As an executive of a technology firm with a background of more than a decade of software engineering development, I can provide important insight for business owners and executives regarding software development resource hiring. Unfortunately, many businesses are unaware of the ramifications for their software development offshoring decisions.

I recently hired a staff member from a large company that cut their U.S. based staff by the hundreds to increase their IT offshoring initiative from 5 percent to 25 percent. Certainly, the catalyst for this decision was financial. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident, but is becoming an epidemic. Similar to the dot com bubble that burst in the nineties, so will the software offshoring pandemic burst and the outcome may be much uglier. This is my opinion and prediction and this blog identifies why I am making such a bold statement.

I supervised a team of software developers from overseas for more than 2 years on a project with a large U.S. company. My responsibility was to oversee the code they were writing and to mentor them on best practices and domain knowledge for the systems they were developing. The team proved to be dedicated and committed to completing the task, however, the approach and skill-set did not match. This is not an isolated incident in my experience and in-fact occurred on 5 different projects with 5 different offshoring teams from different offshore companies.

The approach to the work from the offshoring teams I worked with seemed consistent – there is no approach. There is no methodical planning or implementation of best practices or architectural considerations. There is no deep analysis into extensibility, reusability, maintainability or scalability. The plan seems to be to start writing code as soon as possible and write as much of it as can be written in an 8 or 10 hour day.

I had the opportunity to befriend many of these developers and I found on many occasions the expertise listed on resumes is greatly exaggerated. Of course, I am sure this is the case for many resumes regardless of origin; however, it seems to be prevalent for a high percentage of offshoring resource resumes. The claims are far reaching, indicating expertise in most all programming software and programming languages you are seeking. The reality is that much of this “expertise” is actually achieved through a few quick Google searches or a few CBT courses and books being read just prior to the project kickoff. Again, my experience is that this is not an isolated incident.

The ramifications to businesses leveraging software offshoring resources in a large capacity is significant. The effects will not be immediate. The effects will become apparent much farther into the project development life cycle deep into the testing and post-deployment phases. The testing cycle will typically uncover numerous and significant defects and the project deployment to the customer will uncover even more. This will probably force several things to happen:
• Consumer/client complaints damaging brand integrity
• Rewriting much of the software
• Higher expense for logistical issues, management issues, and quality control
• Delayed time to market

This blog is not meant to be a bashing session, but is meant to enlighten businesses to the reality of getting “cheap” labor. It is rare that business owners or executives of a corporation have the know-how to look “under the covers” of their software products and identify structural and logical problems and this may be the downfall of many good businesses.

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Businesses seem to struggle with how one technology dovetails with another.  Michael Croft, CEO of eSavV Technologies is seeing this first-hand from his company’s interaction with website, mobile and Internet marketing clients.

Michael Croft is founder and CEO of a technology solutions company, eSavV (pronounced e-sav-vee) Technologies, providing website design and development, mobile application development, custom software solutions, and Internet marketing including SEO and SMO.  Michael has 13 years experience developing technology solutions for large and small companies.  “We receive many inquiries for our services, but many businesses ask only for a small piece of a much larger solution, not realizing the inter-connectivity of our services.”  Michael explains.

“Triple-threat” strategies, as Michael calls them, include a website application, its mobile counterpart, and an Internet marketing strategy.  These technologies function much better as a whole than as separate components.  Search Engine Optimization really should begin with website design, not as an afterthought.  Social Media and SEO campaigns work together and reinforce each other.  A mobile website is an extension to the standard desktop version, and a mobile application encapsulates business functions conveniently packaged and designed for the smaller screen of a smart phone or even a tablet.

When developing a business plan and strategy, companies should think of their website, SEO, SMO, and mobile applications as cohesive components of a larger solution, each developed to reinforce the other.  The solution works best and produces the best effect when its components are treated as interlocking pieces to a single puzzle.

“Envision for a moment a modern business, one that utilizes the real power of the Internet and mobile technology to extend a bricks-and-mortar location,” Michael goes on to explain.  “Imagine you have searched online for an upscale liquor store to purchase a fine wine, and you find a store that piques your interest.  But while driving to the store, you forget the directions, so you use your mobile phone to access the store’s mobile website, which provides directions using mobile GPS technology.  At the store, you start searching for that special bottle of fine wine, but you need help understanding the differences between a Merlot and Pinot Noir.  On each wine bottle is a QR code, and your smart phone has a QR reader, so you scan the code to get a detailed description of the wine from a web page of the liquor store’s mobile website.

The store now begins to leverage your interest and selection to create targeted marketing.  If you share the store’s wine description with friends by clicking a social media sharing icon on the web page, you are now participating in viral marketing.  When you purchase the bottle of wine, the cashier takes your email address so that the store can send you a monthly newsletter of information on wines.  She also encourages you to “check-in” using foursquare^TM or Facebook^TM to receive discounts and specials.  The liquor store’s social media dashboard leverages geo-targeting and social sharing information.  Customers who tweet or check-in are rewarded – and the liquor store gains more exposure through viral marketing by putting the customers to work as your personal marketers.”

Michael has defined a business that truly leverages web and mobile applications, search engine optimization, and social media as a cohesive business strategy.  He explains how all these pieces can work together to extend a traditional bricks-and-mortar business.  These technologies also work extremely well for businesses that don’t have a bricks-and-mortar operation, and eSavV Technologies is a prime example.  “I haven’t even scratched the surface of inter-connected technologies when you consider press releases, webinars, podcasts, blogs, and so many other powerful tools at a business owner’s disposal,” Michael adds. “Unfortunately many businesses seem unaware of these tools or do not understand how they all fit together, and therefore they continue to invest money in the wrong areas.”

eSavV Technologies

Websites. Mobile Apps. SEO & SMO. Software.

Phone: 888-316-6303

Fax: 888-839-8307

www.eSavV.com

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Many people ask me what types of projects we see a lot of interest in.  Recently, we are seeing a strong shift towards what I call “triple-threat-trend” applications.  The triple-threat is utilizing web, mobile and social media technology that collaborate to form a cohesive system.

For certain functions or features, the desktop or laptop is still a preferred device to interact with as it allows larger screen real-estate.  The desktop and laptop is still a preferred device for online payment transactions as mobile payment transactions are not quite main-stream yet; certainly this is changing.  Administrative features for backend processing of the application are also typically better suited for a desktop or laptop website application.

The mobile component of the application extrapolates features that lend themselves to be accessed while on the go.  The mobile component collaborates with the desktop component and vice versa.  This allows a larger demographic of customers by offering interaction preference for how features of the application are accessed.

For example, if you are out on the town and need to verify your checking account balance before buying that dinner for you and your significant other, the mobile application is a perfect solution.  To pay your bills electronically you may be inclined to have a full keyboard and a desktop computer or laptop.

We have discussed two parts of the triple-threat applications.  The third part is the foundation of social media methodology architecture.  The application allows information sharing, real-time collaboration and social validation semantics to help build an online community and leverage the viral aspect of new media marketing.  This architecture is shared between the mobile device and the desktop or laptop device.

Visitors or customers can send each other messages about your product or service, share your company with their “friends” and “followers”, chat online about something they like or do not like about your company, and post comments about service, products and quality.  This is a very powerful foundation to help spread the word about your product or service.  Of course, the communication could also be negative, so you need to be sure you are privy to the information being shared and address issues immediately.

The implementation of the triple-threat-trend is also changing, and will be the topic of discussion for our next blog, so stay tuned!

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My father is an incredible woodworker. He carves basketballs, baseballs, sports jerseys, sneakers, and baseball caps out of solid blocks of wood and the laymen cannot distinguish between the art and the real thing. There are many talented woodworking students who may never master such talent. Like my fathers talent, it is an art more than a science to create a great website and not everyone can master this art.

A poor website reflects poorly on a business. It is as detrimental to a business as a business having no website at all. Picture two eateries side by side; one eatery is new, clean and upscale while the other is old, dirty and broken down. At which eatery would you have lunch? Do you think this thought process is different in the virtual world? It’s not. A great website can be the difference between exponential growth and lost potential. It is an investment to leverage the largest customer portal in the world – the Internet, to create new business, retain existing customers and provide exceptional 24×7 service including self-service – the “I want it now” expectation.

With such a large pool of potential, why is a website still not perceived as an asset by many small businesses? It is looked upon as an expense out of bare necessity. Due to this stereotype, many small businesses are using cheap “do-it-yourself” website start up kits or a friend who “took a couple classes” or set up a Facebook account. What amazes me is the amount of respectable effort and money that a small business owner puts into the brick and mortar aspect of the business and circumvents that same passion entirely in the virtual arena. It is not just about having a web presence; it is about leveraging that web presence. That is the key point still being missed by many small businesses and so then, other avenues of revenue are also being missed.

A great website is not just about looks either. The word “great” here encapsulates all aspects of web design, development, and marketing that together make it a success. To truly succeed you need a team to back you and work with you. A great website does take time, as most good things do. The reality is a great website is an iterative process; each phase building on the latter. Whether through feedback, changing trends or expectations, a great website is an ongoing effort. Treat your website as a part of doing business, not as an expense of your business and the ROI will speak for itself. Remember that your website is your business interface to the world! Make it a good one.

Perhaps if my father could carve websites, this article would not be relevant;)

P.S. – my fathers skills can be seen here: Dads Woodworking Skills

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