Russian IT Companies Do Not Need to Lose Western Clients
The software development industry is global by definition
Sep 26, 2014
The software development industry is global by definition. However, the service segments are more sensitive to geopolitical risk than other consumer goods, like food. In the first quarter of this year alone we lost a potential client after winning a tender when a Western company decided to abandon plans to use an Eastern European technology partner in light of recent events.
Nevertheless, the European and American markets are important to us, and we do not plan to change our priorities. More than 60 percent of our customers come from Western Europe and the U.S.
Despite the situation described above, our company continues to expand its business with existing customers while acquire new ones. How we do this can be divided into three key areas: our team’s professionalism, the transition to a hybrid outsourcing model and trust-building.
First Line Software rejected a purely offshore model, instead investing in the concept of a local presence among our customers. An office in The Hague works with Western European clients, while offices in New York, Boston and Seattle serve North America customers. Our Asian partners work with our office in Singapore.
Finding and attracting new orders from representative offices internationally is a delicate process that requires an understanding of local business and a personal knowledge of the participants in the relevant community. The most rational solution is to attract local partners with their own extensive network of business contacts. As a result of such activity, the offices in The Hague and Boston were created. At the pre-sale stage our chances of success are greatly increased in cases where local consultants approach customers. After the start of the project we spare no effort to create an atmosphere of close cooperation between the team and the customer. When necessary, key members from Russia work in customers’ offices for as long as needed.
Significant changes in the software development process, which is very different from 20 years ago, favor hybrid models. The days of specifications that run to volumes are gone forever. It is no longer enough to respond quickly to a customer’s changing requirements, but we must also help the client follow the rapid advances in technology, thereby proving our relevance and professionalism.
The defining characteristic of our strategy is the lack of emphasis on origin. Customers in the Netherlands, for example, see First Line Software as a Dutch company, which has development centers based in Russia. This is also a plus for Russian programmers, as a sign of quality, who see that they work with an international brand.
Service is the business of communication. Politics are politics, but our success is built on personal trust between professionals. Personally, I always insist on the concept of a unified team with a "principal-agent," and close personal contacts between team members. Clients, even with concerns about teams from Russia, are able to relax and chat with our people as a result.
I spend a lot of time traveling and attending business meetings, and I want to note that the farther away from Russia you get, the less important the political dimension becomes. Yes, there is a certain amount of political noise, but there also is a clear separation between politics and business. Roughly speaking, business will always find a way. In addition, people in Western Europe and America are much less exposed to "news zombies." People think differently and, as a rule, are much more concerned about the benefits to their business, rather than any sort of political correctness. In general, our partner’s concerns can be divided between emotion and business.
With regard to business, we have learned to answer questions about the risks clearly — and they are all more or less the same. As a global company, we can easily prove our legal and financial viability and independence from Russian politics. The customer’s intellectual property, including source code, is protected physically and stored on servers outside of Russia. If it were to become impossible to work in Russia for some reason, we are ready to respond very quickly and take our programmers anywhere they are needed. We are also ready to open offices in other countries, where there is both talent and economic benefit.
On an emotional level, everyone understands that programmers do not make political decisions; Russian programmers are concerned with developing beautiful software. Our service is in demand around the world due to its quality. People will not stop buying technology products and services just because they are produced in Russia. I would recommend that companies such as ours stay calm, continue to implement their development strategies, carefully guard the internal culture of the company, work specifically on building trust between partners, expand the network of professional and business contacts and grow your reputation as a reliable and honest partner. For now, this is what we are doing successfully.
Nevertheless, the European and American markets are important to us, and we do not plan to change our priorities. More than 60 percent of our customers come from Western Europe and the U.S.
Despite the situation described above, our company continues to expand its business with existing customers while acquire new ones. How we do this can be divided into three key areas: our team’s professionalism, the transition to a hybrid outsourcing model and trust-building.
First Line Software rejected a purely offshore model, instead investing in the concept of a local presence among our customers. An office in The Hague works with Western European clients, while offices in New York, Boston and Seattle serve North America customers. Our Asian partners work with our office in Singapore.
Finding and attracting new orders from representative offices internationally is a delicate process that requires an understanding of local business and a personal knowledge of the participants in the relevant community. The most rational solution is to attract local partners with their own extensive network of business contacts. As a result of such activity, the offices in The Hague and Boston were created. At the pre-sale stage our chances of success are greatly increased in cases where local consultants approach customers. After the start of the project we spare no effort to create an atmosphere of close cooperation between the team and the customer. When necessary, key members from Russia work in customers’ offices for as long as needed.
Significant changes in the software development process, which is very different from 20 years ago, favor hybrid models. The days of specifications that run to volumes are gone forever. It is no longer enough to respond quickly to a customer’s changing requirements, but we must also help the client follow the rapid advances in technology, thereby proving our relevance and professionalism.
The defining characteristic of our strategy is the lack of emphasis on origin. Customers in the Netherlands, for example, see First Line Software as a Dutch company, which has development centers based in Russia. This is also a plus for Russian programmers, as a sign of quality, who see that they work with an international brand.
Service is the business of communication. Politics are politics, but our success is built on personal trust between professionals. Personally, I always insist on the concept of a unified team with a "principal-agent," and close personal contacts between team members. Clients, even with concerns about teams from Russia, are able to relax and chat with our people as a result.
I spend a lot of time traveling and attending business meetings, and I want to note that the farther away from Russia you get, the less important the political dimension becomes. Yes, there is a certain amount of political noise, but there also is a clear separation between politics and business. Roughly speaking, business will always find a way. In addition, people in Western Europe and America are much less exposed to "news zombies." People think differently and, as a rule, are much more concerned about the benefits to their business, rather than any sort of political correctness. In general, our partner’s concerns can be divided between emotion and business.
With regard to business, we have learned to answer questions about the risks clearly — and they are all more or less the same. As a global company, we can easily prove our legal and financial viability and independence from Russian politics. The customer’s intellectual property, including source code, is protected physically and stored on servers outside of Russia. If it were to become impossible to work in Russia for some reason, we are ready to respond very quickly and take our programmers anywhere they are needed. We are also ready to open offices in other countries, where there is both talent and economic benefit.
On an emotional level, everyone understands that programmers do not make political decisions; Russian programmers are concerned with developing beautiful software. Our service is in demand around the world due to its quality. People will not stop buying technology products and services just because they are produced in Russia. I would recommend that companies such as ours stay calm, continue to implement their development strategies, carefully guard the internal culture of the company, work specifically on building trust between partners, expand the network of professional and business contacts and grow your reputation as a reliable and honest partner. For now, this is what we are doing successfully.