Technology is at the heart of modern commerce and software exists in virtually every aspect of life across the world – but especially so in business. For business owners looking to invest in technology, the idea of developing an in-house software development team might appear tempting. But the practical obstacles to assembling an effective team that can handle the critical inter-connected nature of fast-paced business can be enormous.
With so many business competitors vying to win customers, good software development has never been more important, whether you’re a small-business start-up or a big-business entrepreneur – which means there can be no room for developmental error, and the learning curve to avoid getting it wrong can be very short.
Hence it makes sense for many reasons to outsource the expertise required to an established custom software development company that already has the skills, expertise and experience to run with your software development brief, disseminate the good ideas from the bad, suggest improvements, and commit to a completion time frame. In other words, outsourcing greatly increases the chances of getting the software you need when you need it.
Getting the Requirements Right When Hiring A Software Development Company
The need for custom software services may start with a good original idea, or perhaps the necessity to improve profitability or increase market share. Whatever the case, the first step is to plan your software based on informed, well-focused technical analysis of the requirements.
This might seem straightforward, but requirements gathering is a very detailed breakdown of every aspect of the software development project, which is best undertaken by techies who understand the software development process and are therefore used to asking questions you might not have thought of. If you have this expertise in-house – great!
If you don’t, bear in mind that ‘Requirements Gathering’ is the process of generating a list of requirements (functional, system, technical, etc.) from all the stakeholders (customers, users, vendors, IT staff) that will be used as the basis for the formal definition of what the project is. These requirements define the project, so poorly written requirements can cause problems during development and, more seriously, cause projects to fail if the goals have been misunderstood.
Specialisation Benefits
Next, do you have the personnel in-house with the necessary skill set to code the software? Or will you need to hire developers? Software can be extremely complex, requiring extensive knowledge and a unique set of skills to bring a technological idea to fruition. An experienced development company will not only offer coding expertise but will provide insights into the market by assessing the technical feasibility of your plans and provide an extra, independent analysis of the associated business risks.
Furthermore, if your requirements change, it’s easier for an experienced custom software development company to offer you a team with the new skill set – its’ much harder to adjust the expertise of an in-house development team!
Time Benefit
Time waits for no man, according to the well-known adage, and it holds true for business owners too. By hiring an established software development firm, the project can be up and running quickly. There is no need to agonise over assembling an in-house team. Furthermore, servicing client expectations can often leverage much more commitment from an outsourced team who value your custom than if it were based in-house.
Delegation Benefits
Business owners often wear many hats. But is software development one of them? An in-house team will need direction and advice from a knowledgeable line manager. If this isn’t you, do you have the personnel in-house to take on the role? For many business owners, hiring a software development company that specialises in the services they need allows them to work within their strengths and focus on the areas where their attention is truly necessary.
Budgeting Benefits
An in-house project can sometimes be difficult to accurately cost, as there aren’t contractual milestones for the team to achieve or salary payments that are dependent on acceptable progress. By contrast, an experienced software development company can accurately estimate the scope of work and the time necessary to complete the project. This allows business owners to budget accordingly and keep the project to within an agreed price.
Furthermore, outsourced developers are paid based on the actual number of hours or days put into your project, which can easily be scaled up and down based on your changing requirements. These factors act as a huge advantage when you are trying to save on cost.
Key Benefits To Using A Custom Software Development Company
The best custom software development companies work as an extension to your own business.
They:
- Understand your business needs and how to use the latest technologies to make your business more profitable.
- Combines technical excellence with great customer service and value for money.
- Value creativity and collaboration; believe that ideas are shared, and everybody contributes on an individual basis to the common goal.
- Create new teams for each project, ensuring the best possible combination of skills and experience to meet the client’s needs and deliver high quality solutions.
In our experience, working together consistently results in creating intelligent solutions to meet our client’s evolving business demands. For Blueberry, this collaborative style of working has resulted in the development of award-winning software spanning for more than 20 years.