Outsource to INDIA
'India' the world's choice when it comes to offshoring
India has been the hot spot for global companies to outsource their IT and IT related activities. There can be more than one reason attributed to this, though the key driver is 'cost benefits'.
In this series we will see how India as a producer of software is able to create this significant and transferable cost difference as compared to its western counterparts. We will also discuss on the quality issues, whether or not these software produces of India equal-to or below that of the western standards.
As a rewarding investment destination India has been attracting global investors, foreign direct investments and institutional investments. What makes them choose India?
As the world knows, India is the second most populated country in the world next to China. India has been making tangible efforts to increase its economy, trade ties with global nations and self development that covers some of the key and other important areas. And over the last decade India has achieved considerable growth in many areas including Information Technology.
Today Information Technology is one of the prime produces of the country. What brought them to this and how does software development works in India?
We will take our discussion to answer some these above cited questions but before we do so, let us see how India is able to offer this cost advantage. This perhaps been the most frequently asked and most frequently answered question nevertheless for the benefit of our readers we will enumerate the reasons for the same in a simplified fashion.
Foremost of all the reason stands 'availability of skilled labor'. Tens of thousands of engineers graduate from Indian universities and colleges every year. And the drive and aspiration in them to take up a career in Information System is generally high.
English as one of the medium of education is another advantage of these graduates. In India each state has its own regional language and English as the medium of instruction. Legend has it that some the Indian languages have their origin prior to the western languages. These languages have their syllables spelt with stronger diction than the English syllables. While these native languages become part of their day-to-day conversation you will see this reflect in their usage of English as well. Perhaps this is the reason why most non-native speakers of English pronounce it differently from that of its native speakers. Nevertheless it gives Indians the advantage of communicating with the global audience, relate to their requirements like any other onshore player.
The value of Indian currency as against US dollars, pounds or euros: The difference in the currency values puts the western companies take advantage of the products and services from India. The setting up cost, the cost for skilled labor and maintenance costs in India are phenomenally less compared to the US or UK. When a software development company develops an application here the cost would be literally 50% less than the one developed in the US or UK.
There are numerous players in India ranging from small/individual, mid-sized to large players who have notable world-wide presence. You will find companies that stage their expertise in multiple technology platforms, companies which show candid expertise in a unique platform and more such combinations. The presence of multiple players has negated the possibility of monopolizing of the market by large players. In a bid to capture the potential offshore market they offer their services at competitive rates whereas mature players offer value-added benefits in addition to the obvious cost advantage.
While most of these companies sport their resources for a plausible outcome, you may have to assess your offshore company before you entrust them with key projects to reap the best benefits of outsourcing to an Indian firm. Keep following the articles in this series for more insights into the facts and benefits of outsourcing to India and areas of caution pertaining to outsourcing.