For product development teams, outsourcing almost always means “buying time.” Every project has three aspects in contant tension: Time, Cost, Quality.
1. If you want to save time and get your product to market faster, you can pay more (cost) or make a smaller product (quality).
2. If you want to spend less money, you can delay the delivery date (time) or cut features (quality).
3. If you want a high quality product, you can spend more money (cost) or wait for it to mature (time).
Outsourcing clearly cost’s money. So why do it? To get your product to market faster, that’s why. You are spending the money now, so that you can recouperate it earlier. Beat the competition to market.
No? You’re not doing it for that reason? You’re using India as a cut-rate development shop? Oops, that may be a mistake. Remember the other aspects in constant tension? Quality is one of them…
–ray