IT Outsourcing Guide, Part Three: Best Practices

When done right, outsourcing can help you add real value to your business. You can obtain a trusted technological partner that will take care of your technology needs. 

Sounds simple, yet getting this requires thorough preparation. Luckily, there are safe ways that companies can use to stay on the same page with their partners. 

Expectations and projected results should be clear from the outset to both the client and its outsourcing partner. You should decide on the level of control, responsibility, and the most suitable engagement model. All this will lay the basis for fruitful collaboration.

Futhermore, outsourcing providers have to be flexible and adaptive to ever-changing business requirements. They should offer various cooperation schemes to their clients. Let’s explore the most common ones.

Most Common Outsourcing Engagement Models

Time and Material

The client and outsourcing provider agree on an hourly rate with regard to tasks performed. The client only pays for the actual time spent on development. This model is widely used when it is hard to determine the scope of work in advance.

Fixed Price

The payment to the vendor is determined during detailed negotiations with the client and remains unchanged till the end of the contract. This approach is ideal for small and medium scope projects where it is easy to estimate the time and resources needed to complete them.

Dedicated Team

The client can choose a team of highly-qualified remote developers at a monthly per-specialist rate. The outsourcing provider can serve as an extension to the client’s team handling various tasks that range from HR issues to data security and compliance.

Software development and outsourcing can make up a perfect combo. Especially it works when both parties understand the challenges that such remote collaboration implies. Be it hidden costs, miscommunication or other concerns, your remote contractor has to prove it possesses the necessary tools and techniques that can combat potential issues. 

The majority of software outsourcing companies follow certain practices that make development projects work successfully. What are they?

How Successful IT Outsourcing Collaboration Should Work

1. Excellent communication. Straightforward communication makes the remote development process a win-win deal. There are certain practices that help to establish a steady communication process. Systematic calls, chats, and meetings ensure exchanging various ideas in an easy and time-saving format. 
2. Trust. You can ask your development partner to provide client testimonials, confidentiality agreements, and co-creating tools. Apart from that, your partner should comply with data protection regulations like GDPR if you plan to process EU citizens’ data.
3. Transparency and flexibility. Transparency can become the secret sauce of successful collaboration with IT outsourcing companies. Luckily, every project participant can have easy access to online project management tools. These tools allow to track the development process, scope and quality of the project. Agile methodologies to software development helps to accelerate decision-making and prioritize tasks. The Agile approach helps to collect feedback early and make small adjustments to the project. It obviously ensures proper regulation of development costs.

In Conclusion

Bringing outside minds to your company is no longer associated with the stereotypes that used to put off many companies in the past. Businesses have managed to adapt to new realities. Now they widely implement new ways to deal with outsourcing software development. For many IT outsourcing is now a way to establish a successful partnership with the technology vendor, which helps to bring your idea to life. 

Geomotiv is a trusted development partner that you are going to enjoy working with. Our company has a unique offering of quality services, affordable prices, and experienced teams. We are ready to provide dedicated developers as an extension to your in-house team. Geomotiv is here to assist you in choosing the right outsourcing solution. Feel free to contact us.