Hiring Offshore Developers for Managed Development Solutions

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed the workplace dynamic around us today. Enterprises have realized that in-house teams aren’t as necessary as they were initially thought to be, and that these teams can easily be alternated with offshore app developers who can manage a bulk of the work required to be done within the organization.

This adaptive response to COVID-19 can help businesses save costs, increase efficiency and reduce the time to market. Additionally, they can also benefit from increased efficiency and quality. In this article we compare the feasibility of hiring offshore developers for managed development solutions with maintaining an in-house team. Go through these factors and determine what’s best for you.

In-House vs. Offshore Development

Having in-house teams for software development and management isn’t a complete no-no for your business. Scaling your in-house team and growing in size has its own benefits, but there are a number of drawbacks as well.

Let’s imagine you have a small in-house team that cannot manage the workload during the next week. You may be tempted to hire more developers, but will you be able to justify their pay slip for the rest of the year? Keeping this in mind, it is necessary that businesses only go for an option when they are sure that they may be able to maintain the standards for a significant period of time without failing in quality.

Pros and Cons of In-House Development

Pros:

Accessibility

The accessibility offered through your in-house team is exceptional. When you’re working alongside each other, from the same office, you’re able to communicate better and collaborate efficiently. Additionally, you’re in the same time zone and there are no barriers to planning, communication, development and collaboration.

Quality Checks

Working with an in-house team allows you to maintain a check on quality throughout the development process. There is no room left for errors when you’ve kept an eye on all aspects of the development process.

Cons:

Costly

Maintaining an in-house team can be costly in the long run. You have to pay each staff member on a monthly basis and pay other benefits as well.

Limited Expertise

Progression and innovation in your services will be dependent on the skills of the employees currently within your network. Hiring new developers may not be the solution if you have more work, especially based on how expensive they can be.

Scalability Is Difficult

Finally, scalability can be difficult if you have an in-house team. Most companies do not have the resources to hire more people for more speed and more business opportunities.

Offshore Development

Pros:

Reduced Costs

Perhaps the biggest benefit of hiring offshore developers is the reduction in costs. Maintaining an in-house team comes with its own costs and overheads. Businesses are often unable to keep a check on these overheads and may stumble under the burden they bring. Hence, it is best that businesses opt for a firm that reduces costs and manages overheads.

Seamless Scalability

Expanding operations and growing in size is no difficulty with offshore teams. In fact, having an offshore team makes it easier for businesses to scale their operations when required.

Diverse Expertise

Offshore teams come with a number of diverse professionals that bring their own expertise and experience to the table. These diverse ideas and experiences can lead to innovation in design and implementation.

Cons:

Lack of Collaboration

While collaboration is a plus point with in-house teams, it takes a significant hit with offshore teams. However, with the recent surge in online conference and communication tools, we can expect a surge in remote communication.

Lack of Management

Your management will find it difficult to keep an eye on all employees if there is a remote team. The problems in management will eventually show in product quality.

Things to Consider Before You Hire an Offshore Development Team

You might face some complications while finding the best offshore software developers. Some of the factors you should consider here include:

Determine Business Objectives

Before you go looking around for developers, you should spend some time and effort determining the objectives you’ve set for your business. Determine whether going offshore is the right move for you and sits well with these objectives.

Only go for offshore teams when the objectives you set for yourself are best achieved through the move toward remote work.

Opt for Flexibility

You should preferably opt for an offshore development team that prioritizes flexibility and isn’t necessarily following a strict and rigid procedure that does not adapt to your requirements. Such a team will take away the real benefit of the move. Instead, go for a team that remains flexible and sits well with the true nature of the offshore move.

Examine Their Resources

Before you move toward an offshore development team, make sure you examine their resources and have no doubts about their ability to look after your requirements. The offshore development team you hire should have the labor force required to oversee your project requirements and give you a flexible working environment. Additionally, you should also consider how they sit within your corporate culture.

Select Appropriate Time Zone

As highlighted above, time zones can be a hassle when working with offshore firms. Keeping this in mind, it is necessary that you select programmers from a country that is not too difficult to coordinate with when it comes to time zones. Even if you do select a completely different time zone, try to make sure you have personnel available to communicate with them during the graveyard hours.

The right programmers can add significant value to your organization and can offer cost savings in the process as well. We hope you now know the steps to take and the things to consider before moving toward offshore developers.