Northern Lights Offshore White Paper

THE TOP 3 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT OFFSHORE IT

No matter what type of product or service you sell, digital technology now holds the key to the longterm success of your business: •

Customer databases

•

E-commerce websites

•

Content management systems

•

Custom mobile apps

•

Email- and chat-based customer service

•

Artificial intelligence (AI) applications, and

platforms more

All of the above have one thing in common —

each requires the talent and support of highly

skilled IT development resources. The trouble is,

skilled IT resources can be hard to find and even harder to afford. What’s a leader to do?

Offshoring Explained in 3 Simple Answers In years past, it was generally assumed that your IT talent should be in-house

and onshore. That is, your development resources would be employees of your organization and would do their work at your facility or close by, so you could manage them effectively.

In recent years, the offshore talent model has gained prominence as

organizations large and small begin to realize that developers do not need to be on the company payroll or within arm’s length. The work-from-home revolution of the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this shift. Business leaders worldwide have seen firsthand just how productive — and costeffective — a remote workforce can be.

That said, the idea of relying on contract offshore IT development talent still

makes some leaders nervous. Their concerns typically revolve around three core issues.

1. No, you’re not putting Americans out of work

2. Yes, you really do maintain control

American companies sometimes feel that using offshore IT

Another fear many have about offshore IT talent models is that

the U.S. The whole idea of engaging development resources

someone working on a development project overseas cannot be

talent will take jobs away from technology professionals in

overseas carries a stigma that you’re somehow doing a bad thing.

In reality, there is a shortage of skilled technology workers

throughout North America. A recent Forbes article noted that

managerial control of the work will suffer. The perception is that trusted to do the quality of work that’s required simply because no one from the client company is there to manage them.

Indeed, the “management by walking around” mantra reinforces this belief.

there are five jobs in the U.S. for every one software developer.

While there may have been an element of truth to this ten

there’s a good chance you will not be able to find the skillsets

software tools now available render this fear obsolete. The

So, as much as you might like to hire IT resources domestically, you need anywhere at any price. Thus, it quickly becomes a question of offshoring versus doing without.

Closely related to this concern is the stigma that offshore

IT resources are somehow not as skilled or experienced as

developers in the U.S. Here again, the reality tells a very different story. Offshore IT professionals have nearly the same access to technology training as their U.S.-based counterparts and

the overall pool of skills can be higher with an offshore IT team.

years ago, the videoconferencing and real-time collaborative COVID-19 pandemic offers proof. In a matter of weeks, millions

of tech workers worldwide were sent home and told not to come back until further notice — and everything turned out just fine.

Code was still written, websites still ran, databases still spewed data and transactions still rang up. Digital collaboration tools

made this possible, so much so that CEOs are now clamoring to

shed the costly office space that has become a monument to a bygone era.

This is because offshore IT professionals often carry multiple

There is another key advantage to offshore development work

based opportunities. As a result, offshore IT professionals are

offshore workers and American managerial staff can actually

certifications and have been given a wider variety of tech-

effectively cross-trained to a greater level than is typically seen in the U.S.

that’s often overlooked. The time zone difference between

allow for development timeframes to be condensed. While

you’re sound asleep, the business challenge you just described in a video conference is already being addressed by skilled workers on the other side of the globe. Results can often be

delivered overnight because a globally dispersed offshore team

is effectively working 24/7/365 from the perspective of their U.S.based client.

3. No, choosing an offshore partner is not difficult Once you’ve become comfortable with the idea of working with offshore development

resources, it’s time to decide who to hire. Top talent can be found all around the globe.

Which offshore IT partner should you choose? You can simplify the selection process — and offshore your IT needs with confidence — by taking these four steps.

Verify their qualifications and certifications As your first filter in evaluating an offshore IT partner, interview them as you would an onshore IT employee. Request samples of the work that they’ve

performed for other clients, such as websites and mobile apps. Ask about the software tools and development platforms that they use. Inquire about the

certifications and skillsets of the individual developers who would be assigned to your work. If you’ve seen enough to determine that there is a potential fit for your needs, move to step two.

Test their practical skills and knowledge Take this opportunity to evaluate their problem-solving skills “on the fly.”

Making Your IT Dollars Go Further

Describe a technical challenge or requirement and ask them to describe how

Northern Lights Technology

challenge? What types of solutions would they explore? What decision-

technology company

project? If their answers inspire confidence and back up the qualifications they

technology (IT) and business

they would approach the challenge. When have they overcome a similar

Development is a global

making process would they follow? How do they define success at the end of a

focused on information

have claimed, move on to step three.

process outsourcing (BPO)

Ensure that communication will not become a barrier Spend time getting to know your key points of contact at the offshoring

company. Is it easy to communicate verbally and in writing? Do you feel

confident that highly technical requirements could be relayed accurately?

Once their technical proficiency has been established in steps one and two,

make sure that you will be able to provide instructions to the team and pose

services. Headquartered in North Mankato, Minnesota,

we have assembled a highly skilled team of 700 software development and BPO

specialists in China, India and the Philippines.

questions back and forth with absolute clarity.

We seek to improve your

Ask about their teamworking skills

productivity by enabling you

At this point, seek to understand how your prospective offshore partners

your technology investments.

work together as a team. What collaborative software tools and project

management methodologies do they use? How do they share work product and tasks during the development cycle? Are they able to multi-task to

maximize productivity and adapt to changing priorities? If the technical proficiency is there, the communication is solid and they manage their

own work effectively as a team, odds are you have found an ideal offshore

business performance and to maximize the impact of

Northern Lights functions as

a seamless extension of your

team and makes high-quality offshore IT services simple,

affordable and accessible.

development partner for your company’s IT needs.

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