The SaaS market offers lucrative opportunities, but enduring profitability comes only from a well-built, well-supported SaaS solution that evolves with customer needs. Achieving this requires a strong team, which can be challenging to assemble, given the high demand for IT experts. For example, in North America, two-thirds of companies report that a tech talent shortage affected their revenue goals and customer satisfaction.
This is why more and more companies opt for outsourcing SaaS development. Outsourcing enables businesses to engage highly skilled software engineers for SaaS projects, gain a competitive edge with specialized expertise, and reduce development costs.
In this article, we will explain how common SaaS software development outsourcing models work. We will also provide tips from Neontri experts on finding a reliable partner and maximizing the efficiency of your collaboration.
Key takeaways:
- Outsourcing SaaS development is a way to access scarce technical expertise at a reasonable cost and speed up time-to-market.
- Collaboration models like staff augmentation and dedicated teams allow companies to maintain high control over product development and ensure that external talent follows their methodologies and best practices.
- To ensure efficient collaboration, it’s important to set clear expectations, maintain transparent communication, and implement effective project management.
Understanding the basics of outsourcing SaaS development
Software-as-a-service (SaaS) is a product sold through a subscription. It is delivered and accessed online rather than installed locally on a user’s device. The service provider hosts and maintains the application in the cloud. Examples include Salesforce, Slack, and Asana.
Development outsourcing is any collaboration mode in which companies use external expertise to assist with software development. The best-known model is classical outsourcing, in which the outsourced team, often located in a different country than the client, takes complete charge of the project. However, there are other models, such as staff augmentation and dedicated teams, which we will explain later.
SaaS development outsourcing involves partnering with external teams to design, build, upgrade, and maintain SaaS products. Many companies selling SaaS products as their core business activity lack software developers with the specific technical expertise needed to overcome challenges and accelerate growth. Outsourcing software development is a cost-effective way to address talent shortages, complete successful projects faster, and stand out in today’s competitive market.
Benefits of SaaS development outsourcing
Outsourcing can provide the flexibility and expertise needed to achieve business goals. It works for a wide array of companies and projects, from a startup aiming to launch its first product to an enterprise looking to modernize its software portfolio. Let’s explore the key advantages that make outsourcing an attractive option for SaaS development.

Access to expertise
By collaborating with a SaaS development outsourcing company, businesses can skip the hurdles of the hiring process. This allows them to get immediate access to a pool of pre-vetted tech talent with the expertise required for their project.
For example, Neontri has 350,000 skilled software engineers on our radar, including highly sought-after specialists with experience in custom software development, GenAI implementation, and data management. Moreover, 80% of our tech talents are middle—or senior-level developers. So, when a client requests a service, we can quickly assemble a team of experts who best match their project requirements.
Faster time-to-market
Outsourcing teams can deliver SaaS projects 20-40% faster. That’s because they’re composed of experienced software engineers with diverse project experience who collaborate effectively through established team dynamics. By combining expertise and a well-integrated team, businesses can have their SaaS applications delivered promptly without compromising quality.
Cost-effectiveness
IT salaries vary globally, so outsourcing SaaS development can deliver significant cost savings. Outsourcing vendors typically operate in locations with a large pool of qualified tech talent yet relatively low costs of living, such as Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
The table below shows how much companies would pay a SaaS development team in the US compared to Poland, a leading outsourcing destination in Europe. We used an eight-person development team as an example. This team size and structure are well-suited for medium-sized projects like developing a SaaS customer relationship management application or a marketing automation platform.
Role | No. of people | Average salary* (US) | Average salary* (Poland) |
Project manager | 1 | $136,000 | $41,000 |
Front-end developer | 2 | $103,000 | $35,000 |
Back-end developer | 2 | $115,000 | $35,000 |
UI/UX designer | 1 | $121,000 | $24,000 |
QA engineer | 1 | $109,000 | $30,000 |
DevOps engineer | 1 | $142,000 | $44,000 |
TOTAL | 8 | $944,000 | $279,000 |
Based on these numbers, outsourcing to Poland could save American companies over 2/3 of development expenses compared to an in-house team. It also provides greater flexibility and access to talent in SaaS development.
Scalability
Resource requirements can change over time, especially in lengthy and complex projects. At a certain point, a company may realize it needs a larger/smaller team or a different mix of skills. With an in-house development team, that would mean hiring new people or starting the painful process of layoffs or contract terminations. In contrast, a SaaS outsourcing vendor can adjust the team size and skill mix in a few days.
At Neontri, we can provide candidates matching clients’ requirements within 72 hours. Withdrawing team members is just as effortless, allowing organizations to reduce team size without dealing with employment obligations.
Innovation
Development teams that work under outsourcing models have to keep up with the latest technology trends to stay in demand and secure new projects. Their success depends on mastering the most efficient programming languages, frameworks, and cloud solutions. This drives them to proactively suggest innovative approaches that help achieve project goals and satisfy customers.
Common models for outsourced SaaS development
Choosing the right outsourcing model is crucial to project success. Most SaaS outsourcing companies offer multiple options, such as classical outsourcing, staff augmentation, and dedicated development teams. Here’s an overview of each model and its advantages.

Classical outsourcing
In classical outsourcing, organizations hire an outsourcing company to complete their SaaS project according to their specifications. The service provider exercises full control over the development process. They assemble the team, appoint project managers, and handle all operations, from strategic planning to quality assurance. The client’s involvement in project activities is minimal. Although they receive regular progress updates, companies have little control over the team’s task approach or development methodologies.
Classical outsourcing works best for:
- Short- and mid-term projects with clearly defined requirements and minimal need for real-time collaboration with the client’s team.
- Ongoing support and maintenance that doesn’t require the full-time involvement of software developers.
- Businesses that don’t have in-house resources to handle the SaaS development process.
Classical outsourcing has two options: nearshore and offshore. With nearshoring, companies seek outsourcing providers located nearby, preferably in the same time zone. Offshore outsourcing involves greater geographical and time zone differences but often provides benefits like significantly lower costs and access to a global talent pool.
Staff augmentation
With staff augmentation, external professionals provided by a SaaS development outsourcing partner join the in-house development team on a temporary basis. For the project’s duration, they become part of the internal team; they adopt your team’s methodologies, report to the client’s managers, and complete tasks they assign. They act as the company’s direct employees, but the outsourcing vendor handles payroll, admin tasks, and HR issues.
Unlike classical outsourcing, where a company handles the entire project to an external vendor, staff augmentation adds specific talent to the existing team. For instance, if your in-house team needs a data engineer, you can quickly bring one in through a vendor instead of spending time and resources on recruitment.
Staff augmentation is optimal when you:
- Have a strong in-house development team that lacks certain skills
- Have time-sensitive projects in need of a few extra hands
- Need niche or in-demand expertise that’s hard to find locally
- Budget constraints prevent you from matching large companies’ local salaries for senior talent.
As you can see, augmentation works well for adding SaaS developers to an existing in-house team. However, if you need to assemble a development team from scratch, we recommend opting for a dedicated team model.
Dedicated team
With the dedicated team model, an external team acts as an overseas business unit of the company. It integrates into its business processes, adopts the same development methodologies, and adheres to the established quality standards.
Working independently with regular reporting for transparency, the dedicated team becomes immersed in the client’s product, culture, and objectives. This deep understanding leads to a cohesive and efficient development process. Furthermore, the dedicated team shows the same commitment to your strategic goals and vision as in-house employees. This model offers high flexibility, allowing businesses to easily adjust the team size based on the project’s needs.
The dedicated team model is most useful for:
- Complex, long-term projects where requirements are likely to evolve because of a need to incorporate customer feedback, add new features, or resolve technical issues.
- Companies that want to delegate non-strategic or autonomous parts of a complex SaaS product to an external team to speed up its time-to-market.
- Businesses that want to entrust all technical aspects of SaaS project development to professionals while maintaining control.
IT consulting
While technically not an outsourcing model, IT consulting helps companies maximize the benefits of external expertise. It can provide guidance to optimize the SaaS development process, offer valuable insights on navigating challenges, and help businesses make strategic tech decisions.
IT consultants assess a client’s existing SaaS solution or project requirements. Based on this analysis, they provide their advice and recommendations. They evaluate how well the SaaS solution aligns with business needs and whether it can scale as expected. If there are any technical or cost inefficiencies, they help eliminate them.
When should you hire IT consultants? Here are some typical cases:
- Before starting a new SaaS development project, to get expert help with strategic planning, technology selection, and creating a roadmap.
- When optimizing an existing SaaS solution, to get a comprehensive, impartial assessment of its performance, security, and scalability.
- When facing technical challenges or roadblocks, ask for expert guidance on how to best overcome them.
- When scaling your SaaS product, to ensure that your infrastructure, security, and codebase can expand effectively without compromising performance or stability.
How to make the most of outsourcing SaaS development
Different SaaS development outsourcing models require different approaches, but there are best practices that work across all of them. Below, we share the key recommendations to help companies effectively manage the cooperation process. Following these guidelines, you can ensure smooth collaboration with your new development team and maximize the chance of project success.
Clarify your project requirements | Before contacting vendors, make a list that clearly describes what you want to be delivered. Define acceptance criteria for key features so you can keep the collaboration on track and evaluate the results. |
Set expectations upfront | Let the outsourcing vendor know your coding standards, development processes, and timelines from the start. This will help them understand your goals and work efficiently, while you’ll avoid misunderstandings as the project progresses. |
Establish transparent communication | To stay informed, insist on frequent check-ins and demos. Use collaboration tools such as Slack, Jira, and Confluence to keep in touch with the external team and monitor the project’s progress. |
Prioritize code ownership | Keep repositories and documentation under control and monitor all commits, merges, and deployments. This helps protect your interests. However, if you work with a reputable SaaS development company, they typically provide comprehensive NDAs and service agreements, so you don’t have to worry about the security of your assets. |
Assign a competent project manager or tech lead | As your primary coordinator, this person will manage outsourced talent on your company’s behalf, distribute work between your in-house and external teams, identify and fix bottlenecks, and maintain quality standards throughout the development process. |
Best practices for choosing a reliable outsourcing partner
When you receive many bids from SaaS development companies, selecting the right outsourcing partner can be challenging. This checklist will help you narrow your search to a few providers worth considering:
- Technical expertise. Assess vendors based on their technical prowess, looking for those with diverse tech stacks that blend both modern and established technologies. Their development processes should follow Agile methodologies to ensure adaptability and efficiency.
- Security protocols. Find out what measures the company implements to keep data and code safe from threats.
- Portfolio and customer satisfaction. Examine the vendor’s industry experience, client retention rates, and reviews on professional platforms like Clutch.
- Location. The vendor’s location determines cost, IT ecosystem maturity, and cultural fit. The CEE region, particularly Poland, is optimal for hiring a SaaS outsourcing development team. It balances cost-effectiveness with high-quality expertise, while the time zone difference allows for sufficient overlapping hours with Western European countries and the US.
- Cultural fit. This aspect is crucial for project success in the long run. It shows how well the outsourcing provider’s culture meshes with yours and how comfortable you are working with them. Choose a team that aligns with your values and work style and supports open communication and a collaborative approach to problem-solving.
By using these criteria, you can choose the best outsourcing partner for your SaaS project.
Final thoughts
Outsourcing SaaS development is a powerful strategy for companies looking to optimize resources, gain access to specialized expertise, and speed up their time-to-market. By understanding the various cooperation models—classical outsourcing, staff augmentation, and dedicated teams—you can choose the right approach based on your project’s needs and enhance your opportunity for success.
At Neontri, we leverage our extensive network of pre-vetted specialists to quickly assemble a software development team that precisely matches your SaaS project’s requirements. Our agile approach allows us to deliver custom software solutions that drive innovation and business success.
Are you ready to explore SaaS development outsourcing? Contact Neontri to discuss how we can help you create a cost-efficient, high-quality SaaS product tailored to your needs.

Paweł Scheffler
