How To Choose Your External Software Team?

Economy, convenience, expertise — benefits of working with nearshore developers are plenty, and attractive pricing is just one of them. Many companies, however, are still wary of outsourcing and prefer to develop in-house.

Most of the typical concerns regarding outsourcing can be dispelled by deciding on nearshore rather than offshore. Or, in other words, using the services of a company which is within the same or adjacent time zone. We say: in nearshore outsourcing, there is nothing to be afraid of and the disadvantages are dwarfed by advantages.

We believe outsourcing to a nearshore company in Poland is not only a good idea business-wise. We actually think that working with such a partner is not much different from working with your in-house team. Here is the list of top myths about nearshore outsourcing:

Is it convenient?

Absolutely. Although this may seem quite counterintuitive, working with a nearshore outsourcing company puts you in a very comfortable position. Since you are a client, you are also the one who demands that work is done. You control the backlog and are reported to. The contractor is the one to worry about delivering it on time, to specifications and adjusting team size if needed. Such a situation leaves you with a lot of time to focus on your core business, marketing and planning future steps with your final product.

Isn’t it too far to cooperate efficiently?

No, it’s not. As long as your contractor is in the similar time zone, you should not be concerned about communication at all. Working hours between you and your contractor will still vastly overlap, allowing for daily, remote stand-ups. And even if a visit on-site is needed every once in a while, travel costs, especially in Central and East Europe, are very low.

Remember that your potential partner may be just 1–2 hour’s flight away from you. This is almost as much as people driving around London spend in traffic jams everyday. On top of that, choosing a Polish software house you will not have to deal with national holidays that are out of sync as many European countries share the same holidays.

Do they speak English?

Rest assured they do. Many countries in the European Union have cultural affinity which will help you understand their work ethics and mentality. Language should not be an issue either. It is safe to say that most developers in countries like Poland or Ukraine speak English, which has become the official lingua franca of IT nowadays.

Heck, even if they don’t, you can always specifically request to work with a product manager with higher language skills to make sure you’re comfortable.

Being in the same or similar time zone allows for regular communication not only with developers, but also, if needed, with the executive teams, HR and administrative staff.

Isn’t in-house cheaper?

Outsourcing, especially to nearshore companies from Central Europe is much cheaper than in-house development. This approach gives you all the benefits of collaboration with an external company: you do not have to worry about team management, recruiting, accounting, marketing and overheads.

While the rates may differ from location to location, countries like Poland or Ukraine are very attractive outsourcing-wise. This is primarily due to lower labor costs, but also lower cost of living in general. Using the services of an external team can also help you control your expenses — you pay only for the team as you need it.

A detailed survey carried out by Yalantis reveals that average rates for development services in Eastern Europe are average between post-Soviet and Baltic countries, at approximately $28-$40 per hour. In Poland, while the rates for quality development may go beyond $100 per hour in some cases, 40% of developers normally charge under $20 per hour.

Add to this language skills, expertise, good education, and understanding of the western work ethic and what you get is a package that is hard to beat elsewhere in Europe, and effectively makes Poland the safest bet in terms of outsourcing nearshore.

Don’t they lack expertise?

Certainly not. We know many companies from the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands and Sweden which have successfully worked with Polish developers.

If you want to verify a developer’s expertise, do some research by starting from the company’s website. Look through their portfolio and check if they have worked on similar projects to the one you want to start. Then, if possible, contact their clients and ask their opinion about the collaboration. This, on top of that braggy copy on the website, might give you some extra valuable knowledge about the quality of work you can expect from the company. Also, go to clutch.co to read objective opinions about companies.

Then, talk to the team itself and check if they have relevant processes in place to deliver the best code possible. Ask them about their practices and methodologies. This will show if the team knows what and why they’re doing, if it’s not on the website — ask about it. If it is — ask about it even more.

Conclusion

To wrap it up, here is why Poland should be your #1 European country when considering app development and nearshore outsourcing:

• Competitive pricing due to lower labor costs International expertise
• Skilled, well-educated and competent developers
• Language skills for effortless communication
• Favourable time zone difference allowing to collaborate efficiently

Rather than each of the above alone, we believe it is the combination of all the above factors what makes Poland the “full package”, an outsourcing destination with undeniable benefits. While other emerging players on the European software development market like Romania may offer lower prices, they do not offer many of the advantages Poland does.

This article was originally taken from Briisk blog.