How You Can Take Advantage Of Offshore Software Development For Your Startup
Offshore software development is often used as a convenient way to get your tech startup up and running without having to worry about immediate costs or overages of in-house staff members. The flexibility and cost savings associated with offshore software development makes it one of the most effective ways to ensure that your startup remains fiscally responsible while getting to market as quickly as possible, but it does not have to be the most expensive option for you either.
Here are some tips on how you can take advantage of offshore software development for your startup, saving both time and money in the process.
Advantages of offshore software development
Moving operations outside your home country typically entail significant savings. This is encouraged if you are dealing with high labor costs and living expenses compared to, say, India. Other advantages of offshore software development include:
- cost efficiencies that come from large volumes of work,
- ease of geographic reach (making access to talent easier),
- as well as increased levels of productivity.
Let’s consider an example: Company A moves its customer service support operation overseas, where it now has a workforce size of 300 people to handle the customer service needs of 100,000 customers. That translates into 1.5 agents per customer—twice the ratio Company A had domestically. At half the price per agent that Company A was paying at home, this move not only helped Company A’s bottom line but also dramatically improved customer satisfaction scores.
Businesses and entrepreneurs have a wealth of options to choose from when it comes to outsourcing their start-up’s software development.
Here are some basic pointers for how to get started on the journey:
- Determine whether or not you want complete autonomy over the direction and final product or if need customizing such as languages, time zones, or timeframes.
- Ensure that you will have a high volume of traffic through your site by selecting a country with high broadband speeds, education levels, and literacy rates in English. In general, Eastern Europe or parts of Asia offer both lower costs and fewer bugs in the code with research data correlating nicely with those locations. Some well-known companies that outsource their software development include TPG Capital, a company providing private equity capital to growth firms; IBM, one of the largest computer technology companies in the world; Lulu Group Limited which is an Australian multinational retailer; and Dell Inc., one of the largest technological corporations. For example, Lulu Group Limited has about 60% of its employees located overseas primarily for customer service.
The major difference between them is cost – each company has different factors that contribute to what they’re willing to pay depending on location as well as other variables such as deadlines and turnaround times which means they’ll be more expensive closer to home than farther away. The choice ultimately rests with you – find out what best fits your needs!
1. Take advantage of time zones
Offshore development allows companies to have a team that is dedicated to completing projects and tasks at all hours of the day since they’re based in different time zones. When the whole team is working on a deadline, it’s good to know that there are people awake right now who are available to complete those tasks.
Offshore development teams also offer greater levels of flexibility when it comes to turnaround times, being able to deliver faster results than if done locally. This reduces turnaround times and improves responsiveness. It’s possible that offshore teams can also produce better work due to having more experience in managing complex projects with deadlines than many local teams, who may be stuck doing just one thing over and over again.
2. Use different tools based on location
If you are in America, the following tools are highly recommended: Slack, GitHub, and WordPress. If you are located in Europe the following tools are recommended: Slideshare, and Linkedin. If you reside in China the following tools are recommended: WeChat and Baidu Tieba. If you live in Japan the following tools are best for use: Line and Yahoo!
Buzzfeed. com is a great example of how offshoring can be very advantageous. They created over 300 web-based videos with their Filipino team, saving them up to $4 million dollars. Their most popular video was about 18 seconds long and cost just $10 to make; it now has over 4 million views on YouTube.
3. Keep in touch with developers
The best way to do this is by sending them a weekly email and asking for updates. The scope, progress, and updates should be as specific as possible. If the developer needs more time or help in order to finish their work, it’s imperative that they ask for it as soon as possible so that you don’t lose momentum. On the other hand, if they’re doing great and might need an extra hand to finish up, make sure that you can provide one immediately without needing any further investment on your end.
Ask them how they want to be paid:
Finally, make sure that your developers are being paid appropriately for the type of work they are doing. Offshore workers are typically compensated with salary plus hourly rates, but some will ask for upfront payments. You will have to decide which approach works best for you.
4. Talk about any specific needs you have
Software developers are being called on to design and develop more and more sophisticated applications in an increasingly competitive market. Having an offshore software development company with the appropriate skill sets is a great way to get access to those who specialize in creating innovative products without the overhead costs.
In addition, customers will find that having access to those skilled designers, engineers, and programmers from a distance benefits them as well. It becomes easier for them to do their jobs because they now have resources at their fingertips that are available all over the world 24 hours a day!
5. Know what to look for when hiring an offshore team
When hiring a team to complete offshore software development, be sure to look for a company that is highly skilled in what they do and familiar with your industry. Additionally, it’s crucial that the company has excellent customer service and support. Next, pay attention to the company’s resume.
- Is it filled with previous client references?
- Does it boast about the experience with the type of project you want to be done?
- Finally, examine other people’s reviews. Are they positive or negative? If there is more than one reviewer, does their opinion match up or differ on a consistent basis? By making use of these guidelines while evaluating potential partners, you should be able to find an offshore team that will work well with you and bring success.
It seems like an easy decision to outsource some of your IT needs if there are professionals willing to do the work at a lower price. However, there are risks involved in this process that should not be ignored. It’s important to look at all angles before taking this step. One way is by making sure they have knowledge of localization standards so that they can effectively communicate with employees from different countries and cultures as well as adhere to standards set by company policies such as HIPAA laws.
Another thing you should look for when hiring a company is whether or not they have staff members that speak English fluently or if there will be any language barriers between workers on site vs those working remotely from home offices around the world.
Salman Zafar is a serial entrepreneur, digital marketer, writer and publisher. He is the Founder of Techie Loops
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