Planet Outsourcing

As per a latest report though the job opportunities in the European technology sector look quite good but it is facing threats from outsourcing. One of the biggest problems being encountered by the technology sector is the shortage of skills. Despite the requirement for further skills a number of jobs in this sector are facing threats from countries such as China and India which are one of the favorite outsourcing destinations.

Not only traditional jobs but even low cost centres are under the risk of being outsourced. There seems to be a fear looming in this industry in Europe. A survey undertaken demonstrated that more than half of the people believed that tech manufacturing jobs were at the risk of being lost to the outsourcing wave.

One person’s gain is another person’s loss. Outsourcing cannot be wholly blamed for this as the companies need to strengthen themselves if they would not like to become the fodder for outsourcing companies.

Via theregister

India is known to undertake a lot of U.S outsourcing work and now Archaeological Survey of India or ASI is facing the stick for outsourcing the digitization of its archive of photographs to American Institute of Indian Studies, Gurgaon which is an American funded organization receiving grants from the Smithsonian Institution, Washington.

This was done even though procedural cautions were stated in a report which was presented by a standing parliamentary committee. This report had questioned the locus standi of American Institute of Indian Studies.

The report observed:

Adequate care should be taken while finalising such kind of deal (sic) so the expenditure to be occurred... is spent in the best interest of the nation and valuable information about Indian antiquities and monuments are not handed over to foreign hands. It further stated that ASI would prepare estimates and compare the estimates with other eligible parties after the sanctions are obtained. The report also highlighted the demoralisation of ASI’s own professional cadre and the urgency of having a professional archaeologist head the organization.

Despite all this the contract was awarded to American Institute of Indian Studies. It seems all the report findings were overlooked while handling the contract. When C Babu Rajeev, Director-general, ASI was asked for an explanation he said that he did not owe an explanation. Is the ministry sleeping over this issue?

Via organizer

It is said that India rules the outsourcing industry and though India is mainly involved in back end IT related work but now pre media aspect has been added to its kitty. In this area up till now India used to tackle basic jobs such as DTP, word processing etc but now it has moved further in this area and now a number of companies are offering design and creative work to Indian companies.

Indian companies have been able to prove their superiority in strategic design and branding work. Companies are either working for clients directly or through international consultancies and are even performing work such as typesetting or identity implementation.

It seems that India is expected to garner a bigger share in this arena too and lead from the front.

Via agencyfaqs

This budget has not brought any good news for the Indian outsourcing industry. In the finance budget presented the export revenue of a number of Indian outsourcing companies was brought under the tax scanner and this seems to be the first measure by the government for bringing down the tax benefits to these companies.

Reacting to this, N. Ramachandran, CFO, iGATE Global Solutions stated:

Prices that outsourcers charge their customers are unlikely to go up as a result, but profit margins will be affected.

Before the budget the Finance Minister of India had stated that incomes under tax exemption would now be covered under the minimum alternate tax or MAT. A number of other tax issues are expected to trouble the Indian outsourcing industry which is already facing competition in the wake of other countries offering their services at low prices. It seems Indian outsourcing industry has a tough time ahead.

Via techworld

It is expected that the offshore tech spending by banks is expected to increase from the level of six percent to thirty percent by 2010. It is also expected that the banks in U.S and other countries would be increasing their budget for getting hold of technology services from offshore providers which operate from countries such as China and India in the coming years.

As per a study by Deloitte:

Among larger institutions in particular, offshoring is not one available cost-cutting strategy, it’s become a basic necessity. Banks are moving well beyond outsourcing low-level application maintenance work and are increasingly relying on offshore service providers for help with more sophisticated technology projects.

Though the advantages offered are quite a lot but a number of banks are not banking on it and it would be better if they develop the internal management skills required for making offshoring as much cost efficient as possible.

Via itnews

Private management of parking meters is causing a lot of financial waste to the Washington state. Outsourcing has not been able to achieve its objective and has brought up the costs to $9 million from 1999 to 2005. The problem was caused due to the poor service offered by the contractor hired for the purpose.

In 1993 when the parking meter service had not been privatized the city raked in $13.2 million in revenue as against $1.1 million in expenses with returns of $11 for every dollar spent. The only profitable year under privatization was 2003 when around $2.63 were earned for each dollar spent.

The figures demonstrate that the government was far better off when it had not outsourced the service and this demonstrates that outsourcing cannot be a good option every time and cannot be implemented everywhere.

Via washingtonpost

Medical care not satisfied with the work of your domestic maid? If the answer is yes then you can opt for a foreign maid. Outsourcing of maid services is emerging as a viable option for people who can pay more in Malaysia. There are some families who are against this idea since they would have to give one of their rooms to the maid for living. They would rather prefer those foreign maids which can clean their houses and return back to their respective hostels.

Indonesian maids are now getting lesser importance in Malaysia and people are preferring helping hands from other countries and the reason for this shift is still unknown. There are more than two hundred foreign worker services outsourcing companies registered in Malaysia which have already brought in around thirty thousand workers for the plantation, manufacturing, agriculture, construction and services sector.

So, if you have enough money then you could opt for a foreign maid and if you are wondering why this is so then let me clear your fundamentals that outsourcing does not always mean cost savings which is the general notion.

Via: bernama

Outsourcing has invaded the education sector too. India is emerging as a front runner in offering tutoring services to overseas clients and is expected to garner a large share in the online tutoring business. Already a big business in Europe, U.S and East Asia, online tutoring is expected to grow rapidly in the years to come.

It is said that online tutoring is an expensive service which is generally within the reach of rich families but outsourcing is expected to change this trend. Since the service offered by Indian teachers is available at fraction of the cost charged by U.S and European teachers, outsourcing is expected to bring down the cost of online tutoring by $20 per hour.

India is again expected to gain from online tutoring outsourcing since besides the cost factor it has a large pool of English speaking talent with high level of competency in related subjects. Even the internet penetration and connectivity has improved over the years and this is expected to make India a leader in this particular field.

Via atimes

Outsource your packaging and you are all set to bring down the time for introducing new products in the market. Catch hold of packaging contractors as they have the necessary resources for meeting the needs of the company and they can install the equipments quicker as compared to the pharma companies whereas in the case of companies the gestation period for a number of companies could be as high as one year.

If you can outsource your packaging then you can even free your resources and utilize them for more profitable activities. This trend seems to be on the rise and some of the packaging work is being outsourced to countries such as China and India even though pharma companies look for specialist outsourcing partners for their work. The general requirement for most of the companies looking for a packaging partner is cost, control, confidentiality and capacity. Pharma companies certainly stand to gain from it as it helps them to concentrate on their core competencies.

Via in-pharmatechnologist

Did you know that outsourcing was taking place in the arena of clinical dentistry too? India has been witnessing a steady influx of medical tourists from countries such as U.S, U.K and Gulf who are clubbing their holidays along with dental treatment since the cost of the high end dental care is pretty low as compared to other Asian countries such as Thailand, Indonesia or Singapore.

This is expected to generate employment for around a million people by the year 2012 and since India offers dental treatments at just one seventh of the costs of the developed nations, the medical tourism in India is expected to see around two billion people visit India by 2012. This will also lead to opportunities for other fields such as Health Insurance, Medical Value Travel, Medical Infrastructure, Medical Textiles and Training and Education too. It is expected to contribute by around 6.05% to the GDP. With its world class facilities India is expected to become a global healthcare hub and earn a good name in the field of international medicine too.

Via cybernoon