Your Product Isn’t Vintage, It’s Obsolete

Technology changes constantly and software development firms are particularly vulnerable since there has yet to be a hipster appreciation of outdated html. Luckily, like technology, business responds to need with innovation: Allshore Global Resources is an IT staffing firm in Norman, Okla. that is offering a unique solution to turn this potential death sentence into a competitive advantage.

Norman, Okla. September 19, 2013 Technology hosts some of the fastest changing industries in business today; keep up and you can rule the market, fall behind however and you can go the way of the dinosaur, but with less public interest. Nobody is safe. Being a market pioneer won’t shield you from extinction anymore. Blackberry may have been the mastermind behind the first smartphone –they even had a catchy market nick name: “crackberry”—but they couldn’t keep a hold on that train once it left the station. Kodak and Polaroid were once rulers of photography, but they fell from industry leader to filing for bankruptcy protection as digital photography swept classic film photography into cultish obscurity. Software development firms are even more vulnerable since their outdated software and development team won’t be revered as vintage. You may think your killer WordPress site is amazing, and your client may agree, but in five short years eight-year-olds will make that site look like child’s play. Don’t get too discouraged though, there is help. Allshore Global resources, an IT staffing firm in Norman, Okla. has tapped into a solution to this looming danger and is offering small companies a way to turn this potential death-sentence into a competitive advantage. How do you stay ahead on the path to success when the track itself is constantly shifting? Simple: be on the cutting edge of every trend in your industry. I’ll give you a moment to properly roll your eyes. Who has time to run a business and spend the time it takes constantly studying and working to stay up to date? Or better yet, ahead of the curve? Nobody; that’s why you hire people. But even individuals who program full-time and nerd-out on software part-time can’t keep up with a sudden shift that necessitates total re-education. And that’s only if you see the change coming in time to act—specialists rarely take the broad look at technology necessary to see those changes coming or can overcome the bias they have formed for their own specialization (and value as an employee) to see the full value of a new technology. What programmer in their right mind recommends a technology in which they aren’t proficient for a new contract? To make matters more difficult, it is not only your future at risk, but also your present. There are so many technologies available and so many languages in which to code, that unless you employ an army of developers, you limit yourself to only those clients who want software built in the few ways your staff can manage. So how can a small firm manage to keep up? As promised, there is a simple solution to staying on the cutting edge of every trend in your industry that will allow you to appeal to a broader client-base: outsource your custom software development to a staffing firm. Outsourcing is classically associated with short-term projects you drop off and cross your fingers hoping for the best, but staffing firms can offer a more long-term solution that allow development firms to turn that aforementioned death sentence into a staunch competitive advantage.

• Companies that spend too much time reacting instead of acting can lose contracts to a company that’s ready now, so be ready now! Keep up with changing technologies in an instant by merely contacting your customer service representative and telling them what you need. If you have three clients wanting something developed in Joomla, two wanting sites in Dot Net Nuke, and one wanting a massive piece of custom software built in C++, no problem!

• You aren’t committing to long-term hires or having to jump through the usual hoops to hire, so you can take on new projects without fear knowing you’ll have the developers you need for only as long as you need them.

• Don’t worry about staying ahead of the curve, a dedicated custom software staffing firm will do that for you—it’s their livelihood. So you can focus on running your business while they keep their noses to the grind making sure they have what you need so you don’t have to worry about having what your clients need. This broader view (and broader value) also means they can give you an unbiased opinion how best to proceed with a project.

• Price varies depending on which firm you choose and whether they are offshore or onshore. The hourly rate is not the only point of savings though, utilizing virtual employees saves you big in the end on things like office space, equipment, training, vacation, benefits, FICA, and of course time you pay your developers when there isn’t work to be done. Fewer resources invested at the development stage means more resources that can be invested in the business side of your company bringing you closer to success.

 
To ensure this is a long-term competitive advantage rather than a short-term solution however, you have to make sure you work with a consumer focused company that will work with you in a sustainable way. That point is what really sets Allshore Global Resources apart. Their developers are offshore, which means clients pay offshore prices; this greatly reduces the resources that have to be committed to development and frees up resources instead to invest into the business-end of the company. In order to make this a viable solution long-term though, the developers are available during U.S.-business hours to work collaboratively with clients, and all support staff (sales, customer service, accounts payable, etc.) are based in the U.S. and only a Skype message, phone call, or text message away. They focus on proactive customer service and offer custom-tailored solution to fit each client’s individual needs acting more like partners than service providers. Since the company is American there is no confusion with currency or contracts and data is securely stored onshore alleviating many of the security risks of dealing entirely overseas. Allshore employs a wide variety of specialists that can be changed out as new needs arise and there is no long-term commitment, so clients have the option to scale back during slow times or end services entirely when the project is done, although few do. Competitive advantage is the fruit of marketing and innovation and lies at the heart of success; harness yours. Business theory will tell you that classic forms of competitive advantage include industry analysis and unique resources: Allshore brings you the resources to harness both, all while simplifying your business and your life.