Collanos Blog

Collanos Software received a Red Herring 100 Europe 2008 Award in Malta. The award places the Swiss start-up among the 100 most innovative private technology companies in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Africa). Collanos was one of nine Swiss companies to bag one of the highly coveted awards.
Every year, writers from the globally active media company Red Herring pick their most exciting new technology companies, 100 of which are given a prestigious Red Herring 100 Europe Award.

Swiss start-ups are gaining ever greater recognition from Red Herring every year. In 2008, Switzerland produced nine of the 100 top companies netting an award. A year ago, seven Swiss companies won an award, and in 2006 the total was six. In addition to Collanos, the following Swiss companies won a Red Herring 100 Europe 2008 Award: Language Direct, LiberoVision, Museeka, ReVolt Technology, SECU4, sonic emotion, Starhome and Symfact. Compared with the number of German winners, this year and last year there were 12 winners, compared with six in 2006.

Collanos Software ist in Malta mit dem Red Herring 100 Europa 2008 Award ausgezeichnet worden. Wir gehören damit zu den innovativsten 100 privaten Technologie-Firmen in der EMEA-Region (Europe, Middle East, Africa). Neben uns holten sich acht weitere Schweizer Unternehmen die begehrte Auszeichnung.
Autoren des weltweit tätigen Medien-Unternehmens Red Herring qualifizieren jährlich die spannendsten neuen Technologie-Firmen, 100 davon werden mit dem prestigeträchtigen Red Herring 100 Europe Award ausgezeichnet.

Schweizer Start-ups werden von Red Herring von Jahr zu Jahr besser bewertet: 2008 wurden insgesamt 9 Unternehmen aus den 200 Besten als Sieger gekürt. Vor einem Jahr gewannen sieben Unternehmen aus der Schweiz den Award, 2006 waren es deren sechs. Neben Collanos haben die folgenden Schweizer Unternehmen den Red Herring 100 Europa 2008 gewonnen: Language Direct, LiberoVision, Museeka, ReVolt Technology, SECU4, sonic emotion, Starhome und Symfact.

Many European organizations (from small start-ups to large corporations) are outsourcing their software development, testing, and maintenance tasks to specialized providers in Eastern Europe and the CIS. Because of the geographical proximity, this outsourcing model is often called “nearshoring”.

Collanos is also applying and benefiting from this distributed working model. We are managing all our software development processes from our headquarters in Zurich, but outsource work to suppliers in Ukraine, Bulgaria, India, and other destinations. Our experiences so far have been mostly positive, but of course there are always aspects that can be improved. Collanos is currently preparing for expansion steps and we need to further grow our software development teams.

The whole discussion is not about cheaper labor costs only. In fact, the lower the direct costs get (read: the farther East one moves), the higher the indirect costs typically get, including reduced overlap of time zones, bigger travel distances when visiting, more problems due to cultural differences, and others.

To better share our own experiences with others, and to hear from other buyers about theirs, we have created a new group on the Xing business networking platform. The goal of the group is to represent the interests of the buyers’ side, by sharing practical experiences, exchanging tips and advises, bringing transparency into the practices of this industry, learning from each other, collecting best practices, avoiding typical pitfalls, and so forth.

The group is exclusive to European professionals in the software industry which are buying services in Eastern Europe. Outsourcing providers looking for new customers will not be allowed to join the group. With this narrow focus and membership profile, the group will be able to build-up trust between its members and become a highly relevant resource for many European professionals.

To join the group (you must be a Xing member to do so), please visit the Xing Group “European Buyers of Software Development Outsourcing (Nearshoring to the East)“.

We look forward to meet other professionals outsourcing their software development work to Eastern European providers, and valuable exchanges of experiences. Please feel free to forward this information to interested colleagues. Thank you.

UPDATE:

There is also a related discussion on LinkedIn Answers: “Nearshoring Software Development to Eastern Europe”. Great and valuable answers indeed.

Collanos Software has qualified for final selection in the 2008 Red Herring 100 Europe! This award is presented each year to the 100 best private technology firms in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Africa).

“This year’s impressive list of submissions from companies demonstrates Europe’s growing role as a major centre of innovation in the global technology sector,” said Red Herring Editor-in-Chief Joel Dreyfuss. “The exceptional accomplishments of European technology start-ups and entrepreneurs are a testament to the rapid advancements being made in building the European innovation ecosystem.”

Peter Helfenstein, CEO of Collanos Software, is pleased. “The number of Swiss companies selected as finalists for the Red Herring European 100, among them Collanos, shows that thanks to Swiss quality engineering, the willingness for collaboration across borders and the excellent institutional support for internationalization, Swiss start-ups are in a great position to prosper in the global market.”

Red Herring’s editorial staff rigorously evaluated several hundred private companies through a careful analysis of financial data and subjective criteria, including quality of management, execution of strategy, and dedication to research and development.

In 2007, Collanos was selected as a candidate for the Emerging Tech Award by Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal. Also in 2007 Collanos at CeBIT was awarded with the Innovation Prize ITK for Collanos Workplace and in 2008 for the new Collanos Phone.