F.A.Q. on SPT Offshore Services

Q1: How do I benefit if I outsource?

Q2: If I want to outsource, why would I contract to SPT?

Q3: How can I contract to SPT?

Q4: What does the usual development proposal include?

Q5: What is SPT’s Solutions Delivery Model?

Q6: What support does SPT usually provide for the developed custom software?

Q7: How does SPT protect my confidentiality?

Q8: How does SPT handle questions of ownership for the developed projects?

Q9: What does SPT charge for its development services?

Q10: How would SPT bill me?

Q11: How can I communicate with SPT?

Q12: How can SPT solve the Time Zone Difference?

Q1: How do I benefit if I outsource?

A: If you out-source some or all of your software development you benefit in the
following ways:

You significantly increase your development capacity without increasing your
company's personnel;
You can concentrate your company's efforts on the strategic planning and faster
responding on the market opportunities;
You get an access to development resources with wide and deep experience in
different common, new, and specific technologies;
You get top quality software development at extra low offshore development rates
and can essentially cut your development costs.

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Q2: If I want to outsource, why would I contract SPT?

A: If you decide to outsource we would recommend contracting
SPT in the following cases:
You need an offshore software developer with experience in
development for

Software Solutions
BPO Services
CAD / GIS services

We do not claim something as "SPT can do everything!", but we can honestly tell that in these fields we are real experts and can solve your problem at the highest quality level.
You need to solve the complex technical problem and immediately implement the solution in software. Our experience covers various subject areas; we can extend more the spectrum of our work for you if you will need it.
You are looking for qualified web enabled solutions. It is enough new direction for SPT development service; nevertheless we have already finished large web enabled solutions and also a couple smaller projects. Our designers can imagine and implement the unique shape of your web site. It will be nice like your favorite fine art and handle for use like your own body.
The project that you would like to outsource is small or medium size or your company is small or medium size enterprise and you have difficulties finding a proper offshore software developer, because most of them are oriented on the large enterprises and do not take a project if it costs less than some fixed amount that usually varies from $5,000 to $50,000 US. SPT does not have any limitations like these. Every customer and every project is very important for us and we are always doing our best. It does not mean, sure, that we take only small or short-term project; we are generally focusing for a Long Term Partnership.
You would like to cut the development costs, but want the project to be developed on your site. In this case SPT can send to your company an expert who will fulfill the project in your office.

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Q3: How can I contract to SPT?

A: If you have a potential project that you consider to outsource to SPT, please send us the problem description and/or specification of the software you would like to be developed. We will prepare the development proposal that serves as a contract and send it to you in 1-5 working days since we get the problem description/specification. The time to prepare the proposal depends on the size and complexity of the project.

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Q4: What does the usual development proposal include?

A: The development proposal usually includes the following paragraphs:

Contents

Description

Problem Description

A restatement of your needs as we understand it

Proposed Solution

Our proposal of what to do to meet that need

Functional Description

Detailed description of what exactly the software that we propose to create does

User Interface

Description of the user interface with screen shots (dialog bitmaps)

Platforms

Systems on which our solution will run (Windows 3.x, Win 95/98, NT, Unix, etc.)

Files

Description/List of files involved in the project (input files, output files, .INI files, help files, installation program etc.)

Dependencies

Issues on which the project depends (3rd party software, customer action, etc.)

Limitations

Description of critical issues and values (maximum number of records, maximum file size, minimum RAM requirements, etc.)

Development tools

Tools that will be used to complete the project

Testing

Description of who and how will test test our work

Support

Description of technical support that will be provided to the customer after the project's completion and delivery

Deliverables

Description/List of what and when will be delivered to the customer to complete the project (software itself, source code, documentation, etc.)

Ownership

Description of who and on which conditions owns the results of the project

Schedule

Description of how long the project will take to complete relatively to the start date, including major milestones such as start, working prototype, final version, testing complete, documentation complete, final delivery, etc.

Budget

Description of how many programmer days each part of the schedule will take and amount that we will charge for each programmer day

Terms

Description of what amount and on which project's stage customer will pay

Duration

Term during which this proposal is valid

Contact Information

Information containing who in SPT and how should be contacted with questions or comments on the proposal and project

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Q5: What is SPT’s Solutions Delivery Model ? 

SPT delivers Software solutions globally at the clients’ site as well as from its state-of-the-art software development center located in India. With technical expertise across various platforms and experience of providing solutions to industries such as Finance, Manufacturing, Retail, Utilities, and specialized technology domains, SPT has established an unmatched credibility with all its clients.
The software development process is governed by very stringent guidelines ensuring high levels of quality in the solution. To implement software projects, we have adopted the industry standard process identified in the Software Engineering Project Management lifecycle.

PROJECT TRACK

Project Monitoring
SPT creates the entire plan in MS Project and sends to the client upon project commencement
The plan includes intermediate milestones, completion dates and identifies resource allocation
Every week and at every major milestone, we update the client on the project status with reference to the original plan
Task Scheduling and Tracking
Identification of staff roles and assignments
MS Scheduler to track role-wise tasks
Regular access to tasks and review
Security levels for task modifications

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Q6: What support does SPT usually provide for the developed custom software?

A: Technical support depends on the concrete project's specifics. Usually SPT provides support during six months after final delivery. Such support includes free fixing of problems discovered with the system that fall within the scope of the proposal. These problems are limited to system failure, crash, lock-up, or differences in operation from the specifications.

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Q7: How does SPT protect my confidentiality?

A: Everyone in SPT understands the importance of this question. That is one of the first issues that is being discussed with any new SPT employee. All SPT employees have signed internal Non-Disclosure Agreement. When we start working with a new client we usually sign the Non-Disclosure agreement between the client and SPT. Any confidential information from a client goes directly to people who work with this client and does go neither out of SPT, nor even to other SPT employees who are not involved into the project. After the project is completed all confidential information is either returned to the client or deleted.

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Q8: How does SPT handle questions of ownership for the developed projects?

A: The full rights on projects, including the software, source code, and documentation, are usually the sole property of the customer. Very rarely we would like to leave the rights to re-use some components, but these components never contain any specific business logic and/or confidential information received from customer. We always negotiate this issue with customer and include it in the development proposal that both customer and SPT sign before project's start. Anyway, the customer has the "final word" in this question.

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Q9: What does SPT charge for its development services?

A: For our software development services we charge from $10 to $20 per man-hour. The rate depends and can vary on the exact project specifications decided according to the final SRS document based on the complexity and size of a project.

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Q10: How would SPT bill me?

A: The billing procedure depends mostly on the size of the project. Usually we split the budget on four equal parts due upon start of development, delivery of the working prototype, final delivery of the software, and acceptance testing by the customer. The payment method is a wire transfer to SPT’s bank account in India. The budget, terms, and the payment method are also negotiable and are subjects for the development proposal.

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Q11: How can I communicate with SPT?

A: In the offshore software development business communications are vitally important. And very often communications is also one of the biggest problems that is faced by the parties participating in outsourcing. Understanding the importance of this issue, we would like to ensure you that you will not face such communicational difficulties as:
Technical communicational problems: SPT has Internet on-line connection; a dedicated internet, good phone and fax lines; A 24 hour phone line to interact with the project team; often uses postal services such as DHL, UPS, FedEx, TNT, and others.
Technical & general mutual understanding difficulties: our managers have very good experience of work with different customers and projects; different kinds of project specifications or problem descriptions; launching, fulfilling, delivering, and supporting projects both via Internet and personally at a customer's site.

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Q 12: How can SPT solve the Time Zone Difference ?

SPT’s 24/7 - Remote Client Management System

Our production facilities are situated in Hyderabad. Our time zone difference (12 Hours) gives us the strategic advantage to service customers in the U.S overnight. A Project leader independently responsible for development and management of the project will be present at our facility round the clock which will enable you to interact with the project team and monitor/manage your projects on a real time.
Remote Client access and contact procedures provide a single point access for the software development and project progress, which enables proactive management of job in progress. This practice of ours ensures close monitoring and confirms the availability of technical and support services over various stages of PDLC, such as Coding, Testing, de-bugging and implementation etc. Our Communication and hardware infrastructure assures transferring, accessing, and managing project deadlines between remote client-service provider locations. This system helps eliminate performance bottlenecks by working in conjunction with the requirement and work practices of our clients.