Things to Know Before Hiring an Offshore Software Agency
by Prashant Kumar Digital marketerOutsourcing has become a normal practice,
especially when it comes to the IT industry. In 2018 the total contract value
for Information Technology Outsourcing was 62 billion US dollars. So we can see
that IT outsourcing is done by a lot of companies, whether you are a small
startup or a large enterprise there is some aspect of your business that you
would be looking to outsource.
Talking about software outsourcing
companies there are two kinds you can find; one is an onshore agency and the
other is an offshore agency. The difference being, one is located near you and
the other might be located across the world. Normally offshore software
agencies are much more economical than hiring an onshore software agency.
There are a few things to you should know
before hiring an offshore software agency.
We can divide these into three categories called General, Technical and
Business. Let us discuss them one at a time.
General
In this category, we focus
on things like; the purpose, workflow, communications, and commitments.
Purpose
The first thing you need to know is why you are looking to hire an
offshore software agency is it because it is more economical or is it because
of the software expertise that comes with it? It is important to have a clear
understanding of what your reason is.
Workflow
You need to know how things are going to work, right from hiring the
offshore software agency to the delivery of the finished product. You need to
know, will you get to choose the resources or will they be assigned by the
agency, what is the estimated time for the project completion, will the
resources be dedicated to your project or not.
Communication
There are various offshore software companies around the world and
you should hire one that speaks and understands your language clearly. This is
really important as most delays in any project happen because of
miscommunication or lack of understanding. They should also be available to
communicate with you based on your time zone.
Be available on email, phone, and Skype as you require.
Commitment
You need to check the commitment you are getting into, is it easy to
start and end a contract. Hiring an offshore software agency and getting into a
long term contract right at the start may not be such a good idea. Instead, you should look for offshore
agencies that offer monthly rolling contracts, and you should be able to change
the candidates working on your project if required.
Technical
In this category, we focus
on things like; expertise and resources.
Expertise
As there are various offshore software agencies, you need to find
the one that has expertise in delivering projects in your domain. If possible
you should test the candidates on their technical skills. And you should also
check their case studies to see if they have worked on similar projects. This
was you can be sure that you are getting an expert for your project.
Resources
Does the offshore agency have all the resources required to fulfill your
requirements? They should have a pool of skilled developers, testers, project
managers, and more. The hardware and software they use should be up to date and
have all the required licenses. Their infrastructure should be robust.
Business
In this category, we focus
on things like; cost, management, and experience.
Cost
You need to understand the costs involved in hiring an offshore
software agency. We are not only talking about the hourly rates but the cost of
doing the full project. The hourly rates may be low but they may take longer to
complete the project increasing the overall cost. You should also check what the
fees on contract termination are, and if they offer extended support.
Management
The management team from the offshore software agency is a very
important piece to the puzzle. If they are cooperative, transparent and
detailed, your project will run much smoother. You need to see if you will get
a project manager for your project or would you need to pay extra for him/her.
Experience
Last but not the least you need to check how much experience the
offshore software agency has, have they handled similar projects in the past.
You need to see if they are reliable, take references and cross-check them.
Remember that experience does not come from active years in the industry; it
comes from successfully completed projects.
Conclusion
As you can see that you have to put in some work before hiring an offshore software agency. This is important because hiring a wrong agency can be a financial and operational failure. You take your time to learn about the offshore software agency, this will not only help you save money but also make your project a success.
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Created on Oct 15th 2019 04:42. Viewed 368 times.