Introducing offshore teams into product development environments is a challenging initiative. Remote locations, skills outsourcing, and cultural fit are some challenges that a technology leader faces when integrating offshore resources. In addition, language barriers and time zone differences can complicate the relationship between the dedicated offshore team and the project stakeholders.
However, when offshore resources get appropriately introduced and managed, these teams can reduce a product's development costs and improve its time to market. On the company level, hiring an offshore development team can help get a competitive advantage and use internal resources more wisely to earn a greater return on investment in the long run.
Below are guidelines that will help product and technology leaders integrate dedicated offshore teams into the development process and avoid common pitfalls. We aligned our guidelines with the Gartner's tech trends for 2023.
In simple terms, offshore outsourcing defines contracting a function to an external IT vendor that provides its remote resources cheaper than local counterparts.
For example, an eCommerce company outsources a web development function to dedicated offshore team located in a low-cost country with affordable hourly rates. Additionally, the offshore team could dedicate its unique expertise to a specific functional area, such as providing MEAN- or Python-based development services.
The reason for IT offshore outsourcing often comes from a lack of in-house resources in any of the four areas: project management, software development, quality assurance, and system administration. When the project leader needs more dedicated internal resources to complete a project on time, offshore resources are an obvious solution.
Depending on the delivery model, you can decide between onshore, nearshore, and offshore outsourcing.
In any offshore relationship, technology leaders should always ensure that the remote dedicated team is part of the company's core values. This means that both parties clearly understand their goals, what the project will accomplish in reality, and how to work together as a collaborate team.
In our experience, you will almost fail to benefit from team outsourcing unless you stick rigorously to the following steps:
A challenging relationship between the project and offshore teams arises due to a mutual lack of understanding. Teams that need help communicating with each other often need assistance properly collaborating with their offshore team. This situation can happen because remote resources are separate from the core team or because of a language or cultural barrier between the project team and the offshore team.
Because of these challenges, remote resources require clear communication channels between the teams. Further, when communicating with remote resources, it is essential to understand their unique way of working and what they think is best.
For example, a team leader may ask the offshore team to do something differently. Even if this is not necessarily true, offshore resources could interpret this as a request to change their standard way of working. This situation could lead to a dysfunctional relationship between the two teams and increase costs and schedule delays.
The solution lies in understanding remote team communication first, then removing the language or cultural barriers that may interfere with a successful relationship.
While a remote team is not a part of the core project team, you should never treat it as an optional component. Otherwise, there would be no incentive for development speed or quality.
It is critical for offshore team management to understand the project's long-term goals. If the dedicated offshore resources are part of a strategic plan, then it is worth the incremental cost to achieve that goal.
From a project leader's point of view, estimate costs and benefits on a case-by-case basis. For example, if the remote team increases the product's value and ROI, it is worth its incremental cost.
Communication and training are essential to a successful offshore relationship. Here are a few suggestions in this regard:
While dedicated offshore teams can be a successful outsourcing strategy, some common pitfalls can cause even the best leader to fail. The most prevalent problem is a lack of coordination between onshore and offshore teams.
Here are a couple of typical pitfalls to avoid when entering offshoring arrangements:
The offshore dedicated team model is not a decision to be made lightly or without thought. Developing an outsourcing strategy and selecting the right development team requires a lot of planning and research.
Here are some takeaways for you to remember:
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