There are many notions floating about what types of projects, what sizes and what type of projects can be offshore. There are as many myths surrounding them as there are real stories. How to sift the wheat from the chaff?

For example, many small and medium-sized companies believe that software development abroad is really intended for larger companies. They think that hiring a small team of engineers will be enough. Will it really be enough?

The fact is, offshore software development works well across the spectrum of companies, both small and large, regardless of their industry segments or customer base.

The reason for this is that offshore software development is not a stand-alone vertical offering. It is a facilitator. In fact, the software itself is an enabler, an enabler that leads to better business processes, profitability, and faster response times.

There are several companies that offer offshore software solutions and work on the knowledge model. They understand the client’s business and offer customized solutions to meet specific needs. Whether it’s SharePoint migration, a content management portal, an e-commerce platform, or multi-device software, these companies have made it a business to understand problem areas and domain-specific solutions and their knowledge, backed by technical expertise can help produce faster and smarter solutions.

Whether the company is a small or medium-sized company or a larger conglomerate, it can only benefit from software development abroad. Take, for example, a commercial school bus fleet that provides tracking, safety, and optimization. The company believes in ensuring a safe and efficient school bus ride experience for children and parents. The company wanted a mobile app to track buses, and therefore help schools manage their fleet, at an affordable cost. The application would also be useful for parents to know the arrival times of the buses. The application, if it were to be developed in-house, would require the company to shift its focus from its core business, that is, from providing a safe school bus ride to developing a technology solution. The shift in focus can have repercussions on your current business along with cost implications and delayed launches. The company contracted with a software development company abroad to develop a custom application, with back-end server functionalities. The application was developed within the stipulated timeframes and became a business model for other companies to follow. Its competitive advantage of floating the solution ahead of time ensured that it gained a considerable advantage over its competitors. The client experiences business growth with minimal operational limitations. It has also expanded its business to cover other geographic locations.

This case study is just a small example of how a company benefited from software development abroad. Across the spectrum, many companies are trying to make their portals device independent. However, your websites can exist in one language, making mobile presence difficult. An offshore development company that has a strong team of engineers who can work on cross-platform applications will be able to create mobile presences for such companies without causing any concern.

In a similar case, many companies that have worked in an offline model, consider a software solution to enhance their presence, improve processes, offer business efficiency and all this at reduced costs. However, all of these same reasons can be negated if the company decides to hire its own team of engineers. With constraints like cost and time, the entire process, from recruiting to testing, will be a living nightmare, and in the long run it can prove too costly, not exactly what was required, or even redundant.

In summary, offshore software development is an option for companies, regardless of their business, industry or size. It’s one of the best ways to make technology work for you. In that sense, technology becomes an enabler and its advantages are important for companies to maintain their competitive advantage. To maximize the benefits of custom software, companies must prepare a comprehensive list of requirements. The list should not describe what “they think” is important. You should focus on the benefits to the end customer. These companies don’t need to “talk” about technology. They should talk about the weak points. It is up to the service provider to turn these pain points into solutions using technology. It can’t be simpler than this, right?