Top Software Testing and Quality Assurance Outsourcing Vendors Report - Key Findings

THE BLACK BOOK OF OUTSOURCING brings the Top Software Testing and Quality Assurance Outsourcing Vendors Report.

Some of the key findings are...

1. In 2008, Russian software testing and QA outsourcing providers surpassed Indian and other offshore firms in terms of client experience. More recently, the top honored firms included more Indian and Chinese suppliers. In 2008, six of the top 10 software testing and QA firms were located in Russia and Eastern Europe. In 2009, several Chinese firms skyrocketed to the top ranks, surpassing both Indian and Russian competitors.

2. Innovation, trust, reliability and customization are the most important attributes influencing software testing and QA client's satisfaction with their outsourcing providers.

3. Vendor dissatisfaction is uncommon in the software testing and QA services industry among top ranked suppliers.

4. Strong dissatisfaction is uncommon in this niche information technology outsourcing (ITO) sector, occurring in only 8.1% of technology-related industry's client types, 16.3% in software and high tech company clients directly, and 21.3% of non-tech industry clients globally. However, this is a significant decrease in satisfaction from previous results.

5. US clients are among the most satisfied with offshore software testing and QA services delivery from India and increasingly China (satisfaction with Chinese suppliers is up 87.5% since 2007).

6. Strong dissatisfaction with offshore outsourcing vendors was less than 8.8% of all surveyed clients with projects involving testing, QA and related outsourced software functionalities.

7. Comprehensive services vendor arrangements from a comprehensive/end-to-end software testing vendor produce the highest satisfaction rates. Single vendors offering comprehensive QA services to software testing clients ranked highest in the overall survey.


~ Satish Chathanath Call : 9884011654 Mail : satish@pollenwebcreatives.com / satish@djargon.com

It's not all that DOOM & GLOOM

London-based research company ECA International says employees in India can look forward to robust salary rises even when almost a quarter of the world's companies, and 40 percent in the United States, plan to freeze salaries this year.

Companies in Venezuela are set to hand out the biggest pay rises this year, averaging 24 percent and up from 22 percent last year, followed by Argentina where pay is set to increase by 12 percent.

Pay in India will increase by 10.8 percent this year. Talent shortage is cited as a reason for the sustenance of a double-digit figure in India.


The survey was conducted in 53 countries and take a look at the results:

Top 10 Countries paying top salary hikes

1. Venezuela

2. Argentina

3. India

4. Vietnam

5. Egypt

6. Indonesia

7. Russia

8. Romania

9. South Africa

10. Latvia

While Japan is at spot no. 53 in the overall list.


~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in

Indiamart and the branding challenge

After a great run in India and ready to go global, Indiamart has suddenly found itself staring a big wall on its track. Currently, quite a few of buyers and sellers on Indiamart are in India. However, there has been constant interest from foriegn buyers and sellers from abroad to be part of Indiamart.com The only problem has been that owing to a brand positioning clash many companies do not want to become part of a site which has India in its name.

Well, to book a domain with a name like Globemart would not help as the hits and the high response from buyers and sellers around the world and particularly from India is on Indiamart and not on some new site which was unknown till now.

However, now the promoters Dinesh Agarwals and his team find it increasingly difficult to get a large number of conversions to jump onto the India brand if they are from other parts of the globe. The advertising agency and the A-team of the company is addressing the problem and is trying to arrive at a consensus as to how to leverage the brand and at the same time convert it into a global brand.

For one thing, Indiamart will not be able to have its cake and eat it too. It will either have to shed the India image or carry on with it and sacrifice its ability to attract buyers and sellers from a worldwide footprint .
The other option available to this company is to promote a site such as www.globaltrade.com and then redirects it to www.indiamart.com/global

So where do you think things went wrong. Is it at the domain registration stage or earlier? Jump in and let know your thoughts... what basic branding principles would have saved Indiamart from this chaotic situation?

~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in

COKE : Setting the Record Straight ?

New Coke Ads titled `Setting The Record Straight’ will run tomorrow in major Australian newspapers such as The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Courier Mail and The Australian.

What’s the big deal about this? Well…Coke is expected to publish corrective advertisements in Australia after a panel said the soft drink company could have misled consumers with ads saying its products won't make them fat or rot their teeth.

Now the confession: The world's biggest soft drinks maker, said it did not intend for its ads to be misleading and it should have been more clear. “This process has reinforced in our minds that even where advertising messages are well-intentioned, it is important to consider the overall impression that the messages may convey,'' the new ad said.

So does Coke contribute to weight gain, obesity and tooth decay? The proof of the pudding is in drinking!!


~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in

Employee Engagement - Nurture or Abandon?

Employee engagement – Now is the time to nurture not abandon
So you might have heard of this excellent employee engagement initiative practiced in a leading US firm. Let me illustrate it for all readers - 2 chairs are kept on the lawn, one chair occupied by an employee representative and another hung with a message board. Different employee topics for different days. Employees participated and shared their thoughts and concerns on issues ranging from management to work to co-workers.

Brilliant idea, isn’t it?

Those 2 lawn chairs measured the pulse of employee thoughts and fears. It helped employees to open up and speak out.

During recession or otherwise, I think an organization can do a world of good for itself and employees if it can engage employees through work and recognition. Engaged employees will do things in a better way and do better things more efficiently. What else can empower a business during a slowdown. Job cuts won’t do. It can only raise the mercury on insecurity. Probably now is the time to go face-to-face and do honest communication with your employees.


~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in

Leading Green Brand !!

The global "green" enterprise IT study released by Strategic Oxygen and Cohn & Wolfe today reveals that Dell is the number one green technology brand, recognized for its extensive recycling program, the top ranked attribute sought by IT buyers. HP, IBM and Microsoft were noted for their energy efficient products and use of sustainable materials, while Apple held its position in the top five for designing products that are perceived to have a green look and feel.

"The technology brands that make the authentic connection between the environmental soundness of their products and their sustainable business operations and policies, will be long-term winners," says Claudia Carasso, managing director of the global technology practice at Cohn & Wolfe. "We also know that CIOs who are committed to green strategies depend more on blogs and forums than their non-green counterparts for gathering information on technology solutions. This is an important finding for product and service providers who are looking for current and credible ways to reach the coveted C-suite buyer."

GREEN MARKETING, is it????


~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in

IPL & Voter Turnout

Amidst depressing news about the economy: bank closures, bailouts, rising unemployment, fraud, declining consumer confidence and the other long list of sad stories… there is one bright spot – Indian Premier League. Probably, the cricketing nations and especially the marketers in India would like to view the IPL season 2 as a mini stimulus package that could trigger consumer spending. Or is it consumer watching?

But the fate of IPL is now in the hands of the Indian Government. Because the home ministry stated its inability to provide security for the matches since the general elections are also scheduled around the same time.

So who will be the immediate beneficiary if IPL stalls – may be the news channels. The majority of the viewers might take a liking to national politics and probably cling on to the news anchors and analysts. People might get out of their favorite chairs and vote. Might participate and select a better leader to govern them.

So is 'shifting IPL dates' a ploy by election commission to increase the voter turnout? Stop kidding!


~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in