The real cost of outsourcing 10.07.2011

I'm sure we've all become familiar with the concept of outsourcing. Taking a task and having that task done halfway across the world. (Or if you want to be hip and call outsourcing to a country which is about a 2 hour flight away "near shoring" you're only kidding yourself ;)

Anyway, in the years I've spent  being a developer the concept of outsourcing inevitably came up. Why? "Because it saves so much money!"

.. Oh, really?

I've experienced a number of outsourcing projects myself and I have to say I'm really not a fan of outsourcing technical or creative work. On paper it might seem cost effective and cheap, but as always, you get what you pay for!

Managers are always quick to jump to the beat of calculated figures without actually noticing what's happening. The hourly rate of an outsourcing company is ridiculously low, but the quality of work is (as far as what I've experienced and what I've read from other developers) one level above utter crap. Outsourcing companies usually take way more time than is needed to complete a task and the solutions they come up with involve code and thought patterns which would make Michael Myers shiver. (The same can be said for cheapo web dev companies, or some dude in his attic)

Besides the crappy work they deliver (not saying all outsourcing companies are useless, just an amazing percentage), it also sucks the creative development out of a product or an entire company. When you have people working a job with in the local job market, they're actually equipped and responsive to what's happening around them. They can come up with neat ideas and awesome products and give valuable input. As soon as you outsource all of the development and design work, you're left with a company full of talking heads which have *no* idea what works and why, nor do they understand where true innovation comes from. The only thing they do is ship stuff off to a development assembly line where mindless drones hammer out code and designs like machines. In case they don't produce like machines, but are actual humans with emotions, their problem solving skills are sorely lacking pragmatism.

Business owners and managers, if you want to take your company forward, think very hard before considering outsourcing technical work, especially when you already have a workforce which could potentially skyrocket your business if you only knew how to stimulate them in the right way.

The time, effort and frustration of correcting outsourced work is really not worth the "low" pricetag.