In-House vs. Custom Software Development

This post is dedicated to the comparison of these cooperation models to define when each of them is appropriate to select.

06:42 30 November 2021

There are two general types of cooperation with the software development teams - in-house and outsourcing model. 

 

The in-house development team is the individually created team for your company needs to work on your internal project and maintain it all round the clock. 

 

The outsourcing development team is engaged in the development of one of your business apps for a certain period of time as a separate team for your requirements or as an extension of your in-house resources. 

 

The in-house development team implies long-term partner relationships where you have to pay salaries, provide them with duties and responsibilities, and so on. Talking about outsourcing software development, your cooperation will end after the product release or can also be continued if the outsourcing partner provides continuous support for your software system.

 

This post is dedicated to the comparison of these cooperation models to define when each of them is appropriate to select.

 

The in-house software development team

 

Advantages

 

Communication

The in-house development team is located within your office so all meetings can be held face-to-face that eliminates the gaps in the communication and potential misunderstanding between the client and the team. However, today online communication and its abilities do not refer to traditional offline meetings.

 

Cultural similarities

In-house developers must come from your city or country that entails cultural fit and being on the same page with your values and priorities. However, a remote team can also be a great match for your cultural peculiarities, you just need to pick wisely.

 

Full involvement in the project

The in-house development team focuses only on your internal projects and has no occupations in others. It provides full engagement in the development process with all details and specialties. 

 

Disadvantages

 

Complex to scale

When you select full-time employees, the hiring process takes much time and effort. It is pivotal to check the relevant and proven experience of each developer to ensure high-quality software development. As this process is time-consuming, scaling the time can not be as quick as the project requires. So if you want to expand your team, this process can be prolonged and have a negative impact on the whole development process.

 

Lack of technical background

Again, when you hire an in-house development team, you know what tasks each of the developers will be responsible for. Although, the software system requires regular reviews and upgrades in the functionality to maintain the relevant business app and keep up with the innovations. In-house developers can not become proficient in the latest technologies in the market for several days or months. Eventually, the technical expertise of your internal team will become not enough to cover all your requirements for software projects. 

 

Major expense 

The more developers you hire, the more salaries you will have to pay to your developers. You cannot hire them for building a piece of the functionality as it implies long-term employment. If you will start to fire the developers right away after their tasks are done then all you are willing to gain is a poor reputation and a low level of trust from clients.

 

The outsourcing software development team

Advantages

 

Cost reduction

Outsourcing cooperation entails payment for the actual hours spent developing your project. After the project is released, your partnership is coming to an end if you do not need the maintenance services from your outsourcing vendor. Moreover, you do not spend time on the recruitment process for each team member as an outsourcing partner will provide you with the full development team with the ability to expand or shorten its number.

 

Extended technical expertise

Outsourcing development companies usually offer an extended range of developers proficient in different programming languages and technological innovations in the industry and market. If you need a particular specialist in your team, you can just ask your outsourcing partner and get the required engineers as soon as possible with no harm to the development flow. 

 

Easy to scale the team

Compared to the in-house development team, the size of outsourcing development size is easy to scale. Commonly, outsourcing partners are able to provide you with additional developers in case you feel a lack of the current resources in the outsourcing as well as in the in-house team. No hiring process, no sparing time, you just get what you need in time. 

 

Disadvantages

 

Less control over the development process

Partnering with the remote software development team can seem to be quite challenging. There are different techniques of managing the remote teams with the project management tools, various communication channels, regular online meetings and even several offline meetings are possible too. All project management practices should be discussed before signing the contract so that each side understands the duties and responsibilities during the cooperation term. 

 

Communication gaps

Communication gaps can be caused by numerous reasons like different time zones, working hours and days, holidays, location, and so on. These days online communication is considered as efficient as offline. Outsourcing software development companies usually provide different communication channels like emails, Google Meets, Slack and other text messengers, Zoom, Skype, and others. The frequency and ways of communication should be discussed before the start of your cooperation in order to eliminate troubles and misunderstandings.

 

Why choose GBKSOFT as an outsourcing partner?

GBKSOFT, the Ukraine software development company, has been delivering high-grade outsourcing software development services to our clients since 2011. We share the values and goals of our clients and understand the importance of software solutions for their business growth. Our main benefits are transparency documentation and project management, communication as we know how to set up the remote development process so that the clients could take an active part in it, and proficiency in innovative technologies like AI & ML, cloud computing, IoT, big data, etc.

 

Being a reliable partner and building top-notch custom software are our main values and aims as we know how technologies are capable of digitally transforming your business and want to share this knowledge and experience with you.