Top 10 Myths And Misperceptions of IT Outsourcing

Every company thinks about digitalization from time to time. And when it happens, some questions arise: is it better to create an in-house team or address an IT outsourcing company? The second option has numerous pros but it seems a little bit risky. In this article, we are going to debunk popular outsourcing myths and, thanks to it, save your money, time, and efforts.

What is Outsourcing?

Outsourcing product development is an approach to the work when third parties are involved in solving your company’s tasks. Simply put, you address another company with a request to perform your specific work. The cooperation method allows delegating the entirety of your functions or some of them.

Outsourcing is a perfect option if you stumble upon tasks, with which you haven’t dealt before. Let’s imagine you own a bakery and need a high-quality website. It’s not your specialization, so you cannot launch a web resource independently. So, the best solution is to hire a development team.

You shouldn’t mess up IT outsourcing with freelance because the second option doesn’t imply the conclusion of a contract. It means freelancers can disappear anytime or you’ll receive inappropriate work.

There are different types of outsourcing. You can choose a specific one, which will make your cooperation with a third party more convenient:

• Onshore when you hire a team from your country.

• Nearshore when you collaborate with a company from a neighboring country.

• Offshore when your partners may be from any point in the world.

Outsourcing has numerous pros. The main of them is the opportunity to hand off your task to high-experienced specialists. However, some entrepreneurs fear involving third parties in their work. This is why we decided to dispel popular outsourcing myths.

Myth #1: Language and Cultural Barriers Discourage the Work

Perhaps, this is one of the main problems related to offshore IT outsourcing. You shouldn’t worry if you are going to cooperate with a team, which understands and speaks English. Usually, such executors have adequate experience in working with foreign clients from the West. A good example is outsourcing product development in Ukraine: developers there freely collaborate with the USA, UK, Germany, Australia, and other countries, so any misunderstandings are excluded.

Specialists from Eastern Europe, India, the Middle East, and other similar regions value politeness and honor during collaboration with clients. In these cultures, people try to avoid surprises, reduce confrontation, and build long-term business relationships because they know the importance of a good reputation. Moreover, experts from the mentioned countries understand the mentality, true goals and wishes of their western clients. So, you’ll be on the same page during the development.

At Agilie, we are always in touch with our foreign clients, so there is no cultural misunderstanding.  Don’t worry that the cultural barrier would interfere with our communication and rapport. In the Internet era, the world has become cosmopolitan: different cultures are intertwined, so we easily understand each other.

Myth #2: Time Zones Make It Impossible to Cooperate Productively

There are 24 time zones, so the difference in the time may be significant. However, each side usually has overlap hours when both parties are available.

Actually, the time-zone differences can play into the hands. For example, you give tasks during the day according to your usual schedule, and your executors perform them within their working hours when it’s night in your country. Thus, you get the finished work on the next business day.

So, time zones are nothing more than one of the myths about outsourcing.

Myth #3: You Can Lose Control Over Your Project

It’s the last thing you should worry about. Every IT outsourcing company needs certain consultations during the entire development time. It’s impossible to create a product that would meet all your requirements without your involvement.

The development process is divided into certain sprints within the Agile approach (learn about it in the article “Waterfall vs Agile Approaches to the Discovery Process”). And you will definitely be involved in almost every stage.

Myth #4: Outsourcing Is About the Poor Quality

The reality is the opposite. Outsourcing companies are constantly “headhunting” talents and they do their best to retain skilled people. The lower cost of services isn’t related to their quality. The reason lies in the cost of living. So, hiring a team from Eastern Europe or Asia will allow you to develop a high-quality solution on time with minimum investments. By the way, since 2010, we have been operating in Ukraine. It’s one of the countries with the best IT specialists.

Myth #5: Outsourcing Companies Serve Only Big Businesses

It’s true that companies usually endeavor to collaborate with big businesses. However, they don’t also ignore small and middle-market players, especially startups if they see the prospect of a product and the possibility of long-term cooperation.

If you’re a very small business and you need specialists for one-time help, you should consider hiring freelancers. 

Thus, we have just dispelled one of the popular myths about outsourcing.

Myth #6: There Is a Significant Risk of Compromising Privacy

Trust is the basis of any business relationship. Outsourcing companies understand it, so they work hard to avoid conscious and unconscious data leaks. They do their best to maintain a high level of reputation.

Moreover, you should remember that you conclude a contract (non-disclosure agreement) before cooperating. And the cases of compromising your company’s privacy, security, and intellectual property rights can be mentioned in it. Possible consequences will stop any service provider from revealing private data.

Myth #7: Outsourcing Product Development Is Much Slower Than the In-house Option

Such arguments are completely wrong. Most trusted outsourcing companies hire experts in their fields, so it’s easy for them to implement your ideas and wishes.

When it comes to the in-house approach, first of all, you have to find well-experienced employees. This task alone can take a lot of time, not to mention other possible problems. And there is no guarantee that the specialists you found have enough qualifications to successfully accomplish your project on time.

Thus, in-house development costs higher and often requires more time.

Myth #8: Outsourcing Isn’t Suitable for Long-term Work

This thought of some entrepreneurs is actually one of the outsourcing myths. In order to come to the truth, it’s enough to recall outsourcing companies that offer strategic services such as financial consultancy, enterprise resources planning, supply chain services, and so on. They prove the fact that it’s possible to work with third parties as long as needed.

Myth #9: Outsourcing Is a Good Option Only for Established Businesses

This fact has no connection with reality. You shouldn’t be a “big guy” to start collaborating with an IT outsourcing company. Most service providers are open to clients who are only planning to run a business. And specialists are ready to help them avoid pitfalls.

A good example is our Discovery service within which our experts conduct research to find out the necessary features of your future solution, the requirements of your audience, and other marketing things.

Myth #10: It’s Impossible to Use Agile and DevOps While Outsourcing

Numerous service providers practice Agile and DevOps methodologies to deliver the best solutions with the highest quality. Thus, you can count on quick development and getting a product, which meets all your needs.

Conclusion

Thus, there are two options to create a product: to hire an in-house team or find an IT outsourcing company. If you choose the second option, you will save your budget and time (you start cooperating with a skilled and high-experienced team without the need to look for specialists and solve personnel issues).

Collaborating with outsourced developers may last as long as required. You pay for the working hours of specific specialists, which eliminates redundant costs. Thus, outsourcing is a perfect practice if you aim to get a real result as soon as possible without high expenses.

Since 2010, we have cooperated with numerous different businesses on an outsourcing basis. So, be sure you have found an appropriate and advantageous method of collaboration. Feel free to contact us to discuss your project and start implementing your ideas.