Outsourcing Mobile App Development: The Good, The Best, and The Risks

Are you on the fence about hiring a team of professionals to develop a product for you?

Do you not feel quite sure yet what pros and cons of outsourcing mobile app development you have to take into account when making this important decision?

Have you been shopping around the market to see the benefits of such a type of collaboration you should keep your eyes on?

If so, then you are not alone. Dozens of business owners feel the same way. And we get it: sometimes it might be hard to believe that a team of people not working inside of your company can understand what exactly you want them to develop, what technologies are the best choice for this type of product and what your expectations they are to meet and exceed.

But to help you in the search for the right answer here, we have created this article. We aim to clarify things you need to pay attention to, warn about possible pitfalls, and point out advantages and disadvantages you don’t want to miss out on.

So, without further ado, let’s dive into the subject.

The good: Pros of outsourcing mobile app development

1. The abundance of technologies.
   Offshore teams typically have a wide range of technologies on their hands. With a great number of similar companies on the market, technologies make them unique and valuable. For instance, our company has solid expertise in web design, custom mobile development, Business Analysis, etc.  
   Thus, if you have an in-house development team but miss a professional knowing his way around a particular technology, hiring our developer this way is your chance to get what you want at a reasonable price both on short and long-term conditions.
2. Flexibility.
   Regardless of whether you want native or cross-platform development, these companies have it all covered. To stand out on the market, they hire specialists in various coding languages with Middle to Senior levels only to ensure that the results they deliver will strengthen and build up their company’s image.
   And if you need some help of, let’s say, a UI/UX designer for just a few days - no problem. They will definitely have one for you too.
3. Experienced managers.
   Project Managers and Team Leads in various directions are there to make sure that you are not spending a cent in vain. Thus, they delegate tasks, prioritize them, and assign to specific employees in order to have the development of your project up and running at all times with no idle waiting expenses.
   No unfortunate surprises in the end! No wonder at least 89% of all business owners were happy with the results outsourcing brought them, Transcosmos reports.
4. Greater expertise.
   At least, 5% of all startup owners state that their venture failed due to their employees’ lack of experience. By using the help of experienced outsourcing companies, you get full access to the best specialists in the niche. Hiring such professionals can be a bit out of your budget but outsourcing some services to them can be exactly what you need to keep your pockets full and get an immaculate product in the end.
   All in all, it all gets down to this: with these guys you get better quality at a lower price. Who wouldn’t want that?

These are but a few pros of outsourcing mobile application development. However, there are many more benefits you don’t want to miss out on. So, get ready to learn about even more fantastic bonuses!

The best: Benefits of outsourcing mobile development

1. Saving costs.
   Outsourcing mobile app development services is cheaper than hiring an in-house team. For instance, developers in Eastern Europe will cost you as much as $25-$40/ hour. On the other hand, coders from Latin America take as much as $30-$50 / hour while IT specialists from the North America and Western Europe charge at least $50 / hour.
   Thus, by outsourcing IT services to the above listed countries, you get to save lots of money. And that’s not the only benefit. So, read on for more juicy details!
2. No need to your company’s HR Manager.
   The Entrepreneur states that “75 percent of employers have reported hiring the wrong person for a position. Of those who had a bad hire affect their business in the last year, one bad hire cost them nearly $17,000 on average.”
   Therefore, by hiring an outsourcing team, you prevent not only possible hiring mistakes but also save certain money. Besides, your HR Managers can use the time on their hands to strengthen the relationships between team members instead of searching for new perfect employees.
3. Freeing internal resources for other purposes.
   Project Managers, HR Managers, and C-level management no longer have to spend their time on searching for the right candidates, checking their test assignments, and choosing the one and only specialist to work for them.
   It will all be done on the outsourcing company’s side. They have all the bases covered. And you have no reasons about the quality of the services delivered, as it is in their best interest to outperform themselves. If you spread the word about their excellent services, chances are other companies will come and seek their assistance too. So, they will do their best at every stage. Be sure about that!
4. Reducing risks.
   By delegating IT services to the third-party company, you also get a chance to eliminate numerous risks. Thus, The responsibility for poor hiring choices is now not your headache. Moreover, meeting deadlines and quality expectations are also two major points every outsourcing company focuses on. All the terms you agreed on should be met. And even if the developer gets sick, or the whole office lost power for a day or two (which sounds like a terrible disaster in itself), or the code was not saved or backed up securely, it is not your problem.
   All you have to worry is saving up enough funds to pay for the product you will get timely by all means. Doesn’t it sound incredibly attractive? We believe so!

And though, outsourcing IT services is extremely beneficial to your company, we would not be completely honest with you if we never mentioned the other side of the coin. So, even though, obviously, we are great believers in hiring third-party teams, we find it essential to warn our potential customers about possible pitfalls connected with this type of collaboration.

The ugly: cons of outsourcing mobile app development

1. Confidential information leak.
   One of the possible risks you expose your company to when hiring a third-party team is confidential data leak. This is especially true if what you want to develop is an app working with sensitive data.
   People involved in the production might not always be trustworthy and reliable as they want to seem. Therefore, it is vital to the success of your business to check the experience, cases, and testimonials other companies leave about the team. Ask them direct questions about things that bother you and read all the documents you sign carefully. Don’t rush into anything before you are 100% sure that this is the team you can trust.
   Believe us: reliable partners will be more than happy to answer your questions since they have nothing to hide. Here at CuboRubo, we ensure full transparency of the process at all stages.
2. Hidden costs.
   You know that it is vital to read every little detail in your contract, including those written at the end in small letters. There is a great white paper covering this issue if you want to understand what a “tip of an iceberg” can really mean.
   Give it a read if you want a deeper perspective.
   By signing an international contract you are at risk of ending with a price way higher than what you expected it to be. Don’t get caught by surprise. So, don’t hesitate to hire a lawyer to be by your side when signing a document.
3. Missed deadlines.
   Some business owners are worried that since they cannot control the process of the product development personally, the third-party team might miss all the deadlines and let you down by not following the agreement.
   However, this can all be prevented with proper timely communication and attention to detail. Make sure you are working with real professionals and always seek answers to your questions. With that in place, you will have no problems whatsoever.

As you see, outsourcing is extremely beneficial both for startups and big corporations as well as can be an answer to many internal struggles of your company. And though there are certain risks, it is possible to eliminate them with timely communication and professional approach to the business process.
Should you have more questions about custom mobile app development with our outsourcing team, don’t hesitate to contact us at hello@cuborubo.com: we are here to help you any time! And we believe there is no such thing as ridiculous questions. So, why waiting? Drop us a line today!