Businesses often reach a point in their development when they have to hire remote experts to fulfill their needs. The larger a company becomes, the more clients it has and, consequently, the more products it needs. Often for these new projects companies simply don't have local workers with the necessary skills or available employees who can concentrate on extra tasks. Also, corporations don’t want to invest too much or risk their money and time on additional projects. That’s why IT enterprises go offshore.
Outsourcing vs Outstaffing: Which One is Right For You?
Let’s have a look at the offshore software development center models. The majority of IT corporations resort to two strategies: outsourcing and outstaffing. There are always misconceptions when it comes to these definitions. So, which one is which?
Outsourcing is basically the process of taking a piece of what a company does and forwarding it to another company. In this case, you work only with a project manager and not with a hired team. Outstaffing is also a type of remote employment when you contract a third-party vendor who has a pool of IT professionals. But in this case, the external vendor selects skilled personnel qualified for a particular task set by the company. And then, the customer works with the hired people directly.
Both outsourcing and outstaffing are able to meet a company’s expectations. It depends on the goals the company has and the type of business it conducts. If you need project-based help, you’d most likely go for outsourcing. Within this model, you’ll hire an outsourcing company and they will forward your project to a team of developers. In this case, the client rarely has access to the development team itself. And the team can simultaneously work on several projects for different companies. You’ll never know for sure for how many.
If you need a dedicated team, outstaffing is the better option. Within this model, you will also hire an external contractor who will build a team for you. But, unlike an outsourcing team, this one will be totally dedicated to your project and responsible for its quality. Basically, the team would become an extension of your crew, working from another country. You’ll talk to your employees directly and regularly, discuss your projects, and their performance. In this case, the outstaffing company will take care of all recruitment and administrative issues instead of you. The outstaffing model allows you to avoid miscommunication and delays, which can happen when third parties are involved. Too many chefs spoil the broth, as they say. You can always get in touch with your team directly to discuss features, edits, and improvements.
Perfect Offshore Destination For Your Business
Let’s take a look at some examples. “Mobilunity" is a company, which works with outstaffing model and provides companies worldwide with a professional IT specialist. Their partners have already been convinced that building a team in another country is a good way to save a lot of money for your company. In the West, goods and work are more expensive in comparison with east European countries. An increasing number of businesses are considering Ukraine as a primary destination for IT offshore labor. And for good reason. Ukraine has the biggest IT outsourcing sector in Europe.
Why? Firstly, Ukraine is cheaper than Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Romania and offers the best value especially for companies with limited resources. This can save these companies up to 60% on their total IT costs. At the same time, Ukraine has a solid IT educational background and strong technical heritage. Every year, 16,000+ ICT students graduate across the country. Around 80% of developers have conversational-level English and a good command of IT vocabulary. Most companies in Ukraine even provide English language courses to their employees. What is more, it is often obligatory to attend these courses in order to improve employees’ English language knowledge.
Also, the country has many international airports and easy transportation access to major cities in Europe, USA, and Asia. Ukraine is 2-3 hours away from many Western European countries. The time zone is GMT+2, and business hours in Ukraine and Europe virtually overlap. Another big advantage of partnerships with Eastern European companies is that no strong cultural differences exist, which helps prevent potential misunderstandings.
So if your company needs to hire a remote professional, you have two great options to choose from. Both outsourcing and outstaffing will help you to achieve your company’s goals and develop your business. Analyze the pros and cons of each opportunity and select the one that suits you best.
Author : Anastasia Stefanuk is a passionate writer and Information Technology enthusiast. She works as a Content Manager at Mobilunity, a provider of dedicated development teams around the globe. Anastasia keeps abreast of the latest news in all areas of technology, Agile project management, and software product growth hacking, at the same time sharing her experience online to help tech startups and companies to be up-to-date.
