Why Offshore Software Development Is Reliable and Cost-Effective?
Offshore Software Development is on the rise; top businesses around the world are relying on an external team of developers for their IT related works.
You must be searching for offshore development for majorly two reasons.
- First, you want to outsource your project and hence you want to learn everything about the offshore web development company and the process.
- Secondly; you are an IT company and you want to know about the IT Outsourcing Companies in India and around the world.
In any case, this blog is beneficial for you; in this blog, we are going to cover:
- What is offshore development?
- Difference between outsourcing and offshore development
- Why offshore development is the need of this hour?
- How to outsource IT projects?
- What are the trends of offshore development?
- Which are the mistakes people make while outsourcing?
- How to ensure success when outsourcing project?
- Disadvantages of the offshore development company
If you are new to the concept of Offshore Software Development then let us begin with the quick introduction of Offshore development companies. Otherwise, you can directly jump to the topic which you are looking for from the above list.
What is Offshore Software Development?
Offshore development is the process of working with an external company or team of developers to develop the software. China, India and few eastern European countries are leading for having the largest number of Offshore software development companies.
Offshore software development serves a broad marketplace of talents of different parts of the globe. At the places where technology-related services and companies are not available; Offshore development is the trending solution.
There are three ways of offshore development:
- Outsource only a module or a specific part of the application.
- Hire a dedicated team of coders and manage the team on your own.
- Outsource the entire project to a company or developer; from design, development to deployment.
Lets quickly check out the difference between outsourcing a project and offshoring a project.
Are outsourcing and offshoring the same concept?
Most of the time people around the world misunderstand that IT Outsourcing Companies and offshore development companies are the same.
Hence; we have included this section in our blog.
| Outsourcing Software Development | Offshoring Software Development |
|---|---|
| Assigning the work to an external organization. | Completing the work from a different country. |
| It means the company will shift the business operations to third-party company outside the organization. | Offshore development implies the shift of certain activities of offices. |
| Outsource development takes place when the focus of the company is on main business operations. | Offshore development takes place a company needs to decrease the labor cost. |
| It mainly takes place within the country, sometimes within the city. | It takes place only outside the country. |
That was a quick difference between outsource development and offshore development. Now, let us move forward to understand offshore development deeply.
Quick Read: How IT Outsourcing in Recession Can Benefit Your Business?
Why you need offshore software development companies?
Do you know as of 2017; 43 % of IT services in the US were outsourced.
This is proof that offshoring IT services is considered as a beneficial aspect.
Here are a few benefits of working with offshore development companies:
Quality Service At An Affordable Cost
- For countries where IT resources are abundant; the cost of custom software development, app development or website development can be a bit high.
- The best option in those countries is to software outsourcing companies in India, China or other countries where IT services are easily available.
Also Read: 13 Approaches to Enhance the Business ROI with Software Development
- As the competition is quite high in these countries you will get affordable IT service provider with proficiency in their skills.
- All you have to do is make sure to avoid the scam of fake companies and choose the offshore web development company by checking the reviews and testimonials by their clients.
Access To Better Resources
You can hire your own team of business analysts, developers, designers and quality analysts who are highly skilled and educated. Thus you can complement your existing team and leverage the knowledge of these professional IT developers.
24/7 Support
Many offshore software development companies of India and around the world provide 24/7 support. As a result; you will get instant solutions to your any kind of problem or bugs in the software, app or website.
Latest Technology Trends
- Your in-house team might not be able to upgrade their skills from time to time. Furthermore; it’s not necessary that your developers are aware of the latest solutions as per the market trends for your industry.
- In such cases; hiring an offshore development company will help. IT companies have resources which are updated as per the latest innovations and trends. Thus you don’t have to compromise.
Focus On Core Business Activities
Once you have the reliable offshore software development company in India or anywhere around the world you can be free from the stress of IT related work. As a result; you can focus on the work which is important for your company.
New Business Partners
You can ask Offshore development company to be your technology partner. This, as a result, will lead to better results from the IT company. The reason behind this is; when the IT outsourcing company will get some profit from your growth the company will focus on your business profits as well.
No Need For Training And Administration
Your outsourcing company will take care of its employees. Hence; you don’t have to worry about managing the resources, equipment, office space or even the training of the employees.
Now that you are well aware of the advantages of working with software outsourcing companies in India its time to move a step further.
Time to learn the best ways to hire offshore development companies in India.
How to hire a reliable offshore development company?
Hiring the right offshore development company is a risky task. You need to make sure you have selected the partner for your technology needs.
Here is a Simple
Follow 8 Steps Process to Select Right Offshore Software Development Company
- List out the types of IT services you will be needing and what skills you want in the developers.
- Check out the trends in the services you are targeting. For example, you want to hire an offshore web development company; you need to check the latest platforms, frameworks, and features of website development.
- Build sketches, rough diagrams, and ideas about the IT services or products you need. This will help you to explain your requirements to the company or the developer you are hiring.
- Analyze and list out the skills, technologies, and capabilities you will be expecting from the developers. When you are interviewing the developer you can easily figure out if the developer is able to work for your project.
- List out the question you will ask from the developer to check their knowledge and skill in advance.
- Look out for the offshore software development companies around the world and connect with the ones which you think are reliable for your needs. Here you need to explore various medium via you can connect with possible prospect like Upwork, LinkedIn, Clutch.co, G2.com, GoodFirms etc.
- Explain your requirements and expectations to the companies and check their proficiency in the field you are targeting.
- Discuss the pricing model and budget of your requirements and kick start the project.
If you follow this step-by-step guide; you will be able to figure out the best company which is suitable to work on your project.
Let’s check out what are the IT outsourcing trends of 2019 in the next section.
Which are the top offshore development trends that will rock 2019?
Cutting-Edge Skills
There used to be a time when developers used to focus on soft skills, communications skills, leadership skills etc. Now its time to look for trending skills like cybersecurity, machine learning, and Artificial Intelligence.
Must Read Article: Impact of Artificial Intelligence in the Field of Software Development
Cloud Computing
Cloud-based hosting is the trend of this hour as a result; it is the trend for offshore development as well. With the increasing popularity of hybrid cloud; businesses around the world are relying on offshore services for cloud hosting. Whether it is a public cloud or private depending on the requirement.
Web, App and Software Development
The demand and need of digital presence are increasing and is pressurizing the businesses around the world.companies are looking for IT outsourcing companies to build the app or website for their business at affordable rates with latest trends and features.
Internet of Everything
Smart homes, smart offices, smart cities, smart energy, and smart everything. Everyone wants to add the smart touch in their lives and thus the demand for IoT developers is high. 2019 is going to be all out the internet of everything development and IT offshore companies will be in high demand for building smart solutions.
Above mentioned are just a few trends; Offshore development trends depends on different industries and types of requirements.
Now its time to have a look at some mistakes that people make while hiring an offshore development company.
What are the most common mistakes you need to avoid?
Quick Decisions:
This is the biggest mistake that most of the company or individual make while hiring an offshore development company in India or around the globe.
Selecting a company quickly just because they are charging less money or they have a good team can be a harmful decision. Always take time to select the company; check all the aspects and skills of the developers. You might waste your money instead of saving money.
Miscommunication:
Always use clear and precise communication; you can always ask the developer again if you are not sure. Also; try to communicate in the written as much as you can. This will save you from big situations and blunders.
Work Allocation:
If you are managing the team on your own; make sure to assign the work to the developer who is capable and also who has some previous work experience. Experimenting might lead to time wastage as well as money wastage.
How to make sure the offshore project is a success?
Here are a few tips for conducting a successful offshoring process:
Declare the quality standards in advance:
This is important for maintaining the architecture and coding standards in the project. It will also help you conduct the code audits/reviews from time to time.
Finalize the deadlines, milestones, and rates:
Set strict deadlines by discussing with the team or the responsible person and finalize the pricing rates in advance. Cost and deadline are the two major issues faced by the companies in offshore development case.
Keep the communication on track
Clear communication is the most essential aspect; you need to make sure your work is going well. Ask the company about the communication platforms they will be available on. Secondly; ask the development team to send you timely reports; you can ask for daily, weekly or monthly reports.
Protect your data
Ask the developers to sign a non compete agreement. Along with that; don’t forget to set up a private code repository on Github, GitLab, BitBucket etc.
With these tips, you can make sure that the offshore development of your project is a success for your company.
How wrongly selected offshore software development companies can be harmful to you?
We have learned everything about offshore development company and process; its time to have a look at some risks as well.
Following are the risks of working with offshore software development companies and how you can avoid them:
Data Security:
This is the era of hacking and fraud so it is important to keep in mind the security of your important and private data. You can ask the company about the security measures they are taking and you can sign security documents and contracts like NDA (non-disclosure agreement). In this way, the company will be bound to secure your data legally.
Communication Gap:
Due to culture, geographical and language barriers, you might face a few communication issues. There might be something which is offensive in their country and is normal in your culture, or your time zones are entirely different.
In such scenarios, you need to discuss these things in advance. You can ask the company to assign a developer of a mediator who can act as a bridge between the developer and the client.
Make sure the mediator is aware of both the cultures and languages and can be available 24/7. As a result; you can resolve the language barrier and the timing issues.
Quality issues:
You might fall into the trap of amateur freelancers or companies. These companies are new to the technology platforms and are not aware of managing big projects.
What you can do is; check the reviews of the company on websites like clutch.com (add your clutch link; if available) or you can check their testimonials and case studies to understand what type of projects they have worked till now.
Over To You!
Its time to make your decision; before that ask the following questions:
- Do you really need an in-house team for your project?
- Do you think you can get a development team at an affordable cost from outside the country?
- Are you capable to analyze the skills of a developer who is sitting miles away from you?
- Do you think offshore development will be your thing?
These questions will help you to figure out whether you really need to outsource your project.
If you are still having questions about hiring an offshore software development company for your project; you can discuss with us.
Our team of dedicated business analysts will analyze your requirements and help you to understand the perks of outsourcing your projects.
I currently handle Sales division at Samarpan Infotech. I am working since 5+ years in roles like Sales and Marketing; exploring a new market with the new technology for the organization’s growth. My passion involves a good clients relationship, public speaking & creating effective business strategies, and pre & post-sales. "There Is No Finish Line, Just Do It"
