Off-shoring of software and other IT tasks to off-shore service providers is known trend with increasing number of companies taking advantage of the cost saving benefit it presents. SoftJin, with its unique business model of providing off-shore EDA software development services, enables EDA Product companies as well as EDA groups of semiconductor companies to save costs and get access to skilled EDA resources.

Why off-shore EDA software development?
Access to talent - EDA software development is a technically intensive exercise and requires skilled engineers with background in both computer science and VLSI Design. The availability of skilled engineers in India along with the requisite experience in undertaking large software projects is one of the key drivers for off-shoring EDA development.

Cost benefits - At the same time, there is a significant cost advantage in off-shoring as the cost of living in these countries is lower. Even with the increased communication and transportation related expenses, the loaded cost of EDA software development in countries such as India can turn out to be about 50% to 60% of the loaded cost in countries such as US.

How to off-shore? Own off-shore development center v/s Outsourced partner
Broadly, there are two ways to go about EDA off-shoring – directly building your own off-shore development center or by outsourcing parts of EDA software development to an external off-shore development partner. Whereas establishing own off-shore development center may be suitable for large companies with steady growth in head count, this may not be the correct model to follow for small to mid sized companies. Building your own off-shore development center has the clear advantage in terms of maximum control over the off-shore team and lower operating costs. However, there are some very clear drawbacks as well, such as higher set up costs and difficulty to attract and retain talent. On the other hand, outsourcing EDA software development to SoftJin avoids these drawbacks and also brings in the other associated advantages such as enabling focus on your core competencies, having flexible capacity and additional/complementary capability.

What are the Business Models of engaging with SoftJin?
Based upon your business context and off-shoring plans, SoftJin offers various business models of engagement. These include Turnkey Project, Time & Material (T&M) and Off-Shore Development Center (ODC). A comparative analysis of the features, benefits and suitability of the three business models is given in the chart below.

One of the preferred ways to kick-start relationship is to first undertake a short-term (2-3 months) pilot project under Turnkey Project model. It is advisable to have this Pilot project with low criticality but which is fairly representative of the technical complexity involved. Pilot projects can help remove the kinks from the off-shoring process and help you take more informed long-term off-shoring decisions. This can be followed by a T&M model based engagement for a medium duration (6-9 months) wherein SoftJin’s outsourced team undertakes multiple projects of varying complexity as an extended arm of customer’s in-house team. With mutual confidence and trust established, you can sign up for a long term ODC wherein SoftJin offers a dedicated team that can work on wide range of projects including research intensive projects of strategic importance.