Reasons to Choose Extended Development Team Over Outsourcing

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The extended software development team solution has recently become popular in the US and Western Europe. It allows companies to combine the efforts of both their in-house software developers and hire experts from abroad.

In this article, you’ll discover the advantages of an extended software development team as compared to outsourcing and consider how your business can put this model to good use.

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What is Extended Team Model

Extended software development team model is a solution that brings together both remote software developers and on-staff team members to enable cooperation and develop a high-quality product.

In the past, most tasks were delivered by the in-house team members, but it has recently become too expensive, so many businesses focus on extended development teams.

If you choose an extended team model, you can fully appreciate the value proposition — you are hiring developers with a high level of expertise within your budget. Many experienced engineers are interested in working for international companies, so they are highly motivated to deliver high-quality products.

 

Outsourcing is a business strategy of hiring a team of software engineers from outside the company to work on the company’s product. Outsourcing is a cost-effective way to keep operating at the same quality level when a company doesn’t have the technical expertise necessary to work on a project.

Extended Team Model

Features of an Extended Development Team

Extended development teams are useful for most result-oriented businesses. This model is defined by time and cost-effectiveness and allows companies to ensure smooth development processes and high developer’s interest.

Effective Cooperation with the In-House Team

Whether your in-house team has some skill gaps or you need to expand your team to meet the deadlines and take on more tasks, extended software development team will do that for you. Regular employees collaborate with remote or relocated developers, ensuring effective task completion and no headaches on your end.

Highly Specialized Experts

Remote development teams are useful because you can hire developers with specific sets of skills that you define. They complement each other and work on their tasks within the scope of a single project. When you are dealing with highly specialized experts, there is less risk of misunderstandings.

Long-Term Commitment

By choosing a software team extension model, you can be sure that the developers are aiming at long-term cooperation. Even when a project is over, the extended team remains loyal to you and is willing to work on future tasks. They are fully immersed in the work and dedicated to your project.

Time-Effectiveness

Sometimes a hiring process may take up months before you find the software engineers you need. This can happen when a local market is short on skilled developers, or the most in-demand developers are already working on projects in other companies. By choosing an extended development team, you are saving time and expanding your options.

Reasons to Choose Extended Development Team Over Outsourcing

Transparency

If you choose an extended development team model, you have the opportunity to manage remote developers directly, as they are now a part of your team. You are also involved in all stages of onboarding, so there is no need to worry about the skills and qualities of your new team members.

The model allows you to monitor your expenses and benefit from a clear-cut and transparent pricing system. Having control over your team as well as all the internal processes will help ensure a smooth workflow and create a coordinated team.

Benefits of Extended Development Teams

Motivated and Fully Dedicated Extended Team

Many customers that are already working with extended development teams admit that the level of developers’ motivation is exceptionally high. Engineers are not just interested in the delivery process, but would also like to see successful outcomes and even use the products they are working on in the future.

This factor may be explained by the level of developer engagement — since they are a part of a team and appreciate all the benefits other team members have, they work better.

Easy Relocation and Direct Management

Since the relocated team is working under your management, you get the opportunity to work without intermediaries. This factor further improves your experience and leads to better results. While you are managing your team, your extended development team provider is dealing with all legal documentation and other related issues necessary for a smooth integration of the developers into your in-house team.

Scalability

Not confident in hiring an entire team of developers straight away? You can start with one software engineer suitable for your needs, see whether you are satisfied with the results, and then hire more developers. Many businesses first hire one or two software developers, and after that, the extended team can grow up to ten-fifteen people. Some customers might be limited in resources, so starting with one or two developers is a wise solution.

A Broad Talent Pool

Many companies face a common problem — their local talent pool is not growing, so there is a need to look for software developers offshore. This problem can be solved by hiring an extended team of developers from abroad and combining your in-house employees’ expertise with the newcomer’s qualifications.

Cost-Effectiveness

An extended development team is a cost-effective solution to your needs if you choose to hire from countries with better prices. Eastern Europe, and especially India, is a location that accounts for 200,000 highly-skilled tech experts with a broad range of skills and a substantial educational basis. While the prices in India are reasonable, you are not compromising the quality of the delivered services.

Read more about the average software engineer salary around the world in 2021 here.

Extended Team Model Success Stories

• Right Now

The RightNow Group from Düsseldorf is Europe’s leading consumer factoring provider and one of the most successful German LegalTech startups. The company’s project management opted for an extended development team, and Xcoder helped them locate developers they needed. They admit that having full-time dedicated resources is what made the cooperation lucrative.

The company did not want to just hire someone to do a project for them, but have someone working on fulfilling their vision together with them. Xcoder was a perfect fit for RightNow both on a personal and professional level.

• Vive

The founders of Vive admit being surprised that the extended development team they hired with Xcoder was highly interested in the product itself.

I remember our one-to-one meetings with a developer, whom I asked to share why he likes working with us. What he said was: “I would like to use the product I develop.”

Vive values the exceptional education level of Indian software developers, their top-notch technical skills, and the personal qualities of team members. They enjoyed the cooperation and the developers’ motivation to deliver a high-quality product.

• Curiosity Team

Curiosity Team is a global video streaming service that was looking to hire an extended team to work together with their in-house professionals.  Eventually, they hired six software engineers, and they plan to keep expanding their team.

They also cooperated with Lilia from Xcoder, who helped the Curiosity Team do the initial pre-screening of developers during the hiring process. This service helped the client save time and choose the most skilled professionals.

• Cybersecurity Company From California

Xcoder has a number of anonymous reviews on Clutch and the client from San Mateo, California chooses us as their dedicated extended development team provider who values hard work and skills the most.

Technically, they are the best remote team I have ever worked with in 20 years of experience.

Link: https://clutch.co/profile/Xcoder#reviews

When Extended Development Team is not for You

Despite all the benefits of an extended software development team, in some cases, this solution might not be for you. When a business does not have its own technical expertise, it will struggle to integrate an extended team with its in-house employees. In this case, a staff augmentation model would be more appropriate to satisfy your needs.

If you are looking for software developers for a one-time project, you should choose a traditional outsourced team. A remote development team model implies relocation and other integration strategies, so if you are planning to let developers go after the project is launched and operating, opt for another solution.

Benefits of Extended Teams for Startups

Extended development team model allows startups to extend their local in-house teams with remote developers, and in most cases, they should opt for this type of cooperation model over outsourcing because it leads to better cooperation and transparency. Managers can clearly define the goals and give feedback without intermediaries.

Extended team members operate like regular employees, so the project delivery time can be reduced. By communicating daily with the team, you can reach better communication inside the team, motivate the developers and personally control the processes.

Dedicated Extended Development Team Hiring Steps

Xcoder is a software development company that will help you build dedicated software development teams in India. We recognize the businesses’ needs to ensure well-coordinated cooperation between in-house developers and extended teams to reach excellent results.

Build your extended team with the following steps:

Tell us your needs

Before extending your in-house team, you have to understand the needs of your project as they relate to the developers’ expertise, the number of software developers you are aiming for, as well as any other requirements. This information is crucial for us, as we use it to pre-screen and interview the candidates which fit your specific needs.

Interview and hire engineers

When all that is set, you can start interviewing offshore developers to find the most suitable experts for your product.

Start working

You are in charge of all managerial processes, while Xcoder deals with all office and administrative hassle to make your experience with an extended development team productive and without any issues.

Get our ongoing support

Xcoder provides you with a dedicated HR/Client Manager who will be answering all of your questions. In case you need any support, our manager will help you solve all requests.