In today’s competitive world, businesses want to be careful when deciding whether a large software development project should be done in-house or done by outsourcing the work. Some companies have an in-house software development setup (captive centre subsidiary), but they are so flexible that they outsource work to reliable vendor partners. Other organisations no longer outsource major software development work, because of their captive centre setup which has long-term goals. You can select the best one that suits your business’s purpose in the short-term and in the long-term, by comparing the two setups. So let’s take a look at a comparison of the key drivers and challenges for a captive centre set up with those for a vendor partner set up. Key Drivers for the Captive Centre Setup Does your business have a captive centre in a low-cost area? Do you want to benefit from the cost-savings of offshore resources? Then this model is the one for you. You can choose to set up your own captive centre to make the most out of its large-scale offshore plans. Does your business deal with sensitive information? Do you want to prevent the potential risk of data leaks to third parties? Then you may prefer this model. For example, if your business is based on banking, insurance or the stock market, you deal with a lot of monetary transactions and sensitive customer data. Do you want complete control over your sensitive operational activities, like product costing and new product launches? Then this setup is suitable for you. Does your business handle a complex software development project? Then the knowledge gained by...
Smartphones have changed our world. A decade or two ago, mobiles were just portable landlines – used primarily for calls and the occasional text. Today, it is an unforgettable part of our lives, something that helps us do everything from waking up in the morning to remembering appointments to playing games to burning calories to listening to music to keeping a track of pregnancy cycles. All of this is made possible by mobile applications. What does your organization do to leverage ahead? Statistics suggest that 32% of UK customers make a purchase on their phone. Add to that the fact that you can find an application for almost any task you might want to do – from learning a foreign language to waking up a stranger across the world with a song. Mobile users are expected to reach more than 43 million in the UK by 2017 and people are increasingly using their phones to access everything from search engines to shopping websites. Mobile solutions are needed for everything. Developing App For Your Business You need have an app for your business. Whether it be to improve organizational productivity or market your own app, you need a good app strategy. You have two options – you either hire a freelancer or a company. The best decision would be outsourcing to a company. Why? A freelancer may be great in a specific area but won’t have as much experience as a gamut of experts that a company has. A good company will also have acquired its reputation and grown by working for different kinds of businesses. The Steps Involved So...
Outsourcing was considered a taboo in its early days, but slowly it is proven as one of the most significant business models. The rosy days of the global economy are gone and so, while, lowering financial liabilities, organisations have to sustain the quality of service and employ a workforce that is economically affordable and efficiently skilled. Many countries like China, Malaysia, Philippines, Mexico, Indonesia, and Thailand are rapidly growing as preferred destinations for global outsourcing, but India leads the race by a wide margin since the inception of outsourcing. So, let’s see why and how India managed to remain in the spotlight. Cost Effectiveness Every business strives to be as cost effective as possible, and one of the best ways to cut down on operational costs is to reduce manpower expenses. India qualifies well on this metric and hence attracts foreign companies to invest here, as resource wages are comparatively lower as compared to other countries. With low labour costs, immense human resources and excellent infrastructure, offshore companies can invest and expect their projects to be completed with high quality and minimum expenses within strict deadlines. Skilled, Professional Manpower Currently, India has about 2.75 million software developers in the national workforce. By 2018, this count will reach 5.2 million, a whopping 90% increase. India’s software development growth-rate is attributed to half the population being under 25 years of age and current economic policies. India is a budding hub of developers and coders, promising to provide world-class services to outsourcing companies. Apple Inc., the leading technology giant, is looking into setting up a company-owned, technology development centre in India. If this happens,...
The web has changed over the past few years – the amount of things we can now do online, as well as the way we construct our day-to-day lives around the web and communication, has meant that different software development techniques in the digital sphere have risen to prominence in recent years. Let’s explore a blend of two different types of development techniques – Outsourcing along with Agile Development Where does outsourcing agile development fit in for me? A distributed environment, one where not all work is completed in the same space, has become commonplace within today’s businesses, and for agile development as a process to work efficiently has to be able to work well in this environment. Fortunately, with the right lines of communication in place, distributed agile development adds a huge amount of value when outsourcing work, no matter where you are. The collaboration and relationship of a distributed team adds up a great deal – and it can fit right in to your team as long as you follow some essential guidelines on how to make distributed agile development work for you. Created ‘rich’ lines of communication to counteract the relatively small amount of quality face-to-face time with distributed work Create frequent deliverables within a distributed agile environment Get clear, well-written guidelines and objectives so everyone knows what to expect. Faster and more flexible delivery There are many key features of agile development that mean many major companies in the software development and IT industries are adopting this way of thinking. The table below indicates some features and benefits of agile development – as well as...
