The Difficulties of Hiring An Off-Shore Software Or App Development Firm

There is no doubt that app development has grown in popularity recently, and demand is higher than ever. In today's competitive market, there are numerous business ventures jumping on the application bandwagon. Because of the increased adoption of mobile apps across industries, businesses must adapt to this technology in order to remain competitive.

Today, we'll talk about the challenges and hidden costs that are frequently associated with offshore app development, as well as the things you should think about before hiring a team from another country.

Before we continue, we would like to share some vital statistics regarding app development and its impact on the modern world.

• The app development industry is expected to become a trillion-dollar phenomenon by 2023.
• The pandemic has created a massive demand for apps, with over 218 billion downloads in 2020.
• Mobile users spend an average of 4 hours each day using applications.
• At least 60% of smartphone users have used contact buttons for business inquiries within applications.

The popularity of web and mobile app development has skyrocketed in recent years, making it imperative for anyone to consider developing a mobile or web app. Having said that, you must ensure that you hire the best team possible for your investment.

Let us now turn our attention to the difficulties that come with offshore app development.

Quality issues with the final product

High-quality work is available all over the world, but the definition of quality varies from place to place due to a variety of factors. When working with offshore developers, you may encounter a team that measures quality based on their local standards or requirements.

The main difficulty here is that the majority of inconsistencies will develop as a result of differing expectations between the parties, and fine-tuning the final product to fit your expectations is incredibly time-consuming, resulting in lost time and increased costs. Keep this in mind while selecting your development partner, as it will be critical to achieving the best results.

Legal issues

The possibility of encountering a legal issue is a scenario that most people miss to foresee, but there are many situations where people could end up in a legal battle with the development firm. 

It is always a good idea to familiarize yourself with the laws of the country in which your offshore development team is based. This research process may take valuable time away from your project schedule, but it is necessary to prepare for the worst-case scenario in case you end up in a squabble with your offshore development team.

Communication challenges

In most cases, people hire offshore developers who do not speak English fluently. This could be a serious issue when working on a project such as an app development because it involves several rounds of discussions and iterations and could get challenging to convey ideas, thoughts, or features. This is one of the most common reasons why offshore development can get complicated.

This is why you need to find out just how fluent the developers are in the language you prefer. Maybe a quick chat over a video conference can be a great way to reveal this and see if communication between you and their team is seamless.

Infrastructure deficiencies

It is quite possible that an offshore team is going to be using obsolete equipment to handle your project. This could lead to many setbacks and issues that could be avoided if you can hire a team that can show you the kind of hardware and work environment they will be using while developing your project. 

One of the main issues that can delay a project is the lack of quality hardware for development and testing purposes. Therefore, it is good to ensure that you are working with a team that has updated hardware, but this could also mean a higher cost to you than expected.

Travel expenses

Some projects may be too large to handle solely through video conferencing. When dealing with a significant investment, you will discover that travel expenses are also included in the course. This could entail several trips to meet with the developers, which could cost thousands of dollars more.

There could be situations where video conferences and online meetings would suffice. Nevertheless, most large projects would usually require face-to-face meetings to finalize and conclude the works. There could be several details and conversations that cannot be expressed or conveyed through online conferences.

Further expenses and complications with updates and upgrades

Even the most experienced development teams would have to modify their application code through several rounds of bug finding and fixing to ensure a seamless experience for users. When an app is launched, there could still be several bugs arising in the code (new updates on iOS/ Android versions, updates/ upgrades from third-party vendors, different screen resolutions etc) that would require immediate attention, and it is expected that the development team would resolve the bugs as quickly as possible and release frequent patches/ updates to ensure a seamless experience for your customers/ users.

Working with an offshore app development agency will make this process complicated than it would with a team that is more accessible. This is yet another thing to keep in mind when you consider hiring a development team located in a different country or continent.

One of the main things that people need to consider is that they will not find the same level of clarity, engagement, communication, and workflow with offshore developers as they would with a domestic mobile app development company. 

Therefore, it is recommended that you take your time with this process to ensure that you can make the most out of your investment. Keep these challenges in mind when considering the right team for your project.