1. Costs
In order to make a bigger profit, most businesses will look outside of the country in hopes to get a lower bid on computer programming services. While at one time that may have been true, more programmers in the United States (US) are offering competitive prices for their services. This could be due to the 2008 recession. Inside Higher Ed stated that in 2008, student enrollment increased to 2.7 million, a 12% increase. Also, the number of first-time students over the age of 21 increased by 20%.
The National Science Board of Science and Engineering Indicators 2012 stated this:
The types of institutions enrolling the most students were:
- Associate colleges (8.2 million, 40% of all students enrolled),
- Master’s colleges/universities (4.7 million, 23%)
- Doctorate-granting universities with very high research activity (2.8 million, 14%)
What this means is that the US is growing a strong industry of computer software developers. The US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 19% increase for software developers simply because there is such a high demand for computer software. With so many programmers available, you’re sure to find a competitive price in the US.
2. Communication
Communication is key to making any business work successfully. The fact of the matter is business dealings in a domestic environment is going to be much easier than outsourcing to international companies, even if they are speaking fluent English. This is because certain barriers must be taken into consideration like the culture, for instance. What might mean one thing to one culture could be translated to something else in another. However, recent studies in computing listed the top 5 issues in communication as: distance, time difference, different backgrounds, and point blank communications—even in the same language.
Furthermore, in this digital age we’re able to visually communicate across the globe through desktop, tele-conferences, and mobile devices. Although international businesses can offer these services, you can’t get the same level of control over your infrastructure and development that you would get from a domestic company. Hiring a US based Excel program will significantly decrease these kinds of barriers.
3. Market Research
It is crucial for a program developer to delve into the company’s operation processes and understand the workflow. While some of this can be done through communication and observation, a great deal of it will be done through intensive research. The programmer needs to understand not only the internal process, but also analyze what kind of customers the business caters to. If you choose to outsource, then you need to budget for the amount of time it’s going to take an international programmer to learn the US market and your company’s niche.
4. Personal Training
ExcelHelp.com offers virtual training classes, but as a New York based company, we can also facilitate a live presentation at your job site. We have found that this personal approach generally makes personnel more comfortable to ask questions while becoming more familiar with the new workflow process.
Read StreetInsider.com’s post titled “ExcelHelp.com Conducts Successful Training Classes for New York City Government Office” here.
5. Preparing for Changes in the Market
This could be said to be the other side of the coin regarding Market Research. A good developer will not only improve your existing software system, but he or she will also compose it so that it’s scalable. This means that not only does the Excel programmer have to understand the internal processes and the marketplace, he or she also needs to be able to predict what the business will need 5-10 years from now. That can only be done by understanding the industry, and depending on what the business is, oftentimes a US programmer may be able to project a better analysis.
Don’t Just Hire Any Coder!
Finding a good Microsoft Excel programmer is going to take more than just interviewing candidates with a good coding resume. He or she needs to be able to have experience communicating with businesses, and understanding different industries.
Contact the experts at ExcelHelp.com to schedule a free consultation and learn about what kind of services we can offer your company to help it work more efficiently. Call us at 1-800-682-0882 or schedule your free appointment online.
