Is the U.S. the Leading Software Development Country?
No industry is as global as software development. Pervasive networking means that software developers can, and do, work from anywhere. This has led many businesses to hiring development subcontractors in other countries, aiming to find good development talent at lower prices, or with fewer hassles on entry into the US.
While this is an ongoing and dynamic equilibrium, there are compelling reasons for doing software development in the United States, or using a hybrid model where some parts of the task are parceled out to foreign contractors and some are handled locally.
Development Methodologies
The primary reason for developing software overseas is cost reduction. The primary argument against overseas software development is slower development cycles. When software still used the "waterfall" industrial process for project management (where everything is budgeted in terms of time at the beginning of the project), offshoring was quite compelling. As more companies emulate Google and Facebook's process of "release early, update often, and refine from user feedback," an increasing premium has been put on software teams that are small enough to be agile (indeed, the development process is called Agile Development), and centralized enough, in terms of time zones, that collaborators can work together. This has made both Google and Facebook leaders in US-based software development, though they both still maintain teams of developers in other countries tasked with specific projects.
Localization For Americans
The United States is still one of the major markets for software development, and projects aimed at American customers needs to meet cultural norms. This applies to any country, not just the U.S. This puts a premium on software developers who aren't just fluent in English, but native speakers, and who understand American culture. While it's possible (and even likely) to make server-side software, and management utilities that can get by with terse, fractured English, anything that's enterprise-facing or consumer-facing requires more work on polish and presentation than is practical using outsourced developers. There is a reason why the leaders in software User Interface development are all US-based companies, and that's because consumer-focused design is still an overwhelming US advantage.
Ongoing Concerns
The primary concern for American software development is talent production. The US secondary education system produces a much smaller percentage of students with a solid math and engineering background, and while US universities lead the world in their computer science and engineering curricula, slightly under half of all of those graduates are from foreign countries, because American students don't take the course loads needed to succeed in them. Software development companies in the United States are deeply concerned about getting enough engineers and programmers out of the US university system. Some, such as Google, are trying to get programmers hooked on logical problem solving at a young age, with the Summer of Code programs. Others, like Microsoft, offer scholarships for computer science degrees.
Overall, the changes in project management methodologies mean that the US is the current leader in software development, and so long as the primary market for software remains English and American-centric, that's going to remain true. That trend is far from guaranteed, and in the world of software, things can change quickly.
other blog entries
Course Directory [training on all levels]
- .NET Classes
- Agile/Scrum Classes
- Ajax Classes
- Android and iPhone Programming Classes
- Blaze Advisor Classes
- C Programming Classes
- C# Programming Classes
- C++ Programming Classes
- Cisco Classes
- Cloud Classes
- CompTIA Classes
- Crystal Reports Classes
- Design Patterns Classes
- DevOps Classes
- Foundations of Web Design & Web Authoring Classes
- Git, Jira, Wicket, Gradle, Tableau Classes
- IBM Classes
- Java Programming Classes
- JBoss Administration Classes
- JUnit, TDD, CPTC, Web Penetration Classes
- Linux Unix Classes
- Machine Learning Classes
- Microsoft Classes
- Microsoft Development Classes
- Microsoft SQL Server Classes
- Microsoft Team Foundation Server Classes
- Microsoft Windows Server Classes
- Oracle, MySQL, Cassandra, Hadoop Database Classes
- Perl Programming Classes
- Python Programming Classes
- Ruby Programming Classes
- Security Classes
- SharePoint Classes
- SOA Classes
- Tcl, Awk, Bash, Shell Classes
- UML Classes
- VMWare Classes
- Web Development Classes
- Web Services Classes
- Weblogic Administration Classes
- XML Classes
- VMware vSphere 8.0 with ESXi and vCenter
9 December, 2024 - 13 December, 2024 - Ruby on Rails
5 December, 2024 - 6 December, 2024 - Fast Track to Java 17 and OO Development
9 December, 2024 - 13 December, 2024 - VMware vSphere 8.0 Boot Camp
9 December, 2024 - 13 December, 2024 - Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900T00)
25 November, 2024 - 25 November, 2024 - See our complete public course listing
did you know? HSG is one of the foremost training companies in the United States
Our courses focus on two areas: the most current and critical object-oriented and component based tools, technologies and languages; and the fundamentals of effective development methodology. Our programs are designed to deliver technology essentials while improving development staff productivity.
An experienced trainer and faculty member will identify the client's individual training requirements, then adapt and tailor the course appropriately. Our custom training solutions reduce time, risk and cost while keeping development teams motivated. The Hartmann Software Group's faculty consists of veteran software engineers, some of whom currently teach at several Colorado Universities. Our faculty's wealth of knowledge combined with their continued real world consulting experience enables us to produce more effective training programs to ensure our clients receive the highest quality and most relevant instruction available. Instruction is available at client locations or at various training facilities located in the metropolitan Denver area.
Upcoming Classes
- VMware vSphere 8.0 with ESXi and vCenter
9 December, 2024 - 13 December, 2024 - Ruby on Rails
5 December, 2024 - 6 December, 2024 - Fast Track to Java 17 and OO Development
9 December, 2024 - 13 December, 2024 - VMware vSphere 8.0 Boot Camp
9 December, 2024 - 13 December, 2024 - Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900T00)
25 November, 2024 - 25 November, 2024 - See our complete public course listing
consulting services we do what we know ... write software
The coaching program integrates our course instruction with hands on software development practices. By employing XP (Extreme Programming) techniques, we teach students as follows:
Configure and integrate the needed development tools
MOntitor each students progress and offer feedback, perspective and alternatives when needed.
Establish an Action plan to yield a set of deliverables in order to guarantee productive learning.
Establish an Commit to a deliverable time line.
Hold each student accountable to a standard that is comparable to that of an engineer/project manager with at least one year's experience in the field.
These coaching cycles typically last 2-4 weeks in duration.
Business Rule isolation and integration for large scale systems using Blaze Advisor
Develop Java, .NET, Perl, Python, TCL and C++ related technologies for Web, Telephony, Transactional i.e. financial and a variety of other considerations.
Windows and Unix/Linux System Administration.
Application Server Administration, in particular, Weblogic, Oracle and JBoss.
Desperate application communication by way of Web Services (SOAP & Restful), RMI, EJBs, Sockets, HTTP, FTP and a number of other protocols.
Graphics Rich application development work i.e. fat clients and/or Web Clients to include graphic design
Performance improvement through code rewrites, code interpreter enhancements, inline and native code compilations and system alterations.
Mentoring of IT and Business Teams for quick and guaranteed expertise transfer.
Architect both small and large software development systems to include: Data Dictionaries, UML Diagrams, Software & Systems Selections and more