During my IT journey, I had a chance to speak with hundreds of individuals looking for a perfect development team. It is worth to mention that they show different approaches towards hiring external teams based on their experience, buyer processes or even countries where they live. The most common claim though, was that they are looking for remote development simply because of the fact that it is cheaper. Let’s have a closer look at this case.
Finding a good Tech Partner is not a Tinder game
On Friday evening I was sitting with my friends in our local pub when one of them announced that he had just made one of the most important decisions in his life. After 4 years of being in a relationship, he decided to propose to his girlfriend. Under the influence of such news, we had an absorbing discussion regarding marriages and partners. At one point, somebody joked that getting married is like looking for a good tech team for your project – it’s not easy to find but it’s worth searching. Although It sounds a bit controversial and you may have some doubts about linking these two things, we have quickly made some connections with the outsourcing services as we are almost all involved in the digital industry.
Have a closer look and decide for yourself!
You probably know that looking for a life partner, can be not only difficult but also time-consuming and sometimes even stressful when you consider different possibilities. Regardless of whether you follow your heart or mind, you will eventually meet someone. Of course, you can say that the most important thing is love and so-called chemistry but is that all about a happy relationship?
A good match.
If you are not married, imagine that you spend most of your free time with your beloved. Together, you deal with daily challenges, spend free time and plan your life. Sounds good? Of course, if you respect each other, you can solve problems together and you are targeting the same priorities.
But what if it’s not like that? In a nutshell, it starts with minor misunderstandings, understatements, frustration, and anger. Small arguments are slowly turning into quarrels with a great storm at the end. After that, you are left with a sense of wasted time, energy and sometimes even more losses. By greatly simplifying the whole issue, it could have been avoided by finding a partner with similar priorities and a mature approach.
So how does it compare to the IT outsourcing market?
- A good choice is essential.
On the market, you will find thousands of companies not only “renting” developers but offering technological partnerships as well. Choose a partner that suits your budget and has a mature business approach with a well-trained team. You can delegate some of your tasks or even entire projects to be done with or even by such a partner.
- Trust but check!
There is nothing worse than assuming someone’s incompetence in advance. Over-suspicion badly affects cooperation. However, trust does not arise from anywhere . Code review, mutual updates, feedback and clear expectations of both parties will greatly facilitate cooperation. It is definitely worth doing a prior research of a potential candidate – just like before the first date.
- Maturity
You don’t want your partner to disappear after 3 months of a joint project and leave you in the middle of nowhere. Introducing an uncertain element into your organization can also harm your team’s work. Choose a company with a mature business model, that employs relevant specialists in your field.
- Distance
Love at a distance is possible, but it’s better to have your partner within a range of an uncomplicated flight. You can base your cooperation on daily calls, but in some cases face to face meetings may be necessary.
- A different point of view
If your partner sees a project or tasks differently it doesn’t have to be bad. It all depends on how it is presented. If your partner bases opinions on rational arguments, which are presented during valuable discussions, it is worth considering. Maybe he sees or knows something that you missed before? Think about it especially if your partner is an expert in this field. However – don’t let your partner be bossy and push aside you and your opinions. This is not what cooperation is about.
Our thoughts
During Friday night we found more similar analogies, and even if you still don’t agree with me I’m sure you could think about a few similarities. In the end, the summary of our discussion was as follows: finding a tech partner is like a marriage – you can love it or hate it. It all depends on the partner you choose. One more thing is worth adding here: if you had unpleasant experience connected with previous partners, it is still not a reason to give up building valuable projects with someone else. You probably have not found the right partner yet. Have a look at some quick examples.
What Slack and Whatsapp have in common with finding the right partner?
You probably use or at least know Slack, Skype or Whatsapp. Are they successful? Definitely. How?
In addition to their idea, commitment, and organization, they were able to select the right partners – no more, no less. Let’s have a quick look at these companies.
Slack which has 10 million users a day was launched in 2013. The company was using outsourcing to create their logo, website, and mobile app. A thoughtful strategy and the right partner have allowed for rapid growth. Today Slack is the leader in its field, worth more than $ 20 billion.
Skype, a pioneer in communication using video calls, has entrusted external developers with work on the entire backend of their app. This cooperation allowed Skype to become a popular tool used both in business and private communication. The company was bought by Microsoft for $ 8.5 billion.
WhatsApp is a popular messaging app that outsourced its development to Eastern Europe to reduce costs as the company was growing. The cooperation was so successful that they decided to offer full-time employment to a part of their former remote team. WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook for $ 19 billion.
To sum up: as I am pretty sure that within your friends you can point lucky couples, there are also dozens of companies on the market that have benefited from technological cooperation and outsourcing. If you decide to look for a partner, remember to choose well to avoid further disappointment.
Bear in mind that finding the right partner is not a Tinder game. It’s dating, dating again, arguing, accepting and learning from each other to build a valuable and long-lasting partnership.
Are you curious about how do we make matchmaking? Send us a message and we will share a few stories.
