What Is Offshore Software Development?

Regardless of your industry, outsourcing software development is among your greatest choices if you’re looking to go digital. You are not only saving yourself from expanding and managing your internal IT team, but you are also guaranteeing the best project quality and timeliness possible when you outsource website design, mobile app development, and software maintenance. Come learn with us the advantages that hiring offshore software development companies can offer your company.

Offshore software development involves carefully defining your project, selecting a reputable partner, and applying best practices for transparent work and effective communication. Vietnam has become a preferred destination for offshore IT services due to its affordable costs, skilled IT professionals, and reputable software firms. Dignep simplifies the offshoring experience, bringing your vision to life. Let’s collaborate and discuss your ideas in more detail.

Offshore software development is the process of assigning a project to a third-party software development service, such as your company’s fully or partially developed mobile app. However, you should absolutely work with a software development company rather than a freelancer if you plan to outsource the entire workflow.

For a project like mobile app development, you need at least a team of experienced designers, QA engineers, and software developers, even though a freelancer may be an expert in one or more related fields.


These days, offshore software development is very common, and between 2021 and 2026, the global IT outsourcing market is projected to generate $425.19 billion in revenue. According to research, the market for IT outsourcing services generated $413.72 billion in profit in 2021. This suggests that operational efficacy, consistency, and cost savings are the primary factors influencing the decision of most corporations to outsource software development.

offshore software development

Five Advantages of Developing Software Offshore

Do you still have questions about whether to establish your own internal team or work with an offshore development service? Taking into account these five advantages of offshore software development:

  1. Reduced Price
    Yes, maintaining an internal IT team can be difficult and expensive for most businesses, particularly if you or your coworkers lack much teamwork experience. Therefore, you can avoid investing in IT infrastructure and saving time on hiring and training new staff by working with an offshore software development company like Dignep. Alternatively, you could direct those resources toward a more pressing problem.
  2. Having Access to a Large Talent Pool
    You can access a large pool of skilled and experienced software engineers with higher international standards and quality by using offshore software development. Better yet, the offshore development service can comprehend the difficulties involved and find a solution for almost any problem you may run into in the future because they have experience working with clients and projects from around the world.
  3. Quicker Return to Market
    You can count on a committed software development team to complete your project on schedule. You can guarantee that your program or application hits the market on time or even sooner in addition to finishing it faster. Additionally, an outsourcing team can provide fresh perspectives and ideas for enhancing your business procedures, enabling you to take advantage of ingenuity and creativity throughout the whole software lifecycle. If you own a store selling sanitary equipment, creating a basic web application for your company would probably take you at least a month.
  4. More Time to Concentrate on Essential Business Tasks
    By working with an offshore software development company, you can concentrate more on your main business plan. Hence, rather than stressing over overseeing the lengthy and intricate software development process as a whole, This frees you from the burden of starting and overseeing a brand-new software development department, so you can concentrate on your core competencies.
  5. Indisputable Business Development
    Businesses of all sizes can access skilled labor forces, lower costs, and shorter development times through offshore software development. Not to mention the advantages that follow the release of your app. All of this will support your business’s efforts to achieve long-term commercial growth.

Top Strategies for Developing Software Successfully Offshore


If you plan to outsource a portion of your software development projects, the following best practices will make it easier for you to accomplish your objectives:

  1. Learn About Every Offshore Developer
    It is preferable to introduce yourself to the whole team when outsourcing your project—not just the team leader. An effective outcome depends on your offshore developers and a solid working relationship. Additionally, this will present an opportunity for you and the offshore team to enhance communication and comprehension of your vision.
  2. Compact But Expert Teams
    The smaller, the better when it comes to offshore development teams! A smaller team of offshore developers with exceptional skills, like those at Dignep, will actually work more efficiently than a larger team of mediocre developers. Additionally, if the size of your offshore team starts to increase, divide it into smaller groups and designate team leaders for each to ensure that everyone has the accountability, transparency, clarity, and development process focus that is needed.
  3. Have Regular Conversations
    It is ideal if the project manager can communicate with all offshore developers, not just the offshore team lead, in order to get the most out of the offshore development service. It is advised to do so at least once every week. Having such open lines of communication with your offshore development team makes it easier and much faster to identify problems and provide workable solutions. You should also search for methods to establish a rapport with the offshore team through social interactions, client visits, or cooperative endeavors.
  4. Daily Meetings for Status Reports
    As previously stated, effective communication and teamwork are essential to achieving your project’s objectives. Therefore, try setting up quick video conferences for daily status meetings rather than reading and reviewing reports every day. This guarantees that each problem is handled quickly and effectively.
  5. Clearly State Your Expectations
    It is typical to have different expectations when working with any third party. Your offshore software development partner may not find what you consider good or acceptable, particularly in terms of quality, security, and user experience. The best approach is to be explicit about expectations and meticulous in every step. Communicate your values rather than written materials to make sure that your expectations are always clear.

What are the cost components of hiring the best offshore software development team?

There are a number of cost elements involved in hiring an offshore team. Here are the top ones:

  • Training and hiring
  • Development 
  • Project management
  • Quality assurance
  • Auxiliary costs
  • Service costs
  • Infrastructure cost

Another factor that makes it to the cost element list is the geographical region the company belongs to. Here are the average hourly rates of offshore software development companies across the globe. 

RegionsAverage Hourly Rates (in US$)
North America80-150
Western Europe50-200
Latin America30-60
Eastern Europe25-50
Asia20-45

When you are in the stage of considering how to partner with the best offshore development team, it can help to keep a note of what can go wrong as well. 

When is the ideal time to hire a software development company offshore?


The ideal time to work with an offshore software developer will rely on the demands and needs of your company. But it could be wise to think about bringing in an outside team if:

  • Consider recruiting offshore talent if your initiatives require specialized knowledge that you don’t already have in-house.
  • Your startup must expand its technical capabilities as soon as possible.
  • You wish to enhance your program with new features without interfering with your own engineers’ ongoing work.
  • Even with a tight budget, you want to be competitive in the market, so you hire teams from places like India and Nepal, where you can get excellent talent at a discounted price.

How is offshore software development different from onshore development?


The distinction between onshore and offshore development is straightforward.

  • The practice of recruiting contractors headquartered in the same nation as the hiring organization is referred to as onshore software development. As a result, identical business methods, employment costs, and data policies are implemented.
  • Offshore software development firms are generally headquartered in a separate nation, which allows them to offer lower prices.

Tips for hiring Offshore Software Developers

Hiring offshore software developers can be a strategic move to access talent from around the world and reduce development costs. However, successful collaboration requires careful planning and execution. Here are five tips to help you make the most of working with offshore software developers:

  1. Clearly Define Your Project Requirements:
    • Before you start searching for offshore developers, have a clear and detailed understanding of your project requirements. Document the scope, features, and functionalities you need. This will help you communicate effectively with potential developers and ensure they understand your expectations.
  2. Choose the right offshore development team.
    • Conduct thorough research to find the right offshore development team for your project. Consider factors such as expertise, experience, and cultural compatibility. Look for teams with a proven track record, positive client reviews, and relevant skills. Check their portfolio and ask for references to validate their capabilities.
  3. Establish effective communication channels.
    • Communication is crucial when working with an offshore team. Set up clear and regular communication channels to bridge any geographical and time zone gaps. Use collaboration tools, project management software, and video conferencing to stay connected. Schedule regular meetings to discuss progress, address concerns, and ensure everyone is on the same page.
  4. Define a transparent development process:
    • Establish a transparent and efficient development process. Clearly outline milestones, deadlines, and deliverables. Implement Agile methodologies if suitable for your project, as they promote regular feedback and adjustments. Use project management tools to track progress, and make sure the offshore team understands the workflow and expectations.
  5. Protect your intellectual property.
    • When working with offshore developers, it’s crucial to protect your intellectual property. Ensure that you have a well-defined contract that includes clauses about ownership of code, confidentiality, and data security. Consider legal advice to make sure your rights are protected. Implement secure coding practices and data protection measures to safeguard your sensitive information.

By following these tips, you can enhance your chances of a successful collaboration with offshore software developers. Clear communication, careful planning, and selecting the right team are key factors in ensuring that your project is delivered on time and meets your expectations.

Conclusions

For all companies, offshore software development is a good financial and business decision, despite the fact that it may seem a little complicated. To ensure that work is transparent, communication is simple, and the project is coordinated, carefully define your project, select the best offshore development partner, and apply best practices.
Vietnam has emerged as a growing offshore IT market for businesses worldwide in recent years because of its affordable costs, growing pool of IT specialists, and reputable software firms. Every client’s experience with offshoring is simplified by Dignep!

Bringing your vision to its fullest potential.

A long-term service partner that builds, trains, and coaches remote development teams in Nepal We combine technical talent, extensive experience, and entrepreneurship to accelerate your business growth. We ❤️ building and designing digital products in a startup way.

Let’s collaborate! We are thrilled to hear from you, team. Get in touch with us right now to discuss your ideas in more detail.