Rails outsourced development: Roadmap to success

The US job market has over 9,500 unfilled jobs for Ruby on Rails (RoR) specialists. The European Union has over 3,000 open positions. Every day more and more companies struggle to find experts in their local markets and plan to outsource Ruby on Rails development. In this article, we will

• Explore when RoR is the perfect tech choice;
• Discuss the pros and cons of RoR;
• Provide a detailed roadmap for Rails outsourced development;
• And discuss Eastern Europe as your best destination to outsource Ruby on Rails projects. 

Ruby on Rails projects: What is RoR used for?

Research shows that 86% of all developers who work with Ruby prefer RoR to other frameworks [2]. It’s a web framework that allows developers to build custom solutions quickly. 

If you are interested in Ruby on Rails project outsourcing, you need to understand what type of projects Ruby and RoR are best suited for: 

• Prototyping and MVPs. Both Ruby and RoR were designed to make the development process easier and faster. They are excellent choices for proof-of-concept or quick MVPs that need to be released fast. 
• Websites. Ruby is used by 5% of all the websites [2]. Rails is often used as a server-side programming language for web development projects.
• Ecommerce. Spree and Shopify were built on the RoR framework. Even though Shopify later switched to pure Ruby development, RoR still remains the most popular choice for ecommerce platforms.
• CRM and documentation support systems. Rails allows developers to create elaborate systems that are relatively easy to support. 
• Social media networks. Twitter once began as a RoR project. RoR is a great framework that allows companies to test their ideas without having to commit to lengthy and expensive development.

Benefits

• Technological maturity. Both Ruby and Ruby on Rails are mature technologies. They have overgrown their issues and now offer reliable and predictable performance. 
• Time and cost-efficiency. Rails offers numerous out-of-the-box solutions, covering many development needs.
• Additional libraries. RubyGems.org has over 10,000 libraries for RoR. 
• Large community and strong support. There are more than 320,000 questions tagged with “Rails” on StackOverflow. 
• Easy integration with other frameworks. For example, RoR provides default support and integration with React, Vue.js, and Angular. 

However, to give you the complete picture, we need to discuss the drawbacks of using Ruby on Rails. 

• A lack of possibilities for creativity. Ruby on Rails has a great variety of out-of-the-box solutions. However, it has limited options when you want to create something unique.
• Longer refactoring time. If the service is mature, it takes a lot of time to refactor it or rewrite it. 
• Version upgrades can be painful. Especially if we are talking about updating from one major version to another (e.g., 3.0 to 5.2), the proper transition could take up to 3 months for a mature service. 
• Low performance and the weak presence of parallel processing capabilities.

When is Rails outsourced development the best choice?

Despite the popularity of IT outsourcing, some companies are still hesitant about it. Here’s when outsourcing RoR makes sense:

• When you have no in-house expertise. Finding technical specialists and hiring them can be an expensive and time-consuming process.
• When you have a hard time with staffing locally. Oftentimes, companies opt for outsourcing when they need to tap into a wider pool of experts (or even a global one).
• When you need the flexibility of scaling. RoR outsourcing allows you to change the size of your team based on your business needs. You can also discuss the part-time involvement of other experts if needed.
• When you need to focus on business development rather than technology and project management. Depending on your engagement model, the vendor can be responsible for recruitment, onboarding, project management, and other procedural details of cooperation. 

If you have faced at least one of these challenges, then outsourcing is the right option for you.

How to successfully outsource RoR development?

If you are planning to outsource RoR development, there are seven steps that can help you to handle this process with minimal stress and increase your chances of success.

1. Analyze your business needs

First and foremost, you should understand the task at hand. It will help you choose the right vendor and an appropriate cooperation model. 

• Do you face a challenge but have no idea how to overcome it? Look for companies that specialize in custom software solutions.
• Do you have the vision of the product and need to validate your idea but don’t know how to make it work? Focus on vendors that offer a discovery phase.
• Do you need to expand your engineering team? Consider IT outstaffing.

2. Gather the requirements and define the scope of work 

Every successful project begins with carefull planning, setting clear objectives, and gathering input from all involved stakeholders. Collect the requirements, discuss deadlines, the expected growth potential, and scaling capabilities of the system. If possible, try to predict future integration with third-party software and systems in the company.

 If you have no resources or experts to do this in-house, ask your vendor about the product discovery phase. 

3. Choose your tech stack 

Once you know what needs to be done, it’s time to narrow down the tech stack. Here are two major scenarios: 

a. If you are planning the project from scratch

Rails is primarily used as a web framework. If your project requires the use of a JavaScript framework, opt for the ones that have the best integration with RoR, such as React, Vue.js, or Angular. 

You may also need to consult cloud experts about infrastructure- and platform-as-a-service, especially if you are looking to migrate your ecommerce project to the cloud.

b. If you need help with an existing or legacy product

As we mentioned earlier, version bump is one of the most critical aspects. If you plan to outsource Ruby on Rails development and need to bump the version, make sure to discuss it with the vendor, as it can seriously affect the time necessary. Also, switching from one major version to another also prolongs the time needed to complete the project.

If you have doubts, questions, or concerns about the tech stack, it might be better to clarify everything with the RoR outsourcing company you choose.

4. Choose the RoR outsourcing vendor wisely

Here are few tips to help you find the best Ruby on Rails outsourcing company:

• Focus on midsize and large vendors as they are more likely to have established processes, internal resources to scale, and versatile expertise.
• Evaluate the vendor’s portfolio, look for industry expertise, similar types of projects, etc.
• Check out case studies and look at the client reviews to understand what type of companies choose this vendor for partnership.
• Explore industry awards, certifications, and partnerships.

5. Assemble the team 

The vast majority of Ruby on Rails projects require a team of developers, a QA, a project manager, and sometimes — other experts. According to the report [2], Ruby experts typically work in teams of 2 to 7 people.

Depending on the agreement with your vendor, you can change the size of your team or request part-time involvement of other experts (e.g., Cloud developers).

6. Organize knowledge transfer

In order for the outsourcing vendor to understand your needs and deliver the best services, they need to know why things were organized in a certain way, what was the business logic behind certain decisions, etc. Successful knowledge transfer includes:

• Sharing knowledge before the beginning of the project to explain the context and expectations.
• Documenting the accumulated knowledge during the project.
• Knowledge transfer at the end of the project. 

7. Communicate regularly

One of the key aspects of successful Rails outsourced development is continuous communication between all stakeholders in your company, the vendor, and the development team. Having proper communication channels and regular status updates helps to keep everyone on the same page. 

Why choose Eastern Europe for Ruby on Rails outsourced development?

Eastern Europe is a well-known IT outsourcing destination for global companies from the US, Canada, Western Europe, and the UK. One of the primary reasons for Ruby on Rails project outsourcing to Eastern Europe is an extensive tech talent pool. There are a little over 25,000 Ruby experts in the region, and the lion’s share of them are working with Ruby on Rails. 

Also, this region has over 350 vendors that specialize in Rails outsourced development. Clutch lists 120+ Ukrainian, 90+ Polish, and 30+ Romanian Ruby on Rails companies. 

Many of these companies have experience in delivering MVPs and large-scale products to companies in consumer products and services, business processes, ecommerce, education, and healthcare industries. 

Why choose N-iX for Rails outsourced development? 

1. N-iX has over 1,500 experts, including 30+ Ruby developers (and more than 60% of them are senior-level specialists). 
2. We have built long-lasting partnerships with many industry leaders and Fortune 500 companies, including Lebara, Gogo, AVL, Fluke, Seeking Alpha, and others. 
3. Our specialists have strong expertise in the development and refactoring of Ruby-based projects, application testing, prototyping, API testing, and systems scripting and automation.
4. We work with Ruby on Rails, grape, JRuby, MRuby, RuboCop, and other frameworks.
5. N-iX is compliant with PCI DSS, ISO 9001, ISO 27001, and GDPR standards.

Featured case studies

• N-iX has been a strategic partner of Currencycloud for almost ten years. Our Ruby developers have contributed to the modernization of their legacy system, introduced new features into the existing services, and ensured the smooth operation of the platform.
• Globalcap, a fintech company from the UK, needed a reliable Ruby outsourcing partner to build a web platform that digitizes capital raising and asset administration.
• Our Ruby engineers have also provided development services to Travelport Locomote, a global travel technology company. We have collaborated on the travel management platform.

References

1. Indeed.com 
2. Ruby programming: The state of developer ecosystem in 2021 by JetBrains
3. Usage statistics and Market Share for Ruby by W3TEchs