Globally, Software Consulting Services are Moving Eastward

Software consulting services emerged along with the rise of technologically advanced solutions applied in business environment all over the world. At present, the European Union and the United States are the leading world markets for software consulting, while a growing number of local companies look to outsource those services to service providers outside their respective region. The improving state of the IT education in the Asia/Pacific region, especially in countries like India, led to a situation where European and U.S.-based software consultants are no longer the only source of reliable consultancy services, nor do the services provided by local suppliers offer the best value for money in the market.

Gradually, new hubs of technological research and development, software design and development, and related software consulting, emerged in outside the traditional fortresses of knowledge-based economies in the Western world. India, along with other Asian nations and some countries in Latin America and Eastern and Central Europe, managed to develop reasonably priced software consulting services based on outsourcing, or off-shoring. According to reports by Gartner, Inc., India, the Philippines, Canada and China top the list of the countries where business process is flourishing, software consultancy being a major income generator for their respective IT sectors.

For example, India's software exports have been adding 30 percent a year on average during the past decade thus giving boost to related business sectors like software consulting, support and marketing. Other countries in the Asia/Pacific region also bet on the growing market for IT advisory services, fueled by the increasing demand for affordable and reliable services not restricted by traditional physical and regulatory restraints.

The global online business environment now shapes a market where software consultancies in countries like India or Eastern Europe are well positioned to compete on equal terms with large multinationals, providing tailored, reliable, and knowledge-based services to enterprises across the globe. Search engine optimization (SEO) provided by numerous consultants in the above mentioned countries is just the most visible part of a huge market for software consulting services that spans processes like software implementation, customization, configuration, and support among others. With the crisis-hit enterprises looking for cost reductions, there is enough room for expansion of software consulting in countries smartly investing in IT education and favorable business regulation, most experts in the field agree.

In the course of over a decade, software consultants in India and other countries outside the U.S. and Europe, gained the expertise required to provide full-scale services at the highest level, winning contracts from leading world multinational companies usually based in the West. This professional background, complemented by growing self-confidence and advanced knowledge in the field of IT, boosted the number of software consultants outside the Western Hemisphere which are able to provide world-class service. In result, even leading Western software developers are now looking for the services of India-based consultants to lower costs and get reliable service.

Obviously, the world market for software consulting services is moving eastwards in search for reliable yet affordable product, and, with virtually every business relying on some sort of software, the market for such services is destined to flourish.

Custom Application Development vs Ready to Use Solutions

Mainly large multinational corporations invest in custom application development, which is considered as more expensive than implementation of ready to use solutions widely utilized by small and medium sized enterprises. Nevertheless, small and medium sized businesses also take advantage of custom-made software, mainly dealing with enterprise-specific business processes and procedures that are not incorporated as best practices in ready to implement software products.

Usually, an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system would feature built-in best practices applied within the respective industry; however, a ready to use solution is not expected to cover procedures and business processes that are utilized only within a particular enterprise. The same applies, largely, also to customer relationship management (CRM) systems that are widespread among businesses within a variety of industries. In contrast, home users usually rely on software applications that are product of generic software product development.

Therefore, a large part of business require custom software at a certain stage of their development, which is now a more affordable option due to the growing reliability of products developed through outsourcing, mainly in India and other countries in Asia. Eastern Europe is also emerging as an offshoring center for software development along with a number of countries in Central and South America.

On the other hand, contemporary business software solutions are highly configurable, or, in other words, business software can fit a wide range of needs and requirements. Nevertheless, configurability does not provide a universal solution, thus customization is largely used when ready to use software is not applicable. Software vendors in developing nations like India gradually matured and are now able to offer fully functional business software at extremely competitive prices. Those countries produce large number of well-educated software experts experienced not only in managing software development but also able to tailor software to produce a best fit.

Actually, custom applications are used everywhere, replacing old-fashioned spreadsheet solutions that have been widespread for decades. Both generic and custom-made software, however, are undergoing a process of massive transformation caused by the emergence of new technologies, utilizing to the utmost the online capabilities of modern hardware and software.

Software-as- a-service (SaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) are relatively new phenomena but all of them rapidly gain market share, especially in fields where the matter in question is how to lower the costs related to software licensing and maintenance, like in ERP systems, for example. Although those services offer a cheaper alternative to classic software solutions, only a few of them are customizable to an extent to satisfy the needs of large corporations and medium sized businesses.
In fact, they are not developed with customizability in mind but are designed to be utilized as ready to use solutions, deployed on remote servers. In addition, large and medium sized enterprises often voice concerns that applications run on remote servers do not offer the level of security and privacy required by internal corporate standards, allowing third parties to access, in theory, their company information.

Therefore, custom application development is enjoying stable growth, with numerous organizations taking advantage of tailored software in a competitive environment, where development of complex solutions can be outsourced easily.

The Role of Business objects in Software Architecture

Business logic and business logic layer play an important role in designing software architecture, separating the business logic from other software layers that usually include a data access layer and user interface. In 3-tier software architecture, the business logic is usually occupying the middle tier, modeling real life business objects like accounts, inventories, schedules, etc. Software developers utilize business logic as a tool to design methods stipulating how business objects are accessed and updated, while developing algorithms for business objects to interact with each other.

Naturally, business logic applied in software architecture development is using business rules referring to real life business policies and objects like prices, products, locations, logistics, etc. In addition, it deals with workflows, which comprise of tasks aimed at passing data from one system to another. Thus, the use of business logic allows developers to further partition businessobjects into business processes and business entities, where business process objects usually contain no actual data elements but feature algorithms and methods prescribing how business entities are supposed to interact with each other. It is most visible in procedures like data exchange between a database and software user interface, but the same communication is also involved in many other processes and procedures that run beneath the surface of a well-designed business software.

Commonly, business logic is developed and applied as a separate module in a multilayered architecture, occupying the business services layer, which is often referred to as the middle tier. Basic principles of modern software architecture, however, allow software developers to combine methods, algorithms, and procedures used in all software tiers, resulting in a complex system where software tiers are interlinked and cross dependent.

Businessobjects within a business software application are expected to manage behaviors and be part of a broader structure of objects linked with strong business relationships. Thus, all and every businessobject should feature a set of properties, which determine its behavior and relationships with other objects. A businessobject can be a “Business Partner,” where its set of properties would include attributes like “Company Name”, “Address”, “Country”, etc. Furthermore, the afore-mentioned businessobject could be associated with contact personnel or other employees to map the object within a broader structure of similar objects.

In fact, object oriented programming deals with various types of objects not limited to financial and business concepts like “business partner”, but covering real-life objects or concepts such as an automobile, where complex data should be dealt with and managed. Furthermore, a business software application can be developed in such a way that its data access layer, after some re-programming, to be able to successfully communicate with other databases using the same business layer and business logic. It is extremely useful when complex modular business systems are implemented that are expected to interact with third party software in the future.

Thus, businessobjects are core elements of any business logic used in software architecture, securing the reliable performance of operations conducted when the so-called business entities interact with each other

Professional Services Can Secure Successful Implementation of Business Software Solutions

Modern-day enterprises are forced to implement new software solutions and update their applications on a regular basis, which often requires assistance and advice by providers of professional services specializing in professional services consulting. Implementation of new software and modernization of existing software infrastructure requires professional approach involving careful assessment of business processes and procedures applied within an organization. Moreover, an implementation plan should be worked out which should be prepared with long-term business strategy in mind; otherwise, serious post-implementation issues could occur.

Professional consultants can provide valuable assistance when the matter in hand is to design a strategy for deployment of new software or tweaking of existing software solutions to meet new business realities. A third party consultant can offer solutions that are fine-tuned within the specific context of a company business, and provide support for staff training and implementation of best industry practices. Some customer relationship management (CRM) systems and enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms feature built-in best practices functionality, however, these systems often require further configuration or customization to be conducted. Thus, an external consultancy company can offer both non-standard approach to issues and demands of business customers, while incorporating best practices within an existing or newly implemented system.
Sometimes, business software requires redesign that can result in implementation delays and poor post-implementation usability, therefore careful planning and evaluation of company requirements and needs should be conducted prior to deploy any business software. For example, integration of new software into existing business systems can secure visible benefits like reduction of overall costs of running a business, improved efficiency and increased customer satisfaction. On the other hand, poor integration can produce undesired effects, wiping out the positive impact of software implementation.

Software vendors tend to offer complex business solutions that cover various business processes, from billing and accounting, to marketing and sales, to customer and technical support. Selection and deployment of the most suitable business solution therefore requires professional advice and detailed due diligence of underlying business strategy and core business processes.

Typically, implementation of sophisticated CRM and ERP systems can take months and even years, when deployed within large enterprises. The process should be closely watched by software experts who are experienced in the field of business software implementation and possess expertise to make the necessary adjustments in the software configuration to secure flawless performance of all systems. Evidently, business software deployment is a time-consuming process while most enterprises lack expert resources and means to complete successfully implementation of complex systems that feature various modules, with each of them requiring to be configured accordingly.

In general, deployment of complex and efficient business software solutions requires significant investment, a financial effort during which professional services provided by expert consultants can markedly lower implementation and post-implementation costs through careful assessment of existing and applicable solutions.