In 2021 a software developer hiring model has shifted dramatically to a remote online style. Now, businesses have the access to the most exceptional software development expertise and can seek software development talents around the globe.
Surprisingly though, with all that diverse choice, it has become much harder to choose. Businesses can consider many options from hiring a dedicated team of developers to opting for freelance developers. Both business models have their own benefits and their effectiveness depends on the specifics of a certain software development project.
In this article, we’ll look into why to hire a dedicated team and freelance developers and figure out which one is better for your software development project.
What is the Biggest Dilemma for Any Business and Startup?
When starting their software development projects businesses and startups have to consider a variety of factors that can influence the project outcomes. These factors include:
- the tech stack they want to implement in their solutions;
- resources involved in the project, e.g. additional equipment, budget, various specialists, etc;
- the security level of the specialists;
- quality of the development team and level of their commitment;
- availability of software developers in the market or the provider’s company;
- communication and management arrangement;
- post-development product support and its maintenance;
Some businesses fall victim to the most common mistake – they choose their software development service provider based only on the pricing factor. And though businesses manage to save up a certain amount of money at the beginning, they may run into considerable expenses later on.
The unforeseen expenses can be caused by low service quality, irrational use of resources, project delays, missed deadlines, and many other factors. Therefore, when choosing their software development service, businesses and startups have to carefully investigate the market to make an informed choice.
When Businesses Should Hire Freelance Developers?
There is a large number of freelance developers who offer various software development services for very attractive prices. However, the freelance business model doesn’t suit all types of software development projects. Best of all, this model suits:
Simple Projects
such as building a landing web page or development of online questionnaires, and others;
Specific Task Completion
for a project, like developing certain functionality or deploying a specific technology;
Short-Term Projects
that involve the one-time application or functionality development without further support or maintenance. Why hiring freelancers for short-term and simple projects is a good idea:
Immediate Access to a Diverse Talent Pool
if you need to quickly bridge the gap in your project with unique specialists, then you can always turn to a large freelance market and find the specialists even with the narrowest specialization;
Cost-Effectiveness
when hiring freelancers you need to pay only for the scope of work or number of tasks done, avoiding additional expenses common for in-house teams such as recruiting, onboarding, or insurance;
Simple Contract Termination
you can terminate a freelance contract at any point – once the contract is terminated the freelancer should provide all the completed work and work in progress to their client.
Hiring freelancers for your projects has many positive aspects. Though if your project is quite complex and is time-consuming then you’ll need more than one software developer at your disposal. Gathering a team of freelancers who don’t know each other might be not the best idea for effective application development. That’s why many businesses opt for software development service providers who can offer excellent specialists with well-established communication and management processes in the team.
Reasons and Benefits to Hire Dedicated Developers or a Team
Hiring a dedicated team of developers is slightly more expensive in comparison to hiring freelance developers at the start. Though as the project develops, the investments pay off in the form of timely met deadlines, high-quality developed products, rational use of project resources, and others.
Before we get to the benefits of hiring a software development team, let’s define the difference between a dedicated development team and just a software development team.
Dedicated teams are 100% devoted to your project from formulating its requirements to the final product launch, maintenance, and support. The customer usually manages the team and is responsible for their engagement.
While a team of software developers on an outstaffing basis can participate in just partial product development when you need to develop or implement certain functionality in your app. They can also upgrade the existing software, or provide temporary product support while your in-house team is busy.
So, what are the benefits of hiring dedicated developers? Here is how your project can benefit from it.
A Stand-Alone, Carefully Selected Team for Your Project
You don’t have to wait in line to develop your application, software providers will select the experts with the right skills to perfectly match your software development project.
Extensive Software Development Expertise
Software development service providers usually have a variety of developers with different tech stacks for building specific products or implementing innovative technologies, e.g. front-end and back-end developers, specialists in Artificial Intelligence and neural networks, Blockchain developers, and so on.
High-Quality Service
When you refer to a software development company, its managers carefully listen to your business idea, select software developers for your team, offer ideas on how to improve your product, and support you in case you want to clarify any questions or implement any changes to the project.
Simple to Verify Service Quality
Software development companies usually provide references from their previous and current clients to prove the quality of work they provide.
Team Flexibility
In case you’re not satisfied with the work of any team member, you can always ask to substitute them with more relevant specialists. Above all, it’s easy to save up on the development costs by adjusting your team to the current project needs. For example, you can hire only BA specialists for the starting part of your project or add more engineers when you need them the most.
Collaborative Communication
Software development companies provide effective means of communication. For example, they can run video conferences with their clients on Skype, utilize messengers for instant communication with their clients and email for resolving less urgent issues. Besides that, they use project management tools to keep their clients updated with the project progress.
Post-Release Product Maintenance and Support
As the software development team releases the application, their mission isn’t complete. They continue to update, test, and support the product for a long period.
What You Should Consider Before Hiring Dedicated Developers or Freelancers
Before opting for one of the business models, you have to consider some aspects of your project to understand which one suits you better. The main points to consider are:
Scope
The scope of a project defines how big the project is. If your project is small, then freelance developers might suit your requirements well. Though, hardly a freelancer will be able to handle a big scope project alone. In this case, a team of developers is the best option.
Length
The length of the project is often determined by its scope. The bigger the project the longer it takes to develop. However, it can be the case that you need to build your application super-quickly, no matter how vast your project is. Then a team of coherently working software developers would significantly accelerate the development process.
Complexity
A team of developers effectively works with complex projects as they have specialists from different software development spheres (project management, business analysis, UI/UX design, deployment, testing, etc). This way, the team can quickly develop and implement the project.
Budget
If your project is not very complex and doesn’t involve much development work, then hiring a freelancer can be a better option. However, if you want to develop a solid app within certain time limits then paying a bit more for a software development team is a wise choice.
Technology and Developers’ Tech Stack
Building a simple app using just one programming language and several software development tools isn’t a problem for freelance developers. Though, when an application requires to implementation of several programming languages or a specific functionality then it’s better to refer to dedicated development teams.
Conclusion
To hire software experts who would meet your project needs 100% is a challenging task. You need to consider all aspects of your project and realize which business model – freelance or a team of software developers – would suit your project best.
Hiring freelancers is a money-saving option for short-term and simple projects that don’t require extensive software development expertise or deep involvement. While software development teams return investments in complex and long-term projects that demand deep engagement in the development process.
