If you’re the owner of a small- to medium-sized business, you may have toyed with the idea of outsourcing your custom software development. You may have even taken the plunge and hired offshore freelancers in an attempt to get your information technology needs met while saving money. Unfortunately, many business owners who have tried outsourcing software development have had negative experiences. There may have been language barriers, insurmountable time zone differences, mismatched skill sets, or missed deadlines that caused innumerable headaches and cost overruns. As one executive ruefully admitted, “We were penny wise and pound foolish.”
It’s two years later, and the same executive now understands the secret to successfully outsourcing software development – and is glad he didn’t give up after the first attempts at outsourcing failed so badly. When did the tide turn? When he started using an offshore software development company that, in essence, acted as an expediter. In other words, he contracts with a German company that in turn works with IT professionals and companies around the world to produce applications that are tailor...