06 Jan
Top 10 tips for Successfully Outsourcing IT Services
Outsourcing your IT operations to an offshore agency doesn’t have to be a stressful experience. In fact, it should be contrary
Outsourcing gives you room to breathe and allows you to shift your focus from the intricacies of IT management to growth strategies.
As a business owner, you have to manage different departments. Don’t let your IT operations slow you down, especially when there are highly talented IT professionals out there to provide a fully managed IT support and software development services under the same roof.
However, not all outsourcing endeavors translate to time and cost benefits. There are several variables that need to be analyzed before making the big decision of outsourcing software development to the Philippines or any other developing nation for that matter.
Things to consider when outsourcing your IT and software development operations
In this article, you will read about things to consider when outsourcing your IT operations or software development, as well as how to get it right and enjoy the benefits to the fullest.
1. Objectives
What do you wish to achieve by outsourcing your IT operations?
Is it cost-saving? Higher accuracy? Quick market launch? Or simply avoid the hassles of recruiting and training employees?
Keeping your priorities in mind, you can start looking for an outsourcing partner that can check all the boxes for you. During your initial consultation, make sure you define your objectives and what you expect from this business collaboration so that you and your outsourcing agency are on the same page from the get-go.
2. Focus on core competence
Quality is inevitable in business. When you outsource IT services, you can focus and prioritize on what you do best with in house available resources, rather than getting involved with concerns which can be taken care by the remote experts. IT services outsourcing can be highly recommended for companies having limited IT expertise.
3. Budget
Budget is an important factor to consider when outsourcing a process, but cost-cutting should never be your primary objective because then, you will be partial to cheaper options with no regard to quality and other important attributes.
Software development is an important part of your business and should be treated as such. IT development can be costly affair in countries like US, Canada, UK, and Australia. You can convert fixed IT cost into variable cost by outsourcing IT services to cost effective country aka Philippines.
4. Partial Outsourcing
Outsourcing doesn’t always mean, getting rid of your in-house team and letting an offshore company take over completely. It can simply mean that your in-house team could use additional expertise to tackle certain tasks that are mundane or mechanical in nature.
This is an important consideration as doing so, will keep you in charge while still getting the work done on time and well within your budget.
5. Customization and Security
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for software development or any other IT process. Let your project requirements be laid out in clear terms so that your prospective outsourcing partner understands what needs to be done and to what extent the customization is required. Ask them if they can accommodate your unique project requirements and deliver on deadlines as promised.
When it comes to software development outsourcing to the Philippines, make sure your service provider has strong compliance and security policies and procedures in place. Their frameworks, infrastructure and Internet network should have built-in security features to protect your data from prying eyes.
6. How to get everything right
Now that you are fully aware of what to consider before outsourcing your IT operations, here are a few tips to help you get off on the right foot with your prospective software development outsourcing partner and streamline your process for maximum benefits.
7. Choose the right outsourcing country
When you outsource your process to an offshore agency, you are looking at significant cost-cutting and time-saving. Of course, your options narrow down to developing nations, since they can offer economical software development services. The Philippines is one of the emerging economies that have been supporting well-established organizations across the US and Western Europe.
When you outsource software development to the Philippines, you can expect quality as well as cost-benefits while enjoying complete transparency and control over your project. And since Filipinos are fluent in English, language will never be a barrier. In addition to that, Filipino staff have been well-versed with the outsourcing culture since the 1990s, and they are pretty much comfortable working in different time zones.
8. Ask for testimonials
It’s difficult to trust an offshore agency located in the distant corner of the world, and everyone agrees on that. A reputable outsourcing agency in the Philippines won’t deny your request for customer testimonials. Just ask.
You can also request client references to make sure whatever they are claiming is true.
9. Make a Contract
Nothing’s more frustrating than your agency backing out in the middle of the project and leaving you scrambling for help. To avoid such situations, have a contract made with your outsourcing agency beforehand. This contract may include project details, deadlines, privacy policies, intellectual property rights, interval and mode of payment, etc.
The government of the Philippines recognizes these overseas contracts and will protect your interest if things don’t go as planned.
10. Communicate Clearly
Remote work has become the new normal, but most of us are still learning to adapt. And when it comes to software development outsourcing, you cannot afford to have communication gaps or any loose ends left to be tied up.
As soon as your offshore outsourcing agency comes aboard, communicate your objectives and expectations in clear words so that there are no disagreements down the road. This is an important thing to do because no matter whose fault it was, it’s your project that will suffer at the end of the day. So make sure you convey everything that your outsourcing agency needs to know about the project deliverables.
Outsourcing software development to Flatworld Philippines
Flatworld Philippines has been an outsourcing partner to some of the leading corporate giants and ambitious start-ups across the US for many years. With access to talented developers and advanced infrastructure, Flatworld Philippines has the resources and capability to handle software development projects of any complexity or size.
Get in touch with us to discuss your software development outsourcing requirements.
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