In the interests of achieving quality, we do not and will not outsource our software development services to cheaper countries. There are a number of reasons for this:
- It is very difficult and expensive for us to evaluate the skills of developers in remote locations, especially when English is not their first language.
- Even if we are able to evaluate the skills of developers, they may change due to resignations. This would lead to ongoing costs of evaluating incoming replacements including ongoing travel to the remote location.
- Even if these problems could be overcome, we have no way of guaranteeing that a sweat-shop is not baiting and switching - we cannot be sure (until it is too late) that the developers actually evaluated are the same ones that do the work.
- The simple truth is that the sweat-shops target people looking for low price, and not people looking for quality. It is not their business to filter for quality in the way we do.
- Even if you can get quality developers, dealing with a foreign sweat-shop creates additional obstacles to quality, not the least of which is communications issues.
- If it is important that you own the copyright of the product, and that your closed source code be kept secure, the differences in copyright law and attitudes to respecting and enforcing copyright in the countries typically chosen for international outsourcing create a real risk to your investment.
We say this not to discourage you from outsourcing your development to a cheaper country. These trade-offs are yours to make if you are comfortable with them. We say this to explain why we will not sub-contract our services to a cheaper country.