Shoring

Although the terms outsourcing and offshoring are often used interchangeably, they refer to different business practices, particularly in the context of software development:

• Outsourcing refers to the practice of transferring certain business processes or functions to external service providers. This can take place in the company’s own country (onshore outsourcing) or in another country (offshore outsourcing). The focus is on the transfer of tasks, regardless of the location of the service provider.
• Offshoring is a special form of outsourcing in which business processes or projects are transferred to service providers in another country. The focus is on moving work geographically, often to take advantage of lower costs or specialised skills.

Outsourcing software development offers a number of benefits that enable companies to become more efficient and competitive. Some of the key benefits are:

• Cost Efficiency: Significant savings can be made by outsourcing development projects to countries with lower labour costs.
• Access to expertise: Outsourcing provides access to specialised talent and technology that is not always available in-house.
• Time savings: With a larger team, projects can be completed more quickly, enabling faster time-to-market.
• Scalability: Outsourcing provides the flexibility to quickly increase or decrease team size according to project needs.
• Focus on core competencies: Outsourcing software development allows organisations to focus on their core business and strategy.
• Foster innovation: Access to global talent and technology can enhance an organisation’s ability to innovate.

All bbv locations work according to our clearly defined cultural principles and have many years of experience in software projects that meet high quality standards. We apply a set of best practices and methodologies to each Shoring project to help us meet our clients’ expectations with excellence:

• Quality Management: We use proven quality management systems that monitor the entire project cycle and ensure that requirements and standards are met.
• Continuous communication: Regular updates and meetings with the client ensure transparency and enable early response to challenges.
• Code reviews: Our developers conduct regular code reviews to ensure code quality and promote best practices.
• Automated testing: We use automated testing procedures to continuously check the functionality and performance of the software.
• Documentation: Comprehensive documentation of code and architecture facilitates maintenance and future development.
• Agile methods: We use agile development practices such as Scrum or Kanban, which enable flexible and iterative development.
• Security protocols: We implement strict security protocols to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of the project.
• Customer feedback: We value customer feedback and use it to continually improve our services.
• Skills development: Our teams undergo regular training and certification to keep their skills up to date.

Communication is a critical factor for the success of a software delivery project. At bbv we use various best practices and tools to ensure efficient and smooth communication:

• Contact persons in CH or DE: Throughout the project, you will be accompanied by contact persons in Switzerland or Germany. You will also have direct access to the engineers at our shoring sites, ensuring efficient collaboration.
• Regular updates and meetings: We organise regular status updates and meetings with the client to make project progress transparent and to respond to challenges at an early stage.
• Communication tools: We use modern communication tools such as Slack or Microsoft Teams for daily exchanges and virtual meetings.
• Project management software: Tools such as Jira or similar are used to manage project status, tasks and milestones and make them visible to everyone involved.
• Time zone management: For international shoring projects, we are flexible in our scheduling to meet the challenges of different time zones.
• Cultural sensitivity: We are aware of the cultural differences that can arise in international projects and train our teams accordingly.
• Documentation: All important decisions, requirements and changes are documented to avoid misunderstandings and ensure traceability.
• Feedback loops: Customer feedback is regularly solicited and incorporated into the development process to continuously improve the quality of the software.
• Linguistic clarity: We emphasise clear and concise communication and ensure that all team members have sufficient language skills.