| Current IT Outsourcing Trends | | | | In contrast, Russian programmers are of more |
| In modern business environment major IT companies | | | | concrete and narrow specialization than Indian, e.g. they |
| often practice outsourcing the development part to | | | | are high skilled Telecom OSS/BSS solutions |
| offshore companies specializing in particular sphere or | | | | developers and integrators. What distinguishes Russian |
| industry domain (e.g. Telecommunications or GIS | | | | IT market from others - its scientifically-oriented |
| Mapping Solutions) as it is the way to cut their | | | | resources that are used to handle complex tasks and |
| expenses on software development and design by | | | | implement innovational solutions. In terms of work |
| 20-30%. The point is that wages overseas (e.g. India, | | | | process organization and communication, Russians are |
| Russia) are much lower than, for example, in North | | | | the closer than others to western type. |
| America or Canada. That gives a way for application | | | | Speaking about China, one can say that this direction |
| development companies to reduce headcount and | | | | emerged in a comparatively recent time and |
| deliver their solutions at qualitatively different prices. | | | | represents something in between the 2 extremes of |
| According to the latest tech market report by | | | | Russia and India. The beneficial side of outsourcing IT |
| Forrester Research , 'US IT Market Outlook: Q1 2009', | | | | projects to China is its rates - the lowest ones. |
| in 2009 the U.S. IT market will go through a tech decay | | | | Eastern-type work organization and mentality which is |
| which will result in annual growth decrease. Most | | | | way different from the mentality of a westerner is |
| probably, a large number of IT companies will turn to | | | | able to cause misunderstandings. |
| offshore market, considering outsourcing the R&D | | | | Awareness saves funds |
| part is a way to avoid losses caused by the decay | | | | Taking into consideration what has been said above, |
| period. Experts predict the number of such projects will | | | | we can conclude that if a company is taking a decision |
| double by the end of 2009. | | | | to outsource custom application development, it should |
| To make the offshore development model work | | | | clearly recognize the differences between major |
| properly, it is necessary to consider the factors that | | | | outsourcing directions and correlate them with the |
| may be determinative for the whole work process' | | | | project's type. The outsourcing direction factor is |
| success. | | | | based upon cultural and historical differences that both |
| The Direction Factor | | | | sides should consider to achieve well-balanced and |
| When a company makes a decision to outsource | | | | organic work process. |
| application development to a subcontractor, usually | | | | A possible way to solve the problem of intercultural |
| arises a question of outsourcing direction. The most | | | | communication (ICC) is the organization of ICC |
| notable companies that provide application developers | | | | trainings. By the means of these trainings a company |
| with offshore software engineering services are | | | | can prepare its employees to successfully |
| located in India, Russia, and China. Here one is better to | | | | communication with representatives of another culture |
| keep in mind the fact that custom software | | | | (in our case it is an offshore IT developers). ICC-aware |
| development companies from different countries cope | | | | staff ensures avoidance of time & budget losses |
| better with different types of IT projects. | | | | during the process of intercultural collaboration. |
| Indian programmers are of wide specialization: they | | | | Making mistakes in choosing the right outsourcing |
| have a solid experience in PHP development, web | | | | direction and defining adopted project's specifications, |
| design, custom web e-commerce solutions, etc. The IT | | | | or neglecting the intercultural communication & |
| market in India is far more traditionally concerned as | | | | work organization nuances may cost the company |
| the best outsourcing direction than any other. Eastern | | | | more than traditional onsite application development, |
| type of mentality may cause some inconveniences, | | | | while properly organized outsourcing work model is |
| though, due to the fact of solid experience in | | | | able to bring benefits both to the offshore and onshore |
| outsourcing projects, such cases are rare. | | | | companies. |