Blockchain started in the year 2008 with bitcoin as its first currency, which was seemingly valued at $0.0001. People who purchased it at that time invariably used it for irrelevant things, who thought it would turn out to be what it is today. The blockchain evolution has grown to the point that big businesses finally want a slice of the cake as this technology has broken into so many industries with names like Volkswagen, JPMorgan, Maersk, Facebook, Vodafone, Standard Chartered, Dubai Land Department and Delta Airlines all implementing this system and exploring the opportunities and benefits as such.
Blockchain Implementation and the aftermaths
There are countless use cases if to implement blockchain in a financial way, or in ways which upgrade previous technical functions and tasks.
Especially in traditional supply chain businesses, the impact of the implementation would result in a huge boost of the efficiency of that business. To increase speeds of transactions, removal of paperwork’s, automated planning of tasks will bring huge savings your cooperation. Additionally, the implementation of smart contracts based on customized rules is the key to higher efficiency and absolute accuracy.
For example, if a billion-dollar supply chain enterprise implements a blockchain system, the operational costs will decrease because maybe 30% to 60% of their workforce won’t be needed anymore. Combined with some AI features and Robotics it will improve outcomes more. Task completion speed’s and profits might rise by 10% to 50% or even more. The human error gets nearly completely eliminated. There are already scenarios that in some departments up than 80% of the staff is no longer needed. Blockchain puts trust in every functionality because it’s based on a distributed ledger technology which follows some strict rules which cant be altered backwards once set.
The high demand for the blockchain trend due to its fourfold growth in 2017 has also increased the demand for blockchain development companies which, as at now is still on the rise. It is natural to say that with the increase in any trend comes the increase in startups in that industry and “the dilemma of selecting the right people for the job.”
To tell you the rate of blockchain development startups in the last 3 years, if you would be astonished at how many companies would pop up on your Google search pages, millions of results, with only a few of them with proper knowledge of what the job entails.
The Hiring Models
The blockchain community is a young, multifaceted, and complex one which constantly experiments new methods in a bid to improve efficiency with trends like alternative consensus algorithms, new frameworks, and other distributed ledgers.
This is to say that only experienced hands, as well as development companies dedicated to continually learning the latest trends and innovations, can do the job right because what seemed to work previously might become obsolete within a short period.
So, the major question in this article is, how do you find blockchain developers who can provide you with enterprise solutions and blockchain products? Here are some recommendations on hiring developers who would provide you with the best quality.
- In-house team
- Outsourcing
1. Hiring an In-House team: This hiring model is a good option for those who are looking to hire and develop their personal blockchain product. Here you have to assemble a team of developers to work for you.
Pros
- This is a good option as you have total access to your team when you successfully assemble one.
Cons
- The disadvantage of this hiring model far outweighs the advantages as it takes time to assemble a team of experts who can fit properly into their roles.
- Finding, interviewing, and employing the right set of in-house workers can be very tasking, and this tells on you because time is of the essence in this fiercely competitive market.
- Other factors like software licensing, taxes, office, and workstation rent are to be paid upfront alongside other investments that make this platform a high investment one.
2. Outsourcing: With this option, you look for a specific development company to outsource the job to. This company must have a good reputation which will carefully assign some selected professionals for your job.
Pros
- No time wasted in hiring professionals personally
- The cost attached to getting your workshop space, paying taxes and implementation of software’s is also something less to worry about.
Cons
- You have to constantly attend demos and participate in planning the project so you can make sure you get exactly what you want.
- If you are running a highly security-sensitive project, outsourcing would not be the best option. Especially not to non-enterprise amateurs.
Note: If outsourcing to freelancers, you might save a lot of costs, but you would lose time hiring different freelancers as this sort of project requires a team ranging from DevOps, developers and even testers. It is safe to say that if you are considering freelancers, it should be a one-time thing for specific skill-sets. Chances to succeed with a bunch of online hired freelancers are as good as zero and leave you with big security risks.
Where do you outsource to?
From the standpoint of an investor, I believe outsourcing is a good option, which is why I would like to buttress on it more. If you agree with me, the question now is, where do we find professional developers to outsource to?
Looking at things from the standpoint of cost, the US has the highest hourly rate charge where blockchain developers can charge an hourly rate of as much as $250 which makes it expensive, irrespective of the quality they offer.
Coming to Western Europe, the hourly rate charged by software and blockchain developers range from $100- $120, while in Eastern Europe, high-quality developers have charged about $70 -$100 per hour making this the most efficient and cost-effective place to outsource with an advantage of English as a general language and the ease of corporate policy adoption compared to Western Europe.
How to choose the right company for you
Irrespective of the fact that we have narrowed the choice down, there are still a lot of things to consider when searching for the right company. You have to understand that it takes time and a consideration of some of these factors.
Project Requirement
Your project specifications should be taken care of before you reach out to developers. Although this field of blockchain development endeavours demands professionalism, the knowledge of what you want is the platform for negotiation with these professionals.
You can explain your business and your expectations from the use of blockchain technology such as:
- Your expectations- effective document management, security consciousness, cost-effective methods, faster processing and other things you might have in mind
- Your favoured technology- the type of blockchain technologies you want to be used amongst others.
- Your business motto and ideas
- Your deadlines
- Your budgets
- Your code of ethics etc.
This can be done without the need of any blockchain expert (if you do not have any) as these development companies would enlighten you on technologies and tools that meet your requirements for the best results.
The Candidate Search
You can search for the best candidates using online communities like Clutch and Reddit by simply going through the company description, customer reviews as well as completed and running projects.
Another way to search for candidates is to attend offline blockchain events where you get the chance to meet company officials and representatives one-on-one and see if they are up for what you are offering.
With these methods, you can put together a shortlist with relevance as a standpoint for hiring, contact them for appointments at different times, and see if what they have to offer is what you want.
Important Note: When searching online you will find most companies which develop their own “blockchain” projects. Often those start-ups also outsource their work to a main Blockchain Tech Development and Consultancies firm. Those are not the right firms to approach. You need to find a company whose primary focus is on building projects and implementing blockchain tech for other companies. It is like finding a web design agency which will built your website.
Making the final choice
With all the factors mentioned so far, it is safe to say that a good choice can be made, but I have to warn you, never make your choice solely on enticingly low prices and short timelines because the Blockchain technology is something going much further than the present leaving you to make choices futuristically. Make sure that the development company is able to actually show you some previous blockchain implementations which are live and successful running. There are some companies which even won industry awards for their implementations. Yes, I mean award’s, don’t believe articles or some PR news which are often based on a bunch of visions and theoretical facts. This “award recognition” will help you in your decision.
Many successful directors and decision-makers who run companies mostly don’t have the proper knowledge and it is just not a task of a day to learn all the different blockchain technologies, how they technically work and how they are different from each other. Trained Salespeople will always be trying to convince you with amazing talks. Remember that talk will always be talk and the real proof of previously successfully completed projects is the primary fundamental guideline to your firm’s blockchain upgrade.
Best of Luck.
Matthias Sheikh Mende