Software Sweatshop

Here's an email I received this week about outsourcing failure. He substantiates what we've been saying all along: most outsourcing vendors are the same. Finding good technical resources is easy, finding a team you can rely on isn't...

All outsourcing vendors are the same. I work in India, China, Malaysia and UK. All of them are already sub-contracting it themselves and have a tremendous shortage of talent.

Resources have no vision and no experience. To mask this drawback, for every smart individual they would have 4 non-performers who have fudged up their resumes and working behind the scenes to get knowledge and experience so they can bargain for bigger and better money.

To the offshore advantage, the onsite and permanent manager has a budget and a fixed time to deliver, so they have to compromise. Unless you are extremely technical and functional and do it hands on, consider it a failure.

The only reason, my projects have all been considered a success is simply I manage both the stakeholders and the technical and functional teams really closely. Every new recruitment on either side goes through me and my onsite support team. I stick to the plan and any deviation from me is costly and you have to get the financier to tell it to the stakeholder. I closely monitor the development as well as on the steering committee of the business.

Most importantly, your relationship skills should be able to wine and dine with the key committee once a week. I have to do it at the expense of the family, something that you will need to consider. You have to work overtime sometimes doing 18 hour days. 12 hour days should be the norm unless the projects are less than 25 million USD. No matter what factors you would consider, the only thing to sell to the shareholders is the money. Nothing else matters.

I have been working on offshore-onshore on some of the biggest projects in the US for the last 7 years and still doing it now. Not just one company but 3 of the biggest companies.
The junior stakeholders along with the indirect business seem to grunt, ramble and complain all they can but at the end of the day, when the board of directors see the money saved at the cost of quality, performance, resources, time, priority, significance, heavyweight, seniority, everything else become oblivious.

Go to any BPO conferences you will soon find out that anytime the project becomes complicated and out of the ordinary, it is a disaster. How do you manage expectations from the beginning will be a key factor for your success and not the failure of the offshoring teams. Remember, blessing of the financier and communication is the only key you will need to deliver.