3 Quick Facts about Outsourced Software Product Development

Offshore software product development is a good way to save on costs and labor while making sure that your software is built as intended. You have plenty of options when it comes to offshore software product developers, but you need to make sure that you are choosing a highly qualified company in order to reap all the benefits of outsourcing. 

1.Outsourcing can save you money and time. Offshore software development reduces labor costs because you do not have to worry about hiring additional employees and giving them salaries. Moreover, product development will be faster because outsourcing eliminates the guesswork and the time it takes to train for software development. This can be a crucial factor when you are pressed for time and you need to develop a high-end software.

2.Outsourced software development ensures a high-quality product. Any type of software must be thoroughly tested and evaluated for bugs, errors, and other problems that may affect the user experience. Seasoned software developers are qualified to perform quality assurance tests to minimize re-work and software failure. They have the specialized skills for certain software development needs, too, such as multi-tenant SaaS application development, HTML 5-based apps, legacy application migration, software re-engineering, and Microsoft Azure development.

3.You need to choose an offshore software product development company that follows a proven process. Software product development can become unpredictable and uncertain in some stages. Hence, the best companies follow an organized software development process to manage and control the project using incremental and iterative practices. A good example of this process is the SCRUM method, which is flexible, saves time, and increased productivity. It ensures that you are getting the best possible software product on time. Before you hire a professional software product development company, ask them about what their process is and asses if you are comfortable with it.

5 Quick Facts About Microsoft BI Development

Reputable business intelligence and data analytics service providers can create a comprehensive and versatile Microsoft BI development solution that suits the unique nature and requirements of your organization. Are you thinking about using Microsoft BI development for your business? Here are 5 facts you need to know: 

1.There is a solution for specific areas of your organization – Microsoft BI developers can customize, develop and implement solutions that range from data warehousing to report development and system analysis.

2.Data mining and warehousing are supported – Microsoft business intelligence can cover your data mining, ETL processes, data warehousing, and ad-hoc reporting requirements. BI developers can develop a business performance management solution to help you find, identify, and create KPIs (key performance indicators), and design and build business analytics dashboards through PerformancePoint.

3.Microsoft business intelligence solutions are customized and developed by experts – Only Gold certified Microsoft technology partners can provide high-quality BI solutions that are tailored to your needs. A team of BI specialists is usually composed of developers, consultants, and architects who possess the technical expertise and they are highly trained and experienced in using proven methods. This way, you can be sure that you are investing in only the best business intelligence. Their expertise lets them extract data from any non-Microsoft source, too, such as OLE DB, ODBC, Teradata, and Oracle.

4.It is built according to your BI needs – Microsoft business intelligence development is centered on the general BI requirements of your organization. Hence, developers take their time to work with you in understanding those requirements before working on the data to come up with the best solutions to support and cater to those requirements.

5.It can be implemented on-premise or on-demand – Seasoned Microsoft BI developers can provide on-premise solutions via SQL server, SSIS, SharePOint, MDX, Mobile BI, and MS Office, or on-demand via SSAS on Cloud, Power Pivot, SQL Server Azure, and Power BI mobile app.

Things to Remember When Choosing a Data Warehouse Consultant

Data warehousing is an important aspect of a business intelligence solution, so it needs to be created with careful consideration to the needs of your business. A data warehouse must be able to tailor your operations and flexible to grow as you grow, too. Data comes from many different disparate sources in various formats, so it makes sense to have a data warehouse consultant to work with you. A data warehouse consultant is an expert who has a thorough understanding and the experience to work with source systems. Hence, this professional is able to provide effective and faster data warehouse development solutions. Here are things to remember while choosing a data warehouse consultant:

•Explore the qualifications of the consultant – Look up the data warehouse consultant to verify his or her background, experience, technical skills, and qualifications in building scalable data warehouses for various industries, such as retail, manufacturing, healthcare, social networks, and higher education. Consider a consultant that has previous experience in helping a company that is similar to yours.

•Look for consultants with years of experience in creating large and complex data warehouses. Experience is a great teacher and helps develop expertise in data analysis, database administration, data modeling, OLAP technologies, and ETL tools.

•Consider outsourcing the data warehouse consultant – Pick a consultant that has at least two decades of offshoring experience. Consider someone who comes from a lean organization, with a high customer retention rate.

•Pick a team player – Seasoned data warehouse consultants can provide BI resources, both offshore or onsite to work with your own team. Make sure they can address the needs of your department or team, too.

•Explore the services they offer – Be sure to choose data warehouse consultants who can define and analyze the data requirements of your business and provide intelligent ways to integrate data using ETL tools. Consider experts with the analytical skills to find the right data solution for answering queries from users.

•Look for a reliable consultant – Look for someone who will not merely design and develop the data warehouse platform, but will provide operation and support for the data warehouse, too.

•Ensure transparent communication – Choose consultants that are transparent with their data warehouse plans for your business. Data warehouse consultants must be easy to reach and talk to. That way, should any issues or concerns arise, you can easily contact them, and they can provide an immediate solution. 

5 Essential Benefits While Outsourcing Software Product Development

Companies that want to enjoy the benefits of using software that is built specifically for their requirements can choose to outsource their software product development to companies in India. Outsourcing makes sense for companies that would like to save money and time for a task that tends to be labor-intensive. Outsourcing also lets them take advantage of talent and the skills of seasoned software developers in other countries. The following are just some of the many benefits of outsourcing software product development:

1.    You can focus more on your main business operations – Outsourcing eliminates the need to take the time off to study and learn software development. This way, you can continuously focus on the main goals and objectives of the business, and you can avoid wasting time on IT concerns that may overwhelm you.

2.    Experts will create the software that you want – Reputable software developers in India are Microsoft Gold partners and registered Salesforce consulting partners. Their skills and expertise enable them to create bespoke software and mobile apps, as well as provide other important services like application portfolio management, application maintenance, and multi-tenant SaaS apps.

3.    High success rates – Reputable software product development companies have more than two decades of offshoring experience, with a customer retention rate of about 95 percent. They have had the honor of working with globally known companies, too. This way, you can be confident with their skills and capabilities to create a high-quality software product for your business.

4.    Outsourcing saves money – Outsourcing software product development to an experienced and certified programmer is a good way to save money. You do not have to worry about hiring your team of developers to include in your payroll. Outsourcing lets you effectively manage your capital, which is crucial for a small business or a company that has a limited budget.

5.    It fills the gaps in your company – If your company lacks the manpower to develop software or handle IT tasks, you can rely on an offshore software product development company to fill that void.

Factors that Affect Outsourced Software Product Development Decision

There are many different things that you should factor in when making a decision to outsource software product development or keep software building in-house. Both approaches have their own pros and cons, but if you are already set on outsourcing at least some of the product development tasks to a near shore service or some off shore organization, the following are major factors that should affect your decision:

•    Your core competency. Take control of what your in-house staff can do best. As a rule of thumb, you shouldn't outsource your core competency, especially when your software product is going to compromise a key trade secret. Don't outsource these kinds of projects unless needed or unless the company you are outsourcing to can be entrusted with such information.

•    Protection for your intellectual property. Many countries and cultures have little respect and appreciation for software developments as intellectual property. Take for instance China and Vietnam, where almost 90 percent of software used is pirated. Nevertheless, you can protect your intellectual property when outsourcing by sound contracts and clear cut non disclosure agreements.

•    Their technological expertise. One of the best things about outsourcing software development is gaining access to the best and the latest in software technologies—something that you may find hard to get hold of in-house. If you plan on creating a software product that you wish to scale up, outsourcing to a company that is well versed in the latest technological advances is ideal.

•    Cost factors. Cost should also be an important driver of your offshore investment decision. Many times, it is a lot cheaper to outsource all or part of your software development processes to an off-shore firm that has lower labor costs than insisting on keeping development in-house. With good communication and a competent development partner, outsourcing can prove to be a more practical option.

Top 10 Tips for Selecting an Offshore SharePoint Consultant

Seeking the help of a SharePoint consultant is a wise move for any organization that wishes to maximize the potential of the platform for their company. However, before you embark on your search for a good firm to work with, it is critical that you first evaluate the needs, goals, and priorities of your business. This way, you can make better decisions when it comes to SharePoint development and management of your business' web and IT assets. Here are some things you should remember when outsourcing SharePoint services:

• Examine the company's SharePoint consulting experience. An experienced company will bring you the expertise and introduce you to the best practices you need to know about, based on years of experience in implementing SharePoint across different industries.
• Know the types of clients they cater to. Make sure that they have experience and ample expertise in your niche or have worked with similar clients to ensure domain experience.
• Take a look at case studies by visiting their previous project sites. Look into project profiles to assess their capabilities and the types of work they have successfully handled in the past.
• Choose a company that values quality assurance and ensures close collaboration to ensure compliance with standards and IT policies.
• Delve into their delivery model to make sure you can rely on deliverables when you need them.
• Find a company that is certified Microsoft Technology Partners to ensure expertise, experience, and competency in developing SharePoint sites and applications.
• Make sure that the country you outsource to has favorable IT policies and stringent standards.
• Opt for a company that maintains open lines of communication to ensure smooth transitions through different stages of the project.
• Check out reviews and ratings to ensure the quality of their work; and
• Evaluate the pilot phase of the project before deciding to invest more on their services.

How to Find an Offshore Outsourcing Software Development Company

There are two approaches you can choose from when it comes to finding a reliable offshore software development vendor and your decision should largely be based on the type of services you need. Out tasking is a good option when you need to assign certain aspects of development (sans management) to a group of outsourced programmers. This means project management is entirely up to you. This approach, however, is only suitable for short-term projects and not so much for software programs or applications that require scalability, unless you stay in touch with the service provider and are able to recruit them once more to rewrite or make changes in the original code—something that is rarely the case.

Outsourcing, on the other hand, is a more holistic solution that transfers the responsibility of management to the outsourced company. This guarantees continued development and better scalability for larger projects. When seeking out a software development company, it is important that you get your expectations about your vendor down to make sure that you are recruiting people who can very well provide you the kind and quality of service you need.

Take into account the types of technologies and industries that the outsourcing provider specializes in and whether or not they can effectively work on your project. Consider their knowledge of your industry as well as their scalability offerings to make sure that they can take care of your future needs. Ask whether they subcontract any part of the development process and take time to decide for or against it, depending on your preference. Do they work for some of your competitors in the market? Will this be a conflict of interest? What size of development team do you need? These are just some of the most important questions you need to ask before you shortlist your candidates.