Outsourcing software development is getting more and more popular. Fair enough, since it has proved cost-efficient and gives you direct access to the global IT talent pool. In addition, hiring a dedicated application development team means you’re partnering with people who are focused solely on your project and clearly understand your business needs.
Over the past few years, Ukraine has been one of the most popular outsourcing destinations for software development. As a collaboration model, clients choose DTM (the dedicated team model) most often. Why is the DTM considered the most efficient collaboration model? And why Ukraine? We asked experts from Intellivision, an outsourcing software development team based in Ukraine, to provide us with some insights.
What is exactly a dedicated team model?
That’s simple: there is a client who needs a team of developers for a long-term partnership, and there is a provider that assembles the right team to match the client’s requirements. Actually, this is what makes these projects such a success. If clients carefully specify demands, they receive a team of devs with experience and skills highly relevant to their unique business needs.
The dedicated team work exclusively for the client, similarly to in-house teams. The only significant difference is that a dedicated team works remotely.
Who manages a dedicated team?
A dedicated team usually comes with a project manager provided by the service vendor; at least, this is what we do at Intellivision. The project manager is in charge of planning and directing the completion of the project and ensures that the project is on budget, on time, and within scope. However, clients may decide to manage the team from their side.
Why is the DTM such a popular choice?
The dedicated team model offers enormous benefits. For starters, it helps to considerably cut down on cost, and there are two reasons for that. First, outsourcing is usually cheaper than hiring in-house developers in, let’s say, the US or the United Kingdom. Second, your dedicated team comes with all the necessary equipment and technology and works in the provider’s office, reducing your overhead.
The next clear advantage of a dedicated team is that they are fully involved in your project and aren’t distracted by working on other ones. Clients appreciate this a lot. It’s also worth mentioning that dedicated teams are fully transparent. Clients usually have access to time-tracking and task management tools, which helps them effectively monitor the project’s progress.
Is the dedicated team model suitable for startups?
The DTM works well for both startups and established businesses. Actually, the dedicated team model is highly recommended for startups that are short on budget but need to quickly build a development team from scratch.
What is a typical dedicated team composition?
A dedicated software development team usually includes front-end engineers, back-end engineers, QA engineers, UX/UI designers, DevOps engineers, business analysts, and project managers.
Does the dedicated team model have any downsides?
One challenge typically associated with the DTM is communication. However, it’s not a big problem if you’re outsourcing your software development to Ukraine. Ukrainian developers are renowned for their good to proficient English skills. The thing is that the demand for software development is relatively low in Ukraine, making Ukrainian specialists devote much effort to learning English to stay competitive.
Assembling the right team for the client might take time; that’s another disadvantage linked with the dedicated team model. However, it primarily refers to situations when the client needs very specific skills or rare technology stack.
Also, different time zones may make communication a bit challenging. However, the client’s and team’s work hours still overlap in most cases, so scheduling an online meeting is not a problem. For instance, all Ukrainian cities are seven hours ahead of New York, meaning that it’s 4 pm in Lviv, Kyiv, or Odesa when it’s 9 am on the US east coast.
What makes Ukraine such a popular software outsourcing destination?
The major reason is Ukraine’s massive network of tech talent. Beetroot’s 2021 Teach Market Report indicates that the country crossed the mark of 200,000 technology specialists in 2021, making it the second-largest European IT hub. Ukrainian devs show great technical proficiency, ranking number seven in the world according to the level of technical knowledge (Coursera Global Skills report for 2021). World-renowned companies such as Microsoft, Siemens, Samsung Electronics, Huawei, Wargaming, and many others hire software developers in Ukraine, which is undoubtedly a sign of high-quality services. Not to mention, Ukraine is home to some globally recognized startups such as Reface, People.ai, GitLab, Grammarly, and Restream.
In addition, hiring a dedicated team from Ukraine means getting the best price/quality ratio. Software development services are comparatively cheaper than in most countries without compromising quality. Finally, as already mentioned, Ukrainian developers have excellent English skills, which feeds into more effective collaboration.