Build Operate Transfer – The Smarter Way for Enterprises to Offshore IT Development

How can enterprises become better in their outsourcing operations and setting up dedicated software development teams?

1. Getting them to function seamlessly
2. Introduce frictionless operating models
3. Bringing the in-house and dedicated team to perfect alignment

These questions are most prominent in enterprises hiring dedicated development teams, regardless of their size – thus giving an impetus for executives working with enterprise software development.

The IT outsourcing industry is progressive. Globally, the outsourcing market was worth $92.5 billion in 2019. And by 2025, the global IT outsourcing market is expected to reach $397.6 billion.

To address these questions, there are 3 models that enterprises often tinker with –

Onshore, offshore, and nearshore outsourcing. With each of their benefits, caveats, and clauses.

Out of three, Offshore Software Development is viewed as one of the most effective approaches to enhance the standard of quality of a project while offsetting costs.

Several software companies are evaluating how offshore software development can help them achieve their business goals.

What is Offshore Software Development?

Offshore software development is outsourcing work to a third-party software developer. The software associated services can be offered in a wide range, from the web to mobile app development.

One of the primary reasons for offshoring software development to an offshore company is to leverage cost advantage.

Why Should Enterprises Prefer Offshore IT development?

For enterprise software development, Offshoring offers the following benefits over in-house teams—

• There is no need to pay monthly salaries to employees.
• You can scale your team as you want without any risk overload
• Remote work reduces the cost of infrastructure.
• It reduces the workload of in-house teams working on less expedient tasks.
• It removes the hassle of gathering resources, assigning tasks, and tracking them consistently.
• You can focus on core competencies while developing the software.
• An extensive resource pool enables you to find the best experts in specific technologies

With a Build-Operate-Transfer model, enterprises get the leeway to get their projects delivered, enhanced, tinkered with, and then transferred to in-house units.

The premise of BOT expedites the time-to-market of any product or feature while leaving enough wiggle room for enterprises to assess and invest in the project.

That means structured investment into the dedicated software development team – for a fluid enterprise development process.

That means milestone-based assessment.

That means quicker churn options in case of idea invalidation.

BOT works.

But there are a few things that you must keep in mind when going for it and hiring software developers for it.

Let us look at a few don’ts and do’s –

1. Don’t make the “cheapshoring” mistake

The offshore development companies may send you emails or LinkedIn messages offering developers for less than $10 an hour. Unfortunately, many people make the mistake of hiring offshore developers for a low price. The result is often that software projects fail miserably. To avoid “cheapshoring”, you should consider certain factors before hiring.

So, here’s what you need to look at:

A project needs the right mix of developers. This includes senior developers, mid-level developers, and junior developers. QA specialists and project managers may also be valuable additions to the team, project manager, and QA expert.

Generally, you get what you pay for. Offshore development generally costs between $15 and $45. The cost varies with the developer’s location, programming language, and skill level.

2. Understand the “Offshore Formula”

You can maximize the expense for every developer hired locally and scale up the team via offshore developers. Having said that, we don’t always recommend offshoring 100 percent of your development. Strategic development leadership and product ownership in your local office are the best formula for success.

If you pay someone $100 per hour, they should provide four times the value of someone paid $25 per hour. This could be in output, knowledge, management, and anything essential for project progress.

3. Use Offshoring, Not Outsourcing

You can’t outsource innovation, but you can leverage offshore resources to get it done. Outsourcing is handing over control of a project or task to someone else. It’s the same as paying someone to clean your pool – you’re not doing it yourself.

Outsourcing might work for you if you don’t intend to retain any developers later. Offshore development should remain a part of your long-term team, but they should work remotely. Think of offshore developers as employees working for you remotely. Your offshore team can be valuable assets to your company and long-term employees.

To learn more about the offshore development teams, Check out this blog post;

Quick Plug: Build your team of offshore IT developers at Netsmartz to assist businesses in achieving great success. Our team follows a BOT model that enables you to outsource your development work while focusing on your core operations.

4. Establish Working Hours & Overlapping Schedules

Some offshore development teams prefer to have their development teamwork while sleeping. For offshore teams that need to collaborate with your local team closely, we recommend having 2-3 hours overlap in the same working week as onshore counterparts for efficiency’s sake, especially if it’s a big project.

Offshore development doesn’t work for many businesses because offshore developers’ schedules don’t overlap regularly.

However, Let your offshore developers work during their local time zone. Project managers, owners, or clients can schedule flexible hours to avoid overlapping daily meetings. If they have good internet access at home, they could attend meetings during their evening hours, likely your morning time.

5. Manage Product Ownership & Projects

Poor project management will cause any project to fail. This is even true when you are working with remote employees.

Here are some tips for working with remote and offshore developers.

• Ensure that the whole development team understands the project’s long-term goal
• Organize sprints and assign multiple tasks
• Don’t leave your team wondering what to do
• Do an excellent job of documenting requirements
• Like Stand Bot, use a standup bot to simplify daily scrum meetings.

An offshore developer can’t ask you how to get past a problem if they work at a different timezone. Therefore, ensure they have something else they can work on while you are out of the office – such as an admin or admin-related task.

6. Ability to Communicate Effectively

Communication is a key component of software development. Communication skills refer to how well your offshore development team speaks, reads, and writes your language. An offshore developer’s ability to follow directions, ask questions, follow up, etc., is just as important as their technical knowledge of the software they are working on.

Consider the following when communicating with an offshore development team:

• Are they fluent in your language?
• Are they aware of what needs to be done & why?
• When in doubt, do they ask questions?
• Do they know when something won’t work?
• Are you in constant communication with them?

Communication is a common problem in offshore development. Thus, different cultures handle it differently. Your software project will most likely fail if your developers are not excellent communicators. Developers may have trouble organizing their questions. They need to challenge one another.

At Netsmartz, our software developers undergo an intensive recruitment process to ensure they excel in technical and communication skills.

7. Pick the Right Location

Some people have tried offshore development in the wrong locations. The chances of success are slim when the location is not good. So, it pays to know where to look for an offshore development partner. Word of mouth is one reliable factor in this case.

One of the most challenging aspects of offshore software development is working with remote teams. Choosing a development partner with cultural affinity could mitigate that risk. Choose the popular destinations for offshoring your software development.

Outsourcing software development is most popular in these countries. North America, Europe, and Asia are the most popular outsourcing destinations. Their cultural proximity to any western country, fluency in English, vast talent pool, and shared values make such countries ideal offshore software development locations.

To Wrap Up

Maintaining an in-house IT team with expertise in the latest technologies is costly. By outsourcing, you won’t need to invest in IT infrastructure or hire, train, and manage employees.

Choosing an offshore partner gives you access to a vast talent pool that provides software services. But choosing is not just enough! You need to follow good strategies/practices. Following the methods mentioned above for successful offshore development can help you maintain & improve offshore software development efficiency.