- Python Overview
- How & Why to Outsource your Python Software Development
- Options (in-house vs. freelancers vs. outsourcing company)
There is no doubt that the correct approach to your software architecture and plan could provide an effective working environment, therefore – a quick result. Python programming language is often used to build enterprise-grade software. Talking about Python-based software products, the key point to a successful outcome would be the skilled team of Python software developers. Python is known for its simplicity, but nevertheless, it’s often difficult to find high-quality professionals. It doesn’t mean there is no need for skilled programmers. Since Python is involved in projects with complex functionality structures and a lot of data processing, it’s quite common for many Python-based projects to be really large, meaning you need a team of experts who know what they’re doing and how to work efficiently together. Given the global talent shortage and rising salaries for in-house developers in North America, to reach your goals and accomplish tasks, sometimes outsourcing your Python development can be your best option.
To answer the question of what Python is, we need to answer what we can develop with the help of Python. Taking into account all the pros and cons of using the Python language, there are areas where software developers prefer to use Python for a good reason. One such reason, as mentioned earlier, is the wide range of standard and third-party libraries available. Any projects related to AI and ML, data science, NLP applications, blockchain, web development, DevOps, or information security solutions.
These all are possible since Python supports functional and structured programming, object-oriented programming, and aspect-oriented programming. It also provides automatic garbage collection, and it can be easily integrated with C+ Java and other technologies.
Java, Python, JavaScript, and C++ are the languages that are most in demand, and employers all over the globe are always on the lookout for skilled engineers in these areas. The number of job postings is a great indicator of this demand. You may analyze the biggest job posting sites such as Indeed, Runner-Up, and Glassdoor.
According to SlashData, Python is ranked third in terms of developer activity. As of Q2 2018, there were 7 million Pythonistas around the world. The Python Developers Survey 2020 by JetBrains reports that one-fifth of Python developers live in China. Other popular locations include the United States, India, Japan, Eastern Europe, and Brazil.
In addition, as for Python’s advantages, it has been one of the most beloved programming languages in the development community since 2003. Its simplicity and ease of reading are among the main reasons for choosing Python-based development. The easiness is in writing the code. However, at some point, projects could become more complicated. Some extra help or a set of expertise might be needed. Right there, CTOs and technical managers of the company have a few options: hiring skilled developers for their firm or they can outsourcing.
How to Outsource your Python Software Development
Step 1. Experience is the most significant reason for hiring an external team. No doubt, you need to make sure the external staff knows what they are doing and what they are capable of. In order to do that – check their website. You might need to pay attention to whether the company had similar projects to yours.
Glassdoor, Trust Pilot, and Clutch are the resources to be checked in the first place. These are the platforms providing honest feedback from customers.
Steps 2 and 3. Because Python is clear and easy to read, as well as easy to learn, it is the programming language preferred by many engineers and companies. However, you still need to verify the outsourcing team when looking for Python programmers for hire. The fastest way to do that is by doing interviews (ask about frameworks, templating language on the server, core python concepts, databases integration, and code semantics).
Not only tech skills matter to us in the outsourcing process. Making sure that the hired crew is capable of healthy communication, aka soft skills, can make your experience with outsourcing more satisfying.
Cost-wise, high-quality engineering teams are rarely cheap, regardless of their location. It’s ok to look for rates within your budget, but what you should be thinking about is the value for money. When low cost is your primary factor for choosing your outsourcing vendor, you risk paying twice – when hiring the super cheap team and hiring a team that’s more expensive but also capable of rescuing your project after the first one.
Before hiring a Python-based development team, you need to check a few things. Like their problem-solving skills, career goals, and objectives. As well as, it is wise to check the size of the project, and determine the tech stack, check soft skills and critical thinking abilities. Without a doubt, the key factors would be technical skills such as understanding object-oriented principles, experience in frameworks such as Django or Flask (FastAPI), knowledge of design (RESTful) APIs in Python with Flask/ FastAPI or Django, and a good understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for front-end related tasks. Moreover, ML and AI. It would be a beneficial good understanding of server-side templating languages. Also, strong unit test and debugging skills.
Reasons to outsource Python Developers
Talking about reasons to outsource the Python-based development team, several grounds must be mentioned.
Cost
Many startups depend on the investors’ money and have to account for every dollar spent. Therefore they are more careful with finances than any other company. Outsourcing can be a real game-changer here because:
- Hiring engineers in-house in North America can be a long and expensive process. With outsourcing, your team is set up and ready to go.
- Engineers in the USA charge two or three times more per hour than in other countries just because life in the US is more expensive.
- Sometimes you don’t really need people full-time, so when working with a vendor, you can scale your team up and down when needed, giving you plenty of flexibility. Besides, you can engage additional part-time specialists, such as DevOps, designers, business analysts, etc.
Experience & Speed
In terms of experience, if you are developing something for the first time, it’s recommended to outsource. It would be a great idea and help you to gain the needed experience. Since outsourcing companies work with multiple projects at a time, their expertise is versatile. There’s a higher chance they’ve built a similar product for somebody else or have the engineer who has solved the dilemma you’re trying to solve for your business. The opportunity to work with a proficient team will eliminate mistakes and ensure productivity.
Working with outsourcing vendors can also help with the global talent shortage. The engineers will be assigned to your project right away. No recruiting and onboarding are needed. Therefore you will get more done faster.
Options (in-house vs. freelancers vs. outsourcing company)
Outsourcing may be used in different forms like in-house, involving freelancers, or hiring an outsourcing company.
In case you don’t have a steady budget or your project requires full control, you’ll probably need to use the in-house option. You need to form a group of engineers who are hiring for one project to work in your workplace.
Hiring Engineers In-House
Among the advantages of in-house teams is the fact that we can emphasize you can easily check, observe and communicate with your team. You will also have control because the hired team will be the employers of your company. For sure, the team will develop a deep understanding of your system.
However, on the other hand, it will definitely cost you more, even more, the workers may take absence leaves or get sick, which affects productivity. The team you have involved can not be experts in every topic; you might still need to entail outside consultants. One thing to be mentioned is that workers tend to change their work quite often due to increasing demand and enticing incentives provided by competing firms.
Outsourcing is the antonym of the in-house work process. Instead of hiring workers, you would engage a non-affiliated third company to do a certain task.
Hiring an Outsourcing Firm
As was mentioned above, outsourcing gives the opportunity to save money. Therefore you will be saving time since your product will be delivered faster. Moreover, building an in-house team takes a lot of your time and effort; meanwhile, hiring an outsourcing company means you already have a ready team. Additionally, you have access to the best IT talent pool of engineers with different sets of skills and work experience.
On the other hand, a lot depends on the selected vendor. If you choose wisely, take part in the process and establish relationships with the company you trust, you’ll avoid disappointments such as delayed delivery, hidden expenses, and miscommunication issues. Remember that outsourcing is a two-way collaboration. There are signs you should be aware of to avoid future problems:
- If the vendor is over-confident, the good vendor is aware that there are many factors that can influence the delivery and is upfront about all the potential risks and solutions to them.
- If the vendor never introduces you to your team. You should be able to meet anybody on the team, interview them, ask for regular team meetings, etc.
- The team is not asking questions, not paying attention to details, etc.
Regarding freelancers, it is tempting because it is easy to begin, saving seemingly a huge amount of money and giving you a lot of flexibility and choice. But, you have to be very careful: freelancers are not employees of your company, they rarely sign papers, and even if they do, they tend to disappear sometimes, as they are not dedicated to you at all.
Summary
Python is a very common and widely-used programming language. Highly-skilled and experienced Python developers are always in demand. Whether you have a Python-based project, you may consider the in-house option, working with freelancers, or hiring an outsourcing firm. Each of the options has its strong sides and advantages. However, you need to consider the disadvantages too. Working with an outsourcing company allows you to find a highly-experienced team, saving your time and finances.
Waverley Software has been building Python software engineering teams for companies globally for many years, providing excellent service.
