Onshore vs Offshore Development Teams: A Detailed Cost Analysis
A realistic comparison of total cost for onshore and offshore software teams, including hidden costs, productivity and…
How to Set Up an Offshore Development Centre in India
A step-by-step guide to setting up an offshore development centre in India: models, locations, hiring, legal setup, costs and common mistakes.
An offshore development centre (ODC) gives you a dedicated team in India that works only on your products.
Step 1: Choose your model
- Partner-managed ODC: a partner hires and manages infrastructure; you direct the work
- Build-operate-transfer: a partner builds and runs it, then transfers it to your own entity
- Captive centre: your own Indian entity from day one
Step 2: Choose a city
Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai offer deep technology talent. Bengaluru is particularly strong for product and AI roles.
Step 3: Define roles and culture
Write clear role profiles and decide how the team fits into your existing organisation.
Step 4: Hire carefully
Interview every candidate yourself. Prioritise communication and ownership alongside technical skill.
Step 5: Set up processes
Shared tools, rituals and standards from day one. Treat the offshore team as colleagues, not a vendor.
Step 6: Plan retention
Career paths, learning budgets and meaningful work keep teams stable.
Common mistakes
Treating the ODC as a cost centre, giving it only maintenance work and under-investing in communication.
See our offshore development centre and build-operate-transfer services.
