Outsourcing is a boon for tech-driven businesses in today’s evolving markets. And as companies look to ramp up their capacities through outsourcing, it is crucial to assign an outsourcing partner that helps to reap the best dividends possible.
If you don’t want the benefits to go unrealized, make sure you establish criteria and create a selection process when choosing a vendor. According to Devox Software company, there are 10 important criteria that will help you in building a competitive advantage through outsourcing your IT functions.
How To Select The Right Vendor For Your Business
By incorporating each of the criteria into the selection process and evaluating each vendor response against these criteria, you will get a total score per outsourcing provider.
Location
Although the modern market doesn’t recognize any geographical borders and globalization neutralizes the differences in quality for different locations, the country decision is still the governing factor. It is crucial that the chosen destination checks with the anticipated benefits. These benefits can range from cost reductions to time zone advantage and from the focus on core areas to the access to skilled resources.
Technical Expertise
When assessing vendors’ technical competence, compare it against those skill sets that your internal resources lack and against those that align with your project needs. If you search for a long-standing arrangement that works for a number of projects, then a broader spectrum of skills may be more suitable for your business objectives.
Consistent quality
While due-diligencing on a vendor, always make sure to ask about their proven track record and previous testimonials. Give their past work a once-over and pursue references to see how well the vendor has delivered their agreements. After all, you turn to their services for a result, not for fancy words or an impressive tech stack.
Price
Pricing is not among the core criteria to take into consideration, however, it plays an important role coupled with other factors. To avoid your money going right down the drain, you should outline the scope of your project and your final result. After that, you can run the approximate numbers based on the vendor’s engagement model.
Portfolio
No one ever partners with a software development company without doing comprehensive research on the portfolio. A portfolio is what gives you a clear understanding of the vendor’s experience and whether the company has taken over the services or projects similar to the one you want to outsource. This could include a number of projects delivered, categories of clients supported, and expertise for skill-intensive tasks.
The right size
One size does not fit all. This may not be something that you would consider right off the bat, but it is a type of information you can put to strategic use. For example, large outsourcing vendors tend to work for huge enterprises, rather than with small and mid-sized companies. On the contrary, large companies prefer to farm out their functions to large vendors, because they want the ‘A’ level talent from the company and a good amount of attention.
Common values and cultural compatibility
It is also important to be on the same wavelength as your vendor, both tech-wise and cultural-wise. Anyone can deliver a product – it’s the company’s stance on the process that influences the result. For example, if the chosen outsourcing company tends to embrace cutting-edge technologies and trailblazing approaches, chances are high that a client with a traditional approach won’t appreciate the innovations.
Employer brand
The vendor’s reputation has a huge influence on how well and quickly they can draw in tech talent. As a business owner, you want the recruitment process to be as hassle-free as possible. And a vendor who channels a trustworthy employer image tends to have little to no problems with employee recruitment and retention.
Project management methodology
The choice of methodology shapes the way the vendor communicates and does the job. As a client, you look for a well-suited approach based on your project type and scope. If you have a crystal clear idea of the project demands, look for the vendors that practice the Waterfall approach. If there are no top-heavy requirements-gathering and changing requirements, Agile will be the most suitable option.
Protection of crucial product knowledge
Outsourcing always entails a potential risk that may arise from sharing crucial product knowledge with vendors. Therefore, before shortlisting future candidates, inquire about the company’s practices in protecting its clients’ intellectual property rights, and whether it complies with internal and external requirements.
Market Reputation
Quality is essential when it comes to each business. By now, you should probably be aware of this. This segment is where there shouldn’t be any compromises, and you shouldn’t back down under any circumstances. An equally important part is cooperation. When it comes to work that needs to be done by business partners respecting each other is vital. If one of the partners isn’t on time, it’s always late, misses appointments and deadlines, and in addition, isn’t a great overall partner when present, something is wrong. This brings us to our point. It would be best if you were sure that your partner has a good reputation that precedes him. You should never sign an agreement if you do not check this out.
While sometimes, in the past, it would be almost impossible to check out the reputation of your outscoring partner, things have changed – for the better. Today, in the age of the internet and technology, a simple checkup can do this rather quickly and with ease. Multiple platforms are available on the web that can provide the needed information. If your client or partner has past reviews, you can check them all on platforms such as Clutch or GoodFirms, who dedicate themselves precisely to the services you’ll need when looking for an outscoring partner.
If this is not the way you want to handle business, there are old fashioned ways to do it. After all, they had partners and clients in the past, and you can always talk to them. Every firm that had a hand in a specific business has a history and reputation. If they have worked as an outscoring partner, you should be able to track them down without a fault. Looking for a reliable partner who should be your support in the coming ventures is a task that needs to be done thoroughly.
Before you tie yourself to a business associate, you need to be sure that they’re the one. It’s not matrimony, but it could be seen the same way as you are expecting loyalty and everything that follows. What follows is an excellent and reputable market presence, the same view on the job you’re going to do together, and a storied tale of their previous doings in the field you want to conquer.
Look For Flexibility
If your project is in need of an IT outscoring partner, you need to be aware of their flexibility. This is a trait that maybe needs to stand above any other. When the project is on the line, quick decision making, and availability for various problems can pop up is a must. Flexibility can be a difficult task, but it needs to be completed, especially if you do not share location, time zones, or even continents. When you start making an agreement with terms and conditions set, be sure to write a paragraph about flexibility. This could prove as a lifesaver in the future when a big deal relies on the ability to work together.
The Bottom Line
Picking a software vendor is one of the salient decisions a company can make. If the chosen company meets the aforementioned criteria, you’ll have higher chances of fruitful and long-term cooperation.
