There is a general notion about offshore development amongst many in the developed countries of the world. Many companies have been against offshore development and for reasons that cannot be completely denied. I had the chance of interacting with a prospective client from the United States regarding this perception last week (I am hit by this question on regular intervals).
Offshore Development – Reasons for being YELLOW
The reasons he stated are not completely deniable. Some of them are:
- Lower cost could mean lower quality
- Could cost more in the long run due to maintenance issues
- Requires more attention and assistance/collaboration
- Communication issues can delay production and in some cases, result in erred results. This will in turn require rework and thereby again cause delay.
As I said, although these points are not deniable, times have changed and are constantly evolving. From my experience, and from all of our clients’ perspectives, we have understood that to be against offshore development is not necessary. There has been a shift in the perception towards offshore development. If chosen properly, an offshore development setup can turn out to be more effective, productive and profitable to a company.
Offshore Development – Reasons for being GREEN
And to back this up, there are quite a few reasons too. The first and foremost point is that talented developers exist in every part of the world. Yes, talent and skill does not pertain to a particular geographical location. If you can lay your hands on a satisfyingly talented offshore development team, why not go with it?! Such a setup can work out best at all times, since the overall cost will be way lesser than involving with an onshore development team, and still you will not have to compromise on your standards. The quality of your product shall not go for a toss in such a case, and will not have to handhold the development process throughout.
Advantages of identifying the best talented offshore team for you:
- Pay the best to the best. Simple. Since your offshore developers are highly talented, the pay given to them will be in par.
- Yet, it will cost way lesser (or even a fraction) than incurring through onshore development.
- There is no compromise on quality since you will hire the right team. You will be offering or developing products in par with your standards and no less.
- You will not necessarily spend more time with your offshore development team, than what you might spend with an onshore one.
- As an owner, you can offer your clients quality end products at much lesser cost and yet have a profitable business.
Talented offshore team Identification
What is required of a talented offshore development team:
- Required skills and talent:
The first important thing is to see that the offshore team possesses the skills needed for your product development. If this is in place, half the shift in perception will immediately take place.
- Interpersonal and communication skills:
For any remote team to work successfully, another important aspect is to be able to communicate effectively. Therefore, the chosen offshore development team should be good and effective in its communication skills, no matter the geographical location. There will be several practical difficulties if communication issues exist between you and the offshore team.
Most of our clients have never felt the heat of language barrier. We, at Agira, as an offshore development team, are capable of understanding all complex requirements and thus delivering all expectations effectively. This is the perception change that most of the companies/organizations who opt for offshore development setup realize when they choose the best offshore development team for themselves. As aforementioned, skillful and recognizable talent is not geographically restrained, which in itself is a most noteworthy item. Let us agree, it is not always that an onshore development team can be good enough for your needs. This also means that an onshore team that is not as talented can give the same problems that a poor offshore development team can give.
Final words:
Therefore, it all boils down to being a matter of choice. By choosing an apt development team, be it offshore or onshore, you get the reliability of a high quality software end product. By making the right choice of an offshore development team, you get the added benefit of significant cost reduction and increase in business profit. Not to mention again that this allows you to offer high quality products/systems at a lower cost to clients, and yet not compromise (in fact, gain more) on profit. Similar to today’s blog , we will cover more about “Offshore Development” topic in future also.