Software Outsourcing Company: How To Choose The Right Size For Startup?

7 min readApr 3, 2020

When outsourcing, what will happen if you choose the wrong team size? Try Googling “How to choose the right size IT outsourcing partner for startup”, then you will end up with many search results.

In fact, there are plenty of company’s sizes to outsource. And no single “one size fits all” strategy seems to work when choosing a software outsourcing company.

Some outsource software firms emphasize location, some stick with cost, some prefer expertise.

You may think team size is only one criterion to select a software outsourcing company. But there are thousands of high quality outsource companies around the world.

Which is the best outsourcing firm to fit your business? Consider combining team size with technical experience and location to select a software company.

Actually, the size of your future outsourcing partner is not given as much thought as it deserves. If you are about to make a decision, but have some lingering doubts, consider it carefully.

Before approaching a technology partner, ask yourself whether your project is small, medium or large. And accordingly, you can shortlist possible vendors. In this article, AgileTech will give you complete guide on How to choose the right software outsourcing company size for boosting your business!

Choosing Small Outsourcing Company

First, the size of your project should be considered when choosing a software development outsourcing company. If your project is estimated under 500 hours to complete, it’s ok to hire freelance developers.

Other, if your business is small, you can hardly get good results from a large IT software outsourcing company. Thus, choosing the right size software outsourcing company is very important.

Small outsource companies tend to have progressive business plans. In addition, such outsourcing firms usually are expected to be nimble and excel at finding their niche, regardless of the field.

Also, the small companies might pay attention to every wish of the client and follow all requirements, as the rule of survival.

Benefits of choosing small outsourcing companies

Low operational costs. When it comes to outsourcing, price is always the first thing to consider. A company with small workers usually provides outsourcing services at lower prices. Therefore, outsourcing in a small technology company will guarantee an affordable price and significantly save the budget.
Enhanced productivity of internal teams. At the same time, you will get quality service at a reasonable price. Also, time and money are freed up for recruitment, training new in-house staff, etc.
Flexibility. Outsourcing services, especially IT, your company has more flexibility to pick and choose whom to work with on specific projects or tasks. As mentioned, small software outsourcing company will reach customer needs in a flexible manner.
More efficient process. At smaller companies, it’s common to work together and know each other better. Therefore, the team can cooperate more effectively.

Choosing Medium-sized Software Development Outsourcing Company

One of the main reasons why outsourcing fails is the lack of dedication and passion in the outsource team. If you choose the wrong size of the software outsourcing company, your project will be far from what you dream about.

Choose a mid-sized team with the right set of skills, experience, and passion is a considerable choice. Such partners already worked with many types of customers. The only thing left to concern about is the price won’t be as cheap as a small company.

Pros of hiring Mid-sized outsourcing companies

Access to larger pool available. When hiring in-house employees, you don’t have much choice. Medium-sized companies already have been on the market for long time as well as secured many proficient staffs. The more experts are involved in your project, the faster all tasks get done.
Fewer worries about the maintenance of the system. When you outsource, focusing on your core business becomes slightly more relaxed. You don’t need to think about how every department works and what its specific needs are. You can focus on marketing strategies or other business activities.
Enhance process efficiency. If some problems suddenly happen, the medium-sized team will solve them quickly. A software outsourcing company can help you carry out some burdening tasks. Therefore, you can achieve better results, make all processes more efficient, and boost team productivity.

Choosing Large Outsourcing IT Company

Lastly, let’s talk about a well-known company. Large software outsourcing companies must be experienced in various outsourcing services. If your outsourcing team has more than 3 developers, the lack of management may risk. Besides, if you are hiring developers from leading software companies, it may produce higher quality code. However, such partners charge more money than a small or medium technology firm.

Advantages of outsourcing from large outsourcing companies

Brand reputation. Companies of medium size have worked for several years, so they have a quite wide client base. Additionally, they take care of their reputation and strive to gain customers’ trust.
Experience in developing large projects. Due to having many experts, the developers can handle the project of any size and complexity. You can hire as many software engineers as you want to create a solution that matches all requirements and meets your company’s goals.
Extensive portfolio. Large outsourcing companies have been working for a long time, so they can provide you with a large portfolio and satisfied clients. As a result, you can ensure your vendor expertise.

How To Outsource Software Development Successfully?

Offshore outsourcing is an effective business strategy used by companies in all industries. To be the most effective, you have to do it right the way. Below, you will find 3 tips for outsourcing success!

Define your exact goals

If you want to outsource successfully, you must clearly communicate what you need to your software outsourcing company. Be detailed with roles description, quality expectations, scope, and deadlines for the project, etc. For whatever project that you’re outsourcing, it’s important to keep track of communication. You need to have answers to the following questions:

What is your product concept?
How many you are ready to spend on the web or mobile app development?
Which expertise do you need to bring it to life?
What is the size of the team you want to hire?

Shortlist potential service providers

There are thousands of software outsourcing companies providing IT services. How to choose the best fit? It will take time to select the right size outsourcing vendor. Spend time to find out which outsource software development specializes in what you need! Also, you should compare and contrast their strengths with other outsourcing providers.

There are many factors to consider when choosing who to start a business relationship:

Do company have a a quality product and great price?
Has the provider shown consistent improvement during its time doing business?
How about their experience, location, flexibility, tax laws and language or cultural barriers?
Last but not least, what is their reputation and ratio of positive vs. negative reviews?

Evaluate your prospects

Now that you have narrowed down the list of the best fit outsourcing company for software development. Next, you need to further evaluate each of them. The following list will help you perform a thorough investigation and make a final decision regarding your IT outsourcing service provider:

Background check: how long is the outsourcing company in the market? What is the main outsource services? Is the portfolio similar to your projects?
Client references: you should hire the software outsourcing company with good user’s feedback and reviews. How many projects the vendor has completed? Are they outsourced or not?
Capabilities of an IT outsourcing company: let’s look deeper. You need to have extensive information and what technologies they can offer you!
Work process: since outsourced work, it’s important to set meetings periodically. Discuss key elements of your business or whatever makes sense for your partnership. Don’t forget to know what tools your software company used to communicate!
IT quality standard: make sure that the company you consider choosing as your service provider can deliver the quality. What is their certification? How does the outsourcing company ensure a high quality of code?

Bottom Line — Consider Software Outsourcing At AgileTech

That said, are larger outsourcing companies more scalable? Are they more stable financially and less dependent on the customer? Probably yes. But are they better organized? As well as provide better services? Not necessarily.

There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to deciding how small, medium or large your future IT software development company should be.

Think carefully about your business strategy and decide how important the company’s size listed above is for your business.

Also, consider 3 other factors like the partner’s reputation, review and feedback on the market, time zone, and technological expertise, etc.

Finding the right size software outsourcing company will deliver the best value for your business!

Why should choose us to outsource?

AgileTech is a quality software outsourcing company that providing many outsourcing services at affordable prices. By providing multiple needs and services, AgileTech is here to ensure your technology project as a successful element of your omnichannel strategy.

We have expert Project Managers along with excellent teams who have delivered the best products to customers in more than 10 countries, namely the U.S, U.K, Germany, France, and Singapore.

Our dedicated team is good at English. So, you can communicate with us all the details of the project easier.
Software engineers are flexible. Even if having a different time zone, they are always ready to follow your schedule and find an appropriate time for calls
AgileTech expands and gains access to new market areas, by taking the point of production or service delivery closer to their end-users

As a leading mobile development company in Vietnam, we have huge experiences in many fields including e-commerce, car-sharing platform, health care, Livestream and many more.

Our dedicated software development team is ready for your custom requirements. You can contact us at contact@agiletech.vn or via (+84) 936 281 059 for more information.