We are constantly improving our Web site to show you the essence of Murano Software. But how can you understand what the company is like if you don’t see its brains and soul: the specialists?

When working with clients, technology capabilities and services  play  a great role, but the most important thing in software outsourcing is the people who conduct the development process. Сhoosing the software development partner across the ocean and time difference, you probably would like to know who stands behind the company and drives its success.

“McKinsey Quarterly” asserts that despite that the Chinese and Indian economies develop rapidly, their economy systems have strong barriers to growth.
At first sight India and China are very different: China’s main traits are a powerful banking sector and larger population while India’s strength is its equity market. Their financial systems also have different histories and evolutions. India’s financial and economic systems formed when they were still a  part of the British Empire. Their strong banking system is mostly due to Britain. China’s financial system formed in the second part of the twentieth  century when its government proclaimed a liberal course of economic development.
 

These two different countries with their differing economic systems have one common trait: a strong government sector that allows authorities to intervene in market evolution and influence the allocation of capital. As a result economy growth slows down. Chinese state-owned enterprises receive the lion’s share of investments in order to fulfill the plan of employment. The Indian government expends large sums for development of agriculture and the defrayal of the fiscal deficit.  In return private companies of both countries receive less investment and hold in the development. McKinsey suggests that China and India should create innovative financial systems that will increase efficiency and widen investment opportunities.
 

Different sources prove that Russia has a strong private sector and rich opportunities for investment; so many analysts suppose that this country is safe from crisis. Further development of the Russian economy may be reached by professional management, the growth of productivity and nonintervention of government. Russia has major potential of growth, especially in the IT sector that grew by nearly 20% in 2006. In absolute indexes Russian IT market yields to China and India in this industry. On the other hand, the IT sector, especially offshore outsourcing, grows rapidly. So in the nearest future Russia intends to occupy the deserved place in this sphere.

It has been estimated that the world market for software is rising rapidly. In 2006 this industry remained dynamic. The total volume of the IT sector, according to preliminary data, will be over 1trl 60 bln rubles ($60 bln). This is 20% higher than in 2005. Expected revenues for electronic services are 745 bln rubles ($28 bln), which is 21% higher than in the previous year, and prospective revenues on postal services are 54,4 bln rubles ($2 bln), which is 27,4% higher than in the previous year.

The lion's share of this market is either outsourced or offshore programming (offshore software development) when the on-demand of some large corporations is present. According to the research company Gartner, 72% of IT users opt to outsource. 

Russia now is one of the leaders in exporting software and outsourcing services. Today in Russia, there is between 25 and 30 thousand people in the field of exporting software, while in 2004, exports amounted to 560 million dollars. It is expected that in 2007 this figure will exceed 1 billion. The growth of the industry is due to the increase in demand for programming in the Russian market. With the support of the IT sphere that could grow by 20% annually. The government concept of the IT industry development would be a further impetus for growth in Russian IT-businesses. The Russian resort developers and large companies have several advantages over their counterparts from other countries. These include high levels of training, the cost of services, geographical proximity to the countries of Western Europe, and the developed countries of South-East Asia and the Middle East.

Let’s see what we leave behind from the past year.

So, the landscape for outsourcing marketplaces is rapidly changing; with many new job web-sites appearing to change on daily basis. Software Development Outsourcing marketplaces provide people with a convenient opportunity to find new outsourcing business partners.

As Russian service providers have enjoyed long-term relationships with their clients and acquired adequate knowledge about their business, from a long-term perspective, the Russian IT stands to gain. From a demand viewpoint, the size of the offshoring pie is increasing--larger deals are flowing offshore, and more global organizations are coming to Russia to evaluate and finalize their outsourcing strategies. However, as offshoring has evolved, customers and vendors have discovered the benefits of improved processes and service quality as equally important factors in the choice of an offshore location.

"They come for the price, but stay for the quality" is the mantra which many offshore providers currently subscribing to. Today besides cost and quality, some of the other driving factors for offshoring are aspects like easy access to technical talent, flexible work practices and the ability to use different time zones. Creating 24-hour processes, which were previously limited to certain parts of the day, access to highly qualified and motivated staff diversifies an organization’s work culture and additionally assists in the improvement of service quality.

Today, there are multiple options for structuring an offshore arrangement for achieving financial and IT transformation objectives. The four preferred outsourcing models are: captive unit, build-operate-transfer (BOT), joint venture and dedicated offshore development center.

Joint venture is a model wherein a client and an offshore supplier set up a joint venture vehicle, which will predominantly service the client's business. Both the client and the JV partner share the risk and the revenues resulting from the operations.

Though each model has its pros and cons, businesses must choose a stand-alone model or a hybrid structure to maximize the benefits of offshoring and aligning the offshore initiative to their business model.

Clearly, there is no one fit for strategy. It is the consulting skills of the vendor and the client's desired end result that will result in the evolution of the offshoring model to meet business requirements.

In addition, economic and regulatory frameworks over the last few years have resulted in several emerging challenges for organizations. Such dynamic considerations have made it imperative for them to assess the financial viability of their IT portfolio, so that they can address the changes in a business scenario in an effective manner and optimize returns on investments in existing applications as well.

We are keeping up to date, and indeed ahead. Recently we even celebrated the New Year in Saint-Petersburg where one of the development centers is situated. The weather was not quite Christmassy, but it has not been a problem for those who are use to working agile and are always ready for unexpected situations.

Among the Holiday surprises was the visit of Dimitri Nikouline, Murano Software President. According to Dimitri, our clients trust us and are pleased with the outcome of our work. Some of them are glad to see the members of our teams not only as talented developers but also as those who have the same interests in life.

Informal communications during work that naturally take place speaks of understanding and is the key to successful cooperation in the future. Natural human communication among business (and development) partners is the basis for the most promising projects. We have everything, starting from outstanding and talented developers, in order to usher in the New Year.

Dimitri also said “Guys, you are simply the best”. Frankly speaking, we believe in it.

Some respected Internet sources give very cognitive information and can influence thinking. One source displays a diagram that shows offshore software development destinations. You can find several countries there, but Russia is not represented. Where is it included? Is it located in the “Eastern Europe” or “Other Countries” category? 

On the other hand, more and more large companies open development centers in Russia. This week Google opened its second development center outside the US in the same country. The country is Russia and the development center is located in Saint-Petersburg.  
 
Google chose Russian specialists to develop innovative software solutions. Murano clients do the same. If you are looking to set up your own offshore development center in Russia, we would like you to consider working with our dedicated teams of talented and highly skilled technical professionals.