We hope you have happy holidays! – On behalf of everyone here at Murano Software, we wish you all the joys of this wonderful Holiday Season and the very best for the coming New Year.

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.