Watts S. Humphrey said in 2002 that every business is a software business. His words ring even truer today. Regardless of the industry, all companies are digital to a degree. Whether it's a simple website for marketing purposes or a mobile app to stay closer to your customers, at some point you'll need a team of developers who will build great software for you.
The question then becomes, do I build my own team of developers or do I extend my team with externally hired developers? Or, if you already have developers in-house, do I recruit new people full-time or do I supplement with hired developers? It can be a tough call to make, but it needn't be. This article will go over the 6 reasons why you should consider augmenting your developer team with external developers.
Access to a Larger Talent Pool
The bread and butter of any premium software development company are its developers. The better the developers, the more satisfied the clients and the more successful the company. So it's in their best interests to have the most talented developers, those who are by definition hard to find.
Some remote companies take this all the way and scour the entire planet for the most talented developers. That's why X-Team can deliver developers from all over the world to its partners, so they can have a talented team working for them 24/7 if they so wish.
One of the biggest benefits of being a remote company is that you can hire talent from all over the world. Imagine having to look for talent around your physical location... How much you limit yourself!
— X-Team (@xteam) August 7, 2019
Focus on What You're Best At
Although all companies are digital companies to a degree, you cannot expect to whip up the best API, mobile app, or website if you're not a software company. Even with an in-house team of developers, at some point you'll bump into the limits of what your team can feasibly achieve.
Hiring a team of developers, or even a single developer, allows you to focus on your core business instead of trying to become good at everything software-related. With a few talented remote developers, you can build great software without inherently being great at building software.
Save Time and Money
Recruiting developers is a complicated, risky process that can quickly turn into a time and money suck. Particularly if you don't have the right infrastructure in place or if you have a project with a tight deadline, recruiting a developer might simply not be an option.
If you decide to go about it by yourself, make sure you have a solid infrastructure in place before you put out those job postings. Because when you start attracting remote developers, they will descend on you like the Persian army against 300 Spartans. ( Remote Team Guide)
An external talent company can send you the right developers within a week if you need them fast. You don't need to have a recruitment process in place, interviews are minimal, and you'll only be sent people with the right skills.
Faster Time to Market
Posting a job, waiting for developers to apply, qualifying developers, hiring a developer, onboarding them, etc. It takes a long time before a new developer is fully integrated into your company.
A team of external developers can be hired quickly and can hit the ground running too. They'll fit your requirements and will know what to do from the get-go. This means you'll be able to get to market faster than you would have with in-house developers.
Manage Peak Loads Better
Some companies have a particular time of year where their IT services struggle to keep up with demand. Black Friday, Christmas, Easter, summer holidays, etc. Traffic peaks, websites slow down or crash, and customers complain. Because it doesn't make sense to recruit a new person for only a few days or weeks, their IT team often has to bear this heavy burden.
The right team of developers can be of great help here. They can help lift the load during those difficult periods while also helping you maintain and improve your infrastructure. Contracts are usually flexible enough that you can scale your need up or down as you please.
With X-Team’s help, FOX Sports reduced the cost of its cloud infrastructure and significantly improved the amount of traffic its streaming services could handle. ( FOX Sports)
Access Better Technologies
The software industry moves so fast it's hard to keep up. Particularly if you're not a software company, you cannot be expected to always know what's going on, let alone update your technical infrastructure accordingly. What's the best JavaScript framework for my problem? Should I use REST or GraphQL? Why should I consider TypeScript?
A team of hired developers can give you the answers to those questions. They can show you the latest and greatest technologies as relevant to your tech stack. You'll know what efficiencies it will bring and how easily you can upgrade your existing tech stack to become a company that's better equipped for the future.
The right team of external developers serves as an extension of your team. They bring many benefits that have an immediate effect:
- Stay focused on your core business
- Save time and money hiring developers
- Go to market faster with your technical projects
- Manage peak loads better
- Access better technologies
Are you looking to hire developers? X-Team provides high-performing, on-demand teams of developers for leading brands. Contact us today and let's have a chat about your requirements.
