Build-Operate-Transfer: the Build stage

Build–Operate-Transfer is an engagement model that’s become popular over the past few years. It allows growing companies to reach local markets (including Poland) and hire the best people, without having to worry about specific details. 

I’ve written about this engagement model before, but let me rephrase it briefly here: Build-Operate-Transfer is the partnership model where one of the business partners builds and runs a team of experts that can be then included in other partner’s company during the final Transfer stage of the process. 

One of the benefits of this type of engagement is that the procedures involved in choosing specialists and making sure they know the processes and the details of your company culture, are all handled offshore. It’s often more cost-effective and simply easier than building an offshore subsidiary from scratch and will be ideal for companies that are just starting out to operate on a global level. 

What is the Build stage of the BOT model? 

The Build stage of the Build-Operate-Transfer engagement model is all about creating  an offshore team and equipping it with everything it needs to become successful. This takes into account both tangible (digital devices, office space) and intangible (knowledge transfer) factors. I’d say that this stage is crucial for the whole project to be finished within a reasonable time frame. This stage usually lasts 1 – 3 months, although if the potential team members are ready to be employed, as is the case at Spyrosoft, it can be shortened to 1 – 2 weeks. 

The Build stage is often divided into two parallel processes. One is centred around building the perfect team for the project and it can include sourcing the candidates, interviewing them and then hiring with all legal activities completed. The other is focused around transferring resources and knowledge, so the offshore team can complete their tasks as they would if they were a part of your company.  

Benefits of the Build stage 

Cost-effectiveness 

Hiring a team in one of the global IT capitals such as London may be costly, especially if you’re trying to hire top talent. But what if you could employ domain experts below the usual cost? Well, with the BOT engagement model, you can. As I stated above, the crucial part of the Build stage is making sure that all of your teams – be they onshore or offshore – operate on the same level of understanding and organisational structure, so the lack of knowledge when it comes to your company culture and desired outcomes should not be an issue here. 

Shorter time to market  

This is one of BOT’s biggest advantages. Using this engagement type, you can actively decrease your time-to-market period. Why? With specialists ready to work on your product within weeks, your development process can be continuous and often you won’t need to wait for changes to your services to be applied. With more people on your team, you can be sure all tasks will be completed quicker than usual. 

And if you’re launching your product in a few markets at once, you can use your resources in a different location to make sure that it’s optimised for the cultural and political variations  of each country or region. 

Capability as a Service 

Let’s face it: offshore hiring gives you the ultimate competitive advantage – you can employ talent from anywhere and you’re not limited to your immediate area. At Spyrosoft, we’ve got the experts ready to start working on your project any time, so this part of the process is even easier. You don’t need to get involved in  recruitment and hiring activities as we can set up a team in 1 – 2 weeks. 

Whom Build stage of the BOT model will be perfect for 

As mentioned  the Build phase (and BOT in general) is ideal for companies that are taking their first steps into the area of foreign operations. If you’re not sure how a particular  offshore market works and what type of resources you’ll need to reach it, then using BOT would be a great start. An often-overlooked aspect of this engagement model, is that it’s not only about building a team and  knowledge transfer. Accessing offshore resources and contacting people who’ve worked locally for many years also gives you  a unique source of strategies for better global product releases. 

How it works in practice 

As you may know, at Spyrosoft, we’ve been using the Build-Operate-Transfer engagement type for years, with multiple customers. The Build stage is always easy for us as we already have a pool of developers available. Once you’re ready to start the collaboration, we’ll set up a team that can work on your project almost immediately. We’ll also take care of any legal documents that need completing and make sure the hiring process is compliant with the regulations in Poland. 

Wrapping up 

With the growing need for remote work and the urgency to build global brands, we may start to see the rising popularity of the BOT engagement model. It’s ideal in the world of talent shortages and rapid company growth. You don’t need to limit yourself by hiring only in your local area or compromising on quality. BOT gives you enough flexibility to allow your project to expand. 

If you’d like to know about this partnership model in more detail, then read this earlier article from our BOT series.