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Outsourcing product development projects most often results in an effectively executed project. This is especially true when it comes to developing software as a service (SaaS) solutions, which can present a unique and compelling list of challenges.
Fortunately, outsourcing SaaS product development has never made more economical sense. Outsourcing multiple different types of projects has grown on a significant scale in recent history, and SaaS product development is a prime example.
Through this post, we will explore what makes SaaS development different, the necessary ingredients for successful SaaS product development, how offshore SaaS development has evolved over the past two decades, and how you can ultimately benefit from outsourcing your SaaS product development.
SaaS Product Development Is Different
SaaS product development is different in many respects from the development of more traditional products. This is largely due to the sheer volume and scale to which the product is being developed.
Development teams need to be highly skilled and adept to truly understand the end goal for the product, and to plan technical advancements and deployments accordingly.
As a result, maintaining an existing SaaS product – or developing a new one – in-house can be both expensive and frustrating. The availability of required skillsets are often challenging to acquire, hiring qualified developers is usually a time consuming and expensive process, and the changing landscapes of technology are sure to further complicate the issue.
Effective SaaS product development necessitates a crystal clear vision, a well-defined plan, and the ability to swiftly react to new challenges as they arise.
The Ingredients of Successful SaaS Product Development
The following ingredients can often be found in successful SaaS developments:
- Effective use of offshore SaaS development
- Implementation of Agile development methodology
- Sufficiently qualified and capable product developers
The absence of any of these three factors has been known to slow or halt product development projects, or to significantly increase the demand on your most valuable of resources – time, money, and energy.
Offshore SaaS development, as this article will go on to explain, is important to acquire sufficient skillsets in a cost effective manner.
Agile development methodology offers a communication-oriented, team-based approach to product development, offering the additional benefits of flexibility and speed.
Qualified and capable developers are the cornerstone of any SaaS product development. By choosing to assemble a distributed offshore team, the precious aforementioned resources of time, money and energy can be wisely invested.
The Evolution of Offshore SaaS Development
Global developments in internet technology have made offshore SaaS development not only possible, but necessary to remain competitive.
For instance, applications such as Skype and Google Hangouts have created the unprecedented ability for every team member to see, communicate, and share with each other regardless of geographic location.
Furthermore, project management applications such as Jira and Basecamp allow teams to sort complex SaaS product development tasks into meaningful phases, or sprints.
Dramatic changes in the last two decades have resulted in an assortment of emerging markets, such as India, to become a globally recognized powerhouse in effectively managing outsourced product development work.
Well before the turn of the century, SaaS product development was not a major component of most developed markets. Instead, the primary industries at the time related to manufacturing and textiles. Fast forward to today and we find that outsourcing is not only a common business practice, but the service sector now dominates the economies of developed nations.
Why Outsourcing Saas Product Development Is a Good Idea
Outsourcing SaaS product development results in a number of key benefits to your business, including:
- Decreased costs and hence improved profit margins
- Access to larger pools of talented and capable developers
- Improved operational efficiency thanks to diminished internal strain on resources
- Increased team efficiency, with particular respect to Agile development methodology
Conclusion
“Any project to be done at significant scale, including SaaS product development, needs to be outsourced for optimal efficiency”
Do you agree with this statement?
What has your experience been with offshore development, with particular reference to SaaS products?
Does your development team take an Agile, iteration-based approach to product development?
What other benefits are there to offshore SaaS development?
We would love to hear your thoughts and experiences in the comment section below
Written by Tanya Kumari
Tanya leads the Digital Marketing Team at Classic Informatics, a leading web development company . She is an avid reader, music lover and a technology enthusiast who likes to be up to date with all the latest advancements happening in the techno world. When she is not working on her latest article on agile team dynamics, you can find her by the coffee machine, briefing co-workers on the perks of living a healthy lifestyle and how to achieve it.
