As the phenomenon of globalization has accelerated, and the boundaries between countries become more subtle, the possibility of outsourcing software development appeared. It immediately boosted the success of many companies and is now used on a global scale. Outsourcing software development is an efficient way to reduce hiring/training costs and to be sure that you are working with experts in the field. Nevertheless, many don’t want to outsource software development completely but only to cover some gaps in technological expertise. And here is when a dedicated developers team comes in handy.
If you need to augment your in-house staff with specific skills, then a dedicated team model might be the best solution to the issue. But what is this dedicated team that I am talking about, what are its characteristics, and is it really worthy? Spoiler – for the most part, yes. More about it below.
What Does A Dedicated Team Model Actually Mean?
A dedicated team is usually associated with hiring a group of developers who work exclusively on your project all their working time, which is true, but it is not that simple. In turn, it also means that those developers are backed up with QA specialists, designers, project managers, and so on, who are also part of the dedicated team.
It may also be described as the client’s team extension when the gaps of specific technical expertise are covered by the outstaffed team of specialists.
What Are The Characteristics Of This Model And Why Businesses Go For It?
Hiring a dedicated development team, you can be sure that you get motivated and interested in the project success specialists. Those employees are proactive and will do everything possible to make the final product perfect. More importantly, they are 100 percent dedicated to your project and focus all their resources only on you.
It is also important to mention that the client gets full control over the project course, beginning from the selection of suitable specialists during the hiring stage and up to direct control of all of the subsequent stages of the development process. However, it is still only one of the options, and the service provider can take complete or partial control if the customer agrees on such conditions. Yet, as practice shows, most clients prefer interviewing developers by themselves, as well as continuously supervise the flow of work.
The dedicated team model is based on quite a transparent pricing system. The cost of the project depends on the characteristics of the assignment and the time frames needed for its accomplishment. The payment is delivered on a monthly basis and includes a particular fee charged by the service provider and salaries for each member of the team.
The most apparent yet chief reason why companies choose a dedicated team model is that they lack in-house employees who are proficient in specific expertise but don’t want to hire them on a regular basis. In this manner, a dedicated team is the best solution since it allows covering gaps that are vital for the realization of an idea, and the client is not responsible for the hired experts after the project is completed.
What Are The Advantages And Disadvantages Of This Model?
Looking at the bright side, you can expect the following when opting for a dedicated team model:
- Freedom in team composition and the possibility of scalability.
- In most cases, you get professionals who know exactly what they are doing.
- The allocated employees are fully devoted to your project and not disperse their attention on anything else.
- You take full control over the project progression and can monitor the team’s performance.
- The dedicated team quickly integrates into your company and keeps your pace better than newly-hired in-house employees do.
- A transparent pricing system allows managing your budget effectively.
- No need to take responsibility for the hired people when the project is over.
As you see, advantages mostly boil down to transparency of the working process and high adaptability of the dedicated team members, who are not only proficient in technical expertise but also good at quick integration in the client’s operations and the company’s atmosphere.
Though the pros of hiring a dedicated team look quite appealing, you should never forget that there are also some cons. Take a close look at the following issues:
- When cooperating with an offshore company, you should expect that you may work in different time zones, which might complicate the communication and working process.
- Cultural peculiarities also play a crucial role since they determine how well you’ll work together and how clearly the team members will understand your needs.
- It better suits long-term projects where there is a high possibility of extension, while for short-term ones, a fixed price is a much preferable option.
- Selecting the right outstaffing partner is a tricky process, and sometimes you might buy a pig in the poke.
These disadvantages almost vanish when you pay close attention to the selection of a service provider and apply agile development strategies.
Wrapping up
As it was said at the very beginning, hiring a dedicated team is a worthy endeavor for the most part. It is a good way to augment your in-house expertise with laking skills. This model also offers easy management of hired employees and low probability of any pricing issues, especially if you are working with a reliable partner. But still, take a look at these few tips before you hire an offshore development team.
First of all, it is essential to define the project scope and goals, as well as the requirements for its realization. Specifically, you should consider what skills do you have in-house and what expertise ought to be outstaffed. You can either conduct this analysis by yourself or request assistance from your service provider, who will analyze your development needs and gather the most suitable team for you.
You should also keep in mind that an effective management of a dedicated team always involves the integration of remote workers into your in-house atmosphere and workflow. They should feel like a part of your company, at least while the agreement is in effect. Therefore, continuous communication is a key factor for success when managing offshore teams.
