Return to Archive Runtime - The Software Outsourcing Newsletter for Executives and Investors from Accelerance and Steve Mezak In this issue: You have decided to outsource your software development. How do you find the offshore vendor that is the best fit for your needs? Googling for Global Outsourcing Vendors Imagine that you have resolved two important issues. First, you are committed to using a particular technology stack (Microsoft .NET, Java, C++, etc.) and second, you have decided to use offshore outsourcing. Now the problem is selecting a vendor. How do you find the right vendor? Your list may have one or two vendors from through personal referrals. You could stop there but a choice of one or two is not much of a choice at all. If you move beyond referrals then the majority of the vendors on your list will likely be the result of late nights you spend Googling for vendors around the globe. Here’s how it goes. You do a search using technical keywords like ".NET" and "outsourcing" and you get back a list of a few vendors. Are they good at .NET or just the search engine optimization that puts their URL high in the results? Hard to tell - so you just add them to the list. Maybe you should be more specific so you use the keywords ".NET", "C#" and "outsourcing". More vendors. But there’s also an ad: "C# Outsourcing - cheap, cheap, cheap!" You add them to the list. But you can’t resist and you click on the ad. The web page says, "Experts at Windows and Linux". C# on Linux? Not likely, but for now they’re on the list. You persevere and eventually you create a long list. But then what? I recommend a three step process you can follow to select the best outsourcing vendor for your software development: 1. Source – find the vendors that you want to consider 2. Screen – apply an objective set of criteria to narrow down your choices 3. Select – look in more detail at your finalists and select the best one In the example above, you just finished Step One with the help of Google and have a list of vendors to consider. The goal of Step Two is to get to a short list of vendors that are worth looking at more closely. You need to get to a short list to minimize the time you need to look more deeply and make your final selection. On your own, you need to dig out all the information you can about the vendors before you can look further. This is best done with a short list of very qualified vendors so you don’t waste time on the "posers". But what is the best way to eliminate the posers from your long list? For most people the technical competence of the vendor is the number one criterion. But there are other factors to consider too: * Typical project team size * Time zone * Software development methodology (RUP, Agile, etc.) * Cost You have to ask good questions and then get some straight answers to compare the vendors. Sometimes vendors are cautious about their response because they don’t want to disqualify themselves. "Oh we do both Waterfall and Agile - any software development methodology you want." Sorry, wrong answer! They’re off the list. It's funny because if vendors would commit themselves to a specific approach then it makes it so much easier for the right clients to select them. "We just do .NET and use Agile methods." Bingo! You’re on the short list. If the vendors were somehow pre-qualified or characterized in some objective way, then it would be relatively easy to sort out and screen down your long list to a short one. You could easily scratch off the vendors without the right technical focus and methodology, the ones that are too expensive and the ones that are too far away. That is the fundamental idea behind the Accelerance Outsourcing Jumpstart services. You get a short list of pre-qualified vendors right from the very beginning. If you are using standard technologies and care more about location, then the Outsourcing Jumpstart by country service is your best choice. If you are particular about your technology and need specific expertise then Outsourcing Jumpstart by technology is better. Accelerance is now expanding the number of Outsourcing Jumpstart options and is actively recruiting new vendors to join the Accelerance Global Partner Network that offer the right expertise. In the survey a few weeks ago 21% of you said expertise in Microsoft .NET technologies would be a key factor in your outsourcing vendor selection. Now Accelerance is launching the .NET version of Outsourcing Jumpstart available here: http://www.accelerance.com/outsourcing-js-technology.htm *** The Runtime Bottom Line: Finding outsourcing vendors is easy thanks to Google. However, trimming down to a short list for serious consideration takes a great deal more work. Until now. The Accelerance Outsourcing Jumpstart service gives you a short list of pre-qualified vendors for a quick and reliable start to your offshore outsourcing. Until next time, Steve Mezak Accelerance, Inc. Risk-Free Outsourcing http://www.Accelerance.com 213 Garcia Avenue Half Moon Bay, CA 94019 1-650-712-8990 Contact me by email (c) 2006 Accelerance, Inc. All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the "Runtime" eZine in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution, including live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read: "By Steve Mezak, CEO of Accelerance, Inc. Please visit the Accelerance web site at http://www.Accelerance.com for more information and resources on outsourcing and creating great software."