If you are planning the creation of some technical product and need a team of professionals to hire, you are probably familiar with the term ODC, which stands for Offshore Development Center. But what is ODC and is it the right option for your case? Let’s try to find this out, answering the questions on what an ODC is, when you need it, and how the model works.
The information below is provided by a software development company Emerline that successfully implies this model on projects of all sizes and of different complexity.
What Is an ODC and Why Do You Need It?
The term ODC implies that a group of developers from another company works on your project, dealing with such tasks as the creation of a product, enhancement of the existing one, provision of support services, etc. The team is integrated into your company’s IT project and can be seen as a branch that helps you with technological issues while residing and working in another country.
So Why Would You Need ODC?
The answer is that first of all and in most cases, it allows you to save money on processes associated with your tech product lifecycle. Secondly, IT companies offering ODC services have a rich pool of professionals capable of dealing with technological and non-technological tasks of different complexity. For example, in addition to developers, you can also hire such specialists as PMs, marketers and copywriters, tech writers, designers, etc. In other words, ODC allows you to find labor resources you lack for your project.
It is worthy of noting that the ODC team can take care of all processes related to the entire project development, or can serve as an extension to your internal IT team. For example, you can lack programmers with expertise in certain technologies, whether the talk is about Java, Python, C++, or others. And in such a case, setting up an offshore development center with specialists you are looking for becomes an easier and more cost-saving solution than finding and hiring those who will join your company.
What’s more, it can turn out that specialists you are looking for are easier to be found in another country. For example, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, and other countries of Eastern Europe are known for having a vast number of high-qualified IT specialists and that’s why they are often considered as the best regions for ODC setup.
One more important benefit of ODC lies in the fact that it saves your time on development, which means that you can enjoy faster product releases and have more chances to outperform your competitors.
How Does ODC Model Function?
As we mentioned previously, ODC can work for you in two possible ways: as an extension to your development team and as a temporary IT department of your company. So what’s what?
Contractor ODC model
This is exactly the case when all you need is to provide your contractor with specifications and the team will take care of the entire project. In most cases, this model fits small and medium-sized companies lacking technical teams on board.
Customer ODC model
This model is a popular solution among larger companies having their own IT resources but requiring some specialists to extend their team, whether for quicker product release or because they are lacking technicians with expertise in some particular technologies.
Essential Tips for Getting Started with ODC
If you decide that the ODC model suits your needs, there are some things you need to consider for its successful start that will lead to fruitful results.
- It’s no surprise that finding a reliable vendor is the top priority. The company you are going to cooperate with must have expertise in your industry and with the technologies that you are interested in. Don’t hesitate to read some reviews on the work done to create a picture of what quality to expect. Also, looking through the feedback left by previous clients will help you to understand if you will receive your product on time, as well as find out what the vendor is lacking and what is good about cooperation, so you can make more confident choices.
- Knowing who works for you is important. Get acquainted with your team, communicate with professionals, tell them about your vision towards the development process, things you expect from them.
- Make sure to set clear goals and deadlines. Make sure that the team provides you with reports on the work done within a specified frequency.
These three simple steps will help you to ensure that everything will go as you plan it, to take control of the situation, and receive the desired product on time. Still, if some of your questions were unanswered, you are welcome to read a more extended and detailed overview of the ODC model prepared by Emerline.
