Web Development Blog

Going Global: Is Outsourcing Overseas a Wise Choice for Web Development?

 There seem to be two competing trends in the twenty-first century that can be summed up as "local versus global." Outsourcing, particularly to developing countries (also known as offshoring), became popular in the last part of the twentieth century as a cost-saving, capacity-building measure for increasing profits. This, of course, led to an opposite movement aimed at keeping business — and therefore jobs and resources — local. Each end of the spectrum has its advantages and disadvantages, and the solution has seemed to be to outsource certain tasks while keeping others close to home.

One of the main tasks outsourced these days is IT. Whether it’s end-user support or actual Web development, the technological aspects of business have been increasingly offloaded to countries whose technological sophistication is similar to North America’s, but whose economies allow for far cheaper operations. The cost savings can be significant, and differences in quality may be minimal, but is outsourcing really a wise choice for your company’s Web development and maintenance needs?

Outsourcing Means Giving Up Control

One of the chief disadvantages of outsourcing is the loss of managerial control. You can control what you outsource and who you outsource it to, but beyond that, you’re mostly at the mercy of the outsourcing company. Anything outside the specific scope of your contract is grounds for additional charges. The day-to-day operational control of outsourced operations will rest with someone in the outsourcing company. You may have to share proprietary or confidential data, which could be leaked. And your ability to control expenses, processes, and product quality, or to respond quickly to challenges or changes that may arise, will be greatly diminished.

Outsourcing Overseas Limits Contact

Another disadvantage of outsourcing — one that can be especially problematic for items like Web development — is that it limits contact with the team. While e-mails and conference calls provide a certain amount of connection even across distances, there’s no denying that sometimes, it helps to be in the same room, meeting face to face. Outsourcing makes this difficult, especially when the outsourcing company is in another country or on an entirely different continent!

Web development in particular benefits from face to face meetings. Clear understanding is important to the process and to the quality of the final product. Knowing exactly what functionality is required — and how best to accomplish that functionality within time, budget, and other constraints — is the only way to ensure the final product does what it needs to do. Hiring a company that specializes in Web development makes sense, but only if that company is within a reasonable distance for the occasional in-person meeting. 

Associated tags:  Outsourcing

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