Co-Sourcing App Software Development Companies

11th November 2019 / Nick McKenna
Software Development Companies

Our specialist App development teams have a long history working alongside existing in-house software development teams. This has allowed us to find the optimal mix of rapidly delivering value to our clients, as well as up-skilling their staff.

Why do Businesses Co-Source Software Development Companies?

Software development companies and your in-house team can work incredibly well together and the process can be beneficial for everyone. There are typically two reasons why our clients choose to co-source with us:

  • We have technical expertise that our client wish to acquire
  • We have a capacity that our clients wish to utilise

Keep It Local

Our bespoke software development company based in North Yorkshire, mostly provides a co-sourcing service for clients based in the UK, as they prefer to have a team in the same time zone. This makes organising product workshops, demos and client visits much easier than an off-shoring model. Based on our extensive product development knowledge and experience, we will also give advice and guidance every step of the way which is not usually the case with off-shoring models. We’ll tell you when we have ideas that you have not considered and we’ll steer you away from bad ideas!

Technical Expertise

Our specialist team has deep knowledge of specialist areas of software development such as mobile App development (iOS / Android) and the Internet Of Things. Usually, our clients have a long-standing product based around older web or thick client technology, that they would like to extend with a new mobile App (for Android devices, iPhones or iPads). Initially, the skills of our clients’ in-house development teams will not match the necessary skills for creating a mobile App, but the business has an urgent need to have one developed.

The obvious solution is to totally outsource the development of the product, but this has a big disadvantage: the organisation does not possess the knowledge to further develop the software independently. This leaves them beholden to a third party for future work! Our solution is to work alongside our clients’ staff from day one of the product development; this can be working as a remote team or by embedding our clients’ staff within our team. Embedding within our team is the optimal solution as it immerses the staff in the new technology and prevents them from being distracted by other day-to-day concerns, but both approaches work. For example, we work with embedded team members with our clients LexisNexis and AuthenticateIS, but remotely for our clients such as 4com plc and Howells Associates.

Co-sourcing has always been very successful for our clients, giving them great products that their technical staff understand and can further develop independently.

software-development-north-yorkshire

Increase Capacity

In addition to providing technical skill, our clients frequently want to deploy a “ready” team with extensive product development experience, to temporarily boost their in-house capacity. We are able to deploy our highly experienced Agile team who are up to date with the latest technology, quickly and easily. We also provide a more diverse experience of product development than most of our clients in house. For example, we can leverage our Agile training, coaching and consultancy skills to improve the development process for our clients, as well as building a specific product.

Flexibility For The Future

Co-sourcing also gives flexibility for the future. From time-to-time, our clients who are independently developing their Apps will come back to us when they reach peak demand. We are able to re-deploy our team for short periods of time to temporarily boost development capacity, thus providing a lower-cost alternative to employing temporary workers.

Case Studies

As far as software development companies go, we have a wealth of experience working closely with in-house teams. Check out our case studies below, to see what our bespoke software development has been able to achieve for companies we have worked with previously.

Nick McKenna
Since 2004, Nick McKenna, BSc, MBCS Biography has been the CEO of McKenna Consultants. McKenna Consultants is a bespoke software development based in North Yorkshire, specialising in Cloud development, mobile App development, progressive web App development, systems integration and the Internet of Things development. Nick also holds a First Class Degree in Computer Science (BSc) and wrote his first computer program at the age of nine, on a BBC Micro Model B computer. For the last 21 years, Nick has been a professional computer programmer and software architecture. Nick’s technical expertise includes; Net Core, C#, Microsoft Azure, Asp.Net, RESTful web services, eProcurement, Swift, iOS mobile development, Java, Android mobile development, C++, Internet Of Things and more. In addition, Nick is experienced in Agile coaching, training and consultancy, applying modern Agile management techniques to marketing and running McKenna Consultants, as well as the development of software for clients. Nick is a Certified Enterprise Coach (Scrum Alliance), SAFe Program Consultant (SAI), Certified LeSS Practitioner (LeSS) and Certified Scrum@Scale Practitioner. Outside the office, Nick is a professional scuba diver and he holds the rank of Black Belt 5th Dan in Karate.

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