Statista Technology Market Outlook reports that enterprise software holds the largest share of the overall software development industry, and its worldwide revenues crossed 200 billion USD in 2021 alone. Yes. That’s how huge the software development industry has become and the numbers are only set to rise courtesy of global digitization.
Hasn’t the curious question ‘how come so many web designing and development firms thrive so well’ ever crossed your mind? That’s because the demand for competent and resourceful software is increasing every year. This surge is a huge opportunity for any offshore software development company.
Outsourcing has always been on the cards of most businesses because it presents a cost-effective way of getting things done. Outsourcing software development has become a common practice and it is chiefly because companies, regardless of their size and vertical, get to benefit a lot from it. But no industry is without cons and this industry too has its own.
While it is lucrative in terms of cost and time, outsourcing software projects can often lead to certain unseen problems, especially for businesses that set out to seek the best software development company for their project without proper preparation and meet disappointment in the long run.
Fortunately, there are several ways to combat and overcome those challenges and this post here gives you an insight into that. It discusses the several challenges often met by IT firms and their clients and some simple yet effective ways to address the same.
Understanding Time Zone
The most common problem faced by both the development company and clients is understanding and syncing with each other’s time zone. This is a significant challenge as it often results in difficulty in coordinating schedules and obstructing real-time communication which can result in delays, miscommunications, and missed deadlines.
In short, the time zone difference can become highly inconvenient for both parties. So before hiring a development company, it is essential to check and learn about its working schedules. This will help in the establishment of proper schedules, timely updates, and uninterrupted communication.
Value Quality over Quantity
Quality control is yet another significant outsourcing challenge. Often, in a quest to grab the best deal, enterprises strike deals with firms that lack proper resources, leading to subpar results. The best way to deal with this problem is to conduct proper research on shortlisted names and check the portfolios of the company as well as its developers.
You may find some differences in the quotations of the companies, but if the quality is good, then do value that over quantity. It’s because, in the long run, a poor quality product will result in wastage of resources, additional costs, and unsatisfied customers as well. Also, you should conduct regular quality audits along with testing to ensure that your project is as per the promised quality standards.
Property Protection
The relationship between an enterprise and its offshore development company is that of trust and that also includes the protection of ideas and property, which in this case is your software. Several investors proclaim their idea to be unique and tend to keep it that way.
While most offshore companies vouch to keep your ideas and project confidential, you can never have proper control over them. That’s why it’s important to keep everything documented. You must ask your IT consulting company to establish legal contractual agreements to protect your company’s information.
This also includes giving you the coding ownership and making NDA (non-disclosure agreements). It will ensure that your partner adheres to the agreement norms and in case of any violation, you can take strict legal actions.
Respect Cultural Differences
This has come out as a major conflicting situation in software development outsourcing. To establish a smooth and strong relationship, both the hiring party and the hired company should understand and respect each other’s cultural differences.
The impact of cultural differences can be seen especially during festivals and occasions. Every place has its cultural nuances. Now in these cases, there can be conflicts regarding the work progress, meeting deadlines, etc. In this case, it becomes important to set clear goals and work accordingly. But the most important thing is to understand and respect cultural diversity from both sides.
Establish Proper Communication Points
Seamless communication is the key to successful outsourcing, but despite having so many different channels (Skype, Zoom, Google Meet, WhatsApp, emails, and messengers), there’s often a communication gap between the two parties.
There could be several reasons for the same including time zone differences, language barriers, availability of either party, etc. However, the communication gap must be bridged at all costs as miscommunication can lead to serious complications.
To avoid this, companies must establish proper communication points right from the beginning. This can be done by setting up times for regular video conferences, utilizing proper management tools for progress tracking, and communicating via a single point of contact to avoid ambiguity.
Security Measures
Cyber threats are a common concern, and though the outsourcing company tries its best to safeguard your confidential information, there’s still a risk of misuse of information or data theft, which can become a serious problem for both parties.
Also, proprietary software can be important for an enterprise in so many ways.
It can contain trade secrets, client details, and other valuable company information. That’s why it’s critically important to understand and learn about the security measures of your service provider.
You must check the authentication process, security certifications, hardware configurations, and also the security management software and tools used for data protection. You should also check out their measures for disaster data recovery.
Summing Up
Outsourcing software development presents businesses with some solid challenges but with proper measures, these challenges can be easily overcome. Before hiring a software development firm, companies should learn about cultural differences, check out portfolios and security measures, establish clear communication channels, and of course, understand cultural diversity.
However, to have a more professional and strategic approach to outsourcing, enterprises can hire a reputed IT consulting services provider that will help them get on the right path and help mitigate outsourcing risks while leveraging the maximum benefits from it.
