Offshore and nearshore are business terms referring to the process of hiring a company or an individual who resides outside your country for product or software development.

Under offshore software development, companies can outsource their product or software development tasks to faraway regions.

However, Nearshore software development is outsourcing software development in close-by countries.

Offshore and Nearshore Outsourcing Service offers great business benefits, including cost savings, shorter turnaround times, and access to new skill sets. This can benefit small businesses or startups looking to keep costs down without compromising quality.

You being a startup, can also reap several benefits from offshore and nearshore outsourcing. We will explore them all here, but before that, let’s understand and compare what Offshore and Nearshore are.

Here, look at how US IT services outsourcing market size is growing from 2016 to 2027. 

Also Read: Offshore Resource Hiring-E-Guide

Image Source

A Quick Comparison Between Offshore & Nearshore Outsourcing

This was a quick comparison between offshore and nearshore outsourcing. Before comparing both‌, let’s understand what nearshore and offshore software developments are.

Nearshore Outsourcing

Through nearshore outsourcing, an organization can get work done or services performed by people in neighboring countries rather than in its own country. 

Software development, technical support, and call center jobs are among the most commonly outsourced jobs.

Nearshore outsourcing comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. Let’s look at them for a better understanding.

Pros of Nearshore Outsourcing

Closer Geographical Proximity

Closer geographical proximity helps reduce the time lag between when a client requests a service and when that service is delivered.

Since the provider is located in close geographical proximity, there is less communication latency, which can help speed up delivering the requested service. Additionally, cultural familiarity can also help to reduce misunderstandings and miscommunications.

Time Zone Compatibility

Time Zone Compatibility ensures minimal communication and operations disruption due to time zone differences. It benefits businesses that have offices in different parts of the world and need to communicate with each other frequently. Through this feature, companies can avoid scheduling conflicts and ensure that their business runs smoothly around the clock.

This feature refers to the ability of a nearshore vendor to align their operations with their clients in terms to time and working hours. By doing so, the two parties can reduce the need for communication and coordination, thereby increasing efficiency and reducing errors.

Easy Communication

One of the most important benefits of nearshore outsourcing is easy communication. With offices and team members located in the same time zone, it is easy for a team to communicate with the nearshore outsourced team. This eliminates much of the confusion and miscommunication that can occur when working with teams in other countries.

Because cultural similarities often exist between neighbouring countries, there is less adjustment required when working with a nearshore outsourced team than when working with teams in other countries. It leads to a smoother transition and faster ramp-up time for your project.

Cultural Alignment

Cultural alignment can be a huge pro for nearshore outsourcing. When your team is culturally aligned with the team you’re outsourcing; several benefits can come from that. Communication is clearer and more efficient, which leads to a quicker turnaround time on projects. 

Miscommunication is minimised, saving time and hassle in the long run. There is also less of a need for training when both teams are already familiar with each other’s work style and culture. Finally, when your team shares the same cultural values as the team they’re outsourcing, it builds trust and strengthens relationships. It leads to future collaborations and even more successful projects.

Also Read: Setting up a Dedicated Offshore Development Center: The Basic Principles

Cons Of Nearshore Outsourcing

Language Barrier

The language barrier is a potential impediment to successful nearshore outsourcing relationships. In some cases, the language barrier can significantly hinder effective communication and collaboration. Misunderstandings, mistakes, and other problems can arise when the parties involved cannot communicate clearly. 

Additionally, cultural misunderstandings may also arise in relationships with a language barrier. These cultural misunderstandings can further complicate communications and contribute to overall relationship difficulties.

Limited Talent Pool

One potential downside of nearshore outsourcing is the limited talent pool. Your company may find it difficult to locate qualified workers in the nearby region. This can lead to longer project timelines and increased costs, as you may need to look further afield for the best talent. Additionally, due to language and cultural barriers, communication between your team and the nearshore team may be more difficult than with an onshore team.

Expensive Than Offshore Outsourcing

Nearshore is more expensive than offshore outsourcing as the cost of living and doing business in certain areas of the United States is higher than in many parts of Asia. This can drive up the cost of wages and other business expenses.

There may be a shortage of qualified workers in certain areas of the United States, which can drive up the cost of labor.

It can be more expensive to ship goods between countries close together than shipping goods far apart. This is because shorter distances mean higher shipping costs due to wear and tear on transportation infrastructure and increased fuel costs.

Image Source

Offshore Outsourcing

Offshore Outsourcing is a way that businesses transfer their workloads from inside the company to a company in a different location, often to a cheaper place around the world, to reduce costs. A company can hire offshore developers for everything from accounting and customer service to software development and manufacturing.

To understand it better, let’s look at its pros and cons mentioned here:

Image Source

Pros of Offshore Outsourcing

Cheap Labor Cost

Cheap labor cost is a significant benefit for companies looking for offshore outsourcing software development companies to outsource their work. Offshore locations mainly include developing countries like India, where labor costs are much cheaper than in developed countries, making it an attractive option for companies looking to save money.

Additionally, the workforce in these countries is highly skilled and educated, which makes them a good fit for jobs that require specialized skills and knowledge. The offshore destinations offer a combination of low-cost labor and a talented and skilled workforce.

Access To Industry Specialists

Offshore outsourcing provides companies with access to a global pool of skilled labor. Companies can benefit from reduced operational and staffing costs by outsourcing to countries with lower labor costs.

It also brings in the ability to tap into local industry expertise. By working with a third-party provider with years of experience in your industry, you can gain access to specialized skills and knowledge that would otherwise be difficult to find in-house. This can be valuable for companies looking to get up to speed quickly on new technologies or trends in their industry.

Round-the-Clock Work

Offshore outsourcing offers round-the-clock work, as it allows the client to have greater control over the project and enables them to track the project’s progress more easily. Additionally, it allows for faster response times in emergencies or unexpected problems.

Offshore outsourcing software development companies that offer round-the-clock work typically have staff working night shifts and day shifts, so there is always someone available to address any issues that may arise. This type of staffing arrangement also allows for a more consistent level of service quality since staff is less likely to be overwhelmed with work during peak hours.

Increased Efficiency

Offshore Outsourcing can greatly increase work efficiency. By outsourcing work to lower-cost countries, a company can save big on labor costs. It is especially beneficial for businesses with tight budgets or price-sensitive industries.

It can also help businesses to become more efficient by allowing them to focus on their core competencies and outsource other tasks that may not be as critical to their success.

Offshore outsourcing can also lead to increased efficiency within the outsourced company, as they will likely have more experience and expertise in the work that they are doing than the company that is outsourcing the work. This increased efficiency can lead to lower costs.

Improve Focus On Core Business Activities 

When a company chooses to outsource certain functions to an external provider, it can free up internal resources to focus on more strategic initiatives and tasks. Companies can save money by not complying with the many regulations imposed on businesses in developed countries. 

For example, environmental, workplace safety, and labor regulations can be expensive and time-consuming to follow. Companies can save a lot of money by outsourcing work to a country where these regulations are less stringent or nonexistent.

Additionally, working with an external service provider can help a company improve its overall efficiency and productivity since the provider will likely have more experience and expertise in the specific function being outsourced.

Also Read: Busting Offshore Software Development Myths

Cons of Offshore Outsourcing

Time Zone Differences

One of the main disadvantages of offshore outsourcing is the time zone difference. When working with a provider who is in a different time zone, you may find communication issues due to the time difference. In addition, there may be a delay in getting responses to queries or requests.

Another disadvantage of offshore outsourcing is the proximity factor. Suppose your company is based in North America, and you outsource to a provider in Asia. In that case, there will be a significant amount of latency (delay) in data transmission between the two locations. This can cause real-time application problems and lead to team members misunderstandings.

Cultural And Social Differences

Cultural and social differences can be a major barrier to successful offshore outsourcing. For example, in some cultures, it is considered rude to criticize someone’s work in front of them. In other cultures, discussing mistakes and offering suggestions for improvement is considered normal. This cultural difference can lead to misunderstandings and conflict if the two groups work together on a project.

Similarly, social differences can also create problems. For example, it is considered impolite or even improper in some cultures to discuss business matters outside of work hours. This can lead to confusion and frustration when one group feels that they are not able to get any work done because the other group is always talking about non-work related things.

Geographical And Political Unrest

People often offshore outsourcing in search of lower costs. However, political and geographical unrest can lead to increased costs and other risks that can offset any potential savings.

For example, the Arab Spring uprisings in late 2010 and early 2011 led to significant increases in business costs in North Africa and the Middle East. Political instability, social unrest, and violence drove up insurance prices for companies operating in those regions. And as we’ve seen in recent years, there is always a risk that natural disasters (like hurricanes or earthquakes) could cripple an offshore outsourcing operation.

Geographical unrest can also lead to supply chain disruptions.

Job Displacement In The Home Country

When a company outsources work to a foreign country, it is said to be “displacing” jobs. This means that the jobs are moved out of the company’s home country and sent to a foreign country.

Offshore outsourcing has led to the displacement of many jobs in the United States. When companies outsource jobs to other countries, they often do so by moving those jobs overseas. This can lead to layoffs and job losses for the workers in the home country. It can also lead to lower wages and fewer opportunities for native workers.

Quality Concerns

Offshore outsourcing can be a great way to cut costs and improve efficiency, but it’s not without its risks. One of the biggest concerns is quality control. It can be difficult to ensure that products or services meet your standards without proper oversight.

There are a number of factors that can impact quality control when outsourcing offshore: language barriers, cultural differences, and inadequate communication all play a role. Additionally, many companies outsource to foreign factories that may not adhere to the same quality-control standards as those in the United States or Europe. This can lead to defective products or services, which can be costly and time-consuming to fix.

Ultimately, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons of nearshore and offshore outsourcing before selecting the one that suits you the best.

Helpful Resource: India’s Top Offshore Software Development Company

Nearshore Or Offshore – Which One Should You Choose

When You Should Go For Nearshore Outsourcing – 

• If you want to choose the right software development outsourcing team for a project within the same economic union, opt for nearshore outsourcing. In that case, the business will face the same kinds of legislation. A nearshoring arrangement enhances accountability, making it a superior choice.
• If you are looking for a business partner within the same economic zone, money will circulate within the exclusive area since it gets injected into the same trade area.
• If you are looking for reduced barriers with an increasing mutual understanding of culture, language, and values.
• If you want to have control on your business projects with a shared time zone, a common language, and a level of experience. If you are looking for developers who can communicate with you, who are available when you need them to be, and who are nearby.
• If you don’t want to waste your time traveling through long flights and conduct face-to-face meetings within a few hours.

When You Should Go For Offshore Outsourcing – 

• If you are looking to access qualified developers and testers to whom you can trust to deliver their projects quickly and efficiently.
• If you are looking for software development in a budget with no unforeseen cost.
• If you are looking for constant support and 24/7 availability.
• If you are looking for the finest quality for half the price, you can hire‌ offshore developers.
• If you are looking for a dedicated project manager and team who can work tirelessly on your project.

Conclusion

Whether offshore or nearshore, Outsourcing Software Development Services bring in the benefits of cost savings, access to specialized skills, and improved efficiency. There is only a need to look for a good nearshore or offshore outsourcing software development company to have all the benefits at their best.

The post Offshore vs Nearshore Outsourcing: A Detailed Comparision appeared first on ValueCoders | Unlocking the Power of Technology: Discover the Latest Insights and Trends.

As per a report, The global IT services outsourcing market is estimated to grow by $937.67 billion at a CAGR of 7.7% by 2027.

Businesses of any size look for ways to become more efficient and save money. One integral way to achieve this is by outsourcing specific projects to a third party.

There are three cooperation models that you can consider for outsourcing your project. These are staff augmentation, project outsourcing, and managed services.

These models help you outsource your valuable projects to professionals with in-depth knowledge of specific domain areas.

However, making the right decision can be difficult. You have to weigh each option’s pros and cons and decide which will be the best for your business.

Today, we have come up with an extensive comparison of each model, i.e., staff augmentation vs managed services and project outsourcing vs staff augmentation, along with pros and cons.

You can go through each model’s comparative analysis, advantages, and disadvantages and choose which could be the right option for your project.

Here we go!

Staff Augmentation

Staff augmentation refers to hiring developers for specific projects. It is a strategy where external vendors provide IT-related services to companies.

Moreover, it works as an extension to the existing team, with outsourced software developers working alongside and complementing their in-house skills counterparts.

IT Staff Augmentation is usually faster than hiring full-time employees because there are no advertising campaigns, time involved in interviewing candidates, or staff recruitment training.

In addition, the IT staff augmentation companies acquire people who have already been screened and approved.

Also Read: Top 20 IT Staff Augmentation Service Companies

The significant advantage of IT Staff Augmentation is the possibility of hiring only the necessary number of employees for a short time. This strategy enables companies to adapt their workforce requirements dynamically without investing too much money in new employees.

IT Staff Augmentation reduces software development costs because it can be more efficient than full-time employees. This strategy enables companies to achieve project objectives without overspending on IT staff hiring.

Pros

• High Productivity Level

The high productivity level of IT staff augmentation is a significant reason to consider this option. When you bring in an outside team of experts, they are already up to speed on the latest technologies and best practices.

Moreover, they can hit the ground running and help your team achieve their goals quickly.

• Short Learning Curve

The IT staff augmentation team is already familiar with your business, the projects they’re working on, and the implementation standards.

They can quickly speed on specific challenges you are facing and help address technical problems fast. It reduces your learning curve and lets you start achieving the results you want more quickly.

• IP Rights Security

With IT staff augmentation, the external team is responsible for its intellectual property (IP). This ensures that your critical business data stays safe at all times.

You’ll no longer have to worry about the security of your IP when you approach IT staff augmentation services. Moreover, you can analyze that while choosing staff augmentation vs. managed services, staff augmentation is a better choice.

• Cost-effectiveness

IT staff augmentation is a very cost-effective option. When you bring in an outside team of experts, you only pay for your needed services.

While hiring full-time employees, you don’t need to worry about salaries, benefits, office space expenses, and other overhead costs.

• Flexibility and convenience

IT staff augmentation lets you quickly scale your team up or down as needed. You don’t need to bother hiring and training new employees when projects ramp up, and you don’t risk losing productivity if one of your people leaves the company.

This flexibility and convenience help ensure that your workforce is always ready to meet the demands of your business. You can comprehend while choosing that staff augmentation would be a better option.

Cons

• Short-term Solution

Augmenting IT staff is only a short-term solution; it does not solve the problem of finding long-term employees with the right experience and skills.

• Find A Perfect Fit

Another disadvantage of IT staff augmentation is finding a perfect fit can be hard. Often, the company has to settle for someone who is not an ideal match for the position. This can lead to dissatisfaction among professionals and impact productivity.

Project Outsourcing

Project outsourcing is a business model that allows companies to outsource their technology needs. When you need “IT support” more than just “Coding,” project outsourcing plays a significant part.

source

This includes programming and user interface/UX design and testing, which can be difficult for smaller organizations without enough staff.

One requires such a model when he needs to create new products or startups and also when he wants to add some exclusive features to the existing apps.

Moreover, this model offers a range of possibilities for the client and less engagement from his side. However, it also requires deeper research into outsourced software product development to assign some tasks to external experts.

Pros

• Transfer of Responsibility

As a business manager, you have several responsibilities at hand. There might be a situation where you cannot manage all these responsibilities as efficiently as possible.

There can also be a situation where your day-to-day work demands your direct attention and does not give you enough time to pay attention to other tasks.

In either case, it would be a good idea to involve project outsourcing so that you can manage all the tasks more efficiently. When choosing project outsourcing vs staff augmentation, project outsourcing can be your ultimate solution.

• Project-related Expertise

Business managers should know what is happening in the domain. For example, if you are running a mobile app development company, it would be advisable for your business manager to understand the technicalities and functionality of different mobile apps.

Thus, project outsourcing can be a good option as it would help you gain more knowledge about the industry and domain you are working in.

• Wide Range of Skills

Outsourcing the project to a different organization would allow access to people with specialized skills. Some of these skills may be unique and unavailable in your own company.

Cons

• Less Control

With this model, the client relies on a provider’s expertise and has less influence over what happens in their workplace than with staff augmentation.

• Additional Expenses

The vendor takes on more responsibility and experts regarding project outsourcing. Thus, it requires more money than staff augmentation.

Also Read: India Is Top IT Outsourcing Destination In 2022! Everything You Must Know To Outsource To India

Managed Services

Managed services is a collaboration model that outsources IT management and support functions to an expert third-party organization.

This arrangement brings in the added benefits of reduced overhead for your business while simultaneously elevating the capabilities and resources of your in-house staff.

With managed services, you can enjoy an elevated level of service at the amount required to hire your own IT staff. This way, while choosing staff augmentation vs managed services, managed services can deliver the best result for your project.

Moreover, the best-managed service providers will streamline the management process for your IT and provide valuable insight into emerging technologies to ensure you always meet current demand without compromising efficiency.

Pros

• Better Cost Control

The cost of a business service depends on an organization’s requirement for availability and criticality. However, the savings are huge when you outsource your IT services.

With managed IT services, you can save up to 70% of your costs on salaries alone. In addition, it also helps you save more money as employees don’t need to be physically present in the office( no cost on office space, equipment, etc.).

• Improved Risk Management

By identifying which services are most likely to cause problems and then cutting back on those, you can minimize the risk involved in your business.

Source

Managed services can reduce risk using proprietary methodologies and access to modern infrastructure. This enables them for best practices, making it easier to maintain your business’s security without sacrificing performance.

• Skill and Knowledge

When you subscribe to an offshore software development company, you get experts who will care for all your technological needs and help keep yourself competitive in an ever-changing industry.

• High Availability, Efficiency & Productivity

Managed IT services can assist your business run more smoothly and efficiently, leading to increased productivity and higher profits. You can free up your staff to work on other important tasks by outsourcing your IT needs to a professionally managed service provider.

Cons

• Less On-Site Availability

As professionals working in managed IT services are not physically present in the office, they may not be available to fix urgent problems. So make sure you hire managed IT staff who are always available to call and ready to solve the issue.

• Scope

Unlike an in-house IT team, a managed service provider covers only some aspects of technology.

You may have to choose from a list that includes applications you need support for, and when you need something outside the services you have signed up for, you might be in trouble.

Watch Our Video on Staff Augmentation Vs. Project Outsourcing:

Final Take

Choosing to outsource your IT services can be a great decision, but there are some things you should entertain before making the final decision.

Research your options, and know what to expect from each. Compare flexibility, guarantee, expense, skills required to do the job well, etc., before deciding which model best fits your company’s needs.

Moreover, if you want to adopt a model for project scaling where your in-house members cannot deliver the solutions, you can opt for Staff Augmentation. Since it is quick, effective, and cost-savvy, it will live up to your project expectation.

If you’re looking for a loyal partner that can provide diverse skills to support your product development efforts, then Project Outsourcing might be an option worth considering.

If you are still indecisive about which would be the right fit for your project, our team at ValueCoders can help you choose the right staffing solution for your business. Contact us today to learn more.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q 1. What are some of the key advantages of hiring through Staff Augmentation?

Through staff augmentation, you can gain access to valuable expertise and experience. There’s also less startup time and overhead than with a full-time hire. Since the service is time-limited, you’re only obligated for as long as you need and have no additional resources.

Q 2. How does staff augmentation benefits clients?

Staff augmentation services provide clients with access to unique skillsets for short-term engagements, whether the assignment is full-time or part-time.

For example, organizations are increasingly turning to agencies that can supply staff augmentation services to meet their specialized business needs during product launches, marketing campaigns, and other high-profile projects.

Q 3 What is the difference between staff augmentation vs. project outsourcing?

Staff augmentation is when a company hires a staffing agency to find temporary or contract workers for specific jobs. Outsourcing is when a company contracts with another company to provide all or part of their business operations, such as customer service, human resources, information technology, or manufacturing.

Q 4 What is the difference between staff augmentation vs. managed services?

There are a few key ways that staff augmentation differs from managed services:

• Staff augmentation provides dedicated workers to your project and is fully aligned with your company’s culture. At the same time, managed services generally rely on remote workers who may not be as familiar with your business or processes.
• It gives you more control over the project and allows for a higher level of communication and collaboration, while managed services typically provide more oversight and management of the project.
• Staff augmentation is usually more cost-effective in the long run because it allows you to use only the resources you need when you need them instead of paying for a full-time employee who may not be fully utilized.

The post Staff Augmentation vs. Project Outsourcing vs. Managed Services: Which One is Right for You appeared first on ValueCoders | Unlocking the Power of Technology: Discover the Latest Insights and Trends.

The history of software development spans centuries, not decades. From the first adding machine to calculate square roots hundreds of years ago, the technology has been advancing. Our civilization has been improving technology in ways previously deemed impossible.

And, those hardware and software upgrades brought some great advancements. It includes calculating calendars or even retail applications like letting customers buy things on credit. Moreover, Custom software development has always been a challenge for many companies.

A custom software project can be complex and time-consuming, which is why it’s important to have best practices in place to mitigate the risk of failure. So here, know which challenges and risks you can face while custom software development and how you can alleviate the risk with best practices. 

What Is Custom Software Development?

Custom software development is the process of building a custom solution for an organization’s needs. Customized solutions can come in many different shapes and sizes, such as mobile apps with specific features to fit your company branding or web applications that give customers easy access to their account info no matter where they are on any device. 

Many organizations choose this method because they are looking for something that’s not available in the market. Custom software development entails much more than just writing code to make an app or website work a certain way.

There is also project management, QA testing, UI design, and branding involved in this process as well. With so many steps involved, it’s critical to have a solid roadmap in place with predetermined milestones.  

Process of developing custom software application

The process of developing a custom software application involves the following steps:

Define your needs:

Before proceeding with any development or implementation plan, it’s important to first define your needs. This is the most critical part of any software development effort.

It is because you want to make sure all requirements are clearly identified, documented, and analyzed for feasibility before writing a single line of code or designing screens.

This will help assure that everyone involved in this project is on the same page when it comes time to start development work, and it also gives you a clear idea of your end goal. If you don’t take this step; it’s easy to lose sight of your project goals and get sidetracked by other nonessential features.   

Specify the requirements:

Once there is a clear understanding of what needs to be done, the next critical decision revolves around deciding how much work should actually go into each requirement before developing any solution.

This is where you’ll need to do some careful analysis of requests and determine how they align with the business needs.  

For example, if a customer comes up with an idea for a mobile application that can display all their products in one place, so they never have to worry about forgetting what’s on sale or running out of inventory, then this request is a great use case for some mobile-friendly web application.   

Just remember not to prioritize requests based on how interesting they are to you but rather on how much they’ll benefit the company’s business goals.   

Once all possible features are listed out and sorted with proper priority, then it becomes easier for developers to determine which requests can be completed in less time without compromising their overall project objectives. 

Also Read: Top 25 Custom Software Development Companies Offering Bespoke Solutions

Determine the budget:

Before starting any development work, it’s important that everyone involved in this project is informed of the costs that are associated with it. 

This includes time, resources, and any additional expenses that might be needed to successfully complete a project. Without having an accurate estimate for how much work will go into each request, you run the risk of overspending on your budget or not being able to deliver features as quickly as you should. 

Define the scope:

Once everyone has an idea about how long it’s going to take and what things are expected of them, then the next step is defining a clear scope for this project. This means detailing exactly how much work will be done on each request before moving on to other tasks or features that might come up later on. 

Once a solid roadmap is in place, it becomes easier for everyone involved to focus their efforts and make sure they’re spending time on the right tasks at any given moment.

Establish milestones:

A common practice among project managers when developing custom software applications is establishing short-term goals or checkpoints known as milestones. These are used to monitor progress, finalize requirements and ensure that everything is on track before continuing work.

The number of milestones needed will vary depending on the size and complexity of a project, but they’re usually set at certain points in order to hit deliverables or key events such as initial development kickoff, launch date, or adding new features. This way, there’s always a clear idea of what has been achieved and how much work is left until the project is completed. 

Designing and Development:

With all the necessary groundwork completed, it’s time to start designing and developing your custom software application. This is where you’ll need to make sure you have a solid team of developers who are well-versed in the latest technology trends as well as best practices for efficient development workflows.

Moreover, in order to form a leading software, it’s important to use attractive UI/UX design, appropriate programming languages, and technologies.

PHP, JavaScript, C#, Java, and Python are the most preferred programming language for software development.

Around the globe, Linux is one of the most popular software development platforms.

Testing:

You don’t want to miss one tiny detail during this process. That’s why it’s important to test each small piece of the software development chain before moving on and adding more features or functionality. 

The best way to check whether there is any bug in your app or not. For this, you need to do beta testing, which can be done by asking clients to test the application.

Deployment and Marketing:

Deploying your custom software is not less important than any other phase of the development process. If you are deploying an app online, then first create a landing page for that particular app to tell people about it, and on that, insert Google Analytics code so that you can track visitors coming from different sources, i.e., search engines, referrals, etc.  

At last, you need to promote your app and make it popular among the masses. You can do so by putting ads on different Google Adwords platforms or Facebook pages, and so on…

Well, by taking help from a recognized custom software development company, you can manage all the custom software development processes in a simple and agile way.

Risk and Challenges Involved In Custom Software Development

Custom software development is challenging work that comes with many risks. Like any project, there are always unforeseen circumstances that can happen along the way. Here’s a breakdown of some common risk factors involved in custom software development:

You’re Overly Ambitious 

Although you might think your idea is unique, there is a good chance that the features and requirements already exist in custom software development solutions. Without looking into available options before diving headfirst into development, this can lead to wasted time and money when you realize it’s not what was needed after all.

This typically happens with startups where the founder wants to create something that is much more than what they originally intended. 

The Solution Is Not Solved

When you’re working with custom software development, there’s always a chance that the solution isn’t solved in such a way that it’ll actually benefit the company moving forward. This could be because requirements were misunderstood or not well thought out.

Without making sure that the solution fits into your business model, it might not be worth all of the time and energy you put into development, to begin with.

Project Don’t Have Purpose

Without a clear purpose for the software you’re creating, it’s likely that your project will be abandoned. It may get limited in some way. Without having a solid goal to work towards, there is no direction. In fact, nobody can determine if they are reaching success because things like ROI cannot be calculated.

Poor Reach and Communication

Most projects need a team of people working together to make sure everything is completed as it should. There should be proper reach and communication from the team. Without this, things can slip through the cracks or not be done as they were intended. It ultimately leads to frustration on all ends. 

Inaccurate Development Estimates

When it comes to custom software development, most projects are done on an Agile or Waterfall model. These models require accurate estimates of the time and resources needed for each step in order to avoid going over-budgeted hours and having a team sitting around waiting to move forward with other parts.

Without planning properly and accurately estimating, you’re likely to see a lot of wasted time. 

How To Alleviate The Risk Of Failure With Best Practices?

The best way to avoid failure is by doing your research. You must know what you’re getting into before developing the software. This will help weed out any bad ideas or projects that are not feasible at the beginning of a custom development project.  

Here’s how to reduce risks and challenges:

Start with an MVP

You must start with an MVP (minimum viable product) if you want to reduce the risk of failure. Also, make sure you’re getting one that’s proven. This is a critical step in mitigating your risks early on while still allowing room for changes if needed.

Start Small

The best way to mitigate challenges during custom software development is by starting small and then expanding. This way, if something goes wrong with any step of the process, you can just go back to the previous stage and fix it instead of having to start all over again. 

Prioritize

Another best practice is prioritizing your project in order to make sure everything gets done on time while minimizing risk. Make a list for every task, and then determine the order in which you want to do them. 

With these best practices, you can reduce your risks of failure when custom software development is involved. Customizing a solution for your business needs may be complex and time-consuming, but it doesn’t have to be risky if you’re aware of all possible challenges ahead of time.  

Communicate Frequently

Custom software development requires a lot of communication between you and your developers. To reduce risks, make sure to communicate frequently about what’s going on with the project so there are no surprises later down the road or misunderstandings that can cause delays.  

Technical Risk Mitigation

When it comes to custom software development, there are many variables that can cause challenges. Technical risks include things like whether or not the code is maintainable and reusable for future projects. Moreover, this can be a case if all requirements have been met by everyone involved in the project.

There are also organizational risk factors such as a lack of communication between your team members. However, it may be if there are too many people working on the project at one time.

By following these risk mitigation best practices, you can avoid many of the major risks and challenges. This usually comes with developing a custom software solution for your business. The more prepared you are ahead of time, the better off you’ll be on project completion, and this is what a company wants? 

Here is How ValueCoders Eliminate Risks In Software Development?

The software development team at ValueCoders follows the following things to eliminate the risks in software development.  

• Proper Planning & Analysis
• Defining plans to clients
• Frequent communication
• Multiple Testings 
• Timely Update and Maintenance

About Us

ValueCoders offers custom software development services that are second to none. They have maintained 97% client retention and delivered 4200+ projects so far.

They have the business domain knowledge, proven methodologies, and technological expertise of 450+ skilled developers from around the world. Also, they are who can code in over 14 different languages, including Python or C#.    

Moreover, ValueCoders software developers ensure outstanding quality output for their clients’ needs all across industries like healthcare & life sciences as well retail companies such as Google.  

The post Custom Software Development Challenges: Alleviate Risk with the Best Practices [White Paper/PDF] appeared first on ValueCoders | Unlocking the Power of Technology: Discover the Latest Insights and Trends.

In 2018, the software market revenue was registered at $456.1 billion and now expected to reach $507.2 billion in 2021. Moreover, the COVID outbreak raised the situation of economic downturn and allowed companies to keep a small budget for software solutions, resulting in market contraction in 2020. However, the pandemic teaches companies to address the urgency of digital transformation and make it part of success.

How Vast is The Digital World Ecosystem?

Software Development & Developers Market

The rapid advancement of technology makes this digital world more buzzing and more dynamic. And, software development acts as a fuel that drives our IT services at high speed. Most of the software market is covered by enterprise software that faces a decline in 2020 due to COVID, but soon it resumes its growth in 2021 as per Statista Forecast.

Image Source: Statista.com

As always, the outline of software needs utmost attention to the end-user experience. However, digitalization compels industries to step forward to adopt cloud application services or SaaS (software as a service) to amplify user engagement. Although, the market still opens for other forms of software.

According to the Statista Technology Market Outlook, the central part of worldwide software revenue comes from Enterprise software, which is calculated as over 200 billion U.S. dollars in 2020 and is expected to reach good heights in upcoming years.

The calculation of Evans Data Corporation estimates 26,4 million software developers in the world in 2019 and is expected to touch 28.7 million in 2024. Quite interesting, India will overtake the U.S. as the largest developer population center in 2024.

Industrial Revolutions in a Digitally-enabled Ecosystem

CyberSecurity and cloud-based applications are some of the significant aspects of the industry’s rapid development. Now, it is termed Industry 4.0 and brings drastic changes into our lives, from mechanical manufacturing facilities to cyber-physical systems.

ValueCoders’ software outsourcing services are dedicatedly working to make a more secure digital enterprise. We focus on catering smart connected solutions through IoT (internet of things) and advanced app development.

More connectivity to cyber amplifies the significance of data security. In the case of data handling, telecom operators are one of the few entities to focus on. Also, data is a fundamental element of B2B2C models to sustain the growth of the telecom industry in India. While advancing the digital framework in the telecom ecosystem, one has to include key players such as mobile apps (WhatsApp, Skype), Internet Service Provider (ISP), App developers, Communications Service Providers (CSP), and Device manufacturers. Here, more engagement raises the concerns of data privacy that needed to be expanded beyond the I.T. Act.

Industry 4.0 is widening the digital ecosystem by adding smart solutions into the market and leveraging user experience.

Software requirements after COVID pandemic

COVID 19 pandemic unfolded the urgency of digital transformation to meet software requirements. Companies need to address the new face of this information world. Recent research of IBM Institute for Business Values demonstrates the shifting interest in digital transformation from other core elements such as cost management, customer retention, etc.

Image Source: IBM

59% of companies accelerated digital transformation, and the remaining 66% have finished the previously encountered resistance. Organizations are reshaping their strategies and investing in the latest technologies such as IoT, blockchain, etc., as an active recovery of a pandemic. This paradigm shifts the attention of companies into the following matters:

• Software product engineering emerges as a new software development model to build customer-facing and market-oriented software.
• COVID-19 High-Performance Computing (HPC) Consortium is joined by top companies Amazon, Google, and Microsoft for computational research programs.
• A business partnership is a new success strategy to excel the business ventures and expansions.
• More attention is shifted to hybrid cloud and taking business functions to the cloud.
• Security thefts in Software Engineering

Cybercrime Data analysis

More user engagement makes data security more vulnerable and raises the concerns of cybercrime. 43% of cyber attacks center on small businesses with a worth of $2.2 million a year. All these cybercrimes keep data security at stake. On the surface, cybercrime is conducted in data theft, identity fraud, ransomware attacks, phishing campaigns, copyright infringement, etc. The consequences of these attacks can lead to data breaches.

On average, the cost of a data breach is about 3.86 million U.S. dollars in 2019, and the prominent victim is the healthcare sector with 7.13 million dollars. A complete analysis of statista talks about financial repercussions in business based on region and size of companies.

Image resource: statista.com

Every type of cybercrime leads us to data breaching, and hacking is one of the most common criminal activities on the internet. Hackers exploit a weakness in online communication or digital networks, computer systems and spread malware or gain unauthorized access to data for pursuing their criminal activities. All actions uplift the urgency of a robust defense system to stop cyber attacks.

While discussing data breaching, social media also is a massive center of attraction. However, many users are skeptical about the data being used. Giant social media platform Facebook received 61,262 law enforcement agency requests from the U.S. and 40,300 data requests from India to know about user information. Indirectly, it raises questions over the maximum use of social media.

Web applications vulnerabilities and threats

Misconfiguration in web application code allows hackers to get control over your website. That’s why the security of software development raises concerns to address web applications vulnerabilities and threats. The US government’s National Vulnerability Database (NVD) shares the case studies of cybercrimes of prominent organizations.

According to Tenable’s 2020 Threat Landscape Retrospective Report, about 22 billion data were exposed in data breaches globally in 2020. For more insights on ransom attacks, go through the pick points of Check Point Cyber Security Report 2021

• Increment of 20% in email-based attacks from 2019 to 2020 as compared to web attack vectors.
• In 2019 and 2020, Emotet was the most heavily distributed malware family. It is a botnet responsible for the distribution of Trickbot, Qbot, and more, in some cases resulting in a ransomware attack.
• XMRig is the most attacked cryptominer, whereas Lucifer is a self-propagating, multi-platform malware targeting Linux, IoT devices, and Windows web servers.
• Hiddad or ‘Hidden Ad’ tops the chart of mobile malware global analysis. Through this malware, attackers can easily fetch the details from victims’ mobile by displaying ads. During COVID, the malware disguised itself as a coronavirus information app for Arab speakers.
• In 2020, a team of developers took 280 days to identify a cyber breach that led to the loss of nearly $4 million.

How To Approach Secure Software Development?

Secure Development Lifecycle (SDL)

Cyberattacks and enhanced data security directs companies to think about secure software development. ValueCoders is a leading software IT outsourcing company in India that continuously addresses defects to make secure software and reduce vulnerabilities. Divide software development lifecycle into different segments starting from requirements and move to other steps, designing, implementation, and testing.

The Software Engineering Institute developed the Team Software Process (TSP), allowing software developers and developer teams to create software under a definite process. This process wants companies to focus on:

• Use common sense software engineering practices
• Tackle defects throughout the software product development lifecycle
• Use proper measurement to control the process
• Track the process and address defect prevention as well as removal
• Apply predictive measures for remaining defects

Another significant example demonstrated by Microsoft Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) practices. SDL practices support security assurance and compliance requirements and also reduce the severity of vulnerabilities in software development. As per Microsoft, software developers are suggested to follow various practices:

1. Providing training
2. Define security requirements
3. Define metrics and compliance reporting
4. Perform threat modeling
5. Establish Design requirements
6. Define & use cryptography
7. Use third-party components to manage the security-risk
8. USe approved tools
9. Perform Static Analysis Security Testing (SAST)
10. Perform Dynamic Analysis Security Testing (DAST)
11. Perform Penetration Testing
12. Establish a Standard Incident Response Process

Offshore Software Development Services

Maintaining software security favors offshore software development services for enhanced data security. Costing and quality services are the main focus areas of IT outsourcing services. The market for outsourcing services is enormous. In 2019, the global outsourcing market registered as 92.5 billion U.S. dollars and was expected to reach over USD 98 billion by 2025. It’s gaining popularity because of offering the latest technologies such as cloud computing, blockchain technology and expanding the digital transformation.

About us:

ValueCoders is a top software outsourcing company in India and is making an effort to provide an enhanced digital experience via secure software development. After stepping the foundation stone in the technology era in 2004, this software development company successfully maintained 97% client retention and has delivered 4200+ projects so far.

With business domain knowledge, proven methodologies, and technology expertise of 450+ skilled software professionals, ValueCoders delivers IT outsourcing services worldwide. Build a dedicated development team with the right technology stack at ValueCoders.

The post A Guide to Security in Software Development – White Paper appeared first on ValueCoders | Unlocking the Power of Technology: Discover the Latest Insights and Trends.