Scaling smarter, not faster: How DMG built offshore capability through the right partner

About Data Mesh Group

• Data Mesh Group is a leading Australian fintech transforming payments with its Unify platform, enabling seamless, omnichannel transactions and real-time insights.
• Trusted by major banks and retailers, DMG supports billions in payment volume annually. Backed by NAB Ventures and Deutsche Bank, the company is scaling rapidly across APAC.
• Mission-driven to turn payments into smarter, data-driven customer engagements, boosting loyalty and reducing friction.

From rapid scale-up to strategic reset

• Ambitious early growth: DMG began with aggressive hiring, scaling from four to seven senior full-stack developers to support its expanding operations and acquisitions.
• Operational growing pains: Despite strong momentum, the company lacked the internal structure to manage a larger offshore team. This led to misalignment, resignations, and a sharp reduction to one or two developers.
• Changing leadership and priorities: Leadership changes and evolving business goals made it difficult to maintain continuity in team structure or direction.
• Market shift and funding pressure: By mid-2023, a downturn in investor confidence triggered tighter funding controls, prompting further cuts and a reassessment of resourcing strategy.
• Need for a smarter model: What started as a rapid scale-up now calls for a more measured, strategic approach to team building, focused on long-term value and adaptability.

Summary of the main challenges:

• Early ambition to scale quickly clashed with operational readiness
• Internal turnover prompted a reduction in team size
• Leadership changes added uncertainty
• 2023 market downturn forced investor-driven cost-cutting
• DMG needed a flexible, high-quality offshore partner to rebuild smartly

Rebuild –  Refine – Reaccelerate

• Phase 1: Rapid scale-up

DMG expanded quickly, doubling its developer team from 4 to 8, to meet urgent cash flow and acquisition-driven demands.

• Phase 2: Pause and reassess

The rapid growth exposed internal capacity issues, and shifting market conditions forced a reduction to just 1–2 developers.

• Phase 3: Trust sustained through turbulence

Despite the pause, DMG maintained its relationship with Away Digital Teams, built on trust and flexibility, enabling swift re-engagement once conditions improved.

• Phase 4: Rebuild under new leadership

With new leadership in place, DMG worked with Away Digital Teams to rebuild its tech stack, successfully bringing on board five full‑stack developers tuned to the business’s next-phase needs.

• Phase 5: Specialist placement – banking-grade talent in Hanoi

Following a significant win with Vietnam’s largest bank, DMG needed a top-tier solution architect in Hanoi. Away sourced and placed a highly specialised candidate earning $20K/month.

• Phase 6: Built with growth in mind

Today, DMG’s offshore team includes five developers and one expert architect. Three more data mesh roles are in the hiring pipeline, demonstrating the flexibility and trust inherent in the partnership.

Key takeaway

Away Digital Teams supported DMG through multiple business stages, establishing long-term success, embedding high-calibre talent, and standing ready to scale again through a truly collaborative model.

The partnership is an example of Outsourcing 2.0: not just offloading tasks, but embedding offshore teams that align with the client’s ways of working.

Meeting talent needs through every phase

• Renewed partnership and specialist placements: Despite early setbacks, the relationship endured, underpinned by mutual trust and flexibility.
• Rebuilt tech team: With new leadership in place, DMG re-engaged and successfully placed five full-stack developers.
• Secured high-impact hire: Following a major win with a Vietnamese bank, a senior solutions architect was sourced and placed in Hanoi.
• Adaptable delivery builds long-term trust: The hiring strategy evolved alongside DMG’s shifting needs, balancing scale, specialisation, and timing. This flexible, tailored approach reinforced trust and proved resilient through changing conditions.
• Expanding footprint: With five developers and one architect onboard, recruitment continues for three additional data mesh roles.

Resilient resourcing for a dynamic business

• DMG’s early offshore growth outpaced its internal readiness, leading to a reset. A leadership shift opened the door to re-engage with Away Digital Teams, this time with a more strategic, capability-led approach that restored momentum and trust.
• The partnership matured into a trusted talent pipeline: tailored, responsive, and sustainable.
• Away Digital Teams proved its ability to support evolving needs through different growth stages.
• With more hires underway, outsourcing is now embedded in DMG’s long-term strategy.