This is the second document in the Russian offshore software development industry series that looks in more detail at the nine companies that Forrester surveyed as representative of the capabilities of Russian providers.
This is the second document in the Russian offshore software development industry series. In the first document in the series, we discussed the criteria needed by end users to select a software development partner from a growing group of capable Russian offshore software development specialists.
10 countries look to compete with India.
Russia has long been seen as a dark horse with huge potential but now everybody - from the tiny Baltic States to Romania - is trying to get into the act.
Russia may still lag behind IT-outsourcing powerhouse India, but its programmers are seeing foreign contracts roll in.
St. Pete Stakes Claim as Software Capital
J. Quinn Martin, The Moscow Times,
8 July 2003
Offshore software development alone brought Russia some $200 million last year and will grow by roughly 25 percent annually over the next several years, according to Ernst & Young.
***
Despite the high-tech slump in the West, outsourcing continues to grow rapidly, said Ian Marriott, research director at Gartner Research, at the opening of the conference. He estimated that offshore outsourcing in Western Europe is growing by 40 percent annually and predicted that the share of the market dominated by India, the world's offshore outsourcing leader, will continue to decline. That leaves a window of opportunity for Russian companies.
Europe’s IT industry remains in the doldrums, but one activity of increasing interest to Russian companies should theoretically have good prospects – outsourcing.
MOSCOW: As competition in the world offshore software development market gets tougher, advanced services such as IT Enhanced Services (ITES) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), create new opportunities for development. Although Russian offshore software developers are not yet marketing ITES or BPOs as separate areas of expertise, a few bigger firms are beginning to provide services of these type. Viewing them as a promising area for future development.
Little-known Russian programmers, who have been writing code for global software products - including ones sold by major companies like Apple and Corel - for the last decade, are now working towards international recognition of their skills.
Moscow accounts for about 35 percent of Russia's offshore software development market, which makes it No. 1 software outsourcing center in the country. The city's software sector is fueled by a substantial scientific base. Several major universities that train programmers as well as a few major research institutions are located in the city.
Aplana Software, recently spun off from the software-development arm of its parent company IT, said it expects to double its turnover this year by targeting both domestic and foreign customers.
