In 2018, the global spending on IT rose to 987 billion U.S. dollars. By the end of 2019, that number is expected to rise to a whopping 1,034 billion U.S. dollars. As spending in IT continues to rise, it should come as no surprise that the need for talent in the industry is rising as well.

With a high demand for IT talent, and little IT talent available, offshore software development teams have become a critical resource. While outsourcing software development is nothing new, changes in how offshore teams operate, along with new digital trends, will likely push many businesses toward hiring overseas software engineers.

So, in terms of offshore software development, what exciting changes should we expect to see in 2019? What will offshore teams have to offer? Here are just 5 ways that offshore teams will change and flourish in the coming year.

A shift from ‘low cost’ to ‘quality service.’

Over the past decade, many U.S. businesses made the shift to outsourcing because of the Great Recession. The Great Recession resulted in budgets cuts, and outsourcing was a great way to cut labor costs. In fact, 57% of companies in the U.S. increased their use of outsourcing, and as 2017, 43% of the existing IT services in the U.S. were outsourced.

Since then, however, the U.S. economy has seen much improvement. In December 2018, a healthy number of jobs (312k) were available in the U.S., and the GDP saw a 3.4% increase this last quarter. As such, saving money has taken the backseat, bringing quality forward as the utmost concern.

While businesses will still hope to save money by hiring offshore software developers, they’ll also expect a quality product from their investment. This shift in priorities, nevertheless, is pushing offshore software development teams to work harder to offer higher quality services.

A better customer-supplier relationship.

Businesses’ changing expectations will likely result in a secondary shift over the coming year: better customer-supplier relationships. With both eyes on producing a quality product, businesses and offshore agencies may move toward a more partnership-based relationship.

In fact, customer-supplier relationships in outsourcing have already improved. According to Deloitte’s 2016 Global Survey, 78% of businesses worldwide had a positive relationship with their outsourcing company. And of those companies, 72% were outsourcing IT talent.

With an increase in positive attitudes towards offshore teams, customer and supplier relationships will continue to grow and improve. In this way, the relationships between businesses and offshore software development teams should become more personal and produce better results.

The answer to talent shortages.

In 2018, LinkedIn found that software development had the greatest shortage of talent in the U.S. As of last April, the field had over 850,000 jobs openings, indicating a significant need for human capital in the industry.

In this way, while many businesses have in-house IT teams, not enough talent may be available for them to hire an entirely in-house team that meets their needs. As a result, many businesses may need to go elsewhere to find talent to fill in the gaps, which could mean hiring an offshore team.

Businesses looking to fill in these gaps will likely need quality services to match that of their in-house teams. In addition, to make up for the lack of human capital, there’s also a strong likelihood that they will need teams that can offer both a broad range of skills and a long-term partnership.

In addition to providing higher quality services, offshore teams that provide a wide range of skill will likely be the next best bet for organizations without the resources to hire more talent in-house.

The go-to option for going mobile.

From 2017 to 2018, mobile app downloads worldwide increased from 178.1 to 205.4 billion, a number only expected to rise. Moreover, almost half (48%) of global Internet traffic was mobile last year, implying that the use of mobile devices in only expected to increase in the years to come.

That being said, more and more businesses will be pushed towards seeking software solutions that accommodate mobile devices. Nevertheless, mobile app development can be costly, especially if one seeks the help of a U.S. developer.

To make the shift toward mobile as quickly as possible, many organizations may opt to hire an offshore software development company. Not only will organizations save money, but as noted, they may build a partnership that could last into the years to come.

Continued outsourcing of Progressive Web Apps.

In addition to a continued movement toward mobile, 2019 has already being touted as the year for progressive web apps (PWAs). PWAs can be defined as apps that offer the blended experience of a website and a mobile app, or a great compromise for those not ready to go mobile.

With PWA support with Google Chrome 70 on Windows, there has been a strong shift towards this app type. Not only are many Fortune 500 companies making the change to PWAs, but many healthcare, banking, and ecommerce organizations are following in suit.

From businesses looking to stay on trend, or simply find a mobile-friendly solution that costs less than a mobile app, offshore teams will likely be the most cost effective route to building PWAs.

IS OFFSHORE DEVELOPMENT THE ONLY OPTION?

While offshore software development teams will likely play a more pivotal role in 2019, you may be wondering if hiring an outsourced team is really a good idea.

Despite all of the aforementioned benefits of outsourcing software development, there are several potential downsides. From communication barriers to concerns about quality, hiring an entirely outsourced team may not be worth it.