Software development: nearshoring revolution
Outsourcing
The main historic reason for outsourcing software development was cost reduction. Companies outsourced their development to offshore partners worldwide at very reasonable prices. Eventually, this method of work has not proved successful due to the following reasons:
1. The basic criteria must not be the lowest price; outsourcing should not represent the concept of renting cheapest developers, but should enable the contractor to obtain at least the same quality of service as when hiring locally;
2. Cultural differences used to be huge, therefore resulted in misunderstandings;
3. Differences in time zones used to be difficult to bridge which resulted in lack of communication and led to the situation where the client was not enough involved in the development process.
Nearshoring
Over time the problem was recognized and the basic reason for outsourcing has transferred from cost reduction to (1) the need for finding quality employees. Cultural differences have been paid attention to as well. (2) and the frequency of communication (3), which resulted in expansion of nearshoring, that is outsourcing in the nearby countries or the ones within the alike time zone.
Nearshoring, as any other outsourcing method, has its advantages: the possibility of hiring labour force fast, retention, etc. Of course, the price is still the essential factor.
Challenges
The basic concern of the company which intends to outsource its software development is the question whether it is going to achieve the required quality. The answer is simple, the quality mainly depends on the choice of the outsourcing partner.
The outsourcing partner has to be proactively involved in the development. The joint goal has to be the success of the final product, and not merely closing the tasks in the project management software. All this requires deeper understanding of the problem and of the project domain itself. Understanding the detailed scope of the project at the initial stage is crucial for obtaining success. Partner should clearly understand business goals, functions and processes. This involves a lot of communication, especially at the very beginning. Most failures are rooted in simple misunderstandings, often because common terms are interpreted differently and nobody is aware that the conversation is off-track.
There is also a concern about the fact that the company will lose control in time and that it will also affect the quality of development. These risks can be diminished by using Agile technologies, such as SCRUM framework for managing software products. Agile helps ensure that all time on a project is spent wisely, while allowing developers autonomy when it comes to their daily management. As such, it is appropriate for development efforts that leverage offshore resources as all business stakeholders are able to comfortably keep tabs on the project from a remote location.
Finally, quality QA testing is also required for the success of the product. Furthermore, the outsourcing partner should make structured use of best practices like code conventions, code review, self-testing by developers, etc. in order to ensurebetter product quality before QA.
All in all, outsourcing partners have to take into consideration that it is not only important to make a good product but also to make the real product.
What makes TelNet different?
We are a company which, thanks to its knowledge and experience can reduce the above mentioned risks to a minimum, where founders` (geek :) mindset is extremely helpful. Apart from experience in different business fields we have very important experience — experience with developing trust between the clients and us. We have earned that trust thanks to our truthful and proactive approach to solving problems (e.g suggestions on how to enhance the product/process) enhanced by continuous professional development. Along with Agile approach we also offer daily communication with the client and we are skilled for using tools for project management, monitoring and reporting. Reasonable price is a must.
Our team consists of junior, intermediate and senior developers who have excellent mutual communication. They are not freelancers but but a team that has been working together for a while. We have established good communication with the Faculty of Technical Sciences which enables regular flow of new employees, whereas we pay attention to quality recruitment, training and mentoring. We are “big enough to scale, and small enough to care”.
Our nearshoring centre is situated in Serbia (GMT+1). We have a strong understanding of western culture, both on a personal and business level, thus making written and verbal communication a much more enjoyable experience. Regular direct flights from most major European centres to Belgrade allow clients to visit us with ease — Belgrade is within two and a half hours from most major European cities (London 2h 30 mins, Berlin 1h 45 mins, Amsterdam 2h 45 mins).
