It is estimated that almost 80% of the world’s largest 500 companies depend on their offshore teams for their operations. It is no secret that India is a leading offshore destination. According to AT Kearney, half of the top 500 companies in the world prefer to work with India based companies. Incidentally, 4 out of 10 remote software development professionals are based out of India.
Investing in offshore development can have several benefits such as cost optimisation, innovative solutions and the opportunity to focus on core competence. However, as there are multiple offshore development companies available, it becomes imperative to choose the right one.
Here are some tips on how to identify and partner with the right offshore development company. Hopefully, these tips will guide in finding and partnering with the right offshore development company.
Extensive research
Selecting an offshore web development company in India without doing proper research is one of the major mistakes that businesses make. Most startups choose the offshore company solely based on cost-efficiency. Although the cost factor is an essential factor in deciding the right partner, it is not the only factor. Other things like the company’s portfolio, expertise, feedback and reviews from previous clients must also be taken into consideration. It would help if you did thorough research on all these areas. After which you can ensure that you have found the right offshore partner for your project.
Evaluate their demonstrated experience
It’s 2021, and there’s no justification for not having some portfolio pieces or case studies on your website. These can offer an insight into what your offshoring partner can do, and how well they can do it. Your offshore development partner should be able to tell you about their experiences of building successful offshore development teams. Their approach to projects, timelines and results achieved are some parameters you should review. You can learn a lot about a company by evaluating their website. Keep an eye out for vagaries – the right offshore partner will know their stuff. You should consider improper language, imprecise descriptions, and broad claims as red flags. After researching all these areas, you’ll see whether they are a good fit for you and your business.
Basic tech expertise
All offshore companies have technical expertise in today’s world. But you should make sure that everything is well aligned at your end of the project too. Thus, it is essential to do regular monitoring of your project. Lack of technical knowledge may impose some risks on the project. So, you have to make sure the company you are going to partner with has expertise in technology. Having the right partner frees you from the stress of being on your toes with technological upgrades and implementations. It also gives you the advantage of leveraging the newest technology for your projects.
In sync with modern trends and updates
Partnering with outdated companies that are not in sync with the latest trends can impose difficulties in the longer run. It may appear that you have chosen to partner with a company who can code better than anyone else. For instance, an offshore web development company in India may be using specific workflows and interfaces. Those interfaces might not be accessible in some other region. This can cause a problem as to how the end-users will experience your software. No area is worse than others, but it is necessary to check that your offshore partner meets your expectations on other matters. Matters beyond technicalities such as compliance risks, work ethics, cultural barriers, broadband capacity.
Communication
The offshore development team at your company might have both local physical workers and remote offshore workers. So, you need to ensure that everyone is kept on the same page. If you discuss something with your local team or provide them with a specific type of offshore, make sure you do the same with your offshore team. Everyone needs to be patient with one another, especially at the start. During your early communications, you should check if the responses to emails and calls fast. You should see if the replies are polite. You should take any red flags in communication at the early stage seriously.
Legal aspects
When you partner with an offshore developer, you are giving away some control of how your business operates. The hired offshore developers will have access to your codes, access to your data, and various other things. Be sure that the offshore developer you partner with practices adequate data security. You should also have legal contracts set out to protect your company. There are different rules and regulations in other countries and areas. Be sure that everyone is compliant with the laws in your country and the country they are working from. It can be difficult at times, but it will save you from any hefty penalties or fines.
Thus, by using the checklist given above, you can improve your chances of choosing a suitable offshore development partner.
