Most popular markets for outsourcing mobile app development

There is a very large disparity in the way app development teams price themselves around the globe. Have a look at our annual report on pricing trends here. This greatly affects the availability of suitable resources in a customer’s vicinity and so arises the need to outsource to a company offshore. We’ve picked out some popular outsourcing hubs along with their pros and cons.

India has retained the no.1 spot for outsourcing for many years and the app development teams have also followed this trend. Teams are abundant and one can find all types here – excellent, good, bad and the ugly. Home to some of the world’s most promising startups, app businesses are thriving, leading to the formation of many new startups and dev shops. It has also made the not so new ones step up their game to stay relevant and attract customers abroad.

• 3 times cheaper than outsourcing in the US and W. Europe
• Skilled resources are abundant
• Good communication skills at Project Manager level
• Many firms willing to send resources onsite(US, UK, Europe, etc.)
• Nearly 70% of teams have a learning curve
• Good UI skills are hard to find
• Time zone is an issue for North American customers

Teams from this region are quickly becoming one of the favorite outsourcing destinations for many North American startups and organisations. Brazil, Argentina and Mexico score high on resource availability and infrastructure. The quality of resources is varied across the region. Resources are cheaper in Uruguay, Chile, and Bolivia.

• Time zone alignment and geo proximity for North Americans
• Cultural differences are minimal for US customers
• Young, hard-working workforce
• Lack of talent pool compared to India, China
• Poor communication skills could pose risks during the project
• Niche skills hard to find

The market here is vast and the teams numerous. From top dev shops in Singapore to low-cost resources in Indonesia, teams here cover the entire app development spectrum. Outsourcing here is a great idea as long as clients have figured out a way to effectively communicate with and micro manage the resources. The quality of the resources and their teams is very varied and finding the right team among so many could take time.

• Cheap, abundant resources(some bill as low as $12-$15/hr)
• Sincere and dedicated work culture
• Poor English and wide cultural gap
• Quality of resources is too varied
• Lack of resources with niche skill sets

Outsourcing to Eastern Europe is much different than doing so in the west. Factors such as cost and compatible time zones make outsourcing to central and eastern European countries an attractive proposition for many European and UK clients. Some notable countries in this regard are Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia, and Russia.

• Cheaper rates compared to Western Europe and UK teams
• Cultural similarities make communication very easy
• Sincere workforce eager for challenging projects
• Compatible time zones for European customers
• Average English speaking skills
• Lack of experience in some new teams

Home to Silicon Valley and so many of the other tech giants today, the United States has some of the best app development talent in the world today. The feasibility of outsourcing to the US is something both US and Non US based customers need to consider. Firms here also opt to subcontract work to offshore resources to keep costs low. Some teams outside the US also station Sales staff and PMs here to maintain a presence, thereby keeping existing US customers happy and attracting new ones.

• Highly talented and experienced resources
• US market is a great platform to launch apps and start app businesses
• Many teams capable of acting as CTOs for startups
• Expensive resources(even the ones in states like Georgia are costly by International standards)

Uncertain about which offshore team to pick? We’ve aggregated about 10,000 vendors from all over the world. We’ll help you, just drop a note here!

Pravir Ramasundaram is our in-house content writer here at ContractIQ. Keep coming back to read more of his articles on mobility & outsourcing.