A dedicated software dev team is one that a company hires to supplement its own in-house team or to act independently to complete an entire project or part of one. Such a team — which can be within the U.S. (onshore), in a nearby country (nearshore), or in a more distant one (offshore) — is useful in a variety of scenarios. This includes situations in which a company wants to speed up its development process, innovate new software, or take on additional client work.
There are many strategic reasons to hire a dedicated software development team. Benefits of this approach include cost-efficiency, scalability, control over the development process, faster time to market, and technology skills. In the sections below, we discuss these benefits, touch on some disadvantages and alternative approaches, and answer frequently asked questions about the dedicated software team model. But first, we delve further into what the dedicated team model actually is.
What Is the Dedicated Team Model?
Companies that provide software development services for either internal or external clients may choose to outsource some of their work to a software engineering outsourcing provider. Such providers take over many of the challenging aspects of hiring, including recruiting, onboarding, and retaining talent, as well as managing payroll, benefits, vacation time, and other perks. Taking these tasks off your plate is just one advantage of the dedicated team model. We’ll discuss more below.
Outsourced Team Location
If you’re considering the dedicated team model, you should be aware that the location of an outsourced team is an important consideration.
- Onshore teams are those whose members are located within the U.S. With this approach, team members share your language and culture, and they work during the same or similar hours. But hiring a dedicated team within the U.S. can be costly, as U.S. developers are among the most expensive in the world. That’s why many companies choose to work with outsourced teams in other countries.
- Offshore teams are those that are located in regions far from the U.S., such as India or Eastern European countries. In contrast to providers within the U.S., teams in these locations frequently work different hours, meaning your employees may not be able to reach them with critical requests. Additionally, language and culture differences may contribute to communication issues. However, offshore dedicated teams are typically the most affordable.
- Nearshore teams, such as those provided by BairesDev, offer the best of both worlds. These teams are located in regions near the U.S., such as Latin American countries. Nearshore teams are highly skilled in their technologies and fluent in English, ensuring smooth communication. They work during the same or similar hours, enabling real-time collaboration. And they are more affordable than U.S. providers.
Outsourced Dedicated Team Structure
Software development companies commonly face rapidly shifting demands. For example, a company may get a sudden influx of clients, resulting in a workload that exceeds the capacity of its current development team. The key to success with such variables is flexibility. A nearshore agile development company must think ahead and plan for the unexpected.
The use of outsourced dedicated teams is an excellent solution for such planning. These services are structured specifically to be as temporary or permanent as the hiring company needs. So, in the event of a sudden increased workload, the software development company could hire an outsourced team to take over some of the new projects. When the projects are completed, the outsourced team can be let go, leaving the company’s core team intact.
Dedicated Team Advantages
The dedicated development team model offers numerous benefits, including those listed here.
Cost-Efficiency
The dedicated software dev team model is cost-efficient because using a provider is cheaper than the resources needed to hire more in-house engineers. The costs of recruiting, onboarding, and training — not to mention salaries and benefits for hired personnel — can add up. The dedicated team model provides all the talent and skills needed without those administrative components.
Furthermore, hiring an outsourced team through a provider offers transparent pricing. You know up front exactly how much you will spend, whereas when you bring on in-house employees, you’re never sure what it will take to hire the number of people you need or how long they will stay. This consistency can help with budgeting and cash flow.
Scalability
The software and app development needs of a company can vary widely. For example, a manufacturing company might require new applications as it pursues an initiative to develop a new line of products. Businesses benefit from the ability to scale the development team up or down based on the need. Hiring and firing the needed personnel is impractical. But a more flexible strategy can be easily implemented using the dedicated team approach. In fact, this approach was developed to serve exactly this purpose.
Complete Control
A dedicated software team doesn’t just appear and then go off on its own to work on your projects. Rather, you get complete control over the work that is performed, as well as the selection and management of team members. Once the team is in place, you can treat them as members of your staff, assign tasks and deadlines, and hold meetings as needed to ensure everyone is on track.
Faster Time to Market
For companies that create applications for sale, the faster your projects are completed, the sooner you can get them into the marketplace. For instance, your regular process might take six months, but with an outsourced or dedicated development team taking over some or all of the work, you can cut it down to two. With more team members to support the work, your development cycle is sped up.
Technology Skills
Another advantage of the dedicated team model approach is that outsourced team members can supplement the skill pool in your existing in-house team. For example, if you need to complete a project based on MongoDB and none of your team members are experts with MongoDB, you can request that members of the outsourced team possess this skill.
These advantages can increase the success of software development teams considerably. However, companies should be aware that the dedicated development team model does come with some drawbacks as well.
Dedicated Development Team Model Disadvantages
Some possible downsides of the dedicated team model are as follows.
Not Suitable for Short-term Projects
While you technically could hire dedicated team services for a short-term project, doing so is not necessarily cost-effective. For these types of projects, it might be more practical to seek out staff augmentation solutions.
Different Time Zones
If your dedicated team works from a distant (offshore) location, the difference in working hours could become a problem. If this factor is important in your situation, the better choice for both convenience and cost is a team that works in a nearby (nearshore) country.
Needs Must Be Predetermined
When you hire a dedicated development team, you must sign a contract with the provider that spells out the work that will be completed. If you’re not completely sure about the requirements, it’s better to seek another solution.
Alternatives to Dedicated Software Teams
Companies that provide dedicated development teams may also be able to accommodate other types of arrangements. For example, BairesDev offers a variety of engagement models to facilitate hiring software developers, including dedicated teams, staff augmentation, and software outsourcing. The following sections explain the alternatives to dedicated software teams.
Staff Augmentation
With IT staff augmentation, you get the extra talent needed to boost your projects. IT staffing services provide the speed, professional acumen, and flexibility a team needs to scale quickly and complete development projects on time. The provider finds, hires, and manages workers who have the expertise and other qualities you need to extend your team.
Within this arrangement, the new team members typically work as part of your in-house team, attending your regular meetings and reporting directly to managers. BairesDev’s staff augmentation can serve any type of project, from prototyping to full-scale development of desktop, mobile, or web applications, testing, and systems management. This model offers a proven, reliable, and cost-effective way for your company to increase the size and productivity of your internal development teams with minimal time.
Software Development Outsourcing
As a software development outsourcing company, BairesDev also offers end-to-end software development outsourcing solutions. For companies that have a relatively lean team or lack key specializations, software development outsourcing may be the perfect way to meet critical goals. These services involve working with a provider that has special skills and expertise such as UX design, cybersecurity, or blockchain consulting.
From enterprise mobile app development to smart customization of predeveloped platforms to full-cycle custom solutions, software outsourcing companies like BairesDev are experienced development partners ready to deliver reliable and custom software solutions. Our rigorous selection process ensures that we only work with the top 1% of tech talent to guarantee high-quality software delivery, every time.
