FIVE awesome reasons to keep your R&D outsourcing in Israel
If you’ve been sitting on the fence recently about whether or not to outsource your R&D or IT projects, we’re here to convince you that you should be keeping those outsourced operations in Israel.
We are probably all familiar with Israeli hi-tech companies who have outsourced projects abroad in recent years. With India now outranked by the Ukraine as a leading outsource destination, which is in turn facing fierce competition from Eastern Europe, there are, admittedly, plenty of cheap and attractive-looking options available.
However, those options do come with drawbacks. Whether due to language issues, timezone differences, simple cultural clashes, or even a realization that the financial reasons for originally outsourcing offshore aren’t turning into the ROI profit monsters you originally envisaged, there are plenty of reasons to reconsider moving your projects abroad.
We’ve come up with FIVE compelling reasons why you should be keeping those R&D projects onshore in Israel; if you’d like to discuss any of them further with us (we’re one of Israel’s leading onshore outsourcing specialists), feel free to drop us a line.
REASON ONE: Save Money AND Resources!
For many, outsourcing abroad is often down to a simple matter of cost-efficiency and getting the absolute maximum return on often limited resources. And, without a doubt, the attractive rates that can be found throughout many parts of the developing world seem like a godsend to an enterprise looking to maximize its resources.
However, research shows that many companies who outsource abroad actually end up losing out financially. That may come as a surprise, but for those of you who have experienced the pains of outsourcing abroad, the differences in culture, language and timezones are probably painfully familiar.
They might appear to be minor and very surmountable issues at first, but their impact on a project’s bottom line can be quite damaging. When you take into account the additional hours and time spent resolving issues that may arise because of language, cultural factors, or differences in timezone, it’s supremely easy to see how your optimistic ROI forecasts get slowly but surely hammered.
Once you add on all those hidden extras, including project management costs and additional hours spent overcoming issues, those initial hourly rates that seemed too good to be true, often become just that…
Outsourcing in Israel means you’re going to actually end up saving on all those extra costs and extra hours resolving issues that cropped up, because, well, keep on reading…
REASON TWO: SAME Language, SAME Culture, SAME Timezone
As we mentioned above, language, culture, and timezone differences can become a major player in eating up your ROI forecasts. And despite your best efforts, outsourcing abroad will always mean these issues play a part in any outsourced project.
Keeping your outsourcing in Israel brings something different to the table: you’ll find there are no language barriers to overcome, there shouldn’t be a radical difference in business culture, and yes, you’re going to be working in the same timezone (for example, our development centers are located in Nazareth, just an hour’s drive from the center of Israel).
You’re going to be working with professionals who are familiar with, regularly use, and understand all the technologies your organization uses. Factor in that we live and work in the same little corner of the Middle East, business practices shouldn’t be an issue at all.
And communication – the oil of any relationship – will prove so much easier. With a common language in use (Hebrew – or English if you prefer!), there’s no longer a need for any of your team to struggle in a meeting, trying to convey what they need in broken English to a team of engineers or developers who are also throwing out English words and phrases they might not completely comprehend…
REASON THREE: Onsite Training and Knowledge Transfer becomes a Breeze
With any project that involves taking on outsourced elements, onsite training is critical in order to get those additional team members an understanding of what really needs to be done.
Outsourcing abroad means that onsite training becomes a major mission, both in terms of expense and time spent in transit. Either you or your outsourcers will have to travel, and let’s be honest, that’s a lot of man-hours lost sitting in airports and hotels. Expensive man-hours when you factor in the tickets and hotels.
Keeping your outsourcing in Israel means onsite training is a breeze. Pick up the phone or send an email, and that same day we can be enjoying each other’s company as we undergo any required training. From our own experience, training AND troubleshooting can easily be undertaken – we are located just an hour’s drive from the center of Israel!
If you’re staying onshore here in Israel, it’s much easier to get a handle on your business needs and knowledge thanks to the proximity. Subsequently, it becomes that much easier to promote and transfer that knowledge.
REASON FOUR: Stay Blue and White
Let’s face it; sometimes Israel doesn’t get the best of press.
But perhaps this is exactly the moment when you and your organization should be standing tall and proud, and flying the flag. You remember the one, that blue and white flag with the Star of David in the center…
We don’t want to get all jingoistic, but perhaps this is the time when we should be standing together. And as you can see in this article, you stand to gain from some truly valid advantages when keeping your outsourcing in Israel…
REASON FIVE: Keeping it SAFE
Israel and safe aren’t two words you often hear in the same sentence, but when it comes down to keeping your outsourcing in Israel, we couldn’t come up with a better word…
The world beyond Israel’s borders probably doesn’t see the safe and stable Israel that we Israelis are familiar with, especially after the rounds of rockets that seem to happen every summer. But when we compare Israel to its leading Westernized outsource competitor, the Ukraine, it’s quite clear that in terms of political and economic stability, Israel is streets ahead.
Taking your projects offshore always leaves you open to the upheavals of local politics and economic downturns, and seriously, who wants to be mired in a heavy-duty project abroad when all hell seems to be breaking loose around you…? And in the event that things really do go pear-shaped, getting any sort of legal recourse may prove virtually impossible.
Keeping things in Israel ensures that if things do take a turn for the worse (we’d love to say God forbid, but hey, things happen), you’re likely to have an easier ride in trying to resolve things through the legal system, at least in terms of language and familiarity.
One final factor in keeping it safe in Israel: the intellectual property you’ve invested in heavily is going to be much safer in Israel. From our own experience, we’ve seen examples of bad business ethics from outsourcers abroad, where legal concerns for intellectual property are much less rigidly enforced. In Israel this is a much less likely scenario…
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As we’ve highlighted above, there are some SUPERB reasons to keep your outsourcing in Israel. We hope we’ve convinced you that this is the time to stay blue and white and keep it local. If we have, and if you have any further questions about the range of our services, please feel free to get in touch.