Outsourcing your software development to third-party Agile teams can be the perfect way to get access to scarce technology skills and to expand your team’s capacity. Many companies are choosing to take work typically done in-house and offload it to third-party software developers so they can focus on core operations.

By using offshore software development companies, significant financial savings can be made without compromising quality or engaging in a cumbersome process.

South Africa is one country in the world that is taking the lead in software development. South Africa is not traditionally seen as a software development outsource destination, but that has rapidly changed over the last couple of years. Why is it that South African software development teams have become so popular globally?

Continue reading to learn the benefits of using a South African Agile Team for your next software development project.

Why Look to South African Agile Teams for Software Development?

South Africa has been taking the lead as an offshoring destination, recognised by GSA Awards and the World Economic Forum. Large companies, including IBM, Amazon, and Capital One, have been attracted to South Africa for their offshoring needs. South Africa has many advantages that have attracted international brands:

• Favourable exchange rates and competitive prices with no compromise of quality in software development. Over the last 10 years, the Rand has lost 50% of its value compared to the US dollar, which has contributed significantly to the increase in demand for South African software development teams.
• Broad capabilities and higher quality than many other traditional offshoring destinations such as eastern Europe and South-East Asia.
• Neutral accent and a common first language (being English) means South African developers works very well with clients across the globe.
• Collaborative, results-oriented culture, with cultural affinity with markets such as Europe, the UK and USA.
• The biggest software development resource pool in Africa, is in South Africa as confirmed by many different studies and reports.
• A legal system that has strong privacy and intellectual property rights.
• Central time zone (GMT +2) that overlaps with the standard workday in most foreign countries.

The list above provides a compelling reason for working with South African Agile software development teams, but it misses two key differentiators.

When you engage with a South African Agile team, you will almost certainly be pleasantly surprised with the ease of working with them. South Africa is a diverse country which means South Africans are very accepting of diverse cultures and viewpoints. It reduces friction and increases productivity and creativity.

Secondly, working with DVT’s Agile teams are fun. South Africans are friendly, enjoy a bit of banter and make your software development experience memorable!

Agile Teams for Software Development in South Africa

Numerous international businesses have chosen South Africa as an offshoring destination for their software development needs. Clients from across multiple industries have selected South African Agile Teams as part of their Software Development strategy. With exposure to many large enterprises across multiple sectors, South African developers are often used to working with large complex systems and experienced in leading software development technology.

Getting the Best Results from Your South African Agile Partner

Working with an offshore, remote agile team will require a shift in your company’s mindset and process. One unforeseen benefit of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the lesson that remote work does work as teams have been forced to work from their homes. Take this one step further with these strategies to successfully incorporate a South African partner into your software development projects.

Re-adapt your Team Culture

If your team is currently located in a single city, you will need to adapt to having a team across the world.

• Be aware of subtle but important differences between time zones and cultures. Public holidays differ between countries and different time zones may mean that you may be ready to finish your workday, but you are meeting with someone that is about to have lunch.
• Create a single team mindset by promoting trust, inclusion, team-based accountability and cultural affinity with your local and offshore personnel, including everyone in decision making and social interactions where appropriate.
• Create an open path of communication between local and offshore team members.
• As far as possible, keep your camera on in meetings. That includes both the customer and the Agile delivery team members!
• Don’t lose your personality on camera! Get to know each other, much like you would do if you were in the same office. Online meetings are very effective but can be devoid of the personal touch and care that highly effective teams have. That interest in team members can be achieved even when 10 000 miles apart – just make a little time for it in your online meetings.

Design an Asynchronous Workflow

With time zone differences between teams causing potential delays in turnaround times, create a disciplined workflow to maintain agility and adhere to your sprint plan.

• Minimise dependencies by creating modularised work packages that can be completed independently.
• Stick to proven Agile principles. Daily standups are still important, even if they are not first thing in the morning for everyone on the team. A client Product Owner that is very involved in the software development team and a Scrum Master that actively removes impediments become even more important in a remote Agile team.
• Make effective use of team collaboration software. With tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams and many others, teams can collaborate very effectively, even if they are not in the same office.
• Use your issue tracking system to create tickets for questions to manage accountability and minimise turnaround times.
• Create efficient communication channels to ensure your offshore team can incorporate decisions correctly into their work when they come online.

Why use DVT’s Agile Teams?

DVT uses dedicated software development teams that will work closely with you to ensure the delivery of product features at a high velocity on a continuous basis. DVT also offers turnkey project teams that can turn your business problem into software products, as well as ongoing software maintenance and support after project completion.

DVT’s teams excel in an Agile Delivery Approach, working closely with you to deliver continuous business value. Our staff are experts in all the current software development, cloud services, and DevOps platforms. Our developers’ expertise includes:

• Custom Software Development
• Cloud Application Services
• Mobile App Development
• UX/UI Design