Offshore Product Development Company Vs Freelancers: Which is Better?

Offshore Product Development Company Vs Freelancers: Which is Better?

Development is arguably the most complex aspect of technology driven businesses. Not only the technical and execution part but there are also a lot of tough decisions to make around resourcing strategy for offshore product development. One such decision is to choose between Freelancers and Offshore Product Development Company. Both are among the primary options for outsourcing product development tasks by medium and small IT companies. However, you can get the job done through both channels. Similarly, in this case, an Offshore Product Development Company is a better option than giving the project to a freelancer. Let us see why? 

Why Offshore Product Development Company is better than Freelancers? 

 There are occasions when freelancers will be a perfect fit for outsourcing your software development requirements. This may be around getting a particular tasks done. For example, you need to optimize the database or integrate with certain third-party application. 

However, if you are looking for end-to-end development cycle, as in case of offshore product development then you would also find it more beneficial to use a software outsourcing Company. 

Let us understand this through a common example. Suppose you are building a house. Will you hire a local contractor or a team of expert architects and engineers? Obviously, most of you would choose the second option. It is because no matter how skilled the contractor is, he can’t beat the industry-related knowledge and expertise of the architect and engineers.  

Similarly, a freelancer cannot compete with the synchronized teamwork and quality service that you can get from offshore development companies. Although freelancers cost much less than the development companies. But they are with you only till the completion of the project, it is a single-time engagement. After that, you are on your own. On the other hand, offshore product development companies have a long-term engagement with you. They will also provide time-to-time maintenance to the product even after the delivery.  

Freelancers are good to appoint for smaller projects. But the established offshore development firms are the ones you must turn to when you have a big project with a lot of complexities. Moreover, a freelancer comes with a specific skill set that limits the amount and type of services he/she can provide. But there is a whole team ant the development companies that possess a Collective Skill Set to offer you a wide range of services.  

Along with all these factors, there are several other benefits that might encourage you to choose an Offshore Product Development Company over freelancers. Let us have a close look… 

Benefits of choosing Offshore Product Development Company over Freelancers 

There are numerous benefits but let us focus on the primary ones… 

1. Shared Expertise in Building Software Solutions 

 It is one of the key advantages of choosing a product development company. Hiring a freelancer gives you a single resource to make use of. This limits the scope of variations in the project. Also, with a freelancer, you get only one individual’s input on the project which might make the product’s features monotonous. With a product development company, you get access to multiple resources having expertise in different domains such as UI/UX design, business analysis, data analytics, and marketing support. 

2. Efficient Product Development 

The offshore development companies follow standard procedures for developing your product. Processes such as requirement analysis, business process analysis, wireframing, prototyping, R&D, testing, maintenance, technical support, documentation of system specifications, and code are all in proper order. This ordered procedure is responsible for the development of a bug-free product. Eventually, you get an efficient software development solution. And, when everything is in order, there are a fewer chances of problems and confusion. This saves a lot of time as well. 

3. Reliability  

As we discussed earlier, a software company will always be more reliable than a freelance developer. You do not lose the connection even after the product is delivered to you. Software applications need regular maintenance after deployment. A dedicated development team will help you with the service and maintenance of the product after it is online.. This is something you cannot expect from freelance developers. Even if they agree to do it, they will charge extra money from you for the maintenance of your product after delivery.  

4. Safety  

Offshore companies charge more than freelance developers. However, they are worth this amount. As they have adequate resources to make your product development safe and secure, you end up getting better quality. On the other hand, most freelance developers do not take ownership of testing the product or any kind of service once the project is finished. 

5. Legal Binding  

The solid paperwork that an offshore development company conducts creates a legal binding between you and them. There are clauses for data security along with NDA (non-disclosure agreement) in the documentation. All this makes it a safer approach to tie up with an offshore development company instead of hiring a freelancer. 

The Final Verdict  

Taking nothing away from the freelancers working out there. They can handle your projects well enough. But as the case in point was the comparison between them and offshore development companies. The facts and figures are indicating Offshore Application Development Services as the winner.