How to speed up IT projects with outsourcing
Many companies turn to outsource, as the best way to bypass the long hiring cycle, free up internal resources, and speed up IT Projects.
„Project delayed due to COVID-19” was a common message during last year, when many companies postponed their digital and IT projects forced by moving to remote work and difficulties in hiring proper talent. With things coming back to normal or at least to a new normal, business leaders are looking now for means and ways to accelerate digital transformation projects and launching fast new products or services.
In IT, the most common method for shortening project time is to assign additional staff. Nevertheless, that is not a simple task and pressing the pedal to the metal needs a lot of time and money to find and hire people with proper talent, skills, or experience. This was the case with one of our clients, who needed highly skilled software engineers to contribute to its digital products. This company chooses to work with IT Teams, and within 6 months, we supplied the client with a team of 10 engineers that have been assessed and selected by the client directly. That’s why more and more companies turn to outsource, as the best way to bypass the long hiring cycle, free up internal resources, and speed up software development processes.
Last year, Accenture published a report about the specific digital product processes that are most frequently outsourced: 38% implementation of front-end applications, 37% implementation of back-end application, 33% web/user experience design, 29% analytics, and reporting, etc. Regarding motivation, companies of all sizes prefer working with an external partner, for different reasons:
- 43% to reduce the burden on internal resources,
- 39% because third party contractors have more expertise,
- 32% because it is cheaper than doing it themselves
- 30% because it is faster.
All true, but how to speed up IT projects with outsourcing?
A faster way to expand your team
The easier way to write more code is to have more developers. But it’s obvious, that instead of just hiring new staff, contracting an outsourcing partner brings faster the resources you need. Usually, IT outsourcing companies have a large team and are well-connected to the labour market. So, it could bring rapidly all the necessary human resources in a specific project. IT Teams, for example, could assemble dedicated teams, with all necessary roles, in terms of weeks. Also, you could choose only to augment the internal team with the labor force you need, keeping full control over processes. Otherwise, finding, selecting, and hire proper people could take longer than you expect.
Case study
Client: Austrian company active in Heavy Industry Power Plant Manufacturing.
Background: Powered by advanced digital technologies and cloud-based solutions, our client offers a comprehensive portfolio of digital products focused on Asset Performance Management. Its platform supports optimizing performance and reducing possible unplanned downtime through the continuous development of self-learning algorithms.
Project: The client needed highly skilled software engineers to contribute to its digital and cloud-based products.
Achievements: Within 6 months, IT Teams was able to supply a team of 10 engineers that have been assessed and selected by our client to build the extension of the client’s existing tech engineers, helping the client to reach the desired headcount while lowering its operating costs. 1 year later, after the pilot project, we operate a team of 17 members dedicated to our client.
Technologies: React, JavaScript, Java, Scala, AWS, Go, .Net, QA, QA Automation
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Finding proper skill set
Another advantage of outsourcing is access to first-rate specialists for the various roles in your project. You could done this for the entire project or just temporarily, according to your needs. An outsourcing partner like IT Teams helps you find and assemble a team of the needed specialists within a shorter timeframe and with less financial effort. Our technology stack covers JavaScript frameworks, Microsoft Technologies, Java Environment, LAMP / Open source, Mobile Development, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, RPA, Artificial Intelligence, etc. Where the projects require it, we employ cross-technology systems such as Rediss or Memcached for caching or SOLR for indexing and full-text search. Also, we could provide roles for project and people management.
Use an established methodology
Just adding more people is not always lead to faster results, methodology is equally important. Within our company, we promote Agile methodologies for software development processes – it is all about predictable delivery with high quality. The methodology also offers a way to measure development speed (using points per sprint to measure velocity, for example) and helps you understand if the project is moving quickly enough. But It’s not only Agile, we follow Scrum and Kanban methodologies or work under a time & materials engagement model. Moreover, we use specific tools for projects kickoff, setup, and tracking, that help us deliver what we promised.
All these benefits could become real, if you pay attention to the process (not micromanagement, but allowing enough time to understand and take proper decisions) set up efficient communications, and let the partner do his job. There are a lot of triggers that help your company speed up Software Development, but take into account that if you need more people or first-rate specialists, contracting an outsourcing partner is the wiser approach.