Overview

An Offshore Development Center is made up of a dedicated team of programmers and developers who have been hand picked to complement the customer’s skill set and culture. This customized team works exclusively on behalf of the customer at the service provider’s site or their own captive site in a secure environment. The infrastructure and security can be designed to meet the customer’s specific standards and specifications, and may include co-branding. Indeed, the closer the synergy between an Offshore Development Center and an organization’s own IT/development department the better. The ultimate goal is for an Offshore Development Center to be a seamless extension of an organization’s IT department.

Process of setting of an Offshore Development Center

The initial phase is required to accomplish the infrastructure set up for the Offshore Development Center – which would include setting up of the Physical Infrastructure such as Office equipment & Development Environment and also the assignment of professionals with relevant skill sets to the Offshore Development Center. This phase takes around 2 – 4 weeks time. The next phase is very critical to the long term functioning of the Offshore Development Center. This phase deals with setting up of a functional process, which will be implemented and improved upon through out the life of the Offshore Development Center. A detailed discussion is held to decide on the process to set up the Communication protocol, Operational efficiency/Reporting structure, Specific roles and responsibilities assigned to specific personnel. Project Delivery Methodology and the Escalation procedures.

India still world’s No. 1 destination for offshore outsourcing

Bangalore: India is still the world’s favourite destination for offshore outsourcing, but attractive cost structures in the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia and the rapid growth of the business in China are posing tough competition, according to a new study by Gartner Inc.

In the study, the IT research and advisory firm identified the Top 30 countries around the world for globally sourced activities in 2010-11, rating them on the basis of 10 criteria.

Many organisations that choose to move IT services to lower-cost countries are daunted by the task of determining which country, or countries, would best suit their requirement. Gartner conducted an analysis of these countries to assess their capabilities and potential as offshore services locations, it said.

India retained its position as the most successful country among global offshore locations, as per the Gartner study. It scored well across all 10 criteria. While its cost-competitiveness is being challenged due to the rising rupee, this is compensated by its strength in other areas, as per Gartner’s study.

“Clients continue to seek a portfolio of offshore countries and with India again experiencing increasing labour costs and attrition, this is creating opportunities for other offshore locations to target the services needs of more-mature Asian clients,” said Gartner Research Vice-President Ian Marriott.

China improved its scores for “political and economic environment” from “good” to “very good”, and “culture compatibility” from “fair” to “good”.

Contributing to the increased rating for China is its rising global political and economic leverage, especially in the wake of the recent global economic crisis.

China experienced a steady positive growth rate, spurred by a USD 583.9 billion stimulus package, in 2009. The Shanghai 2010 World Expo has helped increase cultural awareness within China, which has helped the growth of the business in the country, according to the study.

Gartner”s scores for the Philippines remain largely unchanged, although its rating for “global and legal maturity” fell from “good” to “fair”.

Gartner continues to see foreign companies being attracted to the Philippine’s young, experienced labour pool specialising in contact centres and finance and accounting (F&A) business process outsourcing (BPO), complemented by its good language and cultural compatibility with western economies.

Source : Yahoo

A software consultant is a professional that assesses a business or organization’s processes and provides software solutions and other recommendations based on that assessment. This professional may perform this function either as a self-employed individual, or as part of a software consulting firm. A software consultant may integrate customized software into a business or organization’s processes in order to increase efficiency and minimize manpower or costs.

For example, a gym or fitness center could benefit from the integration of proprietary software which tracks the progress of the gym’s members, in the form of measurements and other personalized data. A software consultant, either individually or as part of a firm, might specialize in the creation of such a software for fitness centers, and pitch the software to various business and organizations within the fitness industry.

As software can perform a wide variety of functions, a software consultant might deliver software solutions to a wide variety of industries. Businesses and organizations will often hire a software consultant or software consultancy firm on a contract basis, if such software expertise is not already be available in-house. For example, a real estate company that already employs a computer programmer, webmaster, or other information technology (IT) professionals might also hire a software consultant that can create a database of properties customized to suit the company’s information management needs.

Software consulting firms that are contracted by businesses or organizations are often hired on a project basis. This means the software consulting firm must integrate new software into the business or organization within a certain time frame agreed-upon by both parties. The project team, which is typically made up of personnel from both the hirer’s organization and the software consulting firm, work together to come up with software solutions that suits the needs of the business or organization. Personnel that will work closely with the software often receive special training during the project, and are heavily-involved in its integration to help familiarize them with its various functions.

As businesses and organizations have become increasingly reliant on technology, the development of new and improved software systems delivered by a software consultant can sometimes render certain positions or expenses obsolete. For example, software can be programmed to analyze patterns in various data, retrieve specific information within a variety of parameters, and eliminate the need for hard copy storage, such as filing rooms and various filing systems. In such a case, the business or organization may no longer require a filing clerk or filing supplies and storage.

Definition: While design is the art and process of combining individual elements of design (lines, shape, texture, color) into a pleasing arrangment, Web Design is the art and process of creating a single Web page or entire Web sites and may involve both the aesthetics and the mechanics of a Web site’s operation although primarily it focuses on the look and feel of the Web site – the design elements.

Web design is a broad term used to encompass the way that content (usually hypertext or hypermedia) that are delivered to an end-user through the World Wide Web, using a web browser or other web-enabled software is displayed. The intent of web design is to create a website—a collection of online content including documents and applications that reside on a web server/servers. The website may include text, images, sounds and other content, and may be interactive.

Web design involves the structure of the website including the information architecture (navigation schemes and naming conventions), the layout or the pages (wireframes or page schematics are created to show consistent placement of items including functional features), and the conceptual design with branding.

All websites should begin with a clear strategy so that it is apparent what they are trying to achieve. The strategy then enables the design to fulfill defined goals.

Typically web pages are classified as static or dynamic:

1) Static pages don’t change content and layout with every request unless a human (web master/programmer) manually updates the page. A simple HTML page is an example of static content.

2) Dynamic pages adapt their content and/or appearance depending on end-user’s input/interaction or changes in the computing environment (user, time, database modifications, etc.) Content can be changed on the client side (end-user’s computer) by using client-side scripting languages (JavaScript, JScript, Actionscript, etc.) to alter DOM elements (DHTML). Dynamic content is often compiled on the server utilizing server-side scripting languages (Perl, PHP, ASP, JSP, ColdFusion, etc.). Both approaches are usually used in complex applications.

With growing specialization in the information technology field there is a strong tendency to distinguish between web design and web development. Web design is a kind of graphic design intended for the development and styling of objects of the Internet’s information environment to provide them with high-end consumer features and aesthetic qualities.

This definition separates web design from web programming, emphasizing the functional features of a web site, as well as positioning web design as a kind of graphic design. The process of designing web pages, web sites, web applications or multimedia for the Web may utilize multiple disciplines, such as animation, authoring, communication design, corporate identity, graphic design, human-computer interaction, information architecture, interaction design, marketing, photography, search engine optimization and typography.

1) Markup languages (such as HTML, XHTML and XML)
2) Style sheet languages (such as CSS and XSL)
3) Client-side scripting (such as JavaScript)
4) Server-side scripting (such as PHP and ASP)
5) Database technologies (such as MySQL and PostgreSQL)
6) Multimedia technologies (such as Flash and Silverlight)

Web pages and websites can be static pages, or can be programmed to be dynamic pages that automatically adapt content or visual appearance depending on a variety of factors, such as input from the end-user, input from the webmaster or changes in the computing environment (such as the site’s associated database having been modified).

Web development is a broad term for the work involved in developing a web site for the Internet (World Wide Web) or an intranet (a private network). This can include web design, web content development, client liaison, client-side/server-side scripting, web server and network security configuration, and e-commerce development. However, among web professionals, “web development” usually refers to the main non-design aspects of building web sites: writing markup and coding. Web development can range from developing the simplest static single page of plain text to the most complex web-based internet applications, electronic businesses, or social network services.

For larger organizations and businesses, web development teams can consist of hundreds of people (web developers). Smaller organizations may only require a single permanent or contracting webmaster, or secondary assignment to related job positions such as a graphic designer and/or information systems technician. Web development may be a collaborative effort between departments rather than the domain of a designated department.