A complete guide to custom telecom software development

A quick glance into the telecommunications industry

The basics of the telecommunications industry

The telecommunication industry is what makes the global exchange of information possible in the 21st century. The most prominent businesses in this sector include cable, satellite companies, wireless operators, and internet service providers. It is with the help of these companies that data can be received and sent anywhere in video, audio, voice, or word format. Most of the other relevant sectors like e-commerce, blockchain, virtual call centers, and more rely on the development of telecom software for providing connectivity.

Impact of COVID-19 on the telecommunications industry

The coronavirus outbreak has affected the telecommunications industry quite heavily. As it has restricted movement, life at home has increased the use of data not only for leisurely social media activities but also for work. It has helped the majority of people to work from home with various instant messaging platforms, virtual meeting platforms as well as shared files platforms on smartphones, desktop, and more, thereby undergoing a digital transformation. People have been forced to switch to these digital solutions that are vastly run by the telecommunications industry. Many companies have been able to continue working even with the impact of the virus, which has increased the consumption in the telecommunication industry.

The telecommunication industry has improved consistently and the various unified communications trends that are being observed in the present and are to be seen in the future as well.

Trends in the telecom industry in 2020

The various trends that have been observed in the telecommunication industry are as follows:

5G Networks

The hype around 5G first started in the year 2018, and people were excited about its faster connectivity as well as better efficiency. It also provides virtualization as well as a better link to cloud technology. From case history alone, through the use of biometric virus predictors, artificial intelligence in health management can be improved with the help of 5G.

The evolution of loT

5G will have an invariable effect on artificial intelligence and IoT or the internet of things. It will be able to work with a very high speed without much latency. In countries that are initiating Smart City drives, energy-efficient architecture, and more, IoT is becoming more of a mainstream concept.

A better conceptualization of the cloud

The cloud is not new, but it has become more relevant now. Not only is it easy to access, but it has also become extremely cost-efficient. Hybrid cloud ecosystems can now merge public as well as private cloud services, making it even more relevant in today’s industry.

The emergence of new platforms

The pandemic itself has forced various existing companies to now come into the limelight. Those companies which were not known previously have now become extremely common such as Zoom, Slack, and more.

What businesses should keep in mind when planning growth in telecom?

The following are the things to be kept in mind for adopting growth in the telecom market:

• Data privacy and security: In this era of big data and chatbots, security and data privacy has become one of the most important priorities that must be adopted by telecommunication companies. One of the most recent studies by Deloitte shows that most people are afraid of financial loss, unauthorized access to sensitive data, and identity theft. Telecommunication companies should now focus on making the digital environment safer as 23% of US households were victims of cybercrime in 2018.
• The antitrust backlash against telecommunication companies: A number of antitrust investigations were launched by the Federal Trade Commission into the functioning of the various telecommunication companies.
• Increased scrutiny across the globe of telecommunication companies: The telecom management sector is likely to be under tremendous scrutiny regulating its moves and examining how they conduct business and handle consumer data.
• Expectations about the potential of 5G: As there exist heightened expectations about 5G and its abilities, telecommunication companies have to manage these expectations by first understanding and adopting the real value of 5G. Consumers are required to understand the various aspects before forming expectations.
• 5G adoption: There will be much activity on behalf of the regulatory authorities in 5G adoption. It is expected that regulatory bodies will provide infrastructure regulations and rules that are to be followed in the adoption process.

The benefits of custom telecom software development services

What is meant by custom development?

Custom software development is the process of designing, creating, deploying, and maintaining software for a specific set of users, functions, or organizations. In contrast to commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS), custom software development aims at a narrowly defined set of requirements. COTS targets a broad set of requirements, allowing it to be packaged and commercially marketed and distributed.

Off the shelf vs custom telecom software development

There is always a constant comparison between off the shelf and custom telecom software development. The custom telecom software solution is much more personalized and built upon the specific set of requirements by the customer. On the other hand, off the shelf telecom software is generally mass-produced and is not catered towards individual or business needs. Custom telecom software also charges more than off the shelf software but at the same time provides better mobile app development and product development.

Pros of custom telecom development services

The various advantages of using a custom service for software design are as follows:

• When you use custom software applications, it is expected that you will improve the bounce rate as well as conversions as it leads to the increase in user experience and customer loyalty, which in turn predicts less friction and more traffic.
• The software is also smoother running as it has undergone a software development process that is geared towards the needs of the particular client and the end-user.
• While an off the shelf software only has generic SEO features, one that is custom made for the telecom industry will have better search engine optimization.
• This software can be updated from time to time.
• Custom software can be fitted into its existing infrastructure without costing more.
• While custom software development comes handy for a web application, it might suffer from some disadvantages.
• Custom software has greater time to market and costs more than off the shelf software solutions, which are cheaper and hence more lucrative. However, on the whole, custom software caters to your business model in a more effective manner, whether it is a web app or a mobile app.

The benefits of outsourcing custom telecom software development

The reasons why outsourcing is an obvious choice are as follows:

• Cost efficiency: It is crucial for all organizations to be cost-efficient in order to thrive in the industry. With the help of offshore developers, you can save money that would otherwise have been spent on various overhead costs such as recruitment fees and insurance benefits. Given this, hiring offshore developers from countries like Latin America or India is almost three times cheaper than developers in the USA.
• Get access to global talent: By hiring offshore developers or a software development company, you enjoy greater access to talent from all over the world, adept in relevant programming languages, ERP system, ios, android, and more. Developers in offshore regions like Eastern Europe and Asia are extraordinarily skilled and excited about job opportunities.
• Save time by increasing productivity: Outsourcing software development not only helps to reduce cost but also streamlines and enhances the development process. When you have a dedicated team of developers who often work on a real-time basis, you will not need further skill enhancement, hence saving time that would otherwise have been spent on training exercises.
• Flexibility: It is quite a challenge to scale an in-house team. However, flexibility is essential, especially for telecom startups. With the help of an offshore team, you will be able to achieve this level of flexibility without any problem.
• Focus on business processes: With offshore teams, you save money that would otherwise have been spent on overhead costs. This money can preferably be used to fund essential business processes.

What is the cost of hiring telecom software developers in different countries?

Hiring a skilled programmer is not a cheap endeavor. For the telecom industry alone, the rate can vary from $75,000 to $95,000 per year in the United States of America. In the various Western European countries, the hourly rate of software engineers, according to Indeed.com, is $82 in France, $56 in Germany, and $71 in the United Kingdom.

These options are incredibly costly, which necessitates affordable options that you can check out with the destinations for outsourcing software development, according to Business Insider. These countries that offer offshore services include Taiwan, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines, to name a few. The hourly rates of these engineers are almost doubly lower in comparison to Western European countries. For example, in Ukraine, the average salary of a software developer is $37.

The average hourly rates for software development in different regions of the world are as follows:

Eastern Europe:

• Belarus: $28
• Croatia: $25
• Bulgaria: $34
• Hungary: $39
• Czech Republic: $34
• Poland: $40

Latin America:

• Bolivia: $30
• Chile: $50
• Costa Rica: $40
• Mexico: $55
• Peru: $35

Asia:

• Bangladesh: $25
• Malaysia: $30
• China: $25
• Philippines: $25
• Nepal: $25
• Sri Lanka: $25

Africa:

• Egypt: $20
• Morocco: $20
• Nigeria: $40
• Kenya: $20
• South Africa: $40

Tips to follow to source and hire a team of remote telecom software developers

• Plan your budget: Before you start finding offshore developers, it is essential for you to make a substantial budget. You should define your initial capital before moving forward with sourcing and hiring telecom programmers. Take out as much money as you need from the funds to hire offshore telecom software developers.
• Look for past work and reliability: Before you hire a company for product development; it is crucial for you to make sure that they will provide you with high-quality material. A simple Google search will enable you to understand their ranking on websites like Clutch. You can also contact previous clients to understand their experience and to find more information about the quality of the software development team in particular.
• Understand their workflow: Before you start working with a different company, you need to know how they communicate with the client and how project allocation takes place. It is vital to make sure that they are agile so that their workflow suits your needs.
• Reject fixed-price payments: When you accept a fixed price model of income, it automatically includes at least 25% off additional costs as risk coverage. It is important to stay away from such schemes.
• Get a useful project management tool: You must have some of the best collaboration tools in order to maintain communication with your offshore development team. Instead of sending emails, it is better to use modern means of communication and collaboration such as Jira, Slack, Zoom, and others.
• Be involved: Finally, you can never take a step back from the operations that are running in your telecom company when you outsource telecom software development services. It is important for you to be involved with the software development team throughout the process including software testing so that they provide you with the results that have a competitive advantage over the others in the industry.

Reasons for hiring dedicated telecom developers with YouTeam

If you want the best telecom software development talent that will help with application development and cater it to your business needs, you should consider hiring a team of developers from YouTeam. And here’s why:

• Get a broad selection of software developers: At YouTeam, you will find a giant pool of talent of both, front end as well as backend development teams to choose from. Moreover, you can source talent with extensive experience in particular industries and projects similar to yours, such as telecom software development.
• Every engineer is vetted: Every engineer and every DevOps team passes through a Vetting process where they are thoroughly screened for skills and quality of work. This leads to quality assurance.
  Ability to scale the team: With these offshore teams, you can make changes in the MVP stage without any additional hassle.
• No recruitment fees and other overhead costs: We only charge a commission from the development shops, so you do not need to bear any additional cost for using the platform.

Wrap Up

The significance of the telecommunications sector has become remarkably vivid after the outbreak of the coronavirus. With the various developments and changes taking place in the telecom industry itself, it has never been a better time for disrupting the telecom software development market, be it web development or the creation of a mobile application or a management system.

There are various advantages of hiring a telecom software development team from offshore destinations, like Ukraine, Vietnam, China, Argentina, and others. When you choose YouTeam to source a development partner, you can pick between cost-effective units that have undergone meticulous vetting and are excited about a new project in telecom.