In recent years, IT outsourcing has become an increasingly popular option for businesses of all types and sizes worldwide, due to many considerable benefits. When it comes to IT and offshore outsourcing, Vietnam is definitely one of the top countries that comes into people’s minds. This article will look into the ultimate guide to outsourcing in Vietnam to help you outsource your IT project to Vietnam smoothly.
What is IT outsourcing?
IT outsourcing refers to the practice of delegating some or entire IT-related functions/projects to external service providers. Simply put, when a company outsources its IT development process, they are relying on an outside team to complete an IT project or function for them. This might be due to a lack of a skilled in-house team, or they want to cut down on cost and time to focus on growing their business.
There are various IT tasks or services that you can outsource to an external provider. Some of the most common IT outsourcing activities include (but are not limited to):
- Software/application development & maintenance
- Web development
- Mobile app development (Game & App)
- BPO
- Annotation
- AR/VR/MR
=> Check out high-end IT services provided by Beetsoft, the leading IT outsourcing in Vietnam.
Why outsourcing to Vietnam?
The growing demand for IT outsourcing service providers has encouraged many developing countries to dive into this booming trend. Therefore, it’s not difficult to seek an outsourcing partner in India, Ukraine, or China. But why should you consider Vietnam your ideal destination for IT outsourcing?
1. Fast-growing & emerging ICT Industry
Realizing the high importance of digitalization in national economic growth, both the Vietnam government and business sectors have been striving to expand information and communication technology (ICT) business. The ICT sector revenue was projected to reach $136 billion in 2021 with a nearly 8% YoY growth rate, 3 times higher than the national GDP growth rate.
These numbers proved how the ICT sector is gaining its position as one of the fastest-growing industries in Vietnam. Thus, the government is providing the best environment and regulations to support outsourcing to Vietnam escalating more rapidly.
Vietnam IT Industry Growth & GDP Growth in White Book of Vietnam Information and Communication, 2021 (Source: Sunbytes)
2. Competitive cost
As Vietnam has only stepped to the beginning stages of industrialization and digital transformation, the labor cost tends to be quite reasonable compared to other countries that have already entered the growing circle. A recent survey stated that while the price for outsourcing in Vietnam is around $20 to $40 per hour for one developer, this number could be four times higher in India. Thus, outsourcing to Vietnam can reduce the cost of your IT projects significantly compared to other countries, especially for the US and Western European-based businesses.
3. Competent English skills
One of the enormous obstacles that Vietnam IT outsourcing providers have gradually overcome is the language barrier. Besides learning Vietnamese as their first language, Vietnamese young people are exposed to English from an early age, as English is a mandatory subject for children since primary school. In 2020, Vietnam ranked 13th in English proficiency rankings amongst the Asian area.
As the core of any IT outsourcing business lies in clear communication, competent language skill is highly prioritized in Vietnam outsourcing industry. Most IT outsourcing companies in Vietnam have English-speaking developers and project managers to adapt to an international working environment.
4. Abundant IT workforce
Another advantage that outsourcing to Vietnam provides is an abundance of highly skilled and competent developers. Besides a big workforce of roughly 430,000 software developers and approximately 1,030,000 individuals working in the ICT industry, it’s expected that each year over 50,000 developers graduate from over 100+ IT institutions in Vietnam.
The average age of developers who participated in the Vietnamese IT Industry Market 2021 by TopDev (Source: Sunbytes)
Furthermore, Vietnamese coders are confident in various programming languages, from PHP, Javascript, and Java, to Python and SQL. Thus, outsourcing to Vietnam is an excellent option for any business idea you have in mind.
5. Digital transformation
The road to digital transformation in Vietnam had been officially kicked off with the National Digital Transformation Program in 2025, with a vision for 2030. The government showed an all-out effort to fulfill the goal of transforming Vietnam into “a digital national, stable and prosperous country that pioneers in the digital economy, and digital society, as well as forming Vietnamese digital technology enterprises that are capable of going global, with some specific fundamentals.”
This vision can be seen through the way the government sped up the implementation of new projects and policies for ICT. It’s no surprise that they will encourage outsourcing to Vietnam in light of the national digital transformation program.
6. Socio-economic stability
Vietnam is proud of its stable social and economic status for the past 30 years. In contrast to its counterparts in APAC, such as Myanmar and Thailand which are facing social and political instability, Vietnam remains one of the most politically stable countries in the region. While this doesn’t seem like a deciding factor at first, it could affect your IT project if you want to create a long-term relationship with outsourcing partners.
2 Key challenges faced when outsourcing to Vietnam
1. Timezone difference
One of the most enormous obstacles that businesses face when outsourcing to Vietnam is the timezone difference. Normally, time zones can cause a slowdown in communication between you and outsource dev team in Vietnam. It might even lead to late notification for important matters, which can affect the business if the project is in the launching phase.
The key to overcoming this timezone barrier is to try to look for an IT outsourcing provider that you can negotiate time to match between both sides. The outsource provider should be able to assist you with flexible working time rather than be fixed to local working hours.
2. Limits in Vietnam’s data protection law
At the moment, Vietnam has yet to release a comprehensive law regards data protection since the current legal law on data & privacy protection is based on various regulations and acts from previous guides. This could possibly lead to the exposure of confidential and sensitive company data without you being acknowledged and tackled.
To deal with this, normally you need to require your outsourced development team to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) before sharing data and private information. Thus, you can guarantee the safety of your project from security breaches when outsourcing to Vietnam.
At BeetSoft, we understand thoroughly that customer privacy matters. Following ISO 27001:2013 (Information Security Management System), we have a clear process to ensure data security at the highest level. You will be signing NDA with us at the beginning of our project and rest assured that your sensitive data is in safe hands.
4 Factors to consider when outsourcing to Vietnam
1. Business needs & requirements
Setting a clear goal of what you want from the Vietnam outsourcing provider at the start can save you a lot of time and dissatisfaction down the road. Don’t set ambiguous goals, but try to focus on your business needs to narrow down what you want from your outsourcing provider.
Which outsourcing model you will follow, team-based or project-based? If you want to build a dedicated outsourcing team, which languages, skills, or frameworks do you want them to possess? How many years of experience should be acceptable for the project you are doing?
If you are in need of outsourcing to Vietnam the whole software development, note down the list of ideas/features/requirements and discuss it frankly with the outsourcing provider. You should have a clear idea of what part you will get involved in and what part you can rely entirely on your outsourced team. By defining thoroughly what you need from the provider beforehand, you know exactly what you are looking for when it comes to deciding the final option.
2. Expertise and experience
Once you have your project goals and expectations in mind, you would also decide the level of expertise and experience that you would need from the outsourced provider. With all that available information, It will be much easier to look for the providers’ portfolios to check whether they fit your requirements. Plus, by looking at the outsourced team profile and past projects, you can have a better understanding of the providers’ expertise based on their team size, capacity, and experience. This information should be taken into great consideration to decide if you should outsource to Vietnam or not.
3. Budgets and cost
One of the most vital reasons why many businesses choose Vietnam to be the outsourcing destination is due to the reasonable cost that could help them save a fortune on big projects. Having said that, the cost of outsourcing to Vietnam still varied greatly, in which individual IT providers might propose different pricing methods based on various factors.
Besides looking at the cost estimation, you also need to pay attention to the cost breakdown to plan your own strategy regarding the financial factors. Clear away all ambiguous factors to make sure you get what you pay for.
Step-by-step guide to outsourcing to Vietnam
1. Narrow down potential software outsourcing providers
Phewww, you made it through a long list of what makes outsourcing to Vietnam the best choice for your business. But which provider is reliable, cost-effective, and most importantly, suitable for your project and the current team is a harder question. After determining the objectives clearly, about what you need and stating the list of requirements for future reference, it’s time to narrow down the list of potential outsourcing providers.
Here are some tips/sources to help you select the most potential software outsourcing firms:
2. Avoid “best”, “top” keywords when searching on Google
It’s true that almost everything you need can be found on Google, but it’s also true that not everything you find there is reliable. When searching for the list of software outsourcing providers in Vietnam, be attentive to the superlative terms such as “best”, “top” since they might be the product of the SEO writing process. Instead, search for terms that are more related and relevant to your projects or requirements, such as “game development company in Vietnam”, or “blockchain development Vietnam”.
3. Industry review platform
Clutch.co, goodfirms.co, trustpilot.com, and sortlist.com are some reputable listing sites specialized for IT and B2B sector. Besides displaying company essential information to help you contact providers with ease, these websites contain actual reviews and testimonials from customers who experience providers’ services. Thus, these listing sites are essential in helping us classify potential vendors.
A rule of thumb is to try to analyze at least 10-15 outsourcing vendors in each category you’re searching for. Analyze the profile, portfolio, and reviews carefully to come up with a thorough analysis and comparison for the list of potential candidates.
Top B2B Firms in Vietnam for 2022 by Clutch
4. Referrals
This seems to be the hardest option but in fact, the safest way to find a reliable solution provider. As Vietnam has become quite a popular outsourcing destination, it’s possible that someone in your network had already outsourced to Vietnam or had first-hand experience there.
Also, it won’t hurt any cent to ask out for a global community in Quora or Reddit to see if there’s any recommendation pops up. It might be a source of credible testimonials to analyze.
5. Reach out for cost estimation
Once you’re done with researching potential Vietnam outsourcing partners, narrow them down to five to 10 companies to focus on. Contact each directly to discuss your requirements, but try to figure out what’s not shown publicly, such as resource availability, and communication & management skills. Along with reaching out for cost estimation, you can also get a better understanding of the partner and the way they process, which contributes a lot to your final decision on where to outsource to in Vietnam.
6. Finalize the contract
Bear in mind that you have to sign the NDA before providing any sensitive information to prevent data leaking. If your chosen provider fails or declines to sign NDA, they are not a reliable partner to start with, so you have no reason to continue doing business with them.
The contract is a mutual agreement between both parties, so you have a complete right to negotiate all the terms based on joint conditions. Pay attention to how the outsourcing partner clarifies the payment process, quality control, and project management. These issues can lead to complications and misunderstandings down the line, so it’s better to avoid them at first.
7. Communicate to win
Once the contract is signed, don’t leave everything to your Vietnam outsourcing partner. Try to think about the project as a shared mission that everyone wants to complete perfectly. Learn to communicate openly and effectively to solve the problem on a timely basis, rather than look at the result and try to blame the partner for every issue that arises.
Best trusted IT outsourcing company in Vietnam
In order to save you your precious time researching and analyzing, we’ve already narrowed down for you the list of best trusted IT providers you can trust when outsourcing to Vietnam. One of them is BeetSoft, the leading Vietnam IT outsourcing provider with more than 9 years in business. We cater to SMEs and MNC’s all around the globe by providing high-end services, including IT Consultancy, Outsourcing, Annotation, and BPO at a cost-competitive price.
With 9 plus years of IT Consultancy and Outsourcing, BEETSOFT is playing a stellar role in honing the skills of professionals, assisting companies to achieve success in their operating field of specialization.
We as an organization have grown rapidly in the past two years, now with operating offices in Hanoi & Danang, Vietnam, and Tokyo, Japan with close to 600 employees. BEETSOFT specializes in IT Outsourcing, IT Consulting, Annotation, AI, VR, MR, Software Development, BPO. Besides, we are also involved in projects related to Artificial Intelligence Research and Robotics.
Our Clients come mainly but are not limited to The UK, Europe, USA, Israel, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Australia, Middle East, Hong Kong, and over 20 other countries around the world.
BeetSoft receives absolute 5-star ratings from customers globally
For the list of other outsourcing providers in Vietnam, please check now the list to find the one that best suits your company’s needs and requirements.
=> Read now: Top 10 Trustworthy Mid-Size Outsourcing Companies in Vietnam
Outsourcing to Vietnam today!
It’s apparent that outsourcing to Vietnam seems like a reasonable destination with high-class quality yet affordable services, not to mention hundreds of available options. Compared to other outsourcing hubs around the globe, there’s no argument that outsourcing to Vietnam should be taken into serious consideration. If you need help outsourcing any IT service or project, don’t hesitate to contact BeetSoft. We promise to deliver the best services and assist you in all stages of IT development. Let BeetSoft be your reliable outsourcing partner on the way to success!