Outsourced Product Development

OUTSOURCED PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Cerulean Infotech helps Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) deliver products and services that are faster, better, and cost-effective. We have multiple pricing models, including success-linked and revenue-sharing.

Cerulean Infotech also views the life of a product as a succession of overlapping Product Life Cycles, with each life cycle representing a newer implementation of the product. A newer implementation is not a matter of adding more functionality. Usually, it's a matter of a change in architecture, adoption of newer technologies or substantially increased functionalities. Typically, the Product Introduction phase of the next PLC coincides with the Product Maintenance phase of the previous PLC.

At the core of our analytical methodology lies a proces-centric approach. We analyze requirements from the view-point of the customer - whether internal or external, and zero-in on the individual business process components that deliver the required service to the customer. Such analysis forms the bedrock for process improvement, process optimization and process re-engineering. What's more, such an approach is portable across industries and domains.

The first step in the PLC is to introduce the product to the market. At this stage, we offer the following services to the ISV:

  • New Product Development: Creation of a new software product from blue prints i.e. from concept to reality.
  • Product Enhancement: Here, we implement newer functionalities to make an incrementally better product.
  • Product Migration: This occurs when we adopt newer technologies thereby requiring a substantial rewrite. For example, converting a product in the Microsoft platform to J2EE or vice versa, or a simpler upgrade of ASP to ASP.NET, or converting your client-server desktop products to full-fledged web-based ASP product.
  • Product Reengineering: Typical re-engineering scenarios are: changes due to process reengineering, localization requirements, private labeling and implementation of "Application Service Provider" (ASP) model.

In the phase of the PLC, the product is introduced and implemented for the ISV's customers to use. At this stage, the following services from Cerulean Infotech are pertinent:

  • Data adaptation: Data mapping, data conversion and setting up data filters in order to populate the product with the customer's data set.
  • Customization: Typically, building custom reports, changes to the user interface or adding customer-specific modules.
  • Integration: Integrating the product with existing applications and publishing APIs for use by the customer's other applications.
  • Training: Remote training or onsite training on the product.

This is in the nature of providing ongoing maintenance, and is typically at the mature phase of the PLC. At this stage, we offer the following services:

  • Bug fixes: Analysis and correction of customer-reported issues
  • System adaptations: Analysis and modifications required due to changes in the hardware or system software environment.
  • Functional additions: Functional improvement is done on customer request.