Do you want to reduce your development costs? The solution exists

Suppose you have already changed your development model and are working flexibly using tools to automate all repetitive tasks that reduce productivity and errors in traditional development processes. Of course, you will have made a significant improvement, but you will still face pressure to reduce costs.

In addition, you can face other disadvantages: There are times when there is inflation in the market and hiring a programmer becomes very complicated if we do not pay very high amounts, which also causes internal conflicts due to the disparity in salaries. There are very specific and specialized profiles that are difficult to find and for which you have to pay astronomical amounts. These problems make it difficult or spoil our attempts to reduce development costs, and are sometimes exacerbated when we have to launch a fairly large team for an urgent project and our suppliers cannot supply them with everything, forcing us to contract with different companies.

Is there a solution to these problems? The answer is in the affirmative, and it is called flexible development, which is still an evolution of the development model abroad, but avoiding the problems that it suffered from previously and taking advantage of the current technological advantages and what we have learned about working remotely.

If, instead of limiting searches to our country, we could expand them to Latin America, for example, we would discover that the prices are much lower and we would find excellent professionals no matter how specialized the technology we need is. If language is also an issue, we can limit the search to countries that speak our language. However, we will continue to search for several potential candidates. However, if the issue is time differences, this will be an implicit requirement when hiring candidates.

Development costs

The pandemic has taught us that we can work with remote teams that don't necessarily have to be physically present in the office, no matter where in the world they work. This model can be a way to reduce development costs by a significant amount and has the potential to scale our development teams very quickly.

Likewise, it can solve other needs that are difficult to cover, such as occasionally needing a specialist, but for short periods of time, a few hours a day or a few days a week. A traditional contract is not suitable because when hiring full time there will be periods where we will not have work to hire for and will have to pay for the full day. Also, service companies typically do not cover these needs unless they have another customer with similar needs that they can share, which is difficult to do. In the flexible model, it is about finding the supplier that adapts to the needs of our service, and for this reason, in a global search we will find the right profile and the time we really need.

Is there a solution to these problems? The answer is yes and it is called flexible development

Unlike the outsourcing (offshoring) model, it is not about passing the specifications to a remote team that develops our solution in a country where the rates are lower, but on the contrary, it is about integrating resources into our teams, making them involved in our business. Methodologies and ways of working; But above all also the project objectives and specific deadlines. Beyond that, it's about having those resources to be a team member with whatever that entails. In this sense, collaboration tools make it easier for us to communicate seamlessly with the rest of the team, even if we are working remotely from another part of the world.

This model applies to developers or analysts hired for the duration of a fairly long project, but also to freelance specialist consultants in specific roles who may be absolutely necessary, but for a short period of time or for a specific task. .

In short, agile models have great advantages and can provide us with the benefits of cost savings and the ability to scale our development teams quickly and with high quality. But to do this, you have to work with a company that has experience in this field. This should be a global company with access to specialist profiles in many technologies, with access to people in as many countries as possible, and with sufficient time to work on this model. You need references about the quality and seriousness of the profiles provided and their ability to respond to be able to replace the supplier in case you have to cancel them for some reason. The success of the flexible model depends greatly on the partner you choose for this model. Count on us and we will provide you with our success stories.

Author: Claudio DeVita, CEO Aconcagua Program