April 10, 2014 : SAN FRANCISCO – April 10, 2014 – Appirio, a global cloud consultancy, today announced that its Topcoder platform and community has been referenced in Gartner's March 31, 2014 report, "Use Crowdsourcing as a Force Multiplier in Application Development." The report states that crowdsourcing "allows application architects to apply the cloud operating model (scalable and elastic, shared, service-based, metered and delivered using Internet technologies) to the development and delivery of custom software."
Appirio provides crowd + cloud model solutions. Through its Topcoder platform and community, which includes 600,000 designers, developers and data scientists, Appirio offers businesses the ability to leverage the best application architects and IT professionals to provide greater agility, innovation and performance.
The report further highlights that crowdsourcing models are particularly appropriate for projects that dictate short time to value and require leading-edge technical skills.
In his report, Eric Knipp, vice president of application platform strategies at Gartner, highlights the growth trajectory of the crowdsourcing industry as applications continue to be developed in the enterprise.
As noted in the research, Gartner clients report they see crowdsourcing as primarily an alternative to staff augmentation or hiring more FTEs. Companies are finding it much easier to acquire a small budget for a crowdsourcing project compared to adding a new salary to the payroll. Turning to the crowd provides easy access to cutting-edge developers, and results can be achieved faster than it would take to make a strategic hire.
When Appirio asked about their use of the Topcoder community, customers shared the following statements: "Topcoder gave us elastic ability to drive our development initiatives and the work that Topcoder completed in three months was equivalent to approximately 15 full-time developers," said Brian Bednarek, CEO, MESH01. "Why would any business leader pass up the opportunity to design a new platform with boundless development resources without sacrificing quality of the deliverables at half the cost?"
"Topcoder helps Brivo Labs outpace its competition and improve customer experience by way of crowdsourcing," said Lee Odess, general manager, Brivo Labs. "With big ideas and a tight timeframe, we looked to Topcoder to help us scale quickly with 40 percent cost savings compared to alternative options."
When asked about the Gartner report on Crowdsourcing, Narinder Singh, president of Topcoder and co-founder of Appirio said "We appreciate Gartner's in depth analysis of the market landscape and its assessment of industry opportunities associated with crowdsourcing. While the pace of technological change can be scary for many enterprises, crowdsourcing enables our customers to stay ahead and gain the flexibility needed to outmaneuver their competitors. Appirio is committed to helping customers realize that potential and navigate a future where innovation drives success."
Additional Resources:
Read the full Gartner report, "Use Crowdsourcing as a Force Multiplier in Application Development"
Watch MESH01's video about working with Topcoder
Read Appirio's crowdsourcing application development eBook

About Appirio
Appirio is a global cloud consultancy that helps customers achieve results in weeks, not years by harnessing the power of the world's top talent. Appirio's 600,000 member Topcoder community and crowdsourcing platform, combined with the company's business and technical expertise, have helped 700+ enterprises confidently use technology to increase innovation and transform business. Founded in 2006, Appirio is a trusted partner to companies such as Apria, Coca-Cola, eBay, Facebook, Japan Post Network, L'Oreal, NetApp, The Four Seasons and Virgin America.
About Topcoder
The Topcoder community gathers the world's experts in design, development and data science to work on interesting and challenging problems for fun and reward. The community helps members improve their skills, demonstrate and gain reward for their expertise, and provide the industry with objective insight on new and emerging technologies.