How to Set Up Your Offshore Development Center (ODC) in India?

 

Outsourcing is there in the market for quite some time now. Initially, the need to work with an offshore team or offshore software development company was to save costs and efforts. But later start-ups, SMEs and established firms realized that setting up an offshore development center can enhance productivity and reduce time to market as companies can focus on their core competencies. 

Are you a startup or established enterprise that is looking for growth? If so, the offshore development center is something to be considered for sure.  

What is an ODC (Offshore Development Center)?

ODC or offshore development center means an extended, dedicated, and integrated offshore team. As the name suggests, this external dedicated team is usually located in a foreign or offshore country and gives support to an organization as required.

The offshore team becomes a part of your extended team that works at an overlapping shift.

The offshore development center will act as a branch of the company, running specific operations of a business. From a business point of view, most companies (regardless of their size) consider setting up their offshore development center in a country where the cost of living is lower in comparison to their native country.

It helps them to lower down the overall operational cost, increasing efficiency, and skyrocketing the net profits.

You just have to collaborate with your offshore developers effectively, as they already have industry experience, knowledge about the tools and technologies to build innovative software for your business.

The ODC not only includes hiring developers but it also consists of other specialists as well. In the case of offshore software development, your offshore team may include, designers, developers, testers, and a project manager to keep track of the development process.

Here are a few roles that the experts are expected to perform;

• Account Manager: Works with company clients and grants their loyalty. To make sure that the client is satisfied with the work of the company.

• Project Coordinator: The specialist who prioritizes the task to manage ODC, completely plan, and control communication. He builds the development plan, group up the team, provide feedback to customers, and makes sure there is timely project release.
• Designer and Developer: Hold the responsibility of planning, drafting the designs, develop software, website or app, testing, and maintenance.
• Tester/Quality Analyst: Keeps a check on the quality and integrity of the product.
• Technical Writers: Deal with the content creation of the website, product, or app.
• Usability Engineer: Before the release of any product, it is the responsibility of the usability engineer to evaluate user-friendliness.

Offshore Development Center Checklist

For entrepreneurs who are looking for quality services, it is very challenging to determine which service provider is the best in their particular field. To help you chose the best offshore development center, consider the following checklist:

1. Skills and Knowledge

While considering hiring a dedicated team of developers for your company, it’s best to keep the knowledge and skills on the top. Moreover, it is recommended to work with a team that has experience working on similar projects in the past.

While hiring developers online, you should conduct a short technical video interview. Plus, you should thoroughly get an insight into their work approach, methodologies and try to understand their work culture.

2. Look for a Promising Deal

Before choosing the company, have a look at the most promising deal that will have a good amount of advantage for your organization. A deal that is risk-free and offers a comprehensive package of services is recommended.

3. Reliability and Quality Standards

Consistency and trustworthiness are the two major factors that define a good offshore development company. Trust the one that has certifications and accreditations.

4. Dedicated Workforce

The end goal of setting up an offshore development center is to work with a dedicated workforce. Therefore, double-check the same.

For e.g.; if you are planning to build your team of native app developers, what’s the benefit of hiring them if they are busy with other projects as well? To deliver quality results, you need to hire iOS app developers and Android developers that will be dedicated to all your projects. So, hire accordingly.

5. Payment Terms

A transparent discussion about the financial terms will clear all your doubts regarding the hidden cost, payment schedule, and any other questions. Flexible pricing procedure does tempt but don’t let it govern the outsourcing relationship.

Discuss these with your service provider prior to outsourcing;

• Pricing models proposed
• Agreement cost, exception cost based on performance metrics, price stability
• Time accounting
• Milestone management
• Taxes
• Payment schedule
• Credibility

What is the scale of measurement for the credibility and reliability of an offshore development company? You should carry out a proper background check regarding work efficiency.

There are a lot of offshore development companies in India. To avoid much confusion, it’s best to check out B2B Review and Rating platforms and create a list of top 10 or 5 companies. Get an overview of the comments and reviews posted by their clients on Google, Linked In, or other social media platforms.

By conducting a thorough background check on the credibility, you can find a perfect offshore development company. And it can lead you to hire offshore developers that are best in business (while saving your time and money).

Why there is a Need for Outsourcing Contracts?

To outsource your project, you can either choose an IT outsource company or a freelancer. With the help of a contract, there are terms of the outsourcing arrangement that take place beforehand, directing the company to deliver in their favor. Therefore, it is important to pre-define the important agreement terms like expectation, legalities, liabilities, etc.

This will help in guiding the behavior of both the companies during the complete tenure of the arrangement.

Components that Make a Good Outsourcing Contract:

• Detailed project scope
• Service level agreements
• Transfer of assets
• Product warranty
• Product ownership
• IP protection
• Cost and payment structure
• Duration of completion
• Dispute resolution
• Subcontracting
• Indemnification
• Detailed Project Scope

The initial contract element acts as the project scope. It describes the requirements of the company. RPF can also be included in this section. You have to ensure that the finalized scope of the project and services are mentioned clearly by the third party.

Wrapping Up

IT startups are the ones that offer to consider ODC as they feel it is a good start for their development. This approach certainly gives them a perfect balance of price and quality.

India is one of the best locations for setting up an ODC, but it is always essential to plan the venture carefully to achieve success.

If you are still reading this, you may be interested in the offshore development center model, and we have something for you. If our company matches your ideas, you can contact us, and we will help you establish an offshore development company. Get in touch now.

Originally posted on Your Team in India. Click here to read more.