Offshore Software Development: A Thorough Guide for 2023

In today’s promptly developing technological landscape, offshore software development has occurred as a shrewd tool for brands aspiring to innovate, scale operations, and augment their competitive edge. Reaching reliable firms far away in different countries and seeking global talent cut down costs and yet get business-efficient services. It is intriguing.

You might not believe the idea entirely. But I’m sure there is this big question that comes up on how to hire developers if you are a tech startup or a company looking for any software development or IT services. So here is a brilliant suggestion – get the resources from offshore. It is not just a suggestion; we are backing the ideas with an extensive guide so that you get a better sense of this method.

What is Offshore Software Development?

Offshore software development is the derived version of outsourcing, like when the developers are hired from offshores to serve the various IT requirements. It could include software development, testing, maintenance, porting, upgradation, and many more services. Here one thing has to be very clear outsourcing; one could choose freelance developers or an IT firm with the top class pool of developers.

Now we got understand that choosing an appropriate firm from which one can outsource resources is a way better option. Here is why.

Freelance developers mostly are specialized in one task, and then there would be a requirement for multiple freelancers to serve the entire purpose, say an app or website development. When it’s about product development, choosing in-house vs. freelance vs. offshore hiring is a big question. A company needs that all of their requirements can be served in one place, who takes responsibility, offers flexible costing, and the best resources. Here offshore tech companies plays a role.

Even the statistics show that. According to GlobeNewswire, the global IT outsourcing market was valued at $318.5 billion in 2020 and is forecasted to grow $425.19 billion by 2026, with a CAGR of 4.5%. They also mention that with the growing cloud migrations and choices of cloud services, IT outsourcing has evolved into more than just a cost-reduction approach.

Steps of Offshore Software Development

Whether startups or well-established businesses, reaching out to a reliable firm for offshore development requires a specific process. One can do so by following the process explained below:

Prepare the Services and Budget

Make a detailed report about the requirements of the software development services required for the business. It could be initiated by mentioning the project idea and future goals with the IT solutions, a detailed listing of the services and discretions regarding the technology stack, and preparing a budget that you can invest in the assignment. While outsourcing, you should be ultra-clear about the requisites as it has to be clearly conveyed to the IT firm.

Choose the Location

To choose the best partner for your IT assignments, you have to analyze the firm thoroughly. Start by selecting the location that has the best resources around the world. Some of the most preferred countries are India, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brazil, etc. The location will determine the price and stability while working with them.

Verify the References

Get recommendations and examine the best IT firms by going through their websites, assistance, and past projects. You can also conduct a virtual meet-up to learn more about their grade of services and a team of developers. Then investigate their ability, trustworthiness, and suitability to select the right one.

Assure Signing NDA Form

It is really important that the IT firm you select sign up a non-disclosure agreement so that your business idea, project, or vision is with anyone. You can also choose to reach out to the clients of the IT firms for the assurance to protect your idea when you onboard their team.

Check their Hiring Process

There is the possibility that the IT vendors might have an extended, complex resource hiring procedure which can delay your tasks. So check up on the procure before finalizing the IT firm.

Interview Resources

Once you have narrowed down your list of potential offshore development firms, it is essential to conduct interviews with each of them and possibly their developers to get assurance that they have the required skillset and background needed to finalize your IT assignment.

Prepare a Contract

Once you have preferred the right firm and developers for your IT solution, it is consequential to draft a contract that clearly outlines the scope of the project, the timeline, the payment terms, and all other essential points. This will administer that everyone is on the same page and that the project is completed successfully.

Coordinate With Team

Communicate with the team on regular basis about the project, agreeing on the mutually decided tools. Take updates, and ask for revisions if required for the project. Make sure there is smooth communication between you can the outsourced team. You can also utilize tools with which you can track the project.

There is no confined process to get an outsource software development. There could be many factors affecting the development procedure. Although this process mentioned above is the general approach that includes all the essential steps.

Services One can get from Offshore Resources

There can be many tech services that can be outsourced from offshore IT firms. One can choose a full stack or specialized developer relying on the necessities of the assignment. Here is the list of IT requirements an offshore firm can serve:

Mobile App Development

When your business model relies completely on an IT firm, and you mandate a full-scale mobile app development process to be executed from scratch, an offshore firm can be a smarter choice. You can save on the in-house maintenance of the team, pay them, gives them perks, paid leaves, sick leaves, etc.

Web Development

As a mobile app, hiring offshore resources for the complete web development process can also ensure quality, implement all the trending and avant-garde features, and adopts an agile process to build it.

Web App Development

Outsourcing developers to build a web application for your brand that can appeal to a potential audience. They could have a familiarity with the trends around the planet and can adopt the bests possible strategies for the web app development process to execute the idea into a practical web application.

Software Designing

You can also seek the best and most creative design for mobile apps, websites, and web applications. Either get designing services from scratch, or modifications, or thorough transformations of the user interface of the app or web.

QA Services

Besides development, the software also needs a thorough quality testing process so as to ensure it is prepared to launch. The offshore team can also conduct all the required manual and automated testing procedures for the softwares.

Mobile App Maintenance

Outsourcing is again an outstanding approach for mobile app maintenance to confirm a high-grade, up-to-date, and business-ready solution. It will ensure the versatility to perfume with the assignments for the outsourced team so they cannot have to perform the procedure dedicatedly, and yet your software can be maintained properly.

Benefits of Offshore Software Development

Here are the benefits of offshore software development:

Cost Efficiency

Companies offering outsourcing resources also offer various pricing model that offers resilience and efficient investments. Also, you can prefer a country where the expenses are low and also pick the cost-saving pricing model. Also, the cost is saved when you require to boost the team, and hiring an outsourcing squad eliminates the overhead prices.

Accessing Global Talent

Outsourcing makes it possible to get exposure of developers around the planet to various resources required for software development. They can help in developing and scaling the project quickly with their global-level talent to execute the idea.

Scale Quickly

A startup can expand swiftly with outsourcing. You can prefer the level of competence, the number of programmers, and the duration of the collaboration with offshore outsourcing software development. Also, leaning on the demands in the future, you can easily, without any hesitation, curate the team.

Focus on Business

This team, from a distance, will be conducting the substantial part of the assignments you mandate with responsibilities, and therefore, you can focus more on the business instead of addressing the in-house team if you have chosen this option.

Latest Tech Stack

Most outsourcing companies offer choices in technologies to build the product. So one can select the latest and most efficient tech stack. Whereas in the in-house team, you get restricted skills for the developers.

Challenges of Offshore Development and Solutions

Although until now we have discussed many good parts of outsourcing, it does have many challenges to overcome. So here is the list of some that you do not get scared of when they come and prepare for it in advance.

Time Zone Difference

Well, it’s not exactly a challenge. When hiring offshore, you can get different time zones to operate with, which may cause delays in the development and launching process. But this can be just a task if you find a firm that lets your hire resources who can work with your time zones.

Communication Issue

Since you are making your team work from a distance, communication is a challenge. There could be a language barrier issue and time zone difference which again causes a communication gap. To solve this problem, a representative is required who can be proficient in a common language and can be answerable whenever required.

Security Challenge

Data leakage is one of the most pressing threats to the companies that work with the offshore team. They have to share ideas and information with them. This is an entirely resolvable solution if you can contact the firm that signs the NDA form to protect the idea and share the information without any hesitation.

Quality Assurance

While working with the team over a distance also gives you second thoughts about the quality assurance for your project. This could be due to any reasons like communication issues, doubts about the team you have chosen, not sure about the skillset of the developers hired, and whatnot. This can only be resolved if you perform interviews with the soft and hard skills of the developers. Knowing and communicating with them can eliminate this issue.

Tips to Choose a Right IT Firm for Offshore Hiring

Here are the goto tips to choose the right IT firm to outsource if you are a newbie and even for the one who wants to get pro at this task. Because choosing the right tech part is important so as to rely on them for profitable results.

Coordinating with the IT team

Coordination is the key to offshore development. Expressing your vision and then coordinating the development team using the tools like Trello, Jira, etc., so as to make sure the right process and proper results are on the way. It will ensure all the testing processes combine to get the appropriate results.

Share the project vision

Sharing the visions is also again crucial so that the offshore team understands the assertiveness of the purpose of the software development. That will also ensure that the work is performed, taking care of all the circumstances like time, goals, expectations, etc.

Work in Schedules

When working in different time zone, it is necessary to keep the work prescheduled. That is because, one, it will give you time to get real-time communication with the team to convey whatever you want. Second, it will allow you to make sure the team is on the same page, and you get your assignment done at the same time as per the decided time.

Manage priorities

In whichever way you are working with the development team, it is beneficial if the key metrics are discussed and then worked on them accordingly. Structuring the work well enough boosts efficiency and speed up the work for both team and your project.

Keep Management Expert

Instead of managing everything – team, project, taking updates, communicating, etc., appoint a company that has a pro-level project manager who can is only one who can handle it professionally and fills the gap between the developers and you.

Cost to Hire an Offshore Development Team

One significant reason to choose offshore development over in-house and freelance software development is cost efficiency. Although the cost of software development depends on various factors like country, the intricacy of the project, the pricing model is chosen, etc.

However, here are a few prices based on the country for offshore software development

Country	Cost in US Dollars per hour
India	20
Philippines	30
Vietnam	25
Brazil	35
Switzerland	40
Netherlands	50+

Conclusion

This is all about offshore software development that you should know before making any decisions for the IT assignment. It is time-efficient, cost-efficient, has talent exposure of around the world, and lot many things. Following the ideal process to choose an IT firm and adopting these pro tips to get the best new product that is ready to thrive in the market.

If you are looking to hire offshore software developers, Elluminati has an adept IT team of professionals who have the enterprise-level experience to execute your idea into a most practical solution.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the meaning of offshore software development?

Offshore software development is outsourcing a tech firm from another country to build software or even for any IT-related requirements.

What are the major advantages of offshore software development?

The major advantage of offshore software development is

• Cost efficiency
• Talent from around the world
• Easy scalability
• Low-risk of development

What are the services that could be outsourced?

Services that could be outsourced are

• Web app development
• Mobile app development
• Website development
• Designing
• Testing
• Maintenance of IT projects

Which are the most preferred countries to outsource?

The best countries to outsource are India, Vietnam, Brazil, the Philippines, etc.