7 Indicators of a Reliable Outsourcing Partner

The moment you decide you need to hire an outsourcing team for your development, you will definitely face the problem of choosing a reliable partner. The IT outsourcing market is large, and there are really many companies that provide such services. According to Statista, the cost of outsourced IT services to companies could exceed $413.72 billion by the end of 2021. 

So, how do you choose the right company, and what factors can indicate the success of your cooperation with it? We have prepared a small checklist of indicators that you should go through when choosing a reliable partner for development. If you are looking for an outsourcing partner, keep reading.

Indicator #1: Experience and Technical Expertise as the Key to a Successful Outsourcing Partnership

Of course, the first thing any company that chooses a development team will do is analyze the portfolio of a potential partner. They will study the number and specifics of projects, the industries for which the products were created, the technology stack, and the depth of the team's expertise. Reviews from existing clients, which can be found on platforms like Clutch, will help with this. In general, it is worth paying attention to the company's ratings on similar resources and how well its profile is presented there.

It is important to understand whether the team is working with outdated technologies, along with how much it follows trends and updates of programming languages and frameworks in which it creates software or web products.

Get to know the team well. Learn about the roles, experience, and depth of expertise of its members. It is unlikely that you want to give a complex application for the financial market for development to a team that consists only of junior developers.

Indicator #2: Development Process Organization of an Outsourcing Partner

Ask a potential outsourcing partner to elaborate on their internal development process. Find out what methodology they are using: how teams for projects are formed, whether the team is assigned to the project until its release, whether they will be able to attract additional narrow specialists if necessary, and how the project is managed in general.

It's good if you understand the whole process and its stages, from planning a roadmap to product deployment and support. It is important to understand how the team tracks tasks, fixes bugs, and maintains documentation. Will the team be able to fully transfer the project to the in-house team without significant problems and loss of data, if necessary?

You can read everything about our development process here.

Indicator #3: Transparency of Outsourcing Partnership

This point flows smoothly from the previous one. Transparency is how much you as a client are immersed in the development process and how much information about the current state of affairs is available to you. 

It's good if the partner gives you access to all the tools that control the project. This testifies to the openness of the outsourcing team and readiness to fulfill all the agreements on the project. It is also a sign of the maturity of the team, which does not require constant monitoring, is responsible for the result, and is ready to provide a report on its work at any stage.

Indicator #4: Clear and Simple Communication with the Outsourcing Partner

The professionalism of the team is also reflected in its availability at all stages of the project. If you clearly understand the call or meeting schedule, great. If you can ask any question that arises in the process of work and get an exhaustive answer to it pretty quickly, even better. At the same time, it is great if the whole team is open to you, not just the project manager, and you do not need to look for someone incomprehensible and write on all possible instant messengers. By the way, communication methods are also important. There should be a list of channels that is convenient for you, and you should know for sure that you will not be left without attention there.

Indicator #5: Fair Calculation Process in an IT Outsourcing Partnership

As you know, at the stage of project planning, you can only make a preliminary estimate of its cost. This is the specifics of development, and that's okay. At the same time, it is important that your partner informs you absolutely transparently about possible changes in the budget, justifies them, and leaves you with the choice of adjusting the budget.

In general, it is important to understand how costs are generated and how the company invoices for its services. One convenient and proven solution is a time-tracker you can have access to. If you know the cost of an hour for each team member, have a preliminary plan, and can log in to see in real time how many hours a particular specialist has worked, you probably won't experience any budget surprises.

Indicator #6: Corporate Culture of an Outsourcing Partner

This is a very important component that needs your attention. In the process of work, much depends on what values ​​and principles the outsourcing company professes.

If a company has formulated clear principles of work, most likely, it will be able to boast of a close-knit team, which means there is no staff turnover and people are comfortable working with each other. This, of course, has a positive effect on work results.

Values ​​close to you should be traced throughout your partner's work, from team relationships and communication culture to rigid attitudes and approaches in work.

Indicator #7: Legal Issues in IT Outsourcing Partnerships

This is an important indicator from the point of view of transparent work in the legal field. Pay attention to how the outsourcing partner keeps the accounting, whether everything is okay with the payment of taxes, and whether they are ready to sign all the necessary contracts and NDAs in the prescribed form.

Consider Gearheart as Your Reliable Outsourcing Partner

We believe that the points described are really important. And in our work, we stick to what we talked about. If our position is close to you, then we will be glad to get to know each other and develop a cool project. You can read about our already existing cool projects and successful IT outsourcing partnership cases in our portfolio. And contacting us is as simple as possible; just write or call us. All contacts are here.

Final Thoughts

Among the many great companies that provide outsourced development services, it is important to find the one with which the perfect match occurs. In this way, outstanding results can be achieved. The listed indicators of a reliable strategic outsourcing partner should help you make the right choice and give an impulse to your business development. 

If you are interested in this article, then you can find even more articles with outsourcing partnership examples on our blog.