Finding a decent and professional development team shouldn’t be too difficult, should it? Well, the tendencies show the complete opposite. For instance, 87% of companies worldwide acknowledge that they are handling their technical skills gap or are about to deal with one soon.
There is a significant rise in demand for good developers. New professionals are struggling to break through the steep learning curves, and transitioning from junior to senior level is also complicated.
Even though this problem terrifies HRs and recruiters worldwide, looking for development teams in wider talent pools won’t hurt! So we have cherry-picked countries with the best outsourcing conditions in terms of quality and costs.
Ukraine
The Ukrainian outsourcing market has enjoyed a breakthrough in 2021. Ukraine has been voted as the best outsourcing country by the BritishGlobal Sourcing Association! It’s no surprise: the IT market here has been transforming for a decade into a place where developers have all the opportunities to grow and foreign investors have all chances to thrive.
Ukraine’s tech specialists enter the labor market with a high level of education, additional qualifications, and strong English language skills. For instance, Ukraine is one of the 10 highest-ranking countries for engineering graduates, with SapientPro, Skelia, and Exoft among the top software development companies.
Outsourcing IT has driven positive changes in Ukrainian macroeconomics, enhancing the country’s global competitiveness in tech. This in turn leads to even more improvement of the Ukrainian IT community, which produces more top-quality specialists. The hourly rates are a bit higher than in the above-mentioned countries (20-50%) but so is the quality of delivered services.
The Philippines
Besides being warm in terms of its weather, the Philippines also has a soothing outsourcing climate. Their authorities boast a well-developed IT infrastructure by providing incentives, training, and other perks to foreign companies seeking to outsource in their country. Obviously, there is a culture difference, however, it does not interfere with the traditional business relationship because the country has been under the influence of the USA in the past.
In terms of communication, its developers usually possess above-average English language skills. The Philippines is an enticing place for outsourcing because of their services’ low cost – the hourly rates will range from 18 to 40 dollars in 2021.
There is an issue, however, for US companies: there is a 12-hour difference in time zone. This aspect may not be as pressing for European partners, however.
South Africa
Government incentives are not exclusive to the Philippines. Officials in South Africa also encourage better BPO services, attracting companies from abroad. In fact, South Africa obtained the “Offshoring Destination of the Year” title in 2016 and 2018.
Professional qualifications in South Africa are similar to those in the UK. So, from cloud-based services to advanced analytics – this country is competitive in the outsourcing market of IT. Because South Africa is heavily influenced by English-speaking countries, its people have excellent English skills. And they live in a favorable time zone for American and European investors, also! Here as well, the hourly rates are affordable: 20 to 40 dollars per hour.
Poland
Located in the center of Europe, Poland is a great country to outsource due to its culture and time zone, especially when we talk about other European countries. As soon as the pandemic horrors subside, such partnerships will allow for more face-to-face interactions between European business partners, which is the best way to foster communication and address urgent challenges.
Additionally, Poland is one of the biggest academic hubs in the EU, with Information Technology being the most popular major among graduates. Consequently, this country provides outsourcing vendors with competitive specialists and consultants. However, Poland has higher hourly rates for developers: 39-60$. Polish service delivery is still worth it when it comes to quality.
India
India nowadays is strongly associated with outsourcing, it is fair to say. Besides being the second-largest English-speaking country, it is also one of the top outsourcing locations. Indian universities produce more than 2 million STEM specialists each year, and their education is rooted in producing qualified engineers and tech professionals.
Indian outsourcing vendors are particularly helpful for projects that require machine learning, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technology. In contrast, Indian developers tend to ignore best practices when it comes to PHP. When it comes to more modern programming languages, the tendencies are way better.
Time zone is not particularly suitable for the US and European partners, however, it evens up by a particularly cheap development service: hourly rates here start with only 18$ per hour!
Romania
With its emphasis on educating the next generation of engineers, Romania has one of the most exciting tech scenes in Europe. Tuition-free and egalitarian education in the country explains why Romanian developers rank 20th globally in all HackerRank tests.
Romania’s government has invested heavily in its IT infrastructure, making it especially attractive for foreign companies, especially when it comes to outsourcing. Software providers here offer diverse skills and high-quality specialization in the field of development.
Romania’s outsourcing market is smaller than that of its neighbor, Ukraine, so it will be tougher to find a good developer here. It is a great location for European business partners especially, and since Romania is an EU member, it will be easier to do business. However, English proficiency here is intermediate, but it’s not likely to be a problem for US clients. Rates are similar to those in Ukraine, ranging from 25 to 50 dollars per hour.
Estonia
Currently, Estonia doesn’t have an abundance of developers: there are only about 20 000+ developers here. Nevertheless, there is no argument about the quality of these developers: they are true professionals.
It is therefore not surprising that Estonia has one of the most advanced startup systems in Europe. Among the local business projects are Skype, TransferWise, Pipedrive, and SAP. The Estonian government responded by launching a number of initiatives for the support of the IT infrastructure in terms of the court system, taxes, and even healthcare! Small businesses have access to loans and guarantees through the Ministry of Economics, creating a robust entrepreneurial culture and promoting innovation. As such, foreign clients are enticed to enter such a lucrative outsourcing market. This quality, however, comes with a price.
Here, the hourly rates are significantly higher than in other countries on our list: they can reach as high as $100 per hour. Do not doubt Estonian IT outsourcing support if your budget isn’t limited and you want to enjoy all its benefits!
Conclusion
While the IT hiring market is saturated, there is a bright side: you have many options. We recommend not sticking to one country only and analyzing each development company separately. Maybe you’ll find a precious development team where you didn’t expect to find one? Or perhaps you’ll negotiate a great price in a country where hourly rates are high?
Pay attention to the following factors when choosing:
- The development team’s technical skills
- The acquisition of English by the developers
- Open and transparent process
- Time zone differences
- Communication plan
Should you feel compelled enough to check out Ukrainian IT opportunities, SapientPro can help you evaluate your project requirements and locate relevant candidates. Our company can provide professional PHP developers for your project. And if you decide to continue searching – good luck!
