Offshore Software Development: Pros, Cons and Best Practices

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November 30, 2020 Business

This article aims at exploring offshore software development in detail. It looks into the right practices and measures to make outsourcing a success for software development companies.

SMEs and large enterprises, across the world, are moving towards offshore software development to achieve modern business goals and objectives. Today, companies use the best talent from round the globe to come up with the best possible product to meet competitive digital needs. This approach has proved to be successful for both businesses and software developers.

And so, a lot of software development companies have extended their services to offshore software development. For those who are thinking of employing offshore development must evaluate the significance, pros, and cons of their project.

What is Offshore Software Development?

It is important to take note that offshore software development is what we know as outsourcing. However, the word offshore indicates that the company or team of software developers is located in a foreign country, with different time zones and less geographical proximity.

Offshore software development companies work with businesses, SMEs and large organizations, across the globe. They employ a team of highly skilled software developers, provide them with the right IT resources and enable them to communicate with clients abroad. It develops a network of cooperation and collaboration.

As the team of custom software developers understand the client’s needs and requirements, they find the best strategic approach to initiate the process. Some developers use agile methodology while others rely on different models of development. Accordingly, the development process starts and moves towards completion.

Be it custom software development or mobile app development, development companies are rich in methods, tools, and resources today!

It is easy to look at it this way: let’s say a business in France hires a team of software developers from India to create a custom software. Now, this is known as offshore development. On the other hand, if a business chooses to collaborate with a custom software agency in France, it will still be outsourcing but due to geographical proximity, we call it as onshore software development.

In United Kingdom, a number of governmental agencies are offering custom software development services such as Innovate UK and Tech Nation UK.

So, it is crucial to understand the concept before you let the attractive words on the internet take you!

Pros and Cons of Offshore Software Development

Now, offshore software development is not always the right choice. Sometimes, it does not end up as profitable, both in terms of cost and business growth, as you thought it would. Therefore, one must assess the pros and cons:

Pros

Here’s the bright side of offshore software development:

Cost efficiency. The costs of living are lower in Asia and some parts of Eastern and Northern Europe. So, the software development companies in these areas charge a less hourly rate. This translates into lower development costs in addition to lifetime maintenance and support, in most of the cases.
Access to qualified developers. A software developer with strong qualifications and competent skills in some specific areas make them highly talented experts. Getting in touch with some professional team is a bonus for your project in itself.
No recruiting, no training. If your business does not require a 24/7 development team on board, it is useless to recruit developers. With offshore software development, you need not to recruit or train employees. This largely reduces the overall cost of the project.
Flexible maintenance. Gone are the days of conventional maintenance methods. Today, it is easier to maintain a software from miles far, reducing maintenance needs and costs.

Cons

Just like the coin has two sides, so does offshore software development. Here’s something you need to consider about it:

Communication constraints. While it is not a big issue, it can still be difficult to maintain effective communication due to different time zones, working hours, etc.
Cultural constraints. Even though it is not something to worry about in this modern, globalized world, sometimes cultural gaps do affect the development.
Less guarantee. What takes offshore software development to succeed is a matter of reliability and credibility. Unfortunately, there’s less degree of guarantee when it comes to quality and cost.
Security risks. Protecting your data and critical information becomes a challenge when working with offshore team. It adds to security risks and threats.

How to Conduct Successful Offshore Software Development?

To make outsourcing a success, one needs to reduce the risks and look into the right ways to conduct offshore software development. Here’s how:

Study the Market Demand

Studying the market demand helps in picking the most profitable niche. This way, you can look into the needs and expectations of your target customers.

Create a Roadmap

Creating a roadmap transfers your thoughts onto paper. It facilitates reaching your milestone. Also, you need to list down legal regulations and gather required technologies, tools, and talent in one place.

Prepare Models

You need to show customers what you are going to offer them. Even if you do not create actual products, it is crucial to have wireframes, sketches, and models to provide detailed insight. It gives the customer a peek into your capabilities and skills.

Invest in the Right Tools and Resources

Getting your hands on the right tools and resources determines your success. This makes your projects agile, speedy, and cost-effective, not only for customers but for you as well.

Hire Skilled Developers and Project Managers

Last but not least, hiring skilled developers to focus on development is important. Also, you need to recruit project managers to overlook the progress while developers do their job. It helps streamline communication with workflow.

Verdict

Offshore software development has taken a toll on the world of IT. Thousands of companies are already offering outsourcing services. With that, it is difficult to enter the competition and find your way towards success. However, if you have adopted the right practices, it offers you a competitive edge in the industry.

Custom software development companies like FortySeven software professionals offer world-class fortyseven IT outsourcing services across the globe.

About the author:

Hanna Shnaider is an expert in custom software development. Over the years, she has worked with different software companies, gathering a rich experience in modern technologies.