Should You Outsource Your Cloud Development?

Most companies hit the same wall with cloud development—they need specialized expertise, but hiring local talent is taking too long or costing too much.

While tech giants can afford to build massive in-house cloud teams, most businesses need a more practical approach.

That’s why more companies are looking at outsourcing their cloud development—not just to reduce costs, but to actually get projects moving.

In this guide, we’ll explore the key advantages of outsourcing cloud development, compare it with in-house cloud management, outline the types of cloud services you can outsource, and provide best practices to overcome common challenges.

Top Benefits of Outsourcing Your Cloud Development

Companies outsource cloud development for five main reasons.

These aren’t theoretical benefits—they’re the actual results businesses see when they get cloud outsourcing right.

Here’s where you see the biggest differences.

1. Cost efficiency

One of the biggest reasons businesses opt for outsourcing is cost savings. Hiring an in-house cloud development team involves expenses like:

• Salaries and benefits: Cloud architects and engineers command high salaries, especially in the US. The yearly salary of an experienced cloud developer ranges from $105K to $165K.
• Infrastructure costs: Setting up and maintaining cloud environments requires expensive resources.
• Training and development: Keeping an in-house team updated with the latest cloud technologies demands ongoing investment.

By outsourcing, businesses eliminate these overhead costs and only pay for the specific services they need.

2. Faster time-to-market

The math here is simple: while building an in-house cloud team often takes 3–6 months just for sourcing, hiring, and onboarding, an outsourced team can start within weeks.

They’ve already worked on similar projects, know the common pitfalls, and have established processes for everything from setting up environments to managing deployments.

For example, instead of spending months recruiting and training a team for your AWS migration, you can bring in people who have already handled similar migrations multiple times.

3. Access to highly skilled talent

Yes, this ties into the speed advantage we just talked about—but it’s worth breaking out separately.

Sometimes, you don’t just need cloud developers fast—you need specific expertise that’s hard to find locally.

Maybe you need someone who’s handled HIPAA compliance in cloud environments, or an expert in migrating legacy systems to microservices.

Instead of trying to hire and train for these specialized skills, you can bring in people who’ve already done exactly what you need.

Common examples include:

• Cloud architecture and infrastructure management
• DevOps and continuous integration/deployment (CI/CD)
• Cybersecurity and compliance
• Data analytics and AI integration

This approach works particularly well when you need specialized skills for specific elements of projects rather than ongoing work.

4. Easy scalability and more flexibility

Outsourcing allows businesses to scale their cloud projects up or down based on demand. If a company needs to ramp up cloud resources for seasonal traffic spikes, an outsourced team can quickly adjust configurations and workloads without requiring long-term hires.

Similarly, if a business no longer requires specific cloud services, it can easily scale back without worrying about retaining unnecessary in-house employees.

5. Reduced operational burden

Cloud management involves ongoing maintenance, security updates, and performance optimizations. When companies outsource cloud development, they eliminate the burden of managing these tasks in-house, allowing their internal teams to focus on strategic initiatives rather than technical complexities.

Comparing In-House vs. Outsourced Cloud Development

While some businesses prefer to develop and maintain cloud solutions in-house, outsourcing is a strong alternative for many organizations.

Both approaches have their merits.

In-house teams offer deeper integration with your company culture and complete control over security protocols. They’re particularly valuable when cloud infrastructure is central to your product or when you need specialized knowledge that stays within the company.

Having your own cloud developers work alongside your product team can speed up innovation and ensure institutional knowledge stays in-house.

However, the reality is that maintaining an in-house cloud team requires significant investment—not just in salaries but in continuous training, infrastructure, and management overhead.

Outsourcing provides a middle ground where companies can access specialized expertise without the long-term commitment and overhead costs of in-house hiring.

It’s especially effective when you need to move quickly on cloud initiatives but don’t want to spend months building an internal team. Outsourced teams are ready to start immediately, making cloud deployments faster and more efficient. 

Making the Right Choice: In-House, Outsourced, or Hybrid?

Here’s the reality: there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. The right approach depends entirely on your situation.

Let’s break down when each option makes the most sense.

Keep it in-house when:

• Cloud infrastructure is central to your product (like if you’re building a SaaS platform)
• You need deep integration between your cloud team and product development
• You have highly specific or unusual cloud requirements that require consistent, dedicated attention
• You’re in a heavily regulated industry where keeping everything in-house simplifies compliance
• You have the resources and time to build a team (including training, management, and retention)

Outsource completely when:

• You need to move quickly on cloud projects but don’t have internal expertise
• Your cloud needs are project-based or vary significantly throughout the year
• You’re looking to reduce fixed costs and prefer operational expenses to capital investments
• Your internal IT team is stretched thin and needs to focus on other priorities
• You need specialized expertise for a specific migration or implementation

Consider staff augmentation when:

This is the middle ground that many companies overlook.

Staff augmentation is when you bring in external developers who work as part of your team but are employed by a staffing partner. It’s different from traditional outsourcing because these developers integrate directly with your existing team and processes while giving you the flexibility to easily scale up or down as needed.

Staff augmentation works well when:

• You already have a small cloud team but need to fill specific skill gaps
• You want to maintain control over your cloud strategy while adding flexible resources
• You need to scale your team quickly for specific projects without long-term commitments
• You want your internal team to learn from experienced professionals
• You’re testing whether certain roles need to be permanent or can remain flexible

What Cloud Development Services Can You Outsource?

Cloud development outsourcing isn’t all-or-nothing. You can choose which specific services to outsource based on your needs and existing capabilities.

Each of these services can either be handed off completely to a development company or handled by bringing in specialized developers to work alongside your team.

For example, maybe you want to maintain control of your architecture decisions while outsourcing the day-to-day maintenance.

Here are the main services you can consider outsourcing:

• Cloud infrastructure setup: Setting up cloud environments, configuring servers, and provisioning resources for AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud.
• Cloud migration: Transferring existing applications and databases from on-premise systems to the cloud for better efficiency and scalability.
• Cloud maintenance and security: Managing cloud security, conducting penetration testing, and ensuring compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO standards.
• Application development: Building cloud-native applications, including serverless computing and API-driven architectures.
• Cloud integration: Connecting cloud applications with legacy enterprise systems, improving workflow automation and data synchronization.

Each of these services requires specialized knowledge, making outsourcing an effective way to ensure high-quality cloud operations.

Common Challenges of Outsourcing Cloud Development (and How to Overcome Them)

While cloud outsourcing presents numerous advantages, businesses must navigate some key challenges. Below are common pitfalls and solutions:

1. Communication and time zone differences

Working with offshore cloud developers can create coordination issues due to time zone misalignment.

What can you do? Choose nearshore partners in similar time zones, use agile project management tools (e.g., Jira, Trello), and schedule regular sync meetings.

2. Security and data protection concerns

Sharing cloud infrastructure with an external vendor raises concerns over data security and regulatory compliance.

Ensure your outsourcing partner follows industry best practices, uses end-to-end encryption, and has clear data protection policies.

3. Quality control issues

Quality concerns aren’t unique to outsourcing, but they need active management. Focus on these key areas:

• Clear documentation of your requirements and expected standards
• Regular code reviews and technical assessments
• Defined processes for handling issues and technical debt

Watch out for partners who resist quality discussions, avoid documentation, or can’t clearly explain their development approach. Good partners will have established quality control processes and will work with you to meet your standards.

Final Thoughts

Cloud development outsourcing isn't right for every business, but it offers a practical solution for companies struggling to build and maintain cloud expertise.

Success comes down to choosing the right approach —whether that's full outsourcing or staff augmentation as a hybrid model—and finding partners who align with your needs.

Interested in learning more about staff augmentation as a middle-ground solution? Read our detailed guide “Staff Augmentation or Outsourcing: Which Model is Right for Your Software Development?” to explore how this approach could work for your team.