Software-Development-as-a-Service: Whys, Whens, and Hows

Imagine you could scale your software development capacity up and down, hire engineers of any expertise on demand, and pay a monthly fee as with any SaaS tool. Welcome to the new, remote world with software development as a service (SDaaS) or better known as a dedicated software development team. 

The entire tech industry is evolving, thanks to advanced technology like the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence, and machine learning.  And with this fast-paced growth, Software development projects can be delivered faster than ever with a unique, remote world of software development as a service.

Benefits of Software-Development-as-a-Service

From the words of Tobin. J. Lehman in his article published in the year 2011 titled “Software Development as a Service: Agile Experience”, he wrote that “At the IBM Almaden Research Center, we have been working with other divisions of IBM, offering Software Development as a Service (SDaaS)”. This clearly states that IBM outsources a dedicated software development team and as such, shows software development as a service has benefits. Few of these benefits will be stated and explained below.

Economies of Scale

Here’s the point. Your organization has to develop more than two software, some of which your organization lacks the expertise and recruiting the said expert requires more than half the cost it will need to complete two projects. What do you do? The best way to go is to implement SDaaS as the model, it helps the company to save and achieve better economies of scale which allows them to ultimately focus on a specific project without having to spend more money and time as they would have by building the software internally.

Cost and Time Control

Let’s face it. There’s a serious and remarkably constant pursuit of process optimization. Implementation of SDaaS allows for better investment of time, there’s a rapid decrease in the need for investment in hardware and device management. SDaaS allows the business to focus more on core competencies that drive growth and in-house development and less on Human resources driven towards problem-solving.

Reduced Time to Market

Remarkably, the IT business is developing rapidly and to get the market advantage, it is important that for a software to be successful, the time spent on development should be reduced. In-house software development may take more time as total and focused attention may not be placed on building the application. But one thing is for sure; implementation of SDaaS makes it easier for the developers and team to do their job. By so doing, gives your organization a higher chance at market success.

When You Need Software-Development-as-a-Service

The research report revealed that in 2018, the biggest challenges faced was HIRING, but in 2020, the biggest challenge became CAPACITY. Software development companies were faced with CAPACITY – the ability to perform. In that same research, a study was carried out on software development outsourcing which can also be referred to as software development as a service. This study showed that since capacity was a challenge, outsourcing a dedicated software development team seemed to be a quick fix and satisfaction level looked promising.

You know your company needs software development as a service when there are:

Planned But Unknown Growth

Without being told, you’ll know you need SDaaS when it’s already planned that your organization will execute many projects, but you don’t know what the project is all about, or the duration. The dedicated software development team, therefore, offers a cost model that can be loaded front and back in the year.

Scarce Resources 

One of the hardest to come by could be a role, especially those you may not have a full-time commitment to. A dedicated software development team, therefore, offers you a guaranteed capacity of resources.

Gap in Technology

Your organization may be the type that requires services for a specific project but not the full-time services of a technology expert. You may have to reconsider. A dedicated software development team offers expertise in the technology you need without having to look for new developers.

Procurement May Be Complex

The RFP (Request For Proposal) process is a slow one. Enough time and money are spent on hiring, onboarding and source resources. A dedicated software development team comes handy as they have a predictable spend annually, as well as reduced startup time. With a dedicated software development team, onboarding is one-time.

Start using Software-Development-as-a-Service Model

Why do companies outsource software development? From the studies above, it has shown that one way of combating the most challenging part of software development is software development outsourcing.

Hiring a dedicated software development team to handle the aspects of expertise is best as it has shown to be effective, time-saving, less-costly, with staffing flexibility, bringing in increased talent to produce the best applications for your organization.

If you’re looking for such a dedicated software development team, contact us to learn more about our hourly rates and terms.