Outsourcing has always been an economical solution for growing businesses looking for specialized, on-demand talent. For software development companies, being able to get products to market faster is essential to their business models, so it’s no wonder why having multiple outsourced team members and business services makes sense.
With steady developments in advanced technologies and higher demands for operational efficiencies, recent studies have shown indications that outsourcing popularity will rise exponentially over the next few years. Here are five trends in software development outsourcing you can expect to see in 2019.
Stronger Focus on Quality and Sustainability
While outsourcing has always been closely associated with cutting costs and maximizing budgets, the scene is changing with the needs of software development companies. In the 2018 Deloitte Outsourcing Survey, cutting costs wasn’t even included in the top 5 reasons organizations listed for outsourcing. There is now a much larger focus on partnering with quality service providers who they can trust and with whom they can develop long-standing relationships.
More Specialized Partnerships
As projects become more complex, the need to diversify partnerships is becoming more of a necessity. Rather than sticking with one preferred vendor, software development teams are finding it beneficial to work with multiple specialized partners who can work collaboratively on separate components of their projects. This also helps outsourced teams stay focused on what they do best, ensuring higher standards across all levels of the development process.
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Increased Demand for Nearshore Outsourcing
Geographically close partnerships are becoming less of an option and more of a necessity as companies prioritize the need for effective communication and collaboration. Keeping outsourced teams within the same time zone makes them easily manageable and removes complications that can arise when language barriers are present. Since visiting partners directly becomes much more workable, nearshore outsourcing makes it easy to arrange direct consultations and regular in-person status reports during the life cycle of a project.
Dependence on AI Technology
Over the years, disruptive technologies such as AI machine learning, IoT, and Blockchain have proven the need for companies to invest in highly skilled team members to work on their projects. While sourcing talent locally for these specific roles can be difficult, outsourcing is an effective solution. In fact, according to MIT Sloan, 85% of respondents believe AI will play a large role in their ability to stay competitive in the coming years. Disruptive technologies are pushing companies to source multiple roles including data scientists, big data analysts, and AI experts.
[RELEVANT READING: Finding Value Beyond Price in Outsourcing]
Sourcing Security-Aware Partners
It’s no surprise that cybersecurity has become a key concern for businesses in every industry. There have been a plethora of high-profile security breaches and hacks of the past few years, and companies need to trust the partners who access their data. Businesses are now spending more time properly vetting both IT security and outsourced service providers who need regular access to company data. Most companies will continue to be proactive with their security automation and intelligence and only work with partners who have a proven record of following best practices in cybersecurity.
2019 should prove to be a pivotal year in how companies approach their outsourcing efforts. As nearshoring and specialized partnerships become a more essential part of business growth strategies, outsourcing team members and key business services will eventually become a standard way of running a successful software development company.
About Perficient Latin America
Perficient Latin America delivers high-quality software outsourcing solutions by mastering advanced processes and technologies, such as big data, machine learning, and DevOps, among others, from a nearshore model.
