A Complete Offshore Software Development Company Hiring Guide

Building and running a business is probably the hardest and the most fun thing any business owners do in their lifetime. And the toughest part of the job is to keep it relevant as trends and technologies change.  

One obvious way is to invest in software development solutions for business advancement. In the west almost every business is aware of offshore software development and looking at the trends, it is penetrating deeper into the market.  

Although numerous blogs are explaining all the intricacies of the offshore software development process, there is still a lot to understand about how the practice impacts your business, how it can be beneficial, and how it can meet your business needs in simple ways.  

Read on to know the hows, the whens, and wheres of hiring an offshore software development company.  

What is offshore software development? 

When a company or business hires an offshore development team to build software is known as offshore development. In general terms it is referred to as outsourcing, it can be either an onshore team hiring an overseas team to develop a product or provide a service or a business/company hiring an agency for the same.  

No two offshore teams are similar like most things in life. There are a variety of ways in which one can hire overseas resources. They generally fall into one of the following four packages: 

• Freelance offshore software developer  
• Offshore software development agency 
• Near shore software development agency  
• Combines onshore + offshore software development agency 

Also Read: Biggest Offshore Development Problems (And How to Solve Them)

When to get offshore software development? 

There are certain circumstances where offshore software development is more feasible than hiring an onshore developer. Some of the major factor that influences this decision are: 

1. Cost savings  

Offshore software development will save around 3x-5x of what you might spend while hiring a full-time onshore employee. You don’t have to think about and pay for expenses like monthly salaries, yearly bonuses, travel allowances, health insurance, and others. If you’re looking for a cost-cutting option, offshore software development is the best option.  

2. Business Scaling  

 It is the goal of every business owner to scale their business to great heights. And what is a better way to scale a business within a budget than offshore software development? The practice offers a great deal of options and variety to choose from to get the digital solutions that add value to your business.  

For whom is it most beneficial?  

• A tech company looking to expand in overseas locations.  
• A business focused on nontech services or products which can’t handle software additions and maintenance, like creating and running a professional website, adding a new feature in their eCommerce store, or mobile app updates and development.  
• A company with small onshore teams and more projects who are unable to deliver at the time.  
• Any business or company with a one-time software development project.  

Offshore software development is the most suitable option for all the above-mentioned businesses.  

Benefits of an offshore software development company 

It’s no secret that investing in the offshore software development strategy brings many unsaid benefits along. Some of them are: 

1. Access to great talent  

Everyone wants to hire from western countries but there are better talents in the world. There is a high demand in the software development field and other countries like India are doing great to fulfil the gap. India produces much talent and skill in the software development zone and is readily available.  

2. Low operational costs  

If you hire an in-house software developer the cost of operation is higher. When you hire offshore developers from western countries, due to the higher cost of a similar lifestyle, there are bigger salaries and higher bonuses even if they don’t have the same level of experience as an offshore software developer. When you hire an offshore software development company, you only pay for the work done, no extra costs.  

3. Scalability  

What happens when your most needed employees quit when you’re expanding? No such worries when you hire an offshore software development company. It is much easier to recruit and manage talents from software development agencies than a full-time resource. You can add more skills for better technology anytime you want.  

4. More focus on core business activities  

Don’t want to overlook every aspect of hiring a new development resource? Just pick the best offshore development company and focus on your core business activities full time. From hiring to payment until the project is delivered, the vendor takes care of everything so you get more time to concentrate on the actual business.  

Where to outsource software development from?  

Offshore Software development is available across the globe. You can choose any location you like. Here we discuss some of the best places to outsource your next software development project.  

• India  
• Latin America  
• Russia  
• Philippines  
• China  

Also Read: Why Choose India For Your Next Software Development Project

Although some locations might fit your company better, certain factors give some countries an edge over the others. For instance, India has the highest number of software professionals in the world, it is also the second-largest English-speaking country in the world and a talented pool of engineers is available at a fair price. Outsourcing software development to India has many benefits.  

How to hire the right software development company? 

The key to a successful software development project is hiring the right company. A lot of variables are at play, you don’t necessarily focus on all of them at once. Here is A simple two-step process to help you decode the secret of offshore hiring.  

Phase l  

The companies that successfully outsource software development agencies know exactly what they need. This is the crucial first step towards finding the best partner for offshore software development.  

Here is a list of simple yet powerful questions to guide you to narrow down the essentials that promote business growth in the future. 

1. What are your long-term business strategy and goals? Are you looking for a long-term technological partner or an on-demand support team for a single project?  
2. Do you want the project developed through a specific methodology? 
3. What are your future business expansion plans and what role will offshore software development play in it? 
4. Are you expecting communication on an everyday basis or a weekly progress report that suits you more? 

You also need a firm understanding of the technological side of the project. While it may be a little difficult for nontech business leaders to grasp it completely the first time, it can be achieved by direct interview with the offshore company, which we will discuss in a while. First, let’s see the list of important things to consider while short listing the best 3-5 portfolios.  

Also Read: Top 10 Software Development Methodologies to Choose from

• Focus on companies with the technological expertise pivotal for your business (a programming language, a particular framework, native app development, etc) 
• Look for software development companies with a narrow set of skills for specific software (CRM, CMS, others) 
• Trust their industry-specific experience you can leverage (fintech, travel, education, others) 

Phase ll 

Now it’s time to dive deeper into the shortlisted companies. You should start looking for what they are made of – who are the top management people, how competent are their employees, whether the company is financially backed up, and more. It is time for a thorough analysis.  

There are many ways to find out about your chosen vendor’s potential.  

1. Business experience  
2. Past project experience  
3. Technological expertise  
4. The feasibility of their software development process  
5. The end product stability, security, and reliability 
6. The tuning between your onshore team and offshore development team 
7. How well their sales team handle business and clients  

This two-step process is a brief version of a much longer and detailed process to get you started to hire an offshore software development company.  

Conclusion  

Our world changes fast and technology changes even faster. There is always something around the corner, a new update, a new feature, a better framework. To run a profitable business, you must be aware of the varying market trends and the latest tech penetrating the market.  

The software industry is huge and a new stack is added every day. If you want your business to rock, partner with the right offshore development company which has good people and skilled engineers to take your business to the next chapter.  

To get more info on how an offshore software development company can help you contact our leading software development agency in India.