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Why Should You Hire Offshore Developers?
Why should offshore developers be hired? In today’s competitive market, maintaining an edge over competitors is crucial for businesses to thrive. To achieve this, businesses require access to top talent. However, costs, skills, and other factors often prevent businesses from hiring local talent.
So, what is the solution? Offshore developers is the answer. A cost-effective strategy that enables businesses to tap into a global talent pool. In this article, we will explore why businesses should embrace the idea.
Table of Contents
Who is a offshore developer?
Offshore developers are software engineers or developers located in a different country than the business. For example, if your company is located in the US but you have developers who work from Africa or India, then they are your offshore developers. They are highly skilled and possess great technical expertise to develop applications and products. Often, they are managed by outsourcing companies.
Skills To Look For In Offshore Developers
When you are considering hiring offshore developers, here are some of the skills to look for:
1. Technical Expertise
Offshore developers should have a strong technical background and proficiency in relevant programming languages, frameworks, and tools. They should be capable of delivering high-quality code that meets industry standards.
2. Communication Skills
Effective communication is vital when collaborating with remote teams. Offshore developers should possess excellent written and verbal communication skills to ensure smooth coordination and understanding of project requirements.
3. Cultural Compatibility
Cultural compatibility plays a significant role in successful outsourcing partnerships. Offshore developers should be familiar with your business culture and values to ensure seamless integration into your development processes.
4. Problem-Solving Abilities
Software development projects often encounter challenges and roadblocks. Offshore developers should be resourceful problem solvers who can think critically and find innovative solutions to overcome obstacles.
5. Time Zone Compatibility
Depending on your business needs, consider the time zone difference between your company and the offshore development team. Opting for a team that works in overlapping hours can enhance collaboration and minimize delays.
Benefits of Hiring Offshore Developers
Now that we understand who offshore developers are and the qualities to look for, let’s explore the benefits they bring to your business:
1. Cost Savings
One of the major reasons organisations hire offshore developers is the low labour cost. Most offshore developers are hired from countries such as Latin America, Asia, or Africa, where labour costs are low when compared to local hires or hiring developers from the US or UK. The cost of hiring offshore developers mainly depends on the following factors:
- Geography
- Demand for the skill in the market
- Expertise in the skill-set
- Past Work Experience
Hiring offshore developers reduces the cost associated with office space, equipment, and other employee benefits, as the hiring of offshore developers is mainly done by third-party offshore vendors.
While cost is one of the major reasons for hiring offshore developers, it shouldn’t be the only reason. Organisations should consider other factors such as culture, quality, and communication compatibility and find the right mix of developers.
2. Access to Global Talent Pool
When organisations hire offshore developers, they get to tap into a global talent pool. They are not limited to sourcing and hiring from the same city, and they can hire diverse and skilled talent across geographies. With this abundance of options, it allows the recruiter to find the perfect match.
Hiring offshore developers lets recruiters hire developers with specialised skills, industry experience, and technical expertise that is tailored to organisation’s needs. When hiring from different regions across the globe, it gives them a chance to choose countries that have been at the forefront of a specific technology, programming language, or domain.
For example, if you need mobile app developers, you can choose to hire developers from Ukraine or India.
Moreover, hiring offshore developers allows organisations to hire individuals from different backgrounds, experiences, and ethnicities that bring diverse perspectives to the table. It results in creating a diverse and inclusive work environment that fosters creativity and innovation and leads to the success of the organisation.
3. Increased Flexibility and Scalability
Flexibility and Scalability in managing development projects are another major benefit of hiring offshore developers. Whether it is a long-term project or a short-term project, offshore developers evolve with business demands.
Offshore developers are flexible in their work. They are accustomed to working with clients across time zones with different requirements. This gives organisations the opportunity to align the offshore team with project requirements for seamless collaboration and efficient communication.
Additionally, hiring offshore developers helps you build scalable teams where you can adjust your team size based on the requirements of the project. It helps organisations optimise their resource allocation, ensuring that they have the required team size at any given time for their projects.
4. Faster Time to Market
Offshore developers reduce the time to market for software products or services. This provides a competitive edge to the organisations and allows them to respond to market demands. Below, we have listed how and why offshore developers are able to reduce time to market:
- They have experience delivering projects within deadlines and follow a streamlined development process.
- Offshore developers follow the agile development framework of iterative development, collaboration, and frequent feedback.
- Agile methodology helps break down complex tasks into smaller deliverables with manageable timelines.
- Iterative development allows for faster development and quicker identification of issues.
- They understand the best practices and challenges involved in every project because of their experience working on various projects across industries.
- Offshore development teams have dedicated development teams that are focused and specialised. It leads to faster delivery, increased productivity, and enhanced efficiency.
5. 24/7 Support and Enhanced Productivity
When you hire offshore developers, it not only helps you increase your productivity but also gives you the opportunity to offer 24/7 support to your customers. By having offshore developers located across the globe, you can ensure business continuity and timely resolution of technical or customer issues.
A geographically dispersed team in different regions ensures that your in-house team gets adequate rest during non-business hours while offshore developers are working. The continuous development and 24/7 support improve customer satisfaction and retention as their concerns and inquiries are immediately addressed.
This optimised workflow can expedite project timelines and improve overall productivity.
6. Risk Mitigation and Reduced Liabilities
Every project or task has inherent risks, and so do development projects. Hiring offshore mitigates risks and reduces liabilities for your organisation.
Offshore development teams have a robust risk management framework that helps mitigate risks effectively. They have experience managing complex projects and have established processes, quality assurance measures, and risk management strategies in place.
Their skills and expertise help handle technical issues, manage continuously evolving project requirements, overcome hurdles, and complete the project on time without having any budget overruns or setbacks.
Offshore developers also reduce liabilities such as employee benefits, legal issues, or infrastructure. Generally, offshore developers are hired or are on the payroll of a third-party vendor. They generally manage the developers hiring, onboarding, infrastructure requirements, and work-related paperwork. This reduces the overhead costs and expenses of your organisation.
Difference Between In-House Developer and Offshore Developer
The below table provides key differences between in-house developers and offshore developers.
In-house developer | Offshore developer | |
---|---|---|
Location | Works on-site at company | Works remotely or in a different country |
Cost | Higher salary and benefits | Lower salary and reduced benefits |
Talent Pool | Limited to local region | Access to global talent pool |
Expertise | Limited to specific skill set | Access to diverse skill set and expertise |
Communication | Easier face-to-face communication | Require virtual communication |
Time Zone Coverage | Limited to business hours | Provides 24/7 business support |
Scalability | Limited scalability due to resources availability | Highly scalable based on project |
Cultural Difference | Employees are familiar with the company and the local culture | They may require training or understanding work culture |
Infrastructure | Company provides necessary tools and infrastructure | Company doesn’t provide the tools and infrastructure |
Conclusion
In conclusion, hiring offshore developers can be a game-changing solution for your organisation. It helps in gaining a competitive edge in the market by capitalising on their technical skills, cost advantages, and scalability. Carefully selecting the offshore development team helps maximise the benefits and contribute towards the growth of the organisation.
Are you looking to hire an offshore developer for your next project? Sign up with ellow!
Frequently Asked Questions
No, offshore developers are equally or can be more skilled than local developers. Their skills should be evaluated on an individual basis and not generalised.
In the beginning itself, set a proper communication channel, invest in tools, and schedule weekly meetings to ensure that everyone is on the same page.
No offshore developers can be hired for both long-term and short-term projects based on business needs.
To select the right offshore development team, consider factors such as their technical expertise, communication skills, cultural compatibility, and past project experience. Requesting and reviewing client testimonials and portfolio can also provide valuable insights.
When you sign up with Ellow, they do the heavy lifting of vetting the candidate while you focus on other important business needs.