It’s no secret that the wheels of software outsourcing here in Russia have either ground to a halt or have significantly slowed down. It’s not exactly surprising, seeing how most profitable, well-funded code shops were developing software either for financial institutions or for companies whose well-being would be affected (sometimes rather dramatically) by the demise or restructuring of said insitutions. Such as start-ups, for example.
So what’s happening exactly? Well, those outsourcers who didn’t get bankrupted (and some ODCs did get closed down, such as Saxo Bank’s, for instance) have certainly lost their share, have made job cuts and are now sitting it out while waiting for business to return. On the other hand, new companies (such as mine) are springing up all the time, eager to retake the business from the big players as soon as it arises. And why not? The crisis has certainly leveled the playing field, and people’s strategies for attracting new business have changed as a result.
My approach to all of this is two-pronged. On the other hand, we have to be ready to pounce on practically any order that comes out, even if the rates aren’t in our favor (I sometimes wonder why Russian outsourcing exists at all, when freelance sites teem with $15/hour coders), even if we don’t particularly fancy a particular client. Now’s not the time to be picky. Which is why the 2nd avenue of escape from this crisis is taking on internal (i.e., Russian) customers. This is even more challenging, and leads to two problems: the first being that you can’t just attract Russian business without connections (especially government contracts), and the second being that you probably can’t charge the same rates as you charge your Western partners unless you net someone like Gazprom (which is challenging due to part 1 of this argument).
There must be a select few companies on this planet who make really great software and who charge really decent rates for it. And I bet they’re keeping their secrets very well, let everyone in jump on their bandwagon.