Back in 2005, when office-going workers were the order of the day, Australian tech giant Atlassian decided to do something different.
They established Team Anywhere—a distributed network of remote employees that could work from anywhere they wanted—their home, the office, or a combination of the two. This working model was not only a far cry from the rigid office culture of the day but allowed Atlassian employees to fully embrace flexibility while being more energised and productive. This initiative, which first started in Sydney, soon spread to 13 countries where Atlassian legal entities were located. Today, not only is Atlassian being hailed as a futuristic enterprise that pioneered the remote working model but the company is also basking in the glow of record profits achieved year-over-year.
Cut to 2024, the rise of remote software development teams is revolutionising the IT industry as we know it. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the remote working model has skyrocketed to such an extent that it has reshaped the traditional office model and turbocharged IT productivity by making software development teams more agile, innovative, productive, and competitive.
But what exactly are remote software development teams? Why are they in demand? Are there any special benefits to hiring a custom software development team? How you can go about sourcing the right remote team for your IT projects?
In this blog, we will attempt to answer these questions and help you plan future projects more successfully.
What Is a Remote Software Development Team?
A remote software development team (also known as a virtual team) is a team of professionals who collaborate remotely on the creation, maintenance, and improvement of software applications or systems, while being geographically dispersed. A remote software development team usually include software developers, engineers, project managers, quality assurance specialists, solution architects, and/or business analysts.
Unlike traditional in-house teams that work in the same physical location, remote software development teams are located in different regions and time zones, and leverage technology to communicate and collaborate effectively during a project lifecycle. These include online collaboration tools, such as video or audio conferencing (Zoom), messaging platforms (Microsoft Teams), version control systems (Bitbucket), and project management tools (Jira Software).
Companies can choose to hire full-time remote candidates from different parts of the globe or engage the services of a partner who can provide them with a remote development team for specific projects.
Whether you’re looking for top-tier technical talent in-house or considering employing a skilled remote workforce for a one-off project, let us know! Corptec can help you match your project requirements with the right talent, in record time! Browse through our resource bank today!
Why Is the Demand for Remote Software Development Teams Rising?
Because the world has changed.
Although the Covid pandemic played a key role in pushing companies head-first into a work-from-home model, the recent advances in technology, communication software, and AI have propelled the trend even further.
According to a study published by Statista’s Research Department in January 2024, the advancement of cloud-enabled technologies and the emergence of collaboration software have allowed companies to accommodate remote IT teams, without being limited by geographical boundaries. This also meant that companies are now able to tap into a global talent pool of software candidates while ensuring better team cohesion and seamless coordination.
Another reason that has contributed to the rise of remote software development teams, especially in the IT industry, is the apparent success of the remote model witnessed during the global pandemic shutdown. With the temporary elimination of physical office spaces, companies were no longer restricted to sourcing local talent for highly niche IT roles, and were able to secure the specialised skills of diverse candidates located outside the company’s geographical location. This shift has resulted in the increased acceptance of remote software development teams as a viable and productive alternative.
10 Benefits of Hiring Remote Software Development Teams for IT Projects
Although the advantages of hiring remote teams in any department seem to be increasing year after year, the benefits custom software development teams bring to any technical project in any enterprise cannot be overstated.
Here, we list the top 10 reasons why your company needs to consider a remote software development team, regardless of your business area or industry.
1. Higher Cost Savings
In their remote work statistics and trends in 2024, Forbes declares that employers can save $11,000 per employee when switching to a remote work model. These savings come from reduced cost of office space, the need to spend considerably lesser on employee utilities and office amenities, and the elimination of staff relocation and other overhead costs. Most companies need to factor in car maintenance, fuel expenses, and food allowances when drawing up an employee contract. By hiring workers remotely, employers can reduce the cost-to-company figures significantly.
And the cost savings are not limited to employers either. By not having to spend time and money in travelling to the office or purchasing costly work attire, remote teams often end up enjoying a better work-life balance, leading to better productivity, fewer health issues, and improved employee morale.
2. Improved Productivity
How should companies measure productivity?
Should they calculate the number of hours a team puts in, check how many lines of code were written, assess how many service requests were responded to, or evaluate how many sprint tasks were taken up?
The honest answer is that there is no black-and-white metric for productivity. However, companies can assess where they are in relation to their sales forecast or project requirements and arrive at a broad consensus on the productivity of their team in general.
And as several studies have already proved, employees or workers who enjoy flexible ways of working—whether at the office, at home, or in a hybrid set-up—are statistically more likely to be productive than those restricted to definite times and models of working.
As Atlassian succinctly puts it, “We use the term ‘distributed’ work because we’re all about flexibility and autonomy. Atlassians can choose to work from one of our offices, or not, on any given day. We’re not precious about where work happens. But we care a lot about how it happens.”
3. Better Retention Rates
An outstanding benefit of remote project teams that has come to light in recent years is the level of dedication and loyalty these teams display.
While being bound to traditional methods of working has led to high attrition rates in the past, employing an agile team working remotely on projects leads to committed workers who are willing to stick around longer. As the workforce paradigm shifts to accommodate workers who are hired for their skills rather than location, remote software developers prefer companies that support them with a flexible and virtual workspace.
As Forbes puts it in their Remote Work Statistics, 57% of workers would consider leaving their current job if their employer didn’t allow remote work. In the same report, 35% of employees reported that they feel more productive when working fully remote, while a staggering 98% of workers reported that they would like to work remotely at least some of the time. This overwhelming figure reflects the growing affinity of today’s workforce towards the flexibility, autonomy, and work-life balance that remote work offers.
4. Improved Agility
Office-goers everywhere share the same woes—from long commutes to parking troubles to shortage of meeting rooms to occasional health hiccups—that interfere with their ability to work effectively. Add personal errands and busy weekends to the mix, and you have employees who feel demotivated and burned out.
A 2023 survey states that flexibility at work is the most important reason why software developers and other knowledge workers stay in a job or look for a new one. When companies foster a flexible remote environment for teams to work in, it allows IT teams to work shifts that suit their individual preferences, leading to increased focus, efficiency, agility, and high-quality output. A wide range of flexible hours—during the work week or on weekends, whether day or night—helps development teams work when they are most productive, without worrying about battling the traffic or missing their kids’ ballet shows.
Moreover, flexible hours allow remote software development teams to offer more agility and innovation at work, enabling businesses to adapt quickly to changing project requirements and market demands. Traditional office-based teams might face challenges when adjusting to sudden shifts in project priorities, but remote teams can easily accommodate changes due to their decentralised nature.
5. More Diversity
One of the most significant advantages of hiring remote development teams is the chance to tap into a diverse and global talent pool. Organisations are no longer limited to hiring local talent or narrowing their expectations down to a specific geographical location. This allows companies to bring in expertise from around the globe, fostering a more dynamic and innovative work environment.
And as more and more women around the globe join the technical workforce in increasing numbers, hiring remote talent gives companies an opportunity to diversify their workplace and promote gender equality. Also, hiring remote software developers allows companies to tap into the talents of differently abled candidates, who would have been left out of the equation in a traditional office set-up.
Moreover, by hiring remote software developers, companies get to hire candidates based purely on talent and expertise, rather than location. A diverse team often brings with them unique perspectives, skill sets, and a wider range of experience that leads to enhanced problem-solving skills and creativity—often crucial in the complex world of IT.
Interested in learning how you can navigate the complex challenges of a demanding project? Our diverse resource bank of skilled developers might just be what you’re looking for!
6. Enhanced Communication
The biggest benefit many companies tout when it comes to hiring remote or custom software development teams is the improved collaboration witnessed throughout a project. Effective communication happens to be highly critical in IT projects. Collaboration and coordination among developers, testers, and other stakeholders need to be seamless and constant.
Thanks to the recent advancements in online communication tools, video conferencing platforms, file-sharing solutions, and project management software, remote teams can now share statuses, discuss challenges, brainstorm solutions, and stay updated on project progress and deliverables in real-time, despite geographical distances.
7. Better Resource Allocation
The earlier quoted Forbes study reports that the IT sector has been leading as the top industry promoting remote work in 2023. This is mainly due to the fact that tasks in this sector are often digital in nature, requiring only a reliable internet connection.
However, this also indicates that remote software development teams have become the order of the day as they offer scalability that is often challenging to achieve with on-site teams. Businesses can now easily scale their software development teams up or down based on project requirements, without worrying about the logistical challenges associated with physical office spaces. Having a remote team also allows organisations to respond promptly to changes in project scope, thus ensuring that the right resources are allocated to meet project-specific needs.
Moreover, businesses can now handle fluctuating workloads by leveraging freelancers, contractual workers, bench candidates, or part-time contributors as and when necessary. Such flexibility in resource allocation ensures that companies can achieve optimal efficiency and cost-effectiveness throughout the project lifecycle.
8. Reduced Business Interruption
Between 17th August and 2nd September 2017, the greater Houston area in Texas, United States, was ravaged by Hurricane Harvey, forcing businesses to close operations. However, what enabled business continuity during this critical period was the remote work accomplished by some of the affected companies in response to the disaster.
Considering the criticality and cost of an IT project (read data migrations, ERP upgrades, web development, application integrations, etc.), it is paramount that the work gets done with minimal interruption and without any downtime. Employing a remote software development team can act as a strategic risk mitigation measure, since they will be accustomed to working with distributed systems and cloud-based processes. This also helps them adapt quickly to unexpected obstacles encountered during any project.
9. Improved Customer Satisfaction
Along with eliminating the need to be physically present in the office for a specified period of time, a remote model of working encourages companies to focus on results rather than the amount of time spent at the office. This means that companies would have to assess productivity based on the business end goal and the vision on which their respective organisations were founded. With remote software employees spending time and energy where necessary and focusing on completing their projects as planned, customers experience improved service and timely resolutions to their concerns.
And since remote software development teams enjoy a healthier work-life balance, businesses in turn have become more flexible and more prompt in responding to customer queries, leading to increased customer loyalty.
10. Accelerated Digital Transformation
With the acceptance of work-from-home and the hiring of custom teams that can collaborate remotely on any project came the adoption of cloud-based, low-code software and third-party applications that have propelled organisations today towards digitalisation, more forcefully than a traditional work set-up could have done. Remote workers are shaping the professional world today, and with it, the virtual way of conducting business.
In fact, the shift towards remote work has also penetrated other business functions such as HR, marketing, finance, sales, legal & compliance, and customer service—thereby accelerating the need for developers and software engineers who could create better tools for collaborating and transacting remotely. Since the advent of the remote model, there has been a significant advancement in data exchange, workflow management, production control, and data security software. Migration to the cloud, system integrations, as well as the adoption of AI and machine learning have seen a giant leap as well. Needless to say, the rising demand for a remote workforce has resulted in companies embracing digital solutions faster than ever before.
Ready to Hire a Dedicated Remote Software Development Team for Your IT Projects?
For organisations looking to thrive in the increasingly competitive world of IT, hiring a remote software development team would give them the edge they are looking for.
If you’re also looking to foster greater innovation, embrace digital transformation, and achieve successful projects, Corptec’s unique team of custom development professionals can help you get there.
Corptec Technology Partners is the fastest-growing technical workforce agency in Australia, where we help you employ highly skilled technical workforce for your unique project needs. With a floating resource bank of 600+ candidates, we can help you quickly put together a remote project management or custom development team that not only excel in coding but also in communication and collaboration.
What Can Corptec Offer You?
- A dedicated agile team of remote software professionals
- Competitive turnaround time and within-budget delivery
- Round-the-clock project support
- Custom software solutions and applications
- Faster time to market
- Top-tier talent (whether on-site, remote, bench, or contracted)
- Niche, hard-to-procure technical workforce
Ready to turn your dreams into code? Reach out to us today and we will help you build your unique project team!
