St.Petersburg, Russia -- (ReleaseWire) -- 05/10/2007 -- Reksoft is proud to be among the industry leaders who sponsored the research by IDC on Russia as an offshore software outsourcing location.

IDC, the market intelligence agency, together with Russoft, the Russian IT services exporters association, released a white paper titled "Russia as Offshore Software Development Location: Should You Consider This Your Next Move?" The White Paper is based on in-depth, executive-level interviews with Western European and US-based companies that have used Russian software and services companies for offshore development projects.

The research finds that such factors as stability of relationship, technical expertise, and relatively low staff turnover are the key advantages of Russian software development companies. Though price is often behind the initial supplier choice, these factors strongly influence the quality of service and the strength of relationship that customers value in their dealings with Russian outsourcing providers. Participating companies pointed to the availability of highly educated engineers, their strong technical backgrounds, and sound methodologies.

Softer factors often mentioned included a closer cultural fit with US and Europe than Asian suppliers, similar work ethics, a clearer understanding of business issues, and similar time zones. English-language skills do not represent a problem, and are continuing to improve as English fluency is increasingly emphasized in the educational system.

It is worth mentioning that not a single company complained on IPR or infrastructure issues, but many spoke about the "clear understanding of business issues" by Russian software engineering providers.

“Several factors work as Russia’s differentiators on the world market, such as the large pool of highly skilled professionals with mathematics and science backgrounds, capable of solving complex and math-intensive problems, and the ability of Russian companies to manage high-end, complex projects,” said Vladimir Kroa, Regional Director for IT Services Research, IDC Research in the joint IDC and Russoft press release. “Also, Western European and American organizations often perceive Russia as being a closer cultural fit than countries like India, China, or the Philippines.”

The full version of the report is available here - http://www.reksoft.com/misc/reksoft_co/files/176/IDC%20-%20White%20Paper%20-%20Final.pdf