Software Development |
Outsourcing is a global trend today. Many software giants across the world leverage outsourcing to save time, money and effort. If a particular company doesn’t have certain software skills it outsources the work to professional outsourcing firms or freelancers. This allows them to focus on their core competencies. So, they can specialise in their skills and become better at what they do. Over time the outsourcing model has matured and will only get more productive, efficient and effective in the future. The outsourcing firms in the global market have fine tuned their outsourcing skills for years. So, you can safely rely on them to get the job done.
There are three main software development outsourcing models followed worldwide today
The software development project is outsourced to a company in the same country. For example, within the USA itself.
In nearshoring software development is outsourced to an outsourcing firm or a freelancing team in a nearby nation. For example, a US based firm outsources work to firms in Canada or Mexico. Another example is a Western European company delegating work to a firm located in Central Europe.
The outsourcing company is located in a country with significantly different time zones. For example, outsourcing projects from the US to India comes under the category of offshoring.
Major Advantages of Nearshoring
Cultural similarities make it easier for entities to evaluate the nearshore software development staff’s thinking process, organisational structure as well as work ethics. Also it becomes easier to communicate and work together.
It is a great idea to handle more workload than what you have in your company offices. You can hire multiple teams and accept bigger and more projects. This allows a business to operate beyond its physical capacity and locations. Also, growth would see an exponential rise. The nearshoring team will bear the cost of office rent and their respective employee salaries. So, a business can offer better margin and values to potential customers.
The nearby countries often speak the same language as that of the outsourcer. Communication is vital to achieve project goals, resolve tricky issues and convey important messages effectively.
Since the countries are close by, stakeholders can travel by flight and reach in a short time to the nearshoring firm’s physical location to discuss project related issues. In the nearshoring model travel expenditure is less compared to offshoring model where a lengthy travel is involved. As you probably know, face-to-face meetings are more effective and productive than telephone calls or virtual meetings.
Nearshoring is more profitable than onshoring if the nearby country’s salaries, real estate related costs are lower from the country from which the software project is outsourced. A good example is outsourcing from Western Europe to Ukraine or Estonia.
Unlike offshoring where the working hours of one entity are the sleeping hours of the other entity and vice-versa, in nearshoring the collaborating organisations don’t have much difference in time zones. As such a phone call or a virtual meeting can be conveniently arranged if the need be. This significantly boosts the chances of achieving desired business goals and on-schedule delivery of the software product/service.
Having close time zones help avert excess expenses, enable nearly real-time communication as well as minimise employee fatigue.
Disadvantages of Nearshoring
The nearby country may not have many skilled software professionals. Then offshoring is a better option.
If the living standards of the nearby country is high the project cost would not be much different than executing it in the home country.
The company just cannot give full control of the software project to the nearshoring firm. They will have the burden of monitoring the project at regular intervals.
Qualities of an Ideal Nearshoring Firm
Depending upon the size and complexity of the software project, there would be a requirement of different number of personnel. It is important to know the nearshoring firm’s hiring process and CV’s of each team member. This will help you gauge the capability of the nearshoring firm to successfully deliver the goods.
Ask which project management platform the nearshoring firm uses. Simultaneous collaboration on software development projects is a very important requirement. Also, you may be sharing confidential information such as business processes and secrets, list of customers and others. Ask whether the firm is ready to sign a legally binding Non-Disclosure Agreement before commencement of the work.
Request resumes of each member of the assigned software development team. Speak to the key members to evaluate their technical knowledge. Evaluate soft skills such as leadership skills, inter-personal skills and communication skills. Ask questions about the complexity, technology used and the challenges faced by them in previous software projects.
Don’t make the mistake of hiring the cheapest nearshoring firm. They may be compromising on the level of quality which will jeopardise the project. Go through many potential nearshore providers and compare them on price and quality. The time and effort invested will yield manifold returns in the long run.
This allows a stellar comfort level while working together. Working together becomes easier and familiar when the collaborating organisations share the same work values. Examples include respecting the views of all including the juniors, meritocracy, transparency, dedication, punctuality and honesty.
About Us
Focaloid is a stellar software development products and services company catering to clients in the US & UK. Over time we have established a mature outsourcing model which is productive, efficient as well as effective. You can safely rely on us to deliver outstanding software solutions and services within stipulated deadlines. Contact us at the earliest to know how we can help you. We are committed to superior client satisfaction and mutual growth.
Published:24/04/2024
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