XBOSoft is Philip Lew’s latest venture (Disclosure: I know Phil & I have tremendous respect for him). The company is exclusively focused on testing and the application of automation to shorten test cycles. While they have technical resources in China, they don’t emphasize offshore teams as their primary driver. Instead, they highlight their testing expertise and their test automation technology. Unlike many other Chinese outsourcing companies, XBOSoft doesn’t claim to provide a full spectrum of services. They recognize that their real value springs from being experts in testing. They are able to leverage their skills and their knowledge of test automation to better serve their clients. They really push their ability to shorten test cycles.
When I’m trying to evaluate a company, I always give a lot of weight to the leadership. Mr. Lew certainly has both the academic credentials, and the professional experience to pull it off. Phil has done his time in the trenches with one of the leading Chinese software outsourcing companies, so he knows about all of the pitfalls & challenges. I believe that he’s applied those lessons in setting up XBOSoft. Beyond all of the resume information, however, Phil is a really good guy who is very comfortable working on either side of the Pacific. In addition, he has a product development background that gives him a real appreciation of the problem that he’s solving.
One thing that particularly impressed me, given that they are a relatively young company, is that they already have really nice testimonials from satisfied clients. That the team was sophisticated enough to understand the value of getting these positive affirmations from happy clients tells you a lot about what they will be like to work with. Another indicator is that they don’t ask clients to simply throw work “over the wall” to them. They prefer to describe their process as supplementing the client’s technology team.
In summary, I think that XBOSoft is a company to watch:
- They have focused their service offerings to an area where the have true expertise - they aren’t trying to do everything, and they are addressing a real pain point for clients
- They understand the problem that they are solving for clients - shortening test cycles
- They are applying automation to solve the problems.
- They have a really smart CEO who knows what he’s doing.
It looks to me like they have all of the ingredients for success! I wish them all the best!
Technorati Tags: China, China Outsourcing
