Blog: Product Development

10 Signs That You’re Ready for an Offshore Software Development Partner

March 20, 2018 - by Manan Thakkar

Offshore software development is as old as software development itself. By offshoring select tasks of the software development process to remote resources with rich experience and expertise, companies are not only able to develop high quality software, but also save costs, and improve their time to market. The most strategic advantage of an offshore software development partner is in leveraging opportunities to gain access to highly competent and affordable software resources. So how do you decide whether you should offshore your software development process?

Signs to Look Out For

With advances in cloud computing and an increasingly skilled global workforce, a multitude of diverse projects can be offshored with greater control. If you’re not sure if your company is ready for offshoring, then look out for these signs:

1. Increased Expenses:

In the absence of qualified software resources, there is always an increase in expenses – expenses to hire professionals, or expenses to train them. With offshore development, even when working with the same level of qualified professionals, there may be significant differences in the salaries paid overseas. This can be especially true in countries that are recognized for their software development centers.

2. Inability to Focus on Your Core Business:

If your primary business is not in the development of software, having to deal with your in-house software development team imposes a substantial burden on your organization, in addition to increased operating costs. In these situations, you need to reach a cost-benefit trade-off, and consider ways in which you can benefit from offshoring a part of your services.

3. Diminished Innovation and Quality:

Innovation and quality are the main concerns for any company. If you see yourself not being able to offer good quality products, maybe it is time to get highly qualified professionals on board that follow the right standards in software development. If you try to build a team of your own with the same level of quality, you either have to hunt for very expensive resources (which may not be available), or invest heavily in training and it still may be some time for young professionals to have the maturity that’s needed to manage a project, let alone a new product release.

4. Difficulty Scheduling Resources:

One of the toughest tasks of assembling a good development team is in scheduling resources; identifying what work needs to be done, which resources will perform the work, and determining the time frame in which it needs to be completed is never easy. With offshore development, this problem is solved as you can take advantage of resources working on other projects as well. Instead of having to hire your own developers and programmers, you can get access to the right resources whenever you need them.

5. Taking Extra Hours to Meet Deadlines:

When there are deadlines to meet, and resources are few, quick identification and resolution of issues is critical. With an offshore team, you can greatly benefit with some extra hours ahead or behind your local time. Instead of making your in-house team work beyond their normal hours to meet important milestones, you can have changes implemented by the offshore team and deliver software quickly.

6. High Levels of Resource Attrition:

A high level of attrition is always cumbersome to handle. Replacing key resources in the team, and re-allocating tasks always results in work getting delayed. In the case of offshore development, the offshore company will immediately provide a replacement with a similar skillset to make sure the project doesn’t falter.

7. Unmotivated Employees:

For any task or project, your business may not require the same resources all the time – resources might be over-worked or under-worked during different periods and phases of the software development – which often results in unmotivated employees. By offshoring, you can have extra resources work during certain peak periods, or switch roles and positions to a more operative level during other times.

8. Poor Quality of Work:

While working with an in-house development team that is not so adept at software development, the challenges can be many, making high quality of work around-the-clock difficult. By hiring an offshore development company, you work with experts in the industry. Although your own developers or freelancers can get work done as well, having a pool of qualified resources to choose from ensures that your team will always have the best people to work on your software.

9. Lack of Collaboration:

Assembling a team from scratch for a new software project not only costs money, but it also takes a lot of time for resources to get familiar with each other. Since an offshore software product development team already has experience working together, it saves you time and money. As the team is already familiar with collaborating together, they can jump right into the development of your software.

10. Delayed Time to Market:

If you experience a delayed time-to-market with most of your products, it’s a sign you should consider offshoring as the development team knows what they are doing. With the right tools and development process in place, and by cutting out unnecessary additional steps in the process, offshore teams can get started quickly and finish your project much faster.

Alternatives to Offshore Software Development

For organizations that aren’t experiencing these signs, or for those not ready to partner for offshore services, there are some alternatives:

1. Onshore Outsourcing:

Onshore outsourcing means outsourcing a part or all of your software development process to a company located in your home country. However, since onshore teams cannot compete with the prices of offshore and nearshore companies, this option comes with a high price tag. Also, onshore companies often may not have the talent that you may require right away since they cannot afford to have any unoccupied workers. While choosing an onshore company, be very clear about the amount of time the company requires to hire and train the talent you need.

2. Nearshore Outsourcing:

Nearshoring almost works like offshoring – the only difference is that you work with a company in a similar time zone – making communication logistics easier. Although nearshore companies cannot compete with the hourly rates of offshore companies, the convenience of being in the same or a similar time zone makes it easy for you to plan onsite visits, and save costs, and stress for your company.

3. Rightshoring:

Rightshoring is the restructuring of an organization’s workforce to find the perfect mix of jobs that can be done in a foreign country or performed locally. When you choose a rightshore company, you only outsource simple and not-so-critical processes to other countries, while carrying out complex processes in-house. The benefit? By handling the important requirements of your business, you can ensure improved customer satisfaction and have a better control over your business.

Choose What’s Best for Your Business

Offshoring software development has proven to be extremely profitable for many companies worldwide. In a connected world driven by the onset of new digital capabilities, having a devoted and highly experienced team that works to their full potential is all you need to meet all your goals. Thanks to globalization, a lot of companies have made the choice to outsource to achieve a competitive edge. Although cost saving is a major driver for offshore software development, the expertise and specialization that you get allows you to focus on your company’s core areas and main goals. And if offshoring isn’t of any interest, you can always choose to onshore, nearshore, or rightshore your services – or better still, use hybrid services, there are so many options. So go ahead, carefully choose the right model, outsource a part or all of your software development products, and get quality products to the market quickly, and at reduced costs.

Learn more about how a skilled offshore software development partner can benefit your business and help you meet your goals.

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