How Contract Programming Helps Businesses Rocket Past Their Competitors
Are you certain that the software you use to run your business isn’t in fact holding back the progress of your business? Surprisingly, a majority of businesses are actually limited by the software they rely on.
As a contract web development team, we talk with clients regularly that are going nuts trying to use a patchwork of off the shelf software solutions and manual tasks to run their businesses. Many times, when we look at the business from the contract programming viewpoint, we discover all kinds of ways that the clients can automate processes and accomplish tasks they have only dreamed in the past.
Think about the types of software you use daily. Do you find that you are conforming to the limitations of the software? If so, you are likely conforming your business processes simply because you don’t have a way to express them through out-of-the-box software solutions.
The good news is that most companies work around the limitations of the out-of-the-box software that’s available. The smaller percentage of more progressive thinking companies will ask, “What would make my business function more effectively?” and then bring in a team of contract programmers to create a system to handle their visions. Which one are you?
What Is Contract Programming?
Contract programming, or sometimes referred to as freelance programming, is the practice of outsourcing your programming projects with binding contracts. A contract programmer can build unique, customized software solutions designed for your organization. This doesn’t mean just an application designed for business in general or even for your industry, but for the specific needs of your company. Once the project is complete, you have full control of features the software offers, how your employees interact with it, and how it looks.
Critical Points to Consider When Hiring a Contract Programmer
There are essentially two ways to hire contract programming services. You can either hire an individual freelance programmer, or hire a team of contract programmers within an outsourced software development company. While the individual freelance programmer will likely come in at a cheaper rate, you may be getting less than you bargained for.
Developing a complete piece of custom software requires many different talents and skills. There is the programming itself, but there are other facets such as software architecture, communication, reporting, testing, quality assurance, and overall project management. While an independent freelance programmer may be able to handle the programming piece, the entire project can quickly become bottlenecked or derailed altogether if these other pieces are not handled.
An outsourced software development company, on the other hand, should have people to handle all of the pieces. A good software development company will operate like a well-oiled machine, with processes in place to move your project along quickly, efficiently, effectively, and deliver the software free of error.
If your business hires an attorney, CPA, or other certified professional, you know that the person has met requirements of education, experience, and even professional ethics in order to be able to do business. There is no such certification for freelance programming, so it can be difficult to know what to look for.
The Cost of Hiring a Contract Programmer
The cost of hiring a team of programmers is significantly less than bringing in an in-house IT staff for the majority of businesses. Freelance programmers are responsible for their own overhead costs, their own insurances, and their own training. Because the outsourced software development company may be working on several projects at any one time, you have the opportunity to get top-notch talent for a fraction of the price.
With a contract programming solution, you have a unique opportunity to truly pave new grounds in your industry or with your internal operations. While others are making do within the confines of ‘whatever is available’, custom programming gives you the ability to ask, “If there were no limitations, how innovative could we be?”