Technology Services

Research and Development Outsourcing for ISVs

Success or failure of product development initiatives can mean all the difference between success and failure of any ISV organization. There are unique risks and challenges that must be addressed at different stages of the product development lifecycle. In this scenario, managing technical risks alone is not sufficient to ensure success. ISVs need to focus on results from their project portfolio while developing new products, or enhancing the existing product range. Key challenges in this endeavor include:

Reduce Time-To-Market
When business moves at the “speed of thought”, new ideas and innovations need to get to market, and spread quickly. Conventional research, design and development models are not geared to meet these needs of rapid market approach, and quick geographical spread. Optimizing the product/project portfolio to deliver

Keep pace with Rapid Technology Change
Systems Infrastructure and Programming paradigms have traditionally seen a complete overhaul every 3 to 4 years, and the pace of change is increasing. Keeping pace, while maintaining and supporting existing skillsets within the organization, has become increasingly difficult.

Innovate and Adapt
While most ISVs and Solution Providers have traditionally excelled in their specific domains in terms of the ‘depth’ of expertise, many product vendors are breaking vertical domain barriers to innovate and stay a step ahead of their competition. This blurring of boundaries has made it difficult for many ISVs to adapt to changing market conditions and meet competitive challenges.

Market Differentiation
While product innovation provides a platform for initial market approach, it is not necessarily an entry barrier. Continuous innovation through stellar product research and development is and increasing scale is perhaps the only way to protect market differentiation, enhance market presence, and ensure continued success.

Cost Effectiveness of New Product Development
Formal componentization strategies, building organizational knowledge management systems to share best practices and minimize rework, as well as efficient quality organization are essential to drive down costs of developing new products, and push break-even points lower. As clear as these goals are, they are seldom easy to implement, and even harder to make their use pervasive in the organization.

Protect Intellectual Property
Even as businesses worldwide have realized the benefits of outsourcing, the single biggest impediment in ISV adoption of technology outsourcing has been the fear of losing control over intellectual property in a joint development environment.