Offshore Web Development Companies in India – Do They Stack Up Against Other Low Cost Options?

India represents one of the largest and most cost-effective outsourcing destinations globally. The country is ready to offer a variety of offshore development options for overseas companies considering outsourcing. The challenge is finding a high-quality developer or reliable team of developers in a very heterogeneous marketplace.

The Indian tech market gets more and more annual investments from the US and Chinese venture funds. All this has a positive influence on the progress of IT in India. Nevertheless, the country has its own set of pros and cons concerning offshore development. The benefit of outsourcing to India is a vast talent pool of young and energetic developers. But on the other hand, along with high-tech startups, you can find frauds pretending to be so. High profits of the offshore software development services in India make this niche vulnerable to speculations.

So, all things considered, how favorable is India as an outsourcing destination? To find the answer, we will analyze various aspects of offshore development companies in India and see how they fare against other destinations.

Leading tendencies of software development in India

Most of the development agencies in India are concentrated around large cities; the biggest IT centers are Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Talking about mobile development, Indian experts are mainly interested in Android development. The majority of iOS development companies prefer the Swift development language. HTML5 and JavaScript are the most popular tools among the web development experts there.

E-commerce is considered to be the most profitable industry for software developers in India. The country is also famous for numerous startups that were born there.

Over 2 million people work in the IT sector, and a quarter of them define mobile app development as their main expertise.

Why do companies outsource software development to India?

There are many benefits of outsourcing software development to India. Some of these include:

Low-Cost Services

The cost of living is lower in India compared to the US or most European countries. When outsourcing to India, you can find skilled developers at lower rates than what it would cost in other countries. If you want to find an expert development partner but are slightly lower than in Europe, India is an ideal destination.

Large Talent Pool

Given India’s population and educational values, millions of developers and IT graduates are emerging every year. According to a study, the US has the highest number of developers that is 4.3 million; however, it’s predicted that India will overtake the US by 2024. So there is no shortage of talent in India. That makes it easier to find proficient development companies and hire developers in India. It also makes hiring offshore developers easier as you don’t need to spend a lot of time scouting talent.

Work Ethics

Work ethics are highly regarded in Indian companies. House teams are willing to work longer shifts occasionally and even take night shifts to keep the company’s momentum if required. So it’s possible to find hardworking and dedicated professionals in India who will do whatever it takes to complete a project on time.

Communication Skills

English is the primary language in most educational institutes in India. So the general Indian population is well-versed in basic English. It holds the 8th position of 24 Asian countries according to English Proficiency Index. Thus, most offshore development teams in India are fluent and proficient in English, so it’s easy to communicate in real-time with them. Whether it’s web applications or mobile apps, development projects take time to complete, and there will be regular interaction with the developers throughout the development process. That is where the communication skills of Indian developers come in handy.

Outsourcing Mobile App Development to India: Cons

Most companies outsource to reduce the costs, be on a budget or find high-quality professionals outside the country. As we presented above, there are some good points to consider India as the outsourcing destination; however, there are quite a several problems that many customers that decided to hire a team of developers from India encounter.

Linguistic barriers

Hindus generally consider it impolite to deny someone. Therefore, if you set a painful task for Indian developers, you are unlikely to assess the situation accurately and refuse to resolve it. Moreover, despite English being the second state language, some Indians do not use it very often, and most of them have difficulties with comprehending accents. That will require an extra effort to come to a mutual understanding. That’s why we can consider English language skills both advantages and disadvantages.

Problems with traditional electronic payments

When deciding to outsource to India, you should be aware that there’s only one type of electronic payment system that uses mobile phones like purses. Thus, residents of Europe and the United States who decide to outsource app development to this country will need to delve into the nuances of this payment system to pay for employees’ services.

Time difference

The time difference between the US and India is 10-14 hours (depending on the state). And as long as fruitful communication is crucial while working on app development, you have to consider this factor and set up a schedule that will allow you to overlap with your developers in India.

Unscrupulousness

Given the low cost of their services, the Hindus sometimes work on several projects at once. Hence, you have to take into account the potential unscrupulousness such multitasking can lead to.

Lack of creativity in design

When a customer needs a creative approach, outsourcing app development to India may not be the best solution. In most cases, Indian developers use some well-known site or application template, making minimal changes. So in order not to get disappointed with the result, you better discuss all the design-related tasks in the very beginning.

Straightforward adherence to the customer’s instructions

That may not seem a problem, but if you are not an expert in programming, it will be challenging for you to relay the essence of the project to the team of Indian developers. In addition, they are unlikely to offer you ways to improve the product from a professional point of view.

Fuzzy understanding of deadlines

Another problem of outsourcing to India may hide behind the lack of developers’ organizational skills. That means that you have to be attentive when planning a deadline and keep the development process under complete control to get a ready product in time.

High risk of bumping into non-professionals

In India, you may encounter some people who consider themselves programmers, having finished only a short-term coding course. That is why it is essential to make sure whether a potential candidate has all the skills you need for your project. You may check their skills through the assessment from HackerRank or Woven.

What benefits of software development outsourcing to India can be achieved through other countries?

🔸 The main benefit of outsourcing software development to India is the availability of high talent at a low cost. But is it the only country where such a scenario is possible? It’s important to review things from both sides, so we must turn our attention to other countries too.

For example, in terms of development cost, the hourly rates for software development in India range from $35 to $65, the same as European countries like Ukraine and Romania. Moldova is even cheaper, with hourly rates going as low as $27.

But the cost of android mobile applications is not the only basis of comparison. When we compare India as an outsourcing destination vs. Eastern European countries, many factors come into play. When we look at the quality and skill of developers in both locations, India does have a higher TechRank than others. Still, Ukraine, Romania, and Moldova are not too far behind.

Being the cheapest destination out of the three European countries, Moldova has an impressive TechRank that is just three points less than India. So the quality of developers skilled in leading technologies, e.g., JavaScript, Java, Python, React Native, PHP, and so on, doesn’t vary too much in these countries.

🔸 The second factor is the general culture of the countries in comparison. The culture and work ethics in India are quite different than those in Europe. Some businesses from the West may find it a bit difficult to adjust to India’s work culture.

Suppose your business is based in Europe, and you want to work with Python developers that know and understand European culture all too well. In that case, you might prefer destinations like Romania and Belarus instead of India.

🔸 Lastly, one clear benefit of outsourcing to Eastern Europe is that you are less likely to run into fraud, which you might encounter in the Indian market. It doesn’t mean that India isn’t a safe destination, but it implies that you have to be more watchful and cautious than Eastern European countries when outsourcing to India.

So both India and Eastern Europe have their advantages as offshore development destinations. India’s main benefit is its vast population comprising millions of talented programmers, but the drawback is that few fraudulent companies also tend to hide among the many genuine ones.

In Eastern Europe, the benefit is that most of the companies are world-class and genuine, and the developers there are familiar with Western work culture, but the drawback is that they have a smaller talent pool.

High-level comparison of software development outsourcing in India and Eastern Europe

Offshore development companies in India vs the Eastern Europeans

The table below provides cost & quality comparisons between India and nearshore locations in Eastern Europe, i.e., Ukraine, Poland, Romania, and Moldova, to give you a high-level snapshot of the relationship between quality and cost.

* TechRank on TopCoder and Hackerrank

** Clutch.co

Browse 500+ Dev Teams Available for Hire

Other factors that influence product success

When outsourcing development, it is essential not to just look at high-level information, trends, and averages, but to dig a little deeper into:

Organizational culture of individual firms

Offshore development is not just about costs all the time. It is also essential to consider the work culture and professional environment of different firms. For example,

• How energetic and enthusiastic are the employees?
• Are the different departments well-coordinated?
• Do they practice the latest approaches in project management?
• Do they have an effective communication channel to stay in touch and updated at all times?

Getting the answer to these questions will help you make a better decision when choosing one option among various firms for mobile app development and digital transformation.

The mentality of developers from different countries

Developers from different countries have different skillsets and mentalities. Their approach to development services and the tools and methods they use will vary. After all, software development is a broad field, and there are many ways to get things done based on your project requirements. Knowing about the mentality and methodology of developers from different countries is important because that’s how you can select the ones depending on your expectations.

Characteristics of the developers who will be assigned to your project, including their communication skills

When you are outsourcing developers for custom software development, it’s not about the company but the people working on the project. One of the first things to consider is communication skills and English proficiency. You will have to interact with the developers and be in the loop with the project development regularly, so communication skill becomes essential.

You should also assess the personality of your team leaders and DevOps specialists. Things like punctuality, ability to work under stress, response to pressure and occasional setbacks, and problem-solving approach are the main characteristics of developers that you must explore.

Managing Outsourcing Risk specific to India

We have created a series of articles that will help you minimize the risk of outsourcing software development (for all geographies).

Please note, though, that there are a couple of additional risks that we need to be aware of outsourcing to India:

1. When negotiating with development companies from India, it is crucial to know whether they will effectively manage your expectations (as the client). If they are just agreeing to everything and not changing costs or time frames, this is a red flag. Skilled developers will try to know as much as possible about the project and your expectations, so if they are asking lots of questions, it’s a good sign.
2. Pay extra attention to Indian outsourcing companies’ organizations to understand whether they have the management capability to deliver reliably. Some development firms will have a much more robust management culture than others.
3. To avoid a copy and paste code issue, a background check on development companies is necessary to ensure that the quality of work they deliver is unique and authentic. Check the reviews and testimonials from previous clients. If it’s possible to get in touch with previous customers to know more details, do it.
4. Plagiarism is less regulated throughout the developing world. If you’re concerned about IP infringement, you should ask some probing questions about where they get their code from or use a code plagiarism checker for your programming language.

If Indian developers are just agreeing to everything and not changing cost or time frames, this is a red flag.

Minimizing Risk using a Hiring Platform

When selecting developers, YouTeam takes a conservative approach by vetting companies before admitting them to our hiring platform. It is our way of significantly de-risking the outsourcing process before your first interactions with outsourcing companies.

Outsourcing risk is a problem and should be managed diligently.

TopTal is another company that provides quite a thorough pre-vetting service for developers within its Talentpool. Although TopTal tend to be 2x – 3x times more expensive than YouTeam because their developers are from the US, YouTeam is focussed mainly on the Eastern European and Latin American Market (with a view of diversifying more geographies as it grows).

Other places to hire developers in India of quality and integrity

Most people start their search using the job sites, upon which Indian developers can post their CVs, but that’s not the only option. Here is a list of resources to help you with finding developers in India.

Job Posting Sites

The five most popular job posting sites include:

• CutShort,
• Indeed,
• Naukri.com,
• Monster.

These websites are well structured and have many offers, so finding the required specialists will not be difficult for English speakers.

Local Hiring Platforms for finding Indian Developers

There are also local platforms, where you can find developers of a wide variety of Tech Stacks and levels of experience:

• Truelancer,
• Touchtalent,
• WorknHire,
• FreelanceIndia.

Local Recruitment agencies

If you have no time or resources to look for a dedicated team directly, you have the option of enlisting the help of local recruiting agencies. They can significantly assist you in hiring Android developers in India or hiring web developers in India and help you source iOS, PHP, and WordPress developers.

The benefits are clear, Indian developers are often some of the most cost-effective available. But it’s also essential to consider the potential drawbacks of working with developers from the sub-continent so that you can begin your search with your eyes wide open.

The Best Development Companies in India

The main point in cooperation with top app developers in India is to find a reliable and professional partner. If you are set on outsourcing software development from India, here is a list of the top 9 best software development companies in India.

Appster

Appster presents itself as a leading IT company in India. Established in 2011, they made a significant contribution to the development of the industry and showed their customers an excellent level of Android and iOS software quality.

TechAhead

TechAhead deserved to join the top list of Indian app development companies because of their IT services’ perfection. Besides application design and development, they offer their customers consulting support. The company delivers both Android and iOS applications in the shortest period.

Algoworks

Algoworks company has offices in the USA and India. The company’s representatives provide surprising information: they have created more than 600+ applications for startups and over 500+ for companies all around the globe.

Sourcebits

Sourcebits development team is one of the well-established leaders in the Indian market. Since 2006, the company’s specialists have been creating great web and mobile applications. Agile methodic together with high skills and willingness to make innovations are fundamentals of Sourcebits’ success.   

Net Solutions

Building any product from scratch is a superpower of Net Solutions experts. Combining design thinking, data science, and programming skills made this company reach the top 10 app development companies in India. Net Solutions show expertise in creating app mockups and prototypes, building architectures and models, design, development, and business analysis, as well as QA.

AppInventiv

AppInventiv satisfies the high demands of enterprise companies and startups by providing a high level of services for more than four years. Their primary expertise is software apps development for Real Estate and Finance, Education, and Travel industries.

Octal Info Solution

This company designs and develops excellent mobile solutions for SMEs, Finance, Energy, eCommerce, etc. Cost-effectiveness and high quality are some of the most critical features of Octal Info Solution products.

QBurst

QBurst has more than 700 projects in its portfolio. The company specializes in both web and mobile development. Over 1100 employees take care of the perfection of software solutions and the company’s improvement.

Hidden Brains

Behind a funny, catchy name, there is hidden a powerful application creator. Just imagine – the company’s specialists realized more than 5000 products. And these products serve 31 industries. The company is influential in web apps development.

Why is YouTeam the Best Partner to Help You Hire Engineers?

In addition to the pre-vetting process, here are additional measures YouTeam puts in place as part of its platform model to make sure our clients work with the best engineers from top offshore software development companies:

• Our marketplace has access to 50,000 developers from Eastern Europe and Latina America. That allows you to hire top-tier engineers and dev teams quickly. 
• Verifying the skillsets of individual developers (even if the vendor is a trusted offshore software company)
• Setting up your project correctly from the outset
• Observing & maintaining project governance until the final release
• Appointing a dedicated manager who facilitates (at minimum) communication, legal and financial aspect of the project
• Providing secure payment services, taking an advance payment, and releasing it to the development house only after the work is accepted. 

For more information or to search for available software developers, we invite you to explore youteam.io

Offshore software development in India vs. Europe: FAQ