2009 was a tough year for all businesses worldwide due to complex economic conditions. Software outsourcing has also experienced the influence of recession, being one of the most globally integrated business domains. It was the year of cutting costs and seeking new opportunities; and when it has passed, it’s a good time to summarize the outcomes.
“Today it’s evident that the past year not only slowed down some outsourcing trends but also streamlined the evolvement of others,” states Softheme Chief Executive Vadim Sharko.
“iPhone development was one of those new trends for us which gained in popularity during 2009. Development of small and single-purpose applications for mobile devices is financially beneficial – they require relatively modest investments and are sold well. Each day Apple’s AppStore is refilled with a variety of new hot applications and tools.”
“We have made our own contribution to AppStore in 2009 having developed some great audio recording and guidebooks publishing applications for iPhone, which currently are being actively sold at the store.”
One of the most demanded software development outsourcing trends for Softheme became the development of enterprise-level software applications, with C# being the prevailing programming technology. During 2009 Softheme has been involved in the development of several ERP and CRM applications based on C# .NET technology.
“In 2009 we have experienced the decrease in the number of web development projects, while WordPress gained in popularity as an efficient CMS solution for PHP websites. A similar picture could be observed with the software testing – its progress slowed down at the beginning of economic slump, yet, it revived by the end of 2009. If trying to save on testing at the beginning of the year, with the new economic conditions companies realized the importance of paying more attention to quality of software products, thus, more employing outsourced software testing,” says Mr. Sharko.
New product releases from Microsoft and Sun, such as Microsoft’s Silverlight for creating web forms or a new version of Java Enterprise System, stand out as probably the most significant releases in software world in 2009, according to Softheme. Implementing these product releases in software development makes a positive impact on quality of code and overall application productivity.
Due to economic downturn conditions, says Softheme, in 2009 requirements to quality and communication standards in outsourcing greatly increased. Extensive Skype usage for conference calls, enhanced English language skills, and growing integration with customers’ business culture became the hallmarks of this year’s software outsourcing industry.
“These features have also become the integral part of Softheme’s outsourcing model and are already giving great results,” adds Mr. Sharko.
“As far as Softheme’s operations in 2009, the company saw turnover increase near 20% this year and the attrition rate being almost 5%, with the figure reflecting the influence of the economic recession,” says Irina Tsulaia, Director of Softheme. “We should also mention that about 90% of customers work with us from the beginning of 2009, and almost 70% of customers stayed with Softheme through 2008-2009.”
“For 2010 we project the continuation of the company’s growth and reaching new horizons. We plan to participate in the series of big outsourcing exhibitions, as well as to renew our brand, launch a variety of online branding and PR campaigns, and to involve in equity participation in several IT projects with our partners abroad.”
See also: Softheme rewards the best employees of Q2 2011 [Pics]
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