Offshoring

[kofoid]

Does anyone want to talk about the fact that almost all of the IT jobs in America (at least in the larger companies) are going to places like India, China, Brazil, Argentina, etc?

[aniseed]

All for saving a few dollars!!! :rolleyes:

[tgreer]

It's one of the most short-sighted policies I can imagine. I'm amazed that no one apparently understands that the long-term effect of offshoring to a less-developed nation will be to equalize the relative economies.

[nizzy1115]

I had a talk about this today at work. It is interesting to note, that aparently while outsourcing is much cheaper to get the job done, it almost always loses the company more customers and ultimatly they loose more money than if they would have stayed in the US.

[chrisranjana]

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleCoverage&articleId=105969&continuingCoverageId=1002

Technology trade groups have called for an increase in the cap, saying they can't find enough workers with specialized skills. Backers of higher limits say H-1B visas help U.S. tech companies attract the best talent, and the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) praised the Senate for raising the H-1B cap

[aniseed]

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleCoverage&articleId=105969&continuingCoverageId=1002

They do that every year. What's your point anyway? Do you think there are more skilled people in India? I don't. It's just that the number of skilled people with respect to the population si constant anywhere in the world, within a certain variation. Tht way China should have, and I believe it has, much more talent.

It's ironical that while H1B quotas increase for want of talent, there are several forged CVs floating out which slip into the US every year unnoticed. :rolleyes:

[chrisranjana]

Yes there is always a paradox

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2006-04-11-immigrants-professionals_x.htm

David Huber, a Chicago-based networking engineer who once earned a salary in the high six figures, blames the H-1B program for keeping him unemployed most of the past three years. "All these American citizens have lost tech jobs and the slots are filled up with H-1Bs," he complains.

High-tech companies, however, say they could use tens of thousands more foreign specialists each year because of a shortage of skilled computer pros

[jbennet]

its happening in the UK too

[Bawub]

This is what happens when accountants take over your business. The end result is always a dumbing down of the IT processes to the point where they becomes meaningless. There is no way forward here only a series of cost reductions with associated quality losses until the entire plot is lost...but hey the books look good for a while... somebody else can fix the resultant shambles up after I've finished my 3 year stint as CEO.

[Day Brown]

This box is kinda small also to compose a well reasoned response in, but there is another more obscure movement of opportunity from the established centers like Silicon Valley to small town mid America.

A few weeks ago the local TV said that a major call center was being setup in Conway AR. 300 jobs going to native mid-American English speakers, some of whom will have a bit of a southern drawl.

Then, a few weeks before that, at Russelville, 40 miles east along I-40 from Conway AR, they are putting in a new manufacturing facility to produce mobile hospitals that can be shipped on a C-130 from the National Guard Airbase at Jacksonville AR.

The Jacksonville air base is the national support center for the C-130, a mere 70 mile hop to Russelville in the event of a natural disaster.

Moreover, there is a strip city emerging from Fayetteville AR on up US 71 to Joplin, which has been receiving a net *import* of engineers and technical support staff from both coasts.

The cost of living in these obscure semi rural areas is so low that professionals can live comfortably on the same incomes others recieve in Taiwan or Bangalore. The startup costs are also competitive. Arkansas has *NO* building code, so facilities can be setup without paying off a corrupt system of 'inspectors'. The staff will like the fact there is no motor vehicle inspection either.

Its easy to find a trailor to move into for a couple hundred a month while you familiarize yourself with the local real estate market. Altho- I mite point out, that real estate prices in the Ozarks are *still rising*. Nevertheless, the top prices avertised are in the 250k range, maybe 500k if you want waterfront on one of the many Ozark hydroelectric reservoirs.

But you mite wanna have a look at my post: "Post Peak Oil Opportunities".

[xeto]

This is what happens when accountants take over your business. The end result is always a dumbing down of the IT processes to the point where they becomes meaningless. There is no way forward here only a series of cost reductions with associated quality losses until the entire plot is lost...

[xeto]

This box is kinda small also to compose a well reasoned response in, but there is another more obscure movement of opportunity from the established centers like Silicon Valley to small town mid America.

A few weeks ago the local TV said that a major call center was being setup in Conway AR. 300 jobs going to native mid-American English speakers, some of whom will have a bit of a southern drawl.

[xeto]

I had a talk about this today at work. It is interesting to note, that aparently while outsourcing is much cheaper to get the job done, it almost always loses the company more customers and ultimatly they loose more money than if they would have stayed in the US.

[xeto]

its amazing

[sean_morris9]

Do you think there are more skilled people in India? I don't.

Yes, to be honest, I do think there are more skilled people in India.

This is what happens when accountants take over your business. The end result is always a dumbing down of the IT processes to the point where they becomes meaningless. There is no way forward here only a series of cost reductions with associated quality losses until the entire plot is lost...but hey the books look good for a while... somebody else can fix the resultant shambles up after I've finished my 3 year stint as CEO.

I don't think it's a dumbing down of IT processes, and I don't think there needs to be loss of quality. If you can get something done with at least the same quality in China or India, then it makes sense to do it. Businesses are about creating wealth for shareholders, if that means some functions are outsourced then that's the right thing to do.

When we talk of outsourcing to low-cost economies, we shouldn't confuse this with low-quality.

[raraaz]

lost my job last year to brazil and losing my job this year to argentina -same company. Nice huh..........

[chrisranjana]

Eventually the need would drive the software industry. If they need skilled software engineers they would look to India, If they have enough software guys in their own country then they would not !. Outsourcing only for the cost difference will soon end. Nowadays the salaries of some Indian Programmers in Some category are at par or even more than their US counterparts