Is Outsourcing the Answer to Your Software Problems?

Determining whether or not outsourcing is the answer to your software problems i s not necessarily a difficult question but it is a question which involves caref ul consideration. There are a series of questions which should be asked to help determine whether or not outsourcing is a wise decision in a particular case. Ex amples of some of the questions which should be asked are: * * * * Are there in-house employees capable or resolving the software problem? Do current workloads allow in-house employees to work on this problem? How expensive will it be to outsource the task? What are the benefits of outsourcing the problem?

This article will take a look at each of these questions and provide insight int o how these questions can be used to help make this important decision. The Capabilities of In-house Employees Some software problems require highly specialized training to resolve the issues . It is often the case that a company s in-house employees do not have the capabil ities of resolving these software issues. When this occurs outsourcing the probl em to a specialist is the obvious choice. However, in situations where the in-ho use employees are qualified to resolve the problem, the issue of whether or not to outsource becomes more complicated. Those tasked with making the decision often weight the options by considering th e cost of outsourcing versus the speed at which the problem would be resolved in both cases. If there is an expert readily available to tackle the problem it wi ll likely be resolved relatively quickly. However, if in-house employees are cur rently overburdened, they may not be able to make this problem a priority. The Workload of In-house Employees The workload of in-house employees often comes into question when considering wh ether or not to outsource a specific software related task or tasks. In the prev ious section we discussed the importance of outsourcing when the in-house employ ees are not qualified for certain tasks. However, this is not always the case. O ften in-house employees are fully capable of completing a task but they are unab le to do so because of their current workload. In a situation when all of the in -house employees are unavailable to take on additional tasks, outsourcing again becomes a viable option. Will Outsourcing Save Money One of the main factors company s consider when they contemplate outsourcing is wh ether or not they will save money by outsourcing. Hiring an expert on a contract basis can certainly be expensive but it is often a worthwhile investment especi ally for highly specialized work. The cost of outsourcing is usually higher in t erms of the hourly rate of the employee but overall the costs may be reduced. Wh en considering work performed by in-house employees it is important to realize t he cost of the work includes the employee s hourly rate, the cost of benefits such as social security, Medicare and workers compensation and resources such as offi ce space, hardware, office supplies and other incidentals. After factoring in al l of these costs it becomes clear that outsourcing isn t always the more expensive option. Another factor to consider when calculating the costs of outsourcing a software problem is how quickly the problem can be resolved by outsourcing as opposed to handling the problem in-house. This will depend on the capabilities and availabi lity of the in-house staff. If there is not a capable staff member available it

may take significantly longer to handle the problem in-house. The Benefits of Outsourcing Finally, the benefits of outsourcing should be considered in deciding whether or not to outsource particular tasks. We have already touched upon some of the ben efits of outsourcing but for the sake of completeness we will include a list of some of the most significant benefits below: * * * * Decreased labor costs Access to industry experts Flexibility in scheduling Increased manpower

With so many benefits it is clear that outsourcing can be a viable solution to m any software problems. The bottom line in determining whether or not to outsourc e a particular software problem often involves comparing the benefits of outsour cing to the costs of outsourcing. PPPPP Word count 676