When 2020 begun, product companies were all excited about the new products, releases, and feature additions they had planned to roll out throughout the year. After all, it was not just a new year; it was the start of a new decade. But little did anyone anticipate the world to go into a massive meltdown.

Cut to the present; we are slowly inching towards the end of 2020 trying to figure out what hit us. But the future awaits. For one, the holiday season will start soon and that’s always a major boost to the overall economy. To make what they can of 2020 as economies unlock, companies are accelerating the speed of product development to get something done. No one wants to look back at a wasted year.

That’s why there’s a sense of urgency being felt in conversations among the software development community.

Decision-making has picked up the pace, execution has gained momentum, and creating prototypes and MVPs have become pressing concerns. Companies understand the need for speed and are prepared to adopt an accelerated agile culture. Even large enterprises have begun to think like nimble-footed startups to supercharge the speed of development. 

As companies prepare for the next two months and also for the next year, we have some suggestions for a comeback plan.

A Comeback Plan For Product Companies

It’s no secret that the priority for a product company is to find ways to get the product development done at low cost and great speed. They want solutions that provide agility and resilience to their business. Some studies suggest that companies are willing to outsource a quarter or more of their technology work as a part of survival strategy post-COVID-19. And that’s strategy number 1.

Working with an expert partner will help the product companies to develop a product with shorter turnaround time and a smaller budget. They can save on the costs of hiring and training new resources. Outsourced product development approaches are well understood and each has its own set of pros and cons. For instance, offshoring is one of the best options for outsourcing as it provides access to a wide pool of talent and is extremely budget-friendly. However, the difference in time zone and other communication barriers introduces an agility challenge. Nearshoring may be effective when it comes to enabling regular meetings during the course of product development as nearshore teams work around the same time zone or are located close to the company. Often a nearshore team may possess specific technology capabilities that a product team requires, but they may not have the ability to scale. They may also not be as cost-effective as an offshore team.

An ideal solution for these strange times may be to take an integrated approach and strike a balance between cost-effectiveness, talent pool availability, and proximity. For instance, at Forgeahead, we have offices in Pune, India, and Vancouver, Canada.  The folks in Vancouver closely interact with our clients as they work around the same time zone. This team can play a key role in aspects like UX design and testing as they can understand local nuances better and also interact with customer focus groups if the need arises. The team in Pune extends the capacity of the effort by managing the entire development process. This team can ramp up and scale back quickly and bring in specific kinds of resources, for instance, test automation experts, for specific tasks. This allows a kind of crescendo to build up and accelerate as critical deadlines approach. An arrangement like this has helped us to bridge the gap between the customer and the offshore team and has also helped us to be nimble-footed and launch products faster. 

A blended approach like this helps product companies to:

• Improve productivity as onsite, nearshore, and offshore teams work across different time zones and are available to address the company’s concerns 24/7. This helps in accelerating the development cycle.
• Have a seamless interaction with the nearshore team, which results in less confusion and back and forth during the process of development.
• Maintain budgets and quality as they can leverage the cost benefits of the offshore teams and also have access to nearshore and onsite resources. 
• Ensure transparency as companies can track the progress across the development process and get a clear vision of the product’s final outcome.
• Abide by the local laws.
• Receive better post-launch support from a nearshore site as these folks can provide training and responsive support to the product company.

Conclusion

With the prevailing H1B restrictions and travel restrictions due to the pandemic, blended outsourcing is one of the most viable solutions for product companies looking to make a comeback before the year ends. 

Choose the product development partner and engagement model carefully after carefully analyzing the depth of knowledge, past credentials, and the partner’s ability to understand the business needs. Speaking for ourselves, we have a team of experienced and passionate product developers who can develop quality products within a stipulated time cost-effectively.  We say that we ideate, innovate, and disrupt to create high-quality software products. Maybe we could help your product development make a grand 2020 comeback?