Offshore Usage Grows Despite Initial Fears
Mar 07, 2002
After the events of 9/11, many leading analyst and consultancies communicated that the offshore software development segment would be irrevocably impacted. It seemed logical due to the location of many offshore providers and seemed to be a reality as many of the market leaders saw their valuations hit hard. I stared at those closing prices with dismay as I knew these quality, professional organizations did not deserve such a reaction. Let's fast forward +120 days and take a look at what has happened: The market leaders have managed to post outstanding financial results, their valuations have rebounded nicely and offshore continues as the leading trend in IT services.
In several conversations with leading executives of offshore software development firms, it is clear that they have weathered the storm and are also helping clients deal with today's realities. Venu Vaishaya, COO of Offshore and Executive Vice President of Covansys feels disaster recovery procedure in the event of a catastrophy is a critical part of the offshore delivery model and has been part of Covansys standard engagement. "Clients and prospects are now asking about disaster recovery earlier in the process, but we have always had such plans in place". "Customers are looking for a holistic approach", is the thoughts of Nagaraja Srivatsan, Senior Vice President, Client Services for Silverline. He agrees that these discussions are happening earlier in the engagement cycle due to the events go 9/11. Phaneesh Murthy, Director of Global Sales & Marketing with Infosys agrees that disaster recovery concerns "have always been there for clients, but it is an integral part of the continuous planning suite offered by his firm".
Clearly a software development model that has key elements around the globe has had to take into account such issues. Perhaps it is this additional focus on the part of IT executives that is helping them understand the strength and continued viability of the offshore model. Jim Thomas, Vice President of Marketing with Tata Consultancy Services, the largest provider of offshore development, spoke to me of his many years of experience with offshore as a consumer in his time with IBM and now as a key representative for TCS. He feels that IT executives will continue to grow more comfortable, growing their use of offshore. Evidence of this is the continued growth in number of clients and revenue for TCS.
Offshore development offers IT executives many different models to help them achieve the exact mix they desire. As our Indian correspondent Indrajit Basu remarked in his January column, in many ways the events of 9/11 have placed an increased focus and investigation of offshore partners and so far the results have been very good for all.
In several conversations with leading executives of offshore software development firms, it is clear that they have weathered the storm and are also helping clients deal with today's realities. Venu Vaishaya, COO of Offshore and Executive Vice President of Covansys feels disaster recovery procedure in the event of a catastrophy is a critical part of the offshore delivery model and has been part of Covansys standard engagement. "Clients and prospects are now asking about disaster recovery earlier in the process, but we have always had such plans in place". "Customers are looking for a holistic approach", is the thoughts of Nagaraja Srivatsan, Senior Vice President, Client Services for Silverline. He agrees that these discussions are happening earlier in the engagement cycle due to the events go 9/11. Phaneesh Murthy, Director of Global Sales & Marketing with Infosys agrees that disaster recovery concerns "have always been there for clients, but it is an integral part of the continuous planning suite offered by his firm".
Clearly a software development model that has key elements around the globe has had to take into account such issues. Perhaps it is this additional focus on the part of IT executives that is helping them understand the strength and continued viability of the offshore model. Jim Thomas, Vice President of Marketing with Tata Consultancy Services, the largest provider of offshore development, spoke to me of his many years of experience with offshore as a consumer in his time with IBM and now as a key representative for TCS. He feels that IT executives will continue to grow more comfortable, growing their use of offshore. Evidence of this is the continued growth in number of clients and revenue for TCS.
Offshore development offers IT executives many different models to help them achieve the exact mix they desire. As our Indian correspondent Indrajit Basu remarked in his January column, in many ways the events of 9/11 have placed an increased focus and investigation of offshore partners and so far the results have been very good for all.