Looking for a team in Tunisia?
Choosing an IT services provider in Tunisia (an ESN in France, formerly SSII) is similar to choosing one at home, with four extra points to check: distance, the contractual framework between two countries, data transfers and team continuity. Here are twelve criteria, scoring advice and the pitfalls to avoid.
The 12 criteria
1. Verifiable references
Ask for references on missions comparable to yours: sector, technology, team size. A serious provider lets you call its clients.
Question to ask: “Which clients can I call, on which mission and since when?”
2. Stability of the company and the team
Look at the company’s age, its structure and the turnover rate of its engineers. A team that changes every six months destroys the knowledge of your project.
Question to ask: “What was your turnover rate over the last twelve months?”
3. Technical skills and seniority
Do not rely on CVs alone. Have the proposed engineers take a technical interview on your technology and on a real case.
Question to ask: “Can I meet the engineers before the start?”
4. Language and communication
Check the level of French and English, in writing and in speech, and the ability to reformulate a requirement. An interview in real conditions is enough to assess it.
5. Time zone and availability
The time difference with France is 0 to 1 hour. Check the calendar as well: Tunisian public holidays are not the same as French ones, and service continuity must be organised.
Question to ask: “How do you ensure continuity during public holidays and leave?”
6. Ways of working
Agile methods, regular rituals, shared tools for tracking and code, visibility on progress: the team must fit your way of working, not the other way round.
7. Software quality
Code reviews, automated tests, continuous integration and a clear definition of “done” protect your product. Ask to see how they are applied on an existing project.
8. Security
Named accounts and access limited to what is necessary, secured workstations, non-disclosure agreements, secrets management and traceability. A certification can reassure, but it does not replace checking the practices.
Question to ask: “How are access to our environments and to our code protected?”
9. Intellectual property and the contract
Provide for a written assignment of rights on the code, a code repository in your company’s name, the applicable law, confidentiality and transparency on subcontracting. Have a lawyer validate the wording.
10. Personal data and GDPR
If the team accesses personal data of residents of the European Union, transfers outside the Union require appropriate safeguards. Favour test environments without real data and have your data protection officer validate the arrangement.
11. Price transparency
Compare offers on the same basis: billing model (time and materials or fixed price), what is included (supervision, tools, replacement of an engineer), price revision conditions and additional costs such as travel.
12. Governance, SLAs and reversibility
A steering committee, quality and delay indicators and a reversibility clause let you manage the relationship and change provider without losing knowledge of the project. For application maintenance, detail the service levels in the contract: see our complete guide to application maintenance (TMA).
How to score providers
Score each criterion from 0 to 5, weight it from 1 to 3 according to its importance for you, then add up. For a project that handles sensitive data, security, intellectual property and GDPR deserve a weight of 3. For a complex technical project, it is references and skills. Use the same grid for all providers and have it filled in by two different people on your team.
The classic pitfalls
- Choosing on the lowest daily rate. A low rate without supervision or continuity often costs more in the end.
- Not appointing a referent on the client side. Without an available counterpart, the team waits and misunderstandings pile up.
- Signing without a reversibility clause. You would become dependent on a single provider.
- Ignoring cascading subcontracting. Ask who is actually working on your project.
- Starting too big. Begin with a pilot of a few weeks, with a limited scope and written success criteria, before scaling up.
What we put in place at Hydatis
Hydatis combines a presence in France with an engineering centre in Tunisia, with French-speaking and English-speaking teams. We offer staff augmentation (time and materials), dedicated teams, fixed-price projects and application maintenance (TMA). You can start with a single developer. Discover our IT outsourcing and dedicated teams from Tunisia and our staffing page.
Frequently asked questions
What is an ESN?
An ESN (entreprise de services du numérique, formerly SSII) is the French term for an IT services company. It provides IT services: development, consulting, integration, maintenance, technical assistance. It makes engineers available to its clients or carries out projects on their behalf.
Do you need a provider with a presence in Europe?
It is not mandatory, but a contact in Europe often simplifies the commercial relationship, the contract and the day-to-day follow-up, while the engineering team works in Tunisia.
How do you check the references of a Tunisian provider?
Ask for the contact details of two clients on comparable missions and call them. Also check the company’s legal existence and its presence on professional review platforms.
How do you start without risk?
Start with a pilot of a few weeks, with a limited scope, written success criteria and an exit clause. You assess quality and communication before expanding.
Related reading
- IT Outsourcing and Dedicated Teams from Tunisia
- Staff augmentation: tell us the profile you need
- Nearshore, Offshore, Onshore: What Is the Difference for Your IT Project?
- Application Maintenance Outsourcing (TMA): The Complete Guide
- IT Outsourcing Checklist: What to Ask Before You Sign With a Provider
- Talk to an expert about your needs