Working from home, working from a distance, or working remotely? Due to COVID-19, these are terms that we hear more and more in the workplace these days. And while the concept of remote working has become more relevant due to the corona crisis, some companies were already working with remote development teams all over the world. But what is a remote development team and how does Convident use it?
If you have to go through a major software development process with your company or for customers or if there is a high demand for software-related skills, a remote development team can be the solution. But what exactly do we mean by a remote development? A remote development team is a group of software developers who work for your company. This team can consist of single or multiple software developers. The remote developers have their office somewhere in a location abroad, they gather at the office every day to see each other and then get to work for you. When working with a remote development team, communication is of great importance. As two teams at two different locations are working towards one goal, clear guidelines for communication are required.
Alternatives for a remote development team are, for example, looking for freelancers, starting a recruitment and selection procedure or engaging a digital agency. However, sometimes the range of software developers here in the Netherlands is not sufficient enough. In that case, you will have to turn to a remote development team and keep a number of advantages and disadvantages in mind.
We have already seen that communication is very important in a remote development team. But there are several obstacles and of course advantages. Below is a list:
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Our remote development team consists of a senior developer from Cairo – Egypt. This developer is actually the power behind our development team and finishes most websites. The great thing about this custom developer is that you can actually submit an entire website to him and he will develop it in a short time. In the future when we have more projects, it is also possible to expand this development team. The strength of this is that you can simply hire another remote developer and the project manager will then formulate the work that needs to be done. In simple words, unlike a Dutch employee, this development team is cheaper, more effective and easy to make changes since the developer is not on location.
Remote developers actually work exactly according to Dutch developers, only the project manager has to manage the times, assignments and project wording well since everything has to be transferred to English. What you then encounter is that the project manager has to translate and explain the assignment and ultimately do a good check. The power of this remote developer is that you transfer a project to him and he finishes it quickly and effectively. The extra work then lies in good control and project breefing.