Ultimate Guide for Offshore Software Development

If you are part of a software development, it is highly likely that you can understand the challenges which come along the way in developing a product. The product that is being planned to develop should have good market demand and value. You need to find creative and skilled people to form a development team at the earliest. The development should be technically and technologically advanced to beat the competitors. In other words, software development requires a number of skilled employees, best equipment and a good budget to complete the work on time without any delays. These requirements can be quite a burden to some companies which are looking for cost-effective methods.

Need for offshore team

Offshore software development is the answer to business firms and start-up companies with inadequate staff, skilled workers, and a limited budget. Outsourcing the software development helps the firms to overcome the challenges and make a difference. There are equal risks in considering offshore software development as so many non-vigilant companies have fallen prey to the fraudulent services and resulted in the loss of money and time. Before taking the leap and hiring the offshore software development, you need to be knowledgeable of a few things to make the transition to offshore a matter of ease.

Basically, hiring an offshore development team is nothing but acquiring a company in another country to do your software development work. The offshore software development firm should have expertise in the product you intend to develop and be able to work on your given budget and deliver the result in stipulated time. It is far easier to hire an offshore development team than building on in your office from scratch. It saves time and money to your company and gives you the liberty to hire someone else with amazing development skills.

Advantages:

• Cost effective: It is a flat fee pay than dealing with individual timesheets and salaries of all the members in the development team. You can get good value for the money spent by hiring a top offshore development team with a difference in cost of living. Usually western countries save a lot on a budget by off-shoring it to other regions with the difference in currency value.
• Skilled employees: It is often difficult to hire skilled employees to your existing team and pay them a lot of salaries. Find an offshore software firm which has hot talent pool with the latest technological advancements. It is also the fastest way to find trained employees with a good knowledge of current software technology.
• Low operational costs: Setting up a new team and allocating office space is a costly affair. Also, every software development has unique technology needs and related equipment requirements. Avoid such extra operational costs by hiring an offshore team with required machinery and staff. It also helps in the reduction of administration maintenance and hiring new staff for such operations.
• Reduced burden on current employees: Most companies dump the development work on the current employees to reduce the budget. This creates additional pressure and stress on the employees and results in reduced productivity. Off-shoring the work will free up the employees time and lets them concentrate on important projects.
• Ease of scale-up: The software development of a product is not a one-time project. Most of the developed software apps need to be scaled up occasionally based on the user response. Outsourcing such scale-up work is good for your company and saves it from fluctuations in current business and budget.
• Stable development: Business can run well under normal working environment without disturbing its balance when you outsource the development work. Off-shoring also helps to cut the extra costs of training your employees and lets them concentrate on brushing up their current skills and expertise.

Drawbacks:

• Time difference: The major problem which arises is the difference in time zones when you plan to outsource your work. It becomes difficult to schedule meetings and there is a risk in delay of work progress due to the time gap.
• Poor communication: It is very essential to have meetings between your company and the offshore partner to track the development process. Regular communication helps in making changes immediately in the project before it gets too late. Frequent updates are required to ensure that all the team members are well aware of the progress of software development.
• Risk of fraudsters: There is always a risk of running into fraudulent agencies without a proper background check. It is a serious issue that has to be addressed before planning to outsource software development work. The reputation of your company stands in line when you sign the offshore development contract with fraud firms.
• A difference of opinion: Both the offshore partner and your company should come to terms when it comes to developing a product. The ideas should be shared with team leaders and opinions should be registered to avoid conflict of interest.

How to make offshore development a hit

There is always a sense of uncertainty when it comes to working with offshore companies and it takes a lot of effort from your side to check their authenticity. Talk to the offshore partner and view their previous works and check how compatible they are with your working style. Consider the country regulations and partner firm’s business ethics before signing the deal. Discuss the aspects of software development stages and make it clear if you want them to handle the marketing of the final product or not.

It is better to get in touch with the previous clients of your offshore partner and see how they handled the project till completion. This gives you a better understanding of their working style and how they handle a crisis when they face challenges during the development of the product. Check the references of the on-site software developer to see his skills. Deal with challenges like time difference between them and your company during the first few weeks and establish a trust to work amicably in the future.

Author Bio: I’m currently working as Content Manager with Adreno Technologies. I have a great passion for digital marketing and I help small and medium-sized businesses improve their online presence and grow their revenue by formulating effective digital marketing strategies for them. Apart from Digital Marketing, I have a keen interest in Entrepreneurship, web development outsourcing, Brand Management, Tech Consultancy, etc.

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