At present business climate is
going through rough weather for small to mid-size software outsourcing
companies in India. So called benefits in the outsourcing sector such as low
development cost, lower cost of operations, 24 x 7 development cycle and an offshore
team of engineers that is fluent in English are not sustainable in growing
economy scenario. When Business is sluggish, most of the clients are likely to
become extra demanding in terms of getting their business benefit out of the
application that you are developing and not ready to pay more than the contact
price (Not considering any new CR), there is going to be more pressure on
profitability. They also expect that the offshore company will have flexible
operating resources (timings) and they have the capability to get their product
up and running in market quickly with no extra cost. This is the time when you
need to be more efficient, identify gaps between client expectations & the
effort estimate. You need to focus more on adding value and get the commercial
transactions processing smoothly as per current version of SLA.
Some companies make the mistake
of engaging a junior developer to build software. (Or we can say save cost) These resources will
most likely work on only one project at a time without any prior experience and
domain knowledge. This can result into rework and delay development /
deliveries. More issues crop up when the person falls sick or resign from the
job. Who is going to take their place? Is there proper documentation for what
they created so another person can take over? Is there any proper knowledge
transfer system in place? For the sake of telling the client, all companies claim
that they have such system in place however it reality, it does not exist.
For every software service
provider company, skilled resources are their “products”. Only they can fuel the growth engine and decide
future road map for the company. Unfortunately in India, attrition ratio keeps
going high for skilled engineers. Today it has already become major road block
for almost all companies and hampering their image in global market. Had it
been top four Indian IT services companies - TCS, Wipro, Infosys, HCL, or a
midsized software companies operating from B and C class cities, all companies
have recognized that retaining talent is the biggest challenge. Retaining
efficient and loyal employees is a key factor for uninterrupted growth of a
company in this domain.
In India, no one becomes a
software engineer for an outsourcing company simply because they love coding or
consulting. They do take a job with local companies but their intention is to
gain couple of years’ experience which may be the compulsory clause in some
countries under their high skilled migration policy.
Every software engineering
graduate in India wants to go to the U.S. on an H-1B employment visa or Australia
or in Europe and wants to earn quick money in short span. There has always been
an organic demand for Indian software engineers both in domestic and global
markets. Most of the software engineers coming from middle or upper middle
class have a common dream of earning in $ and send enough money back to India
to buy a house, status to get a good life partner which is a key factor in cast
specific arranged marriages in India or start some business of his own. This
particular attitude of skill set makes the medium and small size software
companies in India unstable.
The global software services
market is always under constant fluctuation and when business is sluggish,
bench increases with offshore service providers in India. This is another
factor that directly or indirectly creates the fear for skilled resources and
this insecurity feeling is pushing them to lookout for other options. When it
comes to “other options”, they take the easy route of contacting their current
or previous project provider abroad and try for the job. This is absolutely
unethical practice however it has become so wide spread that most of the
industry people have now taken it as “new normal” trend of 3 to 5 years job
cycle. It is mandatory for small to medium-sized businesses into offshore
software development services in 2014 to find out ways in which they can live
with it and sustain their growth.
“It is the job
of clever people to ask difficult questions.
It is the job of very clever people to ask simple questions.”…. Colin Shaw
It is the job of very clever people to ask simple questions.”…. Colin Shaw
