According to a survey conducted by McKinsey, businesses direct over 50% of their IT budget toward developing new and innovative applications. However, most organizations find it challenging to build custom software products and solutions, stay ahead of the competition, and scale at speed.
While the rapid growth of technology has somewhat contributed to this struggle, the main factor is the acute talent shortage. In fact, the world is currently facing one of the largest tech talent shortages in history. For instance, according to ManpowerGroup, there will be a global talent shortage of over 545K software developers by 2026. Meanwhile, 70% of tech employers in the UK are struggling to find engineers with the right skill set.
The bottom line is that finding qualified developers, especially in the West, is quite challenging. Many employers have no choice but to look elsewhere. And that’s where hiring a dedicated development team can prove beneficial.
What Is a Dedicated Development Team?
A dedicated development team is a group of engineers who are exactly like your local developers but based elsewhere. They are a permanent, value-adding extension of your organization, usually located in emerging tech nations. Unlike outsourced help or freelancers who manage short-term one-off projects, a dedicated development team is in it for the long haul.
A typical dedicated development team consists of front-end and back-end developers, user interface (UI)/user experience (UX) designers, DevOps engineers, full-stack developers, quality assurance (QA) engineers, business analysts, and project managers.
Why Build a Dedicated Development Team?
There are many benefits to building a dedicated development team offshore. Some of them include:
1. Access to global talent
The dedicated development team model gives you access to massive talent pools in emerging tech nations, such as India and the Ukraine. The developers in these countries are not only highly qualified but are also fluent in English. That means you don’t have to worry about language barriers.
2. Lower operating costs
Building a development team in cities like Paris, London, or New York is an expensive undertaking. Apart from the developers’ salaries, businesses also have to spend a significant amount of capital to procure office space, software, and hardware, among other expenses. On the other hand, building a dedicated team in countries with lower costs of living means generating significant savings in the long term.
3. Fast scaling
Quickly scaling up a business can be a challenge, especially when local talent is scarce and expensive. Building a dedicated development team offshore allows companies to establish larger offices, recruit skilled developers faster, and grow dynamically.
3 Steps to Hire a Dedicated Development Team Offshore
1. Choose the right offshore location
With so many emerging tech hubs globally, choosing the right destination to build your dedicated development team is crucial. Two parameters that you must carefully evaluate are access to tech talent and cost-effectiveness.
For instance, India produces more than 1.5 million engineers every year. So, building a development team there gives you access to a large pool of skilled and passionate developers who will add immense value to your business.
2. Collaborate with the right partner
An offshore development company is essentially your partner on the ground. It is responsible for hiring your dedicated development team, handling all the administrative and legal duties, and ensuring that your team is brought into the culture and ethos of your business. That’s why choosing the right partner is key.
So, before you sign on the dotted line, ensure that you evaluate your chosen partner’s history in building successful development teams, recruitment process, working style, and how it approaches culture and people.
3. Establish an operational road map
When building a dedicated development team, it’s essential to examine your business’s short- and long-term goals. Ask what you hope to accomplish by going offshore.
Once you have a clear vision for your business, you can use your offshore partner’s expertise to establish an operational road map—a set of steps to help you reach that goal. That can include the number of developers you want to hire, the technologies you wish to work with, and the products you hope to build. It sets the foundation for the next steps—hiring your team and establishing workflows and processes.
Wrapping Up
Hiring the right dedicated development team allows you to level up your operations, boost innovation, and enhance your customers’ experience. As your offshore partner takes care of the day-to-day activities and builds your team for you, you get to focus on scaling your business.
