library

28 March - 3 min. read

Hybrid Work: The Model of the Future

Companies worldwide are bridging the gap between a past that had most employees physically present in the office, and a future that remains uncertain. Remote work became a temporary solution for many businesses as a response to the COVID-19 episode. However, it looks as if remote work will persist in the form of hybrid work models to allow companies to effectively engage talent and create value.

18 August - 3 min. read

Outsourcing Concern #12: Government Oversight and Regulation

Our series of posts about outsourcing concerns is coming to an end. Today we'll discuss the last major concern — government intrusion. It is our last topic but not the least important one, since government intrusion can destroy a sound outsourcing relationship.

18 May - 3 min. read

Outsourcing Concern #11: Poor Infrastructure

Sometimes, companies are reluctant to use outsourcing, fearing a weak IT infrastructure on the supplier’s side. They fear ongoing technical problems in their communications, losing the produced source code or documentation, and disruptions in the work of the remote team.

6 February - 3 min. read

Outsourcing Concern #10: Absenteeism and Leaving the Project

This valid concern is based on the presumption that employees at an outsourcing company serving multiple clients and projects, do not value every project equally, and always have another project to escape to.

15 November - 3 min. read

Outsourcing Concern #9: Distant Work and Time Zone Difference

Distant work is a core feature of outsourcing. It allows you to use human resources from countries with lower prices or with a bigger labor market. Outsourcing is unimaginable without remote work.

15 August - 3 min. read

Outsourcing Concern #8: Culture Gap between Client and Service Provider

Sometimes clients are reluctant to outsource their projects to other countries due to cultural differences. Their fear is that people from different cultures will not be able to work together and communicate efficiently.

23 May - 3 min. read

Outsourcing Concern #7: Turnover of Key Project Personnel

In software development, it is very important to keep the core team stable and unchanged during the entire project duration. Your core team holds all product and project knowledge, most of which might not even be documented due to the agile nature of the project. It’s a real challenge to replace the core team members without losing some product knowledge and team velocity. In real world circumstances, where significant time is needed to recruit new personnel, this becomes even more difficult.

31 January - 3 min. read

Outsourcing Concern #6: High Cost of Outsourcing

At first glance, this concern might seem irrelevant because the very idea of outsourcing is to reduce the cost of services. With time, however, the cost of outsourcing has progressively increased due to the growth of economies at outsourcing destinations. At the same time, demand for outsourcing continues and even grows, due to the lack of local IT professionals and the constantly increasing amount of IT work.

26 October - 3 min. read

Outsourcing Concern #5: Insufficient Data Security and Confidentiality

Each time you move your data outside of your organization, you risk losing that data or its confidentiality. This is true regardless of where you move your data: to your client, to your cloud provider or to your outsourcing partner. However, this risk does not necessarily mean that your data will be lost or disclosed to unauthorized parties. There is a set of proven measures and practices you can take to protect your data and your confidential information when you work with outside companies.

23 August - 3 min. read

Outsourcing Concern #4: Compromised Work Quality and Failure to Deliver

Some business owners have a misconception that outsourcing is bound to deliver lower quality compared to on-premise development. They presume that an outsourcing vendor’s focus is limited to developing software on a contract-by-contract basis, rather than a long-term commitment to the client’s product and business success.

17 May - 3 min. read

Outsourcing Concern #3: Loss of Product and Technology Knowledge

Software product development is, undoubtedly, a very complex task. A large software product usually comprises a lot of business and technology knowledge. The final product code embodies all this knowledge but doesn’t explain it. If you own the software product, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you own the product knowledge and know-how and that you can improve or extend your product. In other words, without sufficient product knowledge you merely possess “black box” software not adequately suitable for further evolution, which is inherent for custom software.

19 March - 3 min. read

Outsourcing Concern #2: Lack of Control over the Team and its Work

Every business owner wants to maintain control of his or her company and to run it efficiently. All company resources should be utilized with maximum productivity and minimum idle time. IT specialists should be assigned projects according to their skills and experience, and given a sufficient workload with clear and efficient work procedures.

15 February - 3 min. read

Outsourcing Concern #1: The Language and Communication Barrier

Many clients consider language and communication issues the main barriers to outsourcing. This concern is linked to two fears: a vendor’s ability to communicate in the client’s native language and the absence of face-to-face communication.