Perhaps you are considering pros and cons of software outsourcing. Maybe you are looking for local talent in your city and you cannot find them or wages are increasing too high because of big tech companies are aggressively hiring. Also if you think remote working is an upcoming trend or if you wonder the difference between outsourcing and nearshore outsourcing you should continue reading until the end of this article.
Nowadays it is becoming more and more common to find distributed software development teams – a.k.a. IT teams -. No matter the reasons, developers are scattered along a country, a continent or the whole world, constantly collaborating each other to deliver great products and experiences: this is a fact. But there is also a common set of concerns for those in charge of building distributed IT teams, for example
Does developers in other countries have the skills my project needs?
How can I coordinate and control a remote team?
Will the members of the team be able to effectively communicate each others?
How can I protected my business’ IP?
Here are some key aspects that you should consider to build successful remote teams across different countries without sacrificing product quality nor compromising business deadlines.
The right skills, ready to go
Looking for the right developer among the universe of all freelance developers is a really hard and time-consuming task. You will probably have to discard dozens of candidates before you find out a few that fit your needs for a position or a project. Hand-Picked candidates are already tested in specific skills and fluid English so you will interview only the top-notch developers.
Check the background of each candidate, see what they have done, how long they have worked for a company and what that company says about them. It’s not enough that they are qualified but they also need to be experienced.
Make sure they will be available full time or part time as your project require. If part-time is the case be sure they work the half of the day that best matches your business time, according to the developer’s timezone.
Finally check that the developer is able to start in the date you need. Hi talented developers do not last available so much, that’s why if you are interested you must be clear and ask a period to make a good decision.
Hand-Picked have the resources to start new projects right away. Handling the same project in-house might involve weeks or months to hire the right people, train them, and provide the support they need. For most implementations Hand-Picked will bring years of experience from the beginning, saving time and money.
Saving costs
Hiring IT freelancers may make you save a considerable part of the total cost of in-house IT staff which is a great news specially for small and mid-sized business. Let’s consider this saving:
- Reduction in costs related to searching for candidates, hiring and training them
- No need of company-paid benefits like social security, medicare, unemployment insurance, medical insurance, paid leave and some other taxes
- Reduction in indirect costs like cleaning supplies, office equipment, in addition to administrative costs
- As you only pay for worked days you don’t pay vacations
- Fixed costs become variable costs so you pay for them only when you need them
You can have top-notch freelance developers between 50 and 100 US dollars per hour. With that in mind and depending on the source you ask, the cost of hiring a developer is around 50% of the cost for an in-house developer. To get the total amount just multiply the unit saving amount by the amount of positions you need to cover…
Take advantage of timezone
In my experience this is the key to make a project succeed: communication. Work in a near timezone means have at least 4 hours overlapping between the freelancer and the headquarters. This allows a daily meeting in which each developer may report progress, issues and receive requirements. Technical calls are also convenient – or needed – more or less frequently and working both parts in a convenient time makes this sustainable over time.
Here is were nearshore outsourcing takes advantage. Being in the same continent is important because of two reasons: Daily, because of the benefits of time overlapping described above. The second reason is that from time to time you may need that both parts of the team work physically together and traveling across continents involves extra costs and drawback like jet lag.
IP & contracts matter
Legally protect your work may result as important as the invention itself. I’m sure you will consult a professional but just keep in mind a few tips before signing a contract with freelance contractors:
- Have a signed NDA before sharing any information you consider sensitive
- State in the contract that the contractor transfers you all ownership and rights over the work done, including know-how, design, inventions, etc.
- State in the contract that, after the termination of the relationship, the contractor MUST destroy everything you consider private or sensitive information for your business
- State in the contract that the contractor cannot share or divulge in any way any private information given to him to do his work
- State in the contract that the contractor cannot use any work product (i.e. source code) developed for your business in another project for another client or for himself
Conclusion
Hand-Picked developers have more than 10 years helping US startups and mid-sized companies to achieve their IT goals. We offer ready-to-go, high-quality and trained talent with a similar culture, speaking fluent english at a near timezone and letting your business reduce costs without taking extra risks: Hand-Picked developers will work with the same commitment than anyone else in your team. This is the commitment we have assumed.