Firmware Development Outsourcing. Why Do You Need It?

Firmware is the cornerstone of your embedded systems. You need it for every piece of hardware. At the same time, creating it requires extensive knowledge of both programming and the physical elements of your device. This expertise might be difficult to find and maintain within your company. This is when firmware development outsourcing comes into the spotlight. Why do you need it? Find it out in this article!

What Is Firmware Development Outsourcing?

Firmware development outsourcing refers to the practice of hiring an external expert (or a team of specialists) to code your embedded firmware. Businesses choose this solution for many reasons, including the lack of resources for a full-time firmware developer, the lack of recurring need for new firmware, and other benefits.

Why Do You Need to Outsource Firmware Development? Benefits

The benefits offered by outsourcing, in general, already push multiple businesses to look for external firmware developers. However, if we add to that the complexity of this job, most of the advantages can be multiplied. What are the benefits that might prompt you to outsource firmware development?

External Expertise

Firmware developers need multiple IT skills, including coding in several languages, knowledge of embedded operating systems, experience with debugging tools, and knowledge of the hardware they will be working with. Finding an individual with such a skillset may be time-consuming and difficult, especially if you do not have anyone in your current team who could verify your candidate’s skills.

With outsourced firmware development, this is no longer an issue. You have multiple options among companies that offer firmware development services. These businesses specialize in embedded system development; thus, you can have more confidence in the skills of their firmware engineers. It is a safer and quicker way to build your firmware.

Costs for Short-Term Projects

If you develop new embedded systems regularly and have a high demand for firmware development, you should do this in-house—it will be the least expensive option. However, this changes if you work on a single, short-term project or simply need new firmware just from time to time.

In such cases, hiring an experienced (and expensive) firmware developer full-time would consume too much of your resources compared to the effects. On the other hand, outsourcing costs are based on the size, complexity, and number of projects; thus, hiring external experts generates fewer expenses for smaller projects.

Extra Technological Skills

Imagine you have your own firmware developer at your business; does it always mean that you will never need to outsource such services? Not exactly.

The next benefit of firmware development outsourcing is that you can access experts with skills in certain technologies that your team isn’t proficient in. Here, you can treat outsourcing not as a full service but rather as a type of support for your internal team—a support that does not require you to hire yet another developer full-time.

Moreover, specialized companies often have their own R&D teams. This means that they research and access innovative technologies much faster than other businesses. In the end, outsourcing firmware development form such a company may result in using more innovative solutions that will give you an edge over your competitors.

Scalability

Scalability has become a buzzword, and we look for it in most services and IT solutions, regardless of industry. Yet, we must mention it in the context of outsourcing firmware development, as it is a vital benefit of such a solution.

With outsourcing, you decide how much help you want, and you can quickly adjust your operations by… proposing new projects to your provider. This gives you flexibility unseen with in-house firmware developers. This is what makes firmware outsourcing excellent in situations such as:

• You design and manufacture multiple embedded systems a year, but the process is irregular.
• You are unsure whether your final product will succeed, and its success determines your future efforts (like developing new devices, which equals the need for additional firmware).

Outsourcing Firmware Development with Conclusive

At Conclusive, we specialize in embedded systems development. We provide full, end-to-end development services, but we are also ready to help you with smaller projects, like firmware development, debugging and profiling, or PCB design. Why should you outsource our services?

• We have extensive experience in embedded systems and proficiency with a multitude of technologies.
• We are sharp-focused on your business goals, ensuring that your product is in line with the.
• We offer several communication channels and regularly inform you about progress to ensure that our team and your business are on the same page.
• We have flexible payment plans, which you can adjust to the needs of your business.

Interested? Let’s talk!

The Takeaway

Firmware development outsourcing has several benefits, making it a perfect fit for many businesses. However, ultimately, the choice always depends on the specifics of your organization and its projects. There might be cases where outsourcing won’t be the best option, there might be situations where you choose it as a support to your internal team, and it might even be so that it will just be better for full firmware development; you need to understand which option works best for you and make the decision accordingly.

You may also read: Firmware Development in IoT. What to Look out for?