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Outsourcing IT Specialists: Algorithm of Choice & Collaboration Building
05 NOV 2023
Outsourcing IT specialists is gaining increasing popularity and continuously evolving.
Data from Statista shows that the demand for IT outsourcing services by the end of 2022 increased by over 30% compared to 2017 and continues to gain momentum.
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The duration of such collaboration can range from onetime services to long-term interaction prospects. A contract that specifies the timelines, conditions, and peculiarities of the collaboration governs the services.
Now, let’s consider types of IT outsourcing or in which cases companies seek the services of developers.
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So, what do companies get in such cases? Let’s discuss further.
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Outsourcing helps eliminate a range of technical problems, as the service provider takes care of IT system maintenance, development, and documentation management.
So, here are the principles of working with an external team of developers:
This will provide a comprehensive understanding of the goals and tasks, as well as facilitate communication with IT service providers in the future.
Levels: Middle, Senior, Lead.
Levels: Middle, Senior, Lead/Architect.
Levels: Middle, Senior, Lead/Architect.
Levels: Middle, Senior, Lead.
Levels: Middle, Senior, Lead.
Levels: Middle, Senior, Lead.
Levels: Middle, Senior, Lead.
Levels: Middle, Senior, Lead.
Levels: Middle, Senior.
Levels: Middle, Senior.
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Additionally, you can utilize the services of an outsourcing company for both long-term and short-term periods. It is important to define the roles accurately and understand which IT specialists are required for your project.
When selecting an outsourcing company, it is important to assess their competencies, reputation level, and familiarize yourself with their implemented cases.
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Data from Statista shows that the demand for IT outsourcing services by the end of 2022 increased by over 30% compared to 2017 and continues to gain momentum.
IT Outsourcing Market Size: Dynamics and Forecast
In this article: who can benefit from outsourcing IT specialists services, which tasks are helpful to outsource, how to choose an outsourcing company, and how to prepare for collaboration.Table of contents:
- What is IT outsourcing?
- Who can benefit from outsourcing IT specialists services?
- Effective collaboration with IT outsource companies: recommendations for preparation from our team.
- How to choose an IT outsourcing company? 5 steps.
- IT specialist and developer services on outsourcing from Brivian.
- Key takeaways.
What is IT outsourcing?
IT outsourcing refers to the delegation of a portion of IT processes to a third-party organization specializing in providing a team of developers for technical support services, server and computer maintenance, as well as application development, information systems, and other IT products.The duration of such collaboration can range from onetime services to long-term interaction prospects. A contract that specifies the timelines, conditions, and peculiarities of the collaboration governs the services.
Now, let’s consider types of IT outsourcing or in which cases companies seek the services of developers.
Types of outsourcing IT specialists
1. Software development outsourcing
The client company fully or partially delegates software development tasks to external specialists. Besides software development, this also includes testing, support, and enhancement of mobile applications, web applications, or other software.2. IT infrastructure outsourcing
Here, the client company may transfer the management of its IT infrastructure to an outsourcing IT company. This includes control over cloud services (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS) and virtualization and VDI systems, supply of server equipment, SAN and data centers, backup and data recovery.3. Technical support and software maintenance
Companies turn to IT specialist outsourcing for technical support to users and IT system maintenance. An external team of developers handles troubleshooting, network management, and software updates.4. Security and data protection
Companies turn to developer outsourcing to ensure security, monitoring and analyzing threats, as well as developing protection against hacking and unauthorized access by third parties.Who can benefit from outsourcing IT specialist services?
Organizations typically resort to IT specialist outsourcing services in cases of:- lack of their own specialists or their high workload;
- absence of quality internal expertise;
- need to save on maintaining an internal team of IT specialists.
Which tasks are helpful to outsource?
Implementation of long-term projects
For example, implementing SAP or other ERP systems. An external team of developers can accomplish this faster and cheaper than the client company maintaining or expanding its own team of IT specialists. By delegating tasks, companies do not have to spend on equipment, salaries, etc.Short-term development projects
Companies turn to IT personnel outsourcing for the development of applications, information systems, ML models, etc. Here, it is beneficial for the client company to use a Time & Material pricing model, paying only for the hours of work performed.Outsourcing part of business processes or turnkey software development
The process of software development involves numerous specialists: system and business analysts for strategy development and adjustments, developers for programming, testers for software verification and bug fixing, project managers for overall project control, and DevOps engineers. Companies not always can hire a full team in-house, and it may not always be cost-effective. Therefore, companies turn to IT outsources for the services of individual IT specialists or for complete project development by an external team.If you want to turn to IT personnel outsourcing in order to improve the quality of existing project development processes or create new ones, write to us here.
So, what do companies get in such cases? Let’s discuss further.
Advantages of outsourcing developers and IT specialists
Cost reduction
Instead of hiring employees to handle the development and support of IT products, enterprises can outsource these tasks to specialized outsourcing companies. This can significantly reduce expenses for maintaining an internal IT team.Example:
A company has in-house frontend developers for developing the user interface of an application. The project is completed, and the company does not plan to release any more IT products, but it still has to pay salaries, benefits, and sick leave. Idle time begins, and the budget is spent unnecessarily.
Ready team of professionals
Through outsourcing, the client company gets rid of the hassle of searching for qualified IT specialists or training newcomers. IT developer outsourcing provides a ready team of specialists with accumulated experience and expertise.End-to-end software development outsourcing
The hired IT specialists can not only work on refining existing projects but also develop software from scratch, implementing the company’s ideas and projects.Access to pricing options in work
The client company can choose the optimal method of payment for services based on its requirements and tasks: Retainer or Time & Material.Retainer involves renting a full team of developers or individual IT specialists for the business needs at a fixed cost and a specified number of hours per month.
With a Time & Material contract, the company pays for the services of IT outsourcing specialists based on the time and materials used to complete a specific project or task.
More details about the contracts are in the article:
Services of Developers and Collaboration Formats — Guide for Companies.
Focus on core activities
By using IT outsourcing, companies can concentrate their maximum internal resources on core activities, increasing or maintaining the efficiency of other business processes. For example, outsourcing IT tasks allows top managers to focus on marketing and/or sales.Outsourcing helps eliminate a range of technical problems, as the service provider takes care of IT system maintenance, development, and documentation management.
Effective collaboration with IT outsource companies: recommendations for preparation from our team
Our team has been in the market since 2014 and is ready to share life hacks based on our experience working with clients and partners in order to establish effective collaboration with IT outsource companies.So, here are the principles of working with an external team of developers:
1. Define clear goals and expectations for collaborating with IT outsourcers.
Write a preliminary technical specification, where requirements, deadlines, and success criteria for each project are formulated.- If the client does not prepare the technical specification, the outsourcing company can create it. It is important to understand that this is a separate service in the category of IT consulting and auditing, which is paid for separately.
- The IT company can also conduct an analysis of existing IT systems and project development, based on which further steps for optimizing IT projects will be developed. This also falls under the category of additional services.
The advantage is that the results – the compiled complete technical specification or analytical reports – remain with the client. They can be used when approaching another vendor without having to pay for these services again.
2. Establish effective communication with IT outsourcers.
Specify preferred communication channels and create a comfortable schedule for meetings.3. Set up mechanisms for quality control of project execution (evaluation and verification criteria) to ensure that the results align with your requirements.
4. Sign the necessary confidentiality agreements.
5. Create a trusting and productive work atmosphere, focused on mutual cooperation and achieving common goals.
6. Consider the possibility of establishing long-term collaboration.
This brings additional benefits, such as flexibility and adaptation to the changing needs of your IT projects.7. Seek the expertise of an external team of developers.
If you intend to introduce your employees to new systems, infrastructure, or technologies, request support from IT outsource vendor.8. Regularly evaluate the results of working with IT outsourcers and consider adjusting your strategy to achieve better outcomes.
So, we’ve covered the preparation for collaboration. Now, let’s move closer to practice and closer to engaging with IT outsourcers. Next up is a checklist for choosing a reliable service provider. 😊How to choose an IT outsourcing company? 5 steps
Step 1: Define the needs and goals of your company.
Clearly identify the tasks or projects you want to entrust to the outsourcing company to address your company’s primary needs and requirements.This will provide a comprehensive understanding of the goals and tasks, as well as facilitate communication with IT service providers in the future.
Step 2: Conduct research.
- Gather information about outsourcing companies.
- Analyze their professional skills, experience, reputation, and partnerships with other companies.
- Review client feedback and recommendations regarding the outsourcing companies you have shortlisted.
- This will help reduce the risk of encountering unscrupulous outsource vendors.
Step 3: Assess competencies and experience.
- Determine which technologies, programming languages, or platforms the outsourcing company should be proficient in.
- Ask questions about their development methods and level of expertise.
Step 4: Manage the budget and service costs.
- Evaluate your financial capabilities and set a budget for IT personnel outsourcing.
- Compare prices, conditions, and competencies of IT outsourcing companies to align the price with the quality of services offered and make a choice that corresponds to your financial expectations and capabilities.
! Prices can vary significantly depending on the scale of the project and the type of systems. For example, the cost of supporting engineering systems involves a wider range of actions aimed at maintaining functionality and security, while IT support covers assistance to users in resolving current software problems.
Step 5: Discuss collaboration terms and sign a contract.
- Clarify the details of the collaboration, including the project timeline, communication methods, quality control, confidentiality obligations, and other important aspects for your company.
- Sign a contract with the selected outsourcing company, specifying the timeframe, prices, final deliverables, and service level commitments.
If you are facing the question of engaging with IT outsource vendors for the first time, now you know how to prepare for collaboration, what to consider when establishing joint work, and how to choose a reliable IT service provider.🙂
IT specialist and developer services on outsourcing from Brivian
Our company specializes in full end-to-end software development outsourcing as well as providing individual developers and IT specialists. Below is a list of our specialists and developers. 🙂Frontend Developer Outsourcing Services
Tech Stack: JavaScript/TypeScript, React Native, HTML5, CSS3, React.js, Next.js, Redux, Backbone.js, JQuery, GraphQL, WebRTC, Styled Components, Mobx, Apollo, React Query, Sass, PWA, Accessibility, Adaptive.Levels: Middle, Senior, Lead.
Backend Developer Outsourcing Services
Tech Stack: Golang, Java, JavaScript/TypeScript (Node.js), C#, Python, Django, .NET Framework, Spring Framework, Kafka, RabbitMQ, NATS, Hadoop, Spark, MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, Aerospike, HBase, Cassandra, GraphQL, Elasticsearch, WebRTC.Levels: Middle, Senior, Lead/Architect.
Full-stack Developer Outsourcing Services
Tech Stack: C++, Java, JavaScript/TypeScript (Node.js), C#, Python, stl, boost, gtest, gmock, Django, .Net Framework, Spring Framework, Kafka, RabbitMQ, NATS, Hadoop, Spark, MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, Aerospike, HBase, Cassandra, GraphQL, Elasticsearch, WebRTC.Levels: Middle, Senior, Lead/Architect.
Manual QA Testing Specialist Outsourcing Services
Tech Stack: REST, SOAP, Jira, Confluence, checklists, test cases, SoapUI, Postman, Swagger UI, MS SQL, SQL, GitLab, Cucumber.Levels: Middle, Senior, Lead.
Automation QA Testing Specialist Outsourcing Services
Tech Stack: Java, JavaScript, Python Integration Tests, JMeter, Selenium, SQL, Dbeaver, REST, SOAP, Swagger UI, Charles, Fiddler, SOAP UI.Levels: Middle, Senior, Lead.
iOS Developer Outsourcing Services
Tech Stack: Objective-c, Swift, SwiftLint, OpenGL, Firebase, CoreML, Core Data, WatchKit, Realm, MVC, Viper, Clean Swift, XML, JSON.Levels: Middle, Senior, Lead.
Android Developer Outsourcing Services
Tech Stack: Kotlin, Java, RxJava, Kotlin coroutines, Koin, Retrofit + Moshi, ConstraintLayout, SOLID, MVP, MVVM, Dagger, RxJava, Git.Levels: Middle, Senior, Lead.
ML Engineers / Data Science Specialists Outsourcing Services
Tech Stack: OpenCV, MASK R-CNN, OpenPose, SPOT, DeepMedic, TensorFlow, SciPy, Pandas, NumPy, PyTorch, Spark, Chainer.Levels: Middle, Senior, Lead.
Business Analyst and Systems Analyst Outsourcing Services
Tech Stack: Analytical research, Jira, Kanban, Confluence, Python, SQL, requirements gathering: functional/non-functional, Use cases, User stories, Roadmap, XSD/XML, REST API, UML, BPMN, Technical Specification (ТЗ) development. Levels: Middle, Senior, Lead.DevOps Engineer Outsourcing Services
Tech Stack: Linux, AWS, LXC, Kubernetes, Openshift, CI/CD, Jenkins, Docker, GitLab, Bash, Ansible, TeamCity, ELK. Levels: Middle, Senior, Lead.UI/UX Designer Outsourcing Services
Tech Stack: Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, AfterEffects), Sketch, Figma, Tilda Publishing website builder, HTML/CSS, Framer, Webflow.Levels: Middle, Senior.
Development Project Managers (Project Management Specialists) Outsourcing Services
Tech Stack: Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, Kanban, Jira, Confluence, Google Docs, Microsoft Office, Miro.Levels: Middle, Senior.
You can send a request for our specialists’ services here.
Key takeaways
IT personnel outsourcing is effective when your expectations are clearly communicated, goals are defined, communication is established, and trust exists. Be prepared to provide support and feedback to help them achieve high-quality results in implementing your projects.Additionally, you can utilize the services of an outsourcing company for both long-term and short-term periods. It is important to define the roles accurately and understand which IT specialists are required for your project.
When selecting an outsourcing company, it is important to assess their competencies, reputation level, and familiarize yourself with their implemented cases.
Other articles on the topic:
Thank you for your attention! 🙂
You can submit a request for outsourcing developer services or ask questions about our company’s services and IT specialists here or by clicking the button “Book a Call”.
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