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How to Save Your Business Thanks to IT Outsourcing How to Save Your Business Thanks to IT Outsourcing

How to Save Your Business Thanks to IT Outsourcing

Updated Feb 26, 2025

10 mins read

The global outsourcing services market is projected to reach $1.11 trillion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 5.46% from its 2025 valuation of $854.64 billion. Custom software development outsourcing has already become a solid business solution to increase production capacity, gain extra flexibility, and optimize expenses. Over 44% of CIOs admit they are more likely to outsource the software development processes now than they were five years ago.

Even though IT outsourcing is a common practice, many companies still hesitate to adopt it. They have concerns about how to successfully outsource IT development and what IT outsourcing model to choose. Well, since there is no universal solution that suits every case, you will need to research different options. Let’s do this together in today’s IT outsourcing services guide about:

  • What is IT outsourcing? Types of IT outsourcing services, who should consider hiring a development team remotely, and team models
  • How IT outsourcing can save your business: benefits of IT outsourcing services during the crisis
  • What are the disadvantages of outsourcing IT services
  • How to successfully outsource IT development with Leobit web and mobile application custom software development company

What is IT Outsourcing?

IT outsourcing refers to the practice of hiring a third-party software development provider that fully or partially handles the information technology functions of a company. For example, you can hire a remote team of software engineers to develop a fitness app or engage several tech specialists to migrate legacy IT solutions to a more advanced platform.

Remote collaboration is a primary characteristic of programming outsourcing. Generally speaking, there are three types of outsourcing (based on the geographical distance) to choose from:

  • Onshore. A customer and an IT outsourcing provider are located in the same country.
  • Nearshore. An IT outsourcing provider is located in a neighboring or nearby country
  • Offshore. An IT outsourcing provider resides in another time zone and a distant location.
Types of outsourcing
Types of IT outsourcing

Deciding on the location of IT outsourcing services, many companies focus on nearshore or offshore destinations since this gives them access to local talent pools and allows for hiring skilled tech specialists at a lower hourly rate. To pick the perfect outsourcing location for your business, create a short list of top destinations and compare them by the key factors, such as software development cost, labor market, time difference, technical and English skills. Once the destination is chosen, it’s time to think about a team model.

When Should You Outsource IT Services?

In fact, 66% of businesses with more than 50 employees outsource their work. To better understand if you should be one of the companies that outsource IT, analyze your current performance and needs. Most businesses use custom software development outsourcing to reduce expenses, focus on more critical business processes, boost capacity, improve service quality, and tap into the global intellectual capital. If you pursue one of these goals, IT outsourcing may be an effective solution for your business.

The size or industry of the company doesn’t matter much. IT outsourcing for startups can help to speed up product launches and reduce operational costs. Medium and large enterprises cooperate with a custom software development company to reduce the workload of in-house teams and optimize business processes.

Summing up, IT outsourcing solutions are right for you in the next 5 cases:

  1. You want to optimize software engineering expenses without sacrificing the quality of the IT services that can be outsourced
  2. You need to power your current team with tech experts or launch a separate dedicated team
  3. Your local market lacks a skilled workforce, and you cannot find the necessary specialists
  4. You want to diversify your business and increase its stability during and after the economic downturn
  5. You need to launch software development as soon as possible and avoid the tiring recruitment and onboarding process
How IT Outsourcing helps businesses
How IT outsourcing helps businesses

Types of IT Outsourcing Models Offered by Software Development Providers

Software development companies that specialize in IT outsourcing generally offer three contract types: Dedicated Team, Time and Material, and Fixed Price. These models are tailored to different kinds of engagements and are usually discussed at the project evaluation stage. When you contact IT outsourcing companies, they clarify the requirements and estimate the scope of work to advise on the most suitable approach. Here’re the takeaways about all these models to note.

Dedicated team model

It’s a prevailing custom software development outsourcing approach for long-term and complex projects consisting of multiple steps. At customers’ request, a software development provider assembles a remote team of specialists. It can be any size and composition depending on the scope of the project and the changes that occur during the cooperation. The hired tech specialists operate as a part of the outsourcer’s internal staff. They communicate with the customer’s project manager, attend daily meetings, and are heavily involved in the development process.

Time and Material

This model works well for small projects that require part-time engagement and are easy to estimate. For example, a customer who doesn’t have an in-house UX/UI specialist may contact an IT consulting outsourcing agency to hire one for a short period of time. This will save the outsourcer from wasting resources on the recruitment process and satisfy their corporate needs. Another hallmark of a T&M contract is the System Requirements Specification Document that details all the functionality with time, cost, milestones, and deliverables. It serves as a guide to the hired specialists and allows the customer to estimate the final cost of IT outsourcing services.

Fixed price model

In this type of outsourcing agreement, you pay for the whole project. The final cost is agreed on beforehand and doesn’t depend on the amount of time and resources spent. Outsourcing providers offer this approach when the scope of future work is predictable and unlikely to change. The customer shares detailed requirements and specifications based on what the vendor estimates the cost of software development services.

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Kateryna Ilnytska | Business Development Manager

Benefits of Outsourcing IT Services

Apart from the usual motives, many businesses have started to use outsourcing information technology services to withstand the economic crisis. The cost-cutting potential of IT outsourcing is so lucrative that enterprises that have never outsourced consider transferring their technical projects to remote teams. Given that the impact of remote work is rapidly increasing, the location of teams no longer matters. With video conferencing and project management software, remote teams can work side by side with in-house staff. This brings a range of undeniable advantages of outsourcing IT:

1. IT outsourcing lets you redistribute the budget

In times of economic decline, every company should reevaluate its expenses and find a way to use the budget with maximum efficiency. Since business spending on tech goods continuously increases, optimization of software development and maintenance expenses makes a difference.
This is actually a chance to see the crisis as an opportunity to upgrade your business and make it better prepared for future market challenges. For some, optimization of IT services that can be outsourced may even be the only way to deal with reducing revenue and slowing down growth rates.

2. The outsourcing company has extensive remote development expertise

With the shift to a remote economy, many businesses were faced with the need to quickly switch to the work-from-home mode. Compared to a qualified software outsourcing vendor with hundreds of completed projects, they knew nothing about remote cooperation and experienced a lot of difficulties. By hiring a software development provider, you not only transfer a part of your tasks but also benefit from their experience. The outsourcing model allows customers to instantly work with a team that is accustomed to remote development and has the necessary tools and processes in place.

3. IT outsourcing solutions increase productivity and agility

To deal with a perfect storm, you must be ready to adapt to the changing conditions. Partnering with a web and mobile application development outsourcing company gives businesses extra agility and quick access to remote resources. For example, you can scale your team with new tech specialists whenever needed, choose the most suitable model of cooperation, avoid hassles associated with renting offices or arranging taxes, and more. In addition to flexibility, outsourcing also enables you to focus on more important business processes and anti-crisis management.

4. It provides access to specific skills and emerging technologies

As technologies are constantly developing, new trends emerge, so we have to optimize our businesses for them. Advancements in AI, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and blockchain are good examples of tech trends that every company tries to imply. However, in some locations, we can notice a lack of specialists in these specific technologies. Thus, finding in-house talent with expertise in these areas can be challenging and costly. IT project outsourcing provides access to needed specialists with experience in cutting-edge technologies, which allows businesses to implement innovative solutions without building an internal team from scratch.

Challenges and Disadvantages of IT Outsourcing

IT outsourcing can be a valuable strategy, but it also comes with certain challenges that businesses should consider. Here are four key aspects to keep in mind:

1. Reduced oversight

When IT functions are handled externally, naturally companies may have less direct control over processes and decision-making. Thus, aligning outsourced teams with internal goals and expectations can sometimes require extra effort and longer onboarding process.

2. Communication challenges

Differences in time zones, language, and workplace culture can occasionally lead to misunderstandings or slowdowns. To keep projects on track, it’s essential to set clear communication and well-defined processes with IT outsourcing team.

3. Data security considerations

Sharing sensitive business information with a third party can lead to security and compliance risks. Ensure that outsourcing partners you chose follow strong data protection practices that helps mitigate potential concerns.

4. Unexpected Expenses

While outsourcing is often cost-effective, additional expenses such as contract adjustments or extra services can arise. Careful planning and clear agreements can help manage these costs effectively.

How to Successfully Outsource IT Development With Leobit

Leobit is a full-cycle .NET, AI, web, and mobile application development provider that has completed over a hundred projects remotely. Thus, if you have an idea of an outsourcing project and are looking for a qualified partner, we have something to offer you. Our 170+ tech experts specialize in .NET software development services, AI/ML & Generative AI software development services, and many technologies for the web, cloud, Microsoft, and mobile stacks. We also offer different partnership models, including dedicated development teams, T&M, and fixed price, to tailor IT outsourcing services to every customer.

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Artem Matsa | Business Development Director