Virtual offshore development centers: Supercharging agility

December 02, 2024

Virtual offshore development centers: Supercharging agility

In the era of hybrid work, VODCs maximize the local talent pool and minimize real estate spend - but challenges, including security, must be overcome.

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Agility is a defining trait of today's most successful businesses. Leading companies around the globe are seeking out new and innovative ways to improve productivity and security to ensure they are delivering value to customers efficiently, no matter their physical distance.

IT teams have traditionally helped organizations boost productivity and reduced costs through offshore development centers (ODCs), but these centers' reliance on a physical location limits their effectiveness. For this reason, many are considering transforming their ODCs into virtual ODCs (VODCs) to better supplement internal resources in the remote and hybrid work era.

The difference between traditional and virtual ODCs

Traditionally, ODCs are managed in physical offices by a team of IT professionals to handle development, maintenance, and testing of new software and technologies. Allocation of seats is tied to growth, so as ODCs hire more workers, projects require larger office spaces. This ebb and flow creates many network and security challenges, making configuration and support complex.

By contrast, VODCs provide a highly flexible and scalable IT infrastructure that leverages virtual desktop instances, powered by cloud technologies, to facilitate the operations of remote IT teams. By using a unified set of access and connectivity solutions, such as virtual private networks (VPNs) and secure remote access tools, IT teams can establish seamless collaboration between in-house and remote associates. This way, organizations can reduce costs by tapping into the global talent pool and eliminating unnecessary office space.

Benefits of establishing VODCs

• Future readiness: VODCs facilitate a hybrid workforce strategy, providing controls akin to those of physical ODCs no matter the location of IT teams.
  
  
• Expedited time to market: By eliminating the need for office spaces, VODCs reduce the setup time typically associated with traditional ODCs from over three months to just a couple of days.
  
  
• Enhanced security: Through software-defined networking, which is an approach to networking that uses software-based controllers and APIs to manage hardware infrastructure and direct traffic on a network, IT teams can establish secure procedures and connections within each ODC and project, minimizing potential security risks.
  
  
• Cost efficiency: VODCs offer flexible work environments, unified policies, and streamlined infrastructure, which empowers organizations to reduce real estate costs.

VODC implementation challenges

While VODCs do eliminate some of the challenges associated with traditional, location-based ODCs, they do bring about new network and security challenges IT teams must consider before transitioning.

• Management complexity: Managing a geographically dispersed team without being in a single location can lead to communication issues, increased data vulnerability, and reduced quality control. Without strong leadership at the helm, it can be difficult to establish clear project management practices that keep teams aligned and focused.
  
  
• Regulatory challenges: Since VODCs provide greater access to global talent pools, companies must stay up to date on regulatory differences throughout the countries their IT employees live in. They must familiarize themselves with any security and legal challenges that may arise by consulting with local legal agencies.
  
  
• Greater vendor dependence: VODCs require a greater reliance on vendors for support and services due to the complexities involved with implementing cloud technologies. Diagnostics and upgrades as well as disaster recovery often require these vendors to step in, and this reliance can lead to headaches if their performance does not meet expectations.

Organizations that believe VODCs' benefits outweigh their implementation challenges should consider developing them. Here are some implementation best practices we've learned from experience:

Best practices for developing a VODC

1. Establish a Zero Trust Architecture

Having workers in multiple locations increases the potential for security vulnerabilities compared to traditional ODCs, so it's highly desirable to align a VODC with a Zero Trust Architecture. A Zero Trust Exchange ensures all users, no matter their location, are authenticated and authorized before accessing any sensitive information and resources associated with a project. Additionally, the system requires multiple points of verification of user identity. This exchange inspects all traffic, even if encrypted, to prevent data breaches and malware attacks.

2. Enable faster delivery through automation

Because employees from around the world could work on a VODC, fast network speeds and documented procedures are foundational to ensure quick, quality delivery. IT teams can use Multiprotocol Label Switching to label certain data and direct these data packets across a network to speed up traffic and improve quality of service. Additionally, automated monitoring solutions can help IT teams receive real-time notifications on traffic status of their encrypted site-to-site VPNs to determine if the network is running efficiently.

3. Establish a framework for customer-specific segments

VODCs enable organizations to provide customer-specific development tools and services. By using security groups, VODCs can manage individual client projects across their technological infrastructure while maintaining confidentiality and compliance. Each security group can have its own protocols, empowering IT teams to tailor procedures and processes based on each client's needs.

4. Set clear standards for communication and project management

One of the most overlooked challenges when it comes to any outsourcing or offshoring arrangement is interpersonal conflict. Managing a remote workforce increases the potential for communication barriers due to time zone management, cultural differences, and issues with knowledge transfer. To overcome this, it is critical to establish solid communication channels and documentation processes. Parent organizations must provide comprehensive training to communicate proper procedures and build robust quality assurance processes to maintain standards.

Looking forward

VODCs provide a modern solution for addressing complex challenges by offering a flexible infrastructure that matches the performance of traditional ODCs while improving flexibility, reducing office expenses, and leveraging the global workforce.

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