Is Software Outsourcing The Answer To Your Software Problems?


by Edward M. Brancheau - Date: 2007-01-19 - Word Count: 864 Share This!

"The other part of outsourcing is this: it simply says where the work can be done outside better than it can be done inside, we should do it." ~~ Alphonso Jackson -- Secretary of United States Department of Housing and Urban Development

Is Software Outsourcing the Answer to Your Software Problems?

Figuring out whether or not software outsourcing is the answer to your software problems is not necessarily a tough question to answer but it is a question which involves careful consideration. There are a series of questions which ought to be be asked to help judge whether or not outsourcing is a smart choice in a individual circumstance. Examples of some of the questions which ought to be asked are:

* Are there in-house staff members experienced enough to solve the software problem?
* Do present workloads allow in-house staff members to toil on this problem?
* How costly will it be to outsource the work?
* What are the advantages of outsourcing the problem?
* What are the major disadvantage to outsourcing the work?

This article will examine each of these questions and supply understanding into how these questions can be used to help make this extremely important choice.

The Capabilities of In-house Staff Members

"Outsourcing and globalization of manufacturing allows companies to reduce costs, benefits consumers with lower cost goods and services, causes economic expansion that reduces unemployment, and increases productivity and job creation." ~~ Larry Elder -- "The Larry Elder Show"

Many software problems demand immensely specialized experience to fix the issues. It is frequently the case that a company's in-house staff members do not possess the capabilities of fixing these software issues. When this occurs software outsourcing to a professional is the undeniable choice. Even so, in situations where the in-house staff members are experienced enough to fix the problem, the issue of whether or not to outsource becomes more complex.

Those tasked with determining the choice frequently weight the options by taking into account the expense of software outsourcing versus the speed at which the problem would be fixed in both cases. If there is an authority freely obtainable to tackle the problem it will most likely be solved comparatively swiftly. That said, if in-house staff members are currently overburdened, they may not be able to make this problem a high priority.

The Workload of In-house Staff Members

The workload of in-house staff members usually comes into question when looking at whether or not to outsource a certain software associated job or tasks. In the former segment we discussed the value of software outsourcing when the in-house staff members are not experienced enough for certain tasks. Even so, this is not many times the circumstance. Frequently in-house staff members are perfectly capable of accomplishing a job but they are not able to do so because of their present workload. In a circumstance when all of the in-house staff members are unavailable to take on additional tasks, software outsourcing again becomes a sensible choice.

"The other part of outsourcing is this: it simply says where the work can be done outside better than it can be done inside, we should do it." ~~ Alphonso Jackson -- Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development

Will Software Outsourcing Save Money?

One of the primary factors companies think about when they contemplate software outsourcing is whether or not they will save money by software outsourcing. Hiring an authority on a contract basis can definitely be costly but it is frequently a profitable investment especially for highly specialized jobs. The cost of software outsourcing is normally higher in terms of the hourly pay of the staff member but overall the total exspense may be lowered. When contemplating jobs performed by in-house staff members it is extremely important to understand the price of the work includes the staff member's hourly wage, the cost of benefits such as social security, Medicare and workers' comp and resources such as office space, hardware, office supplies and additional incidentals. After factoring in all of these expenses it becomes crystal clear that software outsourcing isn't always the more costly selection.

An additional aspect to think about when calculating the costs of software outsourcing is how rapidly the problem can be solved by outsourcing as opposed to handling the problem in-house. This will hang on on the capabilities and availability of the in-house employees. If there is not a capable employee readily available it may take considerably longer to handle the problem in-house.

The Advantages of Software Outsourcing

At last, the advantages of software outsourcing have to be considered in choosing whether or not to outsource certain tasks. We have previously touched on a few of the advantages of software outsourcing but for the benefit of completeness we will incorporate a list of a few of the most significant advantages below:

* Decreased labor expenses
* Access to industry experts
* Flexibility in scheduling
* Increased manpower

With so many advantages it is totally clear that software outsourcing can be a sensible solution to many software problems. The bottom line in choosing whether or not to outsource a certain software problem frequently involves comparing the advantages of outsourcing to the costs of software outsourcing.

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Related Tags: software, programming, outsourcing, software outsourcing, software development, software design, con

Edward M. Brancheau is the author of several informative articles about software outsourcing and outsourcing in general. If if you would like the authoritative guide, check out http://www.outsourcersbible.com and register for the FREE 5-day Ecourse.

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