There are many notions floating around about what types of projects, what sizes and what types of projects can be offshore. There are as many myths around it as real true stories. How to separate the wheat from the chaff?
For example, many small and medium-sized companies believe that software development abroad is really meant for larger companies. They think that hiring a small team of engineers will be enough. Will it really be enough?
The fact is that offshore software development works well across the spectrum of companies, both small and large and independent of their industry segments or customer base.
The reason for this is that offshore software development is not a standalone, vertical offering. It is an enabler. In fact, the software itself is an enabler—an enabler that leads to better business processes, profitability, and faster response times.
There are several companies that offer offshore software solutions and work on the knowledge model. They understand the client’s business and offer customized solutions to address specific needs. Whether it’s a SharePoint migration, content management portal, e-commerce platform, or multi-device software, these companies have dedicated themselves to understanding problem areas and solutions for specific domains and their knowledge, Backed by technical expertise, it can help produce faster, smarter solutions.
Whether the company is a small or medium business or a larger conglomerate, it can only benefit from developing software abroad. Take, for example, a commercial school bus fleet that provides tracking, security, and optimization. The company believes in ensuring a safe and efficient school bus travel experience for children and parents. The company wanted a mobile app to keep track of buses and therefore help schools manage their fleet, at an affordable price. The app would also be useful for parents to know the arrival times of the buses. The app, if it were to be developed in-house, would require the company to shift its focus from its core business, namely providing a safe and secure school bus ride, to developing a technology solution. The change in focus can have repercussions on your existing business along with cost implications and delayed launches. The company hired an offshore software development company to develop a custom application, complete with back-end server functionality. The application was developed within the stipulated deadlines and became a business model for other companies to follow. Its competitive advantage of floating the solution ahead of time ensured that it has gained a considerable advantage over its competitors. The client experiences business growth with minimal operating constraints. It has also expanded its business to cover other geographic locations.
This case study is just one small example of how a company benefited from developing software abroad. Across the spectrum, many companies are trying to make their portals device agnostic. However, your websites may exist in one language, making a mobile presence difficult. An offshore development company that has a strong team of engineers who can work on cross-platform applications will be able to create mobile presences for such companies without causing any concern.
In a similar case, many companies that have worked in an offline model are considering a software solution to enhance their presence, improve processes, offer business efficiency and all at reduced costs. However, all these same reasons can be negative if the company decides to hire its own team of engineers. With constraints like cost and time, the entire process from recruiting to testing will be a living nightmare and in the long run may prove too expensive, not exactly what was required, or even redundant.
In short, offshore software development is an option for companies, regardless of their business, industry, or size. It’s one of the best ways to make technology work to your advantage. In this sense, technology becomes an enabler and its advantages are important for companies to maintain their competitive advantage. To maximize the benefits of custom software, companies must prepare a comprehensive list of requirements. The list should not describe what `they think’ is important. You need to focus on the benefits for the end customer. These companies do not need to ‘talk’ about technology. They should talk about the weak points. It is up to the service provider to turn these pain points into solutions using technology. It can’t get any simpler than this, right?
