If it’s a core business function — do it yourself, no matter what.
Pick your core business competencies and goals, and do those in house. If you’re a software company, writing excellent code is how you’re going to succeed. Go ahead and outsource the company cafeteria and the CD-ROM duplication. If you’re a pharmaceutical company, write software for drug research, but don’t write your own accounting package. If you’re a web accounting service, write your own accounting package, but don’t try to create your own magazine ads. If you have customers, never outsource customer service.
```
This all rings true in my experience. You should write the software that's critical to your core business competency yourself, because the maintenance cost is worth paying if you can achieve better software. But if it's not a core competency and your business isn't directly going to benefit from having best in class vs good enough, then it may be worth outsourcing.
```
The best advice I can offer:
If it’s a core business function — do it yourself, no matter what.
Pick your core business competencies and goals, and do those in house. If you’re a software company, writing excellent code is how you’re going to succeed. Go ahead and outsource the company cafeteria and the CD-ROM duplication. If you’re a pharmaceutical company, write software for drug research, but don’t write your own accounting package. If you’re a web accounting service, write your own accounting package, but don’t try to create your own magazine ads. If you have customers, never outsource customer service.
```
This all rings true in my experience. You should write the software that's critical to your core business competency yourself, because the maintenance cost is worth paying if you can achieve better software. But if it's not a core competency and your business isn't directly going to benefit from having best in class vs good enough, then it may be worth outsourcing.