Outsourcing application support locally Considering outsourcing application support? There are times when you want to outsource something in your company. It could be anything from taking the trash out to managing the network infrastructure for your business. One area in which outsourcing is commonly done is application support, especially among small Leeds business that don’t…
In the rapidly morphing, highly competitive landscape of software, application, and web development, one keyword has consistently dominated headlines and powered game-changing strategies: Outsourcing. An industrial phenomenon growing at an unprecedented pace, outsourcing is transforming the software and IT sectors worldwide, pushing boundaries, and catalysing innovation.
Outsourcing, in simple terms, refers to the business practice of contracting outside parties to deliver specific services or create particular products, instead of doing them in-house. Firms may elect to outsource programmers from different corners of the world for a plethora of reasons including cost efficiency, access to a global pool of specialised talent, increased productivity, improved focus on core operations and more.
Widely prevalent in the software/app/web development industry, outsourcing enables organisations, start-ups and companies in need of bespoke, tailor-made software solutions to align with experienced engineers – an alternative to settling for sub-optimal, off-the-shelf options. Outsourcing has ventured beyond being just a cost-cutting tool, evolving into a robust business strategy that augments operational efficiency, catalyses innovation, enhances agility and encourages growth.
The industry is currently witnessing an intriguing trend where companies are increasingly opting for high-end, high-skill outsourcing, especially in the realm of custom software development. According to statistics by Gartner, worldwide IT outsourcing represented $92.5 billion of business in 2019 alone, with enterprises allocating about 12.7% of their budget to outsourcing in 2020. And according to a Deloitte survey, 35% of those companies expect to increase their use of outsourcing providers in the near future.
Outsourcing also fosters a globalised business environment, enabling cross-border collaborations and exposures, and the ease of digital connectivity makes it easier than ever. Geographical constraints are no longer viable excuses with countries like Ukraine, India, Brazil and Poland emerging as global IT outsourcing hotbeds, bringing to the table exceptional talent at a fraction of the cost.
Yet it’s important to navigate the outsourcing landscape with calculated caution. Deciding which tasks to outsource, choosing the right service provider, managing cross-cultural, -time zone or -language differences, ensuring data security, and tracking the quality of work are among the challenges businesses may face. Making informed, strategic decisions, therefore, delves into the heart of successful outsourcing.
Explore our detailed posts on outsourcing within the blog section to learn more about its concepts, best practices, pitfalls, trends and action plans. If you’d like to discuss bespoke software/app/web development solutions or delve deeper into how Leeds Apps can help your organisation leverage outsourcing, feel free to get in touch with us.