Common Misconceptions About Offshore Software Development — Part 1
The concept of building remote teams and offshore software development. has gained significant traction in recent times. With the COVID-19 pandemic further urging businesses to work remotely, working with distributed teams is no longer the bogeyman it once used to be. For many organizations, building a remote team is now a calculated business move — one that allows them to access talent without geographical restrictions.
However, that being said, the concept of offshore software development has, in some ways, suffered a credibility crash. Decades of offshoring development processes only to receive cheap code and crashed projects, continue to hamper cooperation across borders. This, in turn, has led businesses to believe that building a team of developers abroad in countries like India, for instance, is not a wise move. And rightfully so.
When offshoring first began, it was a cost-driven model — you pay ridiculously cheap prices, and you get mediocre software in return. Or, in some cases, you engage with the wrong outsourcing partner who uses the engineers at their disposal to build a shoddy product for you.
Today, the offshoring industry has turned a corner, starting afresh on a path of innovation, transparency, and impeccable personalized software — Offshoring 2.0. So, let’s discuss some common misconceptions about offshoring in general, and how we, at The Scalers, have established a new generation of offshore software development.
1. Quality
How it was done
When developing software, quality is everything. A poor UI bounces away customers, so it needs to be simple, intuitive, and efficient. Even today, we need talented engineers and designers in the software development industry — experts who understand the value and importance of building good software and can differentiate between great and excellent.
However, with the shortage of developers tormenting Europe, many businesses venture offshore in search of a reliable product development process. But whether in Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe, or Asia, people take outsourcing consultancies at face value and wind up with a product in shatters.
DID YOU KNOW?
The shortage of STEM skills is costing UK businesses £1.5 billion a year in recruitment, temporary staffing, inflated salaries, and additional training costs.
Source: The Engineer Magazine, UK.
Unsurprisingly, this has meant that offshoring has been equated with low-quality software developers. For instance, one of our clients, Preqin, was working with an outsourcing agency in India, and they just weren’t happy with the quality of software built and the collaboration between their local and remote teams. And that’s when they reached out to us.
How we do it
Every country has good and bad software developers, and every country has a way of separating wheat from the chaff. What we do is simple — we give you unlimited access to the best grain India has to offer. Our simple, transparent, and no-nonsense offshore model allows you to dive deep into the massive talent pool in Bangalore, and pick the creme de la creme — the software experts.
Growing a team from 0 to 100+ is a challenge. However, having a trusted partner on the ground has made this much easier for us in terms of building the team in Bangalore, sourcing candidates, and hiring the best engineers for us. This would have been very, very challenging for us without The Scalers.
Daniel Barnes, SVP of Engineering, Preqin.
Through a meticulous 7-step interview process that ranges from coding, analytical thinking, personal interviews, and personality tests, we hire nothing but the best for your business. Welcome to Offshoring 2.0.
2. Communication
How it was done
When most people imagine a Skype conversation with a developer abroad, it’s rarely flawless vocabulary and impeccable grammar. Instead, we picture a conversation that includes awkward pauses, broken English, and a lot of “I don’t understand what you mean.”
When we think of offshore software development, we imagine factory-style assembly lines of non-verbal execution, but that is not always how it works. At least, not at The Scalers.
How we do it
Good communication skills can be found anywhere, only if you know how to look. Today, you can be in charge of who you hire and what skill set they should possess. And in a country like India, that isn’t a difficult task.
When a potential client asks me “How do I communicate with my offshore team”, I simply ask them “How do you communicate with your local team?” to which they usually respond with, “By using emails and tools like Slack and Skype.” and I tell them “Well then, that’s how you’ll communicate with your offshore team too. It’s that simple.”
Emilien Coquard, CEO, The Scalers.
Let’s talk facts — India is the world’s second-largest English-speaking country with over 125 million people fluent in the language. That’s second only to the US and is expected to quadruple in the next decade. So, it is no longer an issue of availability.
Secondly, gone are the days when failure to compensate for geographical distance used to hurt businesses working with remote teams. It’s 2020, and the many modern communication tools make worldwide communication (specifically in a business, task-oriented environment) a piece of cake. Instant messaging, video calls, project management tools, time management tools, scrum meetings, private chat rooms, emails — the options are truly endless. So, the next time you’re worried about communication barriers when working with offshore teams, think again!
Read the full article at: https://thescalers.com/8-common-misconceptions-offshore-software-development/
