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Unlock the Potential of IT Software Development and Staff Augmentation through Rural Sourcing

Rural Sourcing - US Onshore

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At QAT Global, we offer a unique approach to IT software development and staff augmentation through Rural Sourcing – A US-based Alternative. With our expertise and access to talent in rural areas, we bring together the best of both worlds – the advantages of outsourcing combined with the benefits of local resources.

Rural Sourcing, also known as onshoring or domestic sourcing, involves sending work to service providers in rural locations where the cost of living and operating expenses are lower. It is a cost-competitive alternative for companies that want to avoid the negative aspects of offshoring to India and China.

QAT Global’s rural sourcing centers leverage best practices for remote service delivery to create large, highly integrated centers of expertise, customized and dedicated to specific client domains. The centers combine expert resources, service delivery best practices, mature infrastructure, and flexible engagement models that best fit the needs of your enterprise.

Types of Projects We Can Help With

Custom software development

Web & Mobile app development

Quality assurance and testing

Application modernization

IT staff augmentation

System integration

Why Rural Sourcing With QAT Global

High Quality

Our approach invests heavily in talent acquisition, training, and workforce development across the entire service value chain. Young, energetic, and talented associates join teams of experts to take responsibility for well-defined tasks that match their skills.

Custom Teams

While most outsourcing providers do their best to fit existing teams to your needs, QAT Global develops custom teams who are committed to your company and QAT Global. This ensures low turnover, fast ramp-up, and cost-effectiveness from start to finish.

Reliable Processes

A strong focus on tools, processes, and infrastructure for integration and collaboration between teams to ensure best practices-driven program management and governance.

Exceptional ROI

By locating technology centers in rural areas, QAT Global can lower the cost while maintaining the high quality that customers expect.

Easy Communication

If you have a problem, you can get right on the phone and talk through the issue in real time. No time, language, or cultural barriers.

Lasting Relationships

We truly care about our clients and delivering strong business value. Our clients become long-term partners, and you will, too, with agile solutions, strong ROI, and support.

Our Commitment to Quality

Simply put, we are committed to delivering highly flexible and trusted quality solutions, meeting expectations, and satisfying clients. Our rural sourcing model takes people with the skills and experience you need and places them in rural development centers. This leads to a stable workforce with experience in exactly the IT areas you need. At QAT Global, you get a custom team that meets your needs.

Outsourcing in the Heartland of America

QAT Global can help your company power through the age of information with our broad spectrum of software solutions using our rural sourcing services. By covering the entire software development cycle, we can take an idea and develop it into an integrated finished product. In contrast, we can also coordinate with your company’s existing software team to provide only needed services, such as efficient development or independent quality assurance testing. Our experts will work with you to leverage the software services that will best advance your company toward its goals, and our integration of rural sourcing ensures that the services provided fit your business needs.

Rural outsourcing provides the same basic benefits as other outsourcing arrangements: ready access to technological expertise and resources that the client lacks internally. By locating in domestic rural locations, clients get the value of a local provider combined with the advantage of lower-cost labor outside large metropolitan areas. Cultural compatibility, similar time zones, and proximity to clients make rural outsourcing an attractive option.

In general, the value proposition of rural outsourcing is that clients pay lower prices for IT services than ITO services based in urban areas; and clients receive a better service experience than offshore outsourcing. Transaction costs are significantly lower compared to offshore outsourcing. Price-wise, rural outsourcing offers prices that are 20-40 percent less expensive per hour than urban rates in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago.

We thoroughly examine each customer’s case. Depending on project requirements, we engage a dedicated team of business analysts to analyze and understand clients’ specific objectives and needs to find a solution that meets them.

We understand that effective communication is crucial for the success of any project. We establish a productive customer communication environment by providing all required resources. All our employees who are engaged in communication with customers speak fluent English.

Delivering exceptional business value to clients is the primary goal of QAT Global. This requires more than just focusing on the software development process. This way, we can offer our clients technology solutions that add real value to their business. It’s simple – we understand that the success of our clients measures our success.

QAT Global rates are 20-50% less than comparative U.S. metro rates and, in a value and productivity comparison, are equal to or better than China and India’s offshore rates.

QAT Global is located in the Central Time Zone, offering timely access for all U.S. markets. Utilizing the latest in communication technologies, we provide direct access to our development staff at any time via audio, video conferencing, or web.

Benefits of Rural Sourcing

Established as an attractive alternative to high-priced Metro consultants and Indian and Chinese offshore software development, Rural Outsourcing provides the following benefits for customers seeking software development and quality assurance:

  • Lower costs: 20-40% lower cost basis than metro U.S. areas: lower rent, employee cost-of-living, and other overheads
  • Better collaboration: 2-4 hour time differences, English speakers
  • High-quality talent: Tap into a pool of skilled IT professionals in rural areas who are dedicated to delivering exceptional results.
  • Cultural compatibility: Experience a seamless integration of culture, work ethics, and communication styles for smoother project execution.
  • Scalability and flexibility: Easily scale your team up or down based on project requirements, allowing for greater agility and adaptability.
  • Increased knowledge retention: below-industry attrition, centralized facility
  • Established partnerships with local universities for continuing education, training, and providing students with technical job opportunities
  • Low rates of attrition in family-friendly communities.
  • Time zone proximity: Enjoy the convenience of working with a team located in a nearby time zone, promoting effective collaboration and communication.

Rural Sourcing Services

Web Development

Focusing on an Agile development methodology, QAT Global supports clients by building new applications; supporting/enhancing existing applications; and re-platforming antiquated systems onto more robust, cloud-based, scalable platforms with our rural sourcing services. This Agile methodology and approach to developing, along with leveraging our onshore model, have enabled our clients to double productivity rates and keep costs in line with previous offshore alternatives. We also deliver custom-built, enterprise-scale mobile applications that deliver immediate ROI to our clients.

QAT Global’s developers are proficient in the latest technologies and platforms, including .NET, J2EE, PHP, iOS, Objective C, PL/SQL, Visual Basic, JavaScript, HTML5 and other emerging mobile tools.

Application Development

Focusing on an Agile development methodology, QAT Global’s rural sourcing services support clients by building new applications; supporting/enhancing existing applications; and re-platforming antiquated systems onto more robust, cloud-based, scalable platforms. This Agile methodology and approach to developing, along with leveraging our rural sourcing model, have enabled our clients to double productivity rates and keep costs in line with previous sourcing alternatives.

Testing

We partner with you to ensure your mission-critical software assets and systems are stable, functioning properly, and delivering the level of quality expected by your customers and internal users. You can have the right people doing the right work at the right price.

Drive out cost and increase employee satisfaction by keeping your employees focused on development and delegating quality assurance to our cost-effective testing services. Testing is our focus. We do the extensive QA work many developers dislike and avoid. We provide the needed expertise and management skills to do the job right.

QAT Global’s testing services include ERP Testing, Security & Privacy Testing, Automated Testing, Script Use Case Development, Script Use Case Execution, Usability, and Documentation. Our testing practice combines superior testing services with the SCRUM and Agile development methodologies.

Through our reliable, efficient domestic sourcing model, we can provide superior testing services that enable a faster go live without sacrificing quality. QAT Global can do this by providing a flexible service offering that allows for testing during the entire development of the project or once a project nears completion, whichever the client prefers. This flexibility gives our clients the comfort of knowing that their product will work the first time while minimizing business risk.

QAT Global’s Other Rural Sourcing Services

Our Clients select QAT Global to assist in managing the costs and complexities of supporting and enhancing enterprise applications. At QAT Global, we believe that a nimble approach to placing experienced professionals close to the problem is the most cost-efficient way to get the optimal return on your systems investment.

Our flexible model allows clients to select the best approach to meet their specific needs. Our engagement models range from fully outsourced support with SLA- driven management to flexible hour blocks for a specified period. In some cases, QAT Global’s clients retain a portion of their COE capabilities “in-house” but complement their staffing with QAT Global expertise. QAT Global provides the additional support necessary to reduce its Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) while maintaining high customer service levels. QAT Global also enables our clients to focus internal resources on new projects while we maintain the production system.

QAT Global’s developers are proficient in the latest technologies and platforms, including .NET, J2EE, PHP, iOS, Objective C, PL/SQL, Visual Basic, JavaScript, HTML5 and other emerging mobile tools.

Front-End: JavaScript, Jquery, AngularJS, BootStrap, KnockoutJS, HTML
Back-End: Java, C#, PHP, Spring, MVC, Spring Security, MyBatis, SQLServer, Oracle, Postgres, MySql
Tools: Eclipse, SOAPUi, several database workbenches, ANT, Maven, SVN, GIT, Cognos

Rural Sourcing:
The Cost-Effective
Alternative to Traditional
IT Outsourcing
from QAT Global

Agile – The New Delivery Standard

Agile is the new delivery standard. And successfully delivering from a remote project center is the highest standard not often achieved. At QAT Global, we’ve been delivering agile projects remotely for over ten years. From mobile application development to global deployments, including Java, CA Gen, Business Intelligence, and e-commerce, we’ve delivered agile On-Premise and Cloud-based solutions. Today, 80% of all QAT Global’s engagements are agile and successfully executed from our project centers, with little or no onsite resource presence. This means you can accelerate delivery schedules and keep your costs to a minimum while preserving the knowledge of your application in one central location. Agile and QAT Global’s rural-based sourcing options create a powerful solution for today’s time-to-market and technical resource demands.

Rural Sourcing Pricing – Cost Savings From the Heartland

“Rural sourcing offers cost, marketing, language and cultural benefits, making it an attractive alternative to offshore and other onshore models for some organizations,” according to a recent study by Gartner, an IT research and advisory company.

Rural Sourcing Pricing for Software Development Outsourcing from Omaha, NE

By City Savings Comparison

The cost of resources based out of a rural sourcing location like Omaha, NE, offers substantial savings over large cities yet delivers all of the benefits of onshore resources. Clients in these large cities enjoy not only these cost savings but the conveniences of minimal time zone differences, no language barriers, IP protection, and more.

City Average Team Salaries Compared
to Omaha from Salary.com		 Average Federal Labor Rate
Adjustments		 Potential Savings From
Omaha, NE Rural Sourcing
New York 24.57% 28.72% 20-30%
Chicago 12.07% 25.10% 10-25%
Boston 16.67% 24.80% 10-30%
San Jose 29.17% 35.15% 20-40%
Washington DC 15.81% 24.22% 10-25%

Rural Sourcing Pricing for Software Development Teams

Rural sourcing teams include the same types of team members as any other software development team for a project. These team members include:

  • Architect
  • Project Manager (unless customer provided)
  • Lead Developer
  • Mixture of Front end and Back End Programmer Analysts

Sample Teams

To provide you with a comparison point, we have put together five sample team structures to illustrate the typical average hourly bill rate involved with project types. As you can see, the number of resources required per developer type varies by project.

Typical

$60-75
typical average bill rate
per hour
  • Architect
  • Project Manager
  • Lead
  • 2 Senior Programmer Analyst
  • 1 Programmer Analyst II
  • 2 Programmer Analyst I
Get Started

Premium

$70-85
typical average bill rate
per hour
  • Architect
  • Project Manager
  • Lead
  • 2 Senior Programmer Analyst
  • 2 Programmer Analyst II
  • 0 Programmer Analyst I
Get Started

Large Project

$65-85
typical average bill rate
per hour
  • Architect
  • Project Manager
  • 1 Front End 1 Back End Lead
  • 6 Senior Programmer Analyst
  • 2 Programmer Analyst II
  • 2 Programmer Analyst I
Get Started

UI Team

$65-85
typical average bill rate
per hour
  • Architect
  • Project Manager
  • 1 Front End 1 Back End Lead
  • 6 Senior Programmer Analyst
  • 2 Programmer Analyst II
  • 2 Programmer Analyst I
Get Started

Testing

$65-85
typical average bill rate
per hour
  • Architect
  • Project Manager
  • 1 Front End 1 Back End Lead
  • 6 Senior Programmer Analyst
  • 2 Programmer Analyst II
  • 2 Programmer Analyst I
Get Started

Rural Sourcing FAQ

Everything you need to know about rural sourcing

What is Rural Outsourcing?

Rural outsourcing, also called rural sourcing or onshore outsourcing, is an attractive alternative to outsourcing information technology (IT) services overseas or to firms in major metropolitan areas. In our case, “rural” means the work is done in mid-sized American cities away from large urban centers.

This approach controls costs in several ways:

    • Reduced infrastructure and employment costs due to our location away from any major metropolitan areas
    • More efficient utilization of resources because you are tapping a pool of IT professionals, not relying on an individual; contracts are structured to minimize costs when your needs are small
    • Better value because we match the complexity of your needs with the appropriate experience level; you won’t pay for a senior-level developer to perform entry-level tasks

All work is performed at QAT Global’s Omaha office or on-site at client facilities when necessary.

Qualified technical staff performs all work in the communities where we are located. Our Omaha office, for example, draws talented personnel from two universities, a private college, and several state colleges and technical schools in the immediate vicinity. These institutions all support computer science degree programs, providing QAT Global with a steady stream of qualified graduates and experienced alumni. Our staff experience ranges from entry-level technicians to software engineers with more than 20 years in the industry.

Here are just a few benefits that rural sourcing with QAT Global offers:

  • Lower costs—The lower employment and infrastructure costs of our rural location are passed on to the customer
  • Faster response times—Our staff can appear on site in hours versus days
  • More convenient hours—Time zone differences are minimal or nonexistent, allowing for daytime communication
  • No communication barriers—Language and cultural differences are not an issue

Metropolitan firms cannot offer the cost savings of rural outsourcing. By locating in mid-sized American cities that are great places to live, QAT Global can attract and retain skilled technical staff at lower costs. It would be difficult for metropolitan firms to deliver the same outstanding level of talent at comparable prices.

Independent developers can be effective for smaller, less critical applications. However, QAT Global provides the broader expertise and long-term stability of an established firm. In the end, you must evaluate the risks and decide on the best solution for your project.

QAT Global has over 208 years of experience in the world of custom software engineering. Our staff consists of experienced professionals that are well-suited to front-line work on mission-critical systems. QAT Global headquarters is located in Omaha, Nebraska, a city with easy access to 2 universities and a highly rated private college in a state known for its high educational standards and strong work ethic, providing us with a consistently high-quality workforce.

QAT Global offices are purposely located in vibrant, mid-sized cities with outstanding opportunities for talented professionals.

The area supports two universities, a private college, and numerous state colleges and technical schools with computer science degree programs. It is also home to the College World Series, as well as arts, culture and fine dining. The region’s high quality of life is very attractive to people of all ages and levels of experience.

Yes, it can, through more efficient utilization of resources, access to QAT Global’s years of experience and pricing based on your specific needs.

Virtually anything can be outsourced with the right communications structure in place; however, the most efficient types of work are individual software development and IT projects and testing.

Savings are immediate, thanks to our competitive rates. Contact QAT Global today.

AT QAT Global, we’ve taken the same approach to our offshore sourcing option. Our offshore development center is located in Uberaba, Brazil, a mid-sized city with a strong work ethic, family values, and lower cost of living than metropolitan areas in Brazil, such as Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro. Brazil also delivers a minimal time zone difference of 2-4 hours depending on daylight savings time, allowing onshore and offshore teams to work closely together.