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Insourcing vs Outsourcing vs Freelance Developers

Have you considered the differences between insourcing, outsourcing, and freelancers?  What are the benefits of hiring externally compared to recruiting and training in-house?  Can you rely on remote software development specialists and how do you choose the right person to fit your team, your culture and your remit?  

Insourcing Developers – a homegrown solution

An insourcing strategy focuses on creating your own internal team rather than looking outside.  Do you have a suitable team member available to train up or will you expand your internal team by spending the time and money recruiting and training a new employee?

Pros of Insourcing the Development Process

Availability

One of the prime advantages of having an in-house team is that you don’t have to worry about their availability schedule.  They are already employed and available to work, you just need to ensure their timetable has enough space to get the job done within the allotted deadline.

Dedication and Commitment

The success of a task is dependent on the dedication and commitment of the person assigned to it.  Finding the right person who is a good culture fit for the company, with the right attitude and dedication towards the role, is a challenge faced by any employer.  You must be clear on the job spec and have a good idea of the type of person you need to fit the remit.  The person needs to be suitably qualified for the role and should be aligned with your company values.  In-house permanent team members tend to be more committed to a company so for some businesses this is the best solution.

Cons of Insourcing the Development Process

Although creating an in-house team can appear to be the ideal strategy in many instances, it is not always the best solution.  There are several drawbacks to consider.

Finding the Perfect Fit Can Be a Headache

For larger companies, with a large workforce, there is a higher probability of sourcing a couple of in-house employees with the correct skill-set for a job.  However, for a smaller team with a more limited talent pool, the possibility of finding the right candidate in-house is less likely.  In addition, even if a smaller company has a good potential candidate, they may not be available due to commitments on other tasks, so getting the job done may take longer.

It Can Cost your More Time

Finding someone and training in-house can be a great solution, but it isn’t always the most economical fix.  To train someone in-house to be a specialist for your requirements can take time, organisation and effort.  Time is a key factor with software development, so if you are able to find someone outside of your organisation who is already skilled in this area, it makes sense to use their knowledge for the time required to get the job done.

Outsourcing Developers: A Brief Overview

Outsourcing is the opposite of insourcing.  The in-house strategy works with internal resources to find the best person available from your team;  Outsourcing involves seeking out talent from external sources.  Instead of relying on your existing staff members, you reach out to third-party platforms to find the best fit for your requirements.  Finding an external specialist can, in many cases, be of greater value than investing time and money on training in-house, particularly if the job is a fixed term project.

Pros of Outsourcing the Development Process

A Very Efficient Method

With no real demands on investments in time and effort, outsourced software development can be a significantly more efficient solution. There is no need for lengthy training processes as you have a specialist to hand.  You will find many options available and just need to find the best fit for you and your team to get the job done, while your internal team concentrates on other crucial day to day tasks to continue running the company smoothly.

Perfect Solution for Complex Projects

Software development projects come with a certain level of complexity.  Unless someone is working on development daily and has specialist knowledge, there can be many pitfalls.  Working on projects can be tough, with long hours needed to complete tasks.  This is where outsourcing is a real game-changer.  It takes the pressure off internal staff working regular hours who are unable to complete these tasks without doing overtime.  Employing an outsourced resource means that person is dedicated to that project with no other distractions.  In-house employees who are already part of the established team will have their attention drawn by internal issues, meetings and other usual daily team activities.  An external resource will be completely focussed on the one job they are employed to do, meaning there is less downtime and the job will get done more quickly.

Cons of Outsourcing the Development Process

Communication Could be an Issue

Using a remote resource means the job will be done outside your organisation with them logging in remotely to access software and using VoiP, mobile, landline or Zoom to call in to discuss the project.  Despite huge advances in communication systems, there are still times that they can fail or simply not work as well as they should.  An in-house face to face discussion would avoid this problem.  Therefore high quality transmission for communication is a must.

Finding ‘The One’ Can Be Tricky

With a high number of software development companies flooding the market with their offer of services, finding the right one to suit your needs exactly can be difficult.  They need to have the right skillset, be able to communicate and understand your requirements, maintain absolute confidentiality with your data and have the right experience to carry out your specific project.

Freelance Developers

Freelance developers are also considered to be categorised amongst outsourced developers. The term outsourcing usually refers to an agency, team or bank of people, whereas freelancers are skilled individuals who promise to deliver the remit in exchange for an agreed fee.  The freelance industry has evolved and grown considerably in recent years, particularly as people have realised that working from home has become a real permanent option, giving them more freedom and flexibility around their hours.

Pros of Employing a Freelance Developer

A More Affordable Solution

Compared to regular outsourced software development, freelancers can offer a more affordable solution. When negotiating with an individual freelancer for your contract, the deal can move along and be finalised more quickly than when negotiating with a larger organisation.

Flexibility

If you are considering using a freelancer, you have the ability to handpick your choice of who will actually carry out the work for you, as opposed to working with an outsourcing company who offer a team of people from which they pick the assigned worker or workers.  Freelance therefore offers you more specific choice and a flexible working framework.

Cons of Employing a Freelance Developer

Availability

Freelancers get very booked up and for someone of good quality and reputation, you could expect to wait sometime before they become available to do the work for you.  In addition, if you choose a freelancer, they will be working on their own with no support or backup, which can mean unforeseen delays are not covered and lead to deadlines being missed.  Relying solely on a freelancer can be risky, particularly for urgent work.

Data Security

Employing a freelance developer might put your company’s sensitive data under serious risk.  There is the option to sign an NDA, however, this might not be enough to protect your data and clients.  Outsourcing companies have a better structure and more procedures in place to protect data and information.

How Corient Removes the Cons of Outsourcing

Taking everything into consideration, outsourcing as a solution for software development comes out on top as the best and safest option.  However, there are still some disadvantages that might put you off and make you unsure about the whole outsourcing process. We at Corient work to address those issues and remove the pain points to make our outsourcing team a sensible and viable option and give you full confidence in our solutions.

Our team is fully trained and specialised in software development.  We have been offering professional outsourcing services for many years with vast experience in different software applications and APIs.  We create bespoke, customised, high quality solutions for our clients with unique integrations to connect platforms for unified systems results.  Corient has a great reputation in the market for efficient software development.

Final Words

We have discussed the pros and cons of different solutions for software development; insourcing, outsourcing and freelancing.  We have highlighted where each solution is a good fit and where or why it fails.  Overall, outsourcing seems the best fit for software development.  At Corient, we are happy to offer you the best outsourcing service to meet your development requirements and suit your budget.  Please contact us for further information to discuss how we can help you.

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