Why Consider DevOps Outsourcing for a Startup?

Launching a startup is a brave venture since almost all business industries, including IT, are highly competitive environments. Businesses bloom and wither daily but that shouldn’t discourage new entrepreneurs but serve as a cautionary tale. 

Every aspect of the business you start must be thoroughly analyzed and planned to be able to offer a product exactly as agreed with your customers. It will demand you to come up with a budget and monitor it, hire talented employees, as well as build a reputation of a business that delivers. 

However, what often happens is that, due to the lack of experience, startup owners mistake a product which functions in the development phase for a finished product. This is where they promise delivery ahead of the deadline, and soon realize they are in the wrong because the production phase will reveal that it simply isn’t working. And that is when DevOps comes to play.

What is DevOps?

Simply put, DevOps (development and operations) is the link between software development and information technology practices. It consists of practices that can aid in situations like the one mentioned, where there is a gap between the development and operations. In fact, this gap is to be expected and it’s DevOps principles that bring together the teams, boost their efficiency and communication. 

At the point where a project seems too complex and issues appear impossible to untangle, it decreases the project’s complexity, streamlines workflow, and enables for the quick discovery and solving of problems. Although the general benefits of DevOps are clear, those that directly concern startups are still not. So, let’s take a look at four reasons why you should consider outsourcing DevOps services as a startup.

The question of budget 

Why Consider DevOps Outsourcing for a Startup

No matter your initial capital, startups always need to be careful about their budgetary allocations. If the owner and the employees are less experienced, as it is usually the case, the expenses have a way of creeping up on them so it is best to keep a close eye on everything so as not to break the bank. Otherwise, you risk falling into debt, and at some point, the survival of your startup can be put to question. 

With outsourcing, you feed two birds with one scone (the less aggressive version of ‘killing two birds with one stone’): you take care of the professional software and expert workforce. There is no need to waste more money on a recruitment process and additional training, especially in this delicate stage of your business cycle. 

Specialists at your beck and call 

As mentioned, finances are an important subject matter for every startup company and each expense needs to be rational from the business point of view. Experts that have the skill to see the whole project through ask for high salaries for full-time employment and for a good reason. Their knowledge and experience are valuable and let’s say you can afford to employ one, but can you cope with employing an entire team? 

Outsourcing solves this problem because companies that outsource DevOps services have developed recruitment procedures through which they hire only the most talented individuals. By collaborating on many projects, they quickly become experienced. So, once they and their teammates get to working on your project, you get experienced professionals for a fraction of the price you would pay to hire them full-time. 

Faster product delivery

Now that you have people who possess the necessary skills, knowledge, experience, as well as the tools, you can sit and relax. Well, you can, but that would be a wrong move because outsourcing is also a cultural transition and it takes time for your in-house team to get used to the external one and the shift in the way things are done.

However, if the planning, orchestrating, and execution of this process is done properly, you can expect a shorter development cycle coupled with continuous testing and deployment. Meaning, outsourcing also brings about results faster than a less experienced in-house team would be able to produce. Faster results mean satisfied clients and more recommendations.

Better quality of products

This final reason is the logical outcome of all the above-mentioned benefits. If you place an outsourced team to perform something they have experience with, not only can you expect everything to be finished faster, but also for the product itself to be of better quality.

It is not that an in-house team you hire cannot do a good job. However, if you don’t hire specialists, it would take them time to go through the traditional error-and-trial process, and time is money in the business world. This is why for a business that is just dipping its toes in the entrepreneurial world, outsourcing provides the right quality-price ratio.

Final thoughts

Outsourcing versus in-house will probably always be an on-going debate in the business world, but for startups, things seem to be a bit clearer. A business that is at the beginning of its path cannot afford solutions that are not cost and time-efficient so if they don’t have experts on their team from the start, outsourcing is the optimal manner. An external DevOps team will bridge the gap between software development and IT, and ultimately reduce TTM (Time to Market) which are benefits every startup looks forward to.


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