The AI-first offshore development center: how the model works

This guide is for CTOs, CIOs, founders and operations leaders of mid-market companies and scale-ups who are weighing an offshore development center (ODC), a captive capability centre or project outsourcing, and who want to know what "AI-first" should mean in practice. It compares the models, lists what makes a centre AI-first, and covers governance, cost drivers, intellectual property, exit and when the model is the wrong choice. It is part of our technology trends 2026 series. For choosing Vietnam as a location, read our software development outsourcing to Vietnam guide.

In this guide

• What an AI-first ODC is
• Why buyers are rethinking offshore delivery
• Delivery shapes compared
• What makes an ODC AI-first
• Governance that keeps you in control
• How an ODC starts and scales
• Costs and commercial terms
• IP, security and exit
• When an ODC is the wrong choice
• Where Netbase stands
• Limitations of this guide
• Frequently asked questions
• How this guide was made
• Next step

What an AI-first ODC is

A classic ODC is a team a partner hires, houses and manages for one client, working as an extension of the client's own engineering organisation for years rather than months. The client steers priorities; the partner runs people, tools, facilities and delivery discipline.

An AI-first ODC keeps that structure and changes the working method. AI assistants help write and review code, generate tests, draft documentation and triage defects, and the centre measures what that assistance actually improves. People stay accountable for every change. The goal is not fewer engineers at any cost, but more tested, documented and secure output from the team you have.

Why buyers are rethinking offshore delivery

Buyers no longer choose between insourcing and outsourcing; they combine them. Deloitte's Global Outsourcing Survey 2024, based on more than 500 executives, found that 78% of organisations use global in-house centres, 80% plan to maintain or increase third-party outsourcing, and 83% already use AI as part of outsourced services. The same survey found that 70% had selectively brought some previously outsourced scope back in-house over five years, and 70% said their vendor management office was not fully mature.

At the same time, AI is changing engineering itself. DORA's 2025 research found AI use among technology professionals at 90%, with AI now improving delivery throughput while still increasing delivery instability. And the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025 finds that employers expect 39% of workers' core skills to change by 2030. A delivery centre set up today has to absorb that change, not freeze the old method.

Delivery shapes compared

What makes an ODC AI-first

• AI-assisted engineering with review. Assistants help write code and tests, and every change still passes human code review and version control.
• Test generation and quality gates. AI drafts tests and edge cases; release gates decide what ships.
• Living documentation. Architecture notes, API docs and handover material are generated and kept current, so knowledge does not sit in one person's head.
• Measured, not assumed. The centre tracks delivery measures such as lead time, change failures and defect escape, and reports whether AI help improves them.
• Model-agnostic tooling. The team works with the major commercial and open-source AI tools and models, chosen per project and per client data rule.
• Governed data use. Clear rules for which code and data may reach which AI tool, agreed with you at the start; our AI governance starter sets out a baseline.

Governance that keeps you in control

An ODC fails when the client loses sight of it. The governance should make progress visible every week:

• Weekly reviews of progress, risks and decisions, with the measures agreed at onboarding.
• KPI dashboards that you can open at any time.
• Named accountability: a dedicated account manager for the relationship and a project manager for delivery.
• Shared tools: your repositories, issue tracker and chat, or the partner's, such as Jira, GitHub, Slack and Zoom, with progress visible to you.
• A clear delivery lifecycle from discovery to ongoing co-building; see how we work.

Costs and commercial terms

The cost of an ODC is driven by seniority mix, team size, the overlap hours you need, tooling and how long the team runs. A long-term centre usually runs as a dedicated team on a monthly retainer, because scope moves with the roadmap. Most Netbase projects are delivered on fixed-price contracts, and well-defined pieces of an ODC's roadmap can still run at a fixed price. Our comparison of a dedicated team and a fixed-price project sets out when each fits. Budget for AI tools and model usage as a visible line, not a hidden overhead.

IP, security and exit

• IP. In custom development, the client should own the IP created for it; licensed modules and products should be listed before work starts.
• Security. Ask for secure code review, encryption in transit and at rest, role-based access, MFA for admin tools, vulnerability scanning and NDAs for every contributor.
• Exit. Write the exit into the contract on day one: documentation, access transfer, knowledge handover and a notice period.

When an ODC is the wrong choice

• A short, fixed scope. A project engagement is simpler and cheaper.
• No product owner on your side. A centre without steering drifts.
• A permanent strategic capability you must own legally. A captive centre, possibly built with a partner and transferred later, may fit better.
• Unclear data rules. Settle what code and data may leave your organisation before scaling any offshore team, AI-first or not.

Where Netbase stands

Netbase offers dedicated development teams, project-based development, on-demand support and fully managed delivery from its head office in Hanoi, with teams of 3 to 30 people that typically start within one to two weeks after discovery. All delivery communication is in English, office hours are Monday to Saturday, 9:00 to 18:15 Vietnam time, and most Netbase projects come from clients outside Vietnam, mainly in the United States and Europe. Netbase holds ISO 27001 certification and a SOC 2 Type II attestation for its own operations.

For a US client, Netbase has worked as the offshore development and managing team on a multi-tenant cloud ERP delivered as SaaS, starting in 2020. Netbase also runs its own products long term, such as Printcart, and reusable foundations such as the SaaS product accelerator. The AI-first working method described here is how we are building our offshore development center and dedicated development teams offers; it is a growth capability, and we publish no ODC size or AI productivity figure. Commerce teams in retail and ecommerce are a common fit, and the other ways to work with us are on Partner with Netbase.

Limitations of this guide

• Survey figures describe their publishers' samples, not any single partner, and none of them measures Netbase.
• AI productivity effects vary by codebase, team and task; measure them in your own centre.
• Legal and employment questions of captive centres differ by country. Take legal and tax advice.

How this guide was made

The Netbase Editorial Team wrote this guide from Netbase's published delivery, engagement and security pages, Netbase's verified facts and the cited public research. David (CEO) reviewed every Netbase statement. Drafting used AI assistance (Claude). For the wider talent options, see talent and delivery and our quality engineering and testing service.

Next step

Share your roadmap, your current team and the skills you are missing, and we will book a solution review to propose a centre shape, a first team and the measures to track. You can also browse more Netbase insights.

Related services and solutions