Should you hire local or outsource app development?
When it comes to software development, startups and established organizations alike have to answer the question:
Do we do it ourselves, hire a local company, or outsource it to a developing country?
We’ve already answered the question of when you should hire staff or an app development agency in our previous article, When to Hire a Dev Agency (and when NOT to), so this article will assume that you’re looking to outsource your app development to an agency rather than hire.
So- should you hire locally or abroad?
Hiring a software development company in India, Mexico, the Philippines, Indonesia, Moldova, etc... has become quite popular over the past decade. Many teams have loved the cost savings and being able to “wake up” and see progress due to the time zone difference. And this works great- if you have boots on the ground able to keep the team accountable and that can ensure nothing is lost in translation. If you don’t, it really comes down to whether you can find a reliable enough team that understands English at a proficient level. Unfortunately, this can be more difficult to do than it sounds.
The buy-local movement has encouraged the hiring of those near to us. When you purchase goods and services locally, provincially, or nationally, you know that portions of your purchase are going back into your economy in taxes and spending, boosting where you live and the people you love. This can certainly apply to hiring a software development company too.
Hiring app developers in Calgary, app developers in Vancouver, app developers in Toronto, or anywhere else in Canada (or wherever you may be from) also has the benefit of shared time zones, shared cultural understanding, and shared language for ease of communication. I’ve heard from more than one client about the frustration of asking for something built only to see a project go in a completely different direction without asking questions to clarify. Now these benefits can apply North America wide, but there are reasons for looking at companies even closer to you: free money.
Because they pay taxes where you live, your government will often have programs where you can get tax credits or grants for hiring local, provincial, or national agencies. For example, with the Alberta Innovates Digital Traction Fund, you can hire a Canadian app development company to get $25,000 of the cost covered, with another $25,000 if you contribute 25% of it. Nationally, any money you spend in innovative and technologically “risky” project can be used as a credit/rebate with SR&ED, but only if with a Canadian app development company.
So- if you need it cheap and don’t need a high quality product, you’re probably safe outsourcing to a developing country. You may get lucky and find a great team- we know people who have. But if you want to support local, benefit from shared timezones and clear communication, with potential for funding rebates or free money- try hiring a local app development company.
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