Don't outsource core compentencies (Score 1)

Never hand to a contractor anything you would not be willing to hand to your competitor. Granted I have heard managers talk about how iron clad the contracts are but the reality is that after the contract is over they can go anywhere (competitor) and they know your code, its strengths, weaknesses and how to make it better and regardless of how honest they are they cannot forget this information and will tap into it whenever a problem arises. So basically you could be doing your competitor a favor by training their next employee. The best article I have read about this is http://forio.com/resources/article/the-pitfalls-of-outsourcing-programmers/ The chocolate box example is priceless! As a chocolate maker you don't outsource your chocolate making (handing out the recipe and possibly endangering your reputation if a batch of bad chocolates go out) you outsource the making of the chocolate boxes.