Advantages of Outsourcing

Nowadays, most embedded systems have functionalities implemented in software.

The usage of embedded software by electronics manufacturers for expanded functionality, improved quality, and reusability is one of the key factors contributing to its rising use. The cost of developing embedded software is rising, as a result of complexity and rapidly evolving technological trends. Because of this, a lot of businesses look into the possibility of outsourcing embedded software projects to reduce costs while enhancing quality and time to market.

DigitalGate has been providing external services to its customers for over 5 years, adapting to various market trends and challenges along the way.

In this article, we will cover some important advantages and tips that should be considered when choosing an outsourcing partner.

Advantages of outsourcing

1. Expertise and experience of the embedded software provider

Outsourcing the embedded software development to a highly experienced company that offers complete development solutions, will provide customers with external expertise along the entire development process, across various embedded platforms and operating systems, from low-level firmware and hardware development, up to the upper layers of an embedded stack such as user interfaces.

Outsourcing to the right partner can also help companies develop custom software solutions that are compliant with industry standards. Industry standards are of high importance, especially in safety-relevant systems. In this case, strict guidelines must be followed to develop final products that can be fully certified.

2. Solid understanding of the hardware requirements

A highly important advantage of outsourcing is the ability to bring the hardware’s maximum benefit to the end-user. The right outsourcing partner can understand the hardware they work with, as embedded solutions can demand specific resources or data processing power, CPU, memory, and storage. Having a profound knowledge and understanding of the hardware requirements can help optimize a target system by providing ideal configuration solutions for the intended hardware platform.

Another advantage of outsourcing is the ability to adapt and implement the newest technologies to deliver innovative solutions for advanced projects, based on the recommendation of the external partner.

3. Best strategies for ensuring high efficiency

Choosing and adapting the best development strategy for an embedded software project is not an easy task for a company. The right outsourcing partner can help companies adapt to a specific methodology easier. An outsourcing company can provide expertise in how to implement specific methodologies faster and more efficiently.

An important aspect to consider is the ability to implement agile methodologies for combined hardware and software development. Fundamentally, an outsourcing company can assist in defining the methodologies, structures, the right size of a development team, tools, and various metrics to set up an agile-based operating model.

An outsourcing company can help customers develop the software in parallel with the hardware by using various emulation tools. That speeds up the development process and have a first draft of the working software when the hardware is produced. The right outsourcing partner should be able to recommend and assist with the implementation of an emulation platform.

4. Flexibility

When hiring an external team for outsourcing embedded software projects, flexibility is essential. Possessing different skills and the capability of adapting depending on the hardware characteristics is a great asset to every development team. The ability to provide a proof-of-concept prototype, in a short period of time, in a programming language, never used before, is a crucial advantage offered by an outsourcing partner.

It is also important for an outsourcing company to be able to provide clients with the possibility of expanding or shrinking a development team depending on the needs, in a short period. In some instances, for a limited period, the outsourcing company might need to increase the number of specialized personnel for limited periods depending on the complexity of the time frame of various parts of a development project.

5. Adaptability (Dynamic change of trends)

The ability to adapt to market trends, new technologies, and new tools is not an easy task for any company. Hiring an outsourcing team is beneficial to any company that wants to keep up with the dynamic change in trends. An outsourcing company will always innovate and keep up with new technologies, to be competitive in a fast-evolving market.

Choosing the right outsourcing partner – How to make it right

To ensure that cooperation will bring favorable results, we will offer our tips and tricks for choosing the right partner:

Based on the size of your company and the demands for the development team, compile a list of potential candidates for partnership
Analyse the developers’ technical abilities, paying particular attention to their knowledge of the fundamental programming languages C, C++, Assembly, different embedded system architectures, embedded Linux or real-time operating systems, etc.
Inquire about the methods the embedded software development team uses to create embedded software so that projects may be completed while maintaining a high level of quality
Pay close attention to the team’s openness to adapt to changes during the development process, particularly whether they are prepared to execute more sophisticated processes and work with unfamiliar technologies.

The ideal external embedded development company must satisfy each of the important selection requirements. The level of communication between the client and the service provider is also crucial. It is also important to consider the ease of communication and the absence of any discomfort in communication.

Our vision

Since its foundation in 2017, DigitalGate’s focus has been to offer complete embedded development services to its customers. With a skilled team of experts, DigitalGate is supporting numerous national and international companies. Moreover, we can work across industries as varied as medical devices, automotive, defense, industrial automation, and consumer electronics.

We employ a young, dynamic, and highly flexible team of engineers experienced in providing complex hardware and software solutions for embedded systems, and adopting agile methodologies ensuring that development cycles are tailored to enable customers to reach the optimal time to market for their systems.

Conclusion

Numerous variables could have a good or negative impact on how effective your outsourced workforce is. However, involving external partners can be a wise move. It could be the key to the success of your software development initiatives. Outsourcing is a competitive alternative to internal teams, but to meet these demands, it must be executed economically and efficient. However, those are not the only important factors to consider. Goal-achieving and assisting in overcoming technological hurdles both demand the client’s commitment. Success depends on having clear expectations, effective communication, and a positive outlook.

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