The ultimate guide to building a dedicated development team

If you’re a CTO, VP of Engineering, or other IT decision-maker, considering setting up a dedicated development team, you’re in the right place.

In this article, we’ll help you not only work out if it’s the right path for your company but also how to set one up. We’ve even dropped in some tips on how to manage your team once it’s in place, drawn from what we’ve learned from building more than 80 teams over 10 years and honing our unique model.

What is a dedicated development team?

A dedicated software team is a complete group of software engineers that is managed by a third party for a client organisation. Unlike outsourcing, a dedicated team works exclusively for the client as a part of the company. The third party oversees operations on the ground such as payroll, equipment, and in some cases engagement.

Common dedicated development team services

Whatever product you are developing that requires development, you can set up a team to help deliver it and ensure it is fit for purpose. But some services are more common than others including:

• Web development
• Mobile app development
• DevOps
• DataOps
• Cloud services
• AI/ML specialists
• SAP and ERP services
• UI/UX and product development
• Security engineers and cybersecurity
• Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamix developers
• Quality Assurance and test automation services

Team extension vs dedicated software teams: what’s the difference

Software team extensions and dedicated teams have a lot in common. They both give you full control over the dedicated team of developers, have employees provided by a third-party partner, and are often in offshore locations rather than local ones. But there’s one key difference.

A team extension supplements your existing development team whereas a dedicated team is a complete team.

So which should you choose?

Well, if you only need a few software engineers, analysts or QA testers to supplement your existing setup, a team extension is right for you. But if you want to build a new product or accelerate your product roadmap with an additional scrum team, a dedicated software team is the right choice for you.

Why should you want one?

There are a few common signs that you should get a dedicated team extension. It’s unlikely you’ll experience all of them, but if you notice one or two, that’s a solid indicator that you should investigate further.

• You’re struggling to find local talent to fill your open positions
• Your existing team lacks specific skills and expertise
• Your local developers are unmotivated
• Wage inflation is causing you to overspend to stay local
• You’re unable to scale your development operations
• You’re spending too much time hiring and sorting out HR rather than focusing on your core responsibilities

Dedicated development team examples

Since 2014, we’ve set up more than 80 teams for partners around the world.

Here are a few examples to help you imagine how one might look like for your company:

• Preqin is a UK FinTech that wanted to rebuild its flagship product. The results from their scrum teams were so impressive, that they kept expanding till they had an R&D centre with more than 450 employees.
• Nextpoint was struggling to find specialists in the US for its unique tech stack. They partnered with The Scalers to set up their Bangalore office and gained an 11-person team to accelerate their product development.
• Hesus wanted to drive the digital transformation of their construction company but didn’t have the capacity at home. The Scalers assembled a team of web development specialists who architected, launched and constantly updated the Hesus store.

But it’s not just tech companies.

The value The Scalers deliver is long term — Mediolanum Bangalore is an extended part of our team, not individuals disconnected in a different part of the world. It’s been fantastic and much smoother than I could have imagined.

Charles Elies

Head of Analytics, Mediolanum

One Australian marketing agency was struggling to find Salesforce and Magneto developers to help set up their campaigns. They had previously used an outsourcing partner in the Philippines but found the results sub-standard and the delays in communication were harming their reputation with clients.

They turned to The Scalers to set up a dedicated team in Bangalore. Now, they have their own team whom they interact with directly which has allowed them to accelerate time to value for their clients.

For more examples, check out our case studies.

Read the full article at: https://thescalers.com/build-dedicated-development-team/