Development Outsourcing: Freelancers vs. Companies
Scaling your team with external resources is usually a good idea: you can save time and money on hiring, training, insurance, taxes, salaries, etc. In case you need to grow your team only temporarily, scaling back down is easier with outsourcing. If you haven’t outsourced much, it may seem that outsourcing companies and freelance developers are the same species. But they are not. Let’s take a look at the differences between the two that affect you as a client.
Strengths and weaknesses
Each developer has his own strengths and weaknesses. You get the best and the worst of your freelancer. In outsourcing companies, the management distributes tasks and controls the processes in such a way that the clients only get the best of the developers who work on their projects.
Scope change
If in the course of your projects you need a wider set of skills than initially negotiated, the outsourcing company can offer those from the talent pool they have. Freelancers wouldn’t be able to master a new skill quickly, and the trouble of finding another resource with the required skills would be yours.
Experience
A freelancer might have loads of experience working on different projects, using different technologies, and solving problems in various industries. Developers who work in an outsourcing company enjoy the benefits of shared cumulative experience, which is significantly greater than that of an individual. Even when you hire one or a few of the company’s developers, your resources have access to a huge knowledge base of their colleagues.
Delivery guarantees
An outsourcing company makes sure that a developer’s time off, no matter if planned or unexpected, doesn’t affect the flow of the project: sick leaves and vacations are factored in. The same doesn’t hold with freelancer. It takes a mere flu to delay your project.
Schedule and workload
Of course, a freelancer financially depends on the time he spends working, so he might take up working marathons, work when sick, or work on your project after a daytime job. Are you sure that in such conditions, he will give his best efforts to your project?
Developers who are employed full-time usually have some flexibility in their schedules to make use of their most productive time of day, and to be available when it is convenient for the client.
Training
No doubt, freelancer status doesn’t ban one from undergoing trainings, but a busy schedule of a freelancer might be forcing him to always put the trainings on hold. An employed developer enjoys scheduled and well-organized trainings at the expense of the company.
Quality guarantee
An outsourcing company has a full team needed for best results: project managers and QA specialists. A freelancer might be an efficient one-man band, but let’s be honest, that would be an exception, not a rule.
Concentration and distractions
Freelancers are their own marketers, salespeople and managers. The time that a freelancer spends looking for a next gig is the time that a developer spends on solving your problem.
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At Syntegrico, our HR practices are intertwined with other processes essential for success. Syntegrico provides IT consulting and development services, and developers are our biggest asset. We rely on providing ongoing educational opportunities to stay competitive both as employer and service provider. As a result, we have more knowledgeable and confident employees. High level of training and motivation allows Syntegrico developers to undertake challenging tasks that in-house and freelance developers might not be able to complete. Working with complicated tasks and their successful completion give our developers another natural motivation boost.
If you are looking to outsource an IT project, consider Syntegrico for excellent quality and reasonable rates. Book a trial project to get to know us and see us in action.
