The experiences of technology companies in recent years that failed to navigate the rapid changes brought about in their market by flattening disruptive forces may be a warning to all companies, institutions that now face these inevitable, even predictable, changes but lack the the leadership, flexibility and imagination to adapt, not because they are not smart or aware, but because the speed of change is simply overwhelming them.
Internet now makes this whole world like a market. This infrastructure will not only facilitate the supply of work at the best price, the best quality, from the best place, but it will also allow the sharing of a great amount of practices and knowledge, and it will be ‘I can learn from you and you can learn from me like never before. before. It is very good for the world. And India has become a back office hub for all kinds of services to the world.
Two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies have offices established in India for this reason. Most think of its middle class of 300 million well-educated people ready to spend more as an opportunity of our time. It is a market to capture and a talent pool to tap into. Large multinationals are moving in that direction and it gives them a competitive advantage. A competitive advantage you wish you had.
Well, it’s finally time to compete with the world leaders. The time has come for all businesses to benefit from a new trend in the global economy. Association with India. The global economy will drive further integration (of India into it) and integration will drive the global economy.
BENEFITS:
Let’s start with why it makes sense to work with India:
Quality
It used to be that work went wherever the cheapest labor was available. That is not the case in India. Sure, it’s cheaper than here but not the cheapest. More and more work is going to India because it offers good quality services at competitive prices. Thanks to the dot-com boom, more and more businesses in India are learning that quality breeds profitable business. And there are many clients who would outsource all aspects of their business that can be done remotely. The large English-speaking population sees outsourced jobs as a gateway to a better life. They come to work every day (and nights to sync up with us here) with an enthusiasm not seen for that kind of work and reward anywhere else.
The drive for quality also drives Indians to American companies in search of products and services for their needs. If Dell, GM, Microsoft, and Citibank have benefited in recent years, I bet you’ll now find customers very interested in your experience.
Quick proof of concept
So, you’re excited to work on some innovative new technology, but you’re on a shoestring budget to create a prototype. Welcome to outsourcing to India. Making a prototype in India gives you an opportunity to test the Indian partner without losing your shirt. If you get the next round of funding, you’ll know whether to continue working with the same company or find a better partner.
Routine work and maintenance
To maintain legacy applications you have tried hiring consultants here and the one that lasted the longest was with you for 6 months. It’s not worth the effort anymore. Most Indian companies would compete for your long-term routine maintenance work and do it more efficiently and effectively for much less money. And remember that since it raises their standard of living, they do it with passion.
productivity
By finding the right company to outsource your work to, you can focus your own resources on doing more of what you do best and staying lean. Your Indian partner may surprise you by doing more than you originally thought possible remotely. More often than not, outsourcing increases your own productivity, increases sales, and increases customer satisfaction and loyalty. Build value.
The other side of the productivity coin is the increased demand for leadership skills development, mentoring and management consulting within Indian companies. Concepts cultivated and mastered by corporate America exact a heavy price from their counterparts.
Fast return on investment and cost savings
If it weren’t for saving a lot of money for investors and stakeholders, companies would still be dealing with labor associations over wage increases for things that can be done at a fraction of the outside cost. The cost benefits of sending work to India can range from 20% to astounding 70% at times. In all cases, it’s the fastest route to ROI and that should convince your CFO to start asking why we’re not doing it.
MISTAKES:
Are you thinking everyone else is doing it and I should too? Safe. Like every new wave, just take some time to see if it’s really for you. Study all your options, do market research for the services you plan to offer. Evaluate your Indian partner and measure performance if you plan to take advantage of their services. Here is a list of things that can; and do; go wrong:
Privacy
There is very little privacy in the life of an average Indian. It is very common for people to ask each other what salary they earn and everything else that is not asked as a courtesy in the USA. If people don’t care too much about providing such personal information, corporations can hardly guarantee the privacy of their consumer data because companies are run by people.
Educating everyone involved and establishing formal processes to handle sensitive information are keys to eliminating privacy-related risks. Learn to politely say ‘No’ several times a day if asked for information you don’t feel comfortable disclosing.
general expenses
Geographically, India is further away from us, twelve time zones away. When we expect a good start on any day, they are tired of that day and just walk away and vice versa. When you discover something important during the middle of the day here, they are likely to dream about your find (it’s the middle of the night there) or have nightmares. You may have to wait to share it with the team in India.
If they have a question about your specs, I’d rather they email you than call you when you’re fast asleep. We all lose some time and productivity due to these overheads.
Face-to-face meetings are sometimes required to create team dynamics, but a daunting 20-hour flight followed by a 5-day jet lag is definitely overload. It is best to entrust them with responsibility and never micromanage.
Honesty
When you say a single word ‘couple’ you mean exactly two, in India it is open to interpretation. When someone says that a couple of our engineers are working on their problem, they mean a few, it could be 2 or 3 or more. When you hire someone by the hour, it’s hard to validate the number of hours or the number of consultants you’re billed for. A company may claim that the researchers on their team have PhDs, you will never know where and how many actually know about their company’s claim. Some small businesses in India will have their employees fabricate qualifications, numbers, or experience when requested by the client. An art mastered by Enron.
It is strongly recommended to select a proven partner and check references from previous clients. Having a local attorney review agreements and alerting stakeholders to non-compliance as soon as it occurs reduces the risk of failure.
Quality
If the company you’re working with oversold you benefits or can’t retain key employees and you can’t deliver, what you get is low-quality work and a place right back where you started. Poor quality of products and services delivered are cited as the main reasons why customers in the US frequently switch vendors or suppliers in India.
Just to avoid any last minute surprises, you should start small. Do a small feature in a few weeks first and check the quality of the work done before outsourcing everything.
Responsibility
If responsibility can be avoided, it will be done. Well, in most cases. When being on time for a meeting isn’t considered very important, deadlines come and go. Most Indian consulting firm executives have had experience working in the US, but Working Bee has not. The dog ate my homework is still a rule for young people fresh out of college.
You can specify the release date, or you can specify which features will be in a release. It’s hard to do both and get a reliable commitment. Release dates are more reliable if the people who will work on them also estimate them.
CONCLUSION:
India is a threat, India is a customer, and India is an opportunity. You have to internalize India to be successful. You can’t ignore it. Instead of competing with India as the enemy, you look at your business and think about what part of the business you would like to do in India, what part you would like to sell to India, and what part you would like to buy from India.
Shipping software, accounting, billing and any similar work AND selling products and services from the US to India is now possible for all of us. Whether you must, depends on your goal, growth, and need. Distance, communications, lack of information, quality, etc. should no longer be obstacles. You must choose your Indian partner diligently and audit them regularly.
About 60 percent of IT projects outsourced to offshore companies miss deadline and budget compared to a moderate 23 percent of projects outsourced to local US companies.
The following are some tips to improve your chances of success when working with India:
Discover the best way to specify your services, software or business processes
Stay in touch with your outsourcing team without micromanagement
Communicate directly with the development team via email, instant messaging, and phone.
Treat the outsourced Indian team as part of your own team
Require local leadership and entrust them with authority and responsibility
If you can’t do it yourself, use the services of Pacview, Inc. with experience and presence in both the US and India to:
Find the right outsourcing team that best suits your situation,
Choose from over a dozen India-tested expert teams ranked by skills,
Reduce your team’s search time by 90%: from months to just days,
Reduce your software development or BPO costs by up to 70%,
Increase your customer base by 100%, from the Bay Area to Bangalore.
About the Author
Mahesh Lalwani is the founder and CEO of Pacview, your partner in custom software and voice applications. Pacview has worked with dozens of financial services, healthcare, and IT product development companies, helping them build successful software applications that exceed customer expectations. Through Pacview’s design and development expertise and the right talent in the US and India, our clients enjoy the benefits of creating value through successful software applications. Please visit our site at http://www.pacview.com for more information.
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