How Offshore Dedicated Development Teams Can Transform Your Software Development Strategy  

Offshoring has become a prominent outsourcing model, with many companies turning to distant regions to access skilled talent and reduce operational costs.

While you might be concerned about greater travel time, lack of common business hours, and potential cultural differences, an offshore dedicated development team (ODDT) can deliver significant cost advantages and fill the gaps in specialized expertise. Interested in learning more? In this post, you will explore:

• The definition and key characteristics of an offshore dedicated development team and how it works;
• Strategic benefits of this model;
• A comprehensive comparison of ODDT with other outsourcing models;
• Best locations to hire offshore development teams;
• Real-life success stories demonstrating its impact.

What is an offshore dedicated team (ODT)?

An offshore development team (ODT) is a remote software engineering team located in a distant country, hired through an external partner but fully integrated into the client’s day-to-day development operations. Despite being geographically remote, the team fully synchronizes with your internal processes, tools, and goals.

These teams are called “dedicated” because they are tailored to work exclusively for a single client, without being shared between multiple projects.

With an offshore dedicated team, you can scale your development capacity, accelerate project delivery, and stay focused on your core business goals, without the burden of in-house staffing.

Offshore dedicated developers can be involved across all stages of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), including:

• Front-end and back-end development;
• DevOps and cloud infrastructure;
• Quality Assurance (QA) and automated testing;
• User Experience (UX) and UI design;
• Project management.

How it works

Define your project needs: Offshore dedicated development teams are created to meet your specific business needs. Thus, start by outlining your project specifications, preferred tech stack, team size, and project goals. Based on those requirements, your chosen vendor will staff your project.

Interview and approve team members: In the offshore dedicated team model, you review and approve each candidate who joins your project. The vendor presents you with pre-screened candidates from their talent network. You interview and select the engineers who best fit your local team in terms of tech competencies and cultural fit.

Onboard your offshore developers: Once you’ve approved the team members, integrate them into your environment. Dedicated developers will follow your processes, use your tools, and join your daily stand-ups, as if they were members of your in-house staff.

Manage your project: Your offshore development team will work full-time on your project under your management, reporting directly to you or other members of your staff. You set the priorities, assign tasks, oversee the roadmap, and manage quality.

Your vendor handles team administration: While you’re at the helm of project delivery, your offshore development partner, like nCube, takes care of recruitment, HR, IT infrastructure, payroll, and staff retention. That way, you don’t have to worry (and budget for) about the overhead.

Benefits of offshore dedicated teams

Access to diverse expertise

By hiring offshore developers, you’re tapping into a global talent pool, exceeding tens of millions of skilled developers with diverse expertise. In fact, a broad pool of technologists is one of the main reasons businesses open an offshore software development center in such offshore locations as Central & Eastern Europe or LATAM.

Whether you need a Java developer, a Data engineer, or a mobile development expert, an offshore dedicated development team offers a wide range of technical expertise that can be hard to find locally.

Scalability

Need extra resources for a faster product launch? Or scale down during a quiet season? With an offshore dedicated development team, you can adjust your team size as your needs evolve, without the burden of staffing or downsizing a permanent development team.

Focus on core business

Offshore development takes technical execution off your shoulders, so your internal team can focus on product strategy, customer experience, or innovation.

Cost-effectiveness

When you hire offshore development teams, it means you get access to experts with the same level of expertise as local talent at a much lower cost.

In offshore locations like Eastern Europe, senior developers charge ~$50/hour – 2.5x lower than in the US. In LATAM, you can hire a near-senior React developer at ~$40/hour, with full time zone alignment.

Moreover, you’ll cut down on operational expenses like office space, equipment, and employee benefits, as they are taken care of by the vendor.

Offshore dedicated development team (ODDT) vs. other engagement models

ODDT vs. Offshore Software Development Center (OSDC):

• ODDT gives you a tailored team that works exclusively on your project. Dedicated developers are fully aligned with your workflows, timeline and integrate into your existing team. You stay in control of day-to-day operations while the offshore development partner handles the administrative side.
• OSDC is typically a larger, more structured environment aimed at long-term, high-volume offshoring, like delegating entire departments or multiple ongoing projects over the long term. It often requires more upfront investment, local legal setup, and long-term commitments, which is less flexible than an offshore dedicated setup.

Which one to choose? If you’re looking for a focused team with the flexibility to grow, the ODT model gives you more control and adaptability.

ODDT vs. IT Outsourcing:

• ODDT gives you direct oversight of your offshore dedicated unit. You manage priorities, oversee execution, and integrate the team into your workflow.
• IT Outsourcing is typically project-based. The vendor manages the delivery and makes most of the technical decisions. Overall, this approach offers less transparency and control over the development process.

Which one to choose? Go with ODDT if you want ongoing development with full visibility and hands-on control. IT outsourcing is more suitable when you need a fast, done-for-you solution with minimal personal involvement.

ODDT vs. Staff Augmentation:

• ODDT is a long-term partnership. Your offshore dedicated development team is fully committed to your project and becomes a part of your internal operations and company culture.
• Offshore Staff Augmentation is designed for filling temporary skill gaps like handling seasonal workload spikes or accelerating delivery without committing to a long-term setup.

Which one to choose? If you’re building a complex product and need long-term consistency, cultural alignment, and full integration, choose a dedicated offshore development team. Staff Augmentation is great for a quick, flexible solution to help your internal staff cope with workload surges.

Steps to successfully hire an Offshore Dedicated Development Team

Step 1: Define project scope & requirements

A successful collaboration starts with setting up a clear framework for cooperation with your offshore software development team. Whether you’re launching a brand-new product or scaling an existing platform, define the scope of work, deliverables, expected timeframes, and tech roles needed to achieve your goals.

Step 2: Choose the right location

Not all offshore locations are equal in terms of time zone overlap, English proficiency, tech expertise, and cost-effectiveness. Some regions stand out by offering a better balance of talent, time zone, and innovation potential, making them more suitable for building your high-performing dedicated offshore team.

The most reputable destinations for hiring dedicated developers include:

• Eastern Europe: Known for strong STEM education, a pool of world-class engineers, cultural compatibility, strong potential for innovation, and favorable time zones for EU-based clients.
• Latin America: The region has become a go-to destination for North American companies thanks to real-time collaboration, a growing pool of technologists, and an emerging tech ecosystem.
• Asia, including India and the Philippines: Offers access to the biggest IT talent pool on a global scale, at the most competitive rates worldwide.

Step 3: Select a reliable offshore partner  

A seasoned vendor of a dedicated offshore development team like nCube will build a team that can integrate seamlessly with your company culture and development processes. When evaluating a potential provider, consider their portfolio of success stories, testimonials, domain expertise, transparency in communication and processes, internal candidate screening procedures, and cultural synergy with your organization.  

Step 4: Establish a structured onboarding process

During onboarding, the vendor will help you align your newly created dedicated offshore team with your processes, tools, and goals.

Here’s what you’ll cover:

• Documentation: Codebases, product roadmaps, and internal guides.
• Project management and collaboration tools: Jira, GitHub, Slack, CI/CD tools.
• Your internal team: Video calls or Slack intros to help the dedicated offshore development team better connect with your in-house staff.
• Expectations: Goals, coding standards, communication routines, and schedules that dedicated developers should meet.
• Project management: A point of contact as a Project manager or Product Owner on your side to guide and support your dedicated development team.
• Time zones management: Common hours for collaboration across locations.

Step 5: Implement effective management and communication strategies

A dedicated development team working out of a far-off location is only successful when communication is consistent, and workflows are well-structured. With that in mind, set up regular face time, adopt agile practices, and use tools like Slack, Zoom, and project management platforms to keep everyone aligned.

At nCube, we always support our clients in building solid communication frameworks, from selecting the right collaboration tools to integrating offshore dedicated developers into their daily operations.

Key considerations when hiring offshore developers

Cultural compatibility

Before you add a team member, make sure their work style and values align with your company culture, especially when it comes to feedback and communication practices.

Legal and security

Partner with vendors like nCube who offer strong NDAs and stick to data protection laws. We always help our clients understand the local legal landscape before they hire offshore development teams.

Team integration

To achieve better project outcomes, your offshore dedicated development team should be a part of your company, not an external unit hired by the provider. Thus, include them in your daily standups, planning sessions, and code reviews as well as informal conversations.

Relationship building

Offshore development is a long game. Take time to build trust, create a sense of belonging, and recognize contributions. The more your offshore team feels valued, the more they are integrated into your project.

Tech infrastructure

Fine-tune your internal IT infrastructure so that it can handle offshore development. This includes cloud repositories, CI/CD, Slack, Zoom, and other tools that enable collaboration across time zones.

Best locations for offshore dedicated development teams

Cost and talent analysis

When choosing the right location for your dedicated offshore team, it’s best to consider a wide array of factors, including rates, time zone alignment, cultural compatibility, and more.

The 2024 Accelerance Global Software Outsourcing Trends and Rates Guide offers a detailed overview of offshore software development rates by country.

Source: The 2024 Accelerance Global Software Outsourcing Trends and Rates Guide

Eastern Europe (Ukraine, Poland, Romania) vs. Latin America (Mexico, Brazil) vs. Asia (India, the Philippines)

Below is a side-by-side look at Eastern Europe, Latin America, and South Asia, helping you decide which location is best for building an offshore dedicated development team.

Eastern Europe (Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Czech Republic)

• Software development rates: $37–$101/hour
• Savings: Up to 60% compared to in-house EU teams
• Time zones: GMT+1 to GMT+3
• Benefits: High-quality STEM education, cultural alignment with Western Europe, strong English proficiency, and innovation potential
• Best for: European or UK businesses looking for a stable offshore dedicated development team, innovation, and tech leadership.

Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia)

• Software development rates: $38–$92/hour
• Savings: Up to 45% compared to US teams
• Time zones: GMT-3 to GMT-7 (solid overlap with North America)
• Benefits: Real-time collaboration with North America, emerging innovation hubs, a growing pool of tech talent
• Best for: US companies seeking flawless time zone alignment

South Asia (India, the Philippines)

• Software development rates: $16–$70/hour for developers
• Savings: Up to 70%
• Time zones: GMT+5 to GMT+8
• Benefits: A broad tech talent pool, low rates
• Best for: Companies looking for greater savings and scaling teams fast.

Offshoring case studies and success stories

The best way to show how the offshore dedicated team model works is through real-life examples. Here’s how nCube helped Life360, a world-renowned family location safety app, transform a staffing challenge into a long-term strategic advantage.

Challenge: Life360 had previously struggled with outsourcing partners that consistently failed to meet expectations in terms of code quality and timely delivery.

Tech leaders reached out to nCube to find a partner that could offer proactive, high-performing offshore dedicated developers with problem-solving skills, cultural alignment, and long-term team integration.

Our solution: In late 2020, Life360 partnered with nCube to build a dedicated offshore development team in Eastern Europe. Starting with a small team, the collaboration quickly gained momentum and scaled to over 50 engineers over a few months across critical areas, including:

• iOS & Android
• React JS
• Java Cloud
• Kubernetes & Docker
• PHP
• Web Development

The outcome: nCube’s offshore developers played a major role in enhancing Life360’s product, including improving performance, reducing battery drain, and boosting overall user experience.

As the relationship with the offshore dedicated development team deepened, we embedded strong tech leads who have become decision-makers for the product. Thus, 70% of nCube’s engineers became Core Team Members at Life360.

[Read the full Life360 x nCube case study]

Hire the best offshore dedicated development team with nCube

At nCube, we specialize in building offshore dedicated development teams that integrate with your company. Here’s what we offer as a seasoned provider with 17+ years of experience:

Access to the top 1% of skilled software engineers

Tap into our network of 125,000+ vetted dedicated developers across Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Whether your project lacks generic or in-demand technical skills like Data, AI/ML, Cloud, IoT, we’ll add the right developers to your team.

Rigorous candidate screening for the right fit

Our multi-step evaluation process goes beyond CVs. We assess each candidate for technical expertise, English proficiency, and cultural alignment, keeping your specific requirements in mind. That way, you’ll meet only relevant candidates.

Strong focus on retention

We find offshore dedicated developers who work on your project from start to finish, so your projects get the consistent attention they deserve. With a 98% unforced retention rate in 2024, we’re proud of an environment where engineers get competitive pay, growth opportunities, and a supportive culture.

First candidates within 48 hours

We begin assembling your team within 24–48 hours of the initial call. On average, we help our clients hire offshore development teams in 2-6 weeks. For instance, with our client doTerra, we cut their time-to-hire by 70% by building a team of 9 developers in just 6 weeks.

Full integration and control

We handle the logistics from team formation, workspace, HR, and retention, letting you focus on delivery. Your team will be fully dedicated to your project, working under your leadership, as well as aligned with your processes, tools, and goals.