Cost reduction, customer base, high quality, optimized resources, and lower time to market are a few critical factors that ensure business success. To achieve this, most businesses are shifting to the offshore development model. 

According to Statista's findings, the global market size of outsourced services will be $92.5 billion in 2022. As a result, many enterprises and even startups are looking to augment their IT needs with an offshore development team. However, it is still debatable whether to choose the offshore development model or an in-house model. 

Let’s dive deep into this blog post and determine which model to choose - offshore vs. in-house.

Advantages of Offshore Development Services

Offshore software development has been evolving rapidly. Due to the multiple benefits, many large tech companies have begun to prefer hiring offshore developers to meet their needs.  

Let’s discuss some drivers of hiring offshore development teams.

• Optimize Productivity and Faster Implementation

Hiring an offshore team enables you to eliminate non-core tasks such as managing HR functions. Instead, you can entirely focus on the project and its progress to achieve results and enable you to expand your operations capabilities.

By augmenting teams in the run time, you can encourage your team to add new skills quickly that add value to the quality of your end product. If you start the process of hiring again from scratch in-house, you have to repeat the hiring cycle for each new skill.

• Adaptability

With outsourcing, you can mitigate the limitation of technology constraints or a scarce pool of talents required for a specific project. You can hire a software outsourcing partner proficient in delivering comprehensive solutions that meet your business needs. 

• Lower Overheads

Hiring in-house employees consist of various factors that include multiple costs like office space, insurance, and the monthly payroll for every employee.

While approaching or hiring Offshore development teams enables businesses to negotiate hourly rates and avoid having any real overheads, with differences in actual and standard costs. Companies can prevent extra costs due to cost differences as per the locations in terms of purchase parity and wages.

Additionally, small businesses can divert the savings towards creating high-quality solutions and offering customers a better experience or deals.

Cons of Offshore Development Services

• Security Risk

A non-disclosure agreement is critical with the outsourcing model but may not be enough to ensure security and data leakage prevention in time.

It’s necessary to carefully research offshore partners that sign NDA and ensure security measures before signing any contracts, as your company secrets spilling risk is far more significant here.

• Unreliable Communication

In the offshore model, communication will be conducted via email, Zoom call, or other means that often lead to miscommunications.

Additionally, you’re more likely to work with people who don’t speak the same language as you, which could create more challenges and delays in project completion.

Advantages of In-House Model

• On-Site Availability

Being able to connect mitigate communication gap and improve work efficiency and productivity. Working together within the same workspace and time zone brings many advantages, like quick discussions, fast improvements, and more.

You can communicate easier, implement unexpected changes to the project faster, and eliminate any mistakes caused by miscommunication almost wholly. 

• Cultural Fit

Hiring a team of local engineers means collaborating with people of the same culture and beliefs. It enables you to integrate with the company efficiently and eventually add more value to their work.

Disadvantages of In-House Model

• High Cost

The cost of hiring a team in-house is significantly higher than hiring developers. Aside from salaries, training costs, and other benefits, you’ll need to buy a bigger office space with higher monthly bills and expenses for office supplies.

• Lack of Talent

The IT industry is evolving rapidly, generating a need to upgrade skills with the trends for developers. But unfortunately, there is a shortage of talent with a specific skill set. So, the only option you have is to pay a significantly higher amount to bring in the required talent.

• High Turnover Rates

High turnover rates are an additional expense for the company. You’ll have to start the hiring process from scratch again, screening resumes, conducting interviews, and delivering the required training. Those tasks are time-consuming, and you can better invest in your sales and marketing strategies and other core business activities. 

In-house or offshore - Getting the Best of the Two Options

Should you consider an in-house or offshoring model? The potential benefits of software offshoring are enough to clear all your confusion and doubts. But to maintain diligence and steady growth, you need to find a spot where you can balance and leverage the benefits of both in-house and outsourced resources to achieve your business goals.