Russian Developers Search for Partnerships
The Russian software development industry is working to move away from traditional outsourcing models, relying more on becoming partners with overseas companies and touting talent and innovation over cheap labor.
Jun 22, 2007
According to customers, analysts and managers at development companies at the Russoft conference here June 21-22, today's Russian development companies would rather work with customers to create something new than simply churn out program code in the commodity market.
According to Valentin Makarov, president of the Russoft Association, Russian service providers are concerned about more than just the specifications of the program a company is creating.
"When you come to Russia, the question is, 'What is your problem?'" Makarov said, adding that this approach is different from that used in most of the rest of the world, where programmers simply code to a specification and provide no input into whether the specification makes sense. "You create a joint team," he said.
The Russian companies also are trying to be more proactive in getting that message out. For example, Russoft, which represents Russian companies, is planning a U.S. tour next year, something it's done in the past.
Throughout the conference, the story was the same. Russian development companies want to be viewed differently from competitors in India, China or South America. Instead of being thought of as outsourcing providers, the Russians want stable, long-term relationships that span the course of years. "I call it team-sourcing," Makarov said. "You have a team dedicated to solving just your problems."
Makarov said that because the Russian software industry has low turnover, Russian companies can offer teams that stay together for a decade or longer, giving them more depth of knowledge than what's normally found in more traditional outsourcing.
Another differentiator is that Russian development companies can help define a customer's problem and a solution. "Most U.S. companies don't know what they're looking for, so it's hard to find what they can't define," said Dean Davison, an analyst with NeoIT. Davison said many companies are still trying to figure out what they need. "They're doing exploratory work," he said.
Most U.S. companies start out with outsourcing that's aimed almost exclusively at reducing cost, Davison said, something that helps them learn about how outsourcing works and that can lead to more effective relationships with offshore partnerships. However, he said most U.S. companies don't choose where their work is being done. In some cases, they might not even know.
"There are many times the American client chooses a service provider," Davison said. "They may be in Russia, China, India or all of the above."
For many companies that provide such services, the decision as to where to send work greatly depends on what needs to be done rather than simply being a search for the lowest price. "The cultural alignment to the West is key to us and our clients," said Alex Adamopoulos, general manager and senior vice president of Exigen Services, in Boston. "There's a strong collaborative effort as part of the [Russian] culture. This [country] is very results-oriented rather than task-oriented. That also leads to a more successful engagement. These are people who solve business problems."
Adamopoulos said the ability to be integral to the solution process is bringing bigger and bigger enterprises to companies that provide the services of Russian developers.
"One of the trends we're seeing is larger enterprise clients that have traditionally sourced to India are coming here because they want business problems solved and they realize that there's a higher level of specialization here," he said.
Adamopoulos said a critical point is that the Russian workers won't follow a specification blindly. "There's a willingness to push back in a good way," he said. "They challenge what they see, they ask questions to understand, they say 'no' more than 'yes' and they're very creative thinkers."
He said he's found that Russian developers work well with the Agile Alliance methodology, which lends itself to effective rapid development. He also said that th
According to Valentin Makarov, president of the Russoft Association, Russian service providers are concerned about more than just the specifications of the program a company is creating.
"When you come to Russia, the question is, 'What is your problem?'" Makarov said, adding that this approach is different from that used in most of the rest of the world, where programmers simply code to a specification and provide no input into whether the specification makes sense. "You create a joint team," he said.
The Russian companies also are trying to be more proactive in getting that message out. For example, Russoft, which represents Russian companies, is planning a U.S. tour next year, something it's done in the past.
Throughout the conference, the story was the same. Russian development companies want to be viewed differently from competitors in India, China or South America. Instead of being thought of as outsourcing providers, the Russians want stable, long-term relationships that span the course of years. "I call it team-sourcing," Makarov said. "You have a team dedicated to solving just your problems."
Makarov said that because the Russian software industry has low turnover, Russian companies can offer teams that stay together for a decade or longer, giving them more depth of knowledge than what's normally found in more traditional outsourcing.
Another differentiator is that Russian development companies can help define a customer's problem and a solution. "Most U.S. companies don't know what they're looking for, so it's hard to find what they can't define," said Dean Davison, an analyst with NeoIT. Davison said many companies are still trying to figure out what they need. "They're doing exploratory work," he said.
Most U.S. companies start out with outsourcing that's aimed almost exclusively at reducing cost, Davison said, something that helps them learn about how outsourcing works and that can lead to more effective relationships with offshore partnerships. However, he said most U.S. companies don't choose where their work is being done. In some cases, they might not even know.
"There are many times the American client chooses a service provider," Davison said. "They may be in Russia, China, India or all of the above."
For many companies that provide such services, the decision as to where to send work greatly depends on what needs to be done rather than simply being a search for the lowest price. "The cultural alignment to the West is key to us and our clients," said Alex Adamopoulos, general manager and senior vice president of Exigen Services, in Boston. "There's a strong collaborative effort as part of the [Russian] culture. This [country] is very results-oriented rather than task-oriented. That also leads to a more successful engagement. These are people who solve business problems."
Adamopoulos said the ability to be integral to the solution process is bringing bigger and bigger enterprises to companies that provide the services of Russian developers.
"One of the trends we're seeing is larger enterprise clients that have traditionally sourced to India are coming here because they want business problems solved and they realize that there's a higher level of specialization here," he said.
Adamopoulos said a critical point is that the Russian workers won't follow a specification blindly. "There's a willingness to push back in a good way," he said. "They challenge what they see, they ask questions to understand, they say 'no' more than 'yes' and they're very creative thinkers."
He said he's found that Russian developers work well with the Agile Alliance methodology, which lends itself to effective rapid development. He also said that th