E-SCAPE BLOGS

Let's get one thing out in the open right away - I'm completely opposed to outsourcing to places like India. The problem is that I am constantly harangued by colleagues or peers claiming it is not that bad, or that our industry is just too expensive so we must outsource or become irrelevant, and many other pro outsourcing arguments.

The world is full of websites. Every man and his dog has a website these days. Along with this ubiquity has developed the belief that building websites is easy. This is perpetuated by the plethora of "mates - sisters - nephews who can build you a website for a few hundred quid". Websites have been totaly devalued by a large proportion of the client base and with outsourching to countries with cheap labour costs there are plenty of semi-professional agencies who can deliver websites for peanuts. I have a question though; is it true that websites are easy and should be cheap?

If the Gartner Hype Cycle is to be believed, then micro blogging is heading firmly into the 'trough of disillusionment'. The hype has gone off the boil and the reality of unsubstantiated revenue models come to the fore and the risk of total collapse is high.

One of the biggest challenges I face is making sure we have the systems and processes in place to make E-scape as efficient as possible. Back in the day when we were six in a back room this was not such a big deal as everyone pretty much managed their own workflow and got on with things. Roll forward a few years and we are getting on for twenty over two floors and four teams and things are not so easy. Don't get me wrong, just because everyone used to look after themselves didn't mean we used to get it right and now can't becasue its all grown out of hand. No. We were rubbish back then - it was just easier to hide with smaller and fewer projects. Now there is just too much in play with too many players so things can go spectacularly wrong if you don't have a handle on things.

Our App team has been busy over the last month not only working on the existing Lost Kidz App and its continued evolution, but also on its new sister App Lost Petz. The American Humane Association has been a strong supporter of the Lost project from very early on and with their dual role of supporting both Child and Animal welfare in the US a Pet specific version of the App is very important to them. However the process of rebranding Lost Kidz for Pets was not as simple as slapping on a new logo and pushing it out to Apple.

I have been a developer for a long time, other than a break for a few years to pursue a family business I have been at it for the best part of 20 years. Obviously there have been immense changes in technology and approach over that time, but at the same time there are still a number of constants mostly in approach, thinking and attitude towards work.