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Hiring an offshore software development team has become a common option for both established companies and startups. While it gives you the freedom to choose the right development team for your business, you need to understand a few things to get it right.
As top tech talent is in high demand globally, building an in-house development team can be both challenging and costly. However, by opting for an offshore software development team, companies can benefit from reduced development costs while ensuring the quality of their code.
Whether you’re new to the process of hiring an offshore development team or are looking for tips and advice, this guide will help you achieve your goals.
Every software company has different requirements – some want to add a new feature to their product, and some want to scale their businesses.
So, when is the right time to hire an offshore development team?
Here are 5 common triggers:
Maybe you’re working with a niche technology or a popular programming language where developers are in short supply. In such cases, broadening your talent pool from a single city, state, or country to the entire world means you’re more likely to find the right expertise.
Getting an offshore software development team can be much easier when scaling your business. You can quickly get the right team to meet your requirements. You don’t have to worry about the long and costly hiring process. Similarly, it’s easier to scale down because you can just leave the team without worrying about employee benefits and exit interviews.
With a business to run, it’s important for you to carve out time and focus on your overall business strategies. An offshore development team can help you focus solely on your business by handling the development part.
Every country operates on a different pay scale, so getting an offshore team can save a lot of money. All you need to do is find developers in another part of the world where the pay scale and cost of living is less expensive.
With no hiring process, onboarding, or training required, offshore development teams, can get up and running much more quickly. You can quickly get a new team per your requirements and speed up your development process. Additionally, getting an offshore team from different time zones means you can run your development process 24 hours.
Now that you understand the different scenarios where you might need an offshore software development team, let’s see where you can find them for your business.
There are 3 main places to look for an offshore development team:
Sites such as Clutch list IT companies. These are great for finding specific expertise, and there are usually customer reviews. However, knowing exactly what you’re getting in terms of code quality and service can be difficult.
If you need a smaller offshore development team, say one or two developers, you might find what you need on a freelance website such as Upwork. The problem with this approach is that it might cost you more than finding freelancers on your own, but it will give you more security and reliability.
With a single point of contact, self-managing teams, and hand-picked talent, software development companies make a logical choice for an offshore development team, especially when you need clear costing, transparency, and reliability.
Bringing in an offshore development team is similar to having a remote team. The main difference is that offshore teams don’t need to be managed in the same way. In fact, with a self-managing team, your Product Owner will need to have very little involvement at all.
But that’s not to say that there won’t be challenges, such as working across time zones and using the same technical terminology. So what can you do to ensure things run as smoothly as possible?
Here are 10 tips to set up your offshore development team for success:
Your offshore team may be on the other side of the world, but they’re an important part of your software development. Make sure to meet regularly with them and clearly communicate your ideas. If possible, try to meet in person as well.
One of the reasons you are getting an offshore development team is to free your time for other important tasks. So, instead of micromanaging them, trust that they will get the job done and let them do tasks independently.
From the start, you should treat the offshore team as your leadership team and share your vision and goal. This way, they will have a bigger picture of what you are trying to achieve.
As a product owner, it can be difficult to entrust your entire development process to strangers located in another part of the world. But if you are confident towards them and believe they are skilled and know their stuff, you need to give them ownership.
During a time of crisis or some software blocker, you don’t want your offshore software development teams sitting idle. So make sure you have planned proper tasks for them under different circumstances.
Don’t wait for Scrum meetings or the daily/weekly standup to communicate with your offshore team. Set up a proper culture where you talk with the offshore team, just like how you talk with your in-house team. This will give you a good sense of what’s going on.
Audio and text-based communication is fine, but it doesn’t always give you a true sense of how someone’s feeling. Video calls are a great way to get to know your development team better.
Visual media like images and videos are the best way to communicate your software idea with the development team. So, try to use these mediums to avoid any confusion that might arise down the road.
English won’t be the first language for most of your offshore team, so always use simple languages while communicating. Don’t just assume they understand everything. Ask questions and try to be as direct as possible to avoid confusion
There is a high chance that your offshore team will be working in different time zones. So, adjust your timeline and schedule meetings beforehand.
Many countries around the world offer highly-skilled and cost-effective software development teams. These include:
Timezones: UTC +2, +3
Hourly Rates: $30 – $55
Timezone: UTC +8
Hourly Rates: $50 – $80
Timezone: UTC +5:30
Hourly Rates: < $25 – $50
Timezone: UTC +5:45
Hourly Rates: < $25 – $40
Discover the right destination for your offshore development needs by reading our blog post on the best countries for offshore software development.
There are many benefits to hiring an offshore team in IT. Here are some of the main advantages:
You can agree to a single upfront fee, and when your project finishes, there are no further costs. Global differences in the cost of living can also save money.
Tap into a global market of educated software engineers, and get the skills and experience you need when you need it most.
Let your offshore dev company select the best talent for your needs and handle all the onboarding and training for you.
Hiring an offshore development team means that they can scale with you as your needs change and demand grows.
Take advantage of timezones and get your development going around the clock. Take your product iterations to market faster.
Want to know more about the benefits of hiring an offshore team in IT? Read our blog on the benefits of offshore software development.
In IT, offshore teams are employees or contractors from different countries who fulfill your software development requirements.
Examine the company’s portfolio, previous projects, and case studies in detail. Consider the issues they addressed, the methods they used, the duration of the projects, and if available, the associated costs.
Conduct frequent and regular meetings, and make an effort to meet with each team member individually. Utilize collaborative tools such as Slack, WhatsApp, and Google Meet to optimize communication.
Offshore employees are remote team members located in another country, or even on a different continent.
An offshore employee is a company employee who works in a different country. An offshore development team could refer to a group of employees working at a development center overseas, but it is more commonly used to refer to a company that offers software development teams as a service to other businesses.
While Nepal may be more recognized for its mountains, it is also home to some of the world’s top technology talent. Proshore, with locations in both Nepal and the Netherlands, is a leading provider of offshore services by assembling highly experienced software development teams.
We are committed to supporting Nepal’s young people in building a more prosperous future by creating highly skilled job opportunities in the country. Our expanding team of experienced and talented professionals in Kathmandu offers sustainable and remote software development solutions to clients globally.
Proshore takes all the strain out of building your ideal software development team. In fact, we put it together for you using our pool of 4000+ best tech talent that Nepal has to offer.
With 14+ years of experience, we fulfill your software and business needs.