Exporting software / development services

[Manic]

Not aware of any other sites. TBH i wouldn't have the first clue about going about it, this one fell into my lap.

[MPwannadecentincome]

thanks for biting Manic! Actually I think the US might be very attractive in USD - especially if it goes to $1.20 as some commentators are saying!

No - other biters on this forum - are there other sites that run forums where I might get some more tips / pointers?

[Manic]

Ok I'll bite. In my experience the US company will want to pay in dollars. You can therefore negotiate at today's rates something that looks very attractive to them however it's likely that you will bear the risk of currency fluctuations.

My PI insurance was over £2k to cover the NA territory, another cost you need to factor.

[MPwannadecentincome]

I can't help thinking with the current exchange rate well in the Eurozone's favour - and in the US for that matter - that there are opportunities to get work that could be done in the UK with payment in Pounds for contracts calculated at near today's exchange rates - our hourly / daily rates make us more competitive now and we don't have expensive raw materials to buy that our manufacturing industry (what's left of it) has to suffer.

Has anyone explored this - OK perhaps you have and you are keeping your knowledge safe as a secret before the opportunity goes away?

One thing that caught my eye was help from the govt, specifically the UK Trade and Investment (Dept of?) on "exporting" e.g. https://www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk/ukt...el=ourservices - has anyone used any of the services described - extract below?

"Our services include:
* Information, contacts, advice, mentoring and support from UKTI staff at home and overseas in our network of Embassies, Consulates and other offices in over 100 markets
* Support to participate in trade fairs overseas
* Opportunities to participate in sector-based trade missions and seminars
* Access to major buyers, governments and supply chains in overseas markets
* Advice on forming international joint ventures and partnerships
* Exploratory visits to new markets
* Alerts to the latest and best business opportunities "

I'm sure big business (Logica, Accenture, IBM, HP, EDS, etc.) are already onto this, with or without govt help - and some of this work may filter down to contractors too - buy why let the big boys take the big profits all the time?

On a related note - I am noticing various postings on linkedin discussion groups where people are looking for various things like web developers to develop some websites or ecommerce capability, how real these are I do not know - I have tried getting more information on some of them and not had any reply (so why did they post in the first place). I notice most of the responses are from Indian companies - so to compete against their likely low rates they would have to be convinced of the UK "added value" - however that can be stated.

The risk with these also is that jobs like this are less likely to be time and materials (is this true - I am guessing?) - fixed price jobs are harder and that means you have to have a good assessment of the job in hand to estimate it properly and to add in mitigation factors on top.

There are also legal risks, so drawing up a contract with the right legal assistance would be essential plus the necessary insurance cover in case of legal action of non delivery or late delivery etc - and the costs of these too would have to be factored into the job.

So - does anyone have any advise or pointers to share?