ODC or Offshore Development Center is this term that evokes awkward silences in board room meetings. Directors take this opportunity to fish out their smartphones and text, ‘They brought up offshoring. Won’t take long to be snubbed. See you in 10.’
When it comes to offshoring, India of course has been a popular and an unpopular choice, both extremities in fighting equal measures. And why not? India is the perfect paradoxical juxtaposition of discipline and chaos. Our schools are compared to an assortment of conveyor belts that dish out brain-washed skilled labour (a bit too harsh, I know). Our lives on the other hand is surrounded by chaos permeating in every allowable space in this hopelessly populated color-fest of a nation. Our roads for instance.
With a few of these honest and harsh acceptances, I hope I have laid it very clearly that I am not defending any perceptions out there. In fact, one advice we got from our customers was, ‘You are not fighting competition. You are fighting a perception.’ So true. I agree with the perception that is out there. But not with the assumptions that come with it.
The perception is that Indians are unpunctual and unorganized. The assumption is that the same would reflect upon project deliveries. The perception is that Indian innovation is very “makeshifty” (popularly known in India as jugaad). True. The assumption is that these practices find their way into project discipline and technical solutions as well.
The problem also lies in some or all of such assumptions finding at least one observation. A bad case-study if you will. It is a few of these bad fishes that poison the proverbial waters. So, what if there are so many successful product implementations and smooth project executions out there? The negative ones always carry the limelight with aplomb. Add the famous figures of “70% of all software projects never being on time and on budget” and you start aiming for the center of the garbage bin while throwing away that ODC proposal.
I am here as one lone guardian fighting a systemic perception backed by some observations which compounds into reluctance, denial and ultimately, fear.
My argument here is going to use the same logic as offshoring detractors use to lampoon offshoring as a viable option. India being a paradox of values and a grand fusion of differences is probably the best option you have for software development offshoring. Laughable at this juncture, when I haven’t proved anything. But I implore you to read on.
The skills that are needed to deliver a successful project or build a product are becoming interestingly niche and yet blending together to form more cohesive teams or even one-man drivers. You need a BA who is really an expert at ‘the human touch’ to provide a human-centered approach towards the project. But that starts pouring into the whole design angle. You need a BA with a good idea of user-experience and yet knows about technical feasibility of things to provide early warnings. Not very water-tight if you ask me. Let’s talk about the PM or the Scrum Master (different functions, but this simplification won’t lose clarity for argument). A team-manager, a reconciler, a negotiator, a planner, a resolver. All these qualities need to be in top-notch degree for the best of implementations. And yet you need ALL of those. Not few or one of those. What I am getting at here is, the personnel you think of hiring need to be multi-dimensional (clichéd but appropriate jargon) and open to learn different disciplines and sciences. Even developers who can think like designers and have good communication skills are preferred.
In India, the flexibility in the culture permits our mindset to be open to new skills and possibilities. It is in India where you find a budding graduate who had been speaking his vernacular language all his life, spend a few sleepless nights with a ‘How to’ book on English-speaking and transform into a decently well-versed English speaker in a week. It is India where if you tell a person, ‘let’s see you do PHP now. We don’t like Java’ you will find him writing web-services in two days. This comes from the acceptance of chaos in our lives. We can cope up with the ever-changing requirements. Even small projects which require quick learning of the latest technology, would not deter Indians from taking it up. You want the BA to learn basic French in a week to prep for an on-site assignment. Trust me, c'est possible.
And this is where, someone is going to leap at me, saying, ‘That’s what makes you great generalists and not good specialists’ But do not forget that we survived 12 years of onerous, back-breaking education studying the same rugged subjects, conning them by rote for more than a decade. Very successfully sometimes, as well. No meandering into the fine-arts or horticulture or avant-garde music. Plain, robotic discipline. It is this programming, which is not something to be proud of, that makes us the woodpeckers who won’t stop until the wood yields away. India has been a popular services destination, but there is a huge underlying product-building potential that is latent talent and yet to be tapped. Indians can grow with the scale and become experts in some technology area or domain. My working with some greatly innovative, technology deep-divers has shown me that these individuals possess deep knowledge of their chosen field and yet aren’t afraid to learn something new today. Great, isn’t it?
The only lynchpin that you need to tap into this magic Indian concoction is a framework of processes and practices. It is in this regard where, any company which is nimble enough to adapt and run with the needs and yet hold on to its basic principles at all times, would excel in the ODC arena. For people who are looking to outsource, India does deserve a chance. Of course you hear those stories from your friend and CTO about how his division got ripped off by some big player in the Indian outsourcing market. That’s where I would advise that do not just go for the biggest guns out there. As iterated, if you feel they are nimble and yet true to their vision, and they really care for you, then you have made a decision. We have all seen small product companies work wonders. In India, in the outsourcing services side, it is not different. There are nimbler, smaller entities that are transforming the ODC scene into a profitable, successful affair. It is with these guys with whom your odyssey to the ODC will be memorable and fruitful.
I want to know what you think about it! Please leave a comment or two below about what you feel and your opinions on the same!
Cheers!