Common habits of great IT outsourcing providers (Spoiler: 99x Portugal ensures all of them)

When selecting an IT outsourcing partner, the stakes are high. You need more than a service provider, you need a team that understands your business, delivers quality consistently, communicates effectively, and scales with you. The challenge for many leaders isn’t knowing they need help; it’s knowing who to trust.

We've spent over 15 years helping companies across Portugal and 15 other countries enrich their digital capabilities with top-tier talent, agile processes, and client-centric collaboration. Along the way, we’ve not only refined our craft but also recognized what truly distinguishes a high-performing tech partner.

In the next lines, we’ll walk you through the key habits shared by the best IT outsourcing providers and show you how we bring each one to life.

1. They prioritize clear and continuous communication

Great IT outsourcing providers communicate openly and consistently, in-person or online. From the moment a project kicks off, they establish reliable channels, routines, and expectations.

At 99x Portugal, proximity isn’t just geographic. With our model, we minimize gaps and prioritize real-time collaboration for instance through daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, weekly syncs and regular on-site checkups. We use tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams to stay aligned and transparent at every step.

We also ensure that our engineers are technically fluent and strong communicators who can engage directly with your stakeholders.

2. They embed quality into every stage

Good outsourcing teams don’t wait for the QA phase to start thinking about quality. They build it in from day one.

Our end-to-end QA & Testing approach includes everything from unit and integration testing to automated pipelines, performance testing, and continuous monitoring. Whether you need manual testers, automation engineers, or full QA teams, we deliver with precision and focus on continuous improvement.

Because when you're outsourcing, the last thing you want is rework, delays, or bugs that make it into production.

3. They are scalable and flexible

Every project has its own rhythm. One month, you might need a few specialists; the next, an entire squad. The best IT outsourcing partners adapt to these fluctuations seamlessly.

Our engagement models - Dedicated Team, Time & Materials, and Fixed Scope Projects - are designed to flex with your needs. We provide highly skilled professionals on demand, no matter if you're scaling up quickly or easing into a steadier pace.

Our clients value the peace of mind that comes from knowing they can quickly reinforce their teams with vetted, productive engineers.

4. They align with your business goals

It's not enough to write clean code or meet deadlines. A great outsourcing provider understands your product vision, market, and business drivers.

We take the time to discover your challenges, pain points, ambitions, and KPIs. During the pre-engagement and engagement phases, we are side by side with you looking at the tech requirements and the strategic goals. This means our professionals work with a sense of ownership and direction, rather than just tasks.

5. They foster long-term collaboration

Outsourcing shouldn't feel like a transaction. The best providers aim for enduring partnerships, where trust, transparency, and mutual growth guide the relationship.

That’s why many of our clients have been with us for years (please visit our case studies and clutch reviews). We invest in realizing their evolution, offer proactive suggestions, and empower their business to scale.

With 100+ engineers based in Portugal and a people- and client-centric approach, we ensure continuity and long-term alignment.

6. They bring top-tier talent to the table

Outsourcing is only as good as the people doing the work. The great providers focus on hiring and retaining exceptional engineers who combine technical expertise with soft skills.

Our selection process is rigorous and multidimensional, including problem-solving abilities and cultural fit, prioritizing candidates who can code while being able to collaborate, take initiative, and empathize with the product.

We leverage robust pipelines and local market expertise to identify, vet, onboard and develop the right candidates for each challenge, ensuring we meet evolving demands. Our talent spans a wide range of skills: Java, React, Angular, .NET, PHP, Python, Go, Kotlin, DevOps, QA, Appian, OutSystems, Power Platform, Node and more. We are tech-agnostic but deeply invested in quality.

7. They embrace Agile, DevOps and Design Thinking best practices

The best IT outsourcing providers adopt modern practices to ensure rapid iteration, user-centric innovation and reliable releases.

We follow agile methodologies that allow us to move fast while staying aligned with your roadmap. DevOps integrates development and operations for faster delivery. And Design Thinking ensures user-centric solutions. Together, these approaches enable us to deliver robust, efficient, and scalable software that meets your unique needs.

8. They are proactive problem solvers

Besides flag issues, good providers come with solutions.

We encourage our teams to think critically, challenge assumptions, and propose improvements. Whether it’s a performance bottleneck, a UX hurdle, or a security concern, we bring options to surpass any problem that may arise.

This mindset has helped us build trust and stand out in an industry where too many providers operate on autopilot.

9. They ensure data security and compliance

In a world of increasing data regulations, security is non-negotiable.

We embed secure coding practices, enforce access controls, and comply with industry regulations like GDPR. For clients in regulated industries such as finance, healthcare, and logistics, our experience with audits and secure deployments adds another layer of confidence.

10. They celebrate success together

It might sound simple but celebrating wins matters. The best providers recognize milestones, appreciate joint efforts, and build team spirit. That’s what we do at 99x Portugal together with our clients.

 

So, if you’re facing talent shortages, rising costs, or missed delivery targets, and have an IT outsourcing partner that checks all the “boxes” above, you’ve definitely found a true extension of your team.

99x Portugal is this kind of partner, of course 😊.  We bring the people, the mindset, and the processes to help you:

• Access top-tier engineering talent without hiring headaches
• Scale product development quickly and predictably
• Deliver on time and on budget
• Focus on strategy while we handle execution

Reach out today and see it to believe it.