Reksoft blog

5 steps to successful cooperation between German and Russian companies

At the recent Think Tank IT Transformation conference in Berlin, Reksoft held a roundtable discussion entitled Cultural Difficulties in International Software Projects. The discussion was attended by more than 20 CIOs from leading German companies.

We listened as the participants enthusiastically shared their experiences of building successful – and not so successful – cooperation in various cultural contexts.

Aside from traditional outsourcing locations such as India, the Philippines and China, roundtable participants also drew on their experience of a wide range of Eastern European countries, including Romania, the Czech Republic, Russia, Ukraine, and Armenia.

Each country, we heard, offered its own challenges in communication and understanding.

Cultural aspects of working with different locations of outsourcing

• Czech Republic is considered a very safe choice, after some initial issues with trust
• Armenia performs well and punctually, thanks to the presence of a bilingual German manager in the country
• Romania boasts a high level of skilled development, but suffers from pirated software and unstable politics
• Chinese development is fine, but issues emerged with English-speaking and non-transparent communication, such as problems with late reporting
• Russian companies boast high staff qualifications, but not always transparent communication. Though sometimes slow to report problems, Russian companies will work around the clock to get the project ready on time, demonstrating, in the words of one participant, ‘a fantastic commitment to meet project deadlines’.

In response to the anecdotes from the roundtable, and based on our 20 years of industry experience, we made 5 recommendations for working with Russian software development companies.

1. Put a face to the name
   Aim to visit your outsourcing partner 2-3 times a year to establish effective relationship. Nothing beats face time.
2. Build a team scheme
   Establish and maintain an effective, bilingual communication scheme. That way everyone knows who’s doing what.
3. Provide a smooth transition
   Appoint a bilingual transition manager to interface between German and Russian teams. This keeps things ticking along nicely.
4. Loosen your tie
   Informal communication is the key to cooperation. Nothing binds two teams together like it.
5. Put it in writing
   Russians are resourceful and can work from verbal instructions, but a written agreement ensures everyone is on the same page.