!

These risks include:

• Time difference;
• Information leakage;
• Limited control;
• Real price;
• Poor analysis;
• Weak documentation;
• Working with behind-the-times companies;
• Language barriers.

Time difference

We are living in a society, where geographical borders are almost absent, which gives us a chance to find necessary information and assistance not depending on the part of the world. We make contacts, create enterprises and build empires with people, who are living on other continents and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, it may be difficult for an outsourcing project to work effectively if the time difference is too big. For example, you need to make urgent changes, but developers are living in a completely different time zone and can’t get back to your letter in the middle of the night.

Still, there are a few methods, which can help build an effective process even if you are living in various time zones. For example, at OffingApp we divide the project on different parts, working on them when it is a nighttime at the client’s country of residence and delivering the results in the morning. Various tracking systems and effective communication methods can also contribute to the stable and solid cooperation.

Information leakage

Information leakage may become one of the biggest complications and risks, which an outsourcing project may face. It can happen for various reasons and you should be very attentive to make sure that all the parts of the project are safely stored and used.

First of all, you can face limitations in laws of the countries you are working with. They may simply don’t have enough skills and information on the privacy policy and protection of intellectual property. The best solution in such a case will be working with a company from a stable country. For example, Ukraine proved to be serious in protecting personal data and avoiding frauds. From time to time, such problems occur, but they are easily managed by the local laws.

Another difficulty may lie in the fact that not all companies pay attention to security, trying to save money. In such a case, all you need to do is to ask for access to their systems or divide the project into separate parts, giving access to them to a limited number of workers.

Such simple but effective methods will greatly contribute to the security of your data and you will be protected by the local laws, which control leakage of personal information and intellectual property.

Limited control

One of the best parts of working with a local company is a chance to control the project directly. You can come to the office, see how the whole process is going, and learn more about the progress. That is why many clients, who hire outsourcing services, worry that they won’t have enough access to the working process.

Partially it is true. Because of the time difference, simultaneous work of multiple departments and direct communication without any mediators, clients may find it difficult to control the situation and make changes if necessary. However, there are three simple ways of regaining control over the situation:

1. Discuss the cooperation and share your thoughts on the communication process. When everyone will have a clear picture of how you want the whole process to go on, it will be much easier to satisfy the demands;
2. Make sure that the company has a tracking software, so you will have a chance to see how many hours they work on the order (if you pay hourly rates) and make urgent changes if needed;
3. Discuss an effective reporting system. Depending on the complexity of the order, it may be a daily, a weekly or a monthly report.

Following all these rules will help you to have a full control over the project and you won’t have to worry that something may go wrong.

Real price

ost of the clients, who select an outsourcing model, choose it because of the reduced costs. However, there may be situations, when the company can hide expenses or hire low-quality developers. It happens for a simple reason: the lower the expenses are, the higher are the profits of the company.

To avoid such unpleasant situation, you should ask for company’s testimonials and references. A trustworthy company will never be a fraud. In addition, you can choose a company with a ‘cost plus’ model, which gives a client a chance to select and hire developers. In such a way, you will get access to the whole system and will control the costs personally.

Poor analysis

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of business analysis for any enterprise. That is why it is so important to hire an analyst, who will calculate possible threats and risks of the project. Such person will help you cooperate with the company, not depending how far it is situated. Moreover, business analyst can be a real salvation for those, who are hiring outsourcing companies, because he ensures that the whole process runs smoothly and protects your personal interests.

Such specialist will help you get the project together, not missing the slightest detail and focusing on the aspects that are really important. Business analyst can also become a mediator and translate your demands or expectations if the language barrier occurs. In addition, he takes part in evaluating the project, giving a side-glance on the effectiveness of work.

Weak technical documentation

We all know that every project, discussion or agreement should be put into words on paper. This helps to avoid possible misunderstandings or even threats. That is why poor documentation can be one of the main risks when working with an outsourcing company.

Technical documentation is a first step to creating an app, which contains introduction, general description of the project, specific demands and conclusions.

You need to pay careful attention to all the documentation you provide. Try to be clear and precise, providing all the details about the project. You should write the documentation in your own language and use a professional translator if needed. This will help you not only to save time, but also to protect yourself from losing money or obtaining a product, which doesn’t meet your initial requirements. At OffingApp, we use services of technical writers and business analysts to make sure that both sides understand every part of the document.

Working with behind-the-times companies

One of the risks, which may accompany the process of outsourcing cooperation, is the lack of up-to-date skills in the company. First of all, it becomes clear when you see the design and user interface or user experience. That is why it is important to choose a company, which is always ready to learn, which follows current trends and uses latest technologies while working on the project. A great importance has a clear understanding of the regional peculiarities of the target market.

A common flaw of the companies lies in the fact that many of them use the methods they know instead of dealing with those techniques, which are more suitable or cheaper for the project. Our developers, unlike many others, are not afraid of changes and experiments, so we are always ready to work on the project with new tools and instruments.

Moreover, we have access to a majority of modern sources with top-notch technologies and regularly educate our developers and designers. In such a way, they are always on the forefront of mobile app development and know exactly what the market wants.

Language barriers

This may not be the first risk you can think of when dealing with an outsourcing company. However, it can greatly influence your cooperation and complicate it. Luckily, most of the companies have English-speaking specialists, so you won’t have to experience a language barrier as it is.

However, it is better to solve this problem at once. Conduct several interviews and discuss the project with developers to see that their language skills are enough to work on your product. In case you are interested in a particular company but they lack language skills, you can always hire a translator.

All the mentioned risks are inherent to many IT companies around the world and it doesn’t mean that you need to choose a local company just to avoid a language barrier or a time zone difference. Knowing how to avoid all these risks will help you to create a healthy and stable environment.

As a bonus, you will have a chance to save money on the project and associated expenses, like renting an office or spending the time for lunch. You will only have to pay for every hour the team spends on your project. Working with an outsourcing company is a great experience for any enterprise and is gaining popularity every day.