Hardwick asks theoretically. RealNetworks particularly likes that Talisma lets executives know when there's been customer-relations problem that the outsourcer was unable to resolve satisfactorily, Hardwick says. When there are escalations, they bring them up. Otherwise, we'd find out by having some irate call go through our front desk, and that's not good from time or customer point of view. You have to be careful not to assume anything even when you think there shouldn't be problem.
Some engineers are uncomfortable with videoconferencing, others like to see other person's face.
Not only do frequent e-mails and videoconferences help build team cohesion that practitioners like Dyhouse say is crucial to offshore success, they're an important way to pick up casual progress indicators that often don't come out in formal meeting yet may be crucial to a project downstream. That said, formal meetings can't and shouldn't be ignored. Then they go over and see sparkling new facility, and their attitude changes. With communication so crucial to success of offshore partnership, it's essential that organizations appoint single person to act as go-between, manager who has strong command of both project at hand and bigger goals of both companies. I'm not talking about liaison.