Co-Sourcing and thecitysecret
Outsouring, Offshoring, Nearshoring, and Co-sourcing all mean different things to different people. The term we prefer is co-sourcing as this describes a more collaborative way of working. We do this by engaging with our clients, asking sensible questions and making suggestions to the specifications where we can add value based on our experience.
The case for co-sourcing is a strong one - by having a team managed for you, all the people-management side is taken care of, the recruitment is done, and since we are based in a lower cost location, the fees are very attractive.
None of our clients is the same in terms of how we work together. Some have been very long engagements in building and maintaining their systems while other models have needed more flexibility. As an example of the latter, we took on a legacy system becoming part of the bug-fixing team and we make enhancements where needed. In this case client pays for the time as and when it is needed, no retainers or guaranteed minimum hours or any extras are charged.
thecitysecret has invested in the security measures that meet the needs of financial companies and we are subject to annual audits by our investment bank customers. Where improvements are suggested, we generally implement them across all client teams as good practice. See the Security Section for more details.
The fee structure is simple: you pay for resources on a time and material basis and what you get for that is an experienced software engineer, housed in our offices with the hardware and communications infrastructure needed to support them. This contrasts with contract staff who need equipping, office space and the associated "on costs".
At the end of the project you own the IP, source code of the software developed and if maintenance is needed we can help with that too.
Lower administration costs