With new entrepreneurs emerging with brilliant ideas, the world is changing. It is surely changing for the better. Every major startup that you see today, all the big giants including Apple, Amazon, Alibaba, Samsung, etc were once very small companies who merely met their expenses. However, all of them had one thing in common, that is visionary leaders. Leaders who knew that they would succeed due to sheer belief in their idea. This belief is what should guide you as well. After you get to settle with your plan you must decide to go to a freelancer or a software development agency.
Initially, as an entrepreneur, the main aim will be to keep the costs as low as possible. The focus will be to make the start-up viable. However, at a later stage, once you decide to take up a software project you are faced with a dilemma. You have the option to either hire freelancers or a proper software development agency. Both of them have their own pros and cons. During the hustle, many owners make the worst mistake of their life that is hiring freelancers for a task that is of quite serious nature. Hiring a software development company offers you a lot of benefits along with professional advice. Here we will argue in favor of hiring a software development company.
When you approach a freelancer on Fiverr or Upwork, you might find many skilled professionals. They might have a lot of positive reviews and accolades to their names. The major caveat however which might pop-up is the fact that they will not know everything despite a lot of experience and knowledge. This is where a software development agency will help you. With many skilled developers up their sleeve, their experience will certainly help you. The versatility of the entire team will help you in certain areas as some will be more skilled in a particular area than the other. This is one of the best traits of a software development company. Let us list down five major advantages to hiring a software development agency:
Advantages:
- Reliability: This is one of the major deal winners in favor of the agencies. They can offer you help in the entire software development life cycle. This includes help from the very inception of the idea to the deployment. All of these steps are extremely crucial especially for a new business still trying to build a brand. This requires advice from Quality Assurance engineers, developers, business analysts, designers, user interface, and user experience experts. These people must be experts in their fields. A freelancer is more likely to be skilled in one or at max two fields at a time. With a company hired, it will take care of assigning qualified people. They will also have project management experts who will lay down a chart and timeline for the project. They will also be responsible for involving the stakeholders with frequent meetings and incorporating their feedback. This enhances your confidence in the entire process. This makes software development agencies extremely reliable as compared to ordinary freelancers.
- Team Scalability: Depending upon the size and requirement of the project, the agency can provide you with the appropriate amount of people. The agency is flexible in terms of providing the appropriate amount of manpower. It also provides you with the flexibility to communicate with the project manager whenever you need to. On the contrary, freelancers although well-versed with their skills once hired need to be taken till the very end. There is no scalability or going back. Hiring and firing will also be a tedious process since coming to terms take a while. Being tight on finances, you can always add or remove relevant people to the team. You will be provided with a package that is best suited to your needs.
- Expertise: As discussed earlier, this is one of the major things that take the tide in favor of a software development agency. You will be exposed to a pool of professionals and the very best in their fields. QA engineers, UI and UX designers, managers, etc. Since the agencies deal with projects all the time, they have a solution to problems since they have faced them in the past. Some managers are dedicated to a particular technology. If your project relates to eCommerce, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Networking, etc, there might be a manager specialized to solve your problem. With various technologies out there, they can even weigh out the advantages and disadvantages. These skills require years of practice and experience to master. A software company hires the veterans of all the required fields to make them the best in the business.
- Project Management: A software product is not just code. It is much more than that. It is a complete lifecycle which needs attention in all domains. The development and deployment phase becomes much easier with a manager. The analysts are responsible for eliciting the requirements from the client and checking out for feasibility. All the initial estimation and scope is determined by the requirement elicitation team. All the meetings with the stakeholders become the responsibility of the agency who constantly maintain an organized collection of everything. Such measures play a key role in bridging the gap between the customer and the development team. Software Project management is much different than conventional project management. Many studies have shown that software products fail much more than other products. This is due to fact that software is not tangible and the bugs are only revealed once the software goes into production. This requires software engineers with major specialization in product management. A software development company will provide you with managers having relevant experience related to your project.
- Tech-Savy: Since they are currently in the business, agencies know about all the current and new technologies of the market. All the pros and cons of major technologies can be easily weighed out by them. They are constantly evolving and improving. This makes them the go-to for up to date solutions. Being adamant to use outdated technology can be problematic. Many technological innovations are taking the industry by storm. On the contrary, all new technology might not be good. This requires constant ht and trail which a freelancer might not be able to due to focus on delivery. The veterans in the software agency will be able to practice with new technologies and libraries. This is a major pro since the major population is not technologically literate. Only expert advice should be heeded. A software development agency will help you with providing up to date insights and trends.
We have clearly presented our case in favor of development agencies. This by no means undermines the work of freelancers. However, depending upon the scale of the project, you must know which option to consider.
For more info check out https://www.tmcnet.com/topics/articles/2019/07/18/442720-7-reasons-hire-software-development-team.htm.