What You Didn’t Know About Outsourcing IT Projects In Europe [Choosing The Right Software Company]

Are you facing major business challenges and want to solve them, as well as lower internal costs?

Then there’s one word for you: outsourcing.

When it comes to IT, exclusively working in-house is becoming a thing of the past.

Outsourcing is a smarter way of doing business that can cut costs by up to 60%, save time and offer you an invaluable advantage over your competition.

One of the most popular outsourcing destinations is currently Europe, with countries like Poland at the top of the list.

But how do you decide which team and region is right for your offshore development?

You need an offshore destination with an emerging economy that’s great for your business. Europe has rapidly become one of the most attractive locations due to its long-term potential, but you have to figure out which countries and companies in Europe you should be on the lookout for.

Table of Contents:

1. How do you find the best software companies in Europe?

2. Where can you search for a skilled software development team?

3. How should you search for software companies?

4. Choosing the right software company for offshore development.

5. Conclusion.

How do you find the best software companies in Europe?

If you’re an SME or a fast-growing startup, then your best bet lies within Central and Eastern Europe. This is due to the region’s skilled and vast talent pool, but also due to the lower price rates and similar time zones and culture.

Some of your main options in this region include Poland, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine developers.

The IT industry is now an indispensable branch of Polish economy. Even though the country does not have a strong IT legacy, it uses the latest high-tech innovations and practices to deliver.

Here’s why Poland is one of the best choices for offshore development:

• It has some of the world’s best developers
• It uses agile methodology and modern tools with a high code coverage
• Its workforce is fluent in English and highly educated
• It has a growing IT market with 160,000 developers that provide high quality at a reasonable price
• It takes cybersecurity and data protection seriously
• It has a stable and healthy economy that makes for a wise investment long-term

Ukraine is another leading destination for offshore development. Although their hourly rates are slightly lower, they also have less expertise to offer when it comes to different programming languages.

Both Ukraine and Poland are well-versed in Javascript and MS Stack (primarily C#), but the latter also focuses on PHP, Ruby, Java, and .NET languages like Python, HTML, and XML.

Another important factor to consider is that only 40% of Ukrainian IT professionals speak English fluently, compared to 90% of Polish developers.

Whatever your region of choice, you’ll need a platform where you can find different software companies.

Where can you search for a skilled software development team?

A commonly recommended resource for finding the best software companies is Clutch.

Clutch is an independent research company that identifies leading IT service and software providers.

One of the big issues you will face when trying to outsource your projects is finding unbiased reviews and information about offshore firms. This is where Clutch can be useful because it provides transparency, and features an objective rating system.

The latter allows you to evaluate your chosen list of companies based on experience, quality, and market presence. It also provides you with trusted client reviews – Clutch contacts former and current customers to get in-depth feedback and reliable scores on Quality, Schedule, and Cost.

You can then use all of this data to make an informed decision about who you’ll be partnering up with.

How should you search for software companies?

With so much information available only a few clicks away, you can easily create a list of 10-15 software companies that could potentially meet your business goals.

Here’s how you do it:

• Go to Clutch’s sitemap and select a category
• Sort all of the agencies according to the different factors you use
• Go to the Leaders Matrix section to find profiles of the best companies

Once you have a list of your top agencies, you’ll notice that reviews are based on two key-elements: Ability to Deliver and Focus.

The Ability to Deliver section will tell you everything you need to know about past work and clients, about any prestigious awards the agency may have received, as well as how many projects they have completed. You will also be able to go through each testimonial and even look into their portfolio section.

On the other hand, the Focus section will help you assess the level of specialization that the company has in a given service.

Keep in mind that Clutch is responsible for each client evaluation on the site – so every review has to follow rigorous standards to remain objective. Customers are encouraged to update their feedback, especially for long-term collaborations.

Choosing the right software company for offshore development

Now you have your list, but you still need to make a decision. How?

Well, after narrowing down your list, here are 3 factors that can help you find the right team for your company:

1. Communication

When it comes to outsourcing IT projects, don’t get caught up in the “set it and forget it” mindset.

You’re looking for a team that you can communicate clearly with, on a regular basis. You’re looking to collaborate with a talented third-party that can bring a fresh perspective to the table.

So think about how you can integrate seamless communication into your current workflow, including from a technological standpoint.

2. Quality

Does the agency have experience with creating quality code for similar projects? What are their best practices?

An important quality indicator to look out for is their UX design. Keep in mind that a user interface is like a joke – if you have to explain it, it’s not good.

Lastly, figure out what tools and technologies the company uses to maintain its level of quality.

3. Cost

You should never make the mistake of “cheapshoring”. You’ll get exactly what you paid for – and you won’t be pleased.

That being said, you shouldn’t overlook the importance of cost in your final decision, especially for long-term collaborations. Ask yourself how working with this company will fit into your budget in the long run.

Conclusion

If you want a smoother project delivery, improved software quality and access to highly skilled developers, then your business needs outsourcing.

Unfortunately, oftentimes startups will find themselves playing the offshoring roulette – and having their projects unexpectedly fail.

By following the guidelines above, you will not only avoid a bad experience but also discover new talents and resources that will growth hack your way to the top of your industry.

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