I would definitely like to hear from IT professionals across the pond on this one. When someone tells me that the major driver for Global Offshoring is the lack of talent in the UK and EU rather than cost reduction, I think I have to call BS! The major driver right now and in the past has been one simple thing, corporations taking advantage of the lower labor costs associated with developing countries. One of the things I hear frequently from pro offshore groups is that outsourcing/offshoring allows a company to free up its technical staff from having to do boring, repetitive tasks, thus improving their morale. Let me tell you what really happens when existing staff hears outsourcing or offshoring rumors, a cold chill runs down their spine because they know what that means! Yes, their jobs are at risk in a very real way.
Now let’s not be naive, offshoring is not going to be regulated away. The financial incentive is just too great for companies to resist. What happens if company A decides not to outsource, but their competitor Company B does outource. Well, lacking any unusual circumstances, Company B is now going to be able to offer their product or service at a lower price than Company A. Company A really only has a couple of choices at this point. They can either offshore their work in order to compete or come up with some sort of innovative solution onshore that keeps them in the game. So, lets stop using the euphemisms like Global Staffing in place of Offshoring, stop telling me that outsourcing/offshoring will help onshore morale (it won’t). We are all adults here, bottom line…. don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining!
