With the globalization of IT services and the ease of access when it comes to connecting to foreign service providers, we are seeing more and more companies opt for offshore services. Offshoring Services is simply a business relation where a company hires a foreign company to handle certain business operations or to produce a certain product. The flexibility of remote development and employer’s options when it comes to hiring foreign talent has allowed room for companies to hire entire development and service teams that are located elsewhere in the world. Offshore services are not always used for their cost-effectiveness, but also to have services consistently available in different regions and time zones.

But like all investments, there are certain things you should absolutely consider when it is hiring offshore services. Today we’ll be looking at 7 factors you should consider when hiring offshore services and how these factors can play into the success of your business. But first, let’s look at why offshoring services is a good idea and why so many companies are more inclined to use it.

Why Hire Offshore Services?

While there are multiple reasons to consider an application for offshore services, the main reasons are cost-effectiveness and a wider talent of people. Offshoring service providers operating in countries with lower labor costs often provide lower rates for their services while still maintaining a high standard for quality and reliability. Similarly, you can access talent from foreign countries that provide your business with skill set and features that may not be easily accessible in your own. There is also the concept of scalability, since with offshoring services, companies can easily upgrade or downsize their operations as per their business demands.

Regardless of the specifics, the success of globally operating companies like xxx and xxx has proven that offshoring services can provide in much-needed value in different sectors, from service to production to development and more. So, if you’re a company looking to invest in an offshoring development team, you should focus on these 7 specific factors:

Table of Content

1. Finding the Right Offshore Team with Specialized Skills
2. Quality assurance and performance measurement
3. Cost-Effectiveness and Offshore Expenses
4. Scalability and Flexibility in Offshore Services
5. Communication and documentation
6. Data security and Intellectual Property Protection
7. Added Value, Previous Experiences and Business compatibility.

1. Finding the Right Offshore Team with Specialized Skills

Regardless of whether you are looking for service-based offshoring or production-based offshoring, you should always ensure that your offshoring service provides you with the exact skill sets you are looking for. The great advantage of hiring offshoring services is being able to access specialized talents and experience that may not be well accessible in your local workforce pool. So, looking for human resources with the skill set that is perfect for your required service becomes a crucial part of your search for a profitable offshoring service. Always consider the grooming and training period when it comes to building an offshore development team, as hiring one with already experience and projects in your required field can drastically shorten training time as well as overall costs.

2. Quality assurance and performance measurement

When you are hiring offshoring services, it’s important to demand a level of quality assurance from your service provider and metrics to accompany their quality assurance process. Gauging the overall ability of your service provider based on their portfolios, certifications case studies, and testimonials can provide you with a brief look at their quality standards and what processes they follow to achieve it. Additionally, monitoring the provider’s performance reports and quality of service can also help you benefit more from your offshoring service in the long term as well. In addition, hiring a manager or a dedicated aid to handle queries, communications channel and performance measurements in a scheduled manner can benefit your offshoring applications in the long term as well.

3. Cost-Effectiveness and Offshore Expenses

Evaluating the total expenses for the offshoring service and evaluating over time is key when it comes to finding the right service providers. This is a very sophisticated process as it requires a fair amount of research regarding the services you are getting for the price as well as the scale of your own business. Since cost-effectiveness is a key feature of offshoring services, it would be quite meaningless if your offshore expenses started taking a major chunk of your business operation budget. Always hire based on needs is the advice we provide as an IT consultant with specialization in offshoring services. Go through multiple conversations with your offshoring manager or your consultant to compare budget plans and choose the service that fits your bill and comfort level.

4. Scalability and Flexibility in Offshore Services

As your business and its scale evolves, you will need your offshore service provider to accommodate to these changes. So, evaluating your provider’s scalability and flexibility is a crucial consideration when it comes to selecting the right team. Creating assessment plans regarding flexibility and future growth plans and ensuring they align with your own business requirements is necessary when it comes to hiring offshore companies. For example, if you are figuring out the appropriate options for offshore software development offshoring, you should consider how well your offshore service provider can be flexible in terms of resource allocation, collaboration, and documentation handling, changing management processes and more. It is simply not feasible to search for additional options on top of your already present offshore service provider every time you want to handle a different part of the software development process.

5. Communication and documentation

Effective communication is an essential requirement for a successful offshore venture. Constant documentation regarding business operations and new developments will also help you keep track of your ongoing offshore services and build prospects regarding your business. So, when hiring an offshore company, ensure that the company has a strong point in their communication values. Requiring clear and timely communication and regular reports and as well as full transparency regarding ongoing activities is also key when drafting an offshore contract.

Additionally, you should also consider language proficiency when it comes to hiring offshore staff. Ensuring that your offshore team can understand you well and can ensure smooth communication is vital. This does not necessarily include general proficiency regarding your preferred language but also understanding of business terminology, industry-specific lingo as well as clear and concise documentation language.

6. Data security and Intellectual Property Protection

Handing over your business operations and sensitive data can always be risky. There’s not only the case of internal data leakage, but also security failures and even intellectual rights issues. So, make sure you create, review, and update your confidentiality agreements and intellectual property rights agreements. You will also find more value in services that comply with proper data protection regulations and ensure that their security measures are up to date. Especially in the case of offshore software outsourcing, where there are more scenarios for data security issues. As for additional data security, you can also employ the use of:

• Non-disclosure agreements.
• Legal provision contracts.
• Data ownership agreements.
• Invention ownership agreements.

The more experienced offshore service providers ensure that all these grounds are covered from the start and that you’re never at risk of a data breach or a breach of contract when it comes to your data security.

7. Added Value, Previous Experiences and Business compatibility.

Furthermore, consider what your offshore branch brings as an added value to your business. Inquiring about services that have worthwhile projects that can transition precisely into your operations brings an added benefit to your business. Business compatibility is also key, since hiring a team with no considerable experience in your industry can be quite difficult and the conversion process can take quite some time depending on your offshore team’s capabilities.

Carefully evaluate the previous experiences of your offshore service provider; going through reviews, testimonials, project portfolios and industry relevance can help you give a clear idea about the overall ability of the provider as well as what extra values and ideas that the offshore team can provide you with to bring in beneficial changes and updates to your development process and overall service.

Conclusion

And that ends our article on the 7 Factors to consider when hiring offshore services. Hiring a dedicated offshore service can be quite beneficial to the amount of flexibility of your business, as well as help you cut down on essential business expenses. However, the process of hiring an offshore service requires a bit more of a detailed insight into what your company needs and what services you can take full advantage of using an offshore company. With careful evaluation, strict documentation and agreements and a work pipeline that allows smooth communication, you can make smart decisions using offshore collaborations and ventures.

All these factors above can be quite complicated and require a large amount of effort and time during the evaluation process. However, a good IT consultant or an offshore company with significant experience can help you cut down on the evaluation time and give you a clear view on what they bring onto the table for your business. If you are looking for a more in-depth analysis of offshore services or want a more detailed business plan made for your business specially, you can always reach out to us on our contact channels.

As an offshore consultancy and software development veteran, we can provide you with a more professional insight into the offshore development process and what specifics features you’ll need for your operations. We are always looking to help business prosper and find ways to take the quality of products and services to the next level. Similarly, if you’re searching for innovative ideas and articles regarding offshore services, software development and app development, why not check out our social media pages for more content.

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