Outsourcing Times

Survive The Outsourcing Trend With This Guide

It is natural to worry about losing your job – especially in present day America. If you are an IT professional, your worst nightmare may just come true today, or maybe tomorrow. So, are you prepared for surviving the outsourcing onslaught?

One of the first things you must realize is that the present situation is not as threatening as it is made out to be. Secondly, you don’t need to await the layoff notice. There are many things you can do to remain competitive in the job market. For instance, learn to hard sell the practical benefits you can deliver instead of talking technical jargon. Another thing you could do to improve your employability is learn more skills. For more information on how to survive the outsourcing trend, you can check the Outsourcing Survival Guide

Phenomenal Growth in Global Market for Hosting Services: Report

Research and Markets, a market research resource, recently announced that it would add Infrastructure Outsourcing and Managed Services to their offering. The firm says outsourcing enterprise infrastructure can refocus a business on its core competencies while reducing costs. Topshots.com reports:

With a forecast of $39.4 billion in 2006, the global market for hosting services represents the largest opportunity for IT services providers within the broader managed and outsourced infrastructure services market. For more information you can visit the website.

Read more: Global Market for Hosting Services Represents Large Opportunity

Near Shoring To Become Norm in ‘07

By Priya Jestin, Staff Writer

Luxoft, one of Russia’s leading providers of IT outsourcing development and services to companies like IBM, Dell, Deutsche Bank, T-Mobile and others, recently issued its predictions for the IT outsourcing industry in 2007. According to Luxoft, no one approach – in-house, on-site, ODCs or captive models – will be on top in 2007. Each company will access its available global resource and skill pool and choose a variety of outsourcing and in-house combinations to reach its desired business and technical goals. Outsourcing, say Luxoft officials, will become as commonplace as Six Sigma.

This bit of news should bring a lot of cheer. It is expected that in 2007, all forms of security will make it on to the shortlist for any successful outsourcing engagement – system, physical, staff and disaster recovery. Clients will increasingly demand excellence on this front. Also, companies will increasingly look to near shore development solutions to round out its outsourcing portfolio. In 2007 there will be increasing demand for outsourcing resources in Europe, Eastern Europe and Canada but this phenomenon will be seen with resources around the globe.

Homecoming

Imagine virtual contact centers that tap high-caliber workers with industry expertise, and connect them through a network of home-based agents across the US. This idea could revolutionize the way businesses interact with customers. Only thing is, it is no longer an idea; it’s a reality. Businessweek.com reports:

Several factors have contributed to the homeshoring trend and will continue to fuel growth in the coming years. Among them are technological advances that make it easy to set up and monitor home-based agents. Consider the increased availability of high-speed Internet connections, as well as innovations in Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, which can add a host of features to calling plans, while reducing the price of telecommunications.

Read more: Bringing the Workforce Home

IT Boom In Russia

Exports of Russian programming products increased by 80 percent, from $1-billion worth last year to $1.8 billion in 2006. Analysts now predict that Russia will be one of the top three countries for IT outsourcing by 2010. Kommersant.com reports:

“Russia now controls 3 percent of the market for offshore programming,” said Viktor Vainshtein, head of the Aplana company. “By 2010, our country might confidently claim 10 percent and, if things go right, 15 percent. That will be possible in large part thanks to active state support.”

Read more: Russia's IT Boom

Kodak renews Nortel outsourcing deal

Eastman Kodak Co. recently agreed to a renewal of its existing agreement with Nortel Networks Corp. Nortel will now manage Kodak’s U.S. voice network for another three years. Marketwatch.com reports:

The Rochester, N.Y., film and camera company said the renewal calls for Nortel to continue managing Kodak's network of PBX's and telephone services through 2008. Kodak has outsourced its voice network to Nortel since 1995.

Read more: Kodak renews Nortel outsourcing deal for 3 more years

Indian IT firms queue for Japan's outsourcing pie

--By Priya Jestin, Staff Writer

Having got their fairs share of European and US markets, Indian IT firms are realizing that to maintain their present rate of growth, they need to expand exponentially. So now you have them exploring the Japanese market.

Japan is the world's second-biggest spender on technology after the United States. The total IT outsourcing market in the country grew to $15 billion in 2005 and the market is forecast to grow 5.8 per cent per year through 2010 to 2.34 trillion yen. And this time around, the Indians don’t want to make any mistakes – culturally that is. So now you have Indian software engineers learning the Japanese language, cultural nuances and etiquette.

TCS Bags $ 100 m Kimberly-Clark Contract

TCS seems to be on a deal-winning spree. The latest deal TCS bagged is from US healthcare company Kimberly-Clark, which owns brands like Huggies and Kleenex. The US$100 million deal follows on the heels of the $90 million deal TCS signed with Qantas Airways last week. The company is also said to be closing in on a major deal from Bank of China.

The Indian outsourcing industry is dependent on oversees clients for a major part of its revenues. The US is one of the largest markets for Indian software firms. If the Bank of China deal comes through, it will be one of the largest outsourcing deals in Asia. Sda-india.com reports:

Earlier, TCS announced that it was working on at least five deals and was hopeful of garnering over USD 100 million in this quarter. A 200 million euro contract from ABN Amro and a USD 200 million deal from CitiGroup were the other major deals bagged by the company.

Read more: TCS Wins USD 100 Mln Outsourcing Contract from Kimberly-Clark

Retail Giant Myer, IBM sign 5-yr Deal

On Demand Zone Retail giant Myer recently announced a five-year IT outsourcing deal with IBM Australia. IBM will now supply a host of IT services to Myer. This includes AS400 support, midrange services, data networking, desktop, applications maintenance and development as well as help desk services. Computerworld.com reports:

IBM Global Technology Services general manager Peter Campbell said the company aimed to help Myer reach its full market potential. In a statement, he said: "IBM is delighted to work with Myer on its transformational journey, and will draw on the breadth of its technology services and retail industry expertise to support Myer's overall business strategy."

Read more: Myer inks five-year outsourcing deal with IBM

Qantas Signs Deals With Indian Firms

Australia’s Qantas Airways recently announced a seven-year deal with Satyam, India's fourth largest software exporter. This deal is worth over $54 million. Satyam has to maintain information technology services and develop software for more than 150 applications for Qantas.

Another Indian firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has also signed a $90 million technology outsourcing deal with Qantas. Under its contract with Qantas, TCS has to provide software services to upgrade airport operations and commercial systems over the next seven years.

This recent development clearly indicates that Indian outsourcing firms still have a huge lead over their counterparts in other countries thanks to the availability of skilled and relatively cheap manpower.