Advice on Successfully Choosing an Offshore Partner for Outsourcing Software Development

Before we jump into the advice portion, we need to have a proper understanding of the term outsourcing.

What is Outsourcing:

It is the business method of recruiting a party outside a company to perform duties and produce results that commonly were conducted in-house by the company’s own workers and team. It is a practice normally initiated by companies as a cost-cutting model.

A short while ago, businesses opted for outsourcing to lessen operational expenses. This continues to remain one of the dominant motivations for outsourcing software development, only that it’s now a standard across the globe. Outsourcing granted companies and brands a pathway to reach top industry experts and the most advanced technologies in the industry at a reasonable cost, at least compared to recruiting in-house software engineers.

In this article, we will render advice on choosing an offshore Partner for Outsourcing Software Development.

1. The Development Methodology

There are numerous methodologies and strategies for managing software development plans. Generally, the waterfall approach postulated on a cascading array of ventures at different development platforms has been broadly employed. Nevertheless, Agile methodologies have shown to be the most efficient, allowing for improving tactics and iterative progress and absolute focus on the end-user throughout the project.

Your selection of a chosen vendor should be apprised by the development strategy they employ and how appropriate that is for your project. An excellent strategy is one that furnishes the highest result and gives quality output.

2. Check Background of Your Expected Partner

There are various outsourcing companies accommodating thousands of offshore software development companies. But picking the best partner from this broad sea can be difficult, chiefly when they all claim to produce results and outperform your hopes.

Hence, it is reasonable that once you have enlisted and classified likely partners, carry out a meticulous history check to evaluate their capabilities. A detailed study of the company portfolio, reviews, and testimonials from former customers can aid you to measure their skills, level of commitment, and the quality of their results.

3. Check the number of people working in a company

By assessing the company size, you will have an incredible idea of how big the company is. Furthermore, it is one of the best signs for evaluating an offshore company’s strength to conduct a task. A small company will not give you promising results because it has limited resources, staff and technologies. We recommend you to go for a big reputable company that ensures full attention to your project and more comfortable team management. A great company will have staff with a proper hierarchy who can take care of your business well. They will be responsible for managing and carrying out operations swiftly. They will give top priority to your business and keep you updated with any development.

4. Pay Attention To Company’s Work Experience

Before hiring an outsource company, you should know its work experience. The higher the experience an offshore company possesses the greater the chances of your company success.

Hence, the company should have a proven experience in working with similar companies like yours. This can benefit you to evaluate the quality of their results and creativity. The bottom line is if an outsource company has worked with big giants, especially 500 or more companies, can be a reliable sign of professionalism.

5. Give Priority to Quality Over Price

When it comes to pricing you need to be careful of companies that offer low prices as they usually compromise on quality. The perfect company comes up with competitive prices. While the aim is to keep expenses low, price should not be the principal factor of an offshore company to choose. You need to go with quality.

6. Look out for the Flexibility

When projects get complicated, flexibility from the outsourcing company is the key to handle pressure. Hence, it is necessary to look out for an offshore software development partner who is adaptable enough to change based on the needs of the project. The development methodology will also be a decisive determinant here. Agile development methodologies build room for adaptability through development.

7. Impeccable Communication

When it comes to communication and interaction with the offshore company, there need to be adequate structures to expedite flawless communication between you and the offshore software development company. It is usually essential to concur on a communication technique that allows you an opportunity to evaluate the project through its implementation before initiation. This involves concurring on timeframes for monitoring the communication channel. Lastly, social factors might come to play their part also when picking an offshore firm.

8. Lookout the Tools An Outsource Company Uses

It is essential to examine the tools used for source control and detecting bugs and flaws. This is a component of evaluating the efficacy of the company’s quality assurance structures. The software development company should employ various powerful mechanisms for tracking, logging, and repairing bugs encountered while development. Source code tracking and bug tracking tools are very significant labels that define a software development project’s progress.

9. Do a Critical Analysis of the Company’s Expertise

This might want you to do some study, but understanding the perfect focal range of a software development company can assist you to distinguish the right companion. The portfolio can usually show this, but it is also necessary to do a critical evaluation of their skills and expertise. It might even be vital to building communication with them to get a fair picture of their mission and specialties.

10. Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Last but not least, it is a compulsory document that guarantees you and the offshore development company are on the same side. This is a component of the undertaking process and arrives at an advanced step. Nevertheless, it is an influential paper that helps explain the kind of engagement. It guarantees all guidelines and rules of engagement are agreed upon for the prosperous implementation of the project.

The term offshore software development is only getting vast. Surely, these pieces of advice will help guide you in choosing an excellent company for your project.