As cloud technology becomes essential for modern businesses, two primary approaches for developing applications stand out: cloud-native and cloud-based. While these terms are frequently used interchangeably, they signify different strategies with their own architectures, benefits, and use cases. This article explores the key differences between cloud-native and cloud-based applications, providing real-life examples, examining their core principles, and highlighting the advantages of each to assist businesses in selecting the most suitable approach.

Defining Cloud-Native and Cloud-Based Applications:

Cloud-native applications

Cloud-native applications are specifically crafted and optimized for the cloud environment. Designed to take full advantage of cloud services and capabilities, these applications are built using microservices, containerized, and often managed with Kubernetes or other container orchestration tools. This design enables enhanced flexibility, scalability, and resilience, making cloud-native applications particularly well-suited for dynamic and highly distributed systems.

Cloud-Based Applications

On the other hand, cloud-based applications are traditional software applications that have been migrated to a cloud infrastructure. Although they may be hosted in the cloud, they are not necessarily built to fully leverage cloud-native capabilities. Cloud-based applications typically function in a virtualized environment but do not possess the granularity of microservices or container-based architectures. They often depend on Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) rather than Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) models. 
 

Key Differences Between Cloud-Native and Cloud-Based Applications 

Feature	Cloud-Native Applications	Cloud-Based Applications
Architecture	Microservices-based, containerized, serverless	Monolithic or traditional three-tier architecture
Deployment	Designed for the cloud, often utilizing PaaS or SaaS	Hosted on IaaS cloud infrastructure
Scalability	Highly scalable with on-demand resource allocation	Limited scalability, may require VM scaling
Flexibility	Modular, allowing independent service updates	Less flexible, often requires entire application update
Management	Managed through DevOps, CI/CD, and automated pipelines	Managed similarly to on-premises applications
Cost Efficiency	Pay-per-use with dynamic scaling and optimization	Higher costs if resources are not scaled efficiently
Latency	Often lower latency with localized, region-based instances	Latency depends on data center location and virtualized resources

Example Applications

Cloud-Native Example: Netflix 

Netflix serves as a prime example of a cloud-native application, utilizing a microservices architecture within a containerized environment. With millions of users accessing the platform at the same time, Netflix takes advantage of its cloud-native design for enhanced scalability and reliability. Each microservice—like recommendation engines, user profiles, and content streaming—is developed and deployed independently, enabling Netflix to update or scale specific parts of its system without impacting the entire platform.  

Cloud-Based Example: Dropbox

Dropbox started as a cloud-based application, functioning primarily as a traditional file storage system hosted on cloud servers. It utilizes cloud infrastructure to store files and provide access from anywhere. However, it does not employ a microservices architecture; instead, it relies on scalable virtualized storage to meet user demand. Over the years, Dropbox has integrated some cloud-native features, but its core remains more aligned with a cloud-based system.  

How Both Work 

Cloud-Native Applications 

Cloud-native applications are generally divided into microservices, each serving a specific business function. These microservices are containerized (for instance, using Docker) and operate in isolated environments. Orchestration platforms like Kubernetes automate the deployment, scaling, and management of these services. Cloud-native applications often adopt DevOps practices, facilitating continuous delivery (CD) and integration (CI). This approach allows teams to quickly deploy new features, address issues in real-time, and ensure high availability.

Cloud-Based Applications 

In contrast, cloud-based applications function as complete entities running on cloud-hosted virtual machines. Rather than being segmented into microservices, they typically adhere to traditional monolithic or three-tier architectures. Updates are applied to the entire application, which can lead to increased downtime and complicate continuous deployment. While they can scale, the process usually involves adding virtual resources.

Real-Life Applications and Use Cases  

1. E-commerce Platforms

E-commerce platforms such as Amazon benefit from a cloud-native architecture that allows for dynamic scaling in response to user demand, particularly during busy shopping seasons. Additionally, cloud-native applications enhance personalized customer experiences and facilitate real-time analytics.  

2. Banking and Financial Services

While traditional banks transitioning to the cloud may opt for a cloud-based approach to mirror their on-premises systems, digital banks and fintech companies like Nubank typically prefer cloud-native designs. This preference enables them to provide customers with real-time transactions, insights, and tailored service options.

3. Healthcare Systems

In the realm of telemedicine and digital health platforms, a cloud-native design ensures quick response times and secure data management. Conversely, cloud-based applications are more suitable for storing and accessing large volumes of records within traditional healthcare networks.

Advantages of Cloud-Native Applications

1. Scalability and Flexibility

Thanks to a microservices architecture, cloud-native applications can scale individual services according to demand. This level of granularity promotes efficient resource utilization and allows for swift adjustments.

2. Resilience and Fault Tolerance  

Because microservices operate independently, a failure in one service does not necessarily affect the others. Cloud-native applications are built to recover quickly and adapt in the event of an outage.

3. Agility and Speed

CI/CD pipelines and containerization enable development teams to roll out updates and new features without experiencing downtime, making cloud-native applications particularly well-suited for companies that need to innovate quickly. 

Advantages of Cloud-Based Applications  

• Cost-Effective Migration
  Moving existing applications to cloud infrastructure typically demands fewer resources than completely redesigning the system. This makes it a practical option for companies looking to transition to the cloud without extensive re-architecture.
• Familiar Architecture
  Cloud-based applications maintain their traditional structure, which can help reduce the learning curve for teams already accustomed to managing on-premises applications.
• Flexibility for Gradual Modernization
  A cloud-based approach allows companies to gradually incorporate cloud-native features, such as adding containers or adopting DevOps practices, without the need for a full cloud-native transformation.

Which Approach to Choose?

Deciding between cloud-native and cloud-based applications largely hinges on a company’s specific needs, goals, and resources:

When to Choose Cloud-Native: If your business demands quick feature releases, scalability, and high availability, cloud-native applications are an excellent choice. Companies focused on long-term innovation, particularly in digital services and SaaS, will find significant advantages in a cloud-native strategy.

When to Choose Cloud-Based: For businesses making the shift to the cloud but not yet ready for a complete overhaul, cloud-based applications offer a solid compromise. They provide the benefits of cloud hosting without necessitating a full redesign, making them suitable for organizations that need to migrate legacy systems with minimal disruption.

Conclusion

In conclusion, cloud-native and cloud-based applications serve different purposes and provide various benefits. Cloud-native applications are designed for innovation, flexibility, and scalability, while cloud-based applications offer a cost-effective method for migrating and modernizing traditional systems. As cloud technology continues to advance, understanding the fundamental differences and use cases of each approach will empower businesses to make informed decisions that align with their unique needs.

Introduction

The introduction of cutting-edge technology drastically changed almost every sector, and real estate is no exception. In fact, it promises to revolutionize how business is conducted for all time. 

What does technology imply for real estate’s future? The industry will evolve as a result of technological advancements, improving customer experiences. Roles,  risks, and profits in the business will undoubtedly shift due to these changes.

Is there any difficulty calculating the exact price of your property? Do you face difficulty in predicting the future price of your property? Still, searching for an application for real estate business? If you are facing such issues, then we are here to get your problem solved.

We want to talk in-depth about a few technologies that are important to your business.

Leading Real Estate Trends

By implementing changes in your real estate business, you can increase transparency while decreasing your workload. We want to offer new solutions to your business at this point by the word technology.

1. How can I identify the optimal price?

Are you sure that the price you have set for your house is the suitable one—neither lower nor higher? Or are you still having trouble deciding on a price?

We cannot deny the fact that the struggle to decide on a price for our property is a serious one. Pricing for real estate, particularly when it is first introduced to the market, either makes or breaks your success. 

Many of the issues and uncertainties we have when selling a property are caused by a lack of control or knowledge of the processes involved in it. You might need to employ different insights to examine market conditions, buyer profiles, and other data sets to accurately forecast property values. We assist you in learning about the present market worth and in making value projections for the future. We help you to fix the best value for your property by considering all the necessary factors. 

Technology-enabled services appear to be a wise choice going ahead.

2. An application for your convenience

Are prop-tech’s benefits to real estate? Absolutely. We help you to research, sell and manage the property.

Do you have plans to make any new modifications to your business through the use of a new application? Are you looking for the right partners or development team to launch your new app? If so, we are ready to help.

According to a research report by Future Market Insights, the PropTech industry will expand 16.8% over the course of ten years, from 2022 to 2032, and will reach US$ 86.5 billion in 2032, up from US$ 18.2 billion in 2022.

The fundamental concept of purchasing, renting, and selling homes has transformed as a result of real estate technology, or prop-tech. Today’s purchasers use their computers and mobile devices to find competitive prices on the homes of their dreams.

3. AI & ML 

First, you should think of technology as an investment rather than an expense. Does it result in a profitable ROI? Well, the answer depends on the technology that you choose.

Yet if you’re asking yourself which technology you should invest your money in, the answer may be AI and ML.

You must include machine learning and artificial intelligence in your database to maintain the integrity of your customer base information. These developments also help you to get information on debt levels, property valuations, etc. It aids in the analysis of real estate transactions, tax evaluations, public records, and other property characteristics like location. In the program itself, a user may find anything in the blink of an eye.

As we all know, without being particularly programmed to do so, machine learning relies on observing data sets and discovering patterns to make accurate conclusions. A significant development in AI technology is the capacity of systems to automatically learn from the data presented and use that learning to guide future decision-making.

As a result, we assist in making property price predictions faster and more precisely than previous approaches by using the expanding amount of data and machine learning algorithms. By applying ML to your business, you can automate the pricing process, and more data may be considered while requiring less time and fewer human mistakes. Yet, we have the authority to take more characteristics and unconventional data into account.

We need to know about one more advantage of AI is that it helps you to connect with the most qualified customers. Nothing is more annoying for your business than irrelevant web visitors who merely drop by, look at properties, and then go, never to come again. Although it’s common for people to visit real estate websites for recreational activity, it’s wise not to see these clients as possible leads. 

By sorting through all visitors to identify genuine customers, AI technology saves you time. By enabling you to connect with the most qualified potential clients, Natural Language Processing Technology excels in real estate trends.

Conclusion

You need to actually take digital marketing seriously if you want to surpass your competitors since it is essential for establishing your own brand and increasing visibility.

The level of technology used in the real estate industry is growing daily, and the sector as a whole is expanding quickly. Whether you’re considering developing or upgrading a real estate application, or in need of any technological advancement now is the moment for you. We as a software development company are glad to assist you!

In today’s fast-paced world, businesses need to continuously innovate to meet the ever changing customer expectations. Traditional software development models like waterfall are now a history. And companies have switched to agile software development models that favor adaption. Frequent and faster delivery of high-quality software systems requires a smooth collaboration between the development and operations teams. This is why devops has emerged as one of the biggest game changers in recent years.

In this article, we’ll be discussing the best practices and tools that enable a successful DevOps implementation.

Overview

• What is DevOps?
• The DevOps Cycle
• Benefits of testing in a DevOps environment
• DevOps Testing Best Practices

What is DevOps?

The word DevOps stems from a combination of the two words, development and operations. The goal of DevOps is to shorten the development life cycle and allow frequent updates to the software. DevOps tools, technologies and best practices are the bridge between the developers and operation teams to pull off successful software development and delivery at a fast pace. Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) are two DevOps strategies that support rapid software releases.

DevOps has a lot of benefits in principle, but in fact, some people aren’t getting the results they want. Poor devops implementation and a lack of best practices can actually slow down the software delivery lifecycle.

Traditionally, software testing was done manually. The testing phase began only after the entire software module was completed. The entire process was time-consuming and error-prone. The software testers worked in silos, and had less interaction with the development team. Overall, it was time-consuming and expensive to go back and fix any bugs discovered during the testing stage.

Traditional testing methodologies are hardly used these days and are only suitable for projects where the requirements are fixed and precise. The advent of modern agile testing practices and devops, allows both the developers and testing teams to work collaboratively.

The DevOps Cycle

The DevOps lifecycle can be broadly classified into seven stages: continuous development, continuous integration, continuous testing, continuous deployment, and continuous monitoring.

Continuous Development

This is the stage where developers plan and code the functionalities. The designers and UI developers start building up the user interface at this phase. Rather than looking at the program process as a whole chunk, development tasks are broken into smaller chunks and done piece by piece. DevOps tools are not required for the planning phase but version control tools are used for maintaining the code (aka source code management). Popular tools used at this stage are Git, SVN, Mercurial and JIRA. Some tools like Ant, Maven, Gradle can also be used at this phase for packaging the code into an executable file.

Continuous Integration

At this phase, the developers commit changes to the source code more frequently (daily or weekly basis). Every commit is then built and code review is done and tests are performed. New code is continuously integrated with the existing code. Jenkins is a popular tool used at this phase. When developers commit a code to the central repository, Jenkins fetches the updated code and prepares a build and forwards it to the test server or the production server.

Continuous Testing

In this stage, the program is tested for bugs using automation testing tools like Selenium, TestNG, JUnit. Quality Analysts test multiple code-bases in parallel at this phase. This entire testing phase is automated with continuous integration tools like Jenkins. Docker Containers are normally used for simulating the test environment and Selenium is used for automation testing. The reports are usually generated by TestNG. Automation testing saves time and effort and you can also schedule the execution of the test cases.

Continuous Deployment

After testing, the code is deployed to the production servers at this stage. Configuration management tools such as Puppet, Chef, SaltStack, and Ansible  and containerization tools such as Docker and Vagrant are used for deploying new code on a continuous basis. At this stage, these tools are also used to ensure consistency across all environments – development, test, staging and production environments.

Continuous Monitoring

Continuously monitoring the performance of an application is crucial. Security issues, system errors, and server issues can hamper the availability of services. Continuous monitoring tools such as Splunk, ELK Stack, Nagios, NewRelic and Sensu detect unusual behavior of the system and can check the overall health of the application.

Continuous Operations

Continuous Operations reduces planned downtime. Code changes and even hardware upgrades are performed in a non-disruptive manner to the end users. When a server is taken offline for planned maintenance, customers can still use the previous versions of the application and be switched to the newer version once it has been deployed.

Continuous Feedback

It is important to evaluate the feedback of each release. By evaluating the user experience in each release, the DevOps team can improve future releases. This feedback can be gathered through surveys and focus groups. Some key parameters to watch out for include the mean time to resolution (MTTR) and dev, fix and full cycle time. With continuous feedback, teams can improve the outcomes.

Benefits of testing in a DevOps environment

Testing in a DevOps environment more agile. Some of the obvious benefits are:

• Testing process is continuous and automated. 
• It enables faster delivery of software.
• Every step of the SDLC is tested. This minimizes bugs and allows easy backtracking in the case of bugs.
• Testing is a shared responsibility. From the QA to the operations team and stakeholders everyone collaborates and contributes to the testing.

While DevOps facilitates better testing, the success or failure of a test strategy depends on how well DevOps testing best practices are implemented by the organization. In the next section, we will go through some best practices for testing in a DevOps environment.

DevOps Testing Best Practices

Early Tests Automation

In a DevOps environment, testing is possible at an early stage. After developers commit the code to the central repository, the code is continuously integrated in the server. Tests such as unit tests, functional tests, acceptance tests and integration tests can be automated at this stage. In the later stage of SDLC, API tests, performance tests, load tests and endurance tests can be automated. Some tests are more effective and less time consuming when performed manually. Trained automation test engineers can identify test cases that are good candidates for automation. By utilizing test automation intelligently, you can save time and identify more bugs.

Choose the Right Tools

There are plenty of test automation tools available but many of these tools require a decent level of programming skills. The first thing you need to evaluate when choosing a tool is if your team has the required skills and expertise. The other things you need to consider are the cost of the tool, training costs, updates, and maintenance. Here is a list of the most popular test automation tools:

• Selenium is an open-source framework that provides a suite of software for different testing needs. It is mostly used for automating web application testing. The automation scripts can be written in multiple programming languages in Selenium.
• Katalon Studio, is used for automated web, API, desktop, and mobile testing. The tool comes in paid as well as free versions.
• JMeter is a Java-based open-source software that is used for performance and load testing.
• SoapUI is an open-source, cross-platform automation tool that allows you to test REST, SOAP, and GraphQL APIs.

Use Metrics to Evaluate Performance

Getting a clear picture of the test results will help you understand the areas of improvement. Tracking key metrics such as the number of passed and failed test cases, number of bugs identified and test automation time is very important. It allows teams to foresee potential issues in future and innovate solutions to overcome failures. Test execution metrics help in planning the release timeline effectively.

Maintain proper documentation

While this one is obvious, many organizations end up neglecting it. Maintaining proper documentation is important for arriving at process improvements and creating transparency in the organization.  Using consistent document formats or templates preserve the document quality. Some testing-related documents to create are:

• Quality Management Plans (QMP)
• Test summary reports
• Test case specifications
• Risk assessment reports
• Regression test reports

Final Thoughts

DevOps is the ideal solution to become competitive in this demanding market. The core focus of CI and CD pipelines is to deliver frequent, high-quality software. The success of continuous testing is greatly impacted by the best practices you adopt in DevOps culture.  SolutionChamps Technologies is a leading DevOps Consulting Service Provider in India. We help clients to smoothly transition into modern DevOps operations.

Web3, NFTs and Metaverse are making waves in technology circles. You may have noticed that not a day goes by without the terms NFT, Web3 and Metaverse appearing in your social feeds. While Mark Zukerberg’s Metaverse is a pretty straightforward concept for anyone to understand, the other terms are completely new concepts that can leave heads spinning. In this article, let us demystify NFT and its significance in web3.

Overview

• What is NFT?
• How Does NFT Work?
• NFT Features
• NFT Use Cases
• Why Are NFTs Gaining Popularity?
• Significance of NFT in Web3 and Metaverse

What is NFT?

NFT stands for a non-fungible token. NFTs are unique and noninterchangeable tokens that cannot be forged or otherwise manipulated. NFTs work on blockchain technology and are used to digitally certify the proof of ownership of an item.

Fungible vs Non-Fungible Assets

To understand the term NFT better, let us first clear the air on what are fungible and non fungible assets in both the real world and in blockchain. Fungibility denotes an asset’s ability to be interchanged for something of equal value. For example, in the real world money is a commodity with fungible property. You can exchange currency to different denominations without losing the actual value. Similarly in the digital world, cryptocurrency is an example of a fungible commodity. A non-fungible asset has unique properties and can’t be replaced with something else. For example a diamond is a non-fungible asset because each diamond has unique properties such as cut, color, size; they cannot be interchanged fairly. In the digital world, digital art collections, collectibles, music, games, virtual real estates are examples of non-fungible assets.

How Does NFT Work?

As discussed in the previous section, NFTs exist in the blockchain ecosystem. Technically, NFTs are not created but minted. Minting an NFT is the process of converting a digital file into a blockchain-based NFT. Essentially, an artist or a digital creator, sets up a crypto wallet and connects to an NFT Marketplace. Some popular NFT marketplaces are:  OpenSea, Foundation, Rarible.

The creator uploads a digital file and gives the NFT a name.The creator of a non-fungible digital asset is recorded on the blockchain public ledger. The record in the ledger allows the creator to set a fee (or royalty) for the digital asset and earn a passive income every time the asset is sold. NFT royalty payments are automatically executed by smart contracts.  The decentralized ledger makes it possible to trace the ownership and transaction history of each NFT. The majority of NFTs reside on the Ethereum blockchain due to its popularity. The value of the asset is primarily set by market demand.

NFT Features

The following are some of the salient features of non-fungible tokens:

• Uniqueness –  Each NFT has a unique attribute that is recorded in the token’s metadata. The token makes each NFTs unique and no two NFTs are alike.
• Scarcity – NFT creators decide on the scarcity of their asset. This feature is useful when selling digital tickets of any kind. 
• Indivisible – NFTs cannot be split into smaller denominations or owned by multiple creators. The asset ownership is guaranteed by the tokens.
• Forgery proof– Although the assets can be easily transferred, it cannot be tampered due to the digital signature.

NFT Use Cases

Gaming

Many gaming systems already support virtual currencies like bitcoin. Players can now trade in-game collectibles using NFTs. You could buy NFT items for your character and sell the items once you are done to reimburse your currency.

Digital Real Estates

From celebrities to tech enthusiasts, the digital real estate market is booming. NFTs can be deployed for house plans, themes, domains and other real estate factors. Decentralland allows players to purchase and develop and trade spaces in the virtual world. NFTs can be used to trace back an item to the original creator.

Digital Collectibles

Because the authenticity and ownership of a collectible can be verified in NFT is why the technology is so popular. With NFT, artists can be sure that their artwork is not tampered, pirated or inappropriately used while also earning royalty.

Identification and Certification

The properties of NFTs are great for issuing certificates, licenses and other identifications. The certificates can be issued through the blockchain as an NFT to allow traceability back to the source. Smart contracts are already being deployed in various industries and NFT makes them more authentic.

NFT Domain Names

NFT domains are public blockchain-based domains that provide users entire control of their stored data. They can be used to replace wallet addresses with easy to remember domain names and also for hosting websites on web3.

Why Are NFTs Gaining Popularity?

Although NFTs have been around since 2015, they have gained popularity only in recent times. Since the pandemic, there has been a wider acceptance of cryptocurrencies and blockchain frameworks in the mainstream. NFT is a big boon for content creators to copyright their work and secure their work from copyright infringements. Many early adopters also feel that NFTs can be used in the mainstream to protect documents such as deeds and medical records.

Significance of NFT in Web3 and Metaverse

As web3 and metaverse projects are gaining traction, NFT is seen as a one of a kind solution to maintain uniqueness and ownership of objects in web3 and metaverse. From NFT web3 domains that don’t expire to allowing people to purchase real estate in the metaverse and trading collectables, NFTs are here to stay in the Web3 and Metaverse era.

Looking to leverage NFT and blockchain solutions, get in touch with us for future ready solutions.

It’s been nearly 2 years since the global pandemic hit us hard. From lost lives, social distancing and lockdowns to economic disruptions, the pandemic wreaked havoc, sending shock waves, one after the other. 

Businesses and households suffered in more ways than one. While some businesses had to close doors permanently, the ones that survived experienced financial strains like never before.

But now, it’s time to bounce back.

While the tremors of the pandemic are still prevalent, it is time now to rebuild and elevate your business to the next level with bolder, smarter moves. This means reevaluating your business model and embracing digital transformation as the way forward. But digital transformation can be difficult, costly and time consuming when done in-house. You can mitigate this drawback by outsourcing. To be more specific, by offshoring software development.   

In this article, we’ll be discussing exactly what outsourcing software development is, the outsourcing types, outsourcing software development pros and cons and the best strategies to take when outsourcing in a post-pandemic world.

Let’s dive in.

Overview

• What Exactly is Software Development Outsourcing?
• Software Development Outsourcing Types
• Benefits of Offshoring Software Development in Post-Pandemic Era
• Offshore Software Development Working Models
• Pitfalls to Avoid When Offshoring Software Development Services
• How to choose an offshore software development company?
• Conclusion

What Exactly is Software Development Outsourcing?

Outsourcing is when you delegate areas of your business operations to an expert third party. In the case of software development and other IT services, software development outsourcing is teaming up with a technology partner  to get the job done faster. 

For example, let’s say you are a marketing agency and you need to launch a mobile application to sell a service, you would need to hire software developers,designer, backend developer, quality analyst and so on to build the application. You may already have in-house design experts but you still need to find developers, QA to have it built in-house, this is where outsourcing comes in. 

Software Development Outsourcing Types 

Software development outsourcing, when done strategically, can save you a huge chunk of money.

Onshore Outsourcing

Onshore outsourcing involves hiring a third party within your country or your region to handle a project or lend a hand to an in-house team. Essentially, you are hiring a team that is culturally similar to your in-house team, can speak the same language as you and work on your time-zone on an as-needed basis. The drawback is that you won’t be saving money as the rates of your potential partner will be industry standards as per your region.

Nearshore Outsourcing

Nearshoring involves teaming up a third-party provider who is located in a nearby country. Outsourcing nearshore means little to no time-zone difference, shorter travel time and lower rates than your country. While there is little benefit to nearshoring, you could still end up buying a considerable amount for the convenience of shorter travel time.

Offshore Outsourcing

Offshore outsourcing means signing a contract with a development team that is located in a different continent. The benefits are you save a lot of money, in some cases you can cut your development budget by half through offshoring. The drawbacks are culture and time-zone difference and longer travel time (in case you need to directly visit the team). But with speedy internet services, instant communication channels, collaboration tools the benefits of offshoring outweighs the drawback.

Hybrid Outsourcing or Multisourcing

Hybrid outsourcing or multi-sourcing is the best approach for large corporations. This model is when you enter into contracts with multiple vendors from the same or different location for multiple projects. The goal here is to diversify risks, innovate faster and source the best talent at optimal labor costs. The major drawback of this model is coordinating with multiple suppliers.

Benefits of Offshoring Software Development in Post-Pandemic Era

Cut development Costs

Globally, the economic setback caused by the pandemic is huge. Whether you are a startup or a well-established business, the best strategy in this economy is to tighten the strings wherever possible without compromising on quality. Offshoring software development does exactly that. Through offshoring, you will be able to hire software developers for a low-cost. An overseas technology partner gives you a huge competitive advantage. A reduced development budget means more money to invest in marketing, innovation and more.

Access to a huge talent pool

Sometimes it may not be easy to find the right talent in your geographic location for various reasons. Your geographical location may limit you in finding a specialized talent or they may simply be too costly in your region. Offshoring software development allows you to broaden your search to a global pool of talent. Ukraine,India, Bulgaria, Philippines, China, South Africa are some countries where you can find an impressive pool of software developers with specialized skills. 

Easy Onboarding

Hiring and onboarding techies in-house can be very hard. It takes a lot of time and effort to assess developers, hire and train them. This can take a lot of time and effort which you would rather be using to focus on your business operations. Partnering with an offshore outsource team is a simple process. All you have to do is shortlist a few offshoring partners, have a few conversations to gauge the team’s capacity, share your values and project needs, sign the contract to get the ball rolling. In most cases, you can even have the team work on your problems from the same day. Looking for an expert tech team for your next project? Contact us now to get a competitive quote.

On-Demand Scalability 

With offshore software outsourcing, you literally pay as you go. Depending on the stage of your product creation, you normally require different types of resources. Instead of being tied-down to a resource whether they have work or don’t, you get to onboard resources as per your needs and the stage of your project. This flexibility is a huge reason to outsource, you can meet tight deadlines and demand spikes in a short span. 

Offshore Software Development Working Models

Offshore software development services are offered in different working styles. The working models are: 

Relationship-Based Working Models

The relationship-based outsourcing models focus on the ownership and responsibilities. 

• Staff Augmentation Model – Staff augmentation is when you lease the outsourced team to work in collaboration with your in-house employees. The staff are under your full control for the entire project timeline. Essentially you still remain in complete ownership of the project from start to finish.
• Project-Based Model – In a project-based model you leave the entire responsibility to your outsourcing provider. All you need to do is have a brief about your project requirements and it is up to the outsourced provider to complete your development project as per the contract.
• Offshore Development Center (dedicated team) – This model is best-suited for long-term projects who want to reduce development costs while maintaining high-standards of quality. Here, you enter into a long-term partnership with the offshore team and you always have a dedicated team of skilled resources at your disposal.

Cost-Based Working Models

With cost-based working models, you get the maximum benefit out of offshoring. Cost-based working models can be further categorized as below:

• Fixed Price (FP) Model – In this model a standard rate is proposed for the entire project including workspace and tools charges. The outsourced team needs to complete the project to receive a payment. Usually part payments are done as several milestones are reached. 

• Time and Materials Model – The T & M model is a widely used outsourcing model. Here, you invite bids for your project, the interested outsourcing companies, bid on the project by sending a proposal for your requirements. 
• Incentive-Based Model – Incentive model is when an outsourced company is awarded more than the agreed-upon rates for exceptional work. This is usually adopted in long-term projects to motivate the team and boost morale when the outsourcing team accomplishes the goals as per the contract. 
• Shared Risk-Reward Model – This model is similar to the incentive-based model, the only catch is that the outsourced company is entitled to a bonus only when a set of milestones are met within the deadline. The idea behind this model is to encourage the outsourced company to formulate strategies on completing the targets on time by sharing the financial risk. It works two-fold as you can mitigate the risks associated with the outsourced team especially when implementing new processes, models and technology.

Pitfalls to Avoid When Offshoring Software Development Services

Just like everything else in life, outsourcing software development to an offshore team comes with its own set of risks. The risks can be eliminated by taking certain actions from your end before outsourcing. Here’s what you can do:

Not Researching Enough

Finding the right technology partner guarantees half of your project’s success. Once you’ve narrowed down on the development budget and identified the location you wish to offshore, start by researching the vendors that offer the outsourcing services. A thorough research ensures that you pick the right team to get the desired project outcome. Once you’ve zeroed down on a list of vendors, check out their portfolio, testimonials and reviews to make the right decision.

Contract Loopholes and no NDA

One of the worst pitfalls to look out for when offshoring is having the third-party steal your idea. As shocking as this sounds, this happens in the industry. That’s why you need to find a highly credible offshoring partner who has serviced many clients before and sign an NDA as early as possible to discuss your project requirements. This is especially true when you are dealing with a highly sensitive product idea. In addition, an NDA can also protect other vulnerable information such as user data, business processes during the development process. A loosely framed contract can cause severe loss to your business. Be sure to cover the following things in your contract: 

• Deliverables and timeframes 
• Milestone based payments
• Maintenance support contracts
• Intellectual property rights 
• Confidentiality agreement
• Indemnity clauses
• Termination clause 
• Jurisdiction for resolution of issues

Communication barriers

When you are offshoring, there’s bound to be some differences in time zones, language and culture. While you will find plenty of vendors who can communicate in English in the global market, the final success of your project comes down to three things – the offshore team’s comprehension of your project requirements, technical expertise and clarity on the deliverables. Be sure to agree upon the communication channels, how often you communicate and other final details early on with the outsourced team. Make use of collaboration and communication tools such as Jira or Asana or Zoom, to regularly engage with the offshore team. 

Ambiguity of Stakeholders

It is important to know who the stakeholders are before starting the project. One common pitfall to avoid is getting to know the terms of engagement of your resources. For example, you may sometimes encounter instances of developers being shared for different projects, or have the best developer left in the middle of the project leading to the other resources fumbling to finish your project on time. Back-and-forth resources can lead to inconsistent delivery and incomplete ownership. Another bottle-neck that can happen is, when your in-house resists outsourcing. You can mitigate these risks by clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of each team.

Unrealistic timeline

Make sure that your project timeline is realistic. If you are not sure, getting to research this from multiple vendors can give you a rough timeline. Watch out for vendors who promise to get your project out in unrealistic timelines. Having an unrealistic timeline means pressure on the development team. This can lead to adverse effects which can be very costly in the end. The team may sacrifice testing methods to keep up to the pace which can lead to hidden bugs.Also, there’s more chance of bad code implementation and so on.

How to choose an offshore software development company?

Now that you know what offshoring is all about. It is time to figure out how to choose the right offshore partner. We at SolutionChamps are the offshore technology partners of many leading companies, get in touch with us for a quote today. 

Figure out the best prospects

Start out with simple searches like “top web development companies in India” or “top outsourcing locations in India”  to figure out the prospects. Read through the reviews and contact the prospects with your project idea to initiate the next steps. Filter through the responses, to narrow your list down further. 

Examine the Portfolios

Examine each project of your prospects. From technology stack to methodology and processes, evaluate the prospects to see if they are the right fit. Look for outsourcing teams who have dealt with similar kinds of products and industry. Notice if they have long-term projects as client retention is a good sign of a steady offshore partner. By now, you should have been able to zero down on two to three prospects. 

Interview the Team

The next step is to get on call with your shortlisted and assess them. Find out about their project experience, technical capabilities, the developmental processes they follow, the challenges they’ve encountered and how they can solve your problem. Notice how they comprehend your project scope and drill-down on the finer details. 

If you still aren’t sure on which vendor to go with, initiate mini-projects with your finalists to come out with a winner. Start by getting into a short contract. Don’t forget to sign an NDA to protect yourself. The mini-project can be to build a feature or fix a few bugs or anything. Pick the outsourcing partner based on the quality of work, reliability and overall level of comfort with the team.

Conclusion

As a business owner, navigating the tough post-pandemic days ahead might appear daunting. If you’re looking for a technology partner that actively participates to solve your business problem just like a part of your team, SolutionChamps is the perfect fit for you. From web designing to web and mobile app development, Ai to IoT and cloud computing, we’ve got the right amount of experience in handling a mix of technology. Contact us today!