Globalisation has pervaded all facets of human life. It is pushing the national, social, cultural and knowledge boundaries beyond their limits. One of the key aspects of globalisation is the ability to arbitrage almost all resources: knowledge, time, currency, labour, and more. Of course, any business exists to make profits. And the motive of high profitability drives the businesses to optimise their resources - human as well as fiscal. Today, offshoring is one of the most visible strategies to build sustainable businesses worldwide.

Consider IKEA. Their collaboration with Wincor Nixdorf, a successful outsourcing IT company proved to be quite helpful for their project. IKEA found that the work to be done in the stores was rationalised. Also, the costs involved in the implementation of the idea were far less than what IKEA expected. Thus, offshoring helps in apportioning, deploying and rationalising scarce company resources judiciously.

What should you look out for when selecting an offshore product development partner?
Now, if you have made a choice to opt for an offshore product development partner, how do you choose among so many? What are the factors to look for in an ideal product development partner overseas?

1. Technical experience
Consider the technical experiences and demonstrable track record that the offshore partner has. Analyse their case studies and consider references before making a decision. It is best to pick an offshore team with different expertise than the ones available in your local or immediate team. Ideally, you should shortlist companies that have done work similar to your present requirements.

2. Infrastructure and team size
Consider how many people you need for the task at the moment, and hire that number. You may want to have an option available to scale the team as required for rapid delivery, to add new features, or any other specifications.

3. Location
The location of your offshoring partner is a very important deciding factor, mainly because of the different time zones. It can be challenging to adjust to time zones that may differ by more than 5-6 hours. However, you can use the time difference to your advantage as it can give you full 24*7 availability. Use the clock to your advantage.

4. Legal matters
Laws and policies differ for each country. Make sure you understand the legalities and policies for intellectual property rights and decide the terms with your partner.

How can an offshore product development partner help you improve RoI?
Of course, when you plan on investment, you seek higher returns. So, how will investing in an offshore product development help you improve your RoI?

1. Eliminating the capital investment and effort of infrastructure
By investing in offshore product development, you are eliminating the costs and effort of infrastructure. You don’t need to bear the expenses for setting up infrastructure as your team keeps growing. With an obvious reduction in the costs of purchasing equipment and facilities, you will not only save resources but also kickstart your projects at the earliest.

2. Saving recruitment costs
Recruitment processes are now more time-consuming and more expensive than they have ever been. Outsourcing and going offshore eliminates this problem completely as you will have to bear no expense on the recruitment of a software development team. Instead, you will have a team of the best professionals ready available as per your specific requirement.

3. Maintained quality

You can always adjust your budget when the quality of the development service speaks up! When you compare the options in front of you, you may even want to choose the best available option keeping the expense aside. You will also have access to a large pool of qualified product developers, who can hit the ground running on day

4. Experienced professionals

Instead of hiring and training new employees, offshoring can give you direct access to experienced professionals. This is your opportunity to leverage a team that brings with them the vast experience of doing similar work for other companies.

5. Effortless team alteration

An offshore product development team lets you control and alter your team size based on your dynamic requirements. Save money, time and effort by having the ability to scale or reduce the team based on your project requirements.

Now that you know how to choose an offshore product development partner, it’s time you start thinking about whom to pick next!

We at RSK Business Solutions have over 10 years of experience in working as an offshore development partner for various companies in the US and Europe. Click the link to know more about our services and how you can onboard us as your offshore product development partner