As we’ve explored in last week’s issue, there is no Universal Truth with Offshoring/Nearshoring. Though a large number of build-and-operate projects we hear and read about turn into inspiring success stories, there’s an even higher amount of horror stories out there, failures that hover above a manager’s office as he considers an Offshoring solution. However, a common factor emerges from all of these stories, be they successful or disastrous: experience. Was the project planned by outsourcing experts, or have the non-technical decision-makers within the company made the estimates, based on exemplary know-how, but zero hands-on experience? Was the best working model chosen in cooperation with an experienced team of professionals? Have the time and budget estimates been overseen by tried technology outsourcing leaders?
Competent Tech-Consulting – a compass for navigating the hard-to-predict, temperamental outsourcing waters
Experience, unlike knowledge, is not an exact science – as much as it is a wisdom practitioners acquire over time, through different set-backs they’re forced to find solutions for. This makes them equipped to deal with industry and business-climate specific problems before they happen. The overall cost may seem higher at first glance, but that’s only because you’re not taking the unpredictable into account. The ‘self-help-kit’ will in many cases not fail par say. But you certainly aren’t very likely to get the best out of your investment, either (both in terms of time and money).
You just can’t fast-learn years of experience, of making mistakes, of having problems arise and having to find solutions for them. In essence, Technology-Consulting means buying someone’s past mistakes, so you don’t have to make them yourself; buying their experience, so you don’t have to learn the costly way; buying their sets of probabilities, so you don’t need to reinvent things yourself.
But isn’t consulting supposed to be provided by the company you partner with to build your Offshore/Nearshore Development Center? Aren’t they morally obligated to tell you if they think you’re making any but the best choices? Subscribe to our feed and make sure you explore this issue in depth with us in an upcoming article.
Until next time, I’d like to hear some of your thoughts on the matter: does the self-help-kit work for you? Have you had positive experience or negative experience with establishing an Offshore/Nearshore Development Center? Leave me a comment, or connect with us via e-mail for a more private business-discussion.