New York, NY -- (ReleaseWire) -- 09/08/2006 --Luxoft, Russia’s leading provider of end-to-end information technology services and solutions, announced today that Askhat Urazbaev, an Agile project manager in its Moscow development center, has received certification as a ScrumMaster to manage Agile projects in SCRUM methodology. Certification for Agile is new, but is gaining traction as the use of Agile methodology expands, according to industry analysts.

As a Certified ScrumMaster, Urazbaev will head Luxoft’s Agile Excellence Center, serving as a coach and mentor to different client and development teams using Agile. His training is part of an overall commitment by Luxoft to offer its clients the best of Russian IT talent and the latest methodologies, technologies and processes for its client engagements. Additionally, Luxoft offers training across a range of technologies and approaches, both formerly through its Centers of Excellence, which collect and internally disseminate best practices on a range of technologies, and informally, through mentoring.

In Russia and Eastern Europe, Luxoft is a pioneer in Agile methodology, an increasingly popular approach that relies on iterative, incremental work of self-organized and self-managed teams for faster, more collaborative software development, as much as two times more productive than traditional, document-heavy predictive processes. In a report on Agile and outsourcing, Forrester Research predicted improved customer satisfaction, not just cost savings.

Luxoft’s form of Agile draws from several process schemes, employs proven practices for offshore and distributed development and has been successfully deployed for a number of its product clients, such as Ping Identity. While not appropriate for every client project, Luxoft has provided tremendous value in reducing time-to-market through iterative development, better utilization of manpower resources and skills, and ultimately a better product developed faster than by using traditional application development methods. For example, Luxoft has been able to find and fix product and process issues early, reducing defects and the associated costs and delays.

“The most important thing about mastering Agile is to be able to set up truly collaborative environment for customer and project team. This is especially significant for successful offshore development. Because it is still a relatively new approach, getting certified provides Luxoft clients with an additional confidence that we can deliver software that has customer-focused features and fewer defects in a shorter time frame,” Urazbaev said.

Writing in Dr. Dobbs Portal, focused on software development, Scott Ambler, author of Agile Database Techniques, observed, “I believe that certification is an important part of the overall picture, and that it’s something that every developer should consider.”

For Ping Identity, Luxoft’s commitment to training has paid off. “The success with Agile starts with really great people and that means the engineers and others in Luxoft,” said Bill Wood, VP of Engineering, Ping Identity.

“The Agile methodology is increasingly important to our product clients, who need to reduce development time while focusing on features that customers actually need. This certification and our Agile Excellence Center show our commitment to this approach, to serving our clients and to ensuring we are using the best processes,” said Dmitry Loschinin, President and CEO, Luxoft.

About Luxoft
Luxoft, founded in 2000, is a global software developer and IT services exporter with operations in the US, UK, Ukraine and Russia. Luxoft has the world’s largest delivery capabilities in Russia and CIS.

Luxoft provides a full range of custom software development services and enjoys long-term relationships with clients including some of the best-known global business leaders, such as Boeing, Deutsche Bank, IBM and Dell. Luxoft also works closely with many mid-size growth companies and independent software vendors (ISVs).

Luxoft’s software development processes meet the highest quality standards, and the company was the first in Europe to achieve Level 5 CMMI quality certification. Luxoft runs research and offshore development centers in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Dubna, Omsk, and Kiev, Ukraine.

Luxoft has recently been recognized by BusinessWeek as the top emerging outsourcing provider in Russia and Eastern Europe, was ranked as the top IT services company on the Rising Star list in the IAOP’s Global Outsourcing 100, and was featured in Global Services Magazine’s Global Services 100 which recognizes the world’s most innovative business and technology service providers.