Offshore Software Development in Bangladesh

Just east of India, the small country of Bangladesh sits in the shadow of software outsourcing giants in South Asia, but don’t dismiss it as an option for your offshore development. Bangladesh is fast-gaining recognition as an emerging software outsourcing destination.

Accelerance investigates software development outsourcing companies around the world to determine their outsourcing readiness across more than 500 business and technology due diligence factors. Bangladesh, your software development companies have our attention.

Why We Like Bangladesh Software Development Companies

Using our proprietary scoring system for global software outsourcing regions, Accelerance rates Bangladesh as a “Medium” for outsourcing readiness. Here’s how we see Bangladesh as a destination for outsourcing software.

Accelerance considers a number of factors to determine software outsourcing readiness. We look at: economy, politics, education, technology infrastructure, proven experience in the outsourcing industry and the presences of large global companies in the region. Here’s a few quick facts:

• The Bangladesh economy is strong and expected to grow at 7% annually through 2020
• Stable politics and cooperation with the US State Department on national security issue
• Bangladesh offers over 1100 tech companies and more than 80,000 IT professional
• Over 100 companies in Bangladesh are providing IT outsourcing to over 30 countries
• Companies that use outsourcing in Bangladesh include IBM, FuJitsu, Sony, and Brothe

“Digital Bangladesh”

The government of Bangladesh is banking on technology as the future for their country. This commitment to technology led to the “Digital Bangladesh” program (part of the country’s “Vision 2021” initiative. Bangladesh is making multiple investments in technology - in part to make Bangladesh a go-to-location for outsourcing. Government agencies, businesses, and the general population are the focus of targeted initiatives.  Because of incentives to businesses - expansion projects already being planned include:

• 28 hi-tech parks in progress with the stated goal of converting Bangladesh into an IT hubspot
• Increased access to the key hi-tech parks via commercial airlines: 45+ daily flights from 8 airports (including 3 international airports
• Data Centers including a Tier 4 national data center
• Internet bandwidth improvements by leveraging 1,700 Gbps backbone via SEA-ME-WE 5 fiber optic cable
• Power plant capacity growth targets of 230% over 7 year

Technology Watchdogs are taking notice of Bangladesh’s emergence as a next-generation leader in outsourcing.  A recent Everest Group Report had this to say about Bangladesh “...though significantly smaller than offshoring giants such as India and the Philippines, (Bangladesh) has demonstrated one of the highest growth rates globally indicating a huge untapped potential and increasing interest by investors. The industry is expected to generate revenue of US$1.0-1.3 billion in 2017 and grow five-fold to reach US$5.4-5.7 billion by 2025...This is remarkably higher than the growth forecast for either an established peer location such as India...or an emerging peer location such as Vietnam…”

Top Technologies and Expertise

Bangladesh software development companies are generally strong in the Microsoft tech stack (ASP.Net, Sharepoint, SQL, etc.), Python, Java, JavaScript, PHP, Oracle technologies, and more.

Subject-matter expertise can be found in Industrial IOT, BlockChain technologies, and general eCommerce, to name a few. Accelerance partners can reference clients in banking, healthcare, manufacturing, and technology sectors.

Talent Pool & Education

65% of Bangladesh residents are under 25 years of age and the government is committed to building a technology workforce. Education in Bangladesh is largely subsidized by the government. There are more than 30 public and 60 private universities in Bangladesh, and eight of them are science and technology focused universities. Each year, over 10,000 students graduate from programs in Computer Science.

Hourly Rates

Our investigation shows that typical partner rates for outsourcing in Bangladesh is between $26 and $37 per hour. That is very very attractive for Accelerance clients who are comparing these to other global rates for software development, including India and even other emerging outsourcing countries like the Philippines and Vietnam.

Things to Consider When Partnering with Software Companies in Bangladesh

We find Bangladesh to be a good destination for your software development outsourcing. But, as with any software outsourcing strategy, you must consider – then manage – risks that come with offshore outsourcing. Let us share our experience with you.

Language

In the education systems of Bangladesh, there’s a push to make English a second-language. This will continue to increase the likelihood of a fluent English-speaking outsourcing team. However, be careful to confirm language skills. Make sure you and your outsourcing partner have a plan to ensure collaboration doesn’t suffer due to limited English skills on the offshore team.

Time Zone Differences

Bangladesh is 11 hours ahead of Eastern Time Zone. Therefore - any US or European business will need to plan for collaboration and/or look for companies that offer Western working hours. This is a key consideration for teams using Agile development methods.

Third-World Woes

With all the optimism of Bangladesh’s future, it’s important to remember that Bangladesh is still struggling with issues found in a third-world country:

• Electrical Outages - Blackouts and brownouts are commonplace in Bangladesh. The top software development companies in Bangladesh overcome power outages with generators and backup generators. Don’t be shy about asking whether your Bangladesh software partner has infrastructure to ensure uninterrupted power.
• Internet - Bangladesh currently depends on a single submarine cable for internet. By many estimates - up to 40% of business in Bangladesh suffer from inadequate bandwidth. Investigate this issue in your due-diligence.  
• Online Banking - Bangladesh lagged behind the western world in adopting online banking. However, the Digital Bangladesh / Vision 2021 initiatives are making headway to modernize Bangladesh banking. Be sure to confirm what electronic transactions are available between you and your vendor partner.

Where are Top Software
Outsourcing Companies in Bangladesh Located?

Bangladesh is definitely emerging as a global software outsourcing provider.

Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh. This region of nearly 19 million persons is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. It includes key areas such as Shyamoli. Generally, your outsourcing partners will have their headquarters in the Dhaka region.

Who are the top software companies in Bangladesh?

Continuously, Accelerance reviews companies across the globe for their outsourcing capabilities. We use over 500 data points in our evaluation including size, English proficiency, depth of talent, and more.

We would like to guide you to find THE RIGHT software outsourcing company for your company. Each company will have unique criteria for matching to the ideal software outsourcing partner. Your choice should be based on your industry, culture, time zone, technical skill mix, and more.

Due Diligence – With A Customized Search

There’s more we could say about a good due-diligence search for the right outsourcing partner in Bangladesh. Let us help you find the IDEAL outsourcing partner, using a search process, tailored just for your company. We would be happy to share with your our experience. We recommend you consider these steps for a proper due-diligence.

Onshore Expertise

When you have an experienced advisor to help you locate and engage with the best software development company in Bangladesh for your specific needs, you increase your chances of success. This is why we created our Accelerance Coach services. Let us help you make your outsourcing relationship successful!

Software Outsourcing is Our Specialty