While users appreciate the cost savings of moving
software development to India, the Aberdeen Group have reported
that the former Soviet Union is a good bet for any future offshore
work.
But the region's software development skills, which can be
accessed at a cost well below US rates, is also appealing to
managers of non-IT firms.
"Many [Russian developers] are ex-Soviet military technologists
and programmers, and because of that, they have had classical
training in software development," said Craig Maccubbin,
vice-president of technology at online travel service
LasVegas.com.
"They are so disciplined that there is almost a level of
inflexibility to their approach." But, he added, that level of
discipline also "helps the process of working with them
immensely".
Aberdeen Group also found that IT suppliers account for about
three-quarters of all the offshore work done in Russia, said
analyst Stephen Lane.
IT companies are setting up development centres in Russia to
help build a market there and to use Russian talent for high-end
development.
"What they do have is a culture that is focused on
problem-solving and focused on using technology in an innovative
fashion," Lane said. But "there is not a Russian company out there
that can compete with an Indian company in terms of scale or
scope," he added.
Maccubbin uses Epam Systems, a services provider that has
operations in Moscow and Minsk. He said he relies on the
development workers in Minsk to build and maintain most of the
website's back-end functions.
But the customer-facing aspects, such as graphic design work and
other "defining characteristics", are handled in the US.
"You can't outsource that to anybody," he said. Developers in
the US charge about $38 (£24) per hour, while the Russian hourly
rate is $20 less.
Bob Pryor, who heads Cap Gemini Ernst & Young's outsourcing
services in New York, agreed that Russia's workers have advanced
technological skills. However, he said, the country will remain a
small part of the offshore outsourcing market because its
government is not developing the industry.
"I don't see any significant investment for new skills and
capabilities," he said.
Marc Herbet, executive vice-president of Sierra Atlantic, an
application management company which runs an offshore centre in
India, said Russia may well take off as an offshore outsourcing
centre if Europeans begin embracing offshore work, particularly
because of the proximity.
Patrick Thibodeau writes for Computerworld