1) I have heard that Offshore companies, can never deliver right the first time, how do you deal with that?

We acknowledge that the problem does exist in the industry. However, with IOTAP you can always be assured of the right fit, even the first time. We have developed an agile development process, which makes sure that we deliver what the customer wants. We have also incorporated principles of Extreme Programming process, hence lending our process the much needed practicality. Check out our Development Process for a more lucid insight!

2) How do you deal with Employee Retention?

Employee Turnover is another challenge that offshore companies have to deal with. The management at IOTAP believes that an engineer is primarily motivated by:

• Good Working Environment
• Challenging Engineering Work
• Working with Smart Engineers
•  Compensation along with good perks.

We recognize the importance of work motivation, and strive to offer our employees a world class working environment. We have 100% wired voice and network connectivity, and our office is located centrally with easy access to highways, public transport and other commercial hubs.

We also recognize that it’s not only good money that stirs an employee, and have hence incorporated unparalleled perks, 24X7 security, meals arrangement and transportation for all employees.

Our stringent hiring process, makes sure, we help the brightest among the A players.

Our focus on regular bonuses coupled with 20% above industry average pay, makes sure that Engineers are happy.

3) How do you deal with all of the communication issues which may arise?

Any communication process at IOTAP is guided by the following goals:

1) Location Transparency: Customers should get the level and quality of service in a manner that they feel they are communicating with a local US office.

2) 24X7 accessibility of Management and Project Leaders: Clients should be able to access the IOTAP upper management and project leaders any time, any day.

This ensured at IOTAP by incorporating the following:

• Working Client Hours. IOTAP engineers currently working at least 50% of the clients working hours.  
   For Example, 8:00 AM ‘ 12:00 PM Arizona Time, this ensure
• IOTAP is available at 2 US numbers, so that our customers never have to dial an international call to reach us.
• Seamless desktop to desktop communication: IOTAP uses Viomeeting.com, a web meeting software where engineers and customers communicate issues.
• Internet based Issue Tracker System - Issues are raised by customer/QA team and our resolved furnished by our engineers
• Project Lead and Top Management have toll-free 800 numbers which get forwarded to their Indian Mobile Number so that they can be reached during non-office hours
• All projects are tracked using MS Project and the project status is communicated on a weekly basis to the Client. Towards the deadline, status is often even provided on a bi-weekly and in case of critical situations for the end client, even on daily basis.

4) What is approximate ball park cost for offshore services?

Costs area function of the following key points

• Technical Skills Requirement (Onyx, Microsoft, Java, Data warehousing, etc)
• Size of the project in terms of Man Hours
• Type of service (technical support or development)
• Time and Materials or Fixed Cost

Depending on the above factors, the cost could range anywhere from $8 to $45

5) What is the bare minimum amount of hours which I can get started with?

We always believe in starting small, so we can nurture larger longer term relationships with our clients.

Generally speaking, customers can sign up for ‘Proof of Concept’ services, where customer can get a feeling of working with us. This can be 1-2 Engineers for 1-2 month of period.

6) What is 'IT Outsourcing' and what is 'Offshore Outsourcing'?

In the first sense, "IT outsourcing" means hiring somebody outside your company to provide IT services. Outsourcing is most common for companies whose IT needs are well known in advance. IT outsourcing can also mean hiring someone to be your IT department. Such a partner must have people who can work closely with your staff to understand your unique business problems so that you can deliver, implement, and service unique solutions.

Offshore Outsourcing of software is simply software development at another location, a facility connected with the client's location using high-speed data communication links to allow engineers and managers to communicate on a real-time basis. Clients on the other side of the globe can monitor developments and project milestones on an up-to-the-minute basis, ensuring both quality and progress.

7) Is my company an outsourcing candidate?

Outsourcing used to be a tactic to improve operations and financial performance of troubled organizations. Today's outsourcing has evolved to be a preferred method of doing business by companies for numerous positive reasons.

You MAY be an outsourcing candidate IF you are asking yourself:

• Are my resources being utilized effectively?
• Do the department's objectives support the corporate direction?
• Can my IT department enhance our corporate financial goals?
• Are the current resources capable of supporting new technology?
•  Is there a quicker, more effective method to handle these issues?
• Should we consider an offshore solution? Are 40% savings for real; what are the after-shock effects?
• Will employees have a basis for litigation? What are their options?
• If I make the wrong decision, what are the consequences?

8) Do offshore programmers write code in their native language?

All code is written using the same tools employed by developers in the U.S. , and in English. Development team members have strong English skills and good virtual communication skills. The Client has the opportunity to work with the team leader and review blueprints as they are prepared and will thus be able to very quickly assess the team's communication skills. In the worst case, we can swap team members or even entire teams to meet Client expectations.

9) What type of team does IOTAP have?

At IOTAP, we have built a culture that attracts exceptionally talented people; People who thrive on and have an intense passion for understanding and solving implementation problems for our customers. These expert minds mirror a team with high intellectual capacity and capability to deliver

10) How does IOTAP price its projects?

IOTAP prices its projects according to the development effort required. There are two popular models: Fixed Price Model - You gives us the requirements. IOTAP estimates the time and resources involvement and comes to a fixed price. A project plan is made and the payments are linked to important deliverables. Any changes to the requirements are seen as 'Change Request' and are charged for the extra time required. Resource Allocation Model - You gives us loose requirements. We give a ballpark time and resources involvement required. A basic project plan is made. All changes made to the requirements are included in the project's scope - the project plan is accordingly modified. The resources used are billed on a monthly basis. In an outsourcing deal with IOTAP, you are always in control. The prototypes/staged deliveries and the regular communication keeps you updated, and the payments are requested on specific deliveries and after you are happy.

11) What type of processes does IOTAP have in place?

At IOTAP, we ensure through proper planning that the project doesn't move away from its targeted goals while the customer gets a clear definition of the project and is in the know of the project status and has ready access to project deliverables at any point of time. To ensure the timely and quality delivery for 100% client satisfaction we implement the following: Prototypes & Staged Deliveries Weekly Status Reports Comprehensive Bug Management Configuration Management Knowledge Management System

12) Who owns the rights for the source code?

All rights to the work remain with the Client. This includes documentation, source code, binaries etc. which the IOTAP team develops in the course of the project. All this is part of the delivery made to the Client. With IOTAP, you will never be held hostage in another part of the world.

13) Is the code documented?

A project is not deemed complete until proper documentation is provided. We believe it is our professional responsibility to provide well-documented code. It also helps us in future projects to enhance functionality if and when the Client requires it.

Clients also have the ability to use modern tools such as standards master, where clients coding standards can be predefined and can be enforced by the tool, which integrates all popular development environments. With a click of a button, our project lead can find out if there have been any omissions for coding standards and corrective measures can be kept in place.