Robert Duff

  What comes to mind when you think of quality assurance? Is it an activity that you can check off a list? If so, you’re in the majority. But, quality assurance (QA) needs to be more than that — it needs to be part of your company culture. Quality assurance can benefit digital products by...

Would you build your home before laying a foundation? Of course not! It would sink into the ground and ruin your house. Similarly, when building services like continuous delivery or continuous deployment, you need to start with a foundation so all of your hard work isn’t lost. When building a house, you need to lay...

In the IT world, there is a tendency to tack “Ops” on to the end of words. This has clouded the understanding of terms like TechOps, DevOps, and even NoOps. Through our analysis, we’ll clarify their meanings and show you how DevOps can help you save time and money. But first, let’s start by defining...

Digital strategy and digital transformation are big buzzwords these days in corporate boardrooms. The movement is so common in fact that “Forty-seven percent of CEOs said they are being challenged by the board of directors to make progress in digital business, and this enterprise-wide focus on digital is also being felt by CIOs across industries.”...

What did we learn about the blockchain technology? We hosted an engaging panel that discussed various facts, fallacies, and issues surrounding blockchain technology. There were two major areas of focus. One was to convey information about what makes blockchain different than other data management platforms from a technical perspective and the other topic of discussion...

After five years of increasingly complex development work with Videology, an advertising technology company that uses big data and science-driven analysis to provide advertisers with optimal performance and accountability, Coherent Solutions’ Videology team in Minsk has grown to over 45 full-time people.

In the early 2000s, Time Management Corp’s CEO, Barrs Lewis, concluded he needed a technical partner to assist in developing his company’s labor management software. So he turned to his colleague Igor Epshteyn, CEO of Coherent Solutions, a custom software development company. Believing that excellent service delivery management is the key to a better model for globally distributed teams, Igor and COO Rob Duff created a system and processes to manage accounts via U.S.-based service delivery managers.

Managing relationships is never easy, but managing them across oceans, time zones and with language and cultural barriers . . . Well, let’s just admit that it is challenging. Yet managing a supplier/partner relationship is as important to success as any technical skill. More projects are derailed due to communication failures than any other single reason.

Having read the first two parts of this blog series of four, and now continuing with blog 3, I gather you have weighed the plusses and minuses, done your due diligence and put out an RFP. So how do you make an educated, sensible decision on the best supplier for your organization?

Even if it is not your first consideration (and it often is), rate is always a factor when looking offshore for software outsourcing help. As with most things, you get what you pay for and you have to know what you are looking for in order to make the best buying decision. But keep in mind that hourly rates are just part of the equation when calculating outsourcing costs.

Coherent Solutions is proud to be in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s Fast 50 for the third year in a row. The Fast 50 is a list of the fastest growing private companies in the Twin Cities. The Business Journal receives entries from hundreds of organizations every year and ranks the winners according to audited...

Most organizations will cite one or more of the following reasons when asked, “Why do you outsource your software development?” Read the blog post to learn more...

Three-year revenue growth comes in at 144% Minneapolis, MN, August 18, 2016 – Coherent Solutions has been named to the Inc. 5000 list of the nation’s fastest growing private companies for the fifth year running. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within America’s most dynamic economic segment— its independent small...

This past week, Coherent Solutions was a sponsor of Wex Health’s 9th annual partner conference in Scottsdale, AZ at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa. The event was a three day opportunity designed to give partners and sponsors the opportunity to participate in a variety of sessions to learn about the ever-changing healthcare industry. It...

Coherent Solutions announces its inclusion in Software Magazine’s Software 500, a ranking of the world’s largest software and service providers now in its 32nd year. Coherent Solutions was ranked number #418 with $20.92M in revenue for 2014 growing 23.1% over 2013 results. The Software 500 is a revenue-based ranking of the world’s largest software and...

Growth was at 102% from 2012 to 2014 October 27, 2015—Coherent Solutions has made the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s Fast 50 for the second year in a row, moving up from number 27 on the list to number 21. The Fast 50 is a list of the fastest growing private companies in the Twin Cities....

As a custom software development company, we get plenty of questions from prospects about our people, our processes, technologies we use, etc.  We can answer honestly and forthrightly about all these things – and we do, in our website, sell sheets, case studies and more. But the most challenging question we get on a regular...

Three-year revenue growth remains strong at over 100% Minneapolis, MN, August 21, 2015 – For the fourth year in a row Coherent Solutions has been named to the Inc. 500|5000 list of the nation’s fastest growing private companies.  The 2015 Inc. 5000 is the most competitive crop in the list’s history with average three-year growth...

Clients gain support for continuous deployment as well as efficiencies of operating in the cloud Minneapolis, MN – July 21, 2015 – Coherent Solutions, a custom software development consulting company with integrated global delivery capabilities, has added a Development Operations (DevOps) and Cloud service offering to the firm’s considerable capabilities in application development, business intelligence,...

Xamarin recognizes Coherent’s expertise in mobile application development. Minneapolis, MN – May 5, 2015 – Coherent Solutions, a custom software development consulting company with integrated global delivery capabilities, announces its Premier Partnership with Xamarin, the mobile application industry’s leading development platform. The partnership recognizes Coherent Solutions’ high level of expertise using Xamarin to create robust,...

Is outsourcing right for you? So assuming that offshore outsourcing is a viable option for you, there are a number of other issues to consider as you determine where, how and who you will use to help with your software development.

Business Analysts in Short Supply! So grow your own... In my experience, one of the top innovation bottlenecks is a shortage of business analysts (BAs) to queue up projects. BAs handle the time consuming tasks of gathering, documenting, and forging consensus around all the complex requirements of a new product or feature. I’ve yet to see a good BA who isn’t swamped. They are always in demand.

Marketing, at its core, is about communication – reaching your audience with your message. It is as central to human nature as commerce itself. As soon as people began trading and selling their wares, they were barking out their presence at markets. Signage followed, with pictures, symbols and ultimately, lettering – when reading came to...

Our story at Coherent Solutions is firmly tied to our clients’ stories. Our accomplishments and successes follow theirs. Some of our proudest stories involve helping smart entrepreneurs with innovative software ideas to compete on a global scale with limited resources. By partnering with Coherent, these emerging businesses have been able to build market-changing commercial grade software while limiting the overhead and risk that come with hiring their own highly skilled workforce.

Company has seen 1000% growth in that time April 11, 2014, Minneapolis, MN – Coherent Solutions, a software consulting and outsourcing company with offices in Minneapolis, New York, and Boston in the U.S., is celebrating its tenth anniversary at its Minsk, Belarus software development center. Opened in 2004 with just five employees, Coherent’s development center...

Obamacare, HIPPA, stem cell therapy, cloning . . . the innovations in healthcare just keep coming. Driving so much change in this industry is technology, and Coherent Solutions is out front as a reliable resource for businesses seeking a partner for their medical software development.

I was recently turned on to the TED Talks mobile app as something that was a perfect little distraction to fill one’s mind with thoughtful, entertaining, and sometimes poignant ideas.  For those that don’t know TED is a nonprofit devoted to what it calls “Ideas Worth Spreading.”  The organization has two conferences annually and has...