Outsourcing.
It’s that dirty word in the minds of many people when it comes to discussing software development. To them, outsourcing is sending paying work overseas to countries and workers who will do it for pennies on the dollar. While traditionally the ire of outsourcing is aimed at factory work, it’s also a large topic when it comes to software development.
Let’s face it: it’s not hard to see why outsourcing of software development is so appealing. For a fraction of the price, a company can send it’s development work to a company in a country you probably can’t find on a map, have it developed at a break-neck pace, and have a working product in a matter of weeks. When you look at it like that it’s hard not to see the appeal of it. However, there are some drawbacks to working with a development company overseas:
1. Language Barrier
Chances are if you’re outsourcing your development work to foreign country, they won’t speak english. Maybe one or two will, as they’ll be client facing employees, but the majority won’t. While coding language is universal, the language barrier could provide problems when trying to relay exactly what you want with the development of your product.
2. Availability
Another problem with working with an overseas company is the time-zone difference. What is 8am for your company could be 1am for the development company. This makes getting on the same page difficult, and could result in some late night conference calls.
So what can you do then if overseas outsourcing doesn’t seem appealing to you? It’s very simple (and also the point of this article): You outsource…to American companies.
Home Grown Tech
Now I know what you’re thinking: “the whole point of outsourcing is to save money!”
True, by outsourcing your development work to an American company you will probably pay ore than if you did with a company outside of the US. But there are plenty good reasons to go with an American company as opposed to the overseas companies. The American development companies offer some facets of the development process that you just aren’t guaranteed to get with a far-away service. Here’s some of the most obvious ones:
1. Location
One of the best reasons to take a US based development company over one from overseas is simple: location, location, location. Most major cities have a tech scene, with some being major tech hubs, and with that tech scene comes web and app development companies. For instance, if you lived in Texas you would have your choice of web development companies in Austin, as Austin is a huge tech hub. Austin, being filled with startups and many larger well-known companies, has some of the best development companies in the country (for full-disclosure, Snyxius is also an Austin-based development company).
Because you’re going US based for your development, you’ll have the chance to search some of the major cities for the development company that best suits your needs. Although it should be stated that being in Los Angeles and hiring a web development company in Austin is by no means a problem.
2. Communication Opportunities
Perhaps one of the best things about having a development company that is in your backyard (metaphorically speaking) is that you have access to the dev during business hours. With the company being located (most likely) on the same continent, or even the same city as your company, it will also operate with similar work hours as your business.
This allows for easy communication opportunities with the developer to walk you through the current breakdown of your project, a chance to offer suggestions to make the project better, allow you to present new ideas that you want introduced, etc. Basically being able to be on the same page as your developer doesn’t force you to stay up super late into the night, or get up before the sun, in order to talk to your development company.
On top of talking to the company and being able to meet with them, you also might be able to use the communication methods they have at their disposal. Being in the same country and working with numerous startups and companies, these outsourced US development companies also could have industry connections to Press, Media, Investors, etc, and can help you with that. You can leverage those relationships if they present themselves in order to raise brand awareness for your product.
3. Meetings and Education
Being able to easily communicate with a company also brings with it the added advantage of being able to perform higher levels of communication. It opens the door for frequent in-person meetings between developer and client, and times to address any concerns or questions the client might have. Some developers offer, as part of their contract or an add-on, the ability for bi-weekly or monthly update meetings on the status of the product.
Other development companies also offer support and training opportunities for companies who work with them. Developers can provide educational walk-throughs for the product for users, in the form of videos or FAQs, in order to make the implementation of the software easier for the new users. Some developers are even contracted out to speak with customers of your company who have questions. Both of these two examples are features which would be quite difficult for a development company who doesn’t speak your language or regional dialect to perform, not to mention being in a different time zone.
4. Vetting The Company
Finding the right web development company is important, and looking at vetting the company and their background is vastly important. Being that it’s an American company you’ll probably have an easier time in researching them, their background, and their past clients. Being an American company, you’ll have access to more of their background information than you might a foreign company.
They will have reviews online for their work and professionalism you can find and you’ll be able to check out their LinkedIn and social profiles to get a feel for the company. You can also look at their background and the products they’ve created in the past, testing them out for your own research to see how well made they are.
Lastly, you can reach out to their past clients and ask them their opinions on the company, their work, adherence to schedules, costs, etc. With the company being in the US, you’ll have more access to them than you would a company halfway around the world.
5. Security and Laws
Another problem you have working with an outside the country development company is that they might not be aware of the rules and regulations for your industry, or the laws of the United States. This is obviously a problem, and one that development companies in the United States would be more cognizant of.
Being in the same country, they are governed by the same laws. This can ensure your product is secure and meets the standards of the industry, as well as meets any specific privacy requirements that the app must meet. For example, development done within the medical field must not only meet US government standards, but must also be aware of laws like HIPAA and the impact they have on software and development in the medical field when it comes to privacy and legal requirements. With the company being a US based development company, it should be very familiar with these stipulations and regulations.
The Last Word
Finding an outside development company to work for your company can be daunting. On top of finding the right company to work with, you need to decide if you want to send the work overseas or keep it in the US. I’m not going to tell you what to do, as each can have it’s benefits, but know there are other choices nationally that can provide you with a great development company while still providing a great price.
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