In the IT-sphere there are three types of companies: outsource, out-staff and products. Outsourcers develop software for outside companies. They take orders, fulfill them, and look for new ones. Outstaffers provide client companies with personnel who work on the product. And finally, product companies make their own products.
Each type has both advantages and disadvantages:
Outsourcing and out-staffing, for example, allows you to gain various kinds of experience, but the work is similar to assembly line (usually tiring, without a thorough development and a clear methodology) and there is no possibility to trace the development of own product, to get feedback. Most importantly, there is a high risk of project closure, that is, the position of the employees is not secure.
And in product companies you cannot always try your hand at different kinds of technologies, work with different programming languages. There are excellent opportunities to boost your own technical expertise and professional skills, the ability to influence the product.
PortaOne is a product company that creates software for telecommunications companies. Our employees often compare their product to the vans of the pioneers of the Wild West. Handy, accessible and open software from PortaOne allows to provide telecommunication services even in places where previously it was impossible or unacceptably expensive. If PortaOne made cars, it would be a convenient, affordable and reliable Škoda.
The company was set up by the ex-directors of Telenor. After working for the telecom giant, the colleagues saw the disadvantages of the so-called commercial software and came up with an alternative. Commercial software is a product “ from the box”. Everything works, but not really clear how. Some kind of a black box. The customer can’t change anything, depends entirely on the provider and is forced to pay extra. If it is necessary, for example, to add new features or increase the number of subscribers. Open-source is software with an open output code. A customer can see how everything is designed in the “middle” and if he wants, he can add something of his own, but as a rule, he has no technical support.
Actually, the commercial model of PortaOne offers reliability, excellent support, and detailed documentation, while the open-source model allows users to decide what additional features to order. Besides, unlike most similar products, PortaOne sells its products with an unlimited license. Having paid for it, users do not have to pay again when they increase the number of subscribers or when new features are released. This is a more honest approach, which allows customer companies to grow. That is why most of our customers consider PortaOne to be their equal partner that supports their growth and development. It is great to work for a company that is valued.
PortaOne was founded 20 years ago and has been growing steadily ever since. Just think about it! The company is older than some of you! Stability is a very rare quality in rapidly changing world.
PortaOne has up to 500 clients in 90 countries around the world. Right now, as you are reading this, over 100,000 people are using PortaOne software, over 50 million users a day. Do you agree that having the opportunity to work with a product that benefits so many people is really cool? Besides that, it speaks volumes about the reliability of the product and the company.
Actually, the owners of the company are people with great experience in telecommunications. The top managers of PortaOne are not just giving out orders, but they are skillful professionals. They know how to set tasks, and there’s definitely a lot we could learn from them.
Besides, PortaOne promotes career growth and has lots of wonderful examples. The head of the development department started as a Duty Support Engineer, the head of the IT department started as a Junior Support Engineer. There are also many cases of “horizontal growth”. When people realize that they are interested in different areas, they learn something new or move to other departments.
We launched our own educational center PortaOne in order to raise the highest-class specialists. We pass on the entire 20-year experience and expertise we have accumulated so that you can become one of them. Join us!
