In-Depth
Five Offshoring Requirements
- By Alan R. Earls
- January 1, 2005
According to Denny Morris of Parsippany, NJ-based Delta Services Corporation, successful offshore software development has five requirements:
1. Cultural issues. It’s reasonable to expect offshore providers to perform well when they’re dealing with standard technologies and packages. Proprietary configurations or configurations intimately linked with business process change require much closer user contact.
2. Technology standards. The increasing emergence of technology standards reduces the need for highly specialized skills, resulting in increased commoditization and economies of scale—key drivers of offshore outsourcing.
3. Task specificity. The success of remote organizations depends highly on the quality and completeness of performance requirements and technical specifications.
4. Governance. Success depends highly on the management organizations and processes used to integrate vendor and client activities.
5. Realistic expectations. Although economic expectations generally drive offshore outsourcing decisions, it’s important to recognize that planning and management complexity will offset some direct cost savings.
About the Author
Alan R. Earls is a technology and business writer based near Boston.