Today there are no limits to collaborative work: a team can work efficiently and successfully online, no matter in which country on the planet its members are located. If a company in Mexico, for example, needs a software developer with specific skills, it can perfectly look for him in the United States, India or Europe, and work with him on the development of the project. And this is what offshore software development is based on: you can hire the IT professionals you need anywhere in the world, having access to experienced engineers, even if they are not in your own country or continent.
If you've never heard of this type of work, we understand you: it can generate a lot of doubts and uncertainty at first, but you have nothing to worry about. There are really many benefits that offshore development brings to companies, whether large, medium or small.
Offshore software development: pros and cons you should know
Pros
Cost savings
One of the main reasons that leads companies to seek offshore support for the development of their projects is the budget. Hiring an offshore team of software engineers and developers will always be more accessible than direct hiring, as payments for seniority, vacations and other administrative commitments must be covered.
Instead, under offshore software development mode, you simply pay for the work the team does, no more, no less. In addition, in certain countries the hourly cost of IT professionals is much more affordable than in others, which represents an opportunity for companies with a small budget.
Rapid development and flexibility
When a company hires an offshore software development team, it can be assured that it will be 100% focused on the project assigned to it. What does this mean? That the project will be developed more quickly, since the engineers do not have any kind of distraction or extra task that blur them from their main goal. These teams are also usually very flexible, being able to adapt to all kinds of schedules and requirements that the client may present, since they are generally highly experienced professionals up-to-date with recent technologies.
Specialized skills
Another compelling reason why the offshore modality is currently being successful is that through this outsourcing, companies have been able to find professionals with the specialized skills they need. In-house staff training can take a long time and is a great investment, challenges that many companies cannot take on. In this scenario, offshore appears as a viable option for developing software quickly, at a reasonable price and with experienced professionals.
Cons
Location
It may happen that, precisely, the software engineer that fits the needs of your project is located in India, while your company has operations in the United States, for example. It is a situation for which you have to be prepared, since the time difference could affect the development of the project if clear work rules are not established from the beginning.
Culture
In order for an in-house and an offshore team to be coupled and work in a functional way, they must share several cultural traits so that they can be understood. And not only cultural traits referring to the country or continent, but sharing a work culture with similar values and standards. In this way, mutual understanding can flow.
Communication
And speaking of understanding, when working with professionals from a different continent and with a different language, communication problems can certainly appear between the company and the offshore team. For this reason, you must evaluate very well before working under this modality, making sure that you can understand perfectly with the developer that you are going to hire in another country. For example, if your company is in Mexico and the engineer is in India, confirm that he knows an excellent command of the English language, which is usually the basic language.
As you can see, there are several benefits and aspects to consider when developing offshore software. The important thing before taking this step is, first, to evaluate very well the needs of your project and the skills that are missing and, second, to analyze the experience of the partner that will offer you the offshore development service. At Rootstack, we can advise you with the best team of software engineers and developers that your company needs.
