Why Offshore Software Development is the Wave of the Future

Published: May 24, 2012 3 min. read
Svitla Team
By Svitla Team
Managed Operations Web Development
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Offshore IT services such as personnel management and help desk support are quite different from offshore software development. We have said in another blog that Windows 8 and the cloud will eliminate the need for offshore IT intensive processing, and that’s true. The advantage of IT services processing offshore lies in the lower labor costs associated with operating the IT systems, performing the service and the lower infrastructure costs associated with offering the services.

Moving an IT service to the cloud eliminates infrastructure costs and the costs to operate and maintain the infrastructure. It also eliminates or greatly reduces the labor costs associated with the service since there’s no longer a need to import and export data, assure its compatibility, and all of the other tasks associated with data movement between two or more widely separated locations. All are eliminated when the service is relocated to the cloud. Tightened integration with and within the cloud reduces labor requirements even further.

But none of that is possible without user and cloud integration, and that requires software developers. They will still be needed for the foreseeable future, and using offshore resources to fill that need is the best choice for a number of reasons.

1.Offshoring allows for a wide variety of skills to be assembled as needed for specific development projects. The client is not concerned with or interested in the personnel roster, only in results accruing from a wide selection of highly responsive development firms, lower labor costs, a better selection of highly skilled specialists, and compressed development schedules. Overhead costs are typically lower too because of a less expensive business environment.

2. Offshoring projects can be results driven. In-company politics are eliminated. The developer’s only interest is to over-achieve and to win future business. Project managers can reinforce this drive with financial incentives to attract the best talent and insure productivity, incentives that are very motivating but that are still substantially less costly than they would be in the USA.

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3. Offshoring allows remote project managers to deliver a vision, indifferent to the development process; they benefit, however, from a highly skilled and motivated development team. Their location and the local technological sophistication is not a concern. Skilled developers in areas that are technologically handicapped can now create amazing programs using only the requirements they’re given, their innovation and the stimulating environment of their offshore team members. All they need is Internet access and a suitable workstation.

With the cloud eliminating borders in software development and project management, a whole new world of collaboration and design is on its way. It no longer matters which country people are working in but rather what the quality of the code is. Knowing that offshoring provides you with the best of the best in programming and design at a cost you can afford means handing the project over to an offshore company is just good business.

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Svitla Team
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FAQ

What is offshore in the IT industry?

In the IT industry, offshore is technically defined as delegating work to teams in other countries where labor and operating expenses are relatively cheaper. Offshore development allows access to a large pool of expertise, results-oriented, flexible project-based team engagement with delivery acceleration while focusing on results rather than internal politics. Unlike traditional offshore IT operations (such as data processing, which requires heavy infrastructure), modern offshore software development is often integrated with cloud services, removing much of the physical infrastructure cost from the equation. In such an arrangement, what matters most is code quality and responsiveness, not the country where the developers sit, making offshoring a cost-effective way to access top talent.

What is the most commonly outsourced IT service?

Software development is among the most commonly outsourced aspects of IT because companies can tap into various expertise and maintain accelerated development timelines. Though functions like help desk support and personnel management are commonly outsourced, software development remains core to creating the integrations and applications characteristic of today’s cloud-based environments. Labor and infrastructure costs are drastically reduced when using offshore developers, enabling a focus on high-quality code and results-oriented projects.

What is an offshore service?

An offshore service is the practice of handing over work functions to a vendor from another country, for example, software development or managing personnel, so as to benefit from low labor and infrastructure costs in that country. This model enables businesses to assemble highly qualified teams for specific projects, ensuring performance-based results and schedules are achieved much faster without the local overhead burdens. The need for some components of offshore infrastructure has been reduced by cloud technology; however, it does not eliminate the need for offshore services to access talent and various forms of expertise globally at a reasonable price.

How much does outsourced IT services cost?

Labor rates are often much lower, and other overhead expenses are also considerably reduced when not working in the house. Expenses within offshore business environments are relatively minimal. Thus, by simply moving to cloud services and utilizing offshore teams, infrastructure maintenance costs are eliminated, plus minimized labor requirements for data movement are minimized. In return, project managers can offer attractive compensation to workers, which will be financially rewarding yet still cheaper than salaries offered in the USA. Outsourcing will deliver high-quality code and design expertise at a price that fits within a company’s business budget.