In modern global business markets, outsourcing software development is becoming increasingly common for various reasons – access to better expertise, lower cost, focus on core business, and better time-to-market, are a key few among many reasons for outsourcing. However, with such a variety of offshore software developers flourishing in the market today, choosing the right partner is not easy.
Most organizations make the decision based on cost, which may result in low quality results, and ultimately frustration. One sure way to make the right decision is to have an understanding of the most common mistakes made when selecting an offshore software development partner and how to avoid them.
Why You Should Use an Offshore Software Developer
With software projects becoming increasingly complex, organizations experience a tough time hiring and training talent to build cutting-edge software. Turning towards a successful and highly competent offshore developer can be a natural choice. And although the process of hiring a partner might seem long and cumbersome, considering the benefits it offers, offshoring software development can be an attractive business proposition for various reasons:
Lower Cost
Maintaining an in-house IT team that has expertise in the latest technologies is not only time-consuming but also challenging. By offshoring your software development, you can avoid having to invest in IT infrastructure or spend time recruiting, hiring, and training employees and lower your software development costs.
Access to a Vast Pool of Talent
With offshore development, you can get access to a vast pool of talented and knowledgeable software engineers with extensive experience in developing software applications that meet international standards and quality. In addition, offshore partners have the much-needed experience of working on custom software development projects for other clients with a better understanding of the challenges involved.
Faster Time-to-Market
With a dedicated team, you can be sure to have qualified people working around-the clock-to deliver quality software. Not only can they get work done faster, but also ensure your product reaches the market sooner. In addition, an external team can offer new insights to improve your business processes, letting you drive innovation and creativity at each stage of the software life cycle.
Focus on Core Business Activities
Offshore software development enables you to concentrate on your core business strategy, instead of worrying about managing complex and time-consuming tasks associated with software development. It lets you drive efforts on core practices without the additional stress of running and managing a software development team.
Business Growth
Offshore software development gives organizations of all types and sizes access to the same skilled labor force; this not only reduces costs but also the time required to develop software. You can focus on your strengths and core processes, and drive business growth.
5 Hiring Mistakes that Can Hinder Your Offshore Software Development Success
With offshore software development offering such a variety of benefits, it makes complete business sense to hire a partner. Hiring an offshore software development partner requires a sufficient investment of time and evaluation of vendor qualities and capabilities; however, many companies end up making a rushed decision – either due to budget or time restrictions or based on instincts. Here are the top 5 mistakes to avoid when hiring an offshore software development partner:
1. Not Carrying Out Proper Research
When you decide to offshore software development, it is very important to find the right partner. The type of partner you select plays a very crucial role in the outcome of the software development project, and lack of proper research can take all of your efforts downhill. Make sure you carry out detailed research on prospective vendors.
- Interview several vendors and shortlist the ones that best fit your requirement.
- Understand how many projects they typically work on at a time and how much time they will devote to your project on a daily basis.
- Have a complete understanding of the vendor’s portfolio and experience.
- Understand the teams’ backgrounds, and who exactly will be working on the project once the contract is signed.
- Don’t miss out on asking for references of similar, successful projects.
- Understand if they’re familiar with your industry and associated challenges.
2. Focusing on Cost
Organizations that focus on cost savings don’t realize that the cheapest or most convenient model may not necessarily be the right choice for their business. No matter what offshore model you choose, when you decide on offshoring software development, you need to put your business requirements ahead of the cost factor.
- Make sure the partner you choose has the required technology expertise.
- Understand their project management capabilities and make sure they have the experience and exposure needed to fulfill your objectives.
- Make sure the partner works in your time zone, or at least offers support during your working hours to ensure quick resolution of issues.
- Since offshore projects usually run for a couple of years, make sure the partner you choose is dependable, capable, and flexible to understand your requirements.
3. Not Clearly Stating Requirements
When you seek an offshore partner, you must provide vendors with sufficient information about what type of product you expect them to develop. Organizations that fail to clearly communicate requirements often end up with unfavorable outcomes. Make sure to clearly state:
- Your business requirements that will enable the offshore partner to carefully plan the development of your software project in the best way possible.
- Type of experience you desire for your users so that your partner can include those requirements into the UI.
- What actions will your users take with your product to meet their needs?
- Provide customer personas including look and feel of your software and explain if you expect the app to be available on iOS, Android, or the web.
4. Neglecting Workforce Diversity
When choosing an offshore IT partner, most companies often neglect issues that could arise from the vast diversity between the onshore and offshore teams. Although culture can be a barrier to successful offshore projects, if you make the right investments in understanding the cultural differences, you can ensure it does not affect the output.
- Make sure to conduct cultural awareness workshops at the very beginning to understand and appreciate cultural differences.
- Consider the option of deploying culturally compatible resources at the offshore location – a team of local onsite personnel can better manage the relationship.
- Ensure the partner team possesses the required communication skills in the language of your organization.
- Make it a point to clearly mention the end-user’s culture in order to deliver a quality product that meets the intended need.
5. Outsourcing to Vendors that are Falling Behind on Modern Trends
The latest technical know-how is a must-have for an ideal offshore team. If your offshore partner is not technologically advanced, and falls behind on modern trends, there is a high likelihood of your software product being irrelevant and outdated.
- Make sure you are linking up with a team that keeps itself abreast with the latest technological trends.
- As requirements are vulnerable to change, make sure offshore teams are efficient in using modern collaborative tools to work together and stay up to date.
- Choose a partner that leverages agile project management for better transparency and accountability.
- Ensure the partner adheres to industry standard best practices and considers quality as a top priority.
Choosing the Right Partner for the Right Outcome
As software product development becomes more and more complex and skilled talent becomes more difficult to find, software offshoring is becoming extremely widespread. Although offshoring offers a range of benefits, the concept is still new to a lot of companies and can be confusing if not planned well. By understanding the common mistakes and risks associated with outsourcing, you can make the right decision on an offshore software developer and achieve the right business outcomes for your investment.
Learn more about choosing the best offshore software development teams for your organization.
