Outsourcing boosts IT industry
Outsourcing boosts IT industry
The accelerating trend of offshore outsourcing has contributed to the growth of IT services worldwide from US536 billion in 2002 to US$569 billion, according to a report by Gartner.
Offshore outsourcing has become a challenging and controversial subject recently, especially in Australia, where Telstra has been reprimanded for outsourcing jobs that many believe could easily be done by Australians.
Most of these outsourcing jobs have involved either application development or help desk support. India has been one of the main benefactors of this business strategy.
Kathryn Hale, principal analyst for Gartner's worldwide IT services group said. "Vendors based in the United States and India have been most successful at driving sales outside their native regions of North America and Asia/Pacific. Vendors based in other countries tend to sell primarily in their own country, then expand within their local region. As a results, vendors based in the United States and India are more experienced in global sourcing and best positioned for global expansion."
Ravindra Data, principal analyst for Gartner IT services research in India added. "The gradual merging of the Indian economy with the global economy is opening up the Indian market for international competition. This is encouraging enterprises in India to invest in technology and global practices, further driving demand for IT services in India."
But, an analyst at the Meta Group believes outsourcing is happening all around the world at a rapid rate, and soon many more countries will start using the benefits of outsourcing even more, including Australia.
Stan Lepeak, vice president of outsourcing & service provider strategies for the Meta Group explained further. "The context in which "offshore outsourcing" typically is used is completely misleading and simplistic. For every company establishing offshore outsourcing relationships in India, there is a foreign company establishing offshore outsourcing relationships in the United States. Evolving into truly global (versus multinational) service providers - with global delivery, operations, and resource management models - means organisations must take advantage of every shore where supplies, capabilities, and efficiencies are justified, whether it's North America, Europe, or the Asia Pacific region."
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