Outsourced development of corporate applications for Fortune 500 companies

GRT is a Connecticut based premier provider of integrated information management solutions for global corporations. 

The Challenge

For a number of years GRT has been offering outsourced software development services to Fortune 500 companies, with a special focus on Data Management Solutions. Due to the growing trend of outsourcing internal software development and as the result an increasing demand for services, in May 2000 GRT Corp. began looking for a partner to share the workload. Aplana Software won a development contract that started a successful long-term cooperation.

The Solution

Since 2000 Aplana has participated in about 10 projects related to financial analytics, corporate automation and other areas. In order to optimize project resources, dedicated offshore team was created at Aplana site. GRT “bench” of seven technology consultants became a natural extension of GRT project teams. Since the very first GRT-Aplana projects, RUP (Rational Unified Process) methodology and standard documentation templates helped the partners to rapidly establish collaboration between the two development teams. In most of projects specifications design and project implementation were performed jointly while communication with the customer and project on-site implementation was GRT’s sole responsibility.

Cooperation Highlihts

Web-based Remote Project Management. Close cooperation between GRT and I.T.Co software developer teams – one in the US and the other in Russia, both severely constrained by lack of time and resources – became possible due to Web-oriented remote development technologies that include:

• Real time information exchange and rapid orders coordination via Project Repository managed by Rational Software and MS tools for requirements management, change management, configuration management, project planning
• Remote testing of the applications located on the GRT server while Aplana testers analyzed the product remotely through a Web-interface.
• Iterative prototyping. The iterative prototyping approach used in major projects made it possible to present "intermediate releases" to the remote customers twice a month – to adjust "on the fly" customer requirements and to ensure full customer satisfaction with the final product.
• Cost-effective approach to managing off-site development teams. GRT-Aplana approach combines benefits of Offshore Development Center and Project Outsourcing delivery models: it helps to avoid substantial investments into establishing ODC, at the same time leveraging all the advantages of long-term cooperation. 

Tools and Technologies

Broad range of data management technologies; Rational and Microsoft software engineering support tools and methodologies.

Cooperation Details

• Duration: 18 month
• Total effort: 90 man/month