Software Services | Offshore Software Development & Software Consulting

Why outsourcing?
Outsourcing of software development has different strategic benefits for a company:
In a context of intense competition, organizations can concentrate on utilizing their internal resources to activities where maximum value addition can be achieved: the core business processes. IT staff can focus on the business analysis and improvement of the business critical processes by designing and managing business automation, rather then spending time in coding and testing, which can be outsourced to be done at a lower cost.

What type of commercial models do you offer?

We can offer different types of contracts. We are quite flexible and ready to consider your suggestions. The following are the most common options:

• Fixed Price
The project is taken up at a fixed price or at fixed person-hours time effort at a pre-fixed hourly rate. This is done on the basis of the complete design and specifications sent by the client. The estimate done by Nous' estimation team and the project will be taken up by Nous on approval by the client.

• Not-To-Exceed
The "Not-to-Exceed" (hours) model is a variation of the Fixed Price model. Here the client estimates the project and gives Nous the maximum possible time the project could take for completion.

• Time and Material
In this model the customer is charged for the actual number of hours that Nous takes to build the application. This model of functioning is normally followed when the clarity on the specifications is low.

• Dedicated IT Teams
Among our development models, we have the concept of Dedicated IT teams or a Virtual Office setup, wherein clients can use our resources (office space, consultants, and other facilities) at our development center. This model is becoming increasingly popular with many clients, who have their Project Leaders visiting Nous, Bangalore, during the course of the project.

Nous follows quality standards in line with CMMI® Level 4 and ISO 9001:2000. The Quality Assurance (QA) department at Nous Infosystems provides the framework and ensures that the entire software development process follows an established standard. It is their responsibility to ensure that all deliveries conform to the quality requirements according to the customer specifications. Nous has software development, verification and validation experience on a wide range of platforms.

Click here for more information on our Quality Procedures and Standards.

We have a great deal of in-house expertise in system analysis, requirement gathering and documentation. Therefore, we do not need elaborate specifications from the client. In the absense of proper documentation at the client end, our analysts can do a detailed system study and specification documentation. Then the designers take over to prepare the high-level and low-level design. A short onsite system study is all that is required to set the ball rolling.

Estimates are based on a definite understanding of the client's requirements. This reduces the probability of a variation in the time and cost estimate of a project. MS Project is used to monitor and control the progress of projects and this allows for a tight control on the project estimate. With regards to quality - we are a CMMI® Level 4 and ISO 9001 company and follow strict quality standards. This enables us to minimize a deviation from the expected quality standards. Weekly reviews are conducted during the progress of the project to keep a tight control on the progress. The findings of the weekly status report are sent to the client. This allows the client to keep abreast of the progress of the project and also have better control over the project. Variance reports are studied and proactively used as projects progress. This helps us to continuously improve as an offshore development partner.

How can a customer follow up on his project?

Nous understands that successful technology projects depend on clear communication between the client and the offsite/offshore developer teams. A strong, face-to-face client relationship helps both the client and Nous create exactly the right solution. For improved communication, we employ the following methods:

• Our offshore teams usually work in the client's time zone. This ensures availability of the team members whenever the client needs to communicate.
• We recommend the onsite-offshore combination model, in which a small number of consultants is deployed at the client location. Their job is to facilitate communication between the offshore and onsite teams.
• Whenever a project requires frequent discussions or exchange of ideas, we provide dedicated telephonic links between the client and our offshore centers.

We can also give you FTP access to all source files. Also, we plan so that the customer may see the application framework, demos and user interfaces at any stage of the development process. This gives a chance to the client to make early corrections to the design, shorten the number of design-development iterations for large and complex projects, and considerably save funds as the result. The clients may aslo suggest other ways to monitor the process to make yourself feel confident.

All you have to do is to send us your request for proposal. And if this information is sufficient, we will respond with a quote. An offshore software development or testing engagement may start with a trial project, and can progressively develop into a fixed price project or a dedicated team. In the long run, we recommend a dedicated team as that is the most cost-effective option for the client. A dedicated team is retained by the client throughout the project, and it ensures maximum continuity and knowledge retention for the project.

The customer owns the copyrights and the final product.

What sort of coverage for bug fixes and maintenance?

We will fix at no charge to you any bugs brought to our attention which deviate from the agreed on design specs. Bugs that are due to omissions in the design specs will be fixed on a Time & Material basis. We will be delighted to provide maintenance for all work we have done on a Time & Material basis.