Whether it’s due to limitations in your budget, or simply a desire to get more for your money, you’ve decided to go with offshore software development. The further you get into your search for the right offshore web development company, however, the more you’ve realized just how many different types of offshore teams are out there.

For example, what is offshore outsourcing vs. outsourcing?

While such terms are very similar, and could easily be mistaken for meaning the same thing, there are subtle differences. Offshore outsourcing software development, as opposed to simply outsourcing it, can provide you (the client) with two very different experiences.

So you better understand what experience you’re buying into with your offshore development team of choice, let’s discuss the differences between offshore outsourcing vs. outsourcing. We’ll also address some of the benefits of working with our offshore team type of choice.

Defining Outsourcing vs. Offshore Outsourcing

Before we dive into the definition of offshore outsourcing, let’s establish a clear understanding of both outsourcing and offshoring. You’ve probably heard the terms ‘outsourcing’ and ‘offshoring’ used interchangeably; in fact, we often use them interchangeably here at ClikGlobal.

Outsourcing is “to obtain goods or services from an outside source” (Dictionary.com). In other words, outsourcing simply means having a third-party company complete the work for a company. For example, a software development company may outsource development services from another company in the same city to supplement their existing team.

In contrast to outsourcing, offshoring is “the practice of moving employees or certain business activities to foreign countries as a way to lower costs, avoid taxes, etc.” (Dictionary.com). In this way, offshoring always occurs outside of the country a company is based in. That being said, with offshoring, the company retains control of the overseas operations.

With these definitions in mind, we can bring the two together to understand offshore outsourcing. While there is no formal definition for this term, it could be described as follows: when a company acquires services or goods from talent located in a foreign country, typically overseas, but retains control over the talent providing those services or goods.

What are the Advantages of Offshore Outsourcing?

To paint an even clearer picture of offshore outsourcing, we’ll use our team as an example: ClikGlobal is an offshore outsourcing software development company. Our in-house team of software developers and project managers partners with an overseas team of software developers from PomTech ICT Solutions.

Through our global partnership, we’ve been able to benefit all parties involved, from our onshore and offshore team members to you. To provide a clearer illustration of why this business model is so effective, here are some of the benefits it can provide.

BENEFITS OF OFFSHORE OUTSOURCING FOR YOU

The clearest benefits of offshore outsourcing are the benefits you could receive. No two offshore outsourcing software development team is the same—as such, we’ll use the benefits our team offers to show what you could receive from a team like ours.

• Affordable rates – With overseas software developers taking on most of the work, you can receive custom software development services, such as WordPress development or mobile app development, for a cost much lower than onshore-only teams.

• U.S. management & processes – Because our company is based out of Colorado Springs, Colorado, the ideology behind our operations is U.S.-based. Likewise, our project managers are based here in the U.S., providing you with quality project management.

• Quality custom software development – In many cases, affordable custom software development seems too good to be true—and it often is. With our team, however, our U.S. software developers help to ensure that you can receive development that both fits within your budget and meets our high standards.

BENEFITS OF OFFSHORE OUTSOURCING FOR OUR PARTNERS

Many offshore software developers are located in developing countries, such as India or Argentina. While there are many people interested in tech in such places, there are few opportunities available to pursue it. In this way, by working with an offshore outsourcing team, you are able to help others, and here are a few examples of how.

• Sustainable economic development – Many developing countries struggle to grow and improve because of their inability to achieve sustainable development, often due to lack of financial resources, political turmoil and war, or natural disasters. Through your partnership, however, you contribute to sustainable development.

• Employ tech-driven men & women – You may be surprised to learn that there are a significant number of people in developing countries that have four-year degrees or specialized training in tech. That said, their location often limits their ability to pursue those fields. By hiring a team that works with offshore software developers, you provide the opportunity for these educated people to work in their field of choice.

• World-class technical training – Finally, the education system in developing countries is not as robust as ours here in the U.S. With this, these individuals may struggle to provide quality services to their clients here in the U.S., limiting their capacity to grow and succeed.

Blended teams, like ours, work with our offshore software developers to grow their skill set and improve as developers. For our team, in particular, our U.S. senior developers provide training opportunities, so that our offshore developers can continue to develop their skills.