International development organization CBM relies on "India4IT" for IT outsourcing requirements

Achieving more together - under this motto CBM provides support to individuals with disabilities worldwide. For the transparent administration
of over 700 fundraising projects the organisation uses the ERP system Microsoft Dynamics NAV. The changeover to the latest release left CBM facing complex programming tasks which it was unable to tackle using own staff alone. The solution: Part of the development and
programming was outsourced to India. The selection of suitable specialists, the provision of workplaces with modern IT
infrastructure as well as the entire labour-law related handling and contract design was undertaken by BEO GmbH.

CBM, based in Bensheim, Germany, currently supports 714 projects worldwide including more than 100 in India. Ensuring that all services reach precisely those who are currently in need requires precise coordination of staff and funds. This is facilitated by the ERP \ software Microsoft Dynamics NAV. The system enables the planning of individual development projects, the display of budgeting phases and the on-schedule payment of funds. "In 2013 an update of our ERP system to the new release was due. The change needed to be time-efficient and as economical as possible," describes Bastian van Mierlo, Applications team leader at CBM. In order to comply with these requirements, CBM decided to outsource individual software development tasks.

Full service support of the new staff

Management of the so-called IT outstaffing - meaning the provision of staff for the operation of the IT infrastructure - was provided by BEO GmbH. This includes the complete handling of all labour-law related and contractual matters. Furthermore, the software producer ensures that labour laws and collective wage agreements are complied with. "Our many years of experience on the Indian market help us with recruitment," explains Swen Berbett, manager of India outsourcing at BEO. "We have been active in India for about 20 years and since 2011 we also have our own subsidiary there, the BEO Park. This has given us insight into the cultural characteristics and we profit from having direct access to the Indian employment market."
In the ideal case it is possible to fill a vacancy within two to four weeks. "Generally our clients are then able to start working with the new members of staff after eight weeks," specifies Berbett. Within a month CBM interviewed five suitable specialists via Skype. The final choice was a female candidate who already had project experience with the required software update.
CBM is not the only company requiring external programmers: On average, BEO places around 50 specialists per year with German companies,who relieve their own IT departments in this way.

Fluent data transfer on the India-Germany route

At BEO Park in India, CBM's new member of staff was provided with an office with tailor-made IT infrastructure and voice-over-IP telephony. An online gateway gives the developer full access to the ERP system, the development environment and the organisation's internal project management tools. The workplace was equipped in accordance with CBM's security guidelines: Virus scanners, firewalls and spam protection programs are continually updated and ensure permanent access to CBM's IT systems.The communication and assignment of tasks takes place via email, Skype and CBM's internal task system.

More creativity, thanks to flexible working arrangements

The new labour division noticeably facilitated the implementation of the new release for Microsoft Dynamics NAV. An important advantage of IT outsourcing: The close cooperation allows the testing of new ideas without requiring extensive preparation. This occurred with the graphical display of the fundraising projects. "Our Indian colleague developed examples of how we can clearly visualise projects using diagrams. We implemented this idea throughout CBM," explains van Mierlo. Every member of staff and every project manager is now able to call up their projects in the form of diagrams and can thus clearly see the relationship between the available budget and the payouts made.

Convincing results

By outsourcing its programming tasks CBM profits from variable access to qualified personnel, the independence of external service providers and the associated flexibility regarding software maintenance. Through the cooperation with BEO the charity can rely on the fact that the Indian colleague has good working conditions and that occupational health and safety regulations are complied with. After over a year of intensive cooperation with BEO as outstaffing partner, van Mierlo does not rule out an extension of the capacities in India if required. "Due to the positive experiences, outsourcing is definitely a long-term project for us," concludes van Mierlo. "Here we would again count on BEO as a reliable partner."

About BEO

BEO GmbH was established in 1987 and has its head office in Endingen, Germany. The company is specialized in software products and services in the area of export/import business and customs clearance. The systems can be adapted easily to individual requirements and existing IT architectures. All software products are available as inhouse- or also as a webbased rent solution.