Outsourced software development allows organizations to execute software development projects while reducing overall costs. Depending on the project or organization, different types of outsourced teams exist to help execute specific software development functions. Сhoosing correct software development team structure will help you ensure costly mistakes or miscommunication is avoided in the long-term.

In the first edition of our Outsourcing challenges blog series, we covered the essential aspects which combined make up a methodology for hiring a top-performing software development team. Missed it? You are welcome to check it out:

Offshore Outsourcing Challenges Part 1: How to Hire an Effective Team

In this blog we'll take a deeper dive into the topic of the offshore software development team composition. Read on for some tips and best practices for structuring your team.

What is an offshore development team?

An offshore development team is a smart choice for businesses looking to reduce in-house development costs, streamline operations, and flexibly scale development needs. Taking full advantage of the knowledge and experience of an outsourced team allows organizations to boost their development capabilities, meet challenging deadlines more cost-effectively and even reduce resourcing costs by up to 50%.

GSA’s 2020 Outsourcing Report identified four key benefits of hiring an outsourced development team: significantly reduced IT costs, higher operational efficiency, flexible scalability, and access to developers with domain expertise or highly-specialized skills. Taken together, an outsourced development team makes it possible to build world-class solutions that faster, cheaper, and more capable.

Organizations that take advantage of outsourced development tend to use of one of three engagement models: