Offshore Software Development: Everything You Need to Know

Wondering how to outsource software development to an offshore company? Here's how to start your journey.

What Does Offshore Development Mean?

No longer do businesses need to hire employees at their doorstep to complete a wide range of services. Today, they can find talent in a variety of locations — even ones outside of their country. The idea is that a business can find quality work and specialized skillsets all over the world. One example of this is offshore software development.

Offshore software development takes place when a business outsources work to a partner in a region with a different timezone than the company’s headquarters. An example of this would be a company in Western Europe working with a software development team in South America or an organization in the United States partnering with a software development company in Ukraine.

Offshore software development is also often grouped with the nearshore software development model. In this case, a business partners with a software development team in a nearby country to complete a software project. For example, a business in Western Europe might work with a development company in Ukraine, while a business in the U.S. would partner with an outsourcing software development company in South America.

In either case, this involves working with a software developer or full team in an outside country. It means hiring an off-site and remote team to work together on a software development project. This can be used for a variety of tasks that range from basic coding to product design to the development of custom software, web, and mobile applications, as well as software support and maintenance.

For most companies, hiring offshore development services is a great solution for projects that require specific expertise and high-quality deliverables that are hard to find on a local scale.

What Does an Offshore Developer Do?

Offshore developers will bring a combination of technical and soft skills along with in-depth experience to handle various components such as the building, implementation, support, and testing of your specific tech projects.

Offshore developers may be working from a remote location and will usually be part of a large offshore development team. Together, they bring a fresh perspective to the table, along with an innovative set of skills that offer new ideas and ways to approach your projects.

This is mainly due to the fact that most are from different countries, so the offshore development model will tend to provide a diverse team that encourages innovation and solves problems creatively to deliver high–quality products.

When to Hire Offshore Developers

There are many situations in which offshoring becomes the most viable option.

Lack of Tech Talent

Top talented developers are scarce on a global scale. That makes it hard to find local engineers willing to work in an in-house team. Businesses may have trouble engaging a full-time developer with the requisite talent in nearby locations, and therefore, they work with offshore software development companies instead.

Specialized Roles

Many projects require either super-specialized technical roles or temporary positions that aren't attractive for top talented developers. Perhaps they need a project manager or a quality assurance engineer. Or maybe they’re looking for roles on a custom software development team.

Complex Projects

Tackling a complex project requires a lot of know-how and technical expertise. Without those, it's easy to run into speed bumps and accumulate downtime. Offshore software development companies can work with specialized tech stacks and involved development processes.

Tight Deadlines

Getting the right results at the right time can be the difference between success and failure. With offshore developers, you can turn your idea around quickly and scale your capabilities when needed. You can also maintain project management oversight, using your own project manager to guide the software developers, or turn your project over to software development companies, which will complete your product from start to finish — reducing time and increasing efficiency.

Support & Consulting

Even if you don’t need IT outsourcing for a specific software project, you can still take advantage of the expertise these software development companies have to offer. Software outsourcing companies provide consulting and support solutions for existing or ongoing projects that have fallen off the tracks. One of the benefits of offshore software development services is that they have experience working with businesses in different countries and are aware of the regulations governing IT services and activities.

Cost-efficiency

Partnering with an offshore development company completely eliminate the costs of hiring in-house staff while providing the same or better benefits. Overall, development costs are considerably lower, but the development processes are still high-quality.

What is the Difference Between Onshore, Nearshore, and Offshore Software Development?

These three service models differ according to the geographical standpoint of the client and its software development services partner. They offer different advantages within the IT sector.

Onshore

Onshore outsourcing occurs when a client decides to hire software developers in their own country or region. There is no time zone difference, unless, of course, the development company is operating on a different region or coast. However, development costs are typically higher than they are with nearshore or offshore software development because the cost of living is the same or similar for both partners.

Nearshore

Nearshore IT outsourcing happens between countries with similar time zones, like the USA and Latin America. Because the time zone difference is minimal, businesses can work on their activities alongside the software development company in real time.

Offshore

Offshore software development unites clients and providers in distant countries or continents. The IT outsourcing market in this case is usually the most cost-effective, given that the cost of living is typically lower in these areas, but it’s more difficult to monitor the activities of these software development teams because of time zone misalignment. Still, offshore software development services do bring a number of benefits.

Why Is Offshore Software Development Beneficial?

The benefits of offshore software development go far and wide. With the right outsourcing software development company by your side, the possibilities are endless.

These are just some of the benefits of offshore software development teams.

Access to Top Tech Talent

In the IT sector, talent is the most competitive (and scarce) resource. The best software development companies will find the best developers and leverage their talent for your projects’ benefit. The IT outsourcing market has some of the highest-quality employees in the business.

Optimized Workloads

An outsourcing company takes the weight off your shoulders while guaranteeing quality assurance. With development taken care of, you can focus your company’s time and resources on your core business.

Industry Expertise

The best offshore software development companies have years of industry expertise and have formed expert offshore development teams on every technology, with a robust tech stack. This is the level of know-how that changes the entire course of a project, whether you’re creating web apps or mobile programs.

Minimal Risks

Having the best offshore software developers on your team reduces inherent project risks. Your offshore software development company will apply the best practices to increase flexibility and minimize downtime.

Faster Launch Times

The best offshore development companies will create custom software development solutions for your business and assemble the best teams to achieve project goals on time, boosting the capabilities of your in-house talent.

High-Quality Products

With all the previous benefits combined, it’s easy to see how outsourcing software development to the right offshore company produces high-quality software products. From web development to product design, these software companies will devise the right product for your needs — at a low cost. Still, always check references and past projects!

How to Choose an Offshore Software Outsourcing Company

Keep these key points in mind when choosing a top software company.

Fluent Communication and Workflow

Fluent communication and workflow is the most critical step to offshoring. Your software outsourcing partner should be perfectly fluent in English or the language of your choice. Also, their work process should match your workflow throughout the development cycle.
Standardized Security Protocols

In an increasingly tech-driven world, cybersecurity is more important than ever. Make sure the IT company of your choice has up-to-date security protocols for keeping all data and software products safe. This is true no matter what software development model you choose.
Top Talent Software Engineers

Offshore software development outsourcing should give you access to world-class tech talent. Always go with the IT company that can provide you with elite software developers for the projects at hand, from product development to web development to routine IT services.
Quality Experience

Always check references, past clients, and completed projects of your potential offshore software development partner. This information will give you some insight into the IT company’s performance, workflow style, and quality of software products.
Full Range of Services

What you need today might not be what you need tomorrow. The best outsourcing companies are the ones that specialize in a wide range of fields and have the right team size to be able to handle your project from a holistic and highly-experienced approach. If you need project management, product development, or something else entirely, these offshore software development companies should have you covered.

Bairesdev Offshore Software Development Services

At BairesDev, we are able to provide best offshore development services that only outsources to the top 1% of Tech Talent. Ultimately, this can free up your internal resources, relieving you from having to worry about additional hiring processes, and allowing you to focus mainly on empowering the in-house team to reach the goals that help drive your business forward.

Tech Talent Pool

Outsourcing offshore development services can be highly beneficial as it offers access to a vast software engineering talent pool that wouldn’t be available otherwise. Your business can thus take advantage of a broad set of specialists that go beyond your in-house team.

High Quality Solutions

Our offshore development model and expertise enables us to guarantee delivery of high-quality custom-made software solutions to meet your business' demands. This helps optimize workloads, reduce dedicated time on software development, and improve a product's time-to-market. This helps optimize workloads, reduce dedicated time on software development, and improve a product's time-to-market.

Specialized Services

Offshore software services are divided in 3 main categories: Delivery Teams, Staff Augmentation, and Project-Based Outsourcing. By partnering with an offshore software development company the entire deployment process for each is taken care of. You will instantly receive a team of software engineers qualified in the technologies that meet your needs and ready to work on your projects — mobile and web apps, UX design, or what have you.

Overcome Challenges

Working with the most talented software engineers from an offshore company allows you to bypass development problems more efficiently. Offshoring software companies allow you to overcome challenges by either integrating talent with your in-house staff or immediately finding the right fit for hard-to-fill or temporary positions. Offshoring allows you to overcome challenges by either integrating talent with your in-house staff or immediately finding the right fit for hard-to-fill or temporary positions.

5 Steps to Take Before Working with an Offshore Development Company

Doing your homework before offshoring can help you reduce risks and maximize the results of your software outsourcing project.

Define your Goals

Offshoring services boost your company’s capabilities helping you reach your goals. Having a clear idea of what you’re aiming for and the results you expect on a given time frame will make it easier to plan a custom technology solution that matches your needs.

Set Priorities

While offshore development companies will help you build a detailed roadmap of your project, it’s up to you to state what matters most for your company and your clients. Make a list of what should be the development priorities in the short and long term.

Paint your Vision

You bring the idea and we turn it into real software. The clearer the picture you have of your vision, the faster your project will come out of the wireframing and sketching stage. Remember, you aren’t building a product —you’re building an experience.

List your Needs

Every project requires a different technology stack and different engineers with expertise in a wide array of fields. Check different service models and technologies to get a feel of how they could fit in your project. This goes for everything from team size to costs.

Put it All on Paper

Proper documentation speeds up any process and makes everything much more transparent. Based on your needs, your offshore team will help you choose the best solution to achieve your goals on-time and cost-efficiently.

Communication is the Key to Success

While working with offshore software development outsourcing companies comes with many benefits, the success of any project depends mostly on one major factor: communication. Setting an efficient workflow with your development team will determine how fast your project progresses, as well as the quality of the final product.

As your offshore partner, we will always be interested in establishing a productive and professional relationship with you. Use that to your advantage by asking as many questions as you can and giving the most honest feedback possible. Even if your project wasn’t all that defined at the beginning, these directions will build the concrete foundation upon which offshore developers can work and bring valuable results to the table.

And keep that feedback cycle going throughout the entire development process! Whatever communication channel you pick to collaborate with us (be it email, phone, video calls, or web platforms), go back to it periodically to make the most out of your software development journey.

10 Reasons to Outsource Development to Latin America

Offshore Software Outsourcing Trends

The latest trends defining the offshoring market and best practices.

Significant use of collaborative tools

These tools are highly useful to maintain an organized and cohesive workflow. With an increase in collaboration with offshore development teams also comes an improvement in digital solutions. Tools such as Jira and Trello can really help with task assignments and project delivery compliance.
Increased use of cloud devices

With an increasing demand for cloud outsourcing, offshore software development companies will continue to work with and will exponentially need cloud platforms from public sources for data storage purpose.
Demand for innovative skills

Tech change is unstoppable, with new applications and methodologies popping up every day. Expert and highly-specialized software engineers in technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, and the internet of things (IoT) will be needed now more than ever.
Improved data security

Data privacy and security is a top concern for CIOs and all organizations working with sensitive data. For this reason, offshore development companies are putting in place strict and through security and privacy protocols, and adhering to comprehensive regulations that will guarantee the safe management of all information.

Is Offshore Software Development the Right Move for your Company?

Offshore software development outsourcing is advisable most of the times, but it’s always necessary to have a complete overview of the project at hand before deciding on this option. Take into consideration your desired delivery dates and how the software outsourcing company will boost efficiency in this process.

Also, analyze your current resources, paying special attention to any skills gaps and capacity limitations that may exist in your in-house team.

To choose the right offshore software outsourcing company consider: