We are currently living in a high-tech era. Among the latest IT fields that have attracted many people in career preferences are the Software development field. At the current rate, it only implies that we should expect many software development companies in the years to come. The trend has been increasing, especially in the American and European regions.

Many businesses in the Western now rely on offshore software development to penetrate the market. Although the trend keeps rising, some companies do not understand what offshore development entails. Yes, many blogs and articles are explaining the matter, but understanding the basics becomes hard. Read on to get every concept of what offshore software development is in detail.

Defining Offshore Software Development

There comes a time when a company opens a new office. The new office is known as an offshore development center. The developers working for the company come from different countries across the globe. Yes, they are your employees, but they work from other places (their home country)

When to get offshore software development

Some circumstances favor offshore software development over in-house hiring. Below are some of the factors that stimulate offshore software development:

• Insufficient Costs

With offshore software development, be sure to save a significant amount. You forget about expenses such as rental costs, salaries, yearly bonuses, software licenses, travel allowances, among others. In a real sense, in-house hiring is quite expensive. You have to part with extreme salaries to pay the employees even when they haven’t done much. In such instances, offshore software development becomes the best option, as offshore rates for software development more affordable for the businesses.

Good read: outsourcing pricing models

• Inadequate business Scaling

Every business person gets into a business with the aim of soaring hire. Above all, you require the right team to drive your business towards achieving your objectives. But how do you scale your business? Well, it can only be through offshore development. The technique gives you a wide range of experts who are ready to add value to your business.

Who can Benefit more from Offshore Software Development?

Any company focused on non-technical services. There businesses thriving out there but can’t handle the ever-changing technology. Such tech changes can form a website or add some digital product features to fit the customer’s needs and wants. Since such people lack IT knowledge, they can opt for offshore software development teams to fix specific requirements.

However, offshore software development services aren’t limited to such companies. Other companies have their in-house team, but they fail to reach the required targets to secure significant contracts. Since their company is struggling to grow, they can go for offshore software development to upgrade their services.

Advantages of Offshore Software Development

There is no doubt that you make a significant step towards your business goals when deciding to venture into the offshore software development strategy. Below are some of the benefits you gain from offshore software development:

• You get Great Talents

Have you ever imagined why many businesses hire more in Western countries? Well, it is all because of talent and skills. Again, their rates are relatively high when compared to other countries. This implies that the software development field has a higher demand in such areas. In the end, you will realize that there are not enough software developers to fill the missing gaps.

However, countries like India are doing great in the IT field. They produce talents in the software development field, and that is why some businesses are engaging them since they are readily available

• You spend low operational costs

When you settle for in-house hiring, you will spend more, hence, high costs of operation. Imagine hiring top talents in Western countries; the salaries are always high due to high living standards. You have to pay them bigger wages, whether they have worked on more significant projects or not. Apart from the salaries, you have to fulfill other expenses such as office space, furniture, software licenses, among many additional costs. But if you go for offshore software hiring, you will only pay for the work done to high quality within the required time.

Read: Hiring offshore developers

• Scalability

Imagine a scenario where you get great talents for your business, but they leave you when you least expect them. Your business is likely to collapse financially. There will be lots of activities pending, and you can’t manage everything on your own. Within a few days, your potential customers start to search for the services somewhere else.

However, the offshore team can save you from all the crises with ease. It is easy to recruit and hire top talents at favorable prices. In any case, you need to add more talent to the offshore team; the process is easy and manageable

• You get time to focus on other business activities

Unlike in-house hiring, where you have to stay accountable for every step in the hiring process, it is different from offshore hiring. The vendor takes care of everything, from hiring to product delivery until the payments are made. As a result, you get more time to concentrate on other business activities, build a good client base, and interact with other business partners.

Regions to where you can get Offshore Outsourcing

You have all the liberty of choosing your favorite location to set your offshore development team. There are some factors to consider that make other regions better than others. Consider the following countries for offshoring.

Eastern Europe– If your business is in Western Europe, you can consider nearshoring services to Eastern European countries. Nearshoring offers real-time help and works together with the in-house staff. You can consider countries like Romania and Ukraine since they have a good number of talented developers.

India– The world recognizes India as the core region for IT offshore outsourcing. They have top-rated developers who are well-trained with good skills in the English language. Above all, India’s living costs are favorable; hence, it can be the best place for your business needs.

Latin America – Many North American businesses offshore their services from Latin America due to a slight time difference. It makes communication effective in the process of development. Although you may have to pay extra expenses to talented developers since the developers in Latin America aren’t as talented as other regions.

Managing Offshore Software Development Team

Now that we have discusses all the vital elements of offshoring, it is about time to build an offshore team with a company to believe in. As mentioned earlier, the vendor takes care of all the activities. However, as a business owner, there are some aspects you must consider for the well-being of your business. Learn what you ought to do below:

• Share the goals and objectives of your company

If you want a successful collaboration with the offshore team, ensure you clearly state the company’s goals. Let them know the state of your company and the areas you need to make changes. Explain in detail where you want to see your company within a specified period.

Do not assume the offshore team is there for the development process alone. The more they understand your company, the more they will build it.

• Bridge the culture gap

Remember, the offshore teams work from different locations where there are distinct cultural practices. Always remind and encourage the team to work towards one objective. The location and role of a person should not matter, major on a common goal,the success of the entire project. In any case, it is a win-win situation. Above all, always learn to appreciate and recognize all members of the offshore team. It encourages them to work effortlessly to see your company grow.

• Communicate effectively

Good communication is what makes business activities thrive. Many companies overlook the communication aspect in their businesses, which isn’t right. Create an environment where all team members can communicate freely and express their suggestions. Without good communication, your project can fail terribly. You can embrace communication via productivity tools like Asana, JIRA, & Basecamp, email, and Instant messages (Skype & Slack)

There are many other strategies you can put in place to manage your offshore team effectively. However, always consider the above point for the success of your business.

Steps to follow for offshore software development

Once you make up your mind to engage an offshore software development team, make sure you follow the steps below to ensure you are satisfied with the service delivery:

• Highlight all the requirements for your project

You need to establish a solid reason as to why you need an offshore software development team. This will enable you to understand the professions to hire and the kind of team that will match your working schedule and preferences.

• Seek referrals

Once you know what your project wants, do not rush to engage with any offshore software development team. Instead, seek advice and references from people who have hired offshore software development teams for their projects. This will increase the chances of getting top talents for your project.

• Review verified publications

Apart from referrals from others, you can check online publications or resources like clutch to get the best offshore software development team for your project. The advantage of this is that you will have access to lots of teams, and you can select the best team based on the location you prefer.

• Select the region and time zones that work best for you

Of course, getting an offshore team for your software development project must align with your schedules to enhance effective communication that will ensure the project turns out successfully. Besides, when working with an offshore software development team that aligns with your time zone, it is easy to provide real-time feedback to enhance chances where need be.

Check: Benefits of outsourcing to India

• Shortlist the best teams

At this point, you will have several offshore software development teams to choose from. While you want the best team, filter out the available options until you remain with the top three companies to work on your project.

• Perform interviews

You will want to choose one best team out of the remaining three. That is why it is significant to conduct the interviews to understand the teams at a personal level. Here, you can ask all sorts of questions, such as the approximate deadlines, costs, technology stack they use, and means of communication, among many other questions. The goal is to choose a team that will suit all your basic requirements for the project.

• Sign the contract

Once you choose the offshore software development team to work with, make sure there is an abiding contract between you and the team to ensure transparency and the success of the project.

Conclusion

Any business-minded person must stay up-to-date with the latest tech trends to penetrate the market quickly. IT is a broad field, and there are many new talents every other day. If you want your business to shine, consider the idea of offshore software development. Have a good team and collaborate to uplift your business to the next level.

Offshore Software Development FAQs

1. Does offshore software development have any risks?

Yes. You might experience risks such as quality assurance, communication barriers, variation in time zones, & cultural differences.

2. How can I overcome possible risks associated with offshore software development?

You only need to perform research once you’ve defined your objectives, then select a team that will enable you to achieve your goals.

3. How can I ensure the project turns out successfully with an offshore software development team?

Communication is key in offshore software development. Also, provide instant feedback whenever there is a need. Besides, choose reliable means of communication, be it email, skype, phone numbers, and Zoom, among others.

For more information about offshore development contact leading software development company India Aalpha information systems.

Also read : How to Hire Dedicated Software Development Team