Software development outsourcing: one team builds and stays
Software development outsourcing means handing the build of your software to an outside team. With A1Strategez, that's one team that builds it, keeps your working hours and stays with it after launch. The code is yours, and the contract says so.
Tell us what you need built. We'll come back with a scope and a price.
What you can outsource to us
- Business software built around how you work: internal tools, portals for customers and suppliers, and the reports that pull your numbers into one place.
- Web and mobile apps, from a first version to an app your customers use every day.
- Connections between your systems, so orders, stock and invoices move between your store, your accounting and your operations without anyone typing them twice.
- Odoo work: setup, custom modules and rescue of a stalled project, through our Odoo implementation service.
Most projects start from one of three places: a process run on spreadsheets that has outgrown them, a system that doesn't talk to the others, or an idea for a tool your customers would use. All three can be scoped the same way.
If you'd rather see the whole range of what we build, start with our custom software development company page.
Fixed project or dedicated team
Software development outsourcing comes in two shapes, and the right one depends on how settled your plans are.
| Fixed project | Dedicated team | |
|---|---|---|
| Best when | The scope, screens and requirements are agreed and won't move much | The roadmap keeps changing, or the work carries on for months |
| What you agree | What we build, the price and the timeline, in writing | A monthly rate per person; you set the priorities |
| Who directs the day to day | We do, against the agreed scope | You do, like any member of your team |
| What happens when plans change | We agree the change and its cost before we build it | You reprioritize the backlog |
Many projects use both: a fixed project to build the first version, then a small dedicated team to run and extend it after launch.
If you want developers who join your team and take your direction, you can hire dedicated developers from us. That's staff augmentation rather than outsourcing; the difference is who runs the work. The full comparison is in staff augmentation vs outsourcing.
How an outsourced project runs
- Scope. We go through what you need, what success looks like and what it has to connect to. You get the scope and the price in writing.
- Start. Updates start the same week you confirm.
- Build in working pieces. You see and try real software as it's built, instead of waiting for one big reveal.
- Weekly report. Every week you get a written report on what was done, what's next and anything that needs your decision.
- Launch and stay. After launch we fix, adjust and extend what we built as your business changes.
What the scope gives you. A written list of what will be built, rough screens or a walkthrough of how it will work, what it connects to, the price and the timeline. You can share it with your team or your board before anything is signed.
What the weekly report covers. What was finished, what's next, anything blocking progress, and any decision we need from you. If something is running late, you read it there first, not at the deadline.
How changes are handled. Plans change, and that's normal. On a fixed project, we write up the change, what it adds to the price and the timeline, and build it once you agree. With a dedicated team, you move it up or down the backlog yourself.
Testing and launch. Every piece is tested before you see it, and you test it too, on your own data where possible. Launch happens when you're satisfied, not when a date on our side says so.
Throughout, the team keeps your working hours and working week, so questions get answered during your day. You're invoiced in your own currency, and visits go both ways: you can come and meet the team, and we come to you.
An IT outsourcing company that writes the code
"IT outsourcing" can mean very different things. Many firms that call themselves an IT outsourcing company run help desks, manage networks or handle security monitoring. That's not us. We design, build and run business software. If what you need is someone to answer your staff's laptop questions, we're not the right call; if you need software built and kept running, we are. As an offshore software development company that keeps your hours, we work as an extension of your business rather than a ticket queue.
Onshore, nearshore or offshore
When you outsource software development, where the team sits changes three things: the cost, how much of your day they share with you, and how easy they are to reach.
| Onshore (your country) | Nearshore (a nearby country) | Offshore with A1Strategez | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Highest | Lower | Lower again |
| Shared working hours | Full | Most of the day | Full: the team keeps your hours |
| Meeting in person | Easy | A short trip | Visits go both ways |
| Invoicing | Your currency | Often yours | Your currency |
The usual trade-off with an offshore software development company is the time difference: you send a question at the end of your day and get the answer the next morning. We remove that by working your hours. That's software development outsourcing with us: the cost of an offshore team with the working day of a local one.
Taking over a project another firm started
Not every project starts with us. If another firm built part of your software and then stopped, slowed down or left, we can pick it up. We start with a review of the code, the documentation and what's already live, and tell you plainly what we found: what works, what needs fixing, and what it will take to finish. Then we quote the rest, as a fixed project or a dedicated team. Most projects are worth finishing; a few are cheaper to rebuild in part, and we'll say which before you spend anything.
Who owns the code
You do, and the contract says so. Everything we build for you is assigned to you: the code, the designs and the documentation, including the parts written by anyone on our side who worked on it. Ownership isn't something you ask for at the end; it's in the contract from the start.
Open-source and other third-party components keep their own licenses, as they do in any software. We list the ones we use, so you know exactly what's in your system and under what terms.
How software development outsourcing is priced
We don't publish prices, because they depend on what's being built and on how the work is set up. A fixed project has one price for an agreed scope. A dedicated team is a monthly rate per person, set by role and seniority. Three things move the number most: how much there is to build, how many other systems it has to connect to, and how much data has to come across.
Tell us what you need, and you'll get a written quote before any work starts.
Get a quoteHow to choose a software development outsourcing company
Whoever you're considering, ask these questions. Here's how we answer them.
| Ask | Our answer |
|---|---|
| Can you show software you still run years later? | Yes: the custom ERP in our case study has been live for four years, and we still support it |
| Will I see working software early, or only at the end? | Early. We build in working pieces you can try |
| How will I know what's happening? | A written report every week, and the team works your hours |
| Who owns the code, and is that in the contract? | You do, and it is |
| What happens when the scope changes? | On a fixed project, we agree the change and its cost before building it; with a dedicated team, you simply reprioritize |
| How is my data protected? | Access is limited to what the work needs, under signed confidentiality and data-protection terms |
A software outsourcing company that answers these clearly, in writing, is worth a call. One that can't is a risk, whatever its price.
When outsourcing isn't the right fit
Software development outsourcing isn't always the answer. It's usually the wrong choice when:
- a product off the shelf already does what you need; we'll say so, and it costs you less;
- the work is your core product and you want the people building it inside your company for the long term; dedicated developers you direct may suit you better;
- the requirements can't be put into words yet, and nobody on your side has time to work them out with us.
If any of these apply, we'll tell you on the first call rather than sell you a project.
Four years live: the custom ERP case study
A European wholesale distributor came to us on a legacy system that had gone years without an update. We built them one platform for sales, purchasing, warehouse, quality and reporting, moved their data across, trained their team, and have supported it for four years since. Quote turnaround went from two to three days to under four hours, and the same team now handles about 3.4 times as many requests for quotes. It's the clearest picture of how we work on an outsourced build: we build it, and we stay. Read the distribution ERP case study
Questions buyers ask
It depends on what you're building, so we quote each project rather than publish prices. A fixed project has one price for an agreed scope; a dedicated team is a monthly rate per person. You get the price in writing before any work starts.
You do, if the contract says so, and ours does. Everything we build for you, including code, designs and documentation, is assigned to you from the start.
Choose a fixed price when the scope is agreed and unlikely to change. Choose a dedicated team when the roadmap keeps moving or the work is ongoing, because you can reprioritize without renegotiating.
It's worth it to outsource software development when you need software built and don't want to hire and manage a team to build it, and when the provider stays after launch. It isn't when a product off the shelf already does the job.
Look for software they still run years later, working software shown early, a weekly report, code ownership in the contract, and a clear way of handling changes. Ask for each in writing.
With software development outsourcing, the provider runs the work and delivers the result. With staff augmentation services, people join your team and you direct them. We do both.
Updates start the same week you confirm the project.
Yes. We start by reviewing the code and the documentation, tell you what we find and what it will take to finish, then quote the rest. Some projects are best fixed; a few are cheaper to rebuild, and we'll say which.
The team keeps your working hours and working week, whether that's US, Gulf or European hours, so you're never waiting overnight for an answer.
A short description of what you want built, who will use it and what it has to connect to. Screenshots, spreadsheets or an existing system help. We turn that into the written scope; you don't need a technical specification.
On a fixed project, we write up each change with its effect on price and timeline, and build it once you agree. With a dedicated team, you simply reprioritize the backlog.
In Lahore, Pakistan, working your hours for clients in the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Europe. Visits go both ways.