Software Development Off-Shoring in India: The End and The Beginning

Change is a noble concept which is not accepted very well by many and yet it is an omnipresent truth. Some of us embrace it with open arms hoping it will give us new opportunities and most of us resist for various reasons. The top two reasons to resist in my opinion being

The fear of “Unknown” that the change will bring.

We have to mend our ways to accept the change and live with it, this is difficult to do.

Interestingly in Indian Software Development industry it is believed that first point is the main reason for not changing the processes we follow, however in essence it is the second one. There are string of arguments to support the first point because there is no denying that Indian companies have traditionally done well in Offshore Software development following its age long Software Development Process (SDP) and they still continue to do relatively well. This argument seems to be in favor of first point, isn’t it? Not really.

With changing global requirements if we evolve and change ourselves we can reduce (if not negate completely) the impact of “Unknown” by proper planning. However, to meticulously plan we need to understand the “Change” and to do so we need to put the effort. This is where Indian companies are not investing enough at the moment and therefore point (2) becomes relevant now. It is “We” who have to change ourselves and think in order to embrace the “Change” in SDP, that is what the outsourcing companies want.

The people calling the shots in companies have seen over 2 decades of success following a particular SDP but that needs to evolve unless the industry wants to give away the edge, held for last so many years. With competition from China and other South east Asian countries climbing, Indian companies need to be innovative to stay ahead. Two decades back, and for considerable time since then, they needed the SDP because

The concept of offshoring was new and evolving

• There were challenges in mutual understanding

• Developers need to understand what is to be done during a project development

• The teams at offshore did not have enough exposure and experience to work independently.

India was new to Software development so there were no standards and benchmarks to prove your capabilities which could convince the west that “Yes, We can do it”

However after maturing as IT Hub, India has enough experience now to overcome the above two challenges and do not need the traditional approach to manage, develop and deliver IT projects. I have seen many contradictions in almost all the Big companies (Large and Midcap alike) where they want to be “Agile” but want to do it the traditional way. All the Indian companies want to join the “Agile” Bandwagon and woo clients with all the “jargons and buzzwords” but not many implements them in its true essence. I have conducted many interviews where people claim to have work on Agile (mostly scrum) Projects and I am yet to find a person who has been able to implement Agile as it should be (this includes me), most of the times the reason I get is “Company Policies” doesn’t assist. This dual approach of trying to implement Agile following the traditional development processes usually proves lethal to the projects and eventually will affect the companies too.

As the adage goes “never try stepping on two boats at the same time” , Indian companies in their effort to be “Agile” by following “Traditional Processes” are creating a complex situation for themselves because they usually end up falling on their face i.e.

• Quality resources leave the organization as they were supposed to build/ develop the product and not follow processes.

• We delay the project deliveries to the client as the team was busy furnishing documents required for the SDP.

Either case is a business loss for the company because if you can retain a good resource, the company can bag more projects and still deliver quality. A good developer in India now knows his responsibility and understand if he doesn’t do certain necessary things the software will fail.

As I said earlier, that Indian Software Industry has matured in last 2 decades, it is also a fact that most of our clients in west agree and accept this argument. Now they want India do deliver better quality in less time, which has been something we have not done consistently in past. The advantage earlier was the cost but with rising salary in India the advantage seems to be diminishing and now the clients want Quality to be the focus. They do not mind paying the higher rates to India still, provided we focus on Quality.

Indian Companies need to evolve otherwise the prediction that we will have negligible software outsourcing growth by 2022 will come true. This is a significant statement when we know that as of now India claim 65% of all off shored IT work (http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21569571-india-no-longer-automatic-choice-it-services-and-back-office-work-turn)

 I hope with young entrepreneurs jumping in, things will change. India will reinvent itself as the most preferred Software Outsourcing Destination, even though it will not be as cheap as it used to be.

I remember reading somewhere:    “If you are brave enough to say ‘Goodbye’ , life will reward you with a new ‘Hello’.”

Adios for now!!

Div