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Hiring an Independent Contractor vs. Using an Outsourcing Software Engineering Agency

Writer's picture: Violet MaileViolet Maile

Outsourcing software engineers is more cost-effective than hiring professionals in your own organization. By outsourcing your IT needs you’ll also have more time to concentrate on your core business.


  • No Overhead

A professional agency takes care of its contractors and specialists, paying their payroll taxes and benefits. They will likely have their own budget and source control as well as their own Quality Assurance and screening procedures and utilize their own IT infrastructure.

Because of this, you’ll worry less about managing resources and additional business expenses. You pay a price, and that's that.

  • Reduced Risk

It’s estimated that fewer than a third of software projects are completed on time and within budget.

A seasoned partner company with a proven track record of completing projects on time and on budget sharply lowers your risk and removes the element of uncertainty.

Related reading: Everything about Software Outsourcing in Latin America

In recent years, IT outsourcing in South

  • Improved Processes

Software engineering agencies create software all day, every day. They have already invested time in learning how to accelerate application development.

Partnering with them suggests exclusive access to all the innovative technology and methodologies they have to enhance your application's development.

Disadvantages of Hiring an Outsourcing Software Engineering Agency

Though outsourcing is financially cost-effective, you may lose the benefit of having a person-to-person relationship with the people you’re working with.

  • Less Commitment

There’s no guarantee that an outsourcing agency will be less dedicated or motivated than otherwise. But it’s a fact that outsourced software engineers don’t have a personal interest in your project, at least that’s not what they were hired for.

Unless you do some in-depth research on the agency you use, you’re rolling the dice on the level of commitment you’re paying for.

  • Gaps In Communication

As much as you tell the agency about the features you want and the deadlines to meet, there will naturally be some distance from the creative mission of your business.

Hitting every nail on its head will require a bit more communication than a list of objectives.

A good tech partner will meet you more than halfway if they truly care about their relationship with your company.

Advantages of Hiring an Independent Contractor

You can think of independent contractors as freelancers but more loyal by definition. They provide a lot of flexibility and offer some of the same benefits of having full-time staff.


  • Staffing Flexibility

If your small buѕiness iѕ like most, it has busy periods followed by slow periods.

Contractors can save you from having to carry staff during slower periods. Trusted contractors also absorb some of the responsibilities that overwhelm your regular staff by effectively distributing the workload.

  • Additional Expertise

You may find that you need someone to perform specific tasks or launch projects which fall outside your regular employees' scope of expertise.

This is where hiring software engineers with independent contractors make more sense than hiring more full-time staff.

Disadvantages of Hiring an Independent Contractor

There are, of course, downsides to hiring an independent contractor as well. Most of these disadvantages have to do with understanding the capacity of an independent contractor in the first place.

  • Increased Risk of Audits

Working with contractors increases your risk for government audits. Specifically, they’ll be investigating the working relationship between the contractor and your business.

This underscores the importance of understanding how your local and federal government classifies contractors. A key factor will be how your business controls how things get done. Overall, you must keep your contractor’s freedom in mind.

  • High Turnover

Independent contractors come and go. People are drawn to contracting largely because it gives them greater control over who they work with. Additionally, most businesses hire contractors for short-term jobs, which makes it difficult to cultivate loyalty.

In other words, high turnover rates are to be expected. Contractors can be notoriously disloyal, meaning many can leave you in the dust if a higher paying project comes along.

Hire Software Engineers with Trio!

Trio understands your software engineering needs.

We don't just provide exceptional software engineering professionals to enhance your development potential, we work as a partner on your projects, making sure that the final product meets both the needs of your business and your customers.

Every project is different and there isn't a one-size-fits-all solution in software engineering.

Our expertise allows us to seamlessly integrate remote software engineering teams into your projects without disrupting business as usual.

But NNTECH is happy to provide support for your business. If you’re not exactly sure what you need yet, get in touch with us for a consultation and we’ll make a recommendation based on your business needs.


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