If you are you are interested in getting in touch with individuals/companies that outsource to Vietnam or if you provide outsourcing services you’re invited to join the Vietnam IT Outsourcing Group on LinkedIn. Joining will allow you to find and contact others members on LinkedIn. The goal of this group is to help members:

• Reach other members interested in IT/Software Outsourcing business
• If you have projects that you wish to outsource you may be able to find the company/individual you were looking for
• Accelerate careers/business through referrals from Vietnam IT Outsourcing Group members
• Know more than a name – view rich professional profiles from fellow Vietnam IT Outsourcing Group members

Here’s the link to join:
http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/136019

Hope to see you in the group,

— The Vietnam IT Outsourcing Group Team

• Vietnam’s is an emerging market and the number of software companies is growing enormously.
• The government provides excellent support for setting up new software business and wants Vietnam to be a global player in the software industry.
• The economy in Vietnam is growing rapidly and is the second fastest GDP growth in all of Asia.
• Vietnam based companies are eager to form long-term alliances.

My first questions….

• What about costs? Will I save big bucks?
  You will make a substantial cost saving by outsourcing to Vietnam. Wages in Vietnam are much lower than those in Europe or US. They are also significantly lower than those in India, Ukraine or Russia.
• I don’t speak Vietnamese…..help!
  Don’t panic. English is the most popular language in the country and the majority of Vietnamese students speak good English.
• I am ready so let’s start my first project and make some good profits.
  Hey! Didn’t you read part 1? Do your homework and do some planning before dreaming of becoming a millionaire. In case you are serious looking for building a long lasting relationship be prepared to invest a bit first.

In Part 3 (Planning) I will give an idea about what you need to plan before doing your first software outsourcing project. Feel free to comment on this article if you have ideas/suggestion/questions on what you believe is important to plan before doing the first project.

• are ready for it
• have defined what kind of company you are looking for
• have decided what software projects you do and don’t want to outsource
• have establish a long term goal
• are willing to make an investment

How to get started?
If this is the first time you outsource a project to Vietnam you should locate a company that is aiming for a long-lasting

relationship and is willing to invest in this new venture. In most cases the first software projects will not result into profits and you will spend a lot of time fine-tuning communication, develop processes and decide what online tools will be used for collaboration (i.e. subversion, CVS, Trac, bugtracking software, ..) [More information about tools will be provided in another post].

• Start with a risk-free trial project
  Do not panic if the first code you get back isn’t perfect, that’s quite normal and it takes time to get this correct.
• Document coding conventions, tools to be used and the DOs and DON’Ts.
• Provide Frequent code Submissions
  Use a versioning control system such a CVS or Subversion
• Be prepared for cultural differences.
  [More info on cultural differences will be provided in a follow up post].

Communication
Both parties need to learn from each other and you will soon be reminded that if you don’t have your specifications correct, you will run into trouble. Correct specifications and weekly reporting is necessary. The developer needs to assign a project manager who is fluent in English but don’t get shocked if you receive email containing text such as:

 ”where is my information!!!!!” or “I DO NOT UNDERSTAND???? What do you want??”

Many Vietnamese manager use uppercase characters, lots of exclamation marks or question marks. It may sound rude but the intention is probably not. As written above: Vietnamese people are very friendly so most likely you will never receive a rude mail on purpose.

The best thing is to establish an email convention which outlines the DOs and DON’Ts in emails and how they should be formatted. In a follow up post I will provide a sample convention that you may want to use as a start for your own business and provide some classical sample of miscommunications that I’ve received during the 12 years that I’ve been in Vietnam. One note as a reminder: Be polite at all time and show mutual respect at all time

They seem to be on holiday and I urgently need some feedback??!!

• Keep each other well in advance informed about upcoming holidays.
  Tet (Chinese New Year) is a very important holiday in Vietnam and do not expect to get any work done during that time. Out of respect you should even not ask if this is possible.
• Plan ahead and arrange for backup during the holidays.
  If the project manager takes holiday ensure that you know who you can contact during that time.

If you get the basics right, you will be able to establish a healthy business relationship which will help you both grow the business. More post on this topic will follow but if you have any questions do not hesitate to leave a comment.

Marcel

PS: don’t forget to visit http://www.csharpjobs.net