Ask the IT leaders about the prospect of offshoring and you will get variable answers. The biggest roadblock faced by an outsourcer is the entire responsibility of success or failure lies on him whereas the onus lies on the service providers too. Some feel it is a good option to get the best out of your investments made in your business enterprise, while some believe it leads you on the road to disaster with sheer waste of money and efforts. A number of software makers and vendors of software services have had a bad experience in their past with the offshore projects failing on one hand and appalling relationships with the outsourcer on the other hand. Now, with such a kind of varied opinions, it becomes essential that both the parties involved in the offshoring should adopt certain techniques to envisage healthier partnership for mutual benefits.

Although Microsoft, IBM or HP have made their presence felt in many countries by offering excellent offshore services and products, and Indian companies like Infosys and TCS have offered the best of services in countries like U.S.A and Canada, innumerable problems are being countered by these companies. 

• The outsourcer must provide complete security to the software service provider in the sense that complete inputs and information should be made available so that he is ready and prepared to take any risks.
• On the part of the offshorer, the pros and the cons of every project undertaken must be  assessed and the cost-profit ratio must be weighed up in order to reap the most out of  offshoring. Often due to the poor economic situation and political turmoil in a country, the service provider withdraws himself from investing in a offshore project. 
• The outsourcer should know what to get out of outsourcing services and how much to extract.
• The service provider should know what all services can be outsourced and what not? Having clarity before undertaking any offshore work will prevent any snares and pitfalls. 
• Selecting the right vendor for availing any product or services is essential to far-reaching achievement of goals. 
• The service provider or vendor should adjust to the variability in demands whenever required by the outsourcing organization. 
• A great negotiation and good management skills are required in order to have good mutual association for long. Managing across different culture is imperative from the perspective of establishing and strengthening cross-cultural relations.  

Selecting the right model for offshoring is also important. For example, an outsourcer may either like to go for joint venture or development center offshoring or the service vendor may like to tie up with multiple vendors. The bottom line to this concept of offshoring is all the above factors must be looked into before taking the final decision.