Outsourcing Times

India Excelling in Capability Maturity Model Integration

Outsourcing to India is a popular choice, not only because it lowers costs, but also because India is the quickest adopter of Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI). This is according to Angela Tuffley, a senior consultant at Griffith University's Software Quality Institute.

From Computerworld:

Tuffley, speaking at the recent IT Project Management conference in Sydney, said by adopting the best practice framework for software and system engineering, India has overshadowed the rest of the world leaving other countries in a precarious outsourcing position.

"When India first became an outsourcer it wasn't enough to just say we are a cheap alternative, the country needed something to hang its hat on," Tuffley said.

"Its use of software CMMI has made it so successful that it is now outsourcing its previously outsourced work to other South East Asian countries like Vietnam, Thailand and China."

Read more: India grabs outsourcing lead with project management

Outsourcing Different Business Functions

For the business manager, an article from SmartPros discusses when it is appropriate to outsource, keeping in mind the virtually endless amount of functional areas of a business that can be offshored.

Decisions to outsource projects, especially long-term, ongoing projects, such as the outsourcing of your entire information technology (IT) department, can affect -- and change -- employees' lives. To maintain morale and the status quo, keep the lines of communication open throughout the duration of the project.

"If too many workers leave in the midst or aftermath of an outsourcing deal, the company and the outsourcer both suffer a damaging knowledge drain," notes Meridith Levinson in an article on CIO.com where she profiled Richard LeFave, Nextel CIO, about "Life After Outsourcing."

Read more: Outsourcing: What You Should Know First

Outsourcing debated at chip conference

InfoWorld reports on an interesting debate that took place at Stanford:

On Monday, the same day the California Senate passed a bill that would ban state agencies from contracting services out to companies that use overseas labor, opponents and proponents of offshore outsourcing clashed during a conference at Stanford University.

A panel of two venture investors, a scholar, a laid-off software engineer and two chip industry chief executives debated the issue. Most panelists came out in favor of moving jobs overseas, to the dismay of many attendees at the Hot Chips event sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Read the entire article.

California passes anti-outsourcing bill

Let's see them balance their budget now! Sify reports on a ridiculous development in California:

Amid growing outrage against outsourcing, the California Senate has passed a bill banning state and local governments from contracting work to foreign firms.

The bill would prohibit all levels of state government from contracting or subcontracting with companies that use foreign labour, media reports said here today.

The ban applies only to contracts for services and contains several provisions designed to ensure no trade agreements or pension fund financing would be affected.

Now let's see them implement it. Ha.

Outsourcing Security To Increase

InternetNews.com reports on something we've been talking about for quite a while-outsourcing's place in corporate security.

As network attacks become more frequent and complex, large corporations and government agencies are turning to outside contractors for security.

If the trend holds, enterprises will outsource 90 percent of security operations by 2010, driving the market for managed security services to $3.7 billion, according to a new study from the Yankee Group.

...Increased threats from viruses and hackers have forced companies to bring security from the network perimeter to links between network components, hosts and servers, and databases and end-user databases, Yankee analysts Matthew Kovar wrote in the report.

Growth in Outsourcing to and from China

The Business Times reports on the huge growth of outsourcing both to and from China. (Note from Boney: In two weeks, I'm leaving for Shanghai!)

Many jobs can be done cheaper these days if they are farmed out - and China is one place they are going to.

But China also is doing more outsourcing than others in the the Asia-Pacific region, at least in outsourcing human resource functions, according to two surveys by global outsourcing and HR consultancy firm Hewitt Associates.

...According to the survey, payroll processing, benefits administration and training and development are the HR functions most commonly considered in the region for outsourcing.

IBM Buys Maersk Data

Mighty IBM has made yet another aquisition. This time it's Maersk Data. Line56 reports:

IBM has bought one-time partner Maersk Data, a Danish IT services firm, as well as DMdata, a Danish outsourcing company in which Maersk Data had a 45 percent share. Terms of the deal, which is expected to close in a few months, were not disclosed, and it's worth noting that IBM will not be acquiring the defense practice within Maersk Data.

Barclays takes 50% stake in Intelenet

Computer Weekly reports:

Barclays Bank is to acquire a 50% stake from in Mumbai, India-based Intelenet Global Services, the business process outsourcing (BPO) arm of HDFC.

Barclays will pay about $37m (£20m) for the stake in Mumbai-based Intelenet. After the acquisition, HDFC and Barclays will each hold a 50% share in the joint venture.

Barclays, a financial services conglomerate, is expected to bring significant international financial services expertise to Intelenet.

Top IT firms may leave Bangalore

The Inquirer reports on several large Indian IT firms that are threatening to leave Bangalore.

LEADING IT companies are threatening to pull out of the outsourcing capital of the world Bangalore because it is such a nightmare place to work.

Representatives from India's biggest outsourcing companies say fear they will lose customers because of the city's poor infrastructure, irregular power supply and increasing taxes. Already, according to the The Times of India, Infosys and Wipro have threatened to take their business elsewhere unless the local government pulls its finger to sort out the problem.

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I received the following SearchCIO.com conference announcement via email. Thanks, Meera!

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