Engagement models
Start with the work you need done, the decisions your leaders want to keep, and the operation you may want to own. Those choices determine whether you need a specialist, a team, or a center.
Use the first mandate and the level of operating responsibility to narrow the choice. Agree the exact roles, costs, and ownership for your engagement.
Scroll across to see how each model is run.
| Model | Use it when you need | How delivery is led | Operating scope | Ownership decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team extension | Specific skills in an existing team | Your engineering lead directs the work | Role setup and support agreed per engagement | Agree who employs the engineers and who owns work produced in your systems |
| Dedicated engineering teams | A stable squad for one product or workstream | You set priorities with a named delivery lead | Staffing and the squad’s delivery routine | Define the employer, IP terms and responsibility for repositories and releases |
| Offshore development center | An ongoing India engineering operation | You own the engineering mandate and agree local leadership | Engineering teams, local operations, and growth planning | Decide who employs the team and who operates the local engineering center |
| Global capability center | A long-term India capability with a broader company mandate | Your leadership defines the mandate and governance | Center design, initial functions, and phased expansion | Decide who owns the entity and which operations a partner would support |
| Build–Operate–Transfer | A route to take ownership of an India operation | Setup, operation, and handover responsibilities are agreed up front | An ownership path for a team or center | Define the receiving owner, what can transfer and what must be ready first |
Add a specialist to a team that already has an engineering lead, a backlog, and a way of shipping. A data engineer could take on an integration, or a QA engineer could expand test coverage alongside your existing team.
Your leads define priorities, review work, and approve releases. Scope the role, how candidates are assessed, and who handles day-to-day support and staffing changes.
Discuss team extensionForm a team around one ongoing product, platform, or workstream. A squad might combine software engineers, QA, and a technical lead, with design or data roles where the work calls for them.
Your product owner sets the roadmap and acceptance criteria. Agree who leads engineering day to day, how the squad works with other teams, and which reviews or releases need client approval.
Discuss a dedicated teamBuild an India-based engineering operation for sustained product development or R&D. Start with a defined domain, such as enterprise integrations, and plan how engineering, quality, and platform roles can grow around it.
Define the center’s engineering mandate and reporting line. Scope local leadership, recruiting, employment, facilities, and IT operations. Assign each responsibility to your team, Vento, or an agreed local partner.
Discuss an offshore development centerPlan an India center with a long-term mandate tied to your wider business. Product engineering may be the first function, with room for data, platform, or other functions as the mandate grows.
Your leadership defines how the center fits into the business. Work through which functions launch first, who leads them, and which decisions sit with the center. Agree how legal, employment, workplace, and other operating needs will be handled.
Discuss GCC planningUse a staged setup when the goal is to take over the team or center. The parties agree who builds and operates it first, what the client will take on, and what has to be ready before handover.
Define the transfer conditions early. They may cover staffing, agreements, equipment, repositories, access, documentation, and support after handover. Availability and terms depend on the structure and the parties involved.
Discuss a transfer planName the work the team should own and who will review it. A skills gap, a product backlog, and a center mandate each call for a different starting scope.
Agree who leads the work, approves hires, employs the team, and manages local operations. Record those responsibilities alongside the commercial terms.
Discuss code, IP, and access during scoping. If the plan includes taking over a team or center, set the conditions for transferring it and name the receiving owner.
Share the first area of work and how you expect the operation to develop. We can use that to compare the options and identify the responsibilities to agree.