Is it better to outsource APP development or do it yourself?

In the era of big data, the Internet has become a standard feature, and many companies are trying to transform to Internet+ for development. But everyone faces a problem: they have a good software idea or plan, but there are no technical personnel to implement it.

Many people who are new to starting a business or do not understand Internet software do not know whether to form a technical team for development themselves or find a suitable APP outsourcing company.

In fact, both need to be considered from many aspects. Ximei will give you an objective analysis today~

Self-built team

Advantages< /p>

1. In the same office space, we are more assured and more timely

We set up our own development technical team, and all the personnel are interviewed and screened by ourselves, so we are more assured in terms of technology and people.

Working in the same office, you can observe and supervise the working attitude, work progress and work quality of technical staff, making it easier to control. You can also have face-to-face communication at any time. If problems are found, they can be discussed and solved in time.

Because we are all part of the company and are producing the company's own products, everyone is more able to think in one place and work hard in the same direction. If the product involves internal business secrets of the company, confidentiality is also more guaranteed.

2. Demand adjustment is more flexible and more thoughtful

The rapid development of the Internet makes the market often change, and products also need to change with market changes.

If you want to adjust or add requirements during the product design and development stages, the self-built team can make modifications at any time.

For self-built teams, the design and development process is equivalent to practical operations. It gives more time to think and adjust the functions and processes of the product, and allows them to consider the product more fully and purely. Its own rationality and user experience enhance the flexibility of adjustment and optimization.

3. Fast response to problems and faster operation and maintenance

The self-built technical team can respond faster to bugs and problems during the actual operation of the product. Discuss solutions and implement them in less time.

In order to cater to market changes, based on the later operation of the product, the self-built team can more quickly update and iteratively upgrade the product, including maintenance or secondary development after product development is completed, which can also be more convenient and faster. .

Disadvantages

1. It takes a long time

①Recruiting people

The self-built development team needs to recruit product managers, UI designers, ios Engineers, Android engineers, backend engineers, test engineers, if you want to make small programs, you also need to recruit an H5. It is not possible to recruit so many key technical talents in a short time. After all, we have to recruit suitable, skilled, experienced people, and even people who can lead a team.

If your company is not a technical company, the recruitment time will be longer. After all, for engineers with work experience, large companies with high salaries, large platforms, good benefits, and stability is their first choice.

②Running-in

After all, software development is the result of teamwork. It takes a while for the self-built team members to form a team, become familiar with the business, and then run-in with each other. Everyone is not familiar with it when they first join the job. , communication may not be smooth.

Everyone also knows that product managers and programmers are “discordant”, which is almost always a problem that occurs when making their own company’s products. For example, when product requirements change, both parties often have different attitudes and opinions, which can easily lead to conflicts and frictions.

③Development cycle

The product development cycle of a self-built team is unpredictable. On the one hand, the employees are unstable. If one of them leaves, they will have to recruit and re-integrate; On the other hand, interviews alone may not reveal the true level of a programmer. If you encounter certain technical difficulties or many bugs during the development process, you will have to spend more time solving them.

Of course, there are also factors such as constant modification and adjustment of product requirements and lack of industry experience, which will also delay a lot of development time.

2. High cost

①Salary cost

A product requires at least 1 product manager, 1 UI designer, 1 ios engineer, 1 There are 1 Android engineer, 1 backend engineer, and 1 test engineer. Let’s not count the 1 H5 engineer working on the mini program. Therefore, to build a self-built development team, you need to recruit at least 6 people.

As each city is different, salary levels will also vary. Let's first take the average salary in Chengdu as an example. The monthly salary of an engineer with 3 years of work experience is 12,000.

For a development team of 6 people, the monthly employee salary cost is at least 70,000. Adding employee benefits, five insurances and one housing fund, equipment, rent and other expenses, the monthly cost is at least 90,000.

For a temporary self-built development team, it takes at least three months for a product to go from demand sorting to product shaping to launch. The salary cost for these three months is at least 270,000. .

②Maintenance costs

After the APP is developed and launched, and the product begins normal operation, programmers only need to do daily maintenance and repair problems in a timely manner. .

If there are no frequent adjustments and new features added during the operation process, then product managers, UI designers, and test engineers will hardly have much work.

So at this time, the company will continue to support a group of highly paid technical "idlers"? Or lay off some of them? These questions are worth pondering.

Find an outsourcing company

Advantages

1. Professional and experienced

Leave professional things to professional people, this is APP Reasons for the emergence of outsourcing companies.

Reliable APP outsourcing companies have many years of development experience. The technology of the development team has also been verified by practice, and the quality of the software developed is guaranteed.

App outsourcing companies have encountered customers from all walks of life, developed a variety of software, and have many mature frameworks. We have a certain understanding of the operational logic and business models of each industry, which can better help you improve product ideas and processes.

Some APP outsourcing companies also provide customers with professional solutions in the industry (such as Xiwang Software), which is much better than building your own team to develop blindly.

2. Save time, effort and worry

Reliable APP outsourcing companies have been deeply involved in the Internet industry for many years. The company's operations and management are more stable, and all developers have good relationships with each other. Very familiar and saves running-in time.

Because of their experience, both product managers and development engineers can get started quickly, and test engineers can also have clearer focus and attention points when testing software.

If you find a reliable APP outsourcing company, you only need to communicate the requirements in place in the early stage, confirm the prototype UI clearly, and track the nodes during the development and testing process. It is more worry-free than building a self-built team. .

3. Low-cost trial and error

This is the first time for many people to make software in their lives. Looking for an APP outsourcing company can use lower costs to trial and error and observe the direction of entrepreneurship. and industry trends.

In addition to the above-mentioned reasons for this low cost, APP outsourcing companies generally have mature finished software that can be modified and used immediately, with fast online speed and lower investment than customized APP development.

Be prepared for the worst in the early stage. If the product cannot be operated after it is built, or fails for some other reason, if you want to give up at this time, you do not need to pay for a self-built team. Liquidated damages for dissolution.

Disadvantages

1. Reliable APP outsourcing companies are difficult to find

First of all, let me state that the advantages of the above APP outsourcing companies are only for reliable ones.

There are many APP outsourcing companies on the market, with varying technologies, quotations and services, making it difficult to choose. (After all, many people have a deep understanding of the pitfalls of APP outsourcing companies)

2. Not very flexible

If you choose an APP outsourcing company to cooperate, after the demand communication and confirmation are completed It is necessary to sign a development contract, and the functions, processes, and prices will be determined at that time. It cannot be modified at any time according to business development like a self-built team.

In the product design stage, if it is a small demand adjustment, some APP outsourcing companies will help you adjust it for free; but if it is a major change, you need to sign a supplementary agreement again and pay for the corresponding functions. Added new fees.

But if it has entered the development stage, requirements changes are generally not accepted. After all, when requirements change, the prototype and UI must be redesigned before entering development, which will not only delay development time, but also increase costs.