Make sure the offshore software development partner you are looking for fulfills at least some of the following characteristics:

• Good communication equipment and facilities. Leased line or ISDN connections to the Internet are essential.
• Excellent English language skills
• Experience and references. Check with a few of the references and ask for their experience and advice on how you should work successfully with the company.
• Visit the company and establish a good relationship with the offshore software development partner. Make sure they understand your needs and quality demands.
• Also, check that the offshore software development company has adequate equipment, stable finances and good management.
  

How to start a offshore software development relationship

In the most successful cases, according to our experience the outsourcing company and the offshore software development company builds a strong long-term relationship. Often the outsourcing company ends 1-2 people to visit the offshore company to start a personal relationship with the programmers they are going to work with. This also helps to understand the cultural problems and settings and can therefore help to build much more confidence than is possible to build via email communication.

Starting with a small pilot project might be the best way to start and establish a long term relationship.. Some of our clients have given the same task to different offshore software development companies and then after evaluation selected the best one.