InfoBeans – Software Services

I have this belief that social networks, mobile technology and the sheer number of mobile phone users out there, amongst all strata of society, can make micro income opportunities a huge reality in the near future.

Micro income or micro businesses could be created using the above ingredients. These businesses could spawn threads amongst users that exchange products and services based on location, instantaneous availability, pricing and so on.

These ideas might sound vague for now – because they are. I am just thinking out aloud. Through this blog, I want to put these ideas out there and want to know if others are also thinking in similar directions. 99.9% of the time, people have already thought what I am thinking and this should not be any different.

I will be definitely thinking more on this and would post more as ideas concretize. Would love to hear from all of you, in the meantime.

Many people have asked me – has the Satyam episode affected the IT business in India? Has it affected InfoBeans?

The answer is an emphatic no. 

The software services business is built on a high degree of trust. The trust that is built over a very long time period and through continuous personal interaction. We are proud to say that we have extremely good relations with our clients and they have time and again shown us that they trust us immensely. We have also returned the favor and have stood rock solid with our clients.

All the more, the Satyam saga is a very individualistic and isolated incident. It is not as if the entire Indian IT industry has been part of a huge scam. To the contrary, the Indian IT industry is one of the most ethical and open set of organizations in the world. The reputation built by our industry stalwarts is long lasting and deep rooted. One person cannot change the perception that an entire generation of new entrepreneurs have built.

InfoBeans is grateful to its clients for showing their faith in the organization. InfoBeans is also grateful to the entire Indian IT industry which has set such high standards of conduct that one Satyam cannot change the story overnight.

So the answer is an emphatic NO. I do not think the Indian IT industry has or will suffer, and definitely I know that InfoBeans has not seen any negative reaction.

One Bernie Madoff cannot really upset the entire American financial industry – can it?

Even though this is geared for the iPhone, this usability presentation speaks volumes about what we as developers think our users can do (and not do). I regard the iPhone user interface as probably one of the best iterations in user experience in recent times, but that is just me. This presentation does show the oversights even the most avid user experience designers can make. I agree with many of the suggestions in the presentations and disagree with some. After all, you cannot make a device that is as natural as just talking to another human (even that is not perfect).

Check out this presentation.

Here are some outsourcing FAQs that have been created in a presentation format (this is the format I like the most). The same set of FAQs are also available on the InfoBeans website here. 

Came across this article. The article says that more than 5% of hits are from mobile users. That makes it all the more imperative that websites are made mobile aware and adapt to the unique demands of the mobile phone.

What can be done to make the websites mobile aware? Are there tools out there that enable you to roll out a mobile enabled website hand in hand with a PC website? So you do not think about the mobile website being a whole new project?

I am a very avid surfer on my iPhone. Many websites that I visit are mobile versions and many aren’t. I surely do get turned off if the regular version does not perform as well on the iPhone.

I am sure that day is not far off when you would be designing primarily for the mobile and the PC website would be an after thought. What do you think?

There are numerous situations when clients who have outsourced to some folks in India, come back to us with a bad story to tell. These clients are often lured by the EXTREMELY low cost deal that some of these people offer. At the end of the engagement, they are often forced to cut their losses and start from scratch.

Why does this happen?

When outsourcing to a very small company or individual, one needs to understand that they might not carry the experience, expertise and redundancy that a relatively larger organization carries. Experience and expertise is something that all of us understand. However redundancy – the ability to replace a person when needed, the ability to make the organization process driven as opposed to person driven is somethingt that can come only by experience. The eagerness to take care of one’s reputation is also important. Individuals might be not as driven to protect their reputation as an organization. Specially an organization that has presence in the US.

One option is to go to larger brand name organizations. But that is not a great solution for many situations. First off, you might not even get their attention. They are only interested in the multi million dollar deals. Even if they do work for a smaller project, they are not goint to give you any ongoing attention. Such smaller projects become training grounds or fillers for their employees.

To make sure that you are outsourcing to the right individual or organization, background and reference checks come in extremely handy. Make sure that the people whom you are working with know what they are doing. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, but it might be too late after you have started actually digging into the pie.

I strongly recommend that one should talk to at least 2-3 references before deciding on whether to outsource to a certain organization. Ask about the responsiveness of the organization to problem situations. Do they just ignore your request or are they available to stand by you when you need them the most? What will happen if the person working on your project goes on a vacation? What will happen if the person leaves? Do they have some sort of procedure in place to maintain continunity? Will the resources assigned be working on just your project or multiple projects?

These and other such questions will help you make the right decision. Do not allow cost alone to dictate whom you outsource to. A few dollars here and there will not be detrimental if you have peace of mind and know that your project is being the highest priority.