5 important questions to ask before hiring an offshore development company
Now more than ever, when we’re facing an imminent global economic crisis, companies are looking for ways to achieve their software development goals without breaking the bank. Business owners and COOs are also constantly trying to find better ways to get projects done while increasing productivity and reducing overall costs. Fortunately, today’s technology provides an increasingly popular solution in this sense: outsourcing software development to teams and developers from all over the world.
Most companies don’t have the time, resources, or budget to build a team of in-house development experts for their software and website needs unless they’re already in the IT industry. Here’s where the power of working with an offshore development company comes into play. Working with a highly-skilled software development partner can help companies transform the developing software process into a much less costly, less stressful, and overall streamlined experience.
But what is precisely offshore outsourcing?
General software outsourcing is the practice of hiring third-party companies or individual employees to take care of specific tasks or projects related to software, website, and application development. When the outsourced development company is located abroad, this is called offshore outsourcing since the country is typically on another continent.
What are the downsides of offshore outsourcing?
If cost is your main concern, then this is the way to go. You can also take advantage of the time zone difference and coordinate your in-house development team and outsourcing vendor to keep your project running 24/7 – however, this requires full planning and communication skills from both sides. The main disadvantages of this option are obvious: time zone differences are almost always more of a hindrance than an advantage, disrupting the flow of communication between teams. In addition, cultural differences and language barriers can also lead to setbacks.
Top 5 questions to ask before signing the contract
1. How much will the project cost?
When companies are looking for a way to complete their development projects and don’t have the human resources to do so, an offshore development team will help reduce overall costs while providing quality services. Offshoring reduces costs compared to hiring full-time employees in-house by eliminating the need for additional equipment, constant salaries, and benefits like health insurance. It also means there are no additional fees for recruiting and training new employees. Due to a lower cost of living in countries where offshoring companies are based, they usually charge a much lower hourly rate than nearshore or onshore companies.
2. Is Customer Support Available?
Working with an offshore development team involves working in a different time zone, which can sometimes affect the quality of services as unforeseen problems can arise. Therefore, checking if the IT team provides 24/7support is essential.
3. How long will the project take?
Some projects may take longer, depending on how complicated they are. Offshore software development companies hire the most qualified people in their field as well as niched developers or people with unique skillsets to meet the needs of their clients. These companies offer access to a wide range of skills and knowledge of the latest and most remarkable niche technologies. Replicating this talent and skill diversity in a single office would take enormous time and money. Offshore software development companies shorten project times because the developers are already familiarized with many types of projects.
4. How will developers communicate with me?
While some companies find working with a virtual team in a different country and time zone a bit daunting, it is a very beneficial practice. It’s always a good idea to overlap at least a few hours of work time with the outsourced team to align priorities, get status reports, and resolve issues, but the outsourced team’s time zone is also a big help. While the in-house team rests, the outsourced team works, allowing tasks to be completed outside of regular onshore business hours, creating (almost) a 24-hour workflow.
5. Do you offer post-development support services?
Companies sometimes experience peaks and pauses in development work. One month may not have development projects running, while another may require a full team of experienced developers, testers, and designers to get the job done. During these periods, certain problems may occur with the product being created. Offshore companies are flexible and can respond promptly to the issues that may arise after the project is completed. However, some companies don’t want to resolve the problems that may occur after the end of the contract period, so be sure to check if maintenance is covered.
With the ever-increasing demand for software developers worldwide, many companies are partnering with an offshore vendor to help their business thrive. A highly-skilled development team like Redbee Software can definitely be of great help if you decided to outsource, as their team has lots of experience in projects from different industries and offers constant assistance throughout the collaboration.