IT Outsourcing Destination - India

India is one of the fast emerging markets in the world, which has made milestone benchmark in global information and technology industry by providing superior quality at affordable cost. IT outsourcing growth and development is driven by the native software development companies and after the recent downturn and in current slowdown situation, outsourcing to India has gained more relevance.

However, it is to be noted that outsourcing customers usually prioritize cost saving while outsourcing to India, which might be a fundamental factor but it has overpowered other important factors as well. It is remarkable that India has expanded its IT industry which attracts more than 50 billion dollars outsourcing work, and dominates more than 50 percent of IT outsourcing. Today, all global IT giants such as Google, IBM Yahoo, Accenture, Facebook, HP, Cisco etc. have set up their base in India, and all of them unequivocally have asserted about the importance of India in IT world and also reported high productivity and profits in India than anywhere else. Beside this, native software development companies such as Infosys, Wipro, SCMS etc. are making mark globally.

But considering the fact about the low cost IT solutions, it is recommended to prospective customers who’re looking forward to outsource to a software development company in India, to stricter their stance on quality and also keep watchful eye on project updates as delays in low-cost projects are commonplace. 

How to Cope with Shrinking IT Talent Pool

IT technology is advancing rapidly, and simultaneously there are hordes of business enterprises that are using every possible tactic to attract the best talent pool and hire highly resourceful and intelligent professionals available to manage their IT resource efficiently. Due to huge demand for IT professionals, seemingly shrinkage has created in IT talent pool. Mostly, business and IT giants are successful in hiring the best intellectual resource, but, midsized and small businesses are struggling gravely, for them IT professionals are scarce resources. Moreover, these enterprises are also struggling to sustain and operate their IT department, which is mostly unmanned and highly dependent on few professionals only.

How can a small or mid-sized enterprise hope to survive in economically tough times by offering lucrative pay packages to IT professionals? Earlier answer to this was little difficult but now after the coming of the cloud software development, which has proven its capability and reliability, enterprises can avoid huge physical IT resource cost. By depending on cloud, enterprises can focus on business and growth without caring about everyday drudgery of bug fixing in the system.

Enterprise can demand specific features or functions to be incorporated in the software or hardware to the cloud software development company without paying extra bucks and wasting precious time on anything else.

How IT outsourcing could lead to cost overruns

World’s prominent IT organizations have raised concerns on frequent cost overruns in IT outsourcing, which is getting larger and unorganized. Both stakeholders in outsourcing – customer and vendor – are all into loss due to cost overruns, as former has to churn out extra bucks whereas later lose opportunity to build long-term relationship. So, what could be the best option to tackle this fiasco?

Three components need to be improved to prevent incidences of cost overruns that are – software development methodology and planning, project management, and budget organization.

Software Development Methodology

Usually, a software development company or customer fails to understand the importance of development methodology applied and try to choose as per their comfort. This needs to be changed from self-centric perspective to research driven logical-perspective while choosing methodologies.

Project Management

Project management is the weakest link because both customer and vendor don’t insist upon having a team of professionals to handle project properly.

Budget Organization

Often due to wrong or inflexible budget organization many unwanted or unpredictable cost issues occur that if not tackled on time it may lead to higher cost.

How to Reduce IT Cost

IT outsourcing has always saved enterprises’ space-time and money, by which, enterprises have been able to focus more on honing their business advantage and garnering high profits. But due to recent downturn, business has become more costly proposition and need to reduce costs and investments in entire business process has become more urgent and significant.

However, to get quality IT software development work, enterprises have to churn out huge amounts even while outsourcing, which have compelled them to think more innovatively and deeply on how they can reduce IT cost?

Well, now cutting IT cost has been made easier with the coming of cloud technology. Cloud technology has been here for substantial period and also has proven its worthiness, effectiveness and affordability.

Cloud technology reduces need for hardware maintenance and extra staff, additionally, it gives portability and handiness to connect and access software. Usually cloud technology is Internet-based, where some remote server or software development company servers, databases and hardware handles, control and manage software and frees customer from any tension and extra cost.

IT Outsourcing For Small and Mid-Sized Businesses

IT and business have inextricable relationship which is enlarging dally. IT technology landscape is continuously absorbing new areas of business to make business risk-free, easily-manageable, profitable, effective and productive. Hence any business that wants to garner higher profits and accelerate progress would need affordable IT solutions.

IT outsourcing offers affordable software development and IT solutions to enable small and mid-sized businesses to have levelled competition with large MNCs and corporate houses.

Often outsourcing offered to developing nations esp. to India, lowers cost and increases quality of work. If you would compare a native IT company to an Indian software development company then you might find the difference, moreover, in some cases you may come to know that those native IT companies are further outsourcing work offshore to same companies. Also if you build an IT department in-house then again cost factor will be discouraging.

So, it is intelligent to look for a software development company offshore and outsource IT work to them, therefore, you can use saved time and money to pursue more passionately and energetically to achieve higher and better business prospects and growth.

Can Cloud Computing Replace Conventional IT Systems?

IT structure of a business is like a bottom line of their profits, productivity and work efficiency, without which a business organization cannot expect to, survive in highly competitive business environment. Nevertheless, huge IT cost from installation, integration to maintenance leads to continual decline in profits. So, what might be the possible or we should say a profitable match to conventional IT systems, which would replace it comfortably?

Cloud computing is seen as a highly profitable bargain against conventional IT systems. Cloud computing system is Internet-based, in other words, it works on some remote server handled by cloud computing service provider, and on the other end, user, can use it from any computer device anywhere. This means that now business organization don’t have to spend millions of dollars capital on IT systems, and of course they will also have portability to access software and enhance productivity at workplace manifold.

But how come it is still not identified as a favourable and preferable IT resource? Well, we know, any technology has its cons as well, and cloud computing drawbacks are – absolute dependence on software development company and Internet connection – constant fear of threat from hackers – and lesser acceptability. In addition, many organizations aren’t willing to replace to cloud system due to their narrow mindedness.

In the nutshell, if we can optimize cloud software development, and make it more secure and workable, then we can expect it to replace conventional IT systems comfortably.

Intelligent and Improved Advance IVR System

Traditionally, enterprises have relied on call centre support to handle sales, services and support systems of it, but now advanced technology is penetrating into that segment to reduce cost, optimize efficiency and enhance response rate. Advance interactive voice response (IVR) system is now taking responsibility of maintaining sales leads, providing telephonic services and handling customer support of an enterprise.

Today, advance IVR systems are built by integrating database with IVR system to provide easy accessibility to enterprise’s data and information to users. Old IVR system are still popular as their software development is easy, cheaper and faster, and any number of functionalities can be added into it, but the basic drawback of this system is that user has to press lots of number keys on telephone to reach at some point. But now with the coming of advance IVR systems, user don’t have to wait for anything, user can directly mention the path and find the required information without wasting any time. In addition to this, user also can manage transaction through it or get services or find any relevant information easily.

Lastly, advance IVR system is interactive and intelligent than its predecessors who were monotonous and dumb. Advance IVR system tries to judge urgency of customer, and also help him on finding basic information faster. This intuitive capability of advance IVR system is a USP of it, and only a professional software development company can build this kind of a system. 

Bridging The Gap Between Business and IT

Information and Technology has entrenched itself in marketplace and business. Today, perhaps no business can expect to sustain itself without powerful role of IT solutions. However, IT is able to optimize work capability, but still lacks business orientation and business generating capacity. This is a worrisome proposition to all business leaders, because according to them, IT only helps in communication and management of business, but in business development it doesn’t makes much-needed impression.

Generally, a software development company focuses on customer’s business handling needs, and overlook business development facilities. Hence, sole focus is concentrated on providing feasible solution to replace manual work with efficient automated work, but in this again, business don’t get much heed. Well, developers aren’t blameable here because they’re only doing software development on proposed client’s business analysis.

Yes, lacunae here is analysis of business environment at client’s end, which makes the difference to software development and leads to gap between business and IT architecture. To bridge this gap a software development company needs to

• Understand importance of business orientation
• Work out on innovative business development techniques
• Hone business management skills
• Package complete business IT solutions

SaaS Environment – Pros and Cons

Global business is suffering from slowdown after disastrous depression. In this time, it is essential to keep a tight hold over investments and cost. For such a quest to enhance productivity and profitability with reduction in cost, SaaS environment is being looked upon as effective way to cut IT infrastructure and handling cost exponentially.

But investing in SaaS is really a fruitful and reliable option for any organization or company? It depends on user or client, and more importantly depends on SaaS provider.

Pros
SaaS i.e. Software as a Service, is new technology. A SaaS environment offer user

• Comfort of portability
• Easy-handling
• Really low-cost
• Security
• No Tension

Cons
SaaS environment is still largely untested and few shortcomings in it also add to its lesser acceptance. SaaS environment shortcomings are

• Total dependence on SaaS software development provider and Internet
• Threat of hack or theft of data
• Limited functions and features

It is worth mentioning that SaaS environment has been applied and implemented successfully for many organizations world over, however, still many organizations do not wish to replace present IT infrastructure with low-cost SaaS environment as they don’t want to completely rely on SaaS software development provider for data and information handling.